Changes. Big changes, Grulmar thought as he was watching the members of the College go about their business in the Hall of Elements, practicing spells or just chatting with each other. The place certainly looked better without all that Thalmor presence.
The Eye was gone, taken away by Psijics and, honestly, Grulmar wasn't really sure what to think about that. Damn monks wieldin' weird magic. The Old Way. My arse. He heard Äelberon talking about it. One moment the Eye was there, then bunch of Altmer showed up from thin air and with another blink of an ...eye... they were gone. The Eye too.
And there were some big changes in the College's policy, especially among their members. Savos Aren, Mirabelle Ervine and Phinis Gestor didn't make it out, so there had to be some changes. Grulmar was expecting that Tolfdir would be the new Arch-Mage, but to his surprise, the mantle fell on Urag's shoulders. Bloody librarian is an Arch-Mage. Now I've seen everythin'.
Because the position of Master-Wizard became empty with Ervine's death, it was Faralda who was chosen to take over the responsibility of running the College's day to day business. Yeah, Pigtails has a knack for it. Bossy Altmer with their nitpickin'. To Grulmar's surprise, her position as Destruction instructor was taken over by Wuunferth the Unliving, apparently having enough of Ulfric's bullshit. Also, Phinis Gestor's shoes as a Conjuration instructor were filled by Falion from Morthal, for better or worse.
But for Grulmar it meant just a grain of sand in a desert. Which is full of sand. At least I heard. Not a place for me, I'm sure about that. I will be a very happy Orc if I never see a desert in my life. But yes, he didn't care much about the College. He was just trying to figure out what to do next.
Labyrinthian was a...wake-up call for Grulmar. He was confident in his new skills and they proved adequately useful against creatures like Falmer in Mzulft or Draugr in Labyrinthian. To a certain degree. It was that moment when he faced a mage that he had realized he's still the same Orc thief he always was. That he had nothing in his repertoire of skills and spells that would give him an edge when it came to mages.
But not Äelberon or Urag. They used spells he never saw used before. They were absorbing or reflecting spells thrown at them. Urag was even using a spell that allowed him to convert his life force into magicka. There was a spell tome in Labyrinthian, but Urag didn't let him to take a look at it. They're hidin' somethin' from me. Secrets and hidden truths. They're limitin' me, holdin'me back. Afraid I'll become too powerful!
But the point was there were spells no one spoke about. Lost knowledge. Forbidden knowledge. Mysticism.
And so Grulmar started digging, trying to prove himself. Prove that he's a mage, a mage that will be respected and feared one day. But he knew that no one wanted to hear his explanations, so he was… Savin' my megalomania for post-graduation, hahaha.
He was watching everyone in the Hall of Elements from upstairs, the dining room - at least that's what they called it. He sighed and opened a book he found in the Arcaneum. Because he didn't know where to start looking, he was just randomly checking the titles of books. And this one had the word Mysticism in its title. So why not, eh?
Mysticism is the school of magic least understood by the magical community, most difficult to explain to novices mages. The spells effects commonly ascribed to the School of Mysticism are as wildly disparate as Soul Trap -- the creation of a cell for a victim's spirit after death -- to Silence -- the extinction of sound. But these effects are simply that: effects. The sorcery behind them is veiled in a mystery that may go back to the oldest civilizations of Tamriel, and beyond.
Wait, what? Soul Trap and Silence? Those are...Conjuration and Illusion now. Alright, this proves that Schools of Magic are just categorizations of magic. Making it easier to learn. But… if there weren't any Schools, how did they cast?
The Psijics of the Order of Artaeum's term for Mysticism is the Old Way. The phrase becomes bogged in a semantic quagmire, because the Old Way also refers to the religion and customs of the Psijics which may, or may not, be part of the magic of Mysticism.
So Old Way. Mysticism. Interestin'. So showin' up from thin air and then vanishin' is Mysticism. Freezin' time too. He scratched his now quite prominent goatee and his tongue touched the tip of his broken tusk. I'm so going to learn this School and kick some necromancer's arse!
There are few mages who devote their lives to the study of Mysticism. The other schools are far more predictable and fathomable. Mysticism seems to derive its power from its cunundrums and paradoxes; the act of experimentation, no matter how objectively implemented, can influence the magicka by its very existance. Thus, the Mystic mage must regulate himself to finding consistant patterns in an imbroglio of energy. In the time it takes him to find a source with a consistant trigger and result, his peers researching in other schools may have researched and documented dozens of new spells and effects. The Mystic mage is a patient and uncompetitve scholar.
Pff. This is puttin' me off. It's like a hot chick turnin' ya down cold...
