Wayfarer 04: The Unconventional Mage: A New Path in Skyrim

Disclaimer:

Magic: The Gathering and all it's related Intellectual Properties is owned by Wizards of the Coast.

Elder Scrolls Skyrim and all it's related Intellectual Properties is owned by Bethesda Game Studios.

I do not claim any ownership of the original material and acknowledges the rights of the original creators. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental. Enjoy the journey through the multiverse!

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Half a year had passed since Miguel joined the College of Winterhold, and in that time, he had dedicated himself to both mastering Skyrim’s magic and investigating the state of the world. While he hadn’t yet set foot outside of Winterhold, he kept his ears open for news from passing travelers and merchants. What he learned left him both intrigued and perplexed. There were no reports of dragon sightings anywhere in Skyrim, and curiously, the Jarl of Windhelm was not yet Ulfric Stormcloak. That alone threw a skeever into Miguel’s assumptions about the timeline. The fact that the usual figures from the College during the Dragonborn’s time were present made it even more confusing. Either he had misremembered details, or the passage of time in this world was slower than he had initially believed.

Regardless, Miguel pushed forward in his magical studies. Now well beyond the novice level, he had collected and mastered all apprentice-level spells from each school of magic available at the College. These included:

Destruction:

• Ice Spike – A sharp icicle hurled at enemies, dealing frost damage and slowing them.

• Lightning Bolt – A precise bolt of lightning, effective against mages.

Restoration:

• Fast Healing – Instantly restores a portion of the caster’s health.

• Healing Hands – Heals others upon contact.

• Lesser Ward – Creates a magical barrier to block spells and attacks.

• Turn Lesser Undead – Causes weaker undead to flee in terror.

Conjuration:

• Conjure Flame Atronach – Summons a fiery elemental to aid in combat.

• Conjure Bound Sword – Creates a magical sword in the caster’s hand.

• Conjure Bound Battle Axe – Creates a magical axe in the caster’s hand.

Alteration:

• Candlelight – Creates a floating orb of light that follows the caster.

• Magelight – Fires a ball of light that sticks to surfaces.

• Oakflesh – Increases the caster’s armor rating.

• Detect Life – Reveals nearby living creatures.

Illusion:

• Courage – Boosts an ally’s combat abilities.

• Fear – Causes weaker enemies to flee.

• Muffle – Silences the caster’s footsteps.

• Frenzy – Makes enemies attack anything nearby.

While his proficiency in these spells grew, Miguel dedicated much of his free time to spell experimentation. Focusing on his Green Mana affinities—Conjuration and Restoration—he crafted numerous variations of the Conjure Familiar spell. Instead of just summoning a spectral wolf, he explored other animal forms, modifying them with elemental attributes beyond fire. He successfully conjured a frost-afflicted sabre cat, an electric fox that zapped foes upon impact, and even a wind-aspected hawk that could disorient enemies. Additionally, he began layering supplementary effects into his summons, such as infusing them with candlelight for illumination or having fear magic trigger when they attacked.

Despite these achievements, Miguel refrained from experimenting with apprentice-level spells, believing he had yet to exhaust all possibilities within the novice-tier. The College’s masters were both amused and impressed by his patience and meticulous nature. They commended him for his creative but disciplined approach, noting that too many reckless mages met their end by carelessly tampering with dangerous spells. Tolfdir, in particular, often praised Miguel’s caution, seeing a level-headed approach to magic as vital to a mage’s longevity.

Faralda, however, was less entertained by Miguel’s lack of attention to Destruction magic. While she respected his progress, she was irked that he hadn’t yet attempted to modify any offensive spells. She often prodded him with sarcastic remarks like, “So what, you’re just going to summon wolves and run away forever? Hope they bite harder than a fireball to the face.” Miguel, in turn, would jokingly reply with lines such as, “Why hurl fire when I can set a bear on fire and let it do the work for me?” This back-and-forth had become a common occurrence whenever the two crossed paths.

