The guards shifted uncomfortably as I walked through the gate with one of them muttering about "damned mages" as I passed. I checked but confirmed that my not so little slash hadn't struck the "city". That said it must have spooked the people of it as it passed. I went into the inn and sat at the counter to listen to the rumors circulating among the people here as I drank to relieve my tense nerves. It was the Redguard mage nearby that gave me an idea of what happened. -
They were rather vocal about wanting to learn whatever spell caused that so they could brag to the sword masters back home in Hammerfell about mastering the She` Hai. That strange word rolled around in my brain knocking loose some information about it. Admittedly not much was said about it in the game beyond mere idle chatter. I did know it had something to do with swords though so it would be a good place to start my search to figure out what happened. I stayed in the inn sipping my bottle of mead and chewing on a hard piece of bread for a couple hours.-
I deemed that enough time passed and left after covering my tab. I headed back to the college and to my surprise found the bridge unguarded. Instead there was a note pinned to the stone that read as follows.
"The college is officially closed for the day. The gate is sealed and will not open. If you are a returning student we suggest you find suitable accommodations in town. Cordially, Savos Aren-Archmage of the college of Winterhold."
'Well that would be annoying if I couldn't just bypass the gate entirely.' I thought with a sigh.
I walked across the bridge until I reached the gate and then casually stepped up onto the railing before stepping off. A light purple barrier appeared under my foot as I stepped on the air and walked around the edge of the college to a open ledge and walking into the college from there. Using a mere gate to stop someone who knew the [levitate] spell would simply never work. I walked into the hall of attainment and was immediately spotted by Tolfdir who hurried over.-
"My boy where have you been? I checked all over the college but couldn't find you anywhere." he asked with a relieved expression.
"I was out practicing spells in the icefields. I heard some rumors in the inn when I came back to Winterhold but do you have any idea what's going on?" I asked after lying about my where abouts.
"It's all speculation at the moment but something happened in the Midden. Something that caused a massive hole to be blasted all the way outside of it. The whole college is locked down as all hands are being called to investigate it. That reminds me but if you were outside the college how did you get back in?" he said realizing something was odd.
I demonstrated my [levitate] spell with a grin.
"I just walked over to a ledge and into the college." I said with a chuckle he shared.
"A clever mage always finds a way." he said with a smile.
"It helps when that mage also dabbled in non-dangerous forbidden spells." I said grinning.
"That ban always rankled me the wrong way. Banning levitation spells makes sense from an imperial standpoint but it's putting shackles on what mages are allowed to learn all the same." he said with a sigh.
"Freedom and governance rarely mix well." I said with a shrug.
"Still i'm glad you didn't get locked out like those other poor fellows. Why I think this is the first time since the collapse that the college has actually been closed like this. Just goes to show how seriously Savos is treating this I suppose." he said seriously.
I nodded "Enough about that though. Come come, I have some lovely tea I can put on while we relax." I offered.
"Some other time my boy. I'll be heading to the Midden soon to help with the investigation and want to be without distractions." he said regretfully.
"Alright, I'll save it for later then. Guess i'll go check the Arcanaeum in the meanwhile." I said and he patted my shoulder warmly before walking away.
I stopped by my room and set up a spot with the egg on my nightstand before heading to the Arcanaeum like I said. The college was all but empty as everyone was in their rooms or out at the moment so I didn't see anyone as I walked into the Arcanaeum. Urag was sitting behind his desk with a book open in front of him as he read it.-
"Hmm? Wasn't expecting to see anyone with the thing in the Midden having all the attention. What do you want?" he asked gruffly.
"Looking for some books on old legends, lost powers, that sort of thing. I just want some light reading while I pass the time." I said calmly.
"I think I've got a few things that would work. Give me a moment." he said as he got up and walked off into the vast rows of books.
I waited there patiently and soon he came back with six books that looked barely touched.
"Not a popular topic I take it?" I asked seeing this.
"Most are too busy with their own research or learning to bother with the past. There used to be an antiquarian society that was all about it during the second era but their members weren't usually warriors so the group died out from the dangers of relic recovery. I think we have a few of their scrying eyes laying about you could probably use if you have an interest in that sort of thing." he said with a grumble.
"Thanks for the help like always." I say grabbing the books and leaving behind an orange crème hard candy for him.
He might be a bit rough around the edges but I'd long since learned he like most mages for some weird reason had a sweet tooth. He preferred sour sweets more than anything though so I made a habit of leaving him something when I checked out books. Thanks to this we got along just fine. If anything I might be one of his favorite people in the college even if he'd probably never say it. I brought the books back to my room and sat down at my desk to start pouring over them.-
The first three spoke of artifacts lost to time and the stories about them and were interesting but not what I was after. The fourth was a hit though as the book "From The memory stone of Makela Leki" spoke of She` Hai or Spirit swords as I learned. The book spoke of the memories of an Ansei sword singer and what the She` Hai was. It was a blade formed from the very soul of a master swordsman from pure will and was said to posses incredible power.