I was staring over the side of a cliff, at the edge of Winterhold. I could see houses, buildings, and all kinds of infrastructure poking out of the side of the mountain, all the way down to the gorge below. Not only that, but I could also see the bridge into the College, it didn't look like it should be standing, let alone being used.
What did they call it, the great collapse?
I got the cliff notes version of what happened, but seeing it still like this was something else.
Apparently, the relationship between the college and the town was already rather strained when it occurred, only for the people to blame the college once again when the incident did happen, though from what I could tell they didn't do it.
It was tragic, but nothing I could do about it. It seems like everyone had already picked up and carried on. The town had started expanding again in the other direction, I could still see houses being built when the snowstorms weren't as bad.
Does my devil biology give me some resistance against weather? I could only guess so considering I'm lightly layered compared to the people who live here.
I looked up at the sun in the sky, it was heard to get a concept of time here, especially when the sun barely peaked through the snowy air, but I could guess it was midafternoon, leaning towards sunset. I had just been walking around town for a few hours, getting acquainted with it. Basically, I needed to kill some time.
It seems like she should be close to done….. I twirled my hat and put it on my head, I guess I'll go check in with the tailor again.
The guards gave me nods as I passed, I seemed to develop a sort of rampart with the town. It was nice, the place wasn't too big, probably a few hundred people all-in-all, small enough that everyone knew everyone, and news traveled faster than the speed of light.
I walked up to the tailor's shop, pushing the door open.
I wasn't surprised at the scene of needles hovering in the air, moving every which way on a piece of fabric.
"Eveth." I greet.
"Will" The older woman smiled.
It was a good idea to get to know your tailor. Anyone who takes pride in their clothing would tell you as much.
I sat in a nearby chair, I didn't want to disturb her too much.
Too be honest we weren't 'too' acquainted, only having met earlier this morning when I put in my order, but we hit it off decently well. She was curious about the clothing I described, and I even used some parchment for some sketches.
The most surprising thing was her application of magic. She was using Telekinesis to move the needles all about as she worked through the seams. It was one of the reasons she could pump out quality work so quickly. If it were anyone else, this would have probably taken days, if not over a week to accomplish.
She told me a mage and been sweet on her in her youth, teaching her a few spells. Basic cantrips and what-not but perfect for someone who is running a business. She could light a fire, heat water, freeze food.
Things of that nature.
"This should about….do it" She moved her hands away, admiring her work. "What do you think?"
I walked over, standing beside her. "Amazing, I can't believe how well this turned out from my horrible sketches and explanations. Truly you are an artist."
My praise was genuine, it was astonishing how well this turned out. I mean, I could tell the materials weren't the same as what I was used to back home, but it looked phenomenal.
I took the clothes into the back room to change. She had already gotten my measurements before…..she was quite 'thorough' with that as well, especially around my groin area. Not that I dislike older women, if it were any other time…..
Unfortunately, I had wanted to get to the college as quickly as I could.
I zipped up my pants, having donated the clothes from my previous world as additional material. She was quite perplexed by the little mechanism until I showed her how it worked. Suffice to say she's really curious to where I acquired such a thing.
The buttons on my shirt were nice, decorated, but classy. No uncomfortable tightness anywhere, it was just the perfect size. Of course I made sure everything was nice and tidy as I tucked in my shirt.
And lasty, I put on the vest, or waistcoat, depending on where you live.
I ran my hands down the fabric, making sure there are no loose seams or snags anywhere.
No, it was all perfect.
The last piece, and probably the easiest for her to make. A black tie to go along with everything. I and briefly considered a white tie, but it looked best as black against my white vest along with my black shirt.
There was a mirror here, though not to the standards I was used to. The glass was milky and hard to see, but I could make out my figure enough to like what I saw.
Finally, adjusting my tie up, and putting my hat on my head. I walked out of the room, meeting the eyes of Eveth.
"Oh my…..if I were 10 years younger.."
Yeah, I looked good.
The clothes make the man and all that. It was a nice confidence boost as well.
My only regret, she didn't have enough material to make the jacket.
I set a large stack of gold on the counter. "Will this cover everything?"
"T-that is way too much." She stuttered, staring at the pile.
"I wonder if this is too little, actually." I adjusted my tie slightly, making sure it was straight.
Yes, I'm a clothes snob, I find it physically annoying to wear something so…unsightly as I was before.
"With this much…I'll be able to order some higher quality fabrics from the next caravan.." She muttered.
I stopped in my tracks and turned to her, a thought crossing my mind. I set another stack of coins on the counter, earning her surprise. "Then I will request your services in the future, I want a few more outfits and I hope you can get the stuff soon."
"Of course!" She said pridefully. "I'll take care of all your tailoring needs."
