Chapter XXXVI: Saarthal (Part 1)

Following the usual MO of Skyrim, the news about Saarthal's opening took all of an entire hour to spread through the whole college. Similarly, it took the administration less than a day to decide to employ some of the students to gather the many low-value artifacts spread all around the entrance to the ruins as a... learning experience.

The truth was far more chucklesome to those who were in the know however, as enticing the overenthusiastic students to crawl through dusty caves was far safer than sending in the spider automatons who could possibly damage the historical artifacts that could no doubt be found within the ancient city.

So it was that an expedition was sent out from the college early the next morning, composed of three masters and all of the new students, including a couple of seniors as well.

A certain Thalmor 'advisor' tried to weasel his way into said expedition but he was promptly forbidden from even approaching the ruins as he was not trusted to control his 'zeal'. Instead, he had contented himself in skulking around the passages of the college, preparing to intercept any news that came from the ancient city, even going so far as to bribe some of the less morally upright students.

The fool thought no one would notice...

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(Reyvin's POV)

"Come on ladies and gentlemen, where is your adventurous spirit?" I goad the line of students trudging through the deep snow as I shamelessly levitate above them.

"I swear to fucking Akatosh I will kick your shit in..." I hear Minthara mumble to herself while glaring at me. She tried blowing the snow away with wind magic but that just ended up covering everyone in steam that quickly froze all over them, the others were not very happy with her.

Marco's pathetic squeal at being covered in snow was especially entertaining to hear.

"What a beautiful day!" Tolfdir exclaims happily as he just straight up walks on the snow as if it were solid ground "The cool winter air does wonders for this old man's lungs." He nods to himself as the students groan.

The only Master who was not happy with the situation, or even his presence for that matter, was Neloren the illusionist. The theatrical Azura worshipper was not at all happy when Mirabelle assigned him to this task as he was a complete and utter shut in, and even if he didn't have to trudge through the snow he was still extremely disgruntled.

Deciding to have some fun at his expense I call out to him "Come now Master Drevis, just think of all the inspiration you could get in the oldest Nord city in existence!"

The Dunmer glares at me for a moment, just about ready to viciously lash me with his barbed words, but then remembers that I am now a literal religious figure in his faith and just grumbles something to himself inaudibly.

Spoilsport...

"Wait" I hear Minthara speak up "What do you mean the first Nord city?"

I send Tolfdir a puzzled look "Has this not been covered yet?"

The old man huffs "If you think these youngsters have patience for anything other than slinging spells or summoning spirits then you have been living in the clouds my boy." He gives me a bemused look "Not all are as dedicated as you, I am afraid."

I chuckle at his response and wave my hand, dispelling the harsh, and more importantly, loud winds surrounding us, immediately earning me some grumbles from the students for not doing it earlier "Alright then I guess I can deign to grace you all with some story time."

As I draw their attention I begin the story.

When the Nords landed under the leadership of one Ysgramor they settled down at the edge of a nearby mountain, digging deep as to escape the cold so that they may survive long enough to establish proper cities later on.

At first they entered into amicable relations with the native Falmer, those were ancient times and history had not yet taught the different peoples to be wary of each other. And so many years passed all the while the great city of Saarthal grew in size and population.

Yet some among the Falmer were disgruntled and rightly feared the Nords settling in their lands, an attack was organized by the most aggressive among the elves resulting in what is now known as the night of tears.

Many say that the attack was so vicious that the city was left depopulated which led to its later abandonment, yet other sources say that such was the rage of Ysgramor and his people that their hounding of the Falmer had them spread all over Skyrim which resulted in the entire province being populated by the Nords in the first place.

"...The fate of the Falmer is well known" I continue speaking while sending a glance to my apprentices "They sought refuge with their cousins below ground, the Dwemer, who instead of welcoming them turned them into slaves and through many centuries of experiments created the goblin-like servants they resemble today."

"So, the Falmer are to blame for the conflict then?" Minthara asks.

I snort "If you think that an entire people can be blamed for the actions of a few then yes, the Falmer genocide was justified."

Onmund pipes in "Did you not say they were the ones to attack first?"

"Most sources agree on that" I nod "However I specified that they were the most belligerent of their people" I scratch my chin for a moment before explaining "Think of it this way, if a bandit came from a village and commit a heinous crime, would the Jarl of the hold then be justified in slaughtering the whole village in response?"

Onmund's eyes widen before he sighs and shakes his head "No, they would not."

"And there you have it." I raise my hand "No matter how vicious the attack upon the Nords, slaughtering every single Falmer there was is not justifiable, wouldn't you agree Master Tolfdir?"

The old man stares off into the distance for a spell before speaking "At the end of the day, young Reyvin, we must all do what we can to defend our families and their futures. Those were uncertain times and as you say history had not taught its lessons yet, we must not judge the past by the standards of today for that would be folly." He then chuckles "But to answer your question in a less roundabout manner, if such an event were to happen today then the slaughter of the Falmer would be looked upon as a crime by all."

"Well, maybe not all..." I snark and he makes a disgusted grimace as he realizes who I was referring to.

We continue our march in relative silence, most of the students looking thoughtful and many of them were now actually excited to look at such an important place after understanding its significance to the entire world.

Finally after half a day's march we near the excavation site, a properly walled off camp surrounding a large hole in the ground, Winterhold guardsmen manning the towers while some senior college students were strutting about carrying scrolls.