With half a year behind him, Miguel had only scratched the surface of Skyrim’s magic. He still had much to learn and many mysteries to unravel—including the true nature of his presence in this world and what this timeline meant for the fate of Skyrim.

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Miguel, in his personal research time, continued his experimentation with magic, still unable to delve into the necromantic aspects of conjuration due to his Green mana’s strong affinity for life rather than death. However, an idea struck him—one that could potentially allow him to cheat his way into casting Destruction spells.

The core issue was that Destruction magic in Skyrim wasn’t about manipulating elements in their natural form but rather emulating the elements through magicka to cause destructive effects. Given that direct elemental manipulation should have fallen under his Blue mana’s umbrella of control and knowledge, he had expected to take to it more easily. But after months of testing and careful study, he realized that Destruction magic functioned differently—it was less about bending the elements and more about shaping raw magicka into elemental forces.

Yet, one aspect of Destruction magic stood out to him: Ice. Unlike Fire, which was a raw burst of energy, and Shock, which seemed more like the emission of pure magicka, Ice magic had a unique nature that he could grasp. Ice, being a derivative of Water, naturally aligned with Blue mana’s affinity for manipulation, making it noticeably easier for him to learn compared to the other two elements of the Destruction school.

Even so, compared to his affinity for Conjuration, Alteration, Restoration and Illusion, learning Destruction spells was still a slow, frustrating process. However, understanding the core of the school’s magic gave Miguel a hypothesis on how to bypass his struggles. If traditional Destruction spells involved using magicka to replicate an element’s effects, then what if he instead gathered the actual element—such as real water or ice—and used his Green mana’s connection to summon a spirit attuned to that element?

His idea wasn’t too far-fetched. After all, Conjuration magic in Skyrim already had a precedent for summoning elemental spirits in the form of Atronachs. The existence of Flame, Frost, and Storm Atronachs solidified his theory that spirits could be called upon to inhabit elements, reinforcing his belief that he could take a similar approach to Destruction magic.

Thus, Miguel devised a spell he would come to call “Spell Atronach.” Rather than expending magicka to conjure an elemental effect like a standard Destruction spell, this spell would use Conjuration principles to call forth an elemental spirit and bind it to a pre-existing source of water or ice. In theory, this would create a form of living magic—an autonomous ice spirit that could act as both a summoned ally and a conduit for Destruction magic and be used like an ongoing spell without it being a channeling spell.

Though he was still fine-tuning the specifics of this spell, Miguel knew he was onto something special. The only dilemma was deciding if the spell belonged to the school of Destruction or Conjuration. If it worked as intended, it could be considered both. Either way, he suspected that Faralda—who had been keeping an eye on his lack of interest in Destruction magic—would be in for a surprise.

With this discovery, Miguel realized something important: his approach to magic was fundamentally different from that of native Tamrielic mages. Rather than learning spells in isolation, he saw them as pieces of a puzzle, interwoven aspects of a greater system that could be connected in new ways. And if he could figure out how to create a Spell Atronach, who knew what other unique spells he could craft in the future? And he was only at the level of Apprentice spells.

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Miguel couldn’t keep the stupid grin off his face as he lay in bed, staring at the stone ceiling of his room in the Hall of Attainment. The idea of seeing Faralda’s face when he dropped this little magical bombshell on her was too good. For half a year, she’d been on his case about not practicing destruction magic enough, always giving him side-eyes when he skirted around the topic. Well, joke’s on her, because he just went and invented a whole new way of slinging destruction spells—just not in the way she expected.

He stretched out, feeling the satisfying ache of a full day of magical research. His ‘careful research’—ahem, totally not just throwing ideas at the wall and seeing what stuck—had paid off in the best way possible. The "Spell Atronach" or, as he’d officially name it, "Conjure Elemental Spell Sprite," was something Skyrim had never seen before.

