11 Chapter XI: Finally Winterhold
We are let through the gates of the city after a brief inspection, the guards seem indifferent to us, I guess that makes sense since a large educational center will bring people from all over the world. I am proven right soon after as there seem to be far more outlanders living in the city.
I notice all manner of people milling about, mostly nords and to a lesser degree dunmer, which is logical considering the proximity of Morrowind, there is even a not too tall mushroom tower at the edge of the city likely belonging to some Telvanni loon. There are argonian workers and khajiti traders, surprisingly there is even some altmer present, they don't seem to be thalmor agents but to be fair that would describe an agents job.
Speaking of the city its stone walls seem to end at the cliff that resulted from the great collapse, being the event that destroyed most of the city. The houses are mostly made of stone and seem to be made to keep as much heat inside as possible, the streets are neither too wide nor too narrow and there seems to be at least some healthy commerce going on, mostly alchemy shops and enchanting services, but there is also the more mundane shops and smiths.
The Jarls longhouse seems more like an old nordic stone keep and I count some hundred guards on duty, with some of them even wearing robes under their armor. Didn't the Jarl have a massive hate boner for mages in the game? Maybe he still hates them but isn't a complete idiot.
As we continue walking toward the college I finally get a glimpse of what lies down the cliff and am surprised by a small dock and some warehouses, seems that this place does deserve the moniker of a city after all.
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Taking a final turn towards the college I am greeted by an absolutely massive building. The main circular section that made up the college is at least twice as large as the one in the game with three more smaller ones connected to it via thick walled passages in a triangular formation. The edges of the college plateau not taken up by buildings are covered in small parks filled with vibrant trees and flowers which they somehow grew in this accursed cold. The eastern and western circles have three tall and wide towers spreading outwards with the central one having only one taller one which I guess belongs to the archmage. The northernmost circle has no open space and is just a tall cylinder with only small windows and no exits at the top, I guess that this is either the library or a practice ground.
Deciding to take a deeper look I activate my third eye and am almost blinded by the amount of magicka radiating from the place, taking some time to calm myself while clutching my head I look again and see that every tower has its own aura, one is covered in what I can only describe as roiling thunder that is somehow burning and freezing at the same time, one feels like the void and honestly scares the shit out of me, the next seems to be a wall of iron and rock constantly changing between each other, this is the eastern wing. The western wing towers are a bit more subdued, one is glowing in a gentle gold light, the other is there but also not, and the last one's aura looks like innumerable dancing runes forming circles around each other. All of them overlap to make a massive ward that stretches all the way around the college in a ball shape, even bellow ground.
(A/n: eastern one is: N-desturtion E-Conjuration S-Alteration while the western one is N-Restoration W-Illusion and S-ritualism/mysticism)
Guess that is how the place survived the great collapse huh.
My companions look at me worriedly but I wave them off saying the wind got to me.
Finally we reach the entrance and are greeted by a tall Altmer woman I recognize as Faralda, before we go to greet her I turn towards my orc friend.
"Well we finally reached our destination. I guess this is where we part ways, it has been a blast traveling with you my friend."
He laughs with his usual gusto and says "Indeed it has my friend, but this is not the end of our adventure! When you are done drowning yourself in books we will meet again to smash some skulls and slay more evildoers!" before turning to Morrigan who gives him a much less enthusiastic farewell, his response is a grin and a wave.
After Durrak leaves, the two of us turn towards the college and start approaching the gate. "We are finally here, time to grind like a madman" Morrigan looks at me weirdly before shrugging it off as more of my bullshit and following me.
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[Durrak gro-Barg pov]
I wave to my snarky witch friend and get going, Whiterun wont reach itself.
I still remember meeting them, I was barely making ends meet after being kicked out of the stronghold by my older brother, I tried hunting for food but could never catch the wildlife by surprise with my spear, even throwing it didn't work. I did manage to get some work at the wood mill of Riverwood but it was still not enough, I am a growing lad and the money I made was just too little.
Thankfully one night in the tavern I met my weird duo of buddies!
Reyvin is apparently the descendant of great warriors who slew many foes, and has come to Skyrim to follow in their footsteps. While most orcs would consider magic the weaklings weapon I know that it takes as much if not more skill to shoot fire or ice as it does to thrust a spear or swing an axe. He seems detached at times, almost as if staring at things that aren't there, but when the going gets tough he is there with you swinging at your foes while burning them. I though at first he might be one of those selfish mage types but as soon as he saw his tribe was in trouble he offered to help them without thinking! He seems to foresee trouble in the future and may Malakath damn me if I am not there helping him when it happens!
Morrigan, the escaped reachwoman seems arrogant at first glance, speaking down to most people and being very cynical. But underneath is someone hurt by betrayal and looking for safety. At first I thought her to be another selfish mage but when we were spied on by the dunmer woman in Whiterun and she immediately went to check if she was going to spread Reyvins' secret I knew she was another true friend!
Finally done with my reminiscing and thoroughly hurting my brain with all this thinking I continue my journey to rejoin the companions. Truly they are the perfect band for me, they understand what life is! Drink well, Fight well and Fuck well! Just as Malakath intended!
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The mcs' stats at the end of arc 1:
[Dagoth Reyvin]
[Age: 16][Race: Dunmer][Sign: Mage]
[Str: 7.1][Dex: 9.4][Vit: 8.2][Mind: 15.5][Mag: 133]
[Mage]
[Desturction-apprentice: Searing flames, Penetrating firebolt]
[Restoration-apprentice: Heal, Lesser ward]
[Conjuration-novice: Bound weapon (steel)]
[Alteration-apprentice: Oakflesh, Lesser telekinesis]
[Alchemy-novice: salves and simple medicine]
[Enchantment-basic: evaluation]
[Warrior]
[Swordfighting-novice]
[Thief]
[Stealth-novice]
[Traits]
[Fireblood: 50% fire resistance, 20% fire damage and control]
[Blood of Dagoth: Third eye, prolonged lifespan]
[Third eye: A metaphysical eye with which you can perceive magicka]
[Minor blessing of the warrior: You learn warrior skills slightly faster]
[Minor dunmer paragon: Dunmer that learn of you will tend to have a positive opinion of you]
A/n: This marks the end of the first arc, thank you to anyone who has taken the time to read this! (also if you have some and have liked what you've read send me a powerstone)
I've also removed the percentage progression from the system tabs, as I feel it is better if I describe the minor progress instead of cluttering the story with system notifications.
I will be taking some time tomorrow to really think on the whole magic system and how I want it to work, and the next chapter should come out on Sunday or Monday.
The next arc will be mostly about the mc learning about magic and getting stronger, but don't worry it wont all be him grinding in the library, there will be some dungeon delving and also some new faces as well as an unexpected permanent companion.
As for the whole romance talk, the more I think about it within context a harem would make little sense, the mc has already had a large family and is over a century old mentally, also he grew up in a place where polygamy is considered weird at best and in Tamriel only orc warlords really have more than one spouse (that I know of). I still haven't decided anything but I am leaning towards the no harem route.
