The Equine Scrolls: SkyFiM

by FireOfTheNorth

Chapter 62: War at Winterhorn

Chapter LXII: War at Winterhorn
“What you learn here will last you a lifetime – several if you’re talented.”

Thankfully there was a back exit from the crypt that led up to where the mages were excavating. The Arch-Mage sent a few down through the way we’d come up to examine the deep crypt more thoroughly, but ordered most of the others to come with us to the College. I didn’t see the point in dragging everypony back, but I didn’t question the Arch-Mage.

As we neared the College, it became apparent that something had indeed gone wrong. Dark clouds swirled above the College, tinted the color of the Eye of Magnus. Screams came from the town, urging us forward.

Flashes of light came from Winterhorn, and as we entered the town we could see that the light was coming from blasts of magical energy the same color as the Eye of Magnus. One flew past us, annihilating a house, as we galloped up the main street.

“This simply won’t do,” Clairvoyance said to himself, “The earth ponies of Winterhorn distrust us enough without us accidentally harming the town.”

“What’s going on?” I asked him as we galloped up the bridge to the College, narrowly avoiding blasts of the strange magic.

“Well, either somepony tried to interact with the Eye, or the teleportation unsettled it,” he answered.

Somehow, the College itself seemed unharmed by the blasts of magic. All the magic funneled out of the main gate before weaving among the pillars that surrounded the courtyard. Timing it right, we were able to enter the main hall of the College, where the Eye of Magnus hovered, spewing magic.

The magic shot out in all directions, but ricocheted all over the room before finding its way out through the main gate. Mages circled the Eye, blasting it with every spell they could think of in hopes that they could stop its destruction.

“Stop! Stop!” the Arch-Mage called as he entered the room, “You’re only making things worse! Concentrate on coating it with a spell of pacifism!”

The mages began to coordinate their efforts, firing the same spell all over the surface of the Eye of Magnus. Its motions began to become less erratic, and magic soon ceased the spew from it. At last it hung motionless in the air, any magic leaving it spiraling slowly through the air before returning to the Eye.

“That was close,” the Arch-Mage said, wiping his brow, “I’m glad the College is protected.”

“Protected?” Mephalda asked.

“Yes, every surface here is enchanted to resist magic so that no damage is done during training,” he explained, “I shudder to think of what might have happened had this been an ordinary structure.”

“Like the ones down in Winterhorn,” Mystic pointed out crossly.

“Yes,” the Arch-Mage winced, “I can’t imagine the citizens of our town will be too pleased about this turn of events, but they must understand that there are certain risks involved when making a breakthrough of this level.”

“That breakthrough leveled half the town,” Mephalda pointed out, looking out at Winterhorn from a much higher vantage point than the rest of us.

“What would you have had me do?” Clairvoyance asked, his eyes narrowing, “We saved what we could, and that has to be enough. We lost good mages from this too, you know.”

“Is that what I think it is?” a bright red unicorn stallion asked the Arch-Mage.

“Ah, Blaze!” Clairvoyance greeted him, “I’m glad to see our professor of Destruction wasn’t harmed in this.”

“Is that the Eye of Magnus?” Blaze repeated his question.

“Indeed,” the Arch-Mage replied smugly, “It was in Saarthal, of all places.”

“What were you thinking, blindly teleporting it here!” Blaze demanded, “You know how much power that thing has! What possessed you to suddenly jump it across space? I was teaching a class here for beginning mages, and now they’re nearly all dead thanks to you!”

“Must I explain this to everypony?” Clairvoyance sighed, “I felt it was worth the risk, considering the potential gains from studying, and even controlling this artifact.”

“But you can’t control it!” Blaze argued, “You proved that today, when it wiped out half of Winterhorn!”

“We will learn to control it!” the elder stallion shouted back before reigning in his voice, “Until then, everypony must stay clear of it. We’ll close the great hall off.”

“That’s not going to stop everypony,” Mephalda said, looking out the doors, “Especially all of Winterhorn.”

“What?” Clairvoyance asked, trotting toward the door.

Quicksilver came galloping up the bridge to meet the Arch-Mage as he entered the courtyard.

“Arch-Mage, what’s going on up here?” she asked urgently.

“No time to explain,” he replied, “What’s going on down there?”

“The whole town’s threatening to march on the College!” she said, “I’ve got the mages you brought back from Saarthal holding them off for now, but it won’t last forever.”

“I’ll speak to them,” the Arch-Mage announced, trotting past Quicksilver and down the bridge to the town, “I’ll make them see reason.”

