Time is Skipping Away, Skip, Skip, Skipping Away

            (4E-182 11th of Sun's Dusk)

                      Darklight Tower

     Like most Hagravens, Morila had very little use for writing materials, outside of enchanting scrolls. As such, most of their scrolls, quills, and ink were all stored within the tower's Chironasium. She retrieved the necessary materials from the Chironasium and then returned to the waiting Galeron.

     Morila put the parchment, quill, and ink down on the table. She picked up Galeron and brought him over to the very same table. Holding Galeron in one arm and the Quill in her other hand, she dipped the Quill into the ink.

     "Now child, show me what you can do. You can understand my speech, so can you also read and write? Write on the parchment, child. Anything you want, just write something or draw or do whatever you can." Morila urged him.

     Galeron wasn't really sure about this, since he wasn't yet proficient in manipulating his magicka but he supposed he might as well give it a shot. He reached out with his magicka and grasped the quill with the same spell that he had used on his ugly mother's amulet. Having already seen a few books lying around here and there, Galeron knew that, for whatever reason, the written and the spoken common language here was English. Although, he seriously doubted anyone in this world would ever call by that name. 

     He placed the quill gently upon the parchment and attempted to move it around. Morila watched in excitement as the ink was spread across the blank parchment. After seemingly scribbling for a bit, Galeron felt he was comfortable enough with the magical handling of this quill to actually write a few words. However, deciding what to write was a question he had yet to answer. 

     After considering it for a while, he finally came to a conclusion. He was always lightly teased by his friends, in his past life, for having a name that sounded like something straight out of The Elder Scrolls. Not only did it sound similar in nature to some Elder Scrolls names, it was literally only one letter away from one of The Elder Scrolls most famous characters, Galerion the Mystic. Anytime he did anything even remotely out of line, he would quickly be labeled as Galeron the Misfit. He wasn't all that upset about having such a nickname, because he honestly thought it sounded kinda cool. Mostly because of its similarities with the original. 

     At this moment, however, if he had to write something, why not make his old nickname his official title. Especially considering the fact that it sounded so close to Galerion the Mystic, that it will make it harder for people to forget him and his deeds. So he began moving the quill over the parchment and it took him almost a full minute to complete his new name. It was all lopsided and barely legible but legible it was nonetheless. 

     Morila decided that she was through being stunned at this child's constant surprises and that she would accept each new marvel, in turn, as yet another bit of undeniable evidence to rub in the faces of her detractors. Once the quill finished scratching across the parchment, she read what her child had written. "Galeron the Misfit"

     Moria turned her head to look directly into Galeron's big round adorable red baby eyes and started laughing. "Galeron the Misfit! Yes, quite the fitting name! Come, Galeron! Let's go show these fools the truth about our, so called, 'unremarkable' child."

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              (4E-188 15th of Sun's Dawn)

                          Darklight Tower

     Five years quickly passed, as Galeron continued to become more and more proficient in his magicka and also discovered just how truly bizarre the circumstances of his birth were. 

     After Morila had shown him off to the other Coven members, he had taken advantage of the fact that he could now fully communicate with another person and not only sought guidance regarding the practice of magic but also regarding his place here in the Coven.

     He soon discovered that this particular Coven had spent generations attempting to create biological Hagravens and he was apparently the end result of their efforts. Head Matron Morila, his mother, was a child that had been abducted from the coupling of a Male Orsimer and a rare Female Bosmer who had decided to join their Coven. His father, on the other hand, was another abductee from the coupling of the Dunmer Savos Aren and the Altmer Faralda.

     Needless to say, these revelations left Galeron completely stunned. Being the child of Hagravens was shocking enough. Being the grandchild of Savos Aren and Faralda, however, and having all four elvish bloodlines, was simply overwhelming. 

