The College begins an excavation expedition in the ruins of Saarthal, the oldest human city in all of Tamriel, and once they're sufficiently set up and the actual exploration of the ruins can begin Tolfdir suggests to the Erudites that they come with. "It will be instructional," he says, by which he probably means that they want people to do the grunt work. Arniel Gane, the school historian, will also be joining them.

"I vote we go."

"I... feel conflicted. It feels a bit... disrespectful."

"...of the dead?"

He nods.

"Khajiit will go. Ancient lost knowledge is useful to become a powerful wizard."

"I'm honestly just very curious."

"Hmm."

"Isn't it... Nord tradition to explore ancient tombs?"

"...huh? No, why would it be?"

"Well, because of ice steel, I assumed."

"Ice steel."

"It's something I read about on a book? Maybe it was a myth. It's meant to be a type of metal that's forged in cold rather than in heat, where a lesser metal is gifted to the noble dead and after many complex trials the dead honour the living by giving it back in the form of a very durable metal that keeps its sharpness under much more stress than other metals."

"I've... never heard of this." Then he shrugs uncomfortably. "Maybe it is a thing, my village wasn't exactly very cosmopolitan or knowledgeable."

"We could ask Urag."

Onmund has mixed feelings about asking a mage for information on a Nord tradition but he recognises this is hypocritical as hell and he's already decided that the Nord beliefs regarding mages are nonsensical so he should probably get over it. "Yeah, that would be useful."

"I do not have any specific, reliable sources," says the orc. "Nord culture has historically been passed down orally most of the time, especially when it comes to rituals this ancient, and so most written records are by outsiders and visitors. That said, the individual accounts and legends are sufficiently numerous and widespread that I expect they are referring to a real thing.

"And some of the legends do include, yes, Nordic heroes defeating powerful draugar in ancient tombs and being rewarded with ice steel arms and armour for their valour. They do not, however, tend to go into these ruins with the specific intent of raiding them, and you would be right that it is considered disrespectful to do so."

"...I suppose the excavation at Saarthal isn't, exactly, tomb raiding..."

"It's at least a little bit tomb raiding," Ruby concedes. "I understand your hesitation."

"Hmm. If there were a better reason than just curiosity... But this just feels like disturbing the dead for our own amusement and it leaves me with a bad taste in my mouth."

"Some legends do serve as cautionary tales against doing exactly this," Urag says.

"...are you against the excavation, then?"

"I am for the free exchange of knowledge, and I am an orc. I do not have this reverence for the dead Nords do."

That's... not an unfair description of his attitude, though he wouldn't have used the word "reverence" himself.

"Anyway, if you wish to find references to this ice steel, I can recommend some."

"I... think yes, I do."

The excavation is a day's ride away—if one rides a regular Ethereal Horse.

Tolfdir is the foremost expert in Alteration in all of Tamriel and no slouch in all the other kinds of magic, so instead of riding an Ethereal Horse what they do is ride a conjured carriage that is pulled by four Ethereal Horses who are also enchanted to be a lot faster and hardier than those of the basic spell Ruby has. The carriage is furthermore very comfortable and shielded from the cold and wind, and it floats rather than having wheels which makes the ride very smooth.

All of the individual parts of that spell are things he knows magic can do, so Ruby really shouldn't be surprised. And he isn't, exactly, surprised. What he is is jealous as fuck. The amount and control of magicka necessary to set this spell up and cast it are definitely beyond him as he is, but this looks incredibly useful to travel anywhere.

Why anyone would want to not be a mage is entirely beyond Ruby.

Anyhow, it will only take a couple of hours, and they don't even need to pay attention to the way. It's really comfy.

"So, what's the deal with Saarthal anyway?"

"It was the first human city in Tamriel, and used to be the capital of Skyrim, until it was destroyed by Falmer."

"...wait, is that related to..."

"Yes," says Erandur, who is also joining the mages on their expedition, vouched for by Ruby. "In retaliation for the sack of Saarthal, the ancestors of the modern Nords went on a war of extermination against them, and the result is modern Falmer."

"It was really quite gruesome, according to the tales," says Brelyna. "There were only three survivors in the whole city."

"But what's fascinating about it is that we've been able to detect the magical signatures of some truly unique seals in there, ones I have never seen before," says Tolfdir.

...of course that's what Tolfdir finds interesting there. Ruby offers Onmund a look of understanding.

Yeah, see.

"Though of course, since it's been buried for thousands of years, there are all sorts of secrets we may uncover. No one knows why the Falmer attacked on that fateful day, or what they hoped to achieve."

"How come it's never been excavated before?"

It's because other people have any respect for their ancestors, Onmund doesn't say.

"A few reasons, Brelyna my dear. No one really knew where Saarthal was, after the sack; the destruction was so thorough the whole city sank underground, and it is said that by the time Ysgramor and the Five Hundred Companions returned the landscape was changed beyond recognition. And given that plus the difficulty of excavating—you will see how deep we had to go to find a single entrance—it could only really be done by magic, and no one wanted to expend the resources needed.

"Indeed, it was a happy coincidence that we found this place at all! Archmage Savos Aren was the one who detected the faint magical signature which inspired him to have us explore."

...that sounds like plot. That's plot, right? It is. There's more stuff happening.

The excavation does go extremely deep, a good twenty metres from the surface, and they have to go several levels of ramps and landings down the scaffolding lining the walls of the hole. Once they're all by a large metal door set into a wall Tolfdir says, "Now make sure you are all ready to face draugar. Ancient Nord tombs, especially those from the Merethic Era*, are often teeming with them, and we are not unlikely to encounter some today."

(* Also known as the Mythic Era, it came before the First Era. Its specific duration is not extremely clear and—given that linear time only started existing during it—may be unkowable.)

The Erudites and Erandur cast the necessary protection spells and then step into the ruins one after the other.

But when Ruby steps in there's that strange feeling of vertigo and losing focus—

(—"Really? Here? Is it just going to be every single time I walk into danger, that's gonna get old fast."—)

—and they're all naked.

"—what was that?" wonders Tolfdir, sounding more amazed than upset. "I've never seen a trap like this!"

