A changeling's visit to Skyrim

The city of Winterhold, for those who knew it, was wrought with inhospitable cold and had been ravaged by many disasters over the centuries. Winterhold was not the city it was before The Collapse. Those who lived there usually came to join the famed and infamous College, and then stayed because they had little money and nowhere to go.

Those who chose to join the College were often the victims of their own experiments, rouge elementals and malevolent beings from other worlds, or powers far beyond their control and comprehending; not to mention the overwhelming backlash from the townsfolk, a majority of which detested their daily disasters to the point of hating all magic.

And of those magic-haters who defaulted to the life of a merchant or guard in the ruined town, all had to struggle to get by. Business, resources, and cheerfulness were scarce. And the omnipresent dangers, while easy to become jaded to, were no less potent.

It was debatable which of the two groups were worse off.

A sparking ball of animated ice whizzed around the town between the buildings, emitting an aura of cold wherever it went. It swooped angrily through the air until it was struck with a bolt of lightning. The sphere became unstable, hissing violently before exploding into a shower of dust and bits of smoldering soul gem.

“I think that’s the last of them.” Faralda said to the other College mages as they all stood amid the remains of dozens more of the anomalies.

“Good! Now I can get some answers!” Jarl Korir growled as he sheathed his sword. At the first sign of trouble, he had rushed out into the fray with the mages in order to defend his town while his people hid within their homes. “What have you filthy magic-users done this time?! I swear, Savos is gonna get an earful from me.”

“Archmage Aren is dead!” Mirabelle stated, nearly matching the Jarl in terms of anger “So unless you’d like to complain to him in the afterlife, I suggest you evacuate your people and let us handle this problem.”

“I think not, mage. I’ve outlasted worse than this, I’ll outlast it all. Winterhold will stand against anything the heavens can throw at us!” the Jarl declared, shaking his fist at the sky.

“Screw that! We’re out of here!” one of the villagers shouted as he, and all his neighbors sprinted out of town with their belongings strapped to their backs.

As the stubborn nord Jarl shouted to his traitorous townspeople, Mirabelle searched around for the four apprentices, holding Savos Aren’s amulet in her hand.

When he’d given it to her along with a strange piece of curved metal and a crudely drawn map for safe keeping, she was rather curious as to what he intended to do with them. Shortly after the incident that took his life, and sealed the College inside an ethereal storm, she’d found the latest entry in his journal stating he had to finish what he’d started in Labyrinthian.

After barely a minute of searching, the assistant to the Archmage had found the students, sitting inside the inn around the fire, tending the frostbite they’d received while battling the anomalies.

“You four,” she called out to them “I have need of your assistance.”

“Of course Miss Mirabelle. What is it?” Onmund asked as Brelyna bandaged his arm.

“At the rate it’s spreading, we can safely assume that whatever Ancano released from the Eye will continue to increase in size, and devour all of Skyrim if we don’t do something to stop it. This is why we shall remain here and set up wards, countermeasures, anything to slow it down. Meanwhile, the four of you must travel to a place in the mountains west of here, it is known as Labyrinthian; I’ve reason to believe it is where the Archmage stored a way to control the Eye.” She explained. “For all of Skyrim’s sake I hope I’m right about this assumption.”

“Y-you’re sending just us? Alone?” Brelyna asked nervously.

“Indeed. And I’m sorry it has to be this way.” Mirabelle answered solemnly as she passed them the map, and the objects. “I know how much I am asking of all of you, but there is no other way. We’re counting on you, so do your best… and hopefully we’ll be waiting for you when you return.”

With nothing more she could say, Mirabelle turned and left.

“J’zargo never signed up for this shit.” J’zargo said bitterly.

“You’re telling Trixie. Trixie only wanted to become a great sorcerer, and live a long happy life in a new world.” Trixe lamented “And become ridiculously famous so she could rub it in Twilight Sparkle’s face.” She added.

