College of Winterhold

Yuri stepped onto the first step of the college and kept climbing. It had the feel of his first climb to High Hrothgar, his adventures official start so to speak.

After a 30 second climb, he reached the gigantic bronze-colored metal door barring the castle wall, and was met with the same woman that greets every first time visitor, strangely. Faralda. Her usual reason for being there is due to tensions between the College and the Hold, which seems all but absent in this 'version'.

"Halt. What is your purpose for this visit?" She exclaimed curtly, without fear or malice.

"I'm here to apply for an education, miss. I wish to be a sorcerer."

"You will need to pay 10 septims and submit to a screening and interview for application. Follow me."

At this point, he had only seen the castle wall and the door, but it opened automatically with a wave of Faralda's hand and the inside stunned his mouth open. The center courtyard was split into 2 rings and divided in 5 paths between them. The first and outer ring was surrounded by beautiful and ancient looking trees that was home to a number of colorful butterflies. The inner ring had statues of what appeared to be either previous Arch Mages or meritorious professors. The middle area where the 5 paths met was taken by a large circular fountain that spouted crystal blue and sparkling water, its center stone fixture another statue of a man pouring an urn of fountain water onto a sphere he was holding. Furthermore, there were not 3 towers like he could only see earlier, but 6 that he could see now. 5 were visible in the direction of the 5 paths mentioned earlier, each with their own long hall covered by another bronze door. The 6th and most tall and grand tower was in the back. The whole castle was shaped in a way where if you were looking from the direction of the Hold, the 5 towers made a reverse pentagram with the courtyard in the middle, and the 6th tower was like a lone star on top and away from this pentagram.

"Each of these 5 halls belongs to a branch of the 5 magic orthodoxies: Destruction, Alteration, Illusion, Restoration, and Conjuration. The tower in the back is off limits, but the building it belongs to holds the library below it and the alchemical and enchanters departments in separate floors." Faralda explained without nonsense, then took her pendant and spoke something into it.

"Incredible" Yuri couldn't say much more.

Faralda didn't take him into any of the halls, but walked past the courtyard and into the building connected to the 6th tower before abruptly turning right and entering a small room. Inside the room, another woman in a blue mage robe and mantle was already there at a desk. It appears she was ready for him. The desk had an inkwell and a quill, a stack of sheets filled with blank spaces and questions, one of them separated. There was one more object. A golden bell on the desk with a few runes engraved on its surface, lying at the edge inconspicuously.

"Good Evening. My name is Grand Mage Mirabelle, Director of Admissions and Human Resources. What is yours?" The women asked. She had a black haired bob cut that contoured her chin, high cheek bones, electric blue eyes and an enchanting yet cynical voice.

"Good Evening, Grand Mage. Mine is Yuri Nightingale."

"What is your previous profession? And have you ever studied magic?"

"I worked as a traveling bard before-"

*Ding*

Yuri was prepared to continue, but the bell on her desk interrupted him, and gave him a bad premonition.

"You lied, Mr. Nightingale." Said Ms. Mirabelle, a bit colder this time. Faralda stepped closer from the back corner she was standing in and took her hands out of her pocket, as if preparing to act.

'That was a fucking lie detector?! Why do they have a lie detector?!'

"One more time, what was, or is..." At this point, Mirabelle had narrowed her eyes and spoken more slowly and clearly to drag the point across, "your profession if applicable?"

'Here goes nothing'

"I was a con-man, Ms. Mirabelle. I sold defective products to unsuspecting fools. I have left that life behind and am searching for a new calling"

The bell was silent.

"I can see why you would want to hide that, Mr. Nightingale"

"Yuri. You can call me Yuri." He weakly tried to cut through the awkward atmosphere. Faralda returned to the corner.

"Have you associated or aligned yourself with the Mages Guilds or magical organizations belonging to any other region that Winterhold before?"

"No"

"Have you associated or aligned yourself with the Thieves or Assassins guilds in any region or territory?"

"No"

'They don't teach assassins, smart. This bell is handy, I wonder if its widely used'

"Do you serve or pledge allegiance to any of the Daedric Princes or Aedra? If so, which ones?'

'Another smart question. I can name a few Daedra whose followers shouldn't be allowed in public let alone near a Fireball Tome'

"No"

"Do you serve, associate with, or keep communications with the Aldmeri dominion"

Yuri had the urge to spit, but he refrained and instead gave a cold "No".

"Are you a spy of any kind"

This one gave him pause. Is the work he does on this planet for the Records considered spying? He decided to call it conquering.

"No"

"Last Question" Mirabelle leaned back on her chair, feeling considerably at ease. It had been a long time since she heard that bell on the first question, and a long time since she had a good fight. "Why do you want to study magic, and what branch?"