Ruby grabs his staff, which once again Sanguine allowed him to keep despite everything else he had been carrying vanishes, and says, "It's Sanguine."

"The Daedric Prince who set his eyes on you?"

"Yeah. He's done it before. Last time our equipment was in a bundle just outside the doors but... something tells me she's not going to be happy if we just step out and grab it all back."

"J'zargo had powerful enchantments on his robes and feels naked without them."

"...aren't we all pretty much naked even with them?"

"What would... happen if we tried?"

"Dunno. Maybe it'd all vanish again as soon as you walked back inside and then reappear somewhere harder to find, that sounds like him. Or maybe it just won't be there until we're done with whatever she thinks we should be doing in here."

"Well, that sounds worth investigating," says Tolfdir, walking past Ruby and back outside.

...well, fair enough. Ruby and the others follow him.

He's talking to one of the workers and when he returns he shakes his head. "They've seen no package appearing out of thin air with our equipment, so perhaps we do need to do, as you say, whatever it is we need to do inside. I asked them to look around, anyway, in case he did hide it."

"Should we... wait until they do try to find it first?"

"In my experience, when Daedra Lords are meddling it is often much easier to just play along to the extent we can, when it is not too costly."

"—you've dealt with Daedra Lords before, then?" That's some evidence against the whole "protagonist" theory.

"Not as much as you have, young man, at least not in such concentrated doses. But you cannot become a powerful wizard without attracting the attention of some other powerful things, and you learn their ways."

And without further ado, Tolfdir just walks back in.

"I'm really not sure most other people are as nonchalant as Tolfdir is about these things," Onmund says, shaking his head and following Tolfdir in.

"In any case," Tolfdir says as he leads the way down some more scaffolding that's been set up inside the ruins, "there are a few tasks worth doing. For the moment, our goal is exploration, and seeing if we find anything that jumps out to us as particularly interesting. Now, since the ruins are pretty extensive, we will be systematic about this and attempt to form a map. Now I'll distribute tracking charms to each of you—" And he summons them out of Deep Storage, little red amulets that can be worn around one's neck. "These will store information about your surroundings to then be compiled into an overall map. Should you find yourself lost, send a pulse of magicka into it and it will help trace back your steps."

The Erudites all accept their trackers, and even Erandur gets one.

Tolfdir starts assigning tasks to all of them (except for Erandur, since he's not from the College and Tolfdir's got the impression he'll be following Ruby around) and Ruby's task is to find Arniel Gane deeper in the ruins and help him catalogue enchanted items they find.

Sure, he can do that. The nice tracking amulet can show him how to get to the historian and after going down a ramp then up another then into a hallway and to the right and then left and then left and then right and cross a bridge over a large chamber and up another ramp and to the left there he is.

He looks incredibly absorbed by staring at something on a table and completely misses Ruby entering the room.

"Arniel?"

He doesn't jump, but he does blink a few times in surprise as if waking up from a dream. "Yes?"

"Tolfdir told me to find you and help you."

"—ah, yes, you're one of the new Erudites, I remember you. Very well, I do have some more areas I wished to explore..." He starts to cast a spell into his own tracking amulet and then realises he isn't wearing it anymore. It or anything else. "Huh. What happened to my equipment?" He looks up at Ruby and Erandur, only just now noticing their nudity. "And yours, for that matter?"

Did he really get so distracted by what he was doing that he didn't notice he was naked.

Lol.

Anyway, Ruby will explain again the whole shebang with Sanguine.

Arniel Gane listens to it all attentively, then says, "Well, lend me your amulet, then."

Erandur gives him his. If he'll be attached to Ruby at the hip he might as well.

Sure that works. He casts a spell into it which projects a low-detail illusion of the rough three-dimensional layout of the ruins as they've explored them so far. Little blue lights indicate each of the amulets, so the little room where they are has two of them and then the other Erudites and Tolfdir are over thataway. He modifies the illusion to indicate a couple of rooms that haven't been thoroughly explored as well as a direction that hasn't been explored at all full stop. "That way. Grab anything interesting you find and bring it to me."

"And if I don't find anything interesting?"

He gives Ruby a look like he's being extremely dense. "Keep looking until you do."

He thought so.

Nothing to it, then. He starts exploring.

The layout of these ruins is really confusing. It's not very clear what any given part of it was meant to be, and that's not helped by the cave-ins, which probably account for the majority of the city in terms of area. The most consistent explanation for what the place he's currently in looks like is that it's probably a proper dungeon of some kind, or maybe tombs. And it's not like people left enchanted items lying around in tombs, so Ruby's got his work cut out for him.

Eh, that's fine. It's easy enough to retrace his own steps if necessary, and he is a mage so he can detect magic as a primitive action and doesn't have to rely on sight and trial and error. Of course, anything that's still around after thousands of years will most likely have its magical aura greatly diminished, but what can you do.

Actually, scratch that: there are enchanted items lying around, it seems. If he's looking for weak magical signatures he will, in fact, find some. There's an enchanted ring over there. And another here, next to an enchanted necklace and earrings. And here's an enchanted dagger next to a pair of rings...

...oh. Oh that's. That's probably where the people trying to defend themselves from the sack of the city died, isn't it. After thousands of years even the skeletons would've turned to less than dust, even somewhere cold and dry like here.

Wow, that's... dark.

But actually here's an enchanted item that isn't lying around somewhere someone probably died! There's an elaborate stone carving in a wall with an amulet inset, almost in a place of honour.

...plot item. He's calling it.

He grabs it.

There's a sudden noise from the direction he came from.

Told ya.

"What was that?"

"The plot." He starts retracing his steps to figure out where the noise came from, exactly.

And it seems like a magical barrier has appeared cutting him off from whence he came.

On the other side of it, Tolfdir seems to have caught up with them. "What in the world happened?"

"I grabbed the plot item," Ruby explains, gesturing at the amulet, "and the plot started to happen," gesture at the energy field. "My guess is I have to wear the amulet and then something will happen and I'll be able to advance."

"Young man, you should not be treating this like a story. There can be real danger in these chambers."

That is also true in stories, he doesn't say.

"I'm just joking around. But my guess is still the same."