     The Coven had spent copious amounts of resources on studying elvish bloodlines, magic, and procreation. There was an incredibly dark and complex ritual facilitating his conception that allowed the power of all four bloodlines to stabilize his Hagraven nature. Now that they all knew that this experiment had been a success and he was the real deal, the entire Coven practically worshipped him and never dared to question Morila's decisions.

     While his amazement at having been born under such absurd circumstances compelled his curiosity, his desire to learn and excel at magic was a siren's song that he couldn't resist. As such, it didn't take him long to move past these bizarre revelations and focus all of his attention completely on studying magic. 

     Through his experimentation and with Morila's help, he learned that Mysticism was essentially raw magic and was the medium through which elemental and other magics could be cast. So to some extent a baseline understanding of Mysticism was required to produce any kind of spell. Morila had never explained it this way but he was able to deduce this based on his previous knowledge of The Elder Scrolls lore, his own experience, and Morila's instruction.

     She didn't seem to be aware of this fact and simply used a sort of psuedo-Mysticism to very crudely force spells to act according to her whims. Which is to say that there was very little understanding involved in her spells. She simply willed it to be a certain way and relied on the extraordinary nature of magicka to force the result. This brutish practice led to her spells requiring much more magicka to activate and maintain than Galeron's. It became apparent to Galeron that magicka could accomplish most things, if enough of it was applied to the task, but understanding is what determined the variety of ways and ease with which you could utilize it.

     He also learned that natural sources of the elements created elemental magicka that could be harnessed for the purposes of spell casting and enchanting. The potency of an elemental magicka, however, corresponded to the potency of the source from which it came. So unless one were a newbie mage or lived near a natural source of potent elemental magicka, one would inevitably be relying on their own magicka to create elemental magicka. 

     This led to there being three different types of magic staves. The first, was simply a vessel that contained a certain amount of elemental magicka that the user could draw from. The second, had a single spell that it could cast multiple times, until its magicka was depleted. The third, was the most expensive and sought after for advanced mages. The Ameliorating Staff, a staff with intricately configured runes that could ease the requirements for a wide range of spells.

     He was taught that a mage's power would usually correspond to the amount of magicka he possessed. This was typically attributed to the fact that more magicka typically equals more experience. The only way of increasing one's magicka reserves was by regularly expending all available magicka and by the natural increase that came with age. There were also certain rituals, like the one that transforms people into Hagravens, that could increase either your maximum magicka, your proficiency with a certain type of magic, or both. Morila made it clear that being more powerful didn't necessarily mean being better at actually using magic or utilizing it in combat.

     Galeron spent his time wisely and eagerly soaked up any knowledge that she would give him concerning magic. He studied every runic language variant including and especially Daedric Runes, the various effects of alchemical ingredients, and the intricacies of enchanting. He made sure to expend all of his magicka on training as soon as his reserves were replenished. 

     He needed to take advantage of the safety of this place, while he could. Once he was old enough to take care of himself, it probably wouldn't be too wise to just throw away his magicka like he was currently doing, lest someone catch him unprepared. His only concern was that some group of adventurers might come along and decide to play the hero, if their presence here were to be discovered. 

     As of his fifth birthday, he was familiar with most of the basic Destruction Spells, he also had learned Bound Dagger, Telekinesis, Light Creation, Heal, and Ward Creation. There were other spells he could perform but, because his magicka reserves were still underdeveloped, it simply wasn't practical for him to use them. As far as spells he could rely upon on a daily basis or in a confrontation, this was all he had.

     He had also discovered that the naming of spells was something that seemed to be connected to the kind of brute force understanding of magicka that was commonly practiced. The understanding they all displayed, in Galeron's eyes, could hardly be called Mysticism and not once had he heard anyone utter the word Mysticism, despite everyone around him being a practicing mage of some level. This, however, wasn't entirely unexpected, since he knew the College of Winterhold had dropped Mysticism completely from their curriculum. Not that a group of Hagravens would have any reason to care about what the college dropped or didn't but, excluding the obvious exceptions, Hagravens were all once humans who probably either learned directly from the college or were influenced by their teachings.