For centuries, mostly during the Second Era, scholarly journals publishes theory after theory about the aspect or aspects of magicka that we call Mysticism. In the tradition of the Mages Guild to find answers to all things, respected researchers suggested the energy source as coming from Aetherius or the Daedra themselves to explain the seemingly random patterns of Mysticism; some ventured to guess that Mysticism comes from unused elements of successfully or unsuccessfully cast spells; discussion with the Order of Artaeum after its reappearance has led some scholars to postulate that Mysticism is more spiritual in nature, either the intellect or emotion of the believer influences the energy pattern and flow.
Alright, I'm not buyin' none of that bullshit. The energy source being Daedra is absolutely bullshit, but why do they even mention Aetherius with random patterns? I mean...everyone learns that Magicka comes from Aetherius, so why would Mysticism be any different? Is it using different...fuel than other schools? Something else than Magicka?
None of these explanations is truly satisfactory. For the beginning student of Mysticism, it is best to simple learn the patterns distinguished in the maelstrom in the centuries past. The more patterns are found, the clearer the remaining ones become. Until, of course, they change. And then the journey begins anew.
What kind of bullshit is this? How can ya learn a spell and then have to learn it again? What a pile of horse shit. If I learn a spell, I can only move forward with it, not backwards. He sighed again and got up from the bench, heading downstairs to Hall of Elements and then to Arcaneum. At least I know where should I look now. Psijics.
When he arrived in the Arcaneum, he noticed a big Altmer sitting in a chair, reading a book. He was wearing only a simple tunic and breeches, with leather boots. His eyes, blazing with otherwordly orange, raised from the book and set their gaze on him. Grulmar felt a shiver going down his spine and then the itch came back again. Stupid itch! Everytime I'm around that tusker the itch comes back.
The Altmer was sitting next to a shelf Grulmar was heading to, to return the book there, and the Orc frowned. He didn't really feel like talking with the Mer. But he had to put the book back. He put a smirk on his face and strode towards the Mer, who rised his eyebrows.
“I already have something to read,” the Altmer smiled and gestured with the book he was holding. Grulmar was tempted to look what exactly he was reading, but forced himself not to look.
“Ha-ha,” the Orc grimaced. “Funny. I'm just returning this one where it belongs,” he raised his book. “And what are ya still doin' here anyway? Thought ya would be out killin' dragons and savin' the world or somethin' like that.”
The Altmer shrugged. Grulmar approached the bookcase, and when he found the right shelf he put the book there, rather slowly, because he wasn't sure it was the right place. Urag was quite punctilious when it came to right order of the books on the appropriate bookshelves.
“Urag wanted me to stay for a while, otherwise I would be on my way already,” the Altmer said and Grulmar felt his gaze on his back. “Did I just see Mysticism: Unfathomable Voyage? Interested in Mystic arts?”
Grulmar had to force himself to shrug, not giving away how anxious he was about it. He wasn't really interested in another lesson. “Just tryin' to kill some time before lessons. Vanish has been...weird lately. Talkin' to Boss even while she's dead.”
“Yes,” Äelberon of Dusk nodded with a sad expression on his face. “All that death was unnecessary. But I would say that the College can change only for the better from now on. I can't say I don't like Faralda's touch around here. The place could surely use an Altmer's touch.”
“Wow. Thanks for the lesson of sentiment,” he forced himself to say with as much derisive intotation as he was able to play. His eyes fell on one book on the shelf and frowned. Huh. He reached for it and pulled it out. Fragment: On Artaeum. “Ya know ya can't go all soft on me. What would they think about an Orc comforting an Old Mary?”
There might have been flash of annoyance in the Altmer's eyes, but then it turned into amusement. “That almost sounded like good old Dec, Motagiik.”
Hm. Yeah, thank ya very much ya had to remind me of that. “I'm goin' to figure out what that word means, Shiny. One day. And hear my words, I won't shave my beard until the day I will know what it means.”
There was a sincere laughter in response to his solemn vow and Grulmar couldn't help but to at least chuckle. The Altmer had very infections laugh. “You mean that stubble on your chin? Looks like it still has few stains of milk.”
Grulmar rolled his eyes. “Oh, for tusk's sake. Not that stupid line about milkdrinkers again. As far as I know, ya are the only one drinkin' milk around here.”
The Altmer shrugged. “Heard it's good for bones. Not getting any younger, you know.” He then looked at the title of the book Grulmar was holding. “First Mysticism and now Psijics.”
“As I said before: Just killin' time.”
“Well, if you'd be interested I might have few moments to show you-”
“Just. Killin'. Time,” Grulmar growled. “Alright?”
