Gaining strength

Summary: The Dragonborn have parted ways, both seeking to grow stronger before the final battle with Alduin. Seeking to improve his magic, Jaden Relix heads north to the College of Winterhold.

Windhelm

Ulfric Stormcloak sank into his throne as the day came to an end. The war continued to be in stalemate, with the Imperials holding the west of Skyrim while he controlled the east.

However, there was a more pressing matter that demanded his attention at the moment.

The Dragonborn.

Word had spread quickly from Whiterun hold some time ago that not one, but two Dragonborn had been discovered when they slew a Dragon that had been attacking the hold.

Reliable details, however, were hard to come by. By most reports, the Dragonborn were siblings, the eldest of the two being a woman in her mid-twenties, with the younger being a man only three years younger. They said that the pair of them had answered the Greybeards call and ascended the Throat of the World.

There were even rumors that the two of them had battled the World-Eater himself atop the mountain and driven him off.

Ulfric had no reason to doubt these rumors, as the Dragonborn was a great Nordic legend, after all! Of course a pair of brave Nordic warriors could achieve all of these things.

The rest of the rumors, however, were quite troubling.

The Dragonborn were Nords! They had to be. They were part of a Nordic prophesy and were apparently great warriors, fighting for Skyrim's safety. So why were there rumors that the pair of them were Dunmer?!

This raised another question. Why had the Dragonborn not come to join him? They obviously cared for Skyrim, so why do they not join his army and drive the Imperial milk-drinkers from their land?

"My Jarl." Came a voice, snapping Ulfric out of his thoughts. Kneeling before the throne was one of his scouts, more specifically, it was one of the few that the Jarl of Windhelm had sent to locate the Dragonborn and bring them to Windhelm. Surely, he could convince them to join his cause if he got the chance to speak with them.

"What do you have to report?" the Jarl spoke, his deep voice carrying through the halls of his palace.

The scout stood. "My Jarl, I have searched for word of the Dragonborn, and have news. It appears that they have separated."

Ulfric raised an eyebrow. "Separated?"

The scout nodded, his expression hidden behind his helmet. "Yes, Jarl Ulfric. I have heard that the elder has vanished. No one seems to know where she is."

Ulfric's eyes narrowed. "And the younger? What of him?"

"Last word on him came from Whiterun. He appears to be heading towards Winterhold. No one seems to know why."

The Jarl nodded. "Alright. Your previous orders still stand. Find the Dragonborn and bring them here."

The scout nodded, but hesitated as he turned. "My Jarl, might you answer one question for me?"

Ulfric's eyes narrowed. "What question is that?"

The scout took a deep breath, steeling his nerves before continuing. "My Jarl, the rumors about the Dragonborn have been constant for a while now, but you refuse to consider what many of your men have begun to accept. That the Dragonborn might be Dunmer after all."

Ulfric's eyes flashed with anger as he climbed to his feet. "The Dragonborn is a legend from ancient Skyrim, a Nordic Legend! How dare you suggest that the Dragonborn could be Elves! That is an insult to your own ancestors, boy!" He thundered.

The scout scrambled back a few steps.

Ulfric returned to his seat. "Leave me, scout. And do not return without the Dragonborn. One or the other, it doesn't matter." His voice resembled a saber cat's growl.

The scout have a hasty nod and almost ran from the room. Ulfric let out a breath as he sank into his throne once more.

Could it be true? Could the Dragonborn be Dunmer? No! The Jarl refused to accept it. The Dragonborn were Nords. That is the way the gods designed it. That is the way it must be.

Winterhold

Jaden pushed his way through the snow, trying to ignore the cold, but finding that to be quite difficult. The Dunmer wiped wet powder out of his eyes for the third time before he was finally able to see the road in front of him visible through the heavy snowfall. After a few more minutes of walking, Jaden entered the capital of Winterhold.

The city hadn't improved much over the last time had been here. There were very few buildings still standing and only three guards wandering the street as Jaden passed through. The Dunmer ignored most of this, instead focusing on his reason for coming.

The College of Winterhold. The only place a mage could go to work in peace in this province. While the Jarls had their court wizards out of tradition and necessity, anyone else was generally met with hostility if they were seen practicing magic.

As he approached the entrance, he was stopped by an Altmer. She stood in front of him, barring access, but didn't seem to show open hostility.

"What brings you here, Dunmer?" She asked, appearing genuinely interested in the answer.

Jaden met her eye. "I am a mage and wish to join the College. May I enter?"

The Altmer crossed her arms and put a fist to her chin. "Perhaps, but what is it you hope to find within?"

Jaden lowered his head. "I'm hoping to learn more about Destruction magic."

The Altmer nodded, but Jaden thought he saw the ghost of a smile appear on her face before she responded. "Destruction magic is powerful, truly. Wield it faithfully and few can withstand you." She lowered the hand from her chin. "It appears the College does indeed possess what you seek. However, before you can enter, you must prove you have some talent with magic. A small test if you will."

Jaden nodded. "What do you want me to do?"

The Altmer smiled. "Any mage skilled in Destruction should be able to do a basic Firebolt spell."

Jaden nodded and held a hand towards the seal on the ground, summoning his magicka. A small orb of flame formed quickly in his palm before launching itself forward, crashing into the seal.

The Altmer nodded. "Well done. I believe you will make a superb addition to the College. I am Faralda, and I am the College's instructor in the school of Destruction. Welcome, apprentice. Might I know you're name?"

