The only son of a noble Breton family in Solstheim, I spent a small part of my childhood travelling through Skyrim during the Forsworn Rebellion. The Empire and the Nord Jarl of Markarth had determined Ulfric Stormcloak to help defeating the Reachmen, promising in turn freedom of religion in Skyrim (particularly directed at Talos, the Ninth Divine, which was banned by the Aldmeri Dominion after the Great War). Ulfric then became Jarl of Windhelm where he had lifted the ban on the worship of Talos, which followed an Imperial ruling due to Ulfric's help with the Forsworn. But the Aldmeri Dominion learnt about this open breach of the White-Gold Concordat and immediately forced the Empire to take a stand. And so it came to pass that Ulfric killed High King Torygg in Solitude for not defending the Nords' cultural worship of Talos in Skyrim and for siding with the dying Empire against the "true" Nords.
Later I enrolled in the Imperial Legion. In the end, it was about the Empire trying to solve problems, as always, and the Empire was struggling between the Aldmeri Dominion and the Nordic fundamentalism, the deviant racial pride which was actually all about the Empire since Talos was none other than Tiber Septim, the founder of the Third Empire, an Emperor of Nordic descent who had unified the whole of Tamriel.
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This journal will be medicine to my travels. Let's see what tomorrow brings...
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In Raven Rock, my nursemaid was Idesa Sadri, a Dunmer woman who looked younger than my own parents and was actually at least thrice as old. Nobody really could remember who her real parents were, but at least she was not as lewd as most of the Dunmer women so my parents trusted her with the job. The Dark Elf's father, as I was to discover later on, was a battlemage and she eventually made for a great teacher for a young Breton like me... The Dunmer showed me this and that, small magic tricks to keep me interested, entertained and more than anything, inside the house, although one of my "tricks" with Destruction's Flames spell almost burnt our house down once. As it turned out, that would prove to be much more than just simple games.
My father had agreed that my mother and I would travel from Raven Rock back to the High Rock province with the intention of settling in Jehenna, where the family's history had begun. He would join us later, after settling everything needed by the relocation. Idesa also came with us, since she had said she would visit some family in Windhelm since she didn't have anyone in Raven Rock, or indeed in Solstheim for that matter. So we travelled to Blacklight and then crossed the border to get to Windhelm where we were disgusted at how the Dunmer were treated. We visited Revyn Sadri, Idesa's brother, who offered us lodgings for some nights. From Windhelm we then travelled to Whiterun, where my mother felt that the general political unrest in Skyrim is very short sighted. Here she also found a very knowledgeable alchemist and the time my mother and her spent together was put to very good use.
But then we had to leave for Markarth. I knew my mother could make potions out of the Juniper Berries growing around the city so I collected as much as I could. Markarth was a nice city. The Dwemer ruins gave it an imposing, strange look that I couldn't compare to anything else. The Temple of Dibella was where I used to hang out a lot because I felt safe there. My mother also made sure that as a Breton I paid my respects to Dibella often, so I took a liking to the place.
From Markarth we crossed the mountains to Jehenna and finally ended our trip through Skyrim. Then we settled in my grandfather's house, reconnected with the family we had there and under the patronage of Zenithar we started a small trading caravan between Jehenna and Markarth. I grew up to be somewhat of a skilled trader and eventually I took over the caravan, changing the route so we were delivering goods directly to the Imperial City, starting in Jehenna in High Rock, crossing the border and going through Markarth and Falkreath in Skyrim, then crossing the border again to get to Bruma and finally the Imperial City in Cyrodiil. But when the relations between the Empire and the Stormcloaks seemed to be at their worst, our caravan was ambushed by the Imperial Legion and we were taken to Helgen, in the south of Skyrim, where we were to be executed together with Ulfric Stormcloak who had been captured around a small mining camp called Darkwater Crossing, somewhere between Windhelm and a hold called Riften. Then a dragon attacked Helgen just as I was waiting for death's cold blade. In the chaos I escaped with the help of a Stormcloak rebel by the name of Ralof, who was one of Ulfric's bodyguards. Of course I could not return to High Rock just yet... I mean, without any documents and possessions, I had to start saving some money so that when time would favour it, I would return to Jehenna. But it seems that adventure was slightly more interesting than walking the same old roads time and time again.