We are let inside without much of a fuss, delivering mail via familiar was a normal thing for the college and those manning the camp were already informed of our arrival. 

A balding Breton by the name of Arniel Gane welcomes us "Greetings Masters, I have made sure that order is kept and that no artifacts are damaged, whatever was found has been moved into a protected stone shack we built with security in mind"

He then specifically turns to me with a respectful look "Master Reyvin, all of the automata have been kept in a pristine condition, you may look over them if you so choose."

My eyes flash for an instant and information enters my mind before I return my focus to the senior expert mage "They are indeed in good condition." I say with certainty, and then proceed to ignore the staring Breton.

I look at the rest and speak up "Rest up everyone, we shall be descending soon and it would be best if you were focused on the task at hand."

The students all nod and disperse, I send Tolfdir a questioning glance but he merely hums aloud and goes to find a seat, a peculiar scroll appearing in his hands as he started to study it.

It seemed the plan was still on...

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As I take a leisurely walk around the campsite I hear some muttering from a shrouded corner and approach to see what was going on. Soon I notice Minthara and Brelyna talking animatedly about something, and while I could use clairvoyance to find out immediately that would just be unsporting.

So as I close in, wreathed in shadows, they do not seem to notice me, and just as their conversation reaches a rather excited moment I loudly clear my throat and dispell the shadow cloak.

The results are immediate as Brelyina eep-s and immediately jumps behind an amused Minthara.

"Greetings, dear students" I say with equal amusement "Dare I ask what was so scandalous a topic that the two of you found it necessary to scurry here like skeevers?"

Minthara huffs "We were talking about women problems of course."

My stare turns half-lidded as I deadpan "Minthara you know I can sense lies."

Her own smile turns into a thin line as she huffs.

Brelyna finally stops shaking as she points at a certain section of my robes, her hand shivers lightly as she asks "Why do you wear that symbol?" Honestly the way she believes I might straight up consume her like some kind of deranged cannibal would be the funniest shit if it was not so damn insulting.

"Yes Reyvin" Minthara drawls "Why do you wear an emblem of a dead great house?" Her voice sounds accusatory at first but in truth she is merely curious.

I shrug and as if I was discussing the weather ask "What kind of Lord would I be if I dared not bear the mark of my house?"

The effects are as diverse as they are instantaneous as Minthara merely raises an eyebrow while Brelyna hides behind her completely while hissing like a cat whose tail was just stepped on.

"I do not believe your name was J'zargo miss Marion" I drawl with great amusement.

Minthara and I share an amused stare for an entire minute before the Dunmer girl finally looks over her friend's shoulder "You... aren't going to kill us?"

"Kill you?" I ask, baffled "Why would I do that?"

She once more shakily points at my robes "Well, we found out your secret?"

I stare at her for a moment before breaking out into a fit of laughter "Oh, by Dagoth that is a good one!" I wipe a tear "Miss Marion, why by Azura would I wear the emblem if I was afraid of it being found out?"

She stammers something to herself before giving me a puzzled look "I cannot even begin to guess why you would ever reveal such a thing in the first place."

I shrug "Me being Lord Dagoth has been an open secret within the walls of the college for over two years already, I would be genuinely surprised if you did not find out about it during the following months."

The poor Telvanni keeps her arm pointed at me before slowly lowering it and asking "Isn't it still terribly risky to do that?"

I raise an eyebrow at her and tap the divine star lazily hanging off of my hip.

"Oh." Miss Marion states intelligently "I think I might need some air, do excuse me." She quickly goes to leave.

"Do keep in mid however miss Marion that any spreading of information beyond the college is a harshly punishable offense." I call out lazily.

She nearly trips as she turns toward me and nods quickly, fear evident in her eyes.

I nod back at her with a satisfied smile before turning to Minthara "You seem unsurprised."

She shrugs "I fully expected you to be nobility, so being a Jarl of a thought to be dead house was not beyond my imagination."

I snort "How wise you are, oh great Dragonborn hero!" I exclaim dramatically.

The young woman huffs in annoyance before returning her stare to me "So... you also have some divine blood then? Your ancestor was" Her question is almost hopeful.

I raise an eyebrow "Why would that even matter to you? It isn't like the two aspects are in any way related."

She looks to the side before visibly forcing out the words "I just wish to know there is someone who might truly understand my situation."

"You can look at it that way if you wish" I easily decide to comfort her "Though my divinity is but a fragile ember compared to the inferno that yours will become before this is all over."

Minthara gives me a curious look "So... what does yours do then?"

"And why should I tell you that?" I ask with a raised eyebrow.

"Well" She searches her mind for but a moment before raising a finger "You already know mine!"

"Right..." I trail off before shrugging "You know what? Sure, I can see magic and perceive everything around me, I can also cancel out Divine or Daedric power if certain circumstances are met." Trust was very important and having someone who will for a very long time remain stronger than me hold said trust is always the right decision.

She stills completely before looking at me with suspicion "So you can remove my power whenever you wish then?"

I blink slowly in sheer astonishment before comically clutching at my heart "Minthara, I am shocked and hurt that those are your first thoughts!" And just as she starts looking a bit sheepish I quickly add with a mocking grin "The very idea that I need to cancel your power to defeat you is laughable."

Her eyes narrow into draconic slits as she starts to growl at me in annoyance and frustration, then she starts taking deep breaths and finally calms down.

I lazily unsummon the folded scroll back into my storage.

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