Skyrim: The New Mage (Fenrir13)

[VGKforever]

Every mage in Skyrim had aspirations to study at the College of Winterhold. Fortunately, the College was quite able to accommodate them because there simply weren't many wizards in Skyrim. Aalis North-Wind, the Archmage of the school, preferred it that way. With a small student body, the professors (who outnumbered the students at this time) were able to provide excellent instruction in the arcane arts while also having ample time to pursue their own studies. This meant that Aalis was often free to travel, taking trips to various ruins and magical sites around Skyrim. Or, it meant she could make the journey south to Windhelm to purchase new supplies for the school herself, instead of relying on Enthir, her colleague who seemed to always find himself brining back stolen goods.

That day, Aalis was bartering in the Gray Quarter, the Dark Elf ghetto of Windhelm. The Nords of the city had very little interest in buying and selling magical goods, so she conducted all the business for the college in the Dunmer and Altmer neighborhoods. Her associate, Revyn Sadri, owned a general store in the area, and the majority of the soul gems, spellbooks, and robes she purchased for the school came from his shop. She was not expecting anything out of the ordinary, having made this trip on a monthly basis for the past three years. But today would be a little different for the Archmage.

[Fenrir13]

(Do Dunmer have big families? I added an uncle in addition to her mum and dad. Or no mum and dad if thats better, but is that truly a family? For some people maybe, if they are close and I kinda imagine he is a bit of a jerk, to keep it interesting.)



Sheliah slowly strolled through the streets of the ghetto on an errand by her uncle, not minding the business of the older people, only now and again glancing at the market stalls. Ever since she had come with her family to Skyrim she had felt like more and more of an outcast and while on the outside she might appear like a carefree young teen she didn´t like it much here. The Nord intimidated her. While she did not lack courage deep down in her little heart, they were big and boisterous and many did not seem to like Dunmer much. Her big red eyes sank. Lost in a thought about maybe another cheap blanket she could buy to keep warm in the cold nights she bumped into someone, landing on her butt. "Ouch!", she shrieked and would have rubbed her posterior if she hadn´t been so embarrased. Looking up she saw the face of a particulary intimidating Nord, glaring down at her and yelling. Oh, why did they have to yell so much?? Her mind began to race, looking for something clever to say to deescelate the situation, but then, something weird happened. She felt a kinda pulsing energy flow through her fingers, and then the Nord was thrown back! She sat their with her mouth open, not believing what just happened, as more and more people took notice, one Archmage from a certain college in particular...

[VGKforever]

(It's never really mentioned. There aren't any canon Dunmer families or even kids in the game without modding. If you want, we can say she just lives with her uncle? That way she is not reluctant to leave home and go live in another city.)

Aalis had to step aside hastily to stop the man from colliding with her. His body whizzed right past her, hitting a stone wall. She regarded him as he got up and hobbled away, bloodied and bruised, and was not terribly concerned for his well-being. It was no secret that the vast majority of Nords who came to the Gray Quarter were only there to cause trouble. As far as she was concerned, he had gotten what he deserved. But the way he hit the wall was rather impressive. She'd seen hulking warrior men throw each other with considerable force before, but what she'd just witnessed had obviously been the result of a powerful spell. A powerful spell cast by a Dunmer child. How interesting...

The people who had crowded around when Sheliah sent the man flying began to disperse, realizing there was nothing more to see there. None of the local Dark Elves particularly cared what happened to a human tourist in the neighborhood, and the girl didn't look injured, so why interfere? Sheliah herself looked like she was eager to get away, but Aalis wanted to have a word with her before that. The Archmage quickly cast a spell, disappeared, then reappeared right in front of the small elf. The child had just executed what appeared to be an advanced Alteration spell, so she did not expect the sudden appearance of a mage right in front of her to startle her.

"That was a bit loud, but you seem all right," she said to the young teen. "He didn't put a hand on you before you sent him colliding into the wall, did he?"

[Fenrir13]

(Sounds good)


Sheliah stared at the bloodied figure in awe and then her slender hands. Did she just do that??