Jaden nodded. "Jaden Relix, and thank you. May I enter the Collage now?"

The Altmer nodded. "Of course. Once inside you will want to speak with Mirabelle Ervine, our Master Wizard."

Jaden nodded. "Thank you, Instructor." Jaden said the title out of habit, earning a confused look from Faralda, but she chose to wave him towards the Collage rather than question the Dunmer.

Jaden quickly crossed the bridge and met the Master Wizard Faralda had told him about. When he found her, Mirabelle had been in conversation with another Altmer, one Jaden immediately recognized as a member of the Thalmor.

As Jaden approached, the conversation had apparently reached its end. After introducing himself to Mirabelle, the Master Wizard began to show Jaden to his room.

However, as the two began to walk towards the Hall of Attainment, the Thalmor stepped in. "Hold." He said as he stepped towards Jaden, glaring at his face.

Jaden met his eye, his face betraying nothing. "Yes? Did you need something?"

The Thalmor agent continued glaring. "Have we met before?" He practically spat the words into Jaden's face.

Jaden's face twisted in confusion for a moment before realization struck. The Thalmor Embassy. "No, I do not believe so, sir."

The agent continued glaring at Jaden for a few moments before he turned on his heel and left.

Jaden turned to Mirabelle, confusion on his face. The Breton shook her head and sighed. "Please don't mind Ancano. He's here as an adviser to the Arch-Mage, but apparently he's used to the Empire bowing to his every demand. Be assured that the Thalmor receive no such treatment here."

Jadan nodded as the Breton showed him to his room. "Here we are. Now, I have business to attend to, so I must leave you. Tolfdir is holding a lesson tomorrow morning and I do hope you will join the other apprentices for it. If you have any problems, please let one of our senior members know."

Jaden nodded. "Thank you, Master Wizard."

Mirabelle looked at the Dunmer quizzically. "Titles are completely unnecessary here. Address our instructors and other apprentices by name, please."

Jaden was still, before nodding once again. "I will try, Mrs. Ervine."

The Master Wizard nodded. "All right then. Goodbye." With that said, the Breton left the hall.

Jaden took in his dorm room, pulling the staff off his back and leaning it against the wall. Turning, the Dumner left his dorm and exited the Hall, taking a seat on the bench outside and pulling book out of his robe pouch to begin reading.

It was an old book, the cover having long faded to the point it was featureless. Jaden flipped open to the one of the pages where he had left his marker and continued reading.

A short distance away, the arrival of an unknown Dunmer caught the attention of a pair of young mages, who approached their fellow apprentice.

"You are new, yes?" came a voice, snapping Jaden out of his book. Looking up, he saw a pair of figures standing beside him.

Jaden closed his book and stood, slipping it back into his robe's pouch before taking in the pair of them.

One was a Khajiit. He stood with the laid back attitude of someone with far too much pride and too little humility.

The other was another Dunmer. Her skin was unusually dark for a Dark Elf, closer to blue then grey and eyes red as blood.

Jaden nodded and extended a hand. "Yes. My name is Jaden Relix. Might I know yours?"

The Khajiit took the extended hand, giving it a firm shake. "J'zargo is pleased to make your acquaintance." His eyes narrowed slightly, as if sizing Jaden up. "You have training in the school of Destruction, I believe."

Jaden nodded. "I do. Every mage should know enough to protect themselves."

J'zargo smirked. "Really? Have you mastered the Expert level destruction spells?"

The Dunmer turned to her fellow student. "J'zargo, that's not fair. He's only just ari-"

"Yes, I have." Interrupted Jaden, not taking his eyes off the Khajiit.

J'zargo started. "Really? J'zargo finds that hard to believe."

Jaden shook his head and took a few steps away before extending his hand towards one of the magelights that ringed the College's grounds, fingers curled. He focused his mind, summoning his magic. Sparks began to jump between his fingers for a few moments as a bright ball of blue light formed in his palm. With a quick thrust of his hand, Jaden sent the Thunderbolt spell straight into the magelight. He then turned back to his acquaintances, who were stunned by what had just occurred.

"Does that evidence suffice?" Jaden asked, a slight grin breaking out on his face.

J'zargo folded his arms, but didn't seem intimidated. "Impressive. It's good that there are mages here that might be able to keep up with J'zargo. We will see whose magic proves stronger." With that, J'zargo turned and entered the Hall of Attainment.

Jaden watched him go before turning to the other mage. "Is he always like that?"

The female Dunmer nodded. "Unfortunately." She extended a hand. "We haven't been introduced. Brelyna Marylon, of House Telvaani." As Jaden accepted the hand, Brelyna's eyes narrowed. "And before you ask, yes I have an ancestry steeped in magic and no, I don't want to talk about it. Yes, I know that Winterhold used to be full of our kind and no, I don't care that they're gone now. Does that cover everything?" her voice was irritated, as if she had recited that speech several times before.

Jaden tilted his head confused. "What? I wasn't going to ask about your ancestry. I don't care about it."

Brelyna looked shocked. "Really?"

Jaden nodded. "Really."

"Why don't you care about ancestry?" the Dunmer woman's tone changed immediately from confrontational to curious.

Jaden shook his head, sighing. "All ancestry does is throw expectations at you." He turned and began to head back to his dorm room. "I learned that the hard way."

Brelyna stood there for a moment, trying to process what had just occurred. She remembered the name Jaden had introduced himself with. "Relix…..where have I heard that name before?" She stood there for a few more minutes before she realized the sun was sinking at she get back to her room to study.