"You'll learn to recognise it," Ruby says, shifting to a more reassuring tone. "The amount of magicka you have left, the cost of magicka in a spell. Analysing spells for how expensive they are so you can know whether you can cast them, having more control over them and making them more efficient so that they only consume exactly as much magicka as is strictly necessary and nothing goes to waste, and even learning to use ambient magic in the world to help scaffold them—those are all skills the College will teach you. And practising magic is like exercising a muscle—except with less of an upper bound. You gain the ability to store more magicka over time, and your regeneration of magicka will increase. At this point, I can cast some simple spells for basically zero cost, between their efficiency, my regeneration, and my knowing when to judiciously use ambient magic for help."

"And you're still just an apprentice?"

"With a capital A," he explains. "It's an official rank at the college, and it's a little bit about skill but it's also about how much the College trusts you, and the teachers have to decide to promote you."

"They don't trust you?"

"Eh. I think they just haven't gotten around to promoting any of the Apprentices in my group. Staff at the College are notoriously busy—and lazy," he says, adding that last bit with a wink.

She giggles at that, and some of the tension disappears from her shoulders.

Good. He doesn't really want to terrify her, but he does want her to be more safety-conscious than the other Apprentices were when he met them, especially given how powerful she is and the fact that she's a teenager and sort of inherently has less control over her own emotions.

The last few days of the ride are uneventful; there aren't any more outposts between that fort and Winterhold, and while they do spot a couple of caves that would make for good shelter Erandur points at some stakes with skulls nearby as a reason not to go into them. "These are likely occupied by Falmer. We'd best steer clear."

"...snow elves? What's wrong with them?"

Erandur gives Ruby a funny look. "They've lost all of their higher mental faculties after being nearly decimated hundreds of years ago and are now little more than beasts."

...okay, one, how is that a thing that can happen, and two, "Lost all of their higher mental faculties? They can clearly build things, right?"

Also three, if it's been hundreds of years, why do Ruby's memories of the race don't include this fact? He's been able to recognise all other species and races without issue so far.

"Their souls are like those of beasts; they can be collected by Greater Soul Gems."

"Huh?" asks Adara.

"Animal souls can be collected into gems to be used to power enchantments, rituals, and some other permanent magical effects," he explains while the back of his mind processes that statement. "The souls of people are much larger and more powerful than those of animals and can only fit inside very powerful—and forbidden—soul gems called Black Soul Gems." And to Erandur: "You're saying Falmer are, their souls are like those of, I don't know, mammoths?"

"Yes."

What the fuck. What the actual fuck. How is that a thing that can happen. How does a whole race lose their souls like that. Hooooly fuck.

"I see," he says, and Adara looks just as queasy as he feels.

But she brightens considerably when Winterhold becomes visible in the distance, and if they weren't going about as fast as they can already she'd probably try to ride ahead of the other two to get there faster. As it is, she's sufficiently filled with excited energy she doesn't want to stop riding for the night and the other two indulge her and continue going until they reach the city just past midnight.

"There's no point going to the College now, though, there will be no one at the gates to register your magical signature and allow you in," Ruby tells Adara.

"What? But! But we're right here!"

"Feel free to try, if you want; you'll be physically unable to get in."

She pouts but she doesn't really have an argument, here.

At this time of night there's no one manning the inn, either, so they do in fact have to camp anyway, but at least the walls of the city keep out the cold, and Erandur and Ruby don't have to sleep in shifts.

But Adara does not give them eight hours of sleep and is up—not literally at the crack of dawn, but still very early. She looks fit to burst with excitement, and as soon as they take down their camp she wants to immediately go to the College.

"I believe this is where we part ways, for now," says Erandur. "I will speak with the jarl about acquiring property in the city, and I can find you later to tell you where I am."

"Sounds reasonable. Thank you for everything."