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After her ship sinks in the far, frozen north, Aithne is forced into servitude.

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Aithne's story

Aithne's story part 60 - The Orc, Revisited

Urag looked annoyed. Of course, that was how he usually looked anyway. Except when he had looked at her.   “What do you mean, what am I doing here?” Urag gestured around the room with those long arms and Aithne just resisted jumping on him to try to get him to wrap them around her. “This is my suite! How did you get in here?”   “What?” Aithne looked around as light panic raced through her. She recognized their…his suite in an instant and flushed red. “Ah! Um. I’m sorry, I mus
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Aithne's story part 59 - Negotiations

The Archmage’s tower room looked exactly how Aithne remembered it, down to the table bearing his notes on Labyrinthian. The door-knocker-thing that unlocked the door was not, at this point, anyway, being used as a doorstop.   Also, she noted with annoyance, the books that rightly belonged in the Arcaneum were still there. Maybe taking some of those back would give her an opening to talk to Urag.   The thought pushed a wave of lonely sorrow through her strong enough that she m
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Aithne's story part 58 - Some Necessary Conversations

Tolfdir rubbed his beard. “That is…quite the story.”   Aithne sighed and lifted her feet up to the chair seat so she could hug her knees, now wrapped in the familiar feel of a College robe. With the adrenaline of her encounter with Borkul drained away, she felt empty and tired, and full of regrets about her brazen self-introduction to the College. A more subtle approach would probably have been better.   Too late.   “I know it is difficult to believe. I assure you i
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Aithne's story part 57 - A Little Problem Named Borkul

The orc heaved a large bag out of the water and flopped it on the ice with a jarring metallic clank without looking away, then spoke in exactly the deep grumbly voice Aithne remembered.   “I have one more load to get. Sit tight – I won’t be long.”   The command coming in that voice sent a jarring trill through Aithne's body. Her mouth snapped closed on any words she might have been tempted to say while her body, already collapsed to a kneeling position, obeyed with an instinc
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Aithne's story part 56 - Splintered on the Ice

Aithne blinked as the world reassembled itself around her. She still felt as if she was flying, though the wind had slowed, as had her body. Nevertheless, the wind that brushed against her face made her cheeks feel mildly chapped from the cold.   Around her, the sea played its constant rhythm, a rhythm that was counterpointed by the familiar creaks and groans of a seafaring vessel. Ahead and just to port, a large iceberg jutted out of the water, its clear ice sparkling in the bright su
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Aithne's story part 55 - The Shout Heard 'Round the World

“When the next dragon attack happened, a mere twenty-six days later, I thought we were prepared. We had learned some things, you see.   “For instance, the staff I told you about? The staff of Magus? Yes, the one I got from Labyrinthian. It doesn’t need to be held to work. I learned that in Labyrinthian, in fact. Archmage Savos – although he wasn’t Archmage at the time, of course, he was just a student – used it to bind his classmates and then just left it there and it still worked.
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Aithne's story part 54 - Professor Aithne gro-Shub

“Professor?”   Aithne shook her head at the mess on the table as she sorted the books. Things had changed so much in her time at the College, but students leaving their study material all over the place was one thing that remained…   “Professor!”   The insistent voice stopped Aithne’s thoughts in their tracks and she blinked and turned. Two students, both fourth-years, stood at the side of the table, watching her.   “Oh! Um. Sorry!” Aithne gave herself a l
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Aithne's story part 53 - Our Little Secret (Don't worry, it's not an April Fools prank)

“Hmm. You’re not supposed to be here. This is a tricky one. What to do, what to do...”   The voice came from nowhere. Or everywhere. It was deep and rich and sounded faintly alarmed. Aithne blinked, although there was nothing to blink at – all around her was darkness. She felt nothing, saw nothing. She wasn't sure if she had actually blinked or had just imagined it as a sort of habitual response.   But she smelled something - the sweet scent of roses. She inhaled it even thou
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Aithne's story part 52 - All That Glitters is an Illusion