"Yes, mine as well. This is probably some sort of sealing mechanism meant to ensure no one explores past this barrier that whoever is on your side of the barrier doesn't know about, and your amulet will allow you to explore ahead."

"Yeah, that makes sense. Can you take down the barrier from where you are?"

"Probably, but I would guess it should be easier to do it from the inside. Try returning that amulet to where you found it?"

"Can do."

He can do.

The barrier does indeed come down, and Tolfdir crosses it and joins him. "Take the amulet again and try to figure out how to keep exploring; I'll work on disabling the barrier from this side while you do."

Reasonable enough. Ruby grabs the amulet once more then puts it on to see what happens.

What happens is a slight distortion in his vision—no, not vision. His sense of space? In the direction of the wall he got the amulet from.

...huh. The wall is fake, in some hard to define way. Feels like if he does a little magical push...

It gives way and allows him to step through.

Erandur can step through, too, and as soon as he does he activates an armour spell on himself. "We should be careful. Whatever was hidden by this mechanism is likely to be protected by more than just that."

"...not wrong." Ironflesh and then the Dremora from the staff take care of being battle ready and then they can move on.

The ruins are substantially more well-preserved past that point. In particular, they no longer have to wonder about the corpses, because the spell separating this place from the rest of the dungeon has sufficient strong stasis properties that the skeletons are still littering the floor.

No draugr here, no draugr there, the skeletons aren't rising up in a revolt...

Yet.

It'll happen, he's sure of it.

After a bit of exploration Tolfdir catches up to them again. "That barrier was ingenious," is the first thing he says. "It's not only meant to prevent people from coming in, it's also just an expansion of an inner barrier that had been here all along and which also prevents decay. What makes no sense is how it's still there, something of that scale should've run out of power hundreds of—oh, what have we here...?"

Tolfdir is like a goldfish, Ruby decides as he watches the man forge on ahead, tempted by some sort of magical signature Ruby can barely sense. He gets distracted by a shiny thing and then he... gets distracted by the next shiny thing and immediately forgets about the previous shiny thing.

Anyway, regardless of how much of a goldfish he is, he's still an incredibly powerful wizard and out of a pure sense of self-preservation Ruby follows.

Tolfdir stops inside a room that's lined with three obsidian coffins and nothing else. When Ruby catches up with him he's peering at one of the coffins intently.

"Find something interesting?"

"Yes, I believe there's more than just a draugr inside this one. I'm not sure what, it seems like—"

And then he freezes.

"...Tolfdir?"

In fact, everything freezes. Tolfdir himself, Erandur, the Dremora. It seems like time itself has stopped.

And then there's a distortion in space, as if it's getting pinched and then... pierced? And suddenly a man wearing intricate red-gold robes appears from it as it snaps back into normality. "Hold, mage, and listen well."

Ah, there it is. The plot.

"Know that you have set in motion a chain of events that cannot be stopped," the man continues. "Judgement has not been passed, as you had no way of knowing. Judgement will be passed on your actions to come, and how you deal with the dangers ahead of you."

"Okay, no, hold on, mysterious time-stopping guy. How have I set a chain of events in motion, why does plot keep happening to me?"

The man fixes a piercing gaze on Ruby. "You are now Dragonborn, though you were not born it. Through your actions has Akatosh, dragon of time, blessed you with his power. As it has been, so it will continue to be; your task is to safeguard the realm from the perils you once prevented. You have but delayed the inevitable, and it is your responsibility to end it."

"...I now have additional questions."

    "The Psijic Order believes in you, and so it is that we pass you this warning. Steel yourself for what awaits you. You are not alone, Dragonborn, but it is on your shoulders that rests the burden of preventing disaster." And then the space distortion again and he vanishes.

"—what was that?" wonders Tolfdir. "There was a flash of powerful magic I've never seen before but now I can't sense anything!"

Ahahahahahahah what the fuck is going on.

"Would you happen to know anything about a—"

And that's when the draugr inside the three coffins kick the lids of the coffins open to attack them.

"Finally, a challenge!" cries the Dremora, immediately going after them.

Three mages and a summoned Daedroth are more than enough to make short work of the draugr, though.

    "Disappointing," says the Dremora.

"Oh, so you are willing to use destructive magics against draugar?" wonders Ruby.

"Yes. Like many others, Mara finds the necromantic arts which animate draugar an abomination, and it is a prayer unto her to deliver those souls to their final resting places."

"Reasonable." And back to Tolfdir: "Anyway, do you know anything about a 'Psijic Order'?"

"...yes, yes I do, why do you ask?"

"Some guy from it just stopped time and delivered a whole speech."

"—fascinating. The Psijic Order hasn't been seen in over a hundred years. They are an ancient order dedicated to the study and manipulation of reality and magic itself, the school of Mysticism. They do not typically interfere with worldly affairs except in situations of great historical importance. What did he say to you?"

"He said I 'set in motion a chain of events that cannot be stopped'. He also said I once prevented a great danger that I will need to deal with, that I am 'Dragonborn though I was not born it', and that Akatosh the dragon of time blessed me in reward for my actions."

Erandur sucks in a startled breath when Ruby mentions being "Dragonborn".

"Dragonborn? Well, that... sure would explain why so much seems to happen to and around you, young man."

"So, I did something at some point that impressed Akatosh and he gave me magic dragon-related powers—aren't all dragons dead? I thought you needed dragons for Dragonborn—and then for some reason I lost all of my memories, and now I have some great responsibility. I guess that beats just being a Chosen One of some sort, if the reason this stuff keeps happening to me is because of something I did."

"All dragons are indeed dead," Tolfdir confirms, "but them being alive has not been a requirement. The line of the Empire of Cyrodiil have all been Dragonborn until the death of the last Septim Emperor, and dragons have been gone for much longer than that." He frowns. "What's more confusing is why the Psijic would choose to show themselves to you now and here of all times and places. There is, as far as I know, no connection between Saarthal and the Order." Tolfdir shakes his head. "Well, let's continue exploring; maybe we will find that connection."

The reason that one coffin Tolfdir was squinting at had extra magic seems to be that it has the same effect as the wall from earlier, and the amulet Ruby found permits him to make that wall traversable for all of them.