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After the dragon attack, I escaped from Helgen with Ralof, a Stormcloak. Having almost lost my life to the Empire, I was not entirely unhappy about shedding some Imperial blood. But during the escape I didn't kill anyone. I couldn't. I just stayed away from the heat of battle and collected as many items as I could from the warm corpses we were leaving behind. Ralof did all the hitting. I just froze. But I was more than happy to be alive.
Outside of Helgen, I started collecting Alchemy ingredients. I knew I would not have money to travel anywhere and even if I wanted to, I couldn't go to Jehenna while the Rebellion was at its peak. So advised by Ralof's sister in Riverwood, I was on my way to Whiterun, where I was to tell the Jarl about the dragon in Helgen. I abstained from selling anything of real import in Riverwood because I knew I could get more septims for it. But I had just sold enough to get me to travel around a bit. There was a hold in Skyrim, Rifton, or Riften, which was known as a major hub of activity for trade caravans and I wanted to check if there were any caravans sanctioned to go west, to High Rock. It seemed imperative to get to Riften as soon as possible.
So I travelled alone to Whiterun, trying to make myself understand I was not in danger anymore. I had grown used to seeing red mountain flowers, thistles, mora tapinella and I tried to collect as many as I could. I was getting so excited whenever I managed to catch a Blue Butterfly... My mother had tought me a basic potion which had very "mundane" ingredients, yet managed to be very expensive if sold to the proper buyer; it involved mixing blue butterfly wings, blue mountain flower and wheat and apart from fortifying and restoring one's health, it also fortified Conjuration, making your conjured minions last longer in this plane. It had one downside, though, as it damaged your magicka regeneration. But if you sold this potion together with one which restored one's magicka... well, you get the point. Seeing all that vegetation was invigorating; at the same time it made me think about the roads I used to take with my caravan - they seemed to have been stripped naked.
I was enjoying these untrodden paths.
At the gates of Whiterun I have persuaded the guards in letting me in. They directed me to Dragonsreach, where I went and talked to the Jarl about Helgen. I then talked to the court wizard and decided to do a small errand for him, mainly because it would allow me to reconnect with the Imperial apothecary that my mother had grown a liking to. I think I was unconsciously rooting, prepared as I was to just find out I would not return home. Having asked Arcadia if I could use the alchemy lab, she told me I should first think of the big picture and then consider what I should do next. And, with the gods' blessings, try to do it. She knew my mother had spoken of Zenithar and Dibella and as far as shrines to Zenithar were involved, she knew of one, which was more accessible. I had told her about my intention to get to Riften as soon as possible, so she told me about one of Zenithar's shrines, close to Riften. It was settled. From Whiterun I would go to the Rift, to see if there were any caravans going from there to High Rock and if so, do everything in my power to get home as soon as possible.
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I went to Riften. When the carriage stopped in front of the hold's gates, I saw a Khajiit caravan. I knew from my previous travels that they were not allowed to sell their wares within cities, but as it was obvious, they were the recipients of more information compared to simple city traders. Talking to Ahkari I found out none of the caravans trading in Riften was going to High Rock. She advised me to try in Markarth. The Reach, being so much closer to the border with High Rock, could have been sanctioned to allow trading caravans access to the neighbouring province.