Worried about what the Arch-Mage might say, I followed him down the bridge. At the base, there was an angry mob of townsponies shouting at the mages lined up in front of the bridge’s base. The Arch-Mage pushed through until he was standing before the crowd.

“What appears to be the problem?” he said, surprisingly level-headedly considering his outbursts earlier.

“You’re the problem!” an orange earth pony, the same one who’d warned me about the College when I’d first entered the town, exclaimed, pushing his way to the front of the crowd, “Your magic did this! You can’t deny it, like you did with the Great Collapse! You unicorns are a menace to society!”

“I wouldn’t say that,” the Arch-Mage replied, frowning.

“You destroyed half the town! When will you be satisfied with your destruction? When nothing but your accursed school of witchcraft stands?”

“Enough, Seeruan!” a mare in robes and a crown commanded, pushing through the crowd.

“Jarl Winter Glory,” the Arch-Mage greeted her, “At last, somepony sensible I can speak with.”

“I’m afraid I must agree with Seeruan,” she said solemnly, “At least the base of his argument. The destruction you brought to our town is unforgivable. I have worked to retain peaceful relations with the College like my predecessors, but it can’t be that way anymore. The damage you wrought is too great to overlook like your lesser transgressions.”

“I have a very good reason for all this,” Clairvoyance replied, “If you’ll just let me explain-”

“Oh, I have doubt you have your reasons,” the Jarl cut him off, “But I don’t want to hear them. There is nothing that could warrant this. I want the College emptied by sundown, and if it’s not, then I will make sure it’s emptied by force.”

“You can’t do this,” the Arch-Mage protested, “The College is all Winterhorn has!”

“And if I allow it to stay, there will soon be no more Winterhorn,” the Jarl replied, “My decision is final. Clear out by sundown, or we’ll clear you out.”

“We won’t go out without a fight!” the Arch-Mage promised before storming off.

I just stood there, shocked, as the two angry groups separated, the unicorns returning to the College, and the earth ponies to what was left of their homes.

◊◊◊ ◊◊◊ ◊◊◊

I got some disapproving glares as I approached the Jarl’s longhouse, but entered anyway. A war was brewing here, but I hoped I could defuse it before things erupted into violence. First I wanted to speak to Jarl Winter Glory about reconsidering her position, and if that failed, help her to clear the College.

I didn’t want to do so, but I had to admit that what the Arch-Mage had done was reckless. He’d endangered the entire town, and while he was still running the College he’d keep endangering it. Therefore, I hoped to convince the Jarl to change her demands to his resignation.

“Jarl Winter Glory,” I got her attention as I entered her throne room.

“What do you want?” she asked, rather nastily, “And what are you, a unicorn, doing in my longhouse. You should be at the College preparing to defend yourself.”

“I’m not with the College,” I told her, “Well, technically I am, but I’m rarely here, and more importantly I don’t agree with the Arch-Mage.”

“So, why are you here?” she asked.

“I want you to change your mind.”

“Not going to happen,” she scoffed, “You wasted your time coming down here if you thought you could get me to rescind my demands. You unicorns have no place in Winterhorn, and it’s time I do what should have been done immediately after the Great Collapse.”

“You don’t have to throw the unicorns from the College,” I told her, “If you could get the Arch-Mage to resign and get somepony more careful in charge, all your troubles will be over.”

“Ha!” she scoffed, “Get Clairvoyance to resign? It would be easier to lift the Crest of the World. Besides, somepony just like him would replace him. It’s the way the College works. No, the College must be closed down; there’s no alternative.”

“If that’s how it has to be,” I said, “Then I’ll help you clear out the College.”

“Likely story,” the Jarl said, “I wouldn’t trust a unicorn to side with me against her own kind. I wouldn’t trust a unicorn ever.”

“But-”

“Get out, before I have you thrown out. And don’t come back or you’ll be leaving in a pine box.”

I left the Jarl’s longhouse, trotting past the guards who were baring their weapons. My plan had failed, but I had a backup plan. Unfortunately, my backup was far less appealing than my main plan.

“How’d it go?” Steadfast asked as I trotted down the stairs of the longhouse.

“That bad, huh?” he said when he saw my face.

“She won’t change her mind,” I said, “And she doesn’t want my help.”

“Why not?” Mephalda asked.

“I’m a unicorn,” I said, “And she doesn’t trust ‘my kind’.”

“So forget her,” Mystic said, “We can still try to fix this.”

“I know,” I said, “But the Arch-Mage - I don’t agree with what he stands for.”

