[Encanto] 11 – Hardwork

"Wait...did you just say it taught you?" Savos asked, mouth open and eyebrows raised in surprise.

"Is that unusual?" I asked, curious.

"Quite so, I have only ever seen the Augur teach a very select few individuals, and in most cases, for something in exchange, so, I can't help but wonder, what could you have offered the Augur?" The Archmage explained while looking around the room, thinking, before resting his eyes on me when he asked the question.

"I am afraid I cannot tell you that," I answered honestly, not looking away from his gaze.

He stared at me for what felt like an eternity before sighing.

"Fine, If you do manage to make this...Greenhouse, as you call it, I am willing to sponsor it and grant you 5% of the profits the Greenhouse generates, but, in exchange, you will have to teach whoever becomes the Greenhouse's caretaker the same rituals and magic that will be required to maintain the facility."

"Of course, Archmage, I had already planned on doing that, as that would be the only way to ensure the continuation of the Greenhouse when I eventually leave," I answered and explained while watching his expression.

"Hmm, good. What kind of...help are you seeking from me?" The Archmage finally asked, remaining stoic yet curious.

"To be honest, it's simple, I just need you not to get in the way, some of the rituals will no doubt catch your attention," I explained.

"What kind of rituals?" Savos asked, concerned yet curious.

"Well, the first I had in mind was the Magicka Gathering ritual, to make the Greenhouse have more ambient Magicka, I noticed that one must have been set up around the College, but for the Greenhouse, I need the ambient Magicka to be much more concentrated and plentiful," I explained only to be interrupted, "You do know that if such a Ritual is to go wrong, you can very well cause a Magical Anomaly outbreak? Correct? One that would not only potentially cause problems for the College, but for the town of Winterhold as well."

"I am aware. This is why, when I set up the ritual, I would like you or one of the teachers nearby to help in case something goes wrong, and if something does go wrong, the ritual would be contained within the Midden, preventing any sort outbreak so long as we block the entrances into the Midden."

"I see you have thought this out...very well, I will assign Tolfdir to assist you outside of his lectures, when you start the Magicka Gathering ritual, come see me. I will oversee the ritual to make sure nothing goes awry."

"Thank you, Archmage. I believe it is getting quite late, and I am afraid I am getting quite tired," I informed Savos, getting up from my seat.

"Very well, your project has its merits, and I cannot wait to see where it goes, good night, Miss Madrigal."

After an enlightening conversation with the Archmage, I retreated to my room for the night and awoke fresh and early in the morning, ready to get to work.

I hastily traveled through the bone-chilling cold of the courtyard and into the Hall of Elements.

Shivering, I summoned a fireball to help warm me up.

Not satisfied, I began to raise the heat of the flame slowly.

As I increased the flame's heat, its light increased as well, and without realizing it, I pumped too much Magicka into the flame, causing what felt like a flashbang of light and heat.

"My goodness!" Tolfir shouted from behind me.

Once my vision cleared, not including the stars floating in the corner of my vision, I looked upon Tolfdir who must have come in just behind.

"Be careful!" Tolfdir said, casting some spell that removed his temporary blindness.

"Sorry...I did not anticipate the increase of light and heat," I apologized to the older man.

"What were you even attempting to do?"

"Uh...warm myself, to be honest," I honestly replied with a chuckle.

"You know there already exist such spells," Tolfdir began only to be interrupted by me, "I know, but I want to find out how to cast these spells myself, without having to go read about them or being told about them."

"I see...not many choose to walk in the darkness without any guidance, but the College, my peers, and I are here to act as your torch and light whenever you may need it," Tolfdir cryptically stated.

"I know, but I wish to figure all of this out myself, to give myself a bit of a challenge," I joked.

After parting with Tolfdir, I chose an isolated corner of the Hall of Elements and began testing the spells I learned from the Augur.

I first started with Stendar's Aura, a restoration spell that is a part of the Sun Magic branch of restoration.

Sun Magic is the best magic to use against the Undead, though the spells can also be used against other targets, and to great effect, as Sun Magic was essentially Holy Fire.

Sitting down on the cold ground in a lotus pose, I took a deep breath and focused deep within myself.

With an exhale, my entire form was suddenly coated in beautiful yellow flames.

The area around me began to heat up with the flames, as my form basked in a holy aura of fire.

With another exhale, I increased the Magicka being fed into the spell.

At first, it was small flames that covered me, but as I fed more and more Magicka into the spell, the heat, light, and flames increased before suddenly extinguishing.

It was only a small part of my Magicka pool that I used in the spell, yet its effects were substantial.

If only 1% of my pool could empower the spell to become that strong, how strong would the spell be if I pumped all of my Magicka into it at once?

Would I briefly become a blazing star in the night sky?

It still baffled me how strong Magic was, and its near-unlimited potential and versatility.

For the next hour or two I continued practicing magic and even experimented a bit with sun magic.

So much so that I actually managed to figure out how to use only the heat component of the spell, which meant I could take a step outside without feeling myself slowly freezing to death.

So, covering myself in a decent layer of what I called 'Sun's Embrace' I stepped outside of the Hall of Elements and took in a deep breath of cold air.

If anyone looked close, they would see the magical sheen that covered my clothes and skin.

Now that I found myself finally able to traverse outside, I could go down to the town of Winterhold which lay out just outside of the college.

Walking through the courtyard, I stepped through the gate of the college and found myself on a bridge in dire need of repair, as it was clear a good deal of it was falling apart.

Treading carefully, I walked along the bridge, seeing the town that lay at the end of it.

Winterhold, in-game, was a relatively small hold, with very little of note other than the College of Winterhold and the town's Inn, but from what I could see, It seems to be quite a bit larger than shown in-game, with dozens of houses with smokey chimneys being clearly visible.

The town was noticeably larger than the one in the game, which made me wonder, was the whole world larger than shown in the game? Or did the town simply shrink in size to the one shown in the game?

When I made it off the bridge, I noticed there were two guards standing before the bridge, who gazed at me with looks of scorn and hate.

It was already shaping up to be a wonderful time in Winterhold.