Practice of Magic: Alteration, Lesson One

  • They were gathered in the Arcaneum, both students and a few teachers, sitting on chairs or standing, listening to Phinis Gestor’s lecture. Deadsmell and another policy lecture of his. Booooring! He almost gave a yawn and J’zargo sitting next to him poked him. Gestor was standing on the stairs leading to the upper Arcaneum. Grulmar frowned, I can smell the stench of the dead even from here.

     

    "At this time, I would like to make a few statements regarding policy here at the College. Please refrain from practicing Conjuration spells in view of the town of Winterhold. Atronachs have a tendency to frighten the locals. Undead… well, I don't even think it needs to be said. Urag has asked me to remind everyone to please return materials borrowed from The Arcanaeum in the same condition as you received them. If this is impossible due to misuse or accident, Urag recommends finding a replacement copy to deliver to the Arcanaeum. Failure to do so will result in paying, in Urag's words, 'a blood price.' I did not ask him to elaborate on that point.”

     

    Urag and his stupid Code of Malacath. Blood price means he’ll make ya bleed and he won’t be satisfied until ya bleed enough.

     

    “Once again, I must ask that everyone please clean up any materials used in the common areas. We've had yet another sprained ankle due to soul gems being left on the floor. Let's please try and keep injuries to a minimum. The Midden remains off-limits at this time; while the initial outbreak has been cleaned up, the area is still considered hazardous. No more experiments are to be carried out there, and mages are advised that you enter the Midden at your own risk.”

     

    Outbreak? He looked at J’zargo who shrugged.

     

    “While Drevis appreciates the spellcasting skill that went into somehow cramming several hundred apples into his pillow-”

     

    Now Grulmar poked J’zargo, trying to supress a laugh and noticed J’zargo had the same problem. That was a good prank, Scorch. We need to do it more often. Mirabelle looked  their way and they both pretended they are horified by the notion of someome pulling pranks like that.

     

    “-he would ask that it please not happen again. He has suggested that, should he find out who is responsible, he is well versed in making things disappear permanently.”

     

    Grulmar then heard J’zargo gulp, but he himself had to supress a snort. Please, Vanish would sooner make himself disappear than anyone else.

     

    “There have been unconfirmed reports that someone has been sneaking into the town of Winterhold while invisible, and causing... issues. This goes quite against College policy, and the party responsible is advised to cease these actions at once. Any information as to the whereabouts of the previous group of Apprentices would be greatly appreciated. As of yet, there has been no sign of them. That is all, thank you.”

     

    Everyone went on with their business, the Arcaneum slowly clearing up and Grulmar leaned to J’zargo. “Sneakin' invisible into Winterhold. Why haven’t we thought about that?”

     

    J’zargo’s tail twitched in amusement behind his head and his whiskers straigthened as his maw twisted in what Khajiit probably called a smile. “Because neither J’zargo or Grulmar know that spell.”

     

    “Ah, right,” the Orc sighed. “And what was that about the outbreak in Midden, Scorch? Ya heard anythin’?”

     

    The Khajiit shook his head. “Not a word. But J’zargo wonders about the lost students. They have showed up here sometime before you did and then disappeared. It’s almost a month since they were seen.”

     

    “And here I thought this place was borin’,” Grulmar murmured, getting up from his chair. “Listen, I’ll catch up with ya later. I have a session with Grey. Finally goin’ to cast, Scorch.”

     

    “Break a leg,” J’zargo smiled.

     

    Let’s hope I won’t, Grulmar laughed in his head, hurrying to his first lesson of spellcasting with Tolfdir. Because the Hall of Elements was still off limits, he and Tolfdir agreed they were going to practice in Tolfdir’s room in the Hall of Attainment. The Thalmor were still occupying the Hall of Elements, studying the Eye and apparently getting nowhere with the research. Grulmar knew that Urag was studying it too, but through his books and in secret and he actually might have been getting somewhere with it.

     

    “You! Orc!” an arrogant voice stopped him as he was heading out of the main building, his hand already on the knob. He turned around and saw Ancano coming out of the Hall of Elements. “Yes, you! I want to have a word with you.”

     

    “Yer Majesty,” Grulmar bowed his head a little and saw how Ancano grimaced in annoyance.

     

    “You will adress me as Justiciar or Lord, beast. Are we clear?”

     

    “Yes, Yer Majesty.”

     

    Ancano's brows met in anger and Grulmar saw his eye twitch a little. “Why do I even bother?” the Altmer murmured. “I want you to tell that other Orc, the librarian, to give you some books and then you are to bring them down here. I have a suspicion he's hiding certain books from us, so I would like you to fetch them for me.”

     

    “Yer Majesty?”

     

    “Are you stupid or what? How the College can accept someone like you is beyond me,” Ancano growled. “So are you going to fetch those books? I'm still waiting.”