Hollow. Empty. A shell. A husk. Devoid of substance, of thought beyond the festering wound of memories. All was lost; nothing carried meaning.   Aithne meandered through the silent suite, wading through a pool of despair so deep, it threatened to drown her. Only her traitorous body and its stubborn insistence on continuing to breathe kept her alive.   That and her so-called friends, who came by from time to time and insisted on making her eat and bathe and sleep.  
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Aithne's story part 51 - The Bells Sound for a Wedding Day

Everything was impossible.   The sky was impossibly clear. The sea was impossibly blue. The Observation Circle at the apex of the College of Winterhold was impossibly beautiful, boasting impossibly bright streamers and impossibly perfect flowers.   Aithne was impossibly happy. She had walked through a nightmare to end up in an impossible dream. Archmage Ervine spoke words but Aithne heard them only as if from a distance – all her attention was wrapped up in the orc who faced
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Aithne's story part 50 - A Proposal for a Graduate of the College of Winterhold

“That was such a good speech! It made me want to go out and conquer the world! And the tribute for Savos was nice, even if I didn’t like him.”   Brelyna laughed. “You actually listened to it? I didn’t think anyone ever listened to graduation speeches!”   Onmund nodded as he stretched. “Yeah, I fell asleep.”   Aithne could not believe her ears. “Really? How could you fall asleep? This is so exciting!”   “For you, it is, J’zargo agrees,” agreed J’zargo. “You
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Aithne's story part 49 - Storm Clouds on the Horizon

Chtonji beamed as the cake was set in front on him and immediately grabbed for it.   “No.” Aithne took his hand and held it, laughing. “Not yet. First we need to crush the box. Right, Da Da?”   Urag, beaming from the other side of the table, nodded, picked up the small box on the side of the cake, and set it in front of Chtonji. He placed his hand on Aithne’s, which still held Chtonji’s, and said, “Ready?”   Aithne nodded, her attention fully on keeping the toddler’
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Aithne's story part 48c - Labyrinthian part 3

The absolute terror in Atmah’s voice snapped Aithne back to her surroundings, a transition so quick her head spun a little. Or perhaps the dizziness was from the residual energy wafting through the closed door. Something was in there. Something…   “What is that?” The words slipped from her before she realized she had spoken. Atmah turned to her, all traces of anything but fear wiped from her face.   “That is Morokei, one of The Eight.” At their blank looks, she added, “He was
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Aithne's story part 48b - Labyrinthian part 2

When the first two draugr appeared, Atmah started to shout, “Watch out, they…” but before the words even left her throat, the draugr were dead. Trendil moved with a speed that belied belief, slicing one of the monsters into pieces with her swords while Sloan seemed to disappear from Aithne’s side and re-appear behind the already-slumping form of the second draugr. As the creature’s chest exploded and it crumbled, Atma finished, “…’re deceptively quick.” Atmah blinked at them. “Um…”   S
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Aithne's story part 48a - Labyrinthian part 1

Trendil stared at the imposing double doors of Labyrinthian with her hands on her hips and shook her head. “Looks like this adventure will be over before it even starts.”   “Why doesn't the door have a way to open it?” Sloan peered at the smooth metal so closely her eyes appeared to touch the surface.   Aithne shrugged. “I guess they want to keep people out.”   “Well, then how did the original owners get in?” Trendil asked at the same time Sloan raised an eyebrow at
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Aithne's story part 47 - The Beginning of the End of the Beginning part 2

Aithne had Chonji calmed with the help of a plate of sweetrolls by the time a pensive-laden Urag returned to the suite. She said simply, “The Archmage?” and took his shake of his head as confirmation of what she had assumed. “Well. Not to speak ill of the dead, but I’ll not miss him.”   He snort-laughed. “No, I imagine not.”   “What happens now? Who chooses Archmages?”   Urag shrugged as he sat at the table and snagged one of the sweetrolls. Fortunately, Chonji alre
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Aithne's story part 46 - The Archmage's Secret