Then I went for a stroll following Arcadia's instructions and went to get Zenithar's blessing. Some days ago I was a trader. It seemed I still needed those skills and following the latest developments, they would only be empowered with the blessings of my patron god. I felt a little disappointed when I saw the shrine was "guarded" by a Frostbite Spider. I still had with me some One-handed weapons, but my proficiency with them was poor. However, I tricked it behind some trees then I dashed and got Zenithar's Blessing. I also found an Amulet of Zenithar which seemed to have belonged to the person whose bones were resting next to the shrine. I would use the Amulet of Zenithar when trying to sell my goods as the amulet would fortify my bartering skills. Wearing my new amulet, after I got rid of the spider who followed me until he got too close to the Hold's Guards, who concentrated their fire and killed the spider pretty quickly, I returned to Ahkari and traded some things. Following our new bond of confidence, she had produced some Skooma and then she allowed me to taste, for the first time, I might add, a secret Khajiit dish: Elsweyr Fondue. She had told me that even the Gourmet needed more practice to master that Khajiit delicacy...
I then tried to get into the hold, but one of the guards at the gate wanted me to pay for the "privilege". I tried to persuade him to let me in, but he would not budge. Well, as far as I was concerned at the time, for that money I could just take the carriage to Markarth and maybe also get to Jehenna. If not, I would at least open some marketing venues in Markarth.
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From Riften I took a carriage straight to Markarth.
Getting to Markarth, now, with a better trained eye, I casually picked some Juniper Berries, some Hanging Moss and the occasional Rock Warbler Egg here and there. I didn't know at the time what I would do with them exactly, but they had to be useful in some way. I saw a dog at the stables and talked to its owner, since I didn't see many in Skyrim so far. It just happened the owner, a Breton called Banning, asked me to deliver some spiced meat to an associate of his in Understone Keep. Then, once I went past the city gates, I was witness to a murder. The Forsworn were still trying to get to their opressors, it seemed. Well, to each their own. After the guards dealt with the threat, as strange as it might have seemed, since it was already dark, I rented a room for the night and went to bed. In the morning there was some trouble with a Redguard woman's husband in the market area and upon me asking her about it, I got another small errand to do, delivering a small ring to the court wizard, Calcelmo. As I was heading to the Understone Keep either way, it was all the better.
I saw more Juniper Berries but since I did not want to appear irreverent, I was only picking them up when there were no guards around... Then I went to the the Understone Keep. I delivered the spiced meat, then delivered the ring to Calcelmo, the wizard. I thought his monomania towards anything Dwemer was not healthy at all but I was nobody to tell him anything about it. Getting back to the city, I went straight to the apothecary and the owner, a Breton woman by the name of Bothela needed my help with something; she needed a potion to be delivered to steward, in the Keep. So I went back and delivered the "stalion's potion" to the steward after pretending I intended to buy a house in Markarth. Upon my return to Bothela, she allowed me to help myself with the ingredients lying about in her shop. They shouldn't be needed much since they were just lying around, right?
Then I went to the Temple of Dibella, which I knew since I was a child. I entered, went to Dibella's shrine and got her blessing. But when I turned, a priestess was staring at me. She said the temple was closed. Well, that was odd, since I didn't really picklock my way in the temple, so I thought something was a bit off. But her eyes kept fixing me. Strangely, I wasn't uncomfortable. She was an interesting Breton woman, who cared not for the Stormcloaks or the Empire, who lived for Dibella. Was that a bad life? I didn't think so... It was because of Senna that I heard of another Shrine to Dibella, in Riften, but this news came also with the gossip that the Shrine stood in the private rooms of the owner of a boarding house, a Nord woman who was said to take her worship of Dibella too seriously... I had to bid the priestess my farewell and was again outside. Eventually, I would ask around about being able to cross into High Rock, only to hit a wall again. However, people said I might be able to learn whether or not this was possible, from Solitude. Since such sanctions were given by the Empire, it was at the seat of the Empire in Skyrim where I could get my information first hand. So I headed for Solitude.
