A Compilation of Skyrim Short Stories

I shivered as I made my way towards the ancient college of Winterhold. It’s been around for years, and I was excited to be able to test my luck with the entrance exam.

Magick has always been one of my favorite things, I’d practiced since I was a young cat. My old friend, Tigressa, sometimes practiced with me, sometimes sneaking me into Dragonsreach to practice with the court wizard.

He had been nice, and he was very smart, despite being young. I knew a wide variety of spells and defenses and part of it comes from the shapeshifter blood in me. My family is one of the last living shapeshifters known to Tamriel, though many people doubt that we actually can.

Personally, I prefer becoming small things that people don’t notice, like a butterfly in the open or a rat when appropriate. I made my way through Winterhold to the bridge, an Elf standing guard. Like people want to break into an ancient college, what could they possibly have that’s so valuable?

I hear people whisper things like, “A cat is going to practice magick? Unbelievable!” But I ignored them. I smiled at the Elf as I began to cross the bridge.

She raised an eyebrow, clearly skeptical of my presence. I removed the hood of my cloak and smiled again, awkwardly.

“I wish to enter the college.” I say, and she eyes me. It doesn’t feel too good to feel someone’s eyes all over you, but she eventually met my eyes.

“Very well, if you pass a little test, if you will.”

“Okay,” I prepared myself for this moment, having learnt every spell I could think of. It’ll be just my luck she’ll ask me to do something I’d never heard of. Good thing traveling with the caravans has taught me many different things.

“I would like you to conjure a flame atronach, let it twirl around for a bit, then command it to disintegrate.”

My heart drops. I know how to conjure one, but to make it leave? I smile, deciding to trust my instincts. “Okay,” I turned away from her, summoning a flame atronach. Conjuration isn’t exactly why I’m here, but maybe it’ll help on future adventures.

The atronach spins, twirling about and waiting for me to command its next move. Instead, I take a deep breath and motion for it to disappear.

Thankfully, it began to fall, disintegrating and leaving a pile of ashes that burned the falling snow. I smile to myself thankful I passed the test.

The Elf introduces herself as Faralda, and she leads me across the bridge, giving me a brief history of the college and a stern warning about disturbing the people of the city.

“Ever since the Great Collapse the people haven’t trusted us. If you practice necromancy, it’s highly advised you do so only in the college. We practice reanimation as a tool, not a weapon.”

We were approaching the large gate, the statute of Shalidor looming above us. “Now, I am going to direct you to Mirabelle, she’ll conclude the tour and send you to the first lecture, which will start in about an hour. You should have plenty of time to get yourself settled in.” With that, she turns and heads back to her post outside the college.

I find a girl speaking to another Elf, one dressed in Thalmor robes. He didn’t look too thrilled, folding his arms and raising an arched eyebrow. He went to say something, but decided against it after spotting me.

Mirabelle turned to me, smiling. “Ah, a new student. Welcome!” She turns back to the Elf. “Ancano, we’ll finish our discussion later.”

“I’m sure we will,” He responds, turning and leaving.

Mirabelle turns back to me, smiling. “Welcome to the College of Winterhold! What brings you to the college, if you don’t mind my asking.”

I shrug, though I know the answer. “I just want to get better and master the magick I have. I want to learn to control it and whatnot.”

“Good choice,” Mirabelle smiles. “I’ll show you around campus, then we’ll get you settled in the lecture hall.”

I nod, and we walk over to a set of double doors. Mirabelle opens one, and allows me to go in first. “Thank you,” I step inside, and my mouth drops open. I was expecting something fancy, but this place went beyond that.

“I’ll show you to your room.” She smiles at me, leading me around the circular chamber. Other students were already inside, unpacking their belongings.

I hadn’t brought much, considering it was just college, but maybe I should’ve packed more. I saw lots of them hanging their clothes in their wardrobes, some had the college’s robes already, too.

I spotted another Khajiit rummaging through a pile of random things on his bed. We made eye contact and I smiled. He scowled, closing his door and going back to what he was originally doing. Rude.

I set my things down in my room, and Mirabelle hands me the key. “Thank you,”

“You’re welcome. Now, I’m going to show you where the Arcaneum is, along with the Hall of Elements. Those are the only two places, besides here, you’ll spend your time.”

We head back outside, Mirabelle reminding me I can practice contained magick in the courtyard, and head inside to the Hall of Elements. She gestures to another set of doors. “That is the Arcaneum, I won’t take you inside, but feel free to look around once the tour is over.”

I nod, knowing I most likely will not be going inside. Maybe for some spell tomes, though…

I followed Mirabelle into the larger room, where smaller rooms sat off to the side. Benches were lined up in rows, stands set in front of them for spell tomes.

“You’ll learn here, the classrooms are surrounding the large chamber here,” Mirabelle exclaims. “Your first lecture, presumably the introductory lecture, will be held here in this main chamber. This will conclude our tour, do you have any questions?”

I shake my head. “This place is awesome, though.”

Mirabelle smiles. “Thank you. Now, the staff members will be met mostly on your own accord, you might not have any classes with them. All of our apprentices go through Tolfdir, though, so you’ll have a moment to meet your fellow peers in the Hall of Attainment.”

I nod again, looking around the room. “Who do I talk to to sign up for classes?”

“You’ll talk to the instructor of that class. If you’re unsure who it is or where to find them, all you have to do is ask. Here’s a pamphlet, it will tell you who teaches what, where they usually are, and it has a map of the school, in case you ever get lost.

“The Hall of Countenance is off limits, as is the Arch-Mage’s Quarters, anything else, feel free to explore, but at your own risk.”