“Neither do I,” she admitted, “Bringing the Eye of Magnus here and nearly killing everypony, it wasn’t right. But the College has been my home for years. I’d hate to see it abandoned. If we can get Clairvoyance to resign . . .”

“Winter Glory won’t accept it,” I said, shaking my head.

“That’s what she says now, but if he’s removed from power, and a more sensible pony takes his place, she might come around.”

“It’s worth a shot,” I admitted.

◊◊◊ ◊◊◊ ◊◊◊

Clairvoyance, expectedly, was opposed to the idea of his forced resignation. In fact, he seemed appalled that we’d even suggest such a thing, even when we pointed out the benefits of him slipping into retirement and letting somepony else run the College. The teachers at the College were also unsympathetic to our cause. Many of them agreed that the Arch-Mage had made a mistake in blindly teleporting the Eye of Magnus here, and nopony wanted war, but none of them were willing to push for his resignation. There was loyalty to the head of their order that couldn’t be broken.

And so sunset came, and the College was still filled with mages preparing for the attack that was sure to come. Sure enough, as the sun sank behind the western mountains a line of torches began to move out from the Jarl’s longhouse and make their way toward the College. As the ponies came into sight, I could see they were armed and ready to attack.

“This is your last chance!” Jarl Winter Glory called up, “Leave now, or we’ll be forced to attack!”

“Never!” Clairvoyance yelled back, “Raise wards!”

Shimmering shields of every color burst up in front of the mages lining the bridge to the College. Reluctantly, I began to draw my sword before sheathing it again. Just because I was here didn’t mean I had to kill ponies in this battle. Ideas swirled around in my mind until a plan began to form. I shared it with my friends, and we set out to enact it.

We rushed forward with the mages as they charged down the bridge toward the townsponies. Blades flashed in the torchlight as both sides drew their weapons. The clashing of steel rang across the tundra as the two makeshift armies clashed. I avoided conflict where I could.

I drew Dawnbreaker as I pushed toward the line of armed earth ponies. My Draconequus sword struck the war axe of an earth pony. I pushed against it, twisting it down to the ground. My opponent swung her weapon back up toward me, nearly hitting my foreleg. I swung Dawnbreaker up under her blade swiftly and threw it from her mouth.

Instead of striking a killing blow as I should have, I merely struck her in the head with my Paralysis spell. I tried to pull her away from the fighting as best I could before seeking out my true target. Jarl Winter Glory was standing toward the back of the group, yelling encouragement and wielding a bow with which she shot at the mages.

As I headed in her direction, I ran into a mare with a warhammer. I blocked with Dawnbreaker, pushing her weapon away. Steadfast came in from the side, hitting the shaft of her weapon with his own. As it was knocked from her mouth, he knocked her unconscious with his shield.

A pony fell directly in front of me, hit by Mystic’s paralysis spell. A moment later another fell on top of it, this one dead, half its head burned away by a blast of magic. The mages were holding nothing back, blasting pure magic into the crowd of earth ponies. This fight had to end, and fast.

A stallion with a greatsword swung at me, and I pulled out both my swords to block. Slowly, I began to push him back until he staggered away from me. Spinning his sword around, he charged back at me. Dropping my ebony sword, I shot him in the face with the Paralyze spell, dropping him.

The guards around the Jarl began to notice that we were among them, wreaking havoc through the lines, and made their way toward us. I blasted one with my spell before she could get too close, but the rest made it to us. As one stabbed a spear at me, I knocked it to the side with my Draconequus sword. He slid it along my blade, striking my armor and seeking for a gap. Before he could, I blasted him in the face with my spell, knocking him out.

<<<FUS~RO~DAH!!!>>> I Shouted, throwing a few of the guards out of the way.

Only two now stood between us and the Jarl. Steadfast attacked one, a stallion with a pike, and I headed for the other, a mare with a mace. I attempted to block with Dawnbreaker, but my blade slid off the weapon, struggling to find purchase. The mare got a hit in on my side, denting the armor where plates met. With the flat of my sword, I trapped her against me and shot her with my Paralyze spell.

Nearby, Mystic was trying to blast the Jarl, but her spells stopped up short, blocked before they could reach the leader of Winterhorn. I spied the cause, an amulet around her neck that flared up with light whenever a spell neared her. I charged in toward her with my sword drawn, seeking to put an end to her immunity to magic.

Mystic was unarmed except for her spells, so the Jarl turned her attention to me. Dawnbreaker struck against Winter Honor’s sword, sparks flying as the two blades met. She forced me back, but I swung my sword in toward her as I retreated, forcing her to devote her focus to blocking my attacks. Eventually I got a strike through, swinging upward and catching her amulet with my blade. At the moment it left her neck, I shot a blast of paralysis into her face and she toppled over.