They continue exploring, but at some point Tolfdir catches a sniff of something powerfully magical and starts chasing it.

Further up ahead, they reach large circular chamber whose walls are lined with more coffins. But more interestingly than that is that the ceiling is extremely tall, probably going nearly all the way to the surface (and maybe even further, if space was sufficiently bent), with more and more rows of coffins going all the way up.

And of course, various of those coffins explode outwards as draugar step out of them.

These are enough of them that the mages + Dremora don't immediately make short work of them. Some of them are even mages themselves, it seems.

But Tolfdir continues to be ridiculously talented, so he summons two Daedra and then creates a dome of fire around the whole room. And to justify this, a couple of draugar fall out of some of the coffins that are above them and fall directly into the fire. This doesn't immediately kill them but it really is a matter of time.

"I won't be able to hold this barrier for very long," Tolfdir observes conversationally, "so I'll only set it up periodically to weaken incoming draugar."

Reasonable enough.

Also: draugar are good target practice. Here be arrows.

"I'll remain here and deal with whatever draugar still wish to come bother us," says Tolfdir once they stop constantly showing up. "Go on ahead and explore some more, I'll catch up with you later."

"Can do," says Ruby, nodding. He walks across the room from the door they walked in through and opens the door there to keep exploring.

There are, of course, more draugar. But more than those, traps start making an appearance, too. Ruby steps on an elevated stone slab and Erandur has to quickly pull him back so that the presumably-poisoned darts that shoot from the walls at where he'd just been a second ago don't hit him. There are also magic ones, which are ironically easier for the mages to find; though visually they are very faintly glowing runes on the floor, magically they're much more obvious, and can be disabled.

Someone really did not want them to find whatever it is that's buried in these ruins, and while one part of Ruby's mind with Onmund's voice is saying that maybe they should heed these warnings and leave there's another part that's extremely curious.

Eventually Tolfdir catches up with them, with the three other Erudites in tow. "I believe I have managed to sufficiently deal with the draugar from that one chamber. I trust you have had no further problems so far?"

"Traps and draugar but nothing we couldn't deal with." Although if it weren't for healing magic they probably would be super banged up, now, Ruby's lost count of how many times he was hit.

"J'zargo is disappointed he was not here to witness your exploits. He has heard you are Dragonborn."

"Yeah, seems like it, though I have no idea what this means in practice, with all dragons dead."

(Onmund is not meeting Ruby's eyes, for some reason.)

"Let's go on, then. We're close to the magic disturbance."

From this distance it's obvious to the magic senses of all of them, and they don't even need to follow Tolfdir to find it, though honestly given the excited spring in Tolfdir's step he'd probably be running up ahead regardless.

There is a room just before the place they can sense the disturbance from which has six large metal chamfered three-sided pyramids with bas-relief carvings of one of a fish, a snake, and a bird on each side. In addition to that, the walls behind each of them have a carving of exactly one of the animals each, seemingly at random.

...it seems like it's possible to rotate the pyramids and make the outwards-facing face show the right animals? "Is this meant to be a puzzle?"

"It's probably to keep the draugar out; they are not smart enough to solve even such simple things."

And on the other side of the door that opens to them once they have "solved" the puzzle and pulled a lever leads them to a massive chamber. Their goal is very obvious, from the elevated platform they're on.

Chamber

The center of the chamber is dominated by a short platform glowing blue. Surrounding it is a magical energy field that goes all the way up into the ceiling, and floating above its center is a sphere that is the source of all the magic. In fact, it seems to be what's powering the barrier, and a more attentive look reveals that it's connected to all sorts of magical things all over the ruins. This is probably the energy source fuelling the magic barrier Tolfdir mentioned earlier. Between them and the magical sphere is a stone throne, and sitting on it is a slumped-over corpse...

...a slumped-over draugr which straightens up as soon as they walk in and fixes its glowing gaze on the group.

"Well, now, would you look at that... I never thought we'd find something like this."

Trust Tolfdir to completely ignore the draugr now standing up menacingly and the myriad other draugar that kick the doors to their coffins open and start converging on them.

More mages, now, all of them able to summon Daedra to help (though Tolfdir is the only one who can maintain more than one up at the same time), so the battle is not one-sided even though there are over a score walking dead trying to kill them all.

Burn, burn, burn.

The main draugr, though, the one that was on the throne, seems completely immune to any damage, and not even Tolfdir can scratch it. "The artefact is feeding energy into it! Cover me while I try to break the connection."

That makes the battle more one-sided, when one of their foes—the most powerful of them—is categorically indestructible. It also seems capable of wielding thu'um, shouting imprecations in the dragon tongue at them which throw them all clean off their feet and directly at walls.

They soon adopt a formation. Erandur serves as their healer and backline support, Onmund and J'zargo are their heavy hitters for the draugar other than the indestructible one, and Ruby and Brelyna both try to distract the indestructible one and put obstacles on its path so the others can continue to do their own jobs.

It doesn't work perfectly, and there are enough other draugar that they keep overwhelming Onmund and J'zargo, but at least the summoned Daedra can serve as tanks and distractors, themselves, throwing themselves into danger heedless of any damage—their bodies are just magical constructs, after all, and if they're destroyed all that'll happen is they'll be returned to their respective realms in Oblivion.

They mostly need to buy time, though, especially once the only draugr left is boss draugr. At that point they can mostly keep it occupied enough that it doesn't hurt them all too much, though the thu'um are a big advantage, what with how they cost no magicka at all and can't be straightforwardly interrupted.

"I have it! Focus fire!" Tolfdir calls, and as soon as the connection between that artefact and the draugr breaks—

...well, the draugr is actually still very damn hard to kill even without being indestructible. It was a powerful mage in life, that much is clear, and once it becomes clear to it that it can no longer just casually barrel through them with unrelenting force it decides to summon Daedra of its own to up the pressure. It has four of them up at the same time, which not even Tolfdir can do, and it cycles through barriers that completely nullify some types of attacks one by one.

Still, while it must have been fearsome in life, its power is much diminished in (un)death, and six mages are enough to eventually, painstakingly, with a lot of effort, kill it.

When it notices it's about to die, though, it bundles up all the rest of its magic and life force into one final explosion, powerful enough it could have killed all of them had it reached them.

