"Okay, let's see that map," Sunset said, standing before the doors that would lead out into Skyrim once more as Bjorn pulled out his map, "where is this Ustengrav?"
"It would be here," Bjorn replied, placing a finger on an area between the cities of Solitude and Morthal, "along with two other nordic ruins; High Gate Ruins and Folgunthur. I am not familiar with the ruins in that area, as to which one is the one we seek, so we'll have to ask a local which ruin is actually Ustengrav when we're in the area."
"Sounds good to me," Sunset smiled, glad that things were looking up for them, "then we'll return to Iverstead, take a rest in the inn if its late enough, and then start the journey towards the ruin. If we're lucky we might end up catching Tirek somewhere along the way and end his madness before he has a chance to start."
On the outside she knew that she presented an aura of confidence to her companions, but on the inside she was terrified about the eventual confrontation she would have with the demonic centaur. Tirek was capable of ruining the land around him, when powered up by the magic of the Three Tribes, but there was no telling how powerful he would be if he took one of the Daedric Princes' powers from them. She dreaded even thinking of working with one of the Daedric Lords, much less all of them, but she needed to be sure that their artifacts were safe from her enemy.
With their destination set the trio departed from High Hrothgar, leaving the Greybeards to their meditation while they sought the Horn of Jurgen Windcaller, which Arngeir politely requested Sunset to acquire. The walk down the mountain was uneventful, as they had cleared everything that had wanted to kill them on their trek up just an hour before. It gave Sunset the time to wonder about what evil Tirek was committing at that very moment, if he was still lurking somewhere in Skyrim at that point in time. She silently hoped that he had been taken out by someone else, but there was the nagging feeling that he was waiting and gathering his strength.
"Thinking about HIM again?" Bjorn asked while they walked, causing Sunset to sigh and nod to him, "Don't worry my friend, we'll find a way to deal with Tirek sooner or later. I mean, its not like he's out there somewhere, draining some poor wizards of their magicka and while trying to hid from someone who will put him in his place. Let's get to to Ustengrav, fight our way to the Horn of Jurgen Windcaller, and then we'll see what we can do about Tirek after getting it back to the Greybeards."
When they arrived in Iverstead Sunset noticed that the sun was, indeed, setting, so they walked up to the inn and immediately secured one of the rooms for themselves. The owner was more than happy to give them the room and also served them the meal that Bjorn asked him for, seeing how there wasn't anyone else that could help him. Their meal wasn't as great as the one they had in Whiterun, but Sunset really didn't mind what they had and soon they were retiring to their room for the night. Sunset had the feeling that the following days were going to be trying on them all, though she didn't want to know what her feeling was trying to tell her.
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When morning arrived the trio had a quick breakfast, quickly gathered whatever supplies that Bjorn said that they would need, and then departed from Iverstead. They continued down the pathway that they had taken by carriage to reach the village the previous day, though as they did so they found a troll standing in the middle of the road. Bjorn, not wanting to waste any time, pulled out an arrow and loosed it at the creature, hitting it right in the forehead and dropping it to the ground in seconds. Both Lydia and Sunset were impressed by how fast he had dealt with the creature, though it opened the way for them to continue towards there destination.
Nothing eventful happened until they neared a fortress near the crossroads that they had passed in the carriage, after spending about three hours walking in the direction of their destination. As they neared the fortress Sunset almost stopped in her tracks, feeling the sinister string of a magic that she had hoped that she would never find in Skyrim again; Tirek's magic.
"He's been here," Sunset said, staring at the fortress as she drew her sword, "I can feel the lingering trace of his magic. By Celestia I hope he's still inside so I can finish this before something happens."
As she entered the fortress, and her companions following behind her with a look of wonder in their eyes, she looked around for signs of people that would have called the place home, but she found no one around the opening. She glanced back at her companions and beckoned for them to spread out, allowing them to cover more ground while they looked for something, anything really, that would tell them what Tirek had done here. As they searched the outside of the fortress Sunset was beginning to think that Tirek had only stopped at this ruin to rest before moving on, as there was nothing to tell her that he had been there.
That was until Bjorn entered one of the fortress doors, waited a few minutes by staring at something, before coming back outside and calling for Sunset and Lydia to come see what he had found. What Sunset found was a shriveled body of what she assumed had been some sort of mage, though by the skull on its robe she figured that it had to have been a necromancer. She wrapped a little of her magic around the body and discovered that her greatest fear had been brought to life; Tirek was draining the life forces of his targets and gathering his own power.
The trio searched the rest of the fortress, collecting the weapons from the fallen mages and whatever chests were left, before they gathered back together outside in the courtyard.