He paused again. The question of magic and motivations weren't exactly something he had answered for himself. Was he doing this because it was cool? Because he was given a second chance and had a talent? To serve Akasha? A smile slowly grew on him when he realized that it was all of the above, but also none of it.

"Magic isn't my passion yet, though I have a good feeling about it. Its a means to find what I can do for me. Its a selfish desire, a curiosity for the unknown and my own limits that needs sated. My reason is greed, for a purpose that will take me beyond what I thought possible."

Were it not for that damned bell, he would spout something about desire to learn and help his community or something, but it wouldn't be his truth. Being able to get that off his chest felt good.

'The last question almost always gets a ring from the bell. He was true to himself, the best early sign of a sorcerer.' Thought Mirabelle.

"Your school of magic, Yuri?"

"Ah, all of them. Maybe even more"

'I thought so' She thought, with a smirk she didn't show.

"You need to start somewhere, Yuri" She replied cheekily.

"Ah, destruction is fine for now" Yuri's favorite school in Skyrim was destruction, followed by restoration. He was already making plans to be a Spellsword. With his inventory and spells no longer needing to be equipped, he could be whatever he needs to be at a moments notice.

"Let Faralda show you your new room in the Hall of Destruction then" Mirabelle said, yet Faralda gave her a confused look before getting a nod from Mirabelle. She didn't know why Mirabelle passed him without the usual 25 septim tuition, but she would comply.

As they left the room, she immediately teleported out and started walking down an empty and torchlit hallway toward the 6th tower. In less than a minute, she was knocking on his door in a rushed but not dignified manner.

"Arch Mage, I have something to tell you" She followed the knocking with a call.

The doors lit aglow with blue runic swirls that ran from top to bottom, then swung open. Inside a room filled with beakers, bird cages, a large central garden and fountain, an enchanting table, and a king sized bed of luxury linens, a elderly man sat at a side desk whilst reading silently. He raised his head slowly, and spoke with dignity:

"What is the matter, Ms. Ervine?" This must be urgent, she rarely acts so distraught unless rogue witches or Cyrodil mages are involved.

"An applicant came in today, and he grabbed my attention. If I didn't know how to feel others mana as you taught me, I would've never noticed him."

"What was wrong with his mana, Mirabelle?" She always meandered before getting to the point. Sometimes it annoyed Arch Mage Aren.

"Nothing was wrong with his mana, Arch Mage. He just had too much of it to be normal. 3 times that of yours, to be exact"

"What?! Preposterous!" He nearly shouted and his voice became hoarse. He attained this mana level after years of study and wearing his enchanted robe, and an applicant beat his mana level?

"I could be wrong, but he felt like some kind of pure energy beacon. His eyes were golden, too! I've never seen golden eyes" She grew distracted remembering his handsome features...

"Mirabelle, did he have any answers out of the ordinary in the interview?"

"No, he had a bad past supposedly, but cleared all our checks. Even passed the last question the first try"

"Then we have the makings of an excellent sorcerer, if we're lucky"

"...and if we aren't"

"I'll see for myself later. Give me his details and keep an eye on him. Oh, how 'bout the practical?"

"He never practiced magic. I'll help proctor his practical in a week, see how he improves"

'The brat never even cast a spell and he had a natural mana pool that big?! The world is unfair'

"Alright. I will join you at that time and see what all the fuss is about" Aren pretended to be nonchalant.

'Shit! I forgot to make him pay tuition!' Mirabelle remembered. She had hurriedly sent Faralda away and didn't catch why she delayed until now.

•❅───✧❅✦❅✧───❅•

Faralda led Yuri towards the Hall of Destruction, and found a door on the right side opposite what looked like an artificially expanded and contained practice field. The door opened automatically, and revealed a side hallway with doors all the way down till it reached the stained glass window in a stone walled end in 100 feet. She walked halfway down, and turned around so that they both were outside of one of the doors before handing him a numbered key.

'13. It looks like the occult is in my future'

"Meal and Class schedules can be found in a book on your desk. The map on the wall inside will help you find them. A basic personal chest, writing utensils, and a journal are also provided. Curfew is at 10, and can only be extended by a professor or senior staff. You must choose a professor to self study under, or pick a specialized class by the day after tomorrow."

Faralda finished her introduction, skipping the part about payment since she trusted Mirabelle's stance, then vanished with a poof and a plume of fire.

'Reminds me of Azazel from X-Men. I wonder if the Marvel Multiverse is real?'

"Alright! Better prepare to start fresh tomorrow!" He said, clearing away his distractions, before his stomach growled.

"Dinner, right." He used his key and opened the door to find the meal schedule. Best news of the day: it was free of charge!

'I really need to get some real money. Maybe the Dawnstar chest glitch works?' He looked down at his very real hands and had the vision of using them to dig next to a rock underneath a bush near a mine shaft to find a chest that may not exist. 'Probably not. Damn'