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In Solitude I first met the people handling the stables. All good people. But again, just like in Markarth, the moment I set foot in Solitude, I had to witness somebody's death. At least now it was a public execution and not a murder. Not that it mattered much... The guard who opened the gates for Ulfric Stormcloak, allowing the Stormcloak leader to enter the city, kill the High King Torygg then leave the city, was to be executed. Obviously, this was none of my business and I couldn't have stopped anything even if I tried. So I just took notice of it, draw my own conclusions and then went back to finding out about my safe passage into High Rock. I entered the local apothecary shop though, just to check what prices some of my ingredients would fetch here, raw (I had never sold an alchemy ingredient in my life; potions though... that was different). The apothecary had asked me about Whiterun. She had no news about her daughter who had joined the Imperial Legion and was immediately sent to Whiterun. I soon learnt the truth: her daughter took part in an Imperial scouting mission in which she encountered a large Stormcloak force and none of the scouts made it to tell the story. All this I found by talking to Captain Aldis, right there, in Solitude. The good Captain also broke it to me that no caravans were allowed passage into High Rock. With the Rebellion on their hands, they could not afford Stormcloak sympathizers joining in the fight against the Empire. Returning to the apothecary, she was not pleased about the news; who would have been... But to thank me for finding the truth about the whole story, she allowed me, just like Bothela in Markarth, to help myself with some of the ingredients in her shop. Unhappy as I was about the whole deal, once outside I bumped into an Altmer woman who was incredibly rude regarding my outfit. I didn't tell her that some days ago I only had some prisoner's rags on me. I didn't expect it would make much of a difference. But I wanted to know what the issue was really about. And it seems it was about money. She wanted me to "model" in one of their outfits (Radiant Raiment's, a clothing store close to the city gates which was ran by her and a sister of hers). As I intended to go to the Palace, and since I expected I would make something out of this fashion display in the end, I accepted. The Jarl was more than pleased with the look of the clothes I was wearing so that bag of money was well worth the "effort". The court wizard here, Sybille Stentor was a trainer in Destruction. She seemed harsh at the beginning, but it was nothing of the rudeness of the Altmers in Radiant Raiment. And in comparison, she had good advice too, because she told me "Take care of yourself, and always remember: the world is ripe with people looking to spill your blood..." Feeling I had dabbled a bit in Conjuration, she told me that in the future I would probably want to see Falion, a Redguard wizard serving the Jarl in Morthal, as he was a master trainer in Conjuration. Well, since I had nothing much to do at this point, apart from communicating my fashionable success to Radiant Raiment, I decided to visit Morthal right away.
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I had arrived in Morthal a bit past midnight. Looking around and seeing some Swamp Fungal Pods, some Deathbells and a Nirnroot, I laughed and thought to myself that the carriage was already paid for. My satchel was getting bigger and bigger and I was afraid it would attract attention. But as long as I stayed close to towns, I was protected by the guards. After asking around about Falion, I discovered some people didn't like him much. And just as I had found Morthal's apothecary, I saw the wizard going past me in the uttermost silence. A bit dazzled by it, I decided to just follow him into the night. Yes, most people here were afraid of him but Sybille Stentor had vouched for him already. He seemed he was walking casually although a bit lost in thought, but then at some point he took a sharp left after crossing the bridge and exiting the town, then went through the surrounding marshes, dealt with a Mudcrab and stopped at what seemed to be a sort of summoning circle. At this point he just stood there and I couldn't but introduce myself and ask if he was alright. Apparently his magical work was not seen well by the townspeople so he had to take some precautions. Nevertheless, fearing the worse, he gave me some septims so that I would not be inclined to report or even worse, lie about his... nighttime preoccupations, given I was new in town and all... I could have refused... but I didn't.