Well then, now that I'm properly dressed, it's time to visit the college.
***
Walking towards the entrance, I could feel the magical energy in the air get denser. Right as the ground me the stone pathway, I put my hand out and pulsed some mana.
A shimmering blue barrier was revealed infront of me, I saw my magical energy cascade in every direction, showing the form of the barrier before dissipating.
Amazing, a bounded field of that size must have taken an astronomical amount of magical energy to sustain.
I hesitantly stepped through, normally I wouldn't have been so lackadaisical about going into a bounded field of unknown origins, but the college was welcoming so I took the small risk.
"State your business." An elf leaning against the brick railing, walked up, blocking my path.
"Here to join the college." I produced the letter from the Archmage.
She opened the letter, staring at its contents for a moment. "What..?"
"Yeah, I don't know either." I just shrugged.
"OH." He snapped her fingers. "You're the mage that dueled Ancano!"
"That would be me." I don't think he dueled anyone else in the meantime….so probably?
"Amazing, how were you able to penetrate his Greater Ward with a single spell and without a large cast time? Was it some kind of Master-level destruction spell? Or did it bypass the properties of the ward entirely with a curse? No…that shouldn't be it, he said his Greater Ward was pierced through, ignoring the absorption effects… was it a spell that accelerated a physical object at high speeds?" She started to ramble on, I could guess some things, but I felt like I was missing a bit of context.
"I'm sorry, I think I'm missing something here, miss…?"
"Oh, I'm sorry, I just got excited. My name is Faralda, I sometimes work as the guard for the college, screening potential recruits."
"I see." I said simply. "And what was this about Ancano?"
"Oh, the duel has been the talk of the college since the Archmage had brought Ancano back."
Really? "Ancano doesn't strike me as the type of person who would…. discuss his defeat."
"We were surprised too." Faralda admitted. "Ancano isn't exactly the most likeable person in the college. So, all of us were surprised when the Archmage announced that Ancano was kind enough to give a lecture on magical dueling using his experience as an example."
Oh, okay that makes more sense. I could only imagine Ancano's face with the Archmage standing there, making him give a very detailed explanation on how he was defeated.
I mean, it wasn't just because I took him down in one shot. There were several variables that led to me defeating him with such ease. His arrogance was probably the highest factor, he sat there and let me cast a spell at him. He acknowledged that he didn't know about my 'magic' and still let me set the pace.
Gods I could imagine the whole lecture, Ancano having to thoroughly describe the entire thing in detail then the Archmage going 'okay class, what did Ancano do wrong here?'. And the arrogant elf having to stand there and let a bunch of mages below his skill level criticize him.
"Even the Archmage said he didn't know what spell you used." Faralda looked at me expectantly.
"It's a secret." I gave a smile.
"Worth a shot." She mumbled. "Alright, go ahead. I'll look you up once you get settled, I wouldn't mind exchanging pointers."
***
As I approached closer to the college, in noticed the temperature getting noticeably warmer, there wasn't even any snow on the walk-way the further I went.
An effect of the bounded field around the college? That was my first assumption, and considering the sheer amount of magical energy being pumped around here, it wasn't probably far off. I noticed several 'wells' along the walkway, they looked like small openings to the nearby leylines, they pushed out so much magical energy that it was visible to the naked eye.
Incredible, I knew this whole trip was going to be worth it. Hell, falling into this world was worth it just for this. The things I could learn here, I was excited just imagining it.
The path led to a sort of 'rotunda' that circled around, leading to several towers, all before the large doors of the main building.
There were mages all around, some were casting spells, some were just chatting happily or reading a book on a bench.
I got barely spared a glance, everyone was deep in their own studies or experiments. It reminded my heavily of the Clock Tower, if a bit more whimsical in nature.
Pushing the doors open, I was greeted with the faces of about a dozen mages, gathering in a circle with an older man in the middle.
"Greetings" The older man stepped out of the group, walking over with a smile on his face. "You appear to be a new face." He said, giving me a once over.
"Indeed, I just joined today? Or I will hope to be joining? I'm not entirely sure on the process."
"No problem, you've basically joined once you past the threshold, we just need to get you squared away with lodging and a schedule of when classes are." He nodded. "For now, though, what about joining our lesson? It's for beginners, but a refresher is always a good idea."
"That would be lovely, thank you." Did he know I wasn't a beginner? Well….I guess the term is subjective here, I wasn't familiar with their magic in depth yet.
"Alright everyone, it seems like we got one more student, mister…." He looked at me.
"Wilhelm Henry Schweinorg. I look forward to learning alongside all of you." I introduced myself.
"Wonderful." The older mage smiled. "We were just going over the Lesser Warding spell and how to apply it in a practical situation."