     

    “Yer Majesty,” Grulmar said in the same monotone voice, laughing in his mind.

     

    “The Archmage will hear about this!” the Altmer gritted his teeth and returned back to the Hall of Elements, back to his precious Eye. Grulmar just shook his head and went outside. “Works every-damn-time,” he laughed out loud as he was walking towards Hall of Attainment. Majesty is so stupid it even hurts sometimes. Arrogant Thalmor bastard. Normally he wouldn't be vexing a Thalmor Justiciar, but he knew that Ancano can't do shit to him in the College. The Thalmor were guests at the College and if he even scratched one of its inhabitants, Aren would throw him out with all his lackeys. Or there could be a fight, and from what Grulmar understood, no one was really happy about the prospect of a  magic battle near the Eye.

     

    He reached the Hall of Attainment and as soon as he entered, he knocked on the first door to his left. Normally he would just barge in, but in his time at the College he learned that local mages were doing plenty of...weird things when they were alone. He'll have nightmares for the rest of his life from that day he entered Enthir's room…

     

    “Come in,” came Tolfdir's reply from inside and Grulmar opened the door and saw Tolfdir sitting in his chair, a small table in front of him. On the table were carved daedric runes and circles, and once he saw that he frowned.

     

    “What's that?” he pointed at the strange carvings that literally screamed Daedra at him. And he hated anything associated with Daedra.

     

    Tolfdir was just finishing the last daedric letter, C, and then he looked at him. “Containment spell,” he explained and pointed at chair in the corner. “Grab a chair and take a seat.” Grulmar did as he was told and Tolfdir continued. “Urag told me you managed to cast a spell. Several times in succession. I'm surprised, I was expecting we would be talking more about the nature of Magicka for at least a month, but I guess you young can be very impatient. So Telekinesis, eh? Interesting. That's a hard spell to master. How did it go?”

     

    Grulmar took a seat and scratched his chin. Is that a stubble? Huh, I never expected I'll be one of those Orcs with facial hair. Few have those. Should I shave it or keep it? Hmm. He noticed Tolfdir was staring at him, still waiting for a response. “Oh, right. Well...ten times out of ten tries I managed to push everythin' away from me, like I did when I cast the spell the first time. Broody said the spell is all about control-”

     

    Tolfdir waved his hand. “Alteration isn't Urag's specialty. Yes, it is about control, but it isn't that simple. Here, take a look,” he said and pointed at a pin in the center of the rune carved in the table. He then reached for it with his hand, grabbed it and when he tried to take it out of the outer circle of the rune, the carving lit up with a blue light, creating a bubble of energy around the table, stopping the pin, making it fall back on the table. Tolfdir wiggled with his fingers to show him nothing happened to him. “This is Alteration mixed with a little bit of Conjuration. I attuned the rune so that it will stop the pin from escaping its boundaries, but nothing else but the pin is affected by the spell.”

     

    “Awesome!” Grulmar gasped and then frowned. “And how does that help me?”

     

    Tolfdir chuckled. “Well, this way we can practice without the risk of the pin poking someone's eye out.”

     

    “Ah. How nice of ya,” the Orc murmured, feeling slightly insulted.

     

    “It's for our own safety. So before we cast it, let's talk about Alteration itself. What does it mean? What does it do? Alteration school is based on changing reality, that you undoubtedly know. But what is reality? It is something that is forced upon us by greater forces than we are. Are those gods? Daedra? Something more? Or less? We don't know. But the key to mastering Alteration isn't about forcing a change of reality upon this forces. It's about convincing them it's easier to change than remain the same. I would start by reading a book Reality and Other Falsehoods. Very good book.”

     

    “Greater forces? I think ya lost me there. Like...something sentient?”

     

    Tolfrid shook his head. “Most likely not. Read the book, it will help you. Now watch.” He extended his arm, palm open, towards the pin and orange light started emanating from his hand. The pin suddenly lifted. “Telekinesis is about control, yes. You must control the object you want to lift, you must control yourself so as to not lose your concentration.” His hand then moved from one side to another, the pin dancing in the air from one side to another, following the moves of the hand. “You see? It is better to learn using this spell using your hands, not your mind or words, because both are much more difficult.” The glow from Tolfdir's hand disappeared and the pin fell on the table.

     

    “Ya make it seem rather simple,” Grulmar smiled and looked at his finger.

     

    “But it is quite complicated. I know you are eager to begin, but listen to an old man a little while longer. There are many things you should know about Telekinesis.”

     

    Grulmar sneered and leaned back in the chair, but nodded. Magic was dangerous if it wasn't handled properly and Tolfdir liked to remind him of it almost everytime they saw each other. He was always tempted to shrug it off, but he grew up without magic and he saw how dangerous it can be in the hands of a necromancer or any similar rogue mage in Skyrim. Sometimes the magic was their undoing.

