15 - Victoria - Shadow and Nightmare:

Although I had bought Shadow from Tovas Selvani yesterday, I had spent no further time there, choosing instead to enter Cheydinhal immediately and attend to my guild duties. This now done, I left the town in the early afternoon, crossing to the Black Waterside Stables and entering the enclosed paddock.

The fruits of my labour stood there, and seemed in appearance everything I had hoped for; healthy, and chafing from inactivity. I intended to change this swiftly – the inactivity that is, rather than the health - however I first placed my spare clothes, books, alchemy equipment and ingredients, and indeed the greater part of my collection of Welkyd stones (I didn't think I needed more than ten on my person) into the saddlebags. The arena raiment in particular was a weight off my back, as I only used it during the short time I spent in the combat pit; however I kept the Stone of Miscarcad with me - I couldn't bear to leave it out of my sight. These items having weighed me down for some time now, I was relieved to finally carry them no longer, and could myself now move a good deal faster than I had before. This however was only the lesser part of my reason for buying a horse, particularly at this heavy price this breed had cost me, for a mere Paint horse would have sufficed for cargo duties. I had never ridden before now, and therefore began with a carefully chosen slow walk out of the stables, my view elevated, and my posture surprisingly comfortable.

Now outside the paddock, I jumped off to close the gate behind us, and Shadow waited obligingly. Indeed I suspect that the black horses are not just notable for their speed, but also their ease of riding – for the movement is both smooth and quiet; Shadow was indeed a fitting name. Returning, I decided that there was little to learn from trotting down the path, and chose now to launch Shadow into a full gallop, and we rushed down the path. It seemed almost as if we were flying, so soft and swift were Shadows footfalls, and indeed the ease of riding led to the decision to simply ride onward to Bravil without pause.

The journey was perhaps notable only for the lack of notable events, as I had decided that we would ride on rather than pause to investigate any ruins or isolated buildings we passed, or indeed collect any reagents. Such is perhaps a disadvantage of riding, in addition to the decline in personal exercise, however the acquisition of goods was not the objective of this ride, which was both for its own sake, and to make good time to Bravil, the centre for illusionary magic. Shadow seemed tireless as the afternoon stretched into evening, and we left all behind us, outpacing bandits, boars, bears and wolves, in addition to overtaking the fleet deer who had previously fled before me. We thundered across the long bridge east of the Imperial City, leaving a Khajiit bandit behind us, until as the shadows lengthened we finally arrived at Bravil.

The law prohibits the entry of horses into towns, and I was therefore forced to leave Shadow grazing upon the main road. That said, Bravil itself appeared rather run down, the buildings constructed of wood. Perhaps it would appear better in the light of day, for it was now late evening, yet this is certainly not the sort of location I would choose to purchase a property. Indeed all the houses I had encountered thus far seemed a little disappointing, for in my heart I yearned for something that would be more fitting for a mage; however whether I would encounter such a building remained to be seen.

Perhaps the guild should work some of its illusionary magic upon Bravil itself, but such was probably an optimistic hope. My intent was now to secure such spells as were of use to me here, and then speedily acquire my recommendation. Upon claiming this I would be more than half way towards my objective of entry to the Arcane University. I was slightly less sure of what direction I would take from there, however my vague plans were to work my way further up the Arena ranks, in addition to acquiring a permanent residence, before I again returned to ascending the mages guild. I further felt that it would be better to establish a foothold in all guilds before advancing too far in any single one; I did not want the bizarre situation of becoming Arch-Mage, and then undertaking menial tasks for the fighters guild; if indeed such hopes were not entirely in vain. The guild hall here fitted in perfectly with the towns architecture, which was unfortunate in my mind, but pushing such thoughts aside I entered and found a bed to rest in until dawn.

Rising with the morning, I investigated the spells on offer in the guild. There was a wide range, as I had hoped, including such powerful spells of illusion as chameleon and invisibility; too powerful unfortunately, as they were beyond my skill. Ultimately I bought only one spell; 'beguiling touch' – a powerful charm spell. It was clear I would have to advance my skills further, and this is an additional reason to wish for access to the Arcane University; that I may create spells solely for the purposes of my own training.