“Come on you guys, everyone is counting on us!” Onmund tried to rally them “You heard Mirabelle, Skyrim is doomed if we do nothing, and we’re the only ones left who can. We can be just like the Dragonborn, saving the world from certain doom! Doesn’t that sound exciting?”

The others looked to each other with shrugs, and nodded meekly.

“So enough whining. Let’s tend to our wounds and set off for… uh…” Onmund looked at the map “Lab-a-rinth...ian? Labyrinthian!”

“Would any of you like me to try out that new healing spell I’ve been working on before we go?” Brelyna offered.

“NO!” everyone immediately backed away.

“Oh come on, please? The test frogs don’t turn into oranges anymore!” Brelyna pouted.

“Stross! Slow down!” Fenora called as she sprinted to keep up with her changeling as he buzzed overhead.

“I can’t, my mage buddies need me!” he yelled back before flying off further.

Fenora wished that she’d asked Luna to teleport them straight to Winterhold. But nooooo, she simply had to tell the all-powerful Princess to get Jurgan’s Horn first and meet up with them when they got there, it was sooooo much more important than saving their aching legs. Still, she soldiered on in hot pursuit of her intrepid changeling hero.

They had nearly reached the outskirts of Windhelm, and the area around them was still quite easy to make out despite the sun having nearly set. The swirling tower of magical energy just over the mountains that reached up to the skies bathed the entire area for miles around in its pale blue light, adding ever more urgency to our heroes.

Fenora lost sight of Stross as he flew over a patch of trees, and she had to go through in order to keep pace. Slashing her way out of the foliage, she looked all around the sky to spot him again.

When she did, he was no longer racing through the air, but diving to the ground near the city gates in the distance.

On closer inspection, he landed just in time to defend a group of four cloaked travelers from the paranoid city guards. Of the four, there was a nord man, a dunmer girl, a kahjiit, and a horned woman wearing with a ludicrously large hat.

It didn’t take too long to recognize them.

…

“We don’t like you filthy mages sneaking around in the city, especially not you furries and grey-skins!” the foremost guard sneered as he shoved Onmund to the ground next to his already battered friends. “And if you even think about coming back we’ll have worse for you.”

“Hey! No one treats my friends that way!” Stross yelled as he landed “They’ve got as much reason to be in the city as anyone else.” He jabbed a finger into the guard’s muscular chest.

“Oh? And what are you gonna do about it, bug?” the guard faced him down with five of his buddies backing him up.

“Uhh…” Stross deflated with the odds suddenly against him. If only they had been bandits, he would have roasted their butts until they were charred and crispy.

“Hah, that’s what I thought. Don’t think about showing your face around here again.” The guard laughed as he and the others went back to their posts.

Fenora arrived a few moments later after finally catching up to Stross, panting and out of breath. “Hey, are you guys alright?”

“Dragonborn? Uh, not really, but we’ll live.” Onmund told her, holding his bruised face as she and Stross helped him and the others off the ground.

“What the heck did they do to you guys?” Stross asked as he looked over the rest.

“We were hoping to gain an audience with Jarl Ulfric. We were going to ask for help containing the situation in Winterhold, but we couldn’t even get inside.” Onmund explained “The second we got within a stone’s throw of the palace, the guards surrounded us and… well, you caught the tail end of it all.”

“That’s actually the reason we came running all the way out here.” Fenora told them “We saw that beam all the way from Riften, and were on our way to help you out. What’s going on up in Winterhold?”

“That’s a long story.” Onmund told her before starting the tale from the beginning.

“…And that’s basically it.” Onmund finished retelling all that had happened “Long and short of it, with the Archmage dead and all the teachers trying to contain this surge of power, we’re all that’s left to find this… whatever we’re looking for. Gods I’m glad you two showed up when you did.”

Our heroes and the apprentices now sat around the house used once before when helping Karliah and the Thieves’ Guild, this time recovering from the earlier tussle with the guards.