But it did not, in fact, reach them; Erandur and Tolfdir both react quickly enough to contain most of it, and all that happens is that all six of them are covered in third-degree burns and all of their Daedra are dispelled.

Thankfully all of them have healing spells and enough presence of mind to start healing themselves before the agony overwhelms their senses.

It's still nonzero agony, though.

"Now what is this fascinating artefact..." wonders Tolfdir aloud, turning his attention away from them and towards the shielded sphere.

After verifying that everyone is alright Ruby gingerly steps over to the corpse of the draugr. He was, after all, tasked with finding enchanted items.

There are two very visibly magical artefacts on it: one is an amulet around its neck, and the other is a... piece of paper? That seems to be attached to its forehead.

It had not been attached to its forehead before.

Mysterious. What does it say?

Be bound here, Jyrik Gauldurson, murderer and betrayer
condemned by your crimes against realm and lord.

May your name and deeds be forgotten forever
and the charm which you bear be sealed by our ward.

If they wanted his name to be forgotten why did they go and write it on the paper? ...maybe it was necessary for whatever ritual was meant to be sealing this guy here.

"Does the name 'Jyrik Gauldurson' ring any bells for anyone?" Ruby asks, straightening back up and frowning at the seal.

None of them seem to know it, not even the one Nord who was most likely to know of any legends about him, given the similarly Nord name "Gauldurson".

"Seems like the dude was meant to be sealed here and then forgotten," Ruby explains, offering the seal to the others to examine.

"...why did they seal him here rather than kill him?"

"'Tis likely he was too powerful at the time to be killed. If he has been here for thousands of years, his power would have greatly waned since, and this is why we could do it ourselves."

"This makes no sense, though. I thought no one had survived the Night of Tears? I mean, other than those three people who then brought an army and killed all Falmer. What is this person doing here?"

"Khajiit suspects that he is a later addition to these ruins."

"Which belies the idea that these ruins were completely hidden forever. Maybe they were hidden even harder by whoever sealed this guy here. And maybe that sphere is part of the seal?"

"I doubt that," Tolfdir calls from where he's still examining it downstairs. "This design is unlike any that I've encountered before; 'tis most certainly not ancient Nord. Not Ayleid¹, not Dwemer², not of any Daedric make I have seen... It may have served as a power source for the seal but it almost certainly predates it."

(¹ Also known as heartland high elves or wild elves, they were the first race to establish an empire in Tamriel, back from before the start of recorded history. Most of them have died out; perhaps all, as the most recent sighting of one was over a thousand years past.)
(² Also known as deep elves or dwarves, they were a very technologically advanced society that vanished without a trace during the First Era.)

"...no one knows why the Falmer sacked Saarthal. Maybe it has something to do with that?"

"Indeed, that is a hypothesis worth considering. There are legends concerning their objectives, but they are often mutually contradictory and it is hard to say which if any of them bears any resemblance to the truth. Perhaps this will help narrow it down..." He turns around. "Erudites, I have a task for you. I would ask that you return to the College posthaste and inform Archmage Savos Aren of what we found here. He will be most interested."

"What should I do with this?" Ruby asks, gesturing at the amulet.

"Let me see it," Tolfdir says, for the first time since he started examining the sphere actually turning around to look at what Ruby wants to show him.

He climbs downstairs and starts walking towards Tolfdir then—

—stops.

"What's that?"

"You will need to be more specific, young man."

"That... sound. It's like voices...?" He points in the direction of the wall behind the sphere. "Coming from that way? Can't you hear it?"

"Sound? No, I'm afraid I cannot." Tolfdir turns around to look in the direction Ruby pointed at and starts walking there. "Perhaps an old man's hearing has suffered over the years."

Ruby follows him, and the noise becomes so loud it would be impossible to miss. "Dragonborn stuff, do you reckon?"

"Seems as likely as anything else, if you continue to hear it." He turns back around then walks over to Ruby to examine the amulet. "Hmm, this seems like it could've been a powerful amulet in the past but right now it is little more than a magicka storage unit, and not a very powerful one. Show it to the Archmage to get a second opinion, but it does not look particularly noteworthy."

"Alright." He looks over at Erandur and the other Erudites, who have also climbed down the stairs though they are staying back somewhat. "You guys wanna come explore?"

"J'zargo is curious also, yes."

Onmund is still not meeting Ruby's eyes but he follows along with the others anyway.

...is it because Ruby is Dragonborn. Is this going to be something awkward they'll need to deal with in their relationship.

Well, they'll deal with it later. For now Ruby wants to explore where that noise is coming from.

There's a door on that wall and it leads into a single hallway that doesn't branch anywhere. The walls are lined with braziers decorated with the heads of dragons and other carvings, and the sound becomes louder and louder until it's almost deafeningly loud by the time they finally reach another chamber.

It's not as large as the chamber that housed that big sphere but it's still pretty big, and three massive dragon heads carved of stone jut out of the wall across the room from them. Underneath them are carvings in an unfamiliar script, and it seems to be from that wall that the sound is coming.

It's almost hypnotising. It feels as if he's being spoken to, as if he's being told some secret he can almost understand. He walks over to it...

...and a single word on the wall starts glowing. When he gets close enough, the glow starts going into him, the rest of the world darkening until only the word remains. It echoes in his head, and he suddenly understands its meaning.

ICE, it echoes in his head, alongside its equivalent in (what is probably) dragon tongue: iiZ.

When the glow vanishes and vision returns to him, though, he's no longer in that chamber, and his companions are no longer around. Instead, he's in a town somewhere, though the details are blurry. The time of day is unclear, and the people present are only distinguishable by their clothing, their faces reduced to only the mental impressions of their existence.

"Ulfric Stormcloak," says someone, a Cyrodiils woman wearing imperial armour (Ruby's brain helpfully informs him even though he cannot make out any of her features). She is standing in front of a man that is bound and kneeling before a chopping block. There is a headsman next to him holding a massive axe dirty with the blood of someone who has already been executed. "You stand accused of inciting a rebellion, murdering your High King, and high treason against the Empire. For these crimes, you will be put to death."