“Mystic!” I called my mage friend over to me.

The next part of the plan was up to her. Rushing over, she grabbed ahold of the Jarl before suddenly blinking out of existence. A few of the earth ponies around us had noticed what we’d done and turned to attack us.

“They killed the Jarl!” Seeruan yelled, brandishing a battleaxe, “Get them!”

Mephalda took off into the air, getting clear of the encroaching mob. I grabbed Steadfast and collected my thoughts.

<<<WULD~NAH~KEST!!!>>> I Shouted, shooting through the crowd of earth ponies until I was standing before the entrance to the College.

“Next time, warn me before you do that,” Steadfast said, picking himself up off the ground.

“Sorry,” I told him, seeing that I’d dragged him across a fair bit of ground.

“Second phase now?” he asked as he adjusted the sheath for his warhammer.

“That’s right,” I nodded, and began to gallop up the bridge back to where we’d come from originally.

I searched the crowd of mages, looking for a single pony, one wearing different robes than the others.

“Ha, the Jarl is gone!” the Arch-Mage declared happily, “They’re falling into chaos! It won’t be long now!”

He never suspected a thing as I strode up to him and hit him with a Paralyze spell. As he fell to the stone bridge, the mages around him searched for who hit him. I began blasting them too but wasn’t nearly fast enough, and was forced to duck out of the way as spells began to sail over my head.

A blast of pure energy I couldn’t possibly dodge without jumping to my death came right at me. Suddenly, a ward popped up in front of me, and Mystic charged past, firing blasts of magic at the remaining mages who’d been around Clairvoyance, knocking them all unconscious. Grabbing the Arch-Mage, Mystic once more blinked out of existence.

“The Arch-Mage!” somepony called, realizing he was no longer standing at his post, “What did you do with him?!”

I knocked the pony unconscious with a spell, which probably wasn’t the wisest course of action, as the rest of the mages began to shoot spells at me right away. Mystic popped up again as I tried to hold them off, grabbing Steadfast and disappearing again. Next she took Mephalda, and I was left holding off the angry mages alone. Remembering how the Arch-Mage had said the College was magic-proof, I hid behind a pillar, where the spells couldn’t touch me. As the mages began to loop around, closing in around me, Mystic suddenly appeared and teleported me out of the fight.

I found myself standing in a small stone room. At least, I assumed it was all stone. The floor and ceiling were, but the walls I couldn’t tell, for every bit of wall space had been devoted to bookshelves. It was like a miniature library had been tucked away here.

Steadfast and Mephalda were also here, as well as Jarl Winter Honor and Arch-Mage Clairvoyance, who were lying unconscious on the floor. I felt bad about having to knock them out for this, but it was the only way I could see to get them together to discuss civilly what to do about the College.

“What is this place?” I asked as I waited for them to wake up.

“My hideaway,” Mystic explained, “It’s a gap in the walls that only I know how to get to. Over the years I’ve turned it into my own personal library. Do you like it?”

“Well . . . there certainly are a lot of books,” Steadfast said, looking at the towering shelves loaded to overflowing.

There was no more time to talk as the Jarl awoke, groaning. She looked around at us before jumping to her hooves and reaching for her sword, which she no longer had.

“What do you think you’re doing, ponynapping me!?” she demanded, “I knew you were loyal to the College!”

She jumped as the Arch-Mage woke up on the floor next to her.

“What is the meaning of this?!” he demanded, looking around crossly.

“You’ve got to settle this conflict,” I spoke to them, “But killing each other won’t accomplish it.”

“You want the College to be emptied out, is that it?” the Arch-Mage asked, “This is one of the last safe havens for unicorns in Horizon. Where are we supposed to go?”

“No, I don’t want the College emptied,” I said, “But that doesn’t mean I want your reckless experiments to destroy Winterhorn. These earth ponies have as much a right to live here as you do.”

“You’re endangering our way of life,” the Jarl pointed out, “When Jarl Stormcloud hears about all this he’ll shut you down for sure. This is Stormcloud territory after all, and you have to abide by his word.”

“Maybe you don’t,” I said, “What if the College left the Stormclouds?”

“Join the Empire?” the Arch-Mage asked with disgust, “They don’t approve of us.”

“I didn’t say that,” I explained, “What if you became your own city-state?”

“Never!” the Jarl said, “Winterhorn is Stormcloud through and through.”

