…Anyone who’d played through the College of Winterhold questline would remember this little thing.
The Eye of Magnus.
An artifact of immense power, belonging to none other than the God of Magic Himself.
The kind of eldritch nightmare that made a nuclear bomb look tame.
Yeeeaah…
“But you clearly have your suspicions, First Sword,” Vyrthur said, giving me a curious look.
There wasn’t yet a trace of the madness he’d displayed in The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim.
At this point, he was certainly a troublesome fellow, but hardly a bloodthirsty maniac.
Besides, he was sincerely devoted to Auri-El, which earned him considerable favor with the Temple’s leadership.
They did have a bit of a soft spot for genuine believers.
It wasn’t hard to see why he’d eventually become an archbishop… assuming, of course, that he hadn’t simply awarded himself the title after the Snow Elves were all but wiped out.
“I do have my suspicions,” I admitted, carefully hiding the unease welling up inside me.
“But why waste time guessing when someone’s about to tell us the answer anyway?” I asked with my grin returning, gesturing off to the side.
Another captain had just appeared—Kelembris, the officer in command of the unit my friends belonged to.
The captain himself kept his composure well enough, but his younger adjutant, however, wasn’t nearly as successful.
The man looked grim enough to sour milk.
Oh…
I really didn’t like the look of this.
But I’m the First Sword, aren’t I?
Like I said, why guess when you can just ask?
“Captain Kelembris, may Auri-El light your path,” I said somewhat ceremoniously, though it certainly succeeded in getting the man’s attention.
“I wasn’t informed…
but…
what’s going on?” I continued more quietly, tilting my head in silent inquiry.
“The First Sword…” the captain replied after a brief pause, sounding somewhat dazed.
“The news is grim, to put it briefly.
These humans…
The bishops believe they’ve discovered…” He fell silent for a moment before mouthing two words.
“The Eye of Magnus.”
Letting out a heavy sigh, he glanced toward the paladins waiting some distance away before turning back to me.
“I ask that you not announce this just yet.
We don’t want to cause a panic…”
“I understand, Captain.
I understand completely,” I gently cut off the grim-faced warrior, nodding with a knowing smile.
“But what course of action are the bishops planning to take?
Or is everything still under discussion?”
“That falls under His Majesty’s jurisdiction…” he replied with another weary sigh, signaling to his adjutant with a nod.
“I’m afraid they’ll be the ones making the decision.”
“In that case…” I shrugged, pretending to lose interest in the whole matter.
In reality…
Feator, you’re so screwed!
I hadn’t stepped on enough butterflies to prevent the Night of Tears.
Which meant…
Time to brace my ass for what was coming.
…Yeah.
Whenever everything goes completely to hell, my poor backside seems to come up an awful lot.
***
A Few Days Later
“Mmm…” I hummed thoughtfully as I sat atop the observation post.
“Have you noticed something, First Sword?” Vaisy asked from nearby, a hint of sarcasm in her voice.
“A bunch of barbarians wrapped in animal hides.
Nothing out of the ordinary.” Unfazed by the jab, I simply shrugged and settled comfortably into the chair opposite her.
Might as well enjoy the show in comfort.
Then again…
calling them humans felt like a stretch.
They were Vikings—at their absolute worst.
Not that I blamed them for it, but their level of civilization was…
well… Let’s just say no one from the twenty-first century would consider them equals.
Tolerance was all well and good, but I simply couldn’t take the local humans seriously yet.
Was I supposed to enlighten them like Prometheus?
Why?
Help my former race just because we happened to share the same species in my previous life?
What exactly had this abstract concept of Humanity ever done to make me owe it anything?
Especially a bunch of Vikings?
Nope…
racial solidarity could go take a hike.
I’d be rooting for the elves, thank you very much.
Better to put up with pointy ears and a few eccentricities than the smell wafting off my former kin.
Hell, I could catch a whiff of it even from up here!
“You lost interest in them pretty quickly,” she observed, peeling an apple that looked perfectly ordinary by Earth’s standards.
“They didn’t keep your attention for long.”
“Weeell…” I spread my hands.
“You’re not wrong.”
It wasn’t as if I’d gone so long without seeing human mugs that I’d be thrilled to see them again.
Snow Elves weren’t different enough from humans for me to forget what my former kin looked like.
“You’re impossible,” she sighed, deftly slicing off a piece of apple and popping it into her mouth.
“That’s why you love me.” I saluted her with two fingers as I sank deeper into my chair.
“And what makes you so confident, Feator?” She tried to sound cold in response, but come on.
How many years had we known each other by now?
Or rather, winters?
I’d long since learned to spot the hidden meaning behind her emotions.
“Because I’m not one of your hopeless admirers who can do nothing but mumble and pine from afar for years,” I replied with a shrug, having long since identified one of the main reasons for the elves’ low birthrate.
Their courtship period lasted an absurdly long time—even by the spoiled standards of the twenty-first century.
“I’d like to argue with that, but…” The elf let out a small sigh.
“I can’t exactly argue with the truth.”
“It’s not that they’re slow, Feator.” Her icy blue eyes fixed on my face.
“They’re just cowards.
They’re afraid I’ll reject them and all those years of longing will have been for nothing.
Then they’d have to spend who knows how long finding someone else to dream about.”
“Which is why I’m the perfect candidate.” I grinned shamelessly, spreading my hands.
“According to everyone else, I’m still too young to know anything about romance, courtship, flirting, or relationships in general.”
“You really do have an answer for everything…” she muttered, absently slicing off another piece of apple and popping it into her mouth.
Then she suddenly perked up.
“Wait.” She blinked.
“Was that your incredibly weird way of confessing your love to me, or what?”
(End of Chapter)
If this story has earned your blessing, consider casting your Power Stones in its favor.
May Auri-El watch over your path, and may your support keep this tale alive.