“This is quite the predicament indeed.” Luna said via the violet gem laying on the table between them all “Our tasks are becoming ever more dire, my friends; your Eye of Magnus threatens to consume this world, and Alduin wishes to rule over it.”

“We’ll just have to stop them both.” Fenora told them “But I think it’s unanimous that we need to take care of the Eye first. Unlike Alduin, it doesn’t seem to be taking it’s time.”

The group nodded in agreement.

“Then why pray tell am I still doing these tedious side-quests for these villagers of whose feet art glued to the ground?” Luna questioned. “Would I not be more useful at your side?”

“No Luna, we need to have that horn. Alduin hasn’t done anything yet, and that’s what’s worrying me. That’s what’s been worrying me this whole time, ever since Helgen.” Fenora explained.

“What does the elf lady mean?” J’zargo asked.

“Yeah, isn’t it a good thing the dragon god of time hasn’t started killing everyone?” Onmund added.

“There’s a dragon trying to take over the world?!” Trixie screamed.

Fenora was about to snap at each of them, but Stross quickly went into a rambling explanation before she could.

“Yet. He hasn’t started killing everyone yet.” Stross put simply “The first time I ever saw him, Alduin was able to raze an entire town on his own. And he’s got an entire army of dragons at his disposal, yet we’ve only seen two. But each time we fought those flying death machines, we were barely able to win against them, even with help. In all seriousness, Alduin could swoop down with his army and wipe out everyone; we’d be powerless against that many dragons at once. So why doesn’t he? More to the point, why would he not unless he’s working some angle we can’t see?” Stross finished once he was sure he’d made his point.

“Thank you Stross.” Fenora breathed a sigh of relief “See? This guy gets it! I just have to wonder what’s holding that damned dragon back, and it’s driving me mad.”

“Hmph, perhaps it’s because he knows that the Great and Powerful Trixie would defeat him easily.” Trixie said smugly.

“More like J’zargo, the Arcane Scourge would smite him down and mount his head on J’zargo’s wall.” The boastful kah’jiit challenged.

“Well I can set my mind at ease now that I know the solution,” Fenora said sarcastically as the two began to argue “When Alduin does come crashing down on our heads, we can just put you two on the front lines. With both of you fighting, they’ll probably surrender on the spot.”

“What?!” Trixie’s eyes went wide “Uh, no that’s alright. Trixie is sure J’zargo would be more than enough. He is the most skilled at destruction magic after all.”

“No. J’zargo would not say that.” the khajiit quickly backed down as well “J’zargo’s spells are no match for the Trixie-woman’s dazzling illusions and ability to draw a crowd.”

As Trixie and J’zargo’s desperately tried to deflate their own egos in a stroke of irony, even going so far as to hand the other compliments to their skill and give reasons as to why they should go instead, Stross finished tending to Brelyna’s wounds.

The damage the guards did to J’zargo was far more severe, and required immediate attention, whereas Onmund escaped with only a few bruises and a cracked rib. Trixie wasn’t even hurt past a couple scrapes on her elbows and knees, likely from kiting the guards until they were thrown from the city steps.

“There. All better.” Stross said as the healing waves faded along with the last few scratches on Brelyna’s face.

“Thank you Stross, I’m glad to know there are people like you in the world.” Brelyna sighed “I still cannot believe how they treated us in the city.”

“Did they refuse to talk to any of you?” Stross asked.

“I wish they had.” She said, that one sentence telling him all he needed to know, and yet she kept going. “One man tried to defend us, he looked like an old soldier, and they ridiculed him for it!”

“Good ol’ Brunwulf.” Stross remembered.

“They even have a whole section of the city sectioned off so the dunmer and argonians are kept away from everyone else; it felt so depressing just looking at it.” Breylyna told him of the Grey Quarter “How is anyone supposed to learn to coexist in a city so divided like that?”

An answer was already loaded on Stross’s tongue, ready to go. But then he thought on it for a second, and realized it was just a gentle assurance with no substance.