Äelberon smiled and raised from his chair. “Understood. If you change your mind…” He let the words hang in the air for few seconds and Grulmar was seriously considering taking that offer and Äelberon smiled. Most likely can see the cogs in my head spinnin'… The Atlmer then raised his hand and waved. “See you around then.”
“Yeah, whatever,” Grulmar murmured, watching him go up to the Arch-Mage's quarters. Goin' to drink a tea with Broody. Old buggers drinkin' tea and all that. Booooooorin'. He looked at the chair Äelberon was sitting on and frowned. Not goin' to sit in that. Warmed by Old Mary. Blah. He took another chair and opened the book he took.
The Isle of Artaeum (ar-TAY-um) is the third largest island in the Summurset archipelago, located south of the Moridunon village of Potansa and west of the mainland village of Runcibae. It is best known for being home to the Psijic Order, perhaps the oldest monastic group in Tamriel.
The earliest written record of Psijics is from the 20th year of the First Era and tells the tale of the renowned Breton sage and author Voernet, traveling to the Isle of Artaeum to meet with Iachesis, the Ritemaster of the Psijics.
Even then, the Psijics were the counsellors of kings and proponents of the "Elder Way," taught to them by the original race that inhabited Tamriel. The Elder Way is a philosophy of meditation and study said to bind the forces of nature to the individual will. It differs from magicka in origin, but the effects are much the same.
Wait, wait, wait. Philosophy of meditation and study….Differs from Magicka in origin… How can there be somethin' else than magicka? What else can be there? If everythin' is imbued with Magicka, Magicka bein' the basic fabric of reality, the blood pumpin' through the veins of space….what else can be there? Dark energy? Chaos? Time?
That said, it is perhaps more than coincidence that the Isle of Artaeum literally vanished from the shores of Summurset at the beginning of the Second Era at about the time of the founding of the Mages Guild in Tamriel. Various historians and scholars have published theories about this, but perhaps none but Iachesis and his own could shed light on the matter.
Five hundred years passed and Artaeum returned. The Psijics on the Isle consisted of persons, mostly Elves, who had disappeared and were presumed dead in the Second Era. They could not or would not offer any explanation for Artaeum's whereabouts during that time, or the fate of Iachesis and the original council of Artaeum.
Currently, the Psijics are led by the Loremaster Celarus, who has presided over the Council of Artaeum for the last two hundred and fifty years. The Council's influence in Tamrielan politics is tidal. The kings of Summurset, particularly those of Moridunon, have often sought the Psijics' opinion. Emperor Uriel V was much influenced by the Council in the early, most glorious parts of his reign, before his disastrous attack on Akavir. It has even been suggested that the fleet of King Orghum of Pyandonea was destroyed by a joint effort of Emperor Antiochus and the Psijic Order. The last four emperors, Uriel VI, Morihatha, Pelagius IV, and Uriel VII, have been suspicious of the Psijics enough to refuse ambassadors from the Isle of Artaeum within the Imperial City.
The Isle of Artaeum is difficult to chart geographically. It is said that it shifts continuously either at random or by decree of the Council. Visitors to the island are so rare as to be almost unheard of. Anyone desirous of a meeting with a Psijic may find contacts in Potansa and Runcibae as well as many of the kingdoms of Summurset.
Were it more accessible, Artaeum would be a favored destination for travelers. I have been to the Isle once and still dream of its idyllic orchards and clear pastures, its still and silent lagoons, its misty woodlands, and the unique Psijic architecture that seems to be as natural as its surroundings as well as wondrous in its own right. The Ceporah Tower in particular I would study, for it is a relic from a civilization that predates the High Elves by several hundred years and is still used in certain rites by the Psijics. Perhaps one day I might return.
[Note: The author is currently on the Isle of Artaeum by gracious consent of Master Sargenius of the Council of Artaeum.]
Well...that was as helpful as nipples on a breastplate. I just want to learn how to reflect and absorb spells damn it! Why can't it be simple?!
Grulmar sighed after the rant inside his head and put the book back to its place. Guess this leaves me no choice. Up to see Shiny. Chop chop. Time to swallow my pride and ask him for help. Maybe it might not be so bad actually....
Oh, who am I kiddin'?
Sources used in this Lesson: Mysticism: The Unfathomable Voyage, Fragment: On Artaneum
Comments
Quentarii
So much has been forgotten about Mysticism since the da... more
So here's my understanding about the schools of magic, Destruction is about using the elements, Restoration is about healing, Illusion is abo... more
So here's my understanding about the schools of magic, Destruction is about using the elements, Restoration is about healing, Illusion is about messing with th... more