The official description? A summoned spirit that acts as a proxy for destruction spells, channeling elemental attacks through its caster's magicka reserves. The practical use? Miguel had found a way to cheese the system. If his mana—uh, magicka—wasn’t naturally attuned to raw destruction, then why not make something else do the casting for him? The atronachs of Skyrim already embodied elemental forces, so all he had to do was tweak the conjuration formula and bind a lesser elemental spirit to his command. Boom—instant destruction magic without actually needing to shape the elements himself.

Now, the best part would be seeing how Faralda reacted. She’d probably try to argue it was more conjuration than destruction, but Miguel wasn’t about to let her rain on his parade. "C’mon, Lady Sparks, let me have this win," he muttered to himself with a chuckle.

Still, as hyped as he was, he needed rest. Showing off would have to wait. No sense in collapsing mid-demonstration like some novice who overestimated his own reserves. He’d learned that lesson real quick in his first few months at the College—pushing past limits was fine, but face-planting from exhaustion was not a good look.

Tomorrow was going to be interesting. He could already hear the exasperated sigh Faralda would let out when he explained his workaround. Would she be impressed? Annoyed? Both? Miguel smirked, rolling over onto his side. Either way, she’d have to admit one thing—he was anything but conventional.

With that last thought, he let sleep take him, already dreaming up new ways to bend Skyrim’s magic system to his will.

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Miguel woke up well rested and practically bouncing with excitement—today was the day he would show Faralda his personally developed spell. The thought of seeing her shocked expression made him giddy, so much so that he didn’t even notice the ridiculous grin forming on his face as he imagined all the different reactions she might have. Unbeknownst to him, his fellow students nearby were quietly exchanging coin, whispering bets about when exactly Miguel would finally snap and fall into full-blown magical insanity. Not that he would have cared—he was far too caught up in his own excitement.

After shaking himself free from his daydreaming, Miguel cheerfully greeted his fellow students and made his way to breakfast. He enjoyed a hearty meal, all the while running over the details of his spell in his head. His ‘Spell Atronach,’ or as he wanted to officially name it, ‘Conjure Elemental Spell Sprite,’ was something completely unique—an elemental familiar that would cast destruction spells on his behalf while drawing from his magicka reserves. It was essentially a hybrid between a conjuration and destruction spell, something that had never been seen before in Skyrim.

Once breakfast was finished, Miguel set out to find Faralda. He had a good idea of where she’d be—her usual post near the bridge leading into the College. Sure enough, he spotted her standing at her usual spot, ever the vigilant guardian of the College’s entrance. His excitement barely contained, he approached with enthusiasm.

“Morning, Faralda!” Miguel greeted, practically bouncing on the balls of his feet.

Faralda raised an eyebrow at his energy. “You’re unusually excited today. I take it one of your little experiments bore fruit?”

Miguel grinned. “You bet it did! I’ve got something amazing to show you, something that’s gonna blow your mind.”

Faralda was about to respond when another mage hurried over, looking somewhat troubled. The mage quickly relayed a message—necromancers had allied with a group of bandits and had taken over a tomb. The Jarl of Winterhold had sent word demanding that the College deal with these dark mages before they became an even bigger problem. Senior mages were needed to handle the situation.

Faralda let out a sigh. “Looks like today just got a lot busier.” She turned back to Miguel. “You’ll have to show me your research later.”

Miguel, however, had other plans. “I could tag along.”

Faralda gave him a sharp look. “This isn’t a field trip, Miguel. We’re dealing with necromancers and bandits. It’s dangerous.”

Miguel, not one to back down, argued, “I can summon an atronach to help out, and I promise I’ll stay behind the senior mages. Come on, I’ve been here for half a year—I need some real field experience!”

Faralda hesitated. She knew Miguel’s ‘weakness’ was his lack of destruction magic, but he had already proven himself as a skilled apprentice and was nearly at the level of an adept. By all accounts, he was as qualified as any senior student to take part in this mission. After a moment of deliberation, she finally relented.