"Tirek is on the move," Sunset said, giving Bjorn everything she had found, excluding a magical staff that she suspected had a fire enchantment on it, "from what I can gather from the remaining remnants of his magic he's heading to the north. What's to the north of us that mages would flock to?"
"The College of Winterhold?" Lydia replied, causing the two of them to turn to her, "Its where mages and wizards, of each school of magic, from all across Skyrim, and sometimes from the other corners of Tamriel, come to study under their masters. From what I have heard there are some powerful mages that called the College of Winterhold home at one point or another and it is rumored that magic freely flows around the College."
"That... that's not good at all," Sunset said, fear creeping into her voice as she wondered what Tirek could do after soaking the magic of the College into his body, "but now I have to choose between a rock and a hard place. On one hand we journey to Ustengrav and retrieve the Horn of Jurgen Windcaller, but on the other we head to the College and find a way to stop Tirek before he soaks up too much power."
"The horn won't be going anywhere anytime soon," Bjorn told her, patting her on the shoulder, "so if you feel that we need to head to the College of Winterhold and find a way to stop Tirek, then we can do it. Its up to you in the end."
Sunset sighed and glanced at the road, wondering if she should really leave the path that the Greybeards had given her and forget the horn of their founder for some time. On the other hand she had to wonder what magic she could learn from the College, which she could use to better her own knowledge of this world's magic. She guessed that, in the end, either path would give her the knowledge to further her towards defeating her enemy, whether that was Tirek or the dangerous black dragon. She sighed once more and turned back to her companions, steeling herself so she could tell them what she had planned for the moment.
"Let's go to the College first," Sunset told them, heading out towards the road once more, "If there is a chance that we can find and stop Tirek by going there then I'd say that it is worth waiting to collect the horn until a later date."
Bjorn nodded and the trio started on their quest again, only this time their destination was different and they had a vague sense of what could be waiting for them. As they walked Sunset had to deal with the appearance of several annoying creatures, a couple of wolves, two bears, and a pack of bandits that happened to be on their way to another city, to which Bjorn pointed out Windhelm in the background. Once the bandits had been dealt with Bjorn collected their armor and weapons and directed them towards the city for a moment, saying that they could get some decent coin for three complete suits of steel armor.
Sunset and Lydia stayed outside the city, as Bjorn promised that he would be quick, and not ten minutes later he returned to them, allowing the trio to walk away from the city with an extra thousand septims in their pockets. With that task done they continued towards Winterhold, following the road and keeping their eyes peeled for anymore enemies that wished them harm. They didn't encounter any enemies until they crossed a bridge and passed through a small village that had a mill, where the enemy ran out and came at them. Sunset summoned her lightning and hit the lizard creature, an argonian she reminded herself, square in the chest, knocking it backwards before Lydia ran up to it and sliced its head clean off.
While her companions looted the body of anything they could use Sunset noted the strange black and red armor that their foe had worn, wondering what the armor could mean.
"I don't know how its possible for them to send an assassin after you," Bjorn commented, handing her a letter that she assumed was from the leader of the Dark Brotherhood, what that was she had no idea, to the assassin they had just killed, "but it seems that someone called on the Dark Brotherhood and wants you dead. I have no idea who would want the Dragonborn dead, besides the dragons of course and its not likely that they'll have someone else do the dirty work for them."
"So not what we need right now," Sunset moaned, shaking her head as they got underway once more, "I just hope that's the only assassin that they decided to send my way and leave me alone. I've got enough to worry about with Tirek and the dragons, so I don't need a group of assassins coming after me."
"You could always destroy them," Lydia commented, falling in behind them, "but we'd have to find their hideout before we could even consider tearing them down."
Sunset shook her head as they continued forward, wondering what else would stand in their way and force their hand before they even got close to the city of Winterhold. She asked Bjorn that same question, though when he replied with an extensive list of creatures that could very well get in their way before they reached their destination she wished that she hadn't asked. There could be trolls, bears, ice wraiths, wolves, bandits, and he even swore that one of the guards in Whiterun had told him that a giant had been sighted near the city at one point. He even added dragons to the list, as it was possible that they could see one of them before the end, though Sunset was hoping that they stayed away for the moment.
As it turned out there wasn't anything that wanted them dead, so Sunset got to listen to some of Lydia's tales about how she became a housecarl and a tale or two from Bjorn about his hunting days before he had been sent to Helgen. They also wanted Sunset to share a bit about her past, but by the time that she thought of something to tell them she spotted the city in the distance. When they arrived in Winterhold she had to wonder if Tirek had gained more power than she had realized and had destroyed the majority of the Hold already, but Bjorn was quick to crush her fears.