     The naming of spells seemed to go hand in hand with a kind of magic by numbers explanation of how the spell should be conceptualized, constructed, activated, and maintained, if necessary. There was very little imagination or creativity expressed within those spells. As such, Galeron made a point not to use them and to eventually construct his own method of sorting and labeling spells.

     Galeron began focusing on increasing his abilities in Mysticism. He had learned that Telekinesis was possible through commanding sheer raw magicka but that wasn't the way it was supposed to be performed. What he had done with his ugly ass mother's amulet was the true Telekinesis Spell. Suffice it to say, very few of the Hagravens or Witches were proficient with Telekinesis or any other aspect of Mysticism.

     He wanted to train up his Conjuration as well but felt that Mysticism, being a foundation for all spells, would have a much greater long term benefit. He could regularly be seen reading books on various types of magic, while casting and recasting the same spell repeatedly and monitoring it for the slightest defect.

     After Morila had shown off Galeron's abilities, the other Matrons all quickly agreed to start gathering more resources for another conception ritual. A few months after Galeron's fourth birthday, the second conception ritual was performed and just last month he was introduced to his little baby sister. The man who was apparently his father didn't stick around for long and also didn't seem particularly enthusiastic about the whole ordeal. 'Of course they're forcing him to fuck a Hagraven, I suppose that must be a pretty painful experience. I guess even Hagravens don't want to fuck Hagravens. Bunch of ugly fuckers!'

     Galeron had been immensely relieved when he discovered that he was only some monstrous Hagraven freak on the inside but not on the outside. His little sister seemed to be more or less the same as him, only female. They both were a bit larger than your average baby or child. Galeron was just below four feet. They both had dark grey almost black skin and bright crimson colored eyes that seemed to glow with power. Their hair was white as snow and they both had slightly overgrown canines. Nothing as notable as an Orc but still noticeable, if they were to smile or reveal their teeth in some other fashion. In Galeron's eyes, their canines had a very Vampire-like vibe to them. Galeron also noticed that his skin seemed to grow ever darker as he grew older. He suspected that, by the time he reached adulthood, he would probably be the blackest person on Nirn.

     Galeron wasn't sure how to feel about having a Hagraven freak of a sibling. Even if she wasn't as ugly as them, he wasn't particularly fond of these disgusting creatures. This was pure pettiness on his part. He absolutely loathed ugly things and Hagravens were the ugliest. If it weren't for his ability to practice magic early on, he probably would have sunk into depression, after the first week of having to live amongst these abominations. He had no intention of helping these creatures to achieve their ends but he would gladly abuse their trust and resources, in order to get the best head start possible. 

     At some point he would have to kill these filthy creatures but what about his little sister? Should she die as well? He didn't have any special feelings for anyone he knew at this point, including her. If he kept her alive, she could be a potential ally but much more likely she would be a lifelong rival, who would seek to kill him at every turn for murdering her family. There's also the fact that she would be easily identified as some type of rejected hybrid the moment she showed up in any populated area. There was no chance that she would ever have a normal life outside of the Coven or perhaps some open minded Forsworn.

     'Yep, definitely too risky. I doubt she'll be as powerful as me but it's not impossible and she could always draw allies to her side to make up the difference. I think I've decided. If I can find some way to either hide the truth or compel obedience from her and any other hybrids these bird turds conceive, then I'll save them. If not, they die.' Having made his decision, Galeron made his way to his ugly bird faced mother to make a request. 

     Galeron entered his mother's chamber and Morila looked up from the taproot, entrails, and other items she was working with, as he approached. "Yes, Galeron. Is there something I can help you with?"

     "Actually, there is, Mother. I've been practicing magic for quite some time now and, while I have every intention of continuing to do so, I would also like to broaden my horizons a bit, at this point. I want to learn how to use a Bow and Sword. Do you know of anyone who can assist me in this endeavor?" Galeron asked. 

