Chapter IV: The first lecture (Part 1)
After my first brush with becoming a young master, I returned to the Arcanaeum to find that Marwyn was now joined by Tiberius. The two were discussing the dangers of summoning Daedra while looking through a book on the topic.
I went to Urag to thank him for his recommendation and asked if he had any books on Dovahzul. I might never be able to rend mountains but if I want to get even a single shout down starting early is a must.
"Sure, we have some old tomes on it, a warning though, many have tried to make heads or tails of what to do with it and the furthest someone got was minor enchantment applications, there were some that managed to learn a word or two for shouting but it was rarely worth the effort." The librarian says in a grumbling tone.
I nod and say "Well, it will at least make for an interesting read, and who knows? I might get lucky" He scoffs and waves me off.
The book I started with was more a dictionary than any kind of instruction manual, there were only the words in Dovah and their presumed meaning when translated to Tamrielic. My main goal with the dragon language was to learn the slow time shout, the rest might be more destructive or impressive but giving myself more time to spam spells like a madman will always trump those advantages, hopefully my relative age will give me an advantage in learning it.
The hours quickly passed while I was immersed in the book until Morrigan found me.
"You could have waited for me before exploring you know." she says annoyed.
"And when I got up you were still asleep, we were traveling for a long time and I thought you might need the rest" I say not turning from my book.
She narrows her eyes "And since when am I so delicate that I can't get up in the morning?"
I sigh and finally look at her "Morrigan, even ignoring my previous words, is it so weird that I chose not to drag you everywhere I go?"
She is silent for a couple of moments before she shakes her head and sits across me "No I guess it is not." she goes to say something else but stops herself.
"Listen, I am not going anywhere, but you need to decide what you want to do now that you are safe. I have my own ambitions and goals, and just following me around can't be the extent of yours."
She frowns, deep in thought for a good ten minutes before saying "Yes, you are right. The entire time I was only thinking about running away, not what I was going to do afterward."
I smile "Good, I am glad you understand."
We chat about our discoveries about the college for a short while and I show her the Arcane Ascension book, she seems interested in it and leaves to try it out.
The rest of the day I spent reading, walking around, or relaxing in the gardens.
------------------------------------
Today was Morndas the 4th of Frostfall, or Monday October fourth for those uninitiated, which marked the start of the lessons for new apprentices at the college of Winterhold.
We gathered in the Hall of the Elements, or the lecture hall as it was known to most people. The seven of us were joined by some older apprentices along with a couple of professors who were most likely there just to show themselves so we can remember them.
There was a lot of excited murmuring among the students, but I remained mostly quiet.
After waiting for a couple of minutes a tall Dunmer man wearing the bluish purple robes of the Archmage walked in from the side and everyone quieted down.
He took a couple of seconds to see if everyone was present, nodding at the older students seemingly satisfied by their presence. He spent a good minute looking over us newbies and then checking his notes, most likely confirming something when I felt a spell brush over all of us. Looking at the source with some caution I found out that the Archmage was scanning the new students, irritating but understandable.
When our eyes met his eyebrow rose and he gave me a small smile, before he finally fake coughed and started his speech: "I am happy to see so many new faces this year, I am Savos Aren, the Archmage of this college. The magical arts are as old as history and it gladdens my heart that you all have decided to delve into their mysteries with us, the things you will learn here will last you for a lifetime, several if you are talented" he pauses for a bit after his intro.
"I will begin by giving some ground rules. The research into any school of magic is not strictly prohibited on college grounds, however if you break the law of the land in an attempt to further said research the punishment will be severe" At this he flares his magical presence at us and I am blinded for a second, he continues as if nothing happened: "Any dispute between college members will be solved either by mediation of a senior member or, if that fails, a non-lethal magical duel, let me reiterate that: Under no circumstances are you to permanently harm a fellow member. Finally every mission taken by a student will be checked and verified multiple times to ensure it's required skill level, there will be no complaints when you accept an assignment"
He takes break from speaking and drinks some water while the other students start murmuring excitedly once again. Another fake cough interrupts them "Now that the unpleasantries are out of the way I will explain the course of your education. The college prides itself in the freedom of its members, there are some essential skills that you will have to pick up during your first year along with a more rigid lesson program, but afterwards you will be able to chose whatever you wish to do with your time here. The things I require from everyone consist of learning all of the spells provided in your rooms, for those who didn't have the time to look through them, these are spells from every school of magic, the mastery of which will allow you to survive most encounters or at least run away."
He looks toward the disgruntled Nords present among us "Now I know that running away isn't the most honorable thing but we aren't warriors here, we are scholars, and while we might be able to cause great destruction sometimes a retreat is the better choice" they all seem to be at least somewhat placated by this.
"Back to the program, alongside learning these spells you will also take the time to visit every class held during the next two weeks, and after being introduced to everything that is offered to you you will chose what you wish to focus on, The limit will be three schools, and before some of you start complaining no I don't care how hard working you are. Some things take time and I will not have you blowing yourself up or turning into catgirls because you can't show some damn patience." There is definitely some fun history there.
He takes a second for his words to sink in, and before some idiots can start complaining despite them, starts introducing the professors to his side. I recognize some of them but knowing I will meet them later I only half listen to the introductions.
"Now that the formalities are out of the way it is time to begin the lesson." After saying that he seems to suddenly turn into another person as his inner nerd awakens "I will start with a rather simple question: What is Magicka?"
-----------------------
A/n: If you liked reading this toss me a stone or review.
Also this is the chapter for June 7th, I am trying out the release timer.