“Fine,” she said with a sigh. “But you follow orders, and you stay behind the senior mages.”

Miguel grinned, pumping his fist in victory. “You got it!”

And just like that, Miguel was about to embark on his first real mission outside of the College. He had no idea what awaited him, but one thing was certain—this was going a very good chance to field test his newly invented spell.

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Faralda did not dally, immediately striding through the College halls in search of two senior mages to accompany her on this mission. Miguel, ever eager and paranoid about being left behind, followed closely, his robes billowing behind him as he practically power-walked to keep up. It wasn’t every day that the Jarl of Winterhold called upon the College for assistance, and Miguel saw this as an opportunity not just to prove himself but also to witness firsthand how seasoned College mages operated in live combat scenarios.

It wasn’t long before Faralda found her recruits. The first was a Dunmer mage named Vareth Indobar, a specialist in shock magic whose control over lightning rivaled the fiercest storms in Skyrim. He supplemented his offensive might with defensive Alteration spells, particularly Ironflesh, ensuring that he could hold his own even if foes got too close. The second was a Nord woman by the name of Sigrun Frostbane, an expert in frost magic who also dabbled in Restoration, favoring ward spells to shield herself and allies from incoming attacks. With her affinity for ice, she complemented Miguel’s developing skills in the same element, though her approach was far more refined and battle-tested.

Faralda introduced the two mages to Miguel, who, despite his usual confidence, found himself unconsciously straightening his posture under the scrutinizing gazes of the senior mages. “This is Miguel. He may be a junior member of the College, but he’s got a few tricks up his sleeve.”

Vareth arched an eyebrow, arms crossed. “Tricks, eh? Hope you’re not expecting to just sit in the back and play spectator. This is real combat, kid.”

Miguel smirked, not about to let the Dunmer’s skepticism get under his skin. “Oh, don’t worry. I’m not some milk-drinker who just learned a spark spell yesterday. I can hold my own.”

Sigrun chuckled, shaking her head. “You’ve got spirit, I’ll give you that. But out there, spirit means nothing if you can’t back it up.”

Faralda clapped her hands, cutting through the conversation. “Save the camaraderie for after the job’s done. We move out immediately.”

The team gathered their supplies and departed from the College, the icy wind biting at their faces as they descended from the bridge toward Winterhold’s outskirts. According to the Jarl’s message, the bandits and necromancers had taken over a tomb not far from the city—an old Nordic ruin that, like many others, had been left abandoned for centuries. This particular one, known as Frostmere Hollow, was rumored to house restless draugr, though that was the least of their worries compared to necromancers actively desecrating the dead.

As they traveled, Miguel took the time to review his arsenal. His strengths lay in Conjuration, Alteration, and Illusion, allowing him to summon allies, reinforce defenses, and manipulate the battlefield to his advantage. His Restoration spells, while not at a master level, not yet even expert at least, were still sufficient for healing wounds and erecting protective wards. And, of course, there was his latest creation—the Spell Atronach, or as he preferred to call it, the Conjure Elemental Spell Sprite. The thought of unveiling it to Faralda in the heat of battle filled him with anticipation.

Sigrun noticed Miguel’s subtle grin as they trekked through the snow. “Something funny, Miguel?”

He snapped out of his thoughts and shrugged. “Just excited. First real mission outside of the College. You?”

The Nord smirked. “Excited as well for combat. Though I’m not keen on letting necromancers play with corpses.”

Vareth scoffed. “They’ll regret picking this ruin once we’re through with them.”

As they neared the tomb’s entrance, Faralda signaled for silence. The mouth of the ruin loomed ahead, partially covered in snow, but the flickering glow of torches deeper inside confirmed that they had company. The mission was about to begin, and Miguel was ready to show just how much he had learned in his time at the College.