With that, I’m left alone in the large room. I’ve still got some time to kill, so I might as well get to know my fellow peers. Maybe I’ll make a friend, and I can apologize to that Khajiit.

I head back into the Hall of Attainment, and I find all of the doors have been closed. I can’t just knock on all of them, but I spot name cards next to them.

I circle around the room, passing mine and reading all of the names. I found one that sounds like a Khajiit name: J’Zargo. But I can’t be too sure. All the others sounded normal, and I took a deep breath.

I knocked on the door, hoping I was at the right door. If not, I could always go door to door, meet everyone. The door’s slot opens, and light blue eyes stare back at me. They quickly narrow, as if he were going to hiss at me.

“What do you want with J’Zargo?”

I smile awkwardly. “I apologize for startling you earlier. I didn’t mean to. I’m Ally. It’s nice to see another Khajiit here.”

J’Zargo closes the slot, opening the door entirely and eyeing me. But it wasn’t like how Faralda had. It set my body on fire, my fur seeming to stand on end. It was nice, feeling J’Zargo’s eyes on me.

“Yes,” He says. “What kinds of spells do you know? Are you an expert in destruction?”

“Well, I know most spells, I’m here to master them, though. What about you?”

“Already? Hmph. Competition for J’Zargo, finally someone who can keep up. Come on in.” He holds his door open for me, and I smile, stepping inside.

“So, what do you know?” I ask again, and J’Zargo shrugs. Really? A shrug? He knows.

“Lots of things. This is J’Zargo’s second year here.”

I nod. “Cool,” I glanced around his room. All of his little trinkets were lined up on shelves. “So, where’d you get those?”

J’Zargo shrugs. “J’Zargo found them. Different pockets. I mean places.”

My eyes slid to him. “You stole them?”

“I actually prefer the term borrow.”

“J’Zargo! You should give those back.”

“Hey, no one noticed they were gone, they’re J’Zargo’s now.”

I sigh. His history is none of my business… yet. “Fine. keep them but people do notice when their valuable gems go missing.”

J’Zargo shrugs. “They’ll never know it was J’Zargo.”

“I suppose.” I answer.

J’Zargo cocks his head. “You don’t speak like us.”

Like us, meaning I don’t insert my name into a sentence, and I use things like I and my. He sounds like he’s trying not to, not always using this one or his name.

“I was taught not to, I was born in Elsweyr, but raised here in Skyrim. My parents thought it would be best to teach me to speak like the Nords. So I wouldn’t be too out of place. Not like it changed anything, though.”

“You sound smart.” J’Zargo says. “Educated. Your parents chose a smart thing. J’zargo, he wants to learn to talk like that. He’s one of few Khajiit who practice magick, I have a lot to prove. I want to speak like you.”

“I could help teach you,” I offer. “It’s not terribly hard. It’s more like a habit.”

“I would like that. Now J’Zargo can have motivation, seeing you will remind him that it is possible.”

“Remind me.” I correct. One thing at a time.

“Huh? Oh, remind me it’s possible.”

I smile. “Good job.”

“So, have you mastered anything of the expert level yet?”

“I haven’t really mastered anything, but I will.”

“That’s good, but J’zargo will master them first. It is good to finally be around mages who may be able to keep up with J’zargo.”

“I. I will master them first. And it would be keep up with me.”

“Right,” J’Zargo nods.

“Not everything is a competition, you know.”

“Oh, but you are wrong. The only reason you could disagree is because you are losing so badly you cannot see it.” J’Zargo smiles. “We’ll see who masters things first, then we can talk about whether or not it is a competition.”

I want to hate him for talking to me like that, but I can’t help but smile and agree with his stupid race. What do I have to lose if he beats me? I’ll just have to hear him boast about it for a longtime.

“Have you settled in yet?” He asks, changing the conversation.

“Not entirely. I don’t have a lot to unpack, though, so I’ll do it later.”

“Well, the lecture starts in twenty minutes. Would you like J’Zargo’s-”

“My.”

“Your what?”

“Would you like my help unpacking? Yes, J’Zargo, that would be nice.” I smile, and he stares at me dumbfounded for a moment before smiling, too.

“Good point. Lead the way, my friend.”

I lead J’Zargo to my room, where he helps put my robes into the wardrobe and other things away. As I’m tucking some of my soul gems into the dresser, I catch him slipping something into his robes.

“J’Zargo, what did you just steal?”

“Nothing! I think you’re crazy!”

“J’Zargo! You can’t steal from me!” I approach him, trying to take back what he stole. My claws wrap around a small gem, my amethyst.

I pulled it out, glaring at J’Zargo, who stared at it with wide eyes. “How’d that get in there?”

“J’Zargo!”

“It’s pretty,” He offers.

“It’s my mom’s. She gave it to me for good luck. The amethyst is my favorite gem.”

“Ooh,” J’Zargo chirps.

“If you want something, please ask.” I look up at him, pleading with him to listen to me this once.

He sighs, looking away in shame. “I’m sorry, I didn’t know.”

“This is why you shouldn’t steal from people, you never know what something means to people.”

“You’re right. I’m sorry, I won’t steal anymore. I’ll try to, at least.”

I smile at him. “Thank you.”

He nods.

A knock on the door startles us both. I open it to see Mirabelle holding college robes. “Here’s your uniform, sorry for interrupting.”

“No, you’re fine.” I take them gratefully. “J’Zargo, do you mind stepping out?”

“Not at all.” He waits outside for me to change. When I come out, he smiles. “Ready for the lecture?”

I can’t help but grin like a fool back. “Only if you are.” He takes my hand and we walk to the Hall of Elements together.