(There is a distant roar, but the woman says it's nothing and tells everyone to ignore it.)

"I would normally ask you if you had anything to say for yourself, but we all know your tongue and your voice are your greatest weapons. You have used the sacred Way of the Voice to greatly damage your country and realm, and for this you cannot be forgiven."

The headsman pushes him forward so his head is resting on the chopping block.

"I pray that you find wisdom in your next life."

And then a dragon appears, and everything fades to black.

"—up!"

"It is probably just a Dragonborn ailment."

"Doesn't change the fact that being unconscious for ten minutes with no noticeable magical effect is concerning."

"Ten minutes?" asks Ruby groggily from where he's finding himself lying on the ground.

"Oh, good, you are awake. Here, drink this," says Erandur, who is kneeling beside him and offering him a waterskin.

"'M fine," Ruby says, sitting up, but he does accept the water. "Just a vision of the future, y'know how it is."

"I confess I do not," replies Erandur, the corners of his lips tugging up into a wry smile.

"Are you feeling alright?"

"Vision of the future?"

"Oh you're looking at me again, cool," Ruby says to Onmund.

...he blushes a bit and looks away.

Heeeee didn't mean to say that aloud, actually. "Bit out of it. Feel hungover. Need to go to Helgen. Where's Helgen?"

"...it's all the way across Skyrim from here. What happens in Helgen?"

"Dragon attack."

"J'zargo thinks you may be confusing the future with the past."

He shakes his head and the wave of nausea makes him immediately regret it. He turns his whole body away from Erandur so he can be sick on the floor, then he grabs the waterskin again to rinse his mouth and then drink some more. "Future. Unclear when. But I need to go. Soon enough that I shouldn't take my time, not so soon that I need to go immediately."

Onmund takes a step forward and then goes down to one knee, concern writ plain on his face. "A dragon attacks Helgen. And you have to go there."

"'S what I said, yeah. Stands to reason. I think. New Dragonborn, new dragon. ...old dragon. Back. Ugh, my fucking head."

Erandur casts a regeneration on him again.

It doesn't do anything. "I think headaches due to magic visions from the personification of the abstract concept of time are somewhat resistant to magic healing. Help me up."

Onmund and Erandur offer him their hands.

"Now let's figure out how to leave this place and hope Tolfdir's carriage is still available."

Thankfully it is. And their equipment is also outside, waiting for them in bundles just like that time in Nightcaller Temple.

They grab some food from the excavation workers because it turns out they've spent most of the day in the ruins but they can eat on their way back. In the comfort of the carriage and the darkness of the northern night they all just snuggle together and doze off and on until they get back to Winterhold.

Ruby is the one with the magic amulet and the magic seal so he's the one who goes to the Hall of Elements and all the way upstairs to the Archmage's quarters.

...he sure hope he's not about to wake Archmage Savos up and make him very mad.

Anyway.

Knock knock.

The large double doors swing open immediately to reveal the grand hall the Archmage lives in.

Archmage's Quarters

The Archmage himself is nowhere visible but his voice can be heard from the other side of the wall that frames the center of the room: "Come in, and please have a good reason to be here, it would be a shame to have to hex you."

...that was a joke, right? It was probably a joke. Also, being the Archmage looks awesome, Ruby is incredibly jealous of this place. Can you imagine living here?

Anyway, Ruby follows the voice and finds the Archmage himself lying on his bed (which is also massive). He's not under the covers, and he's sitting up and has a book in his hand, so he was probably not literally going to sleep right this second, but he was probably about to sleep soon. "My apologies for disturbing you, Archmage. I've just returned from the excavation at Saarthal."

"One of the Erudites, yes? ...the amnesiac one, perchance?"

"Yes. My name is Ruby."

The Archmage puts his book down and gets up from his bed. "It is a pleasure to meet you, Ruby. I am, as you of course know, Savos Aren." He extends his hand outwards for Ruby to shake.

Something in Ruby relaxes at that. Probably the fact that the Archmage didn't turn him into a skeever on the spot. He shakes his hand.

"We found a few interesting things there and Tolfdir thought I should tell you as soon as possible."

Savos sighs. "Please don't say another one of the Apprentices has been incinerated. I have enough on my plate right now."

Just how often do mages die, goodness. "We found a massive artefact down there, intensely magical. Tolfdir did not recognise its make, and it was protected by—and an energy source for—a powerful warding spell. He speculated that this could be the reason why the Falmer attacked Saarthal, thousands of years ago." Technically it was Onmund but Tolfdir agreed, so.

"...interesting. If Tolfdir thinks so, it must be a remarkable artefact indeed. And he wants my personal attention, yes?"

"Indeed."

"Very well. I shall join him on the morrow. Hmm, and won't you do me a favour? Tell Urag gro-Shub about this, see if he can't dig up any references to whatever this artefact could be."

"There was something else. This draugr was sealed in the same chamber as the artefact, and his seal named him Jyrik Gauldurson." Ruby offers the Archmage the seal and the amulet.

"Gauldurson, you say." He accepts the seal and the amulet, reads the text of the seal, then peers at the amulet. "Well, won't you look at that..."

"Tolfdir said he hadn't heard of him."

"Yes, he wouldn't have, he isn't so interested in ancient legends except as they pertain to magic he can learn. And the High King Harald's campaign to erase all records of Gauldur and his sons was most certainly a near success.

"A near success because, of course, historians will not leave well enough alone, and a myth such as that of Gauldur and his sons is sure to pique their interest. I believe Urag gro-Shub will be able to enlighten you some more." He offers Ruby the amulet back. "I believe this is one of three fragments of Gauldur's legendary amulet that gave him great power. After all these years they will be greatly diminished, even should you find out how to combine them, but they would nevertheless prove very useful to you, I believe, Dragonborn."

"—wait, you knew?"

The Archmage merely smiles. "Do ask Urag about this artefact under Saarthal and about Gauldur and his sons. Now leave me, for if I am to join Tolfdir in the morning I should wish to sleep soon."

"—yes, Archmage. Good night."

Bastard.

Urag is still awake, as bookworms often are while engrossed in a tome. And he is not irritated by being disturbed by Ruby—until, that is, Ruby mentions what it is he seeks.

