Chapter 50 - Let's Visit Winterhold
"Hey did you hear that? A 'Student' in today's exam scored higher than the end score."
"A boy who answered in a very academic manner, all the teachers are flocking around him."
"We don't know, maybe he's someone from Summerset or something."
"Rumors that he won the king's tournament and eliminated the team of the College."
"By the eight! A Nord! How can a Nord has a brain for Magic, let alone the Magic knowledge."
Rumors, conversations, secret notes, the first half of the Rank Up exam drew a lot of attention.
The scores paper was:
Jon Dare: 60/40
Laemoth: 30/40
Nilyana: 30/40
Moskar: 29/40
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I think I wrote a bit too much.
When I ran for Faralda to ask her about what happened she said that my third answer contained a number of events argued about in the history and my second answer is considered a Scholar level knowledge.
In my last answer where I wrote about the practices of magic, I also added some small notes about the Thu'um, Necromancy, and Shehai (The Sword-Singing).
I think I overdid it.
Anyway, I found myself being asked about many stuff from all the scholars around.
What saved me was Faralda glares at them.
Now I was sitting away trying not to do anything weird, only to hear people talking and talking about me more and more.
The three who came behind me in the score were sitting together and giving me cold glares. An Altmer boy, a Bosmer girl and a Khajiit boy. Not like I even care."
For some reason, another faces started to appear as if they came to watch.
"The casting exam will start now."
Teacher Mirabelle announced the next exam! Okay! Let's not make a scene this time.
"Jon Dare."
Dammit! Why am I the first!
"Stand there and cast what you are told to cast."
Faralda is the one testing me.
"First, a Ward!"
I cast the normal 'Steadfast Ward'. Faralda casts a 'Fire Bolt' at me and my Ward negates it.
"A channeling Destruction spell."
I cast 'Sparks' this time and Faralda received it easily.
"A bolt Restoration spell."
That's easy, 'Sun Fire' is the spell I need.
"Conjure to your limits."
Now, wait a minute! This will be scary.
Faralda looks at me and says it again. I conjured five 'Familiars', all cats.
"You pass!" Tolfdir claps and ends my dilemma saying that.
I think I was going to look scary if I was asked to make a Blast spell or higher.
I walked away from the stage for the others to get tested.
After filling the form I had to do for my Ranking up, I received a new key and a new 'Apprentice' robes exchanging it with the old one. Now let's head out directly to Nurina's.
"Not so fast!" A voice called for me at after the gate of the tower.
"A problem?" I didn't like the voice or the Altmer who spoke.
"Not at all, I don't know who are you or where do you came from but good to see a new face around!" The Altmer boy said, "I am Orthorn, my team is a research team which can be called the best team in the college, if you..."
"The best team, huh?"
Before I retort someone else did. A Breton girl it seemed.
"I can call your team a bunch of thieves and you won't even retort to the fact."
"Mind your business, Nirenil."
"This's my business too, my team is a team of elite 'Apprentices', we are the team that does all the real work around here."
"I'll pass!" I think it will be a headache to get myself into student fights now.
Nirenil looks at me as if I denied the mercy of Mara. Orthorn, on the other hand, smiled slyly.
"Ah! How sad! The 'Apprentice' rooms have people with all sorts of attitudes, it would be sad if you don't have someone to watch you back." He said.
Ah! A threat! And a bullying threat at that! Double crime.
I know only one way to deal with a bully.
A low blow!
"Aaaaah! You bastard."
Now his appearance is just perfect.
"Hey what are you doing?" Nirenil jumped back from my sudden move.
"If you don't have anything to say, then scram! I'll deal with this trash myself."
She looked at me then turned away on the spot! Smart girl.
"This attitude of yours in Riften will bring you a nice resting spot at the bottom of a canal." I said as I look down on the crouching elf, "Next time I feel something is wrong around me, I'll come and find with you. Don't let me see you around too."
He was immersed in pain but he heard me well.
I grew up in Riften so bullying was something I grew up with! I always respond this way to it.
Leaving the Elf in pain alone I headed directly to the 'Hall of Countenance'. I still have a spell to finish.
Who opened the door to me was a sleepy looking Jullanar, this was still early in the morning after all.
"This is the key to my new room, remember to move our stuff there."
Giving her the key was a way of showing trust. This girl tends to get moved easily by anything like that.
"How was your exam?" Laaneth asked me.
"The first."
"Good, make sure to join a good team. Make some friends and have fun!"
What a kind lady this Lanneth!
Nurina would say something like...
"Well, if you can't be the first, what is the point of me teaching you anything?"
...that!
Sigh!
"Hurry up and finish the spell! We will start the application now!"
Nurina is still in a grumpy mood from working on the Frost Atronachs.
I have already finished the spell before the exam so I have no problem going now.
Holding the final product in my hand, I checked the steps one by one and started preparing the cast.
Casting a spell for the first time is like learning how to walk all over again. The process is slow at first but will improve with practice.
After getting the hang of the steps, I ready myself for the final call.
Conjuration requires a telepathic signal between the souls, that's why conjuration is always associated with soul magic and necromancy.
As the link gets established, I transmit the shape with the effects I learned from the research papers.
Atronachs are beings with souls and ego, they are less tricky than the other daedra but their mental capabilities are simple. Reshaping them was a lost magic but now I am doing it. How many Atromancers would kill for this magic!
After getting everything done, I cast the call mark on the ground front of me. All that is left is for the Atronach to answer the call and open a passage for itself to come from Oblivion to Mundus.
Some people may think that Conjuration is a space magic or a something similar. But the reality is tough. It's all about making a guide for a daedric being and relying on its initial ability to warp the void between realms while bounding it to the caster.
As the mark was put, the void started to warp and a being of fire emerged from it.