The more he thought about it, Stross realized the same thing would happen to his own kind back in Equestira if they ever tried coexistence that wasn’t hidden behind a disguise. Griffons and zebras were already considered strange by ponies, diamond-dogs even more so. And it only applied to changelings more; they were practically the stuff of nightmares by comparison.

“I wonder if they would accept us… or if we would make them.”

“Stross?” Brelyna asked after a while.

“I don’t know.” Stross answered and gave Brelyna a sideways hug “I don’t know how anything could work, if nopony wants it to. You just… you can’t force anyone to like anyone else, it’s not right.”

Brelyna sniffed a bit and pulled away from him. “Yeah. I can’t.” she whispered.

“Brey, what-“

As he was about to reach out and stop her, Fenora cut him off. “Stross! Are you two ready to go? We’re heading for Labyrinthian, no time to waste.”

It was a long and arduous trek through the mountains to the ancient and crumbling city of Bromjunaar, more commonly known as Labyrinthian. Nightfall was well upon them once they had even begun to near their destination, along with all the cold that came with it. With none of them having the forethought to bring warm cloaks, Stross found himself very popular with his ability to radiate a dome of heat; so popular that he accidentally tripped over someone else’s feet more than a few times.

However, Brelyna always held back a number of paces, noticeably enough to be out of the sphere’s influence. Stross slowed down a bit for her to catch up, but she still maintained her distance.

With a questioning look, Stross grabbed her in his magic field. “Come on Brelyna, there’s plenty of room next to me.” he told the shivering dunmer as he pulled her in and placed a hand around her waist as they walked side by side.

She looked startled, almost frightened even. But before she could protest, Fenora came up on her opposite side, and placed a hand on her shoulder “Come on, we can’t have any of you freezing to death.” She told her with a reassuring smile.

It was almost enough to keep her calm for the rest of the trip.

…

Upon arriving at the ancient city, the party had found a nest of frost trolls infesting the area leading up to the city square. With the scent of tasty, pre-warmed meat waiting for them, the trolls attacked without hesitation. But after a bit of cleverness involving a steep drop off a cliff, followed by some burny-hacky-slashy, they had all survived and reached the gates that led deeper inside the temple.

Fenora had some difficulty attaching the torc to the main door, to which Stross, Onmund and J’zargo each made a simultaneous joke about her fiddling around with knockers. They were each slapped for it.

The doors opened with an earsplitting grind, and just inside the massive archway they found a large foreboding hall that split off in four different directions. Each of the apprentice’s immediately chose a path and would have started down it, but Fenora quickly called them back, figuring that this place (like most things in Skyrim) was likely a deathtrap full of monsters and spikes.

Having exhausted most of their energy on the trek anyway, everyone decided it best to set up a camp and rest for a bit.

And that was where they found themselves now, sitting in one of the more sheltered areas of the courtyard near the Labyrinth, around a fire, trying to keep warm and regain their strength.

“What do the rest of you believe we’ll find in there?” J’zargo started up some idle conversation.

“I don’t know.” Onmund answered as he poked the fire with the end of a broken sword he’d found discarded amid the ruins “This is where Shalador locked himself away, right? To study magic.”

“Obsessively.” Brelyna chimed in “There were numerous writings and legends based around his work. Urag Gro-shub told me he spent most of his life researching magic, as well as trying to keep it out of the hands of the common folk; if you wanted to learn magic, Shalador believed you needed to know how to use it wisely. The massive maze here was actually built by him to test the skill of new mages, to determine whether they were fit to even practice magic in the first place.”

“Wow, that’s really strict compared to Equestria standards.” Stross commented “They use magic for everything there! Controlling the weather, growing their crops, washing their windows; even non-unicorns have a different kind of magic, primal or something. I wonder what Equestria would be like if they followed Shalador’s way of thinking, only letting a few powerful ponies use magic.”