Leaving the guild briefly to visit the stores in the town, I further purchased a spell of 'dispel'. I had no use for it right now, but such spells are excellent as a contingency. The Warlocks Luck would not however accept the sale of the potions I had recently created, so I opted to visit the general traders, earning me slightly under four hundred gold. With these tasks out of the way, I returned again to the guild hall in search of my recommendation.

The guild head transpired to be an Argonian by the name of Kud-Ei, who claimed that her task was 'unorthodox' – which is hardly a first. Initially she began speaking about a situation regarding 'Ardaline', however she soon then began talking about 'Hemantier' being missing. Unsure of which was the task, I began the latter and, having told her I was prepared, Kud-Ei asked me to follow her, leading me into a nearby house where Hementier could be found upon the bed.

The Argonian explained that he had enchanted a piece of jewellery that influenced his dreams, and might allow him to train, and to overcome his fears. Unfortunately (for him) he seemed to have become trapped, and Kud-Ei thought it would be best for me to try and enter his dreams - as he wouldn't recognise me, and thus wouldn't dismiss me out of hand. It seemed like a fairly benign task, until after further probing Ked-Ei revealed that dying in the dream would likely kill me in real life. However I didn't have a choice, I needed that reference, so I took the amulet, and, with some regret, allowed myself to fall asleep.

From here it went from bad to worse, for upon entering Hemantiers dream it was clear something was indeed wrong; I found myself with him in a ruined house, the light dim, and, to my consternation, I found that I had access to neither spells, nor indeed my items; including any clothes. Hemantier stood before me, yet seemed to not percieve me fully. Nevertheless he spoke, claiming to be trapped in his dream (which was a great surprise). This left me to pick up the pieces, which had been my intent (or Ked-Ei's rather), and I began to explore - having found some temporary garments.

There appeared to be four exits from the structure, and judging from the fact Hemantier had talked about failing to confront his fears, I suspected that a test of some kind existed behind each. With nothing to be gained by waiting, I entered the first...

I was confronted by an ashen red sky stretching over a structure which appeared strikingly similar to the Arena, or how it would look if ruined. Rather than immediately stepping out, I returned to a small container I had noted upon entering and, looking inside, I found various forms of armour, in addition to a staff. Evidently then this particular trial would involve combat, and disdaining the armour I reached for the latter item - which appeared to have an enchantment of lightning upon it. Knowledge such as this sprung fully formed into my mind, for it was of course, a dream, and so even the strangest things appeared to fit some kind of internal logic. I realised I would have to avoid being pulled in by such distortions of perception, and having readied my staff, I stepped forth to see what manor of foe awaited me.

Or rather, what manor of foes – for they were a pair – and I could see why Hemantier feared them - they were minotaurs; creatures with massive bull like heads upon smaller, yet mighty frames; I could see this would prove a difficult encounter. Of course as this was a dream, and as I was wielding a strange staff, such estimations might prove ill informed. As it transpired my fears were proved correct in that the two minotaurs were strong, sending me flying with a massive strike. However this occurred only after I had felled one of the pair with multiple bursts of electricity from my staff, and I knew I could prevail, at least in this dream world. As the latter followed the first I wished that I could bring this staff back to the waking world with me, but such would prove impossible. Again however it served to draw my mind back to the staff I wished to purchase, as and when I could afford it.

The combat complete, a stairway dropped into the arena, and ascending this I found a glowing rock, which I knew instantly to a token – and upon taking it I was transported instantly back to Hemantier. He had nothing new to say, but my path was now clear, I must gather the three remaining tokens, one for each respective remaining exit, after which we may presumably escape this twisted realm.

This 'test of resolve' complete, I now chose a different exit – which lead to a deep pool. The container nearby held a potion of water breathing, so once more the route was obvious – I must swim the passages, under the assumption that it would not simply lead to a dead end. This then was the trial of courage, and of them all the tests I found it to be the hardest, for I was forced to simply place my life at risk, and simply trust. Trust what? The fevered dreams of an Altmer? This was worse than I had feared, but I knew that I could only attain my reference for the Arcane University following it. With this in mind, I cast any fears aside and dived into the pool, leaving the water breathing potion unused for now.