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That far, I realized my travels had taken me to enough cities to allow me a small network of apothecaries. The easiest way I could make some easy gold at that point was to use the ingredients I already had so as to make potions which I would then sell. Apothecaries were prone to buy my potions, just like the Khajiit caravan traders who were pawnbrokers by default. In my travels, whenever I encountered caravan traders, I would sell this and that, items that apothecaries would not normally have any interest in buying. But since I was rather used to selling wares in large quantities, I thought of visiting Revyn Sadri in Windhelm. Idesa, my nursemaid, had praised his abilities to settle down and actually become one of the best merchants she knew. Because of that, I was curious to find out if he still remembered me and if so, whether he could teach me a thing or two about this side of the trade which was not very known to me. I headed to Windhelm.
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Once in Windhelm, visiting Revyn Sadri he only agreed to help me if in my turn, would helm him. He had recently bought a ring that matched the description of another that had been stolen from an Imperial woman in the city. My task, if possible, was to break into her house and place Sadri's ring into a dresser. So I did. I can't say I am proud of the deed itself, but as far as I was concerned, I was helping a friend. On the good side, although I had gained unlawful access to somebody's own house, we were talking only about trespassing which, if detected, would get me a bounty of 5 septims, considerably less than any conceivable act of theft, pickpocketing, assault or even murder. And since I would not actually harm anyone, I was glad to try helping solve a misunderstanding.
I managed to gain access to the Imperial's house. I probably had used more than 20 lockpicks but I had done it. I placed the ring back and since I had spent some good hours trying to unlock the darned entrance door, I decided to get a room at the inn and announce my success to Revyn the next morning. And he was surely glad of it. So glad that he wanted to start with my training right away. First I had told him what my intentions were. I would use my ingredients to make potions which I would then sell wherever I could so that whenever I needed something, I wouldn't have to depend on anyone or anything. It was a good plan. A good first plan, he said. And suddenly, his purpose was clear. What he told me right away was that I would need to become a specialist Merchant. So I was set.
I stayed in Windhelm for quite a bit. Having met the local apothecary, Nurelion, an Altmer, whenever I would need more ingredients I would buy some from him or, in more extreme situations, travel to Whiterun, buy ingredients and even train a bit with Arcadia. Back in Windhelm, I crafted potions using the alchemy lab in The White Phial, and I would pretty much create potions the whole day long. I went to sleep at the inn and in the morning I would make a tour and visit the three local pawnbrokers whom I sold my potions to, train with Revyn, then get back to crafting. Like that, I managed to better my skills in Alchemy, make some gold which I would use for training my Speech skills with Revyn and then practice my bartering on a more practical note, when selling my potions. And one of those days, visiting the blacksmith by chance, I found he was selling a pair of Iron Gauntlets of Minor Alchemy. I bought them right away and started to use them immediately. It was a considerable profit increase... Then, one day, Revyn said his job was done; my apprenticeship with him had come to an end. I knew as much as he knew about buying and selling goods, but the best part of it was that, having become a Merchant, I could sell any item to any buyer. If you think that was not a huge thing, try selling a spell book to a blacksmith.
Knowing by then what ingredients would fetch me the most money, I used to just travel between cities and be very picky about what apothecaries were willing to sell. And that was definitely a great start for me in my money making venture.
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Visiting Arcadia in Whiterun, she almost couldn't train me in Alchemy anymore. My skill had increased considerably since I last saw her. I knew my potions would help me in many situations, but I didn't know if I could really protect myself. I wasn't hoping I would end up without a scratch after a fight... but I preferred my heart to still beat at the end of one, let's say. And she had told me people all over Skyrim spoke highly of anyone who joined the ranks of the Companions, the most important thing being that the Companions' headquarters was right there, in Whiterun. Without thinking much about it I headed there and talked to their harbinger, Kodlak Whitemane. What impressed me most was that to prove myself I had to have a fight with one of them. And after being impressed, I was bewildered. Vilkas, who was on the other end of the Imperial Sword I had decided to keep with me, blocking some of my swings decided my skills were good enough to promise I would be a good Companion. Then, after some small errands and a brawl, I was on my first mission as a Companion. Farkas had joined me and I felt safe. His Steel Armor looked like it had seen some use, compared to what I was wearing to protect myself, a collection of cheap armor of undetermined origin and worth.