As it turned out the entire city had been ruined in a cataclysm a long time ago, though no one knew how it had happened and many blamed the mages for the destruction, as their College was still standing. Sunset wondered what could have caused the destruction, but she didn't have time to wonder as they were stopped by someone that was guarding the bridge that led to the College. Sunset swore that the creature was another elf of some kind, but she patiently waited for her to say something so that she could figure out if Tirek was indeed in the College somewhere.
"Why do you seek entrance into the College of Winterhold?" the altmer asked, watching the three of the closely.
"I'm looking for someone called Tirek," Sunset replied immediately, causing the elf to look at her with a look of confusion on her face, "right now he's an old man that's wearing a black robe. He's obsessed with absorbing magic from people and destroying everything and everyone around him."
"I'm sorry, but I haven't seen someone matching your description," the elf replied, shaking her head for a moment, "Now I shall ask you this one more time; why do you seek entrance to the College of Winterhold?"
"I... I guess to learn what is necessary to save the world," Sunset admitted, not really sure how to answer that question at the moment, "so take it however you wish."
"I choose to interpret that as you want to unravel the mysteries of Aetherius," the elf responded, "and, judging by the confused look on your face, you don't know what Aetherius is. It is the immortal plane, said to be the source of all magic. This is a noble goal for any mage in all of Tamriel. I shall offer you a small test and see how well you do; cast a fireball spell at the sigil behind me and we'll see if I should admit you into the College."
Sunset stared at the elf for a moment, wondering if she was joking in the spell of choice that she had told her, but after a moment she determined that it was not a joke. She sighed and ignited the magic in her left hand, forming a small fireball that she threw at the sigil, which caused the elf to chuckle at her and clap her hands for a bit. She had no idea why casting a fireball would be considered a test to enter the College, but she was willing to take it and wondered what the elf had to tell her.
"Very well, you seem like a decent addition to the College," the elf replied, moving out of their way, "I am Faralda, the Master of Destruction Magic for the College of Winterhold. I would advise you to head into the College itself and find Mirabelle Ervine, our Master Wizard, and she'll inform you of what comes next. I wish you luck, apprentice."
Sunset had to resist the urge to tell Faralda that she had been the apprentice of a powerful princess from her home world, but instead she sighed and continued across the bridge with Bjorn and Lydia following behind. As she walked across the bridge she took some moments to observe the damage that it had already sustained, wondering what magic was keeping it together after all this time. Still, she worried what would happen if Tirek got his hands on even a small amount of the magic that she was feeling around the entire College. It was quite possible that the entire place could be destroyed if he gained enough of his power back, which was why she needed to find him and stop him before something happened.
As it turned out Mirabelle was talking with another elf, one that Lydia pulled Sunset aside and mentioned that it was a Thalmor, before the trio approached them, at what appeared to be the end of their conversation.
"I believe I've made myself rather clear." Mirabelle said, clearly annoyed with the elf.
"Yes of course." the Thalmor replied, though by his tone Sunset knew that she wasn't going to like him very much, "I'm simply trying to understand the reasoning behind the decision."
"You may be used to the Empire bowing to your every whim," Mirabelle stated, a look of annoyance flashing on the elf's face for a moment, "but I'm afraid you'll find the Thalmor receive no such treatment here. You are a guest of the College, here at the pleasure of the Arch-Mage. I hope you appreciate the opportunity."
"Yes, of course." the elf said, "The Arch-Mage has my thanks."
"Very good." Mirabelle replied, waving her hand as if she was dismissing him, "Then we're done here."
"Mirabelle Ervine?" Sunset asked, causing the women to turn around and look at her, "Faralda told me to come see you immediately."
"Then I welcome you to the College," Mirabelle replied, a smile replacing her annoyed look, "Another new student... I'm surprised at how many of you there are lately. I'd give you a tour of the College grounds, but Tolfdir is starting his lesson in a few minutes. You had better get inside the main hall and present yourself to him and the rest of your classmates."
Sunset nodded and headed into the hall that rested behind Mirabelle, figuring that it was the place that she had meant and found a rather large chamber with a mountain of magicka in the center. She could feel the magic all around her, though since Tirek's magic seemed to be coming towards the College she had to wonder where he was at the moment. Behind the fountain stood four people, one that was dressed in what she assumed were master robes and three that had the same type that she was wearing. She assumed that the one in the back was Tolfdir, while the other three were the apprentices that Mirabelle had mentioned before directing her to this hall.
"Ah, another new student," Tolfdir said, spotting Sunset the moment she walked in and beckoned for her to join them, which she did without delay, "As I was saying; magic is, by its very nature, volatile and dangerous. Unless you can control it, it can and will destroy you."
And just like that Sunset remembered her first lesson with Princess Celestia, who had said that exact same line in an attempt to make her understand that practice and safety were key in learning magic. She thought she had understood it in the beginning, but then threw those teachings aside when she decided to take more than what she deserved. She thought it was fitting, that she would have to relearn one of the key principles in dealing with magic, as if she was truly starting anew.