The underwater passages were long and winding, until I at last found myself in an underwater cave – and it was here that I knew I must breath once more, or begin to drown, and I thus drank the potion of water breathing. Water breathing is a strange spell at the best of times, although it is perhaps stranger still when in a dream. Frequently the challenge lies in forcing yourself to 'breath' the water, for it is against all instinct, yet here in the dream world it was no challenge at all, and I swam smoothly on – finding a further potion of water breathing upon the floor. Holding this, I swam swiftly onward, until at last I returned to the open air – and found the second of the glowing tokens ahead of me.

Again I was returned to Hemantier, and again he had nothing new to say, so I forced myself to continue onward. “Hesitate and you will die” as my master had said, and I needed all he had taught me now as I focussed my determination to carry on. A situation such as this had acted to completely pull the floor out beneath me, and it was raw will power that allowed me to prevail.

The next task, following the trial of courage, involved traversing a trap laden path suspended in the air. My obstacles were spinning blades and falling guillotines, yet of the tasks it was perhaps the easiest for me, merely requiring superior skills of perception, and a lot of nerve. So it was that I observed the patterns until I at last beheld a safe path, and followed it without hesitation. Again a token awaited me, and claiming this I was transported to Hemantier; my final task awaited.

With the trial of perception behind me, the final door revealed a dark room, the floor lit by a pale light. This was not the notable feature of the floor however, for more importantly I beheld a grid of pressure pads, and looking upon the walls I saw a series of slots, each of which would send forth a dart. They were, of course, connected; I would have to pick the correct path through the rooms, avoiding the dangerous tiles, until I at came upon what would presumably be the last token.

Observing a container as in the previous rooms, I opened it to discover a scrap of parchment, which appeared to illustrate this room, and two further rooms – all apparently of a similar style as this, but of sequentially greater scale and complexity. I presumed that there was simply a code to be broken, but I did not wish to resort to a form of trial and error – for in this instance an error would likely lead to my instant death. So it was that, drawing upon the confidence gained in the trial of perception, I simply leapt between the flagstones, avoiding the pressure points completely. Perhaps the dream world had completely unnerved me, for in retrospect it seemed like a rash decision, yet it worked, and I at last found myself facing the final token.

With all tokens finally claimed I approached Hemantier, and he seemed to finally see me at last – and after claiming to now understand what had happened, the dream dissolved, returning me to my waking self. Hemantier rose immediately and came to thank me, giving me a number of scrolls as reward, and I accepted them, thinking that while a poor return for the effort, the reference for the university would be sufficient.

With this in mind I approached the guild head, Ked-Ei, who thanked me for rescuing my friend. However, she claimed that this had not been the task for which she would provide a reference. I cannot express the rage that I felt, and it was all I could do to mask it, turning away and departing before I did something...regrettable.

It was clear then that not only had all my efforts been in vain, but that I had to complete the task regarding Ardaline to attain my reference. I paced the town for a time until my temper was again in check, before returning to Ked-Ei; there was nothing else I could do.

The Argonian now explained her next task for me - as I fought to maintain a neutral expression; it appeared Ardalines staff had been stolen by a Dunmer named Varon Vamori, and I must return it – a situation of some delicacy, or so she claimed. Fortunately the Dunmer was yet in Brevil, and Ked-Ei gave me a scroll of charm to use upon him to attain cooperation – perhaps needless in light of my newly purchased spell, yet I took it all the same.

I found Varon easily, for he was in the tavern, and having cast both the scroll, and my own charm spell, he appeared most cooperative – regarding me as a long lost friend. He claimed to be in love with Ardaline, which didn't surprise me, however despite his shame in stealing the staff (to gain attention), he had then sold it on!

It seemed that the test of patience has persued me from Hemantier's dreams into the waking world, for I must now seek it out and purchase it in the Imperial City. It is well that I have Shadow to carry me, for these obstacles are driving me to distraction. A long road lies ahead...