For the void to disperse, it is a no long wait. But the anticipation made it seem longer.
The head appeared followed by the rest of the body.
"My oh my!"
Nurina who was ready to cast the 'Banish Daedra' spell anytime exclaimed at what she saw.
What I was wracking my brain around these past days was that form. I wanted to create a more beautiful horse than the ones around Skyrim.
The horses here are hateful in my opinion. I really hate how bulky and ugly they are.
I know that they fit the climate and the nature of Skyrim and all of that. But look at this, this is how a horse should look like ladies and gentlemen.
Finely svelte body structure, concave profile, arched neck, comparatively level croup, high-carried tail. Even the horns of the normal Atronach took a nice form over the head.
The body is made of fire and volcanic stones that formed into a nice pattern of curves and shapes only added to the overall beauty of the horse.
What more can I say? It made any other horses around here look like a bunch of sad potatoes.
You might ask, is that immersive?!
Why would I care? It's a beauty.
"What kind of horse is that?" Laaneth asked.
"Something from my past life."
"Past what now?"
"Ignore that part!" Nurina's and Jull's voices overlapped.
"Do you have a saddle around here?"
"Why would I have one? Also, you need a saddle that can resist fire." Nurina said, "Just try commanding it around for now."
That was easy, the room was vast so making it move was no problem.
The behavior resemblance of a real horse was installed by the process of the spell, but it had no temperament of a real horse.
Still, I want to test the speed, but that will be for later.
After a while, Laaneth conjured a Storm Atronach Bear. It looked fearsome compared to the beauty of my horse.
It had a big body that reassembled a real bear but its shape was a bit too alien.
Storm Atronachs are made of grey stones with lightning power putting them together into a humanoid shape, sometimes it has legs and sometimes it hovers with no legs.
The Atronach Bear looks like that. It looks as if someone put some stones together until it resembled a bear and linked them with lightning.
Unlike my horse that was made mainly for riding, the bear can fight and cast spells.
Finally, Nurina conjured the Frost Atronachs with normal hands, it resembled the one from 'TESIV: Oblivion'.
Practicing was not easy as we had to 'Banish' them then 'Conjure' them back. I also added the Frost Atronach to my arsenal and learned how to conjure it.
Still, I am proud of the fire horse.
I think I can ride it with no saddle if I used 'Fireskin' spell, a variation of 'Stoneskin' that protects mainly against fire.
Okay! Let's do that then!
"I am going to Winterhold."
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Back at the entrance again after a week of crossing the college's bridge. I kinda hate that bridge. Some sort of a trauma I had since my first try of the game.
"Going somewhere?" A scary deep voice returned me back to the present.
I jumped away scared of what kind of creature may cause such a vocal attack.
"Morbagog, don't speak before I ready myself, dammit!"
"Hahaha! Sorry, I forgot!" He was laughing as if nothing happened, "Where are you going?"
"I am going to look for a stable in Winterhold!"
"A stable! That's at the other end of town! Come, I know the place."
Morbagog walks ahead to the gate that opened itself smoothly, I want to study that gate at some point.
Walking this bridge is a hairy experience but I finally get myself to its end.
God, I miss the 'fast travel'.
Winterhold! Ruins of wood and snow just as the game but the damage here is massive and saddening to watch.
There were some intact houses, some other looked new. People are trying to live anyway.
"What is your business here anyway?" I asked Morbagog.
"Snowberries! They at least sell that here."
"So, how can I get to that stable?"
"I'll take you there first then we'll go buy the Snowberries from the inn."
No problem with me.
A few minutes later we reached the stables. The road was along the town as there was a mountain on our right side, some houses were there and also a big 'Longhouse'.
The longhouse is a Nordic style mead-hall that the Jarl lives in. Normally, a Jarl lives in a castle but that isn't the case for Jarl Korir as his hold is in no shape.
I am not a man of politics or governing but I can think of a hundred way to develop such a broken town, for this town to be in that shape for 74 years is a complete waste of time and resources.
Gotta admit, the locals weren't friendly at all. Some even hid there children in their homes from the big bad mages.
Everything looked poor and miserable.
I arrived at the stable with Morbagog, who called for a stable boy yet his voice scared even the horses. This guy has embraced his voice completely.
Negotiating a price was easy as I was loaded with money since my visit to Solitude.
Now! I have the saddle and the reins, the only thing left was to enchant them! As I Followed Morbagog to the inn, I decided to just finish my business here.
'The Frozen Hearth Inn' was the place that can openly deal with mages in Winterhold. One can say it is the neutral ground in the town.
The inn was warm an cozy, and there is a bard too.
"I'll do my business so you sit somewhere and order us some mead." Morbagog said and headed in.
I chose a table in a dark corner so no one can see what I do.
Putting the saddle and the reins on the table, I took out an expensive looking sack.
As I untied it, what appeared inside was a troll's skull, five candles and a glass veil filled with 'bone meal'.
Now let's get to work. First, draw a star in a circle and add all the runes around it. Second, position the candles at every end of the star and the skull between any two candles.
Now it's time.
I took the reins and placed them on the circle, then took out a 'Common Soul Gem' and put it beside it.
After lighting the candles, I consecrated on making a simple spell with one 'effect' and one 'aspect'.
The effect was 'Resist' and the aspect was 'Flame'. After forming the simple spell, I cast it on the skull that transferred it to the circle.
After a while, the soul gem's color started to dim and it broke.
This meant success.
Using the 'Detect' spell confirmed my success.
After that, I repeated the process with the saddle. Nothing out of the norm happened.
This is going to be fun.
After packing everything back, I called the tavern girl.
"May I bring you someth...."
Hmmm!
Oh!
Hallucinations after a long day of work are normal but that's so vivid.
Isn't that Elishka?