“It would probably be very miserable if that were the case.” Brelyna told him “Shalador was so obsessed with his studies that his own wife left him, after many years of neglect where she hardly even saw him.”

Stross looked a bit taken aback by this, but it was not impossible to believe. It was easy to get so caught up in your own thing that you lose sight of all else. He sighed to himself and stared into the crackling flames, thinking of some ponies in Celestia’s school he’d known who were just like that.

“I’m back!” Fenora called as she approached and dumped an armful of firewood on the slowly burning pile. It was mostly broken up barrels scavenged from the nearby ruins. “How’s everyone holding up?”

“Could be better, could be worse.” Onmund reported “We’re facing down the unknown after all.”

“Trixie is hungry.” Trixie replied “These trolls are bland and inedible. Will somepony tell Trixie why we did not pack any food or water.”

“J’zargo read a survivalist book stating that one could survive any situation by consuming their own urine.” J’zargo told them.

Fenora groaned and turned to the one person that could give her any good news. “Stross, how’s Luna doing? Is she almost done?”

“Lemme check.” He pulled out the violet gem and activated it “Hey Luna, it’s Stross. How’re ya doin’?”

“Ah, it is good to hear your voice again. The canine, Barbas, with his knowledge of fallen champions of old, has been most helpful in retrieving lost treasures for the pirates of the Morrowind coast. They have agreed to aid us in turn in our search for the orc rabble that stole the Horn from the Merchant King two days prior.” Luna told them “And how doth thou fare? Hath thou reached Labyrinthian yet?”

“Yeah, we’re here, but there’s some kind of maze blocking our way.” Stross told her.

“Do as thou see-ist fit. I shall finish my business and be with you again soon. In the meantime…” there was a shuffling of cloth on the other side of the gem. “Onward ye sea-dogs! Raise the main sail and turn ‘er four degrees starboard! Arrg!”

“You know we don’t actually talk like that, right?”

“ARRG!”

"Hah! This crazy bird is havin' fun with us, I'll tell ya what!" Barbas's muffled voice yelled through the gem.

The conversation ended shortly after, with the light from the gem fading out. “Well, I guess we just wait a little longer for her, right?” Stross said as he repocketed it

“Sure, and for every second we waste, another inch of Skyrim gets swallowed by the Eye.” Fenora reminded them, her truthful yet pessimistic tone not helping their morale. “Who says we just go in now? Make some progress on that maze so we’re not wasting time with it when Princess Luna gets back.”

“I’m in.” Onmund raised his hand “I’m not about to sit around while Skyrim gets destroyed.”

“J’zargo wishes to go as well. Who knows what treasures lie in wait within these walls?”

“Or what dangers.” Stross reminded them “If we go in, which I don’t think is a good idea, we need to be careful.”

“Trixie wishes to get this over with so she can go home to her nice, comfy bed.”

“That’s four votes to go in and one to go in cautiously.” Fenora tallied them up “Brelyna, what about you?”

Brelyna looked timidly between her companions and the giant maze. “I…” she began “I don’t know. This seems really dangerous.”

“Hah, don’t fear. The Great and Powerful Trixie can handle any danger thrown at her.” Trixie said confidently.

“We can’t do this without you Brey, are you with us?” Onmund encouraged her.

The dunmer took a deep breath and sighed. “Okay. I’m in.” she said reluctantly.

With varying degrees of conviction in their hearts, our heroes and the mages marched through the giant archway, and into the great stone halls that were Shalador’s labyrinth. Looking to each other, they took the first steps forward.

“Okay everyone, let’s choose a path forward, and stick togeth-“

And then the floor shot up to the ceiling, creating great solid barriers of metal and stone between each of them. A loud sound of grinding stone echoed out as the magically reinforced walls of the maze locked in place, keeping each of them separate from the others and locking them inside the maze as well.

“Oh come on!” Fenora screamed in frustration.

“This place is… a-maze-ing me already.” Stross joked, and everyone groaned.