As the Companions as a faction were carrying on the tradition of the Five Hundred Companions of Ysgramor, in between taking minor private and also public contracts, lending their help to whomever wanted it, one of their purposes was to reassemble the legendary battleaxe Wuuthrad, which had been once wielded by the founder of the Companions, Ysgramor himself. My duty was to help them retrieve one of the fragments of that mythical weapon, which, according to a scholar, was to be found in Dustman's Cairn, an ancient Nordic barrow located in the central tundra of Whiterun Hold. So we went there expecting to fight the usual inhabitants of such places, the Draugr. Instead, we encountered also the Silver Hand, who, as it turned out, were the infamous enemies of the Companions. And upon seeing how Farkas turned into a werewolf before my eyes unleashing his beastly force against five Silver Hands at the same time, I immediately understood why nearly all of them were using Silver weapons. As I suspected the extra damage the lightweight Silver Swords inflicted on werewolves, undead, ghosts and vampires alike would be of tremendous help in my travels, I collected as many as I could and by the time we retrieved what we went there for, I was carrying several Silver Swords. It had been a fruitful endeavor and I was definitely happy with its outcome.
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Something was missing, though. I think I was yearning for magic. Having showed Revyn Sadri my new weapon collection, I decided to travel to Winterhold, where everybody was advising me to go, if I wanted to know more about magic.
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Setting foot in Winterhold, I picked up some of the snowberries which were abundant here. Then I met Faralda, the College's Destruction Master. She asked what my intentions were and finally allowed me to enter the College, after testing my skills at hurling a Firebolt. I didn't know the spell, but she gave it to me for 30 septims. I only wanted to have a look around and to see what the College was about. I ended up joining the College... but my hands were tingling. I had to speak to Mirabelle Ervine who provided me with some Destruction Robes and gave me a small tour. All of a sudden, I had my own room within the College. My own place to call home, surrounded by Magic. In a strange way it felt home. I went and met Tolfdir who was conducting a lesson during which he tought the new students, me included, Lesser Ward. I couldn't be happier. The things that could save your life should be your most prized posessions. After that, I retired for the night. Back to my room I checked the two wardrobes, the two end tables and the drawer. I was happy to find some clean clothes and some soul gems and I finally unloaded the items I had been carrying with me for so long. In the Hall of Countenance I also found some soul gems in the room with the Arcane Enchanter and various alchemical materials next to the Alchemy Lab. I had promised myself that the first thing I would do in the morning after getting up would be to come and use the Arcane Enchanter for a bit. I had bought a Necklace of Waterbreathing at the Radiant Raiment because I knew it would soon return well more above my investment (mainly because of the rarity of the enchantment). This, together with the Fortify Alchemy enchant I would learn if I disenchanted the Iron Gauntlets of Minor Alchemy I had bought in Windhelm would definitely improve my revenue... In the morning I woke up and feeling well rested I proceeded to the Hall of Countenance. My colleagues however urged me to travel to Saarthal, where Tolfdir was waiting for us... Of these colleagues, there was one in particular who interested me most, a Khajiit by the name of J'zargo. He seemed very determined to gain power by all means. His determination was familiar to me as I had befriended many Khajiits in my travels. In Saarthal, something strange happened to me. I don't know if I had by chance ingested some mushroom while trying to put some order in my inventory or not, but I had a conversation with a mage who, he said, belonged to the Psijic Order. The strange part about that encounter was that I could see Tolfdir next to me, completely motionless. It was like time had stopped so that I could have a conversation with a figment of my imagination. Deeper inside the dungeon, we found a mysterious orb and Tolfdir immediately urged me to rush back to the College and personally report our findings to the the Archmage.