"I don't have what you seek. Not anymore."

"'Not anymore'?"

"An Apprentice before your time, Orthorn, was seduced by a group of Conjurers and their promise of power, and he stole a number of books and fled, presumably to join them. Or so I surmise, anyway."

Sigh. "Another group of crazies?"

"Surprisingly enough, no. At least not last I heard. They just wanted to conduct experiments that are forbidden by the laws of both Skyrim and the College, so of course they are now one of the little beacons for other mages who feel similarly stifled by our policies."

"...why does the College even allow these groups to exist? I, uh, I've run into some mages, and they aren't that hard to take down."

"The crazy ones aren't, but by a similar token they are not much of a problem. The ones that aren't crazy are much more difficult to deal with, and the truth of the matter is that neither the College nor Skyrim have enough manpower to spare to deal with these threats. At least until they become large enough that the cost of ignoring them is higher than the cost of dealing with them."

"...not very promising."

"Indeed not. But if you wish to find those tomes, that group is in Fellglow Keep, in the mountains to the northeast of Whiterun."

"...don't suppose there's another copy of them that isn't being safeguarded by technically not crazy mages that took over a fort."

"No. Many of the library's tomes are unique, and although we do make an effort to make copies of them just so that this kind of situation doesn't come up, there are thousands of volumes and we have to prioritise.

"Well, I tell a lie. We did have more than one copy of one of the books Orthorn took; he just happened to take them all. If you find him, please make sure to make him hurt before you kill him."

...wow, Ruby doesn't think he's ever seen the librarian this mad. "I'll... see what I can do.

"There was this other thing..."

    "Folgunthur," Urag says as soon as Ruby's done speaking. "Southeast of Solitude. I have a tome that talks a little bit more about this that I believe you would be interested in, but it is widely agreed that Mikrul is buried there."

"—if you just know of a place like that off the top of your head how come it hasn't been sacked yet, or something?"

"Well, most of Jyrik's seal was obscurity; I don't think anyone knew he was there. Mikrul's seal is more ordinarily powerful: no one's been able to break it.

"I'm sure if someone like Tolfdir or the Archmage tried they would find a way, but there are enough other legends that they haven't bothered. Most people who try to chase after these are nowhere near as powerful as them."

...this makes sense. When you're powerful enough that you can deal with the sort of seal that holds Mikrul Gauldurson you no longer really have much incentive to.

Unless you're a meddler and do-gooder like Ruby who thinks releasing draugar from their fleshy prisons is itself a worthy endeavour because being trapped in the mortal realm forever forced to guard a tomb, never allowed to rest, actually probably really sucks.

"So I'm unlikely to be able to do anything at all, in Folgunthur."

"Yes. But far be it from me to deny you the object of your curiosity. And you could surprise me." He goes to fetch the volume he was talking about, a thick book called Lost Legends. "Chapter seven is dedicated to the legend of Gauldur and his sons, but you might find other interesting legends to chase down in there, too."

Ruby really needs to learn the Deep Storage spell. Carrying stuff like a pleb is so last year. But he'll carry this book in his hands. Like a pleb.

When he's on his way downstairs he runs into Faralda, who stops him. "I've been looking for you," she says. "I should let you know that Ancano's been asking about you."

"...the Thalmor guy? Why?"

"I'm not sure. But he is not good news, and you would do well to mind what you tell him. The Thalmor do not want the good of the Empire, and Skyrim is still, for good or ill, part of the Empire."

Ruby isn't even from Skyrim.

...he thinks. He doesn't know. And the dude from the Psijic Order does know but didn't tell him.

...........if the Archmage knows he's gonna be very annoyed.

"Well, thank you for the warning, I'll keep it in mind."

"You're quite welcome."

His boyfriend is awake and waiting for him in his room, because he's ever met him.

"So, how'd it go?"

"The Archmage apparently already knew I was Dragonborn."

...oh right that had entirely escaped Onmund's working memory what with all of the everything else.

Aaaaand he still doesn't know how to deal with it.

"...so, uh, why is being the Dragonborn any different than being an amnesiac with a probably interesting past who keeps running into stuff?"

"...the Dragonborn is the stuff of legends. It's—this is the College of Winterhold, people being variously interesting is expected. Being the Dragonborn is—I'm not even sure. Am I meant to, to serve you? Are you the new rightful Emperor? It's, it's too much, it's just too surreal—"

Okay he looks like he needs a hug. Ruby will hug him.

"You can serve me if you want but I thought you preferred our roleplaying to stay limited to our private time together."

He starts spluttering and blushing terribly.

He's so cute.

"I don't think I'm any kind of Emperor, I have no idea what it means to be Dragonborn, I don't think anything should change, you can still rail me into tomorrow no matter how mysterious or powerful I am."

He's blushing even more but honestly after Ruby says this many Rubyisms in a row he's kind of finding it hard to hold onto the frame of mind where he's, you know, legendary in some way.

"Buuuut in more practical matters it does seem like there's something related to dragons I am meant to do, and it sure does seem—something—that the Psijic told me I prevented some evil I must now vanquish and then right after that I have a vision of dragons returning."

"...you think you're from the Merethic Era?"

"I have no idea! I thought I had just been relocated in space but if you tell me I'm actually Nedic* I have no way of contradicting you! I sure don't seem to be any local ethnicity." Shrug. "So, I dunno, maybe I was part of the original Dragon War and got sent into the future for some reason, but maybe it's something else entirely. ...I don't have anything concrete other than this hypothesis, though, so it's, like, either that or some other vague thing I don't know."

(* The Nedes were a race of humans which inhabited much of Tamriel during the Merethic and First Eras, and many modern ethnicities are descended from them.)

"This is too much. Again. Dragonborn from over four thousand years ago."

"I'm pretty well-preserved for my age, though, wouldn't you say?"

"I'm leaving for Helgen tomorrow. And I might run into a dragon." He takes a deep breath. "Do you want to come with me?"

"What."

"This was very easily derivable from information you already had!"

"Why."

"Because I had a vision, because the vision was probably true, because I really like you and enjoy your company and also you are very deadly, which is hot."

"I really don't think I'm killing dragons levels of deadly."