I stood to the back, it seemed like everyone here were a bit younger than me, probably by about 3-4 years.
"Most people think of Lesser Ward as a 'wall'." He pushed out the spell infront of him with an ease that was impressive. He no doubt had much experience under his belt. "Which it may seem like on the outside, but such thinking is incorrect. Yes, it is a protection, it stops spells from reaching you, but understanding how it works is just as important as knowing how to cast it. Our spells are directly tied to our imagination and willpower. If we force the spell into such narrow understanding, its abilities are greatly weakened, the 'wall' becomes brittle and easily demolished."
Was Lesser Ward the 'basics' here, there was a greater version of the spell were they the bread and butter of defensive spellcasting?
He looked around the room, I guess he wanted to see if anyone understood. Maybe this was a bit too advanced, to talk about the concepts behind spellcasting? Well, it was extremely simplified, but still, he was talking about how to modify the spell, albeit indirectly.
"Wilhelm, was it? Can I hear your thoughts?" The mage called me, as all the heads towards back to face me.
"About understanding spells in general or my thoughts towards Lesser Ward?"
"Just Lesser Ward, for now." He smiled.
"I suppose it's a very efficient spell if you copy it straight from the book. Its cost and effort to cast are below average and it's a very sturdy shield for what you get. It won't block anything high-tier, but fights don't always involve casting large-scale destruction, a quick fireball is often times much more dangerous than summoning a lightning storm, yet can be blocked quite easily with a quick Lesser Ward."
"All correct." He turned toward the others. "As he said, simple and efficient spells are often better than big and destructive. That being said, it is unlikely you'll run into anyone able to cast such spells, meaning a Lesser Ward will probably be able to counter almost anything an enemy mage can throw at you." He turned towards me again. "If I can ask for your assistance, again, would you mind casting a Lesser Ward while I shoot a ball of light at it?"
"Of course." I nod, stepping out of the group, getting a little distance from him. This was supposed to be a 'learning' thing, so I very blatantly held my hand up and pushed the spell outward, giving everyone else in the hall a good look.
"I can already see you understand the spell quite thoroughly." He held a ball of light in his hand and basically tossed it at my ward. It splashed across, before dissipating against my magical barrier.
"Now, you see how his held? I used the same strength against all of yours earlier, yet none of yours could take it without breaking. And I know what you all want to say, that he is more experienced or more powerful since he's older, but is that true?" He looked towards me. "Wilhelm, how much Magicka did you push into your Lesser Ward when you cast it?"
Magicka, if I recall that was the term they used for mana here. "The bare minimum for the spell to cast."
"So, what was the difference between your ward and the ward he cast?" He asked the class, but no one answer. "The answer is simple, really. It isn't even experience, it's just knowledge. He understood how the spell worked and was able to apply its properties correctly when casting." He gestured over to me. "Tell me, Wilhelm, what do you picture when you cast the spell?"
"A bag." I said after a moment. I wasn't really at the level where I had to force an image when casting, I was pretty far ahead of that, but it was a step any novice would go through. But the spell reminded me more of a bag than a wall.
"Wonderful!" He exclaimed. "A bag, not a wall. If you read the spell tome properly, you would have seen that the Lesser Ward 'absorbs' the magicka of the spell that it blocks, rendering it moot. A wall cannot 'absorb', it prevents, it is static and unyielding. Whereas a bag can take into itself, yes it can rip when too much is put in, but that is the limit of the spell itself."
He looked around the room, noticing the faces of his student light up in understanding, smiling in good nature. "Alright, lets leave it here for today. I want you all to practice casting your Lesser Ward every morning until you can do it without effort."
The students dispersed, chatting, and whispering to each other as they scattered to the ends of the college.
"Thank you for your assistance." The mage walked towards me. "I find it helpful when the students have someone closer to their age to compare themselves to."
"I was happy to help." I smiled, it was a nice experience again, being in a 'classroom'. Hell, I even learned a thing or two while I was here.
"The room registration is kept by Urag Gro-Shab, our resident Librarian. Just introduce yourself to him and he'll set you straight." The old mage pat me on the shoulder. "Oh, where are my manners, I completely forgot to introduce myself. I am Tolfdir, the Master Alteration Mage for the college, along with the teacher for defensive magics."
He walked me over towards the door. "Here we are, these stairs lead up to the Arcanaeum, be polite to Urag Gro-Shab, he takes his job as librarian very seriously."
I just stared at the stairs going up, a library, a library in a magical college. It was just there, open for anyone to enter without prior authorization. Was it really this simple, could I access the school's library without anyone stopping me!?
I was practically dancing with excitement. Forget a room, I want to just live in the library.