After informing Savos Aren, a Dunmer Conjurer who was holding the position of Arch-Mage in the College, about our findings in Saarthal, I got to ask him some questions about the College and that is how I got to tell him about my nursemaid, Idesa Sadri and was telling him that sadly she had been orphaned, together with her brother, a pawnbroker in Windhelm. Telling him that she had been sad about not knowing anything about her parents, the Archmage confided that he might have known who their father was, namely Sarvur, a battlemage he had been colleagues with in the Mages Guild in Ald'ruhn, in Morrowind and as far as he could remember, his spouse went by the name of Idronea Sadri. Sarvur had left the Mages Guild, going rogue. Hating the Empire's involvement in Morrowind, he had become a slaver, operating around Gnisis. He was delivering the captured slaves to Tel Mora, as workforce for the Dunmer and to Fort Frostmoth, to the Imperials, for ransom. Savos did not know what had happened to them. Maybe they were still alive.
After updating the Archmage with the details of our expedition, I had a word with the Khajiit I mentioned, J'zargo, who requested me to conduct a small experiment with some scrolls he had created. The scrolls were supposed to encase me in a Flame Cloak which would violently damage any undead which came close to me. I remembered there was a Hall of the Dead in Whiterun, where the priest, Andurs, had asked me to retrieve his Amulet of Arkay from within the catacombs. When I was entrusted with that responsibility, I didn't think I could pull it off... either way, I got to the Hall of the Dead, put on one of the three Enchanted Rings I had found under Saarthal, prayed at the Shrine of Arkay within the Hall of the Dead and went inside the catacombs. Once in, I hurriedly activated one of the scrolls and then saw their power on my own skin, three times. Lucky I had some health potions with me too, otherwise there would have been no difference between my corpse and that of a Charred Skeever. I had no difficulty then to just retrieve the priest's amulet and return it to him. Back at the College, J'zargo was so happy his experiment was concluded successfully that he accepted my asking him to join me in my travels. Frankly, I liked him. With his small experiment, I thought for a moment his real intention was to bring me harm... He only accepted my proposal, maybe, when realizing I was hardier than he initially thought me to be. Eventually, I needed him. I needed somebody who knew the importance of a good investment, the importance of magical power well used and somebody who would share some of my skills. It would keep us both in check and maintain a healthy level of competition in the long run. That night we were just telling each other stories and when I had told him I had tried the famous Elsweyr Fondue, prepared by a Khajiit caravan trader, right outside of Riften, he couldn't stop laughing. In the end, he agreed it was a very commendable deed indeed.
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Having gained his friendship, J'zargo wanted me to know that he was a sorcerer. He always preferred Heavy Armor over anything else, unless bedding was still under discussion, and his offensive skills would revolve usually around the use of Destruction. And speaking of Destruction, he would definitely prefer Shock Damage over anything else, but he admitted that might have very well been only because his Heavy Armor would protect him from any physical damage, whereas it would be useless against magical damage, so in using Shock Damage on his enemies he made sure that no magic would be used on him, as Shock Damage spells would damage the Magicka of his opponents as well as their health. So it was a win-win determined choice. That way of thinking later made me to take similar decisions. I mean I had started favouring Heavy Armor in combat, in cities always changing the College's garments (it was a lot easier to get from point A to point B without feeling how your Stamina is just being drained by it). Another strange thing about him was that, even though he was more proficient with one-handed weapons, he would rather equip a sturdy two-hander. That might have been just some sort of Khajiit pride, because he would definitely not call it insecurity. He had just one thing to say about his insecurity: "O RLY?" - then lightning would strike you...
As a proper sorcerer, it was probably hard for him to admit that he didn't know anything about Enchanting. Sorcerers knew about two things. Wearing the heaviest armor, doing the most magical damage through Destruction and avoiding as much damage as possible with Illusion. Yes, J'zargo had some Moon Sugar before stating that, otherwise he would have counted properly. And I could probably have said many things about him, but as manic as he would seem at times, as trustworthy he would be in battle. I knew he considered everything a competition; for example, I used to time my killing blows, whereas he would just zap my targets metres away from me, making me swing my Soul Trapping weapon in the air... Based exactly on that, he could always trust me I would take him somewhere warm. Yes, we're still talking about Skyrim...
