“Be that as it may,” the bishop who had first raised the subject of the human city spoke again, “I believe the First Sword has completed enough of his training for us to allow him to leave the sanctuary and assign him his first mission…
For example, why not send him to the border forces that deal with the humans?
“Perhaps the current First Sword’s blessing is so powerful precisely because of them.
It’s little more than a shot in the dark, but it would give the young warrior some much-needed practical experience.
Not all humans are as peaceful as the city-dwellers.
Complete savages sail down from the north as well!”
“A very sound proposal, Bishop.
To be honest, I expected far more concern for your grandson from the great-grandfather of our current First Sword.
After all, your descendant has yet to master the temporal displacement of cause and effect.
That leaves him considerably weaker—and far more vulnerable.
At my age, it is always pleasant to be proven wrong about the younger generation, Zifrisin Kaslana.” The ancient elf smiled faintly as she brushed a finger against the cloth covering her face.
“I was the second candidate to become the First Sword after Indrasil.
Do not forget that, Your Grace,” the elderly Snow Elf replied with an irritated snort, gripping the armrests of his chair.
“I know exactly what the First Sword can and cannot do…
and I am not so foolish as to neglect my duties as a bishop of our God for the sake of family ties.
So…
do you agree?”
“Of cour— Ah…”
She broke off abruptly as a colossal wave of magical energy tore through the chamber like a battering ram.
“Purest Aetherius…
the pure blood of Anu…
It’s as though…
as though one of the Magna Ge…
one of the stars themselves has descended into our world…”
“How is that possible?”
“What in—”
“No…
that’s impossible!”
“By Magnus and the Et’Ada…”
“O Auri-El, protect us…”
The bishops looked at one another in stunned disbelief like a group of bewildered children, unable to comprehend what had just happened.
Only the ancient elf remained still, her gaze fixed grimly on a single point.
She knew rather more than most about the hidden truths of this world… and that knowledge did nothing to improve the Archbishop’s mood.
… Because the Eye of Magnus had returned to Nirn.
***
The Next Day
Feator Kaslana
Yeah… Pester a bunch of elves enough, and eventually they’ll order you to spend an entire day sitting around and doing absolutely nothing.
Fortunately, elven perception of time came to the rescue.
With it, I could sit by the window in the morning, quietly watching nature… and the next thing I’d know, it would already be late evening.
If nobody disturbed me, I could probably sit there like that for several days.
An amusing quirk of long-lived races.
I’d noticed the same thing in other Snow Elves more than once.
And it was a wonderful way to pass the time whenever there was nothing else to do…
Oh?
What’s going on over there?..
Curious, I narrowed my eyes and looked out the window of my quarters, which overlooked the knights-paladins’ main training yard.
A crowd of elves had gathered below.
Well, well, well.
Stirring up trouble without me?..
Can’t have that.
I pulled on a shirt that looked extremely…
fantasy-esque.
Honestly, I don’t know how else to describe it.
I’m pretty sure Will Turner wore something vaguely similar in Pirates of the Caribbean… Ah, whatever.I’m clearly never going to be much of a fashion guy.
I’ll learn to live with it.
The official—meaning mandatory—attire of the First Sword also included something akin to cavalry boots.
Knee-high, though much softer and more flexible than the real thing, so they never restricted my movements.
Besides, without armor, they protected my legs far better, since enchantments worked much more effectively on leather than on the thin fabric of my trousers.
Giving my thoroughly magnificent self one last look in the mirror, I stepped out of my room.
Though “room” was hardly the right word—it was more like a prince’s suite, honestly.
Still, after a dozen years, even that sort of luxury starts to feel normal.
For now, I was still mostly human, and humans were nothing if not adaptable.
Practically flying down the spiral staircase of the tower whose top floor I now called home, like some kind of Disney princess, I reached the bottom in no time.
“Well, well…
now this is interesting.”
I practically spilled out into a crowd of elves dressed in plain white shirts and trousers that didn’t get in the way of training.
Yes, elves didn’t always wear beautiful robes and gleaming armor.
Not all of them, anyway.
By tradition, the knight-paladins cared far less about the refined luxury favored by elven society.
And Snow Elves, in general, weren’t in the habit of dressing like scarecrows either, preferring sensible white-and-blue clothing instead.
Gelebor and his brother were among those gathered.
Naturally, I headed over to them first.
Over the years, we’d developed an easy camaraderie almost without noticing it.
True friendship, though, was another matter.
Our positions in life were simply too different now…
and I was far too busy far too often.
“My shy friend,” I said as I quietly approached, “care to tell me what this rally’s about?”
“F-Feator.” Gelebor jumped slightly at my voice, apparently having been lost in thought.
“I…
don’t know what a rally is, but…
Captain Kelembris’s adjutant came by.
He said there’d be an announcement soon and that everyone needed to be here… So…
we’re waiting.”
“And the fact that I wasn’t the first to hear about it…” I narrowed my eyes in my favorite expression, doing my best impression of the world’s most suspicious-looking man.
Ichimaru Gin, you shall not be forgotten.”…means this came as a surprise to everyone.”
“Mhm.” Gelebor nodded, frowning with concern.
“Which means…
if you didn’t know about it…
then you don’t know what that wave of magic was that swept through last night?”
“No idea,” I said, not entirely truthfully, remembering the sensation that had awakened me in the middle of the night.
Ysgramor.
Humans.
Snow Elves.
The Merethic Era.
The Night of Tears.
…Anyone who’d played through the College of Winterhold questline would remember this little thing.
The Eye of Magnus.
May Auri-El watch over your path, and may your support keep this tale alive.