     Even for a Hagraven, it was always unsettling to witness a child only five years of age speak as if he were an adult. No hint of innocence or ignorance. Only unbridled confidence, certainty, and she suspected a bit of arrogance, shown from his eyes. "Ahh, yes, this sounds like a wonderful idea. The more powerful you become the more powerful our Coven becomes. You are our future after all. I shall speak with my Forsworn contacts and bring someone over as soon as possible." Morila consented. 

     "Thank you, Mother. I'll be in the Library if you need me." Galeron then left his Mother alone to see to his request. 

     Galeron found himself to be quite satisfied with the location the Coven had chosen to hole up in. As far as Hagraven hideouts were concerned, it could've been much worse. Darklight Tower was fairly large and had a library that was disused but still filled with books both magical and not. It had a room that perfectly served as a Chironasium and plenty of basement storage and dungeon space.

     Galeron didn't remember Darklight Tower having any dungeons or basements in the game so he wasn't sure if the Coven had added these or if they were the first major discrepancies from the game. He never would have suspected that these Hagravens or their Witches would be particularly industrious so he doubted they were addons. However, after learning of the extent to which they had gone through just to conceive him, that possibility didn't seem quite so improbable. He wasn't about to complain, however, he very much appreciated any help he could get at this point.

     As Galeron reached the Library, he reached for his magicka, brought it out towards the book lying on the table, and willed it into the air. He then opened the book, which touched briefly on Mysticism, that he was almost finished with and continued his studies.

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            (4E-192 18th of Evening Star)

                       Darklight Tower

     Standing on top of the cliff that Darklight Tower was situated near, Galeron held his hand out, ushered his magicka into the spell he had prepared, and then wrapped his hand around the ethereal bow that was summoned from the planes of Oblivion. Smiling, he reached back and grasped an arrow from the ethereal quiver that had appeared on his back. He expertly placed the arrow's groove on the bow string, pulled the arrow back, until its feathers were touching his cheek and the bowstring was nudging his nose, locked in on his target, and then loosed the arrow.

     The arrow struck true but perhaps not as true as he would've liked. It landed firmly and cleanly near the bullseye but, of course, near the bullseye wasn't his target. Galeron had improved his Archery skills quite a bit over the years but, since it was a physical art and, as such, one that he spent the least time practicing, he was far from being a master.

     Nearly three months before his sixth birthday, he had a breakthrough in his Mysticism training. He wanted to kick himself for not having had the realization sooner and did so several times. After learning the Soul Trap spell, he was always confused as to why it seemed to consume so much magicka, despite being a fairly simple and low level spell. At the time his breakthrough occurred, he realized that magicka is essentially soul power, much in the same way that vitality is body power.

     Whenever he tried to utilize his raw unaltered magicka to lift his hideous mother's amulet, it was draining and far more difficult than it should be. Yet whenever he had a more complete understanding of what he was trying to accomplish he could lift the amulet quite easily. He didn't realize, until that time, that the same was true for the source of his power as well as the target. If someone gave him a chisel and he thought it was a hammer the tool would obviously be much less effective in his hands as opposed to someone who understood what the tool was, what it was made for, and how to use it properly. In the same way, he needed to not only have a proper understanding of what he wanted his spells to do but also a proper understanding of his soul and the magicka that it held.

     Once he was enlightened by this realization, he began to progress much faster in his other magical training. His proficiency in destruction was high from the beginning due to his knowledge from his past life. He may not have been some kind of science genius or anything but he knew enough about fire, lighting, and the cold to set himself against experts in this world, at least in terms of his understanding. With this new insight, his prowess in Destruction Magic would only increase. 

     Outside of Mysticism, the three schools he focused on the most were Conjuration, Necromancy, and Illusion. Restoration took a solid fourth.