"Sir, I think we all understand that fairly well," one of the apprentices said, causing the other two to nod with her, "We wouldn't be here if we couldn't control magic."
"Of course, my dear," Tolfdir replied, a slight smile appearing on his face, "You all clearly possess some inherent magical ability, that much is not being questioned. What I am talking about is true control, mastery over magic. It takes years, if not decades, of practice and study."
"Then what are we waiting for?" another apprentice, a khajiit Sunset noted, spoke up, "Let's get started right away!"
"Please, please," Tolfdir exclaimed, trying to calm them down, "this is exactly what I'm talking about. Eagerness must be tempered with caution, or else disaster is inevitable."
"But we've only just arrived here," the nord on Sunset's left said, again causing the master wizard to look at him, "you've got no idea what any of us are capable of. Why not give us a chance to show you what we can do?"
"You've been quite so far," Tolfdir said, turning towards Sunset for a moment, "What do you think we should do?"
Sunset was amazed that the master wizard was asking her for her opinion on what to do for the lesson, though she was glad to give these apprentices a reminder that safety was one of the basic rules of magic.
"Safety is more important than anything else," Sunset replied, not needing much time to think it over, "especially when one doesn't know the full consequences of what their spell might do to them or to others."
"Oh don't listen to her," the khajiit said, waving his hand towards Sunset in a dismissing manner, "she doesn't know what she's talking about. Show us some magic!"
"And you'll end up burning yourself with the backlash," Sunset told the khajiit, causing him to glare at her for a moment, "Trust me on this, if you don't understand the magic behind the spell then disaster with come knocking at your door. This has happened to me once or twice, so I do know what I'm talking about."
Tolfdir smiled at her and continued with the lesson, proceeding to tell them about wards and how hey could block magic, which reminded Sunset about barriers. Instead of saying that she knew how to use wards she said that she didn't and he demonstrated what he wanted her to do before beckoning for her to stand on the sigil behind her. She walked onto the area he wanted her to stand on and readied the ward spell, watching it spring to life in front of her as Tolfdir readied his magic. A few fireballs hit her ward, but they did nothing besides breaking apart, which pleased the master wizard as he moved on by saying that it was time for them to visit an ancient ruin to learn about the ways that magic could be used.
As the master wizard and the apprentices walked out of the main hall Sunset returned to her companions, eager to tell them that they could sit this part out until she returned from the ruins.
"Are you sure about that?" Bjorn asked, worry in his voice, "I know your a capable mage, but are you sure that you want to go through one of those ruins on your own?"
"I'll have three arrogant apprentices and a master wizard on my side," Sunset smiled, patting her friend on the shoulder, "I should be gone for an hour or two, but once I'm back then we'll move on together."
"As you wish Sunset," Bjorn sighed, admitting defeat before an idea came to mind, "How about I escort you to the ruins and then return to town? That's all I ask."
Sunset smiled and nodded to her friend, while Lydia sighed and said that she would be at the inn until her Thane was ready to move on with their quest. She knew that Bjorn was likely going to camp outside the ruin's entrance after she entered and patiently wait for her to come back out, even if it took her half the day to go through everything. She felt bad for not bringing Lydia along, but she was absolutely confident that, with the help of the other mages, they could easily clear the ruins of any draugr, if any were alive in there. Only one nagging thought continued to plague her mind, one that she had no answer to until she found the person that she was looking for.
That thought was simple; where in Tartarus was Tirek hiding?
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Deep beneath the College of Winterhold, in the place that the teachers referred to as the Midden, lurked the very evil that Sunset was desperately searching for. Even from far away he had felt the magic of the College and had followed it, coming to the ruined Hold before fading into the shadows and disappearing from the eyes of the people that called the ruined city home. He could not afford to have his enemy discover his presence soon after his arrival, so he remained in the lowest point of the Midden, where he knew she would not find him until it was too late.
Despite the magic he had stolen from those necromancers he was still weak, so he could only absorb a small amount of the College's vast supply of magic at a time before he had to stop. It was pure magic and he knew that if he devoured it all, in a single moment, his body might not be able to contain it and he could very well explode from the excess. He also realized that if he did that then the surrounding area, the College, and rest of the ruined Hold would be destroyed in a matter of minutes. He, instead, chose to bide his time, absorbing what he could at the moment before he started his true plan.
"Soon Sunset Shimmer," Tirek said, a grin appearing on his face as he took some more magic into his body, watching some of the wrinkles fade from his old looking hands, "Soon you and the rest of this world shall know the meaning of my full power, but by the time you realize the danger it will be too late to stop me. And then Equestria will fall!"