"Neither am I but we gotta do what we gotta do."

"You don't gotta do, though."

"No, I'm pretty sure I do, actually."

Sigh.

"...tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow," Ruby nods. "And I'm going to bring a book of Deep Storage with me because I am tired of needing to carry things that have weight and I want to figure out how to not need that."

"...you think you'll be able to cast it?"

"Won't know 'til I try."

"I suppose so.

"Fine. But only because you're pretty."

Ruby grins. "You should fuck my pretty face, then."

"Nnnope. We are sleeping now, good night, Ruby, I'll see you tomorrow when we start riding for Helgen."

"And Fellglow Keep, probably, we need to fetch some books for Urag."

"Sure, fine, let's add more adventure to our adventure, why not."

The following morning, though, before they set off, Ancano intercepts them. "You there. Erudites. You were in Saarthal, were you not?"

Onmund and Ruby exchange looks before Onmund says, "Yes, we were."

"It has come to my attention that something was found there."

...is he going somewhere with this.

"And Tolfdir is still in Saarthal, is he?" he continues. "I shall be expecting a full report from him when he returns."

"...unfortunately, the College owes the Thalmor no allegiance, so I am unsure why you expect you will be getting this report."

"Excuse me?"

Yeah what the fuck don't antagonise the guy so openly.

"The College is independent of Skyrim, and is not subject to the White-Gold Concordat. You are here as a guest of the Archmage, so whether you will receive a report or you won't is his decision and not yours, and I do not see why he should given that you are not a member of the College."

...he looks honestly shocked that a lowly Erudite would speak to him thus, but he recovers quickly enough. "My role here is as an advisor to the Archmage, and I cannot do my job very well if I am not informed!"

"I'm certain you mean to advise the Archmage, and I'm just as certain that he is the one deciding which topics you can advise him on. And that said, members of the College are not bound to follow the Archmage's instructions, and outside the contract we all agree to upon joining which restricts certain kinds of activities we also are not bound to inform the Thalmor of anything else. So if you wish to acquire information about what happened in Saarthal it is the Archmage you should consult, not some easily intimidated Erudite.

"Now if you'll excuse us, we have some important matters to attend to."

And he, of course, does not wait for Ancano to excuse him, and just continues his way out of the College to meet up with Erandur.

"That was very ballsy," says Onmund once they're sufficiently far out of Ancano's earshot.

"Was it? If everything I said was true, I don't think it was. Ancano does not have any power over the College. And you should know by now that I have no tolerance for bullies throwing their weight around."

"I mean, it was kind of hot."

Ruby grins widely. "Glad you think so. Now let's find Erandur."

Erandur is ready to go when they are.

Ruby summons horses for himself and for Onmund, and they set off.

Onmund's specialty is elemental magic, and "air" is an element, so he has this little spell he can use that'll make sound travel between them without them having to shout even while the horses are going full speed ahead. "So, Ruby was a bit light on the details. How exactly did you two meet?"

"I believe Mara sent him to my aid in Dawnstar. The temple of Vaermina nearby housed one of her unholy artefacts and the people inside it were held in stasis for decades but after this long the seal around it could not hold its influence back anymore. He helped me deal with it and save the people of Dawnstar.

"And the reason I knew about all of this was that I used to be a priest of Vaermina, myself. I have been on a long road to redemption since, and I believe the next step along this road is helping Ruby. If he is to help rid the world of a second coming of the dragon menace, I would be glad to accompany him."

...wow this guy is even more dramatic than Onmund, that's kind of impressive.

"You were raised since you were a child by the temple, indoctrinated, and then you still managed to break free. I think putting all the blame on your shoulders like that is not a fair or good way for things to be."

"I fled the temple out of fear, not out of regret or a desire to right my wrongs."

"Because you realised deep down that what Vaermina did to people wasn't good, and you yourself were the person harmed by her that you had the most means to save. And after you had saved that person, you did in fact go on to try to help others and save more people.

"Maybe there's still harms for you to make right, I don't know. But I don't think you need forgiveness. I think, if Mara really understands you, she has already forgiven you. You have become a better person, now, and I think you will continue to do good regardless of whether you are trying to redeem yourself."

"I thank you for your faith in me, my friend. I hope I am worthy of it."

Man he didn't mean to get stuff this philosophical, he just wanted to make small talk.

"For what it's worth I'm with Ruby, here." He's not sure he would've produced that reasoning himself, unprompted like that, but now that Ruby's gone and said it he cannot fault that logic.

"I will strive to rise to both of your expectations."

He's so dramatic.

"So you're following Ruby just because you think Mara sent him to you?" Wait, shit, that was kind of rude.

He seems unruffled.

"Not exclusively. I... believe you are right, that I wish to do good for its own sake. It seems like he will be positioned to do much of it.

"And... I like him, as a person. I am glad to have met him."

"Aw, shucks."

Map of the Trip

The trip to Fellglow Keep takes several days, even at the pace of Ethereal Horses. A spell like Tolfdir's would probably come in very handy, here, but unfortunately none of them have the masery of Conjuration and Alteration needed to make it work. Most of the way there follows the main road, south and southwest into The Pale then west and south towards Whiterun Hold and then back around south and east into a smaller road towards the keep. The road ends before they can reach it, as it's in the mountains and has been abandoned by its lords long enough that the roads are slowly being consumed by snow. This last leg of the journey is slower, and they opt to retire early and try to actually make the keep in the morning.

It's not impossible that they'll be able to talk it out peacefully, but... none of them expect it.

They are attacked on sight.

But Urag said these weren't crazy mages, at least in theory.

Ruby keeps a Ward up and weathers the onslaught and calls, "We come in peace!"

The attacks stop.

Well, then.

Two mages approach, one flanked by a Flame Atronach and another by a Frost Atronach. The first one says, "Leave. There is nothing here for you."

"We don't want to pick a fight, but there is something we want, actually."

"We want nothing to do with the College."

...oh right Onmund and Ruby are wearing College garb aren't they.

"I'm not here on behalf of the College." Kind of. Urag didn't tell him to come, he just told Ruby where some books would be. "There's a certain mage who came to join you a while ago, named Orthorn, and he brought some books to you which I have need of."