“Maybe so,” I said, “But I didn’t say Winterhorn should secede, only the College.”

“How is that going to work?” Winter Glory asked, “The College and the town are right next to each other.”

“Not exactly,” I said, “In fact, from the events earlier today and the fight tonight, there’s not many buildings left of Winterhorn near the College. You can rebuild around what’s left, which should be far enough away. The College can even help. It could be a provision of the peace treaty.”

“Peace treaty?” Clairvoyance asked.

“Yes, to end the fighting. The College of Winterhorn will be declared independent so long as they help rebuild the town and not endanger it again with reckless behavior. In return, Winterhorn will promise to respect the College’s sovereignty and never to attack it again without provocation.”

“Doesn’t sound like we have much of a choice,” the Arch-Mage grumbled.

“We won’t keep you here,” I said, “I just wanted you to know there was another option to fighting over this. If you like, you can go to war again. The College will destroy the town, until the Stormclouds come and pummel the College in retaliation until it falls into the sea. I’m offering you a different decision.”

“It does sound like a good idea,” the Jarl admitted, “I’m willing to agree if you are.”

“Very well,” the Arch-Mage said after thinking for a minute, “But let’s get this down in writing.”

He pulled a scroll and quill off a nearby bookshelf and began to write.

◊◊◊ ◊◊◊ ◊◊◊

And so, on the morning of the first day of the 201st year of the Fourth Era, Jarl Winter Glory of Winterhorn and Arch-Mage Clairvoyance of the College of Winterhorn emerged from the College and announced an end to the fighting. They had stayed up nearly the entire night drafting the document they now each held a copy of. The Treaty of Winterhorn officially recognized the College as a separate nation, providing they helped repair all the damage their recklessness had caused. Of course, not everypony was satisfied, but the majority of the students and townponies agreed that the peace the two leaders had drafted was just and fair.

Of course, very few knew that it was the four of us that had brought the peace about, and that suited me just fine. We were already gaining quite a reputation throughout Horizon, and if we were recognized for anything else we wouldn’t be able to step outside without being mobbed.

“It’s not exactly what I wanted, but I suppose this compromise will have to do,” the Arch-Mage spoke as he stood beside me, “And, I suppose you were right about this fight just leading to our own self-destruction.”

“Did you just admit you were wrong?” Mystic asked, grinning.

“I never said that,” he quickly said, “But everypony makes mistakes, even Arch-Mages.”

“It’s not wrong to make mistakes,” Mephalda said, sharing her wisdom, “It’s how you handle the aftermath that matters.”

“I must say,” the Arch-Mage said, turning to look at me, “I never once considered seceding from Horizon. Wherever did you get that idea?”

“Well, I was just thinking about how this is the last refuge for unicorns in a land that’s becoming increasingly hostile to anypony who’s not the same race as Jarl Stormcloud,” I said, “It’s something I didn’t mention earlier, but I was hoping you’d consider allowing the College to become a sanctuary for all non-earths now that it’s independent of Horizon.”

“We’re a school of magic,” he said, “We’re for unicorns only.”

“Yes, but you’re also a nation-state now,” I said, “And remember when you asked me where unicorns could go in Horizon if the College was shut down? Every other race already has nowhere to go.”

“Well, I suppose that’s true,” he admitted, “I’ll have messengers spread the word that anypony who feels threatened by Jarl Stormcloud’s regime is welcome here.”

“Speaking of Jarl Stormcloud . . .” Steadfast said, pointing at a Stormcloud messenger that was galloping up to the College.

“We’d better see what the Jarl wants,” Clairvoyance said, leading the way down to the remains of the town, “I doubt he could’ve gotten word of our secession yet.”

“How may I help you?” he asked the messenger as she met us.

“I’m here to speak to them, actually,” she said, weaving around the Arch-Mage to reach us before making her announcement, “Jarl Stormcloud needs you in Earthhaven immediately.”

“What for?” I asked.

“The War,” she replied plainly before seeing I wanted more specifics, “He’s preparing for the attack on Marekarth.”

Level Up
Health: 310 Stamina: 300 Magicka: 300
New Perk: Finesse [Lockpick] -- Your skill with lockpicks is refined enough that, even when failing to pick a lock, your lockpick will rarely break.
New Quest: The City of Stone -- Join the Stormclouds for the attack on Marekarth.

Comments

[Constellation]

Hmmm, I'm not sure if I like this version, or Skyrim's version more, it was good though, that's for sure.

I can't wait for the next chapter!

For SKYRIM!...I mean, HORIZON!