“Why haven’t you gone home?”    Aithne froze at the unexpected question as the darkness that still lapped the shores from the day before began to rise. It took her several panicked breaths before she could lift her head to look at Urag, let alone speak. Even then, she did not trust her tenuous hold on the darkness to say more than a single word.   “H…home?”   “Yes. I know you don’t seem like you want to talk about your past but… I thought…”   Aithne shook
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Aithne's story part 45 - The Secrets of Saarthal part 2

“This is kinda disappointing.” Shar’s voice echoing in the sparse stone chamber seemed to only interesting thing in it.   Kemle frowned as she looked up from something that may have been a carved tablet at some point but now resembled nothing more than a vaguely rectangular rock. “What do you mean?”   “Well, it’s all the same, isn’t it? We’ve gone through three rooms and they look just like the ones near the entrance.”   Leb snorted as Kemle stood and wiped her hand
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Aithne's story part 44 - The Secrets of Saarthal part 1

Aithne could not stop craning her neck – everything she saw seemed like the most interesting thing she had ever seen. The other students were not so enthralled but, of course, they had been here many times before. It was Aithne’s first time in an ancient ruin.   Professor Tolfdir motioned toward various things Aithne could not begin to put a name to as he walked beside her. “Saarthal was one of the earliest Nord settlements in Skyrim. It was also the largest. Sacked by the elves in the
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Aithne's story part 43 - A Challenge

Chtonji beamed as the cake was set in front of him and immediately grabbed for it.   “No.” Aithne took his hand and held it, laughing. “Not yet. First we need to crush the box. Right, Da Da?”   Urag, beaming from the other side of the highchair, nodded, picked up the small box on the side of the cake, and set it in front of Chtonji. He placed his hand on Aithne’s, which still held Chtonji’s, and said, “Ready?”   Aithne nodded, but her attention was fully on the todd
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Aithne's story part 42 - The Practical Application of Aslir’s Law

“How goes the studying?”   Aithne sighed and set the book down as Urag moved behind her and stroked her hair with his incongruously gentle hand. She closed her eye and allowed herself to sink into the moment, just for a bit, then opened it again and tapped the book in frustration.    “Why was it so much easier to read on my own than it is to read the same books for an assignment?”   Urag’s laugh turned into a surprised yell as Chonji zoomed past screaming something
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Aithne's story part 41 - A Day Out

“How are you feeling? You seem down.”   Aithne blinked and looked up from her book as Brelyna sat across from her. “Hm? Oh. Um. Fine. I guess.” She sighed. “It’s just…hard to be free. The world is too big. I don’t know how people cope with it.”   Brelyna laughed. “It’s only been a month. You’ll get used to it in time.”   “I know, it’s just…scary. I can’t face anything past each moment. When my mas…when I was freed, I went back with…with Urag…” she had to drag his na
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Aithne's story part 40 - Another Step Forward

“Why were you healing Merks’ head?” Aithne squeezed a wriggling Chonji to her chest. The child (who barely fit on her lap anymore – he had grown so much in five months!) was clearly long over the thrill of seeing his mother again and wanted down, but Aithne wasn’t about to let him go. Not yet. “I would have thought Colette would be doing that.”   “Professor Colette is generally only called in when there is something major going on. Most of the time…” Brelyna paused, grinned, shrugged,
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Aithne's story part 39 - A Different Reality

The first thing she saw was Merks. Which was as expected. What wasn’t expected was that he was still unconscious. He was lying on a bed while another student, a woman wearing blue robes who Aithne dimly recognized, stood over him. She seemed to have been doing something to his head but she jumped when the screaming slave and her latest captor appeared.   “What the…”   “Calm down! Divines!” The student who had caught Aithne at the bridge gave her arm a shake.   The w
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Aithne's story part 38 - A Day Long Dreaded part 2

She had been expecting a hallway and was surprised to find a bright airy courtyard encircled by doors – presumably to other student rooms – and what she could only describe as a well of light in the center. A bright beam of blue-white light shot out of it toward the ceiling.   She opened the door wider and slipped out, then closed the door behind her. No one else was around, for which she was grateful. She stepped to the well and looked into it.   It wasn’t a well after all.
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