     

    “Alright. So the first thing you have to remember: Telekinesis works only on things, items, that doesn't have a soul. You can't use it on people, animals and even undead, because it seems there's still some soul residue in their bodies. Same goes for corpses. You can lift plants, but no butterflies. But you can use Telekinesis on items that are held by people, like taking their weapons from their hands and such.”

     

    Aye. That I remember very well, Grulmar thought and again he felt the heat of the Forge.

     

    “Also, the heavier the object, the more Magicka will the spell consume. So far, the theories have proven that lifting something that is heavier than the caster consumes much, much more magicka. Also, distance. The more distant the object, the more Magicka will the spell require. Now look.” The orange glow appeared around Tolfdir's hand and the pin rose into the air. “As I said before, the object will follow the movement of your hand. But you can also push or pull.” As an example, the glow intesified and the pin slowly moved towards Grulmar, than back to Tolfdir. “It's very difficult to move with the object like you want, so focus on your hand and pushing and pulling. Why do I call it push and pull? Look.” The orange glow then flashed with strong light and the pin shot straight at Grulmar, hitting the containment spell several times until it dropped back on the table.

     

    “Yeah, that's exactly what happens when I use that spell. Everythin' shots like a bolt from crossbow,” Grulmar murmured.

     

    Tolfdir shook his head. “It's a very difficult spell, my boy. It is surprising it manifested on its own in you, but still, it isn't easy to master it. So no matter how many times you fail, don't let it discourage you. It takes time. The spell is all about control, so you have to control yourself. Now, give it a try.”

     

    Grulmar extended his hand towards the pin and reached into himself, to his reserves of Magicka.

     

    “Yes, reach in. Now reach out, feel the streams flowing through this place. Find the stream that feels like heavy anvil, a pure force. The stream that is steady, almost unmoving, bending only to your will.”

     

    Grulmar's hands were groping in the dark, feeling several streams, but none of them felt as the right one. And then he found it, the stream which was flowing yet unmoving at the same time, heavy as the world itself.

     

    “Now slowly, don't disrupt the stream, don't plunge in it. Just tickle it, gently. Be convicing it would be better for it to move.”

     

    The Orc didn't know what exactly that meant, but he tried. He touched the stream, its surface, slowly and then he just tapped his finger into it. He felt how two points suddenly connected and he imagined a hand grabbing the pin. The orange glow appeared in his hand and the pin lifted.

     

    “That's it, hold it. Focus.”

     

    He was trying, focusing, but his head started to hurt and he felt he couldn’t hold his hand extented for too long. The finger tapped in the stream was suddenly slowly being pushed out, and so Grulmar pushed back. And the more he pushed, the harder it was to maintain the spell. Then the stream literally spit his finger out and the pin was launched forward, hitting the containment spell, bumping around several times.

     

    Grulmar leaned back in his chair, tired as after running all day from a damn sabre cat. He felt cold sweat on his forehead and he wiped it away.

     

    “That was good, very good,” Tolfdir said with pride in his voice. “Very nice, boy. Very nice. In the end you were loosing concentration, trying too hard to convince reality to change so it reacted by saying no.”

     

    “I feel like a recently born kitten,” Grulmar murmured and wiped another stream of sweat from his forehead before it could get into his eyes.

     

    “As I said, it's a difficult spell and you have just began. It will get easier in time, as your mind will become more accurate, your attunement to Magicka will be more precise. Take the table, practice. I don't have any more means to help you now, I showed you a way and it's up to you if you'll follow it. Come back again tomorrow, we'll try something else, but Telekinesis is something you alone must master.”

     

    Yeah. It certainly is much more difficult than I thought. But still...I'm castin' spells!

     

     

Comments

4 Comments   |   Paws and 10 others like this.
  • Caladran
    Caladran   ·  March 12, 2017
    I wonder what Tolfdir did to cause nightmares for Grulmar. I loved the pin lesson! 

    And, ah, the scene with Ancano made me laugh!
  • The Sunflower Manual
    The Sunflower Manual   ·  January 9, 2017
    I'm very interested in Tolfdir's rune. I can certainly see which part of it invovles Alteration, but Conjuration? Does it draw power from the planes of Oblivion?
  • The Long-Chapper
    The Long-Chapper   ·  January 3, 2017
    Ah Ancano, lovable, delightful Ancano. Definitely has a pole up his ass. Great lesson, Karver. You really bring a great vision to individual lessons. I love that approach and whenever I pictured Aelberon studying with his teachers, I saw it done in a simi...  more
  • Paws
    Paws   ·  January 3, 2017
    “Yer Majesty,” Grulmar bowed his head a little and saw how Ancano grimaced in annoyance.

     

    “You will adress me as Justiciar or Lord, beast. Are we clear?”

     

    “Yes, Yer Majesty.”
    <...  more