She stood up and dusted off the simple brown dress she was wearing, before noticing the Nord woman who had approached her. She looked somehow important...and friendlier, which was good! "Ehm, I´m fine, thanks.", she said, trying to gather her thoughts. "You think the man has friends? Maybe I should go home. Alltough uncle won´t like that I haven´t finished the errand. He once gave me a thick ear me when I got too big for my britches.", she said with an awkward smile. She didn´t like her uncle much, but he did try to provide a living for them, which wasn´t easy. One day her teenage hormons just had gotten the better of her and they had had an argument. Thinking she had said too much she raised her hands in a defensive gesture. "I am fine, though, really. Thanks for asking. I better go.", she said and gathered her things before trying to get off in the next best direction.

[VGKforever]

Aalis was not letting her go that easily. She knew a child prodigy when she saw one, and it would be a terrible waste to have this girl leave without at least being offered the opportunity to come study at the College. When Sheliah walked off, she followed after her.

"Wait just a moment, please. I want to talk to you about what just happened. That spell you cast... it wasn't intentional, was it? I saw how surprised you looked. Regardless, it was impressive. Have you ever been instructed in magic?"

[Fenrir13]

"Huh?", Sheliah said, realizing that the Nord woman was following her. She slowly turned around and tried to smile. "Instructed in magic? No...I...this never happened to me before.", she answered a bit confused, only slowly grasping the implications of what had just happened. "You mean you want to teach me? You certainly look important.", she added, looking at the woman sceptical and chewing her lip a bit. She was used to living with her uncle and not really enjoying it. Being instructed in magic would be a big change.

[VGKforever]

"I suppose you could say that. Have you heard of the College of Winterhold? It's where all of the serious mages in Skyrim go to hone their craft," she told the girl, now walking alongside her. "I was a student there when I was your age, then a professor, and now I'm the Archmage, the leader of the institution. Judging by what I just saw, you'd be quite a good fit."

[Fenrir13]

„No, sorry.“, she said looking to he ground. A mage, huh? It would surely be awesome to have that kinda power. Not having to take shit from anybody. „So, your the archmage? Wow.“, the girl said smiling now looking up and seeing the woman with new, even admiring eyes. That sounded important. „I…I think I would like to study with you. It certainly sounds better than any job I could do here. But we have to ask my uncle. He is my guardian.“, Sheliah said, a bit nervously. She wasn´t sure if he would agree. Maybe he wanted to keep her close, have her do chores for him all her life…

[VGKforever]

Aalis was pleased to hear that it sounded like the girl wanted to come study with her. It seemed like her uncle might need some convincing, but it was not the first time she had to persuade the family of a mage to let their loved one go off to Winterhold to pursue magic. Usually a talk about how economically-lucrative magical studies like alchemy and enchanting could be down the road was enough to sway them.

"If he isn't open to it, I'll talk to him," Aalis told the teenager as they walked in the direction of her uncle's home. "There is great potential for your family to profit from your studies. You'll be learning enchanting, for example. Even a cheap, shoddy set of armor can become very valuable when enchanted well. A good potion can fetch a nice price in any shop, too. I'm sure if you send a few of your crafts home every now and then, he'll have no complaints about letting you go. My name is Aalis, by the way. Aalis North-Wind. If Aalis sounds like an odd name for a Nord to you, it's because it is. I'm half-Breton. And I'd say far more in tune with that half, as you may imagine." She felt the need to put that out there just in case Sheliah harbored any ill feelings toward Nords. Some residents of the Gray Quarter did, and for good reason.

[Fenrir13]

Sheliah thought Aalis sounded quite nice and slowly grew more trusting of her. To be fair she had been a bit sceptical at first, because she looked like a Nord, their opressors, but she tried to keep an open mind as best as she could, thinking to be angry made her just like them, or at least similar. „Thats a good argument.“, she had to admit. „Sheliah, its a Morrowind name.“, the girl introduced herself. She continued to listen tot he woman, for a moment her eyes gew wide, as she heard something she didn´t necessarily like. „You don´t have to apologize for being Nord, I don´t hate them, they just scare me.“, she said, deducing what Aalis wanted, as she was quite smart. „But I am also kinda scared of my uncle…I was supposed to run an errand but now we are going in the wrong direction.“, she pointed out, as they were now returning.