A Mage's Dream [Open to College Members]

[Annalynn]

"Now, watch." Annalynn said kindly to a young mage that was having trouble with a spell. "Feel the spell in your soul, your body, your blood. Then concentrate it all into your hand. If you can do that," She paused and fires off a fireball at the wall. It explodes on contact, making everyone around feel the heat. "Then casting Fireball will be no problem. You try."

The young mage nodded and concentrated hard. After a bit, he looked up and fired off the fireball, almost as well as Annalynn herself had done. He stared in disbelief for a moment before looking over to his Arch-Mage with a big smile. "Thank you, Arch-Mage!"

"Please, call me Annalynn." She chuckled and placed a hand on the boy's shoulder. "And it was at all no problem. If you need anymore help, do not hesitate to come find me." The young mage nodded and ran off, leaving Annalynn there by herself. The Altmer smiled and watched the mage until he disappeared. She enjoyed this job. Teaching the less experienced to use magic properly was one of the things she always dreamed about. Maybe under her leadership, the College would regain its good standing among Skyrim.

[Ande]

Ande closed the large, stone door behind him breathing in the less frigid air of the Hall of Elements. He stepped aside when a mage in apprentice robes ran toward him and exited through the same door, letting in a sudden cold wind. The Altmer helped to close the door faster, and rubbed his hands together to try and get rid of the cold. The college was made of stone, so it wasn't exactly warm within most of its chambers, but it did keep out the wind.

He lowered his hood and ran a hand through his hair, finding it cold and slightly stiff due to the weather outside. He needed to invest in a scarf of some sort, as the wind kept on blowing into his hood when he walked across the snow-covered landscapes.

Stepping a bit further into the hall, Ande became aware that there was someone standing on the other side of the well-like source of blue light, "Annalynn," he smiled and walked further into the chamber, "How many new recruits since I have been here last? I didn't recognize that one."

These days the college felt almost deserted. It didn't help that there was a civil war, either. Skyrim simply wasn't a mage-friendly place anymore. It wasn't as if Ande needed the guild to flourish for his own research, but it was refreshing to see other young people were interested in magic.

[Annalynn]

The Elf turned to face her fellow mage and smiled. "That is the newest one, however, there have been two more before that. The College is growing quiet nicely. One of the young children from Winterhold, a Nord, even came to join us. She is quite talented too." Archmage Annalynn said with a calm, happy tone.

After a moment, she turned back to the window, watching the snow as it fell outside. "Did you happen to see Sovali out there? I am expecting her back any time."

[Ande]

Both of Ande's eyebrows shot up a bit in surprise at the number of people. The college wasn't exactly popular in Skyrim, so even one student every few months was reasonable,

"Sorry, I can't say I have. How long ago did she leave?" Hans was frequently gone for months or years at a time, so his idea of a reasonable time away from the college was slightly skewed.

And he had been out on a few rescue missions when a young apprentice didn't return. If she was gone for far too long, he would be more than willing to go looking for her.

[Annalynn]

"I believe our beloved Destruction Master left a few hours ago, gone to invesigate something for me. I don't figure it would take as long as it has, and I'm starting to become worried." The Archmage was silent for a moment before letting out a small chuckle. "Though, I shouldn't. Sovali is second only to me in Destruction Magic. She can take care of herself. Perhaps I am also eager to hear what she found."

[Ande]

It was true, Sovali was the Destruction Master at the College; if anyone could handle themselves, it would be her. But all sorts of things happened out in Skyrim. Ande offered a smile, "I'm sure she's fine. But if you think she is gone too long, I'm willing to go out and search for her. If you need to find me, I'll be eating." he nodded to her and turned to his left, making to head out to his room.

Something Ande did truly miss was warm, home cooked food while he was out adventuring. Those Thu'um walls were few and far between to find, and it took him several years to understand the words he did find. He was aware that, as Dragonborn, he should be able to learn words instantly by absorbing the souls of dragons. But he hadn't encountered a dragon yet, since he spent so much of his time underground. Ande wasn't really looking forward to being attacked by a dragon anyway.

[Annalynn]

"Ande, if you can wait, I was actually planning on cooking for some of my lovely Mages. You included. After all, you are of the Dragonblood." She said with a light-heated smile. The Altmer woman did enjoy company, so until Sovali got back, she wanted him to stick around. "So please, if you don't mind, stay and chat with me."

[Ande]

Ande paused, not leaving as he was asked for dinner. If there's anything better than actually cooking your dinner, it's having someone else do it for you.

He smiled and nodded, "Of course. I have been gone for the past eight months, so you must tell me what I've missed." he gestured to the door he was about to walk through, allowing her to lead the way. He wasn't sure what his being Dragonborn had to do with staying and eating with her, but he wasn't about to turn the offer down.

Ande wanted to sit down after all his walking, and he was looking forward to what would probably be a solid week of rest before he set out again. Perhaps he should take another visit to Solitude...

[Sovali Veren]

Sovali pushed open the large doors leading into the Hall of Elements. "Ah, Arch-Mage." said the Dunmer after shivering, wishing she was a Nord right about now. "Sorry that took so long, I ran into some of the ancient Nord dead that just wouldn't stay asleep." She casted a small Fire Wall, creating a small fire for her to warm herself near. She looked up to see her fellow mage. "Ah, Ande was it? Good to see that you have returned."

[Annalynn]

"Sovali." Annalynn greeted with a caring grin. "I was beginning to worry about you. Even if you are second only to me in Destruction Magic, a mage has their limits. What did you find dear?" The Archmage sounded excited. She was eager to hear about the success of her mission. The place where she sent the Destruction Teacher was rumored to have some of the writings of the former Archmage hidden away, as well as some magical artifacts. The problem was finding the ancient door that lead to them. THAT is what she sent Sovali to find.

[Ande]

Ande nodded to her, "Glad to see you remembered my name." he chuckled. He wasn't offended though, not with the amount of time he actually spent at the Guild. There had been a few times when Ande had been gone so long, he'd missed a change of power, or the decrease of students due to some incident or another.

He turned attention to Annalynn when she spoke, and then politely back to Sovali when a question was directed to her. Ande personally loved doing research, and was just as curious now as Ann was.

[Sovali Veren]

"Well, I discovered that door you were looking for," she began, making a motion with her hand causing the Wall of Flame spell to die, "of course it was guarded by the ancient Nords, which are no longer a problem." She saw ash marks on the nearby wall, evidence that a few Destruction spells were aimed at it. It seems she's been training the newbies in my stead. "However, it is one of the puzzle doors. Some of the runes in the hall preceding it made mention of a claw."

[Annalynn]

"A claw you say." The Arch-mage mused, sounding happy. "Perhaps it is the one that has been in the Arch-Mage's quarter for quite some time. I'll go find it and bring it down. Will you fill Ande here in on the details while I'm gone?" With that, she scurried off to her room.

[Ande]

This was getting more and more exciting by the second. He blinked as the Arch-Mage left in a hurry, turning back to Sovali in the mean-time, "What is this all about? It seems very exciting." now he wanted to know. He had only entered two chambers that required dragon claws, and he had always found a Thu'um within each one.

Ande wondered if he could ask to be included in whatever adventure this was.

[Sovali Veren]

"Well, Annalynn asked me to go looking for the entrance to a certain crypt that one of the former Arch-Mages is buried in. It's said that there are rare texts and relics there that hold strange and wonderful power, both of which the College would most definitely benefit from. I found the crypt entrance and decided to go ahead and take out a few of the Draugr inside. We should have no issue getting to the door, I never leave any survivors." She quickly informed the younger mage.