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After Saarthal I was again on a quest for the College. And feeling I had a bit of a difficulty, I took again to my ingredients and the alchemy lab. The wardrobes in my room at the College were more than suitable for storing weapons, apparel, ingredients, potions, food and the occasional smithing materials. At the same time I was increasing my stock because I was constantly checking the wares of my colleagues, as I needed as many filled soul gems I could get my hands on. In a short while they helped me train both Enchanting and Destruction to acceptable levels, and having done so, I was ready for proper dungeoneering. I was not alone anymore, true, but if J'zargo went down temporarily, I would need to save both of us. In all fairness though, he was quite powerful. And the moment I later enchanted his armor with Fortify Heavy Armor, he was like a Dwemer automaton...
I had some knowledge of Smithing (the little I knew about it was also because of Idesa Sadri who was quite skilled), and after I found out most blacksmiths needed a hand with this and that, I decided to "specialize" as little as I could, so that it would make the most difference possible, hence I learnt Steel Smithing. I would improve both mine and J'zargo's armors and weapons and I can't say he wasn't happy about it. I mean... he was on his personal way to power, while I was trying to keep us alive.
One day I took him to Windlehm and introduced him to Revyn Sadri. But during our stay in the city, J'zargo became very uneasy. He was disgusted with the Stormcloak racism. And so, we didn't stay there long. Getting out of the city, he just wanted to enjoy the sun a bit, so we had started walking south, along the river. Soon, we couldn't believe our eyes... Dragon's Tongue, Jazbay Grapes and Creep Cluster were growing in that area, all over the place. We gathered as much as we could carry. Not only would they help with making money, but they had effects that any magicka user would need enhanced during battle. So, pockets full, we returned to the College more enthusiastical than we had left it. J'zargo's expectations regarding Nords were thoroughly dented though. So I kept thingking about how to light his spirits for a bit...
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A couple of days later we were in Solitude. He was a bit confused because I kept rushing him here and there, and we ended up entering Castle Dour. J'zargo was completely lost for words. Looking at me while I took the oath and enrolled in the Imperial Legion was strange to say the least. As I first had to prove myself by clearing Fort Hraggstad of the bandits who had taken a liking to the place, I had time to explain my reasons and to make him understand why it was a great idea: he'd seen Windhelm and if only for that he would have joined the Legion too; he'd heard about Ulfric but didn't know the details as he was a bit taken with his own persona, generally speaking; as far as the Aldmeri Dominion went, he rather took their side, since they, like him, had a mental drive for power, but he understood where the whole thing was going. And he had learnt to trust my knowledge (probably because it wasn't knowledge of Magic, Which he had more at that point). And once we cleared the fort and returned to Solitude, seeing me in my new Imperial Heavy Armor, flashy, imposing, silver and red with a leather strip here and there, he was fascinated. Rather, after I finished tempering all my pieces of armor, helped by alchemy, enchanting and my smithing skill, he was in awe. I crafted him a set of the same type of armor, then searched my wardrobes in the College where I knew I had deposited an Imperial Officer's Helmet which I kept with me since escaping from Helgen, tempered all then he really came to shine as far as combat went. We were ready for the world. And he enjoyed his Officer's Helmet more than any other piece of equipment he had. I wouldn't wear one even if I had it, so I guess he loved the fact that when people saw us together, he looked like the one giving the orders. In all honesty though, I couldn't craft an Officer's Helmet and they were pretty hard to get, let's just leave it at that.
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Some days later, while on a quest for the College, we encountered three Thalmor Justiciars escorting a prisoner... To their disdain, J'zargo replied with a hearty laugh. He was smiling at me while I was asking them why was it wrong to believe in Talos...
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