User:The-manta/The Resurrection Of Bruma

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By The-Manta


Spoiler warning: Spoilers for the Mages Guild questline


The Resurrection Of Bruma[edit]

A little fanfic story about the Bruma mages' guild


Part One: Ghosts and Memories


J'Skar shivered, more from sadness than from the cold. He walked slowly through the familiar guild hall that had been his home, through the fire and rubble the necromancers had left behind. He crouched down by the lifeless corpse of his colleague, Selenia Orania. He hadn't known her as well as the others but he still missed her already, her disapproving but secretly amused frowns at his pranks, the way she always smelt of alchemy ingredients, the time he had stolen a few of her ingredients to make a potion for the magicka he needed to make a pair of incredibly heavy shoes for Jeanne. A tear rolled down his furry cheek. He stood up and walkedaway from the corpse, whispering some words of farewell as he went. Now he came to a flash of green, splattered with crimson blood. He sat down on the floor next to his close friend. Wishing that the tall Altmer would get up and laugh, like he always did at the end of one of their pranks.

"Remember, Volanaro, that time when we slipped a silencing potion into Jeanne's sweetroll, and she couldn't figure why no-one else could hear the words she thought she was saying, do you remember?" He said, trying to smile, but with tears flowing down his face and on to his robes.

"I'll miss you, old friend, I truly will, I already do..." He stifled a sob and stood up, walking away once more. Jeanne Frasoric was led on the wooden floor in front of him. Despite his constant pranks towards her and her lack of skill as a mage and a leader, J'Skar had always, deep down been fond of her, and hoped the feeling had been mutual.

"I'm sorry Jeanne, for what we did. We never meant any harm by it. We were just showing off really, I suppose. I'm sorry, I'll miss you." He muttered quietly, wiping some of the blood from her dress. As much as he wanted to stay, the young Khajiit stood up and, with tears flowing down his face, set off out of the guild hall.

J'Skar stood in the snow that lay thickly around the city of Bruma, his tan robes fluttering around his legs. Where would he go. He had no home now, not in Bruma, certainly not in his homeland of Elsweyr. Eventually he decided to follow the Warlock that the Archmage had sent, he would go to the Arcane University. With a heavy heart he whispered his final farewells to the guild hall and his friends and set off on the long road to the Arcane University.


Part Two: A New Beginning


J'Skar sat on a bench in the Archmage's Lobby in the Arcane University, waiting for the return of Raminus Polus, the Master-Wizard. He cast his eyes around the relatively small circular room, the walls were stone and the flagstones making up the floor were partially covered by a round carpet displaying the Mages' Guild symbol, like the one in every guild hall he had ever visited. There were three large doors besides the one he had come in through, two of them he had passed through many times, they lead to the main section of the University, but the third he knew led to the Orerry, which no-one was allowed to enter at present. On one side of the room was a raised platform displaying the guild symbol, it glowed with what J'Skar knew to be a magical light, it was through this that Raminus Polus had left, it was a teleporter. J'Skar was by now wondering what was taking the Master-Wizard so long, by now many apprenices and scholars had walked through the lobby, however busy they seemed, they always looked at him with pity, apparently word of the attack had spread rapidly. A bosmer who he had seen once before passed him, tutting sympathetically as she went before producing a small key from her blue mage's robes and entering the orerry, shutting the door behind her. J'Skar waited.

Around an hour after J'Skar's initial arrival, Raminus Polus appeared on the teleporter, he stepped down and walked over to the bench on which J'Skar sat. The young Khajiit began to stand but But Polus indicated with his hand for him to remain seated and sat down beside him. He had a kind face with grey hair and a history of trouble and stress behind his eyes. Not a lot of people knew it but J'Skar didn't just blow things up and perform pranks, he saw things, he noticed things, a skill he thought to be all too rare.

"I have consulted the arch-mage and we have come to several decisions" Polus said with a (J'Skar thought) strong Cyrodiilic accent.

The Khajiit awaited more information, eager to learn more about these 'decisions'

"Firstly," Raminus began, "The Bruma guild hall must obviously be rebuilt"

It was all J'Skar could do to hold back a sigh of despair, the Imperial was right, that was incredibly obvious, he hoped that the rest of the decisions were different.

"Secondly, that the guild hall needs a new head. You." Raminus continued.

"But, I'm just..." J'Skar began to say, but the Master-Wizard silenced him with a hand.

"Your not 'just' anything, you survived an attack on your guild hall, your home, by none other than the King of Worms himself!" J'Skar shivered with the memory, but Raminus continued, "As such, you shall be promoted to the rank of Evoker"

"But, but I..." J'Skar argued, but again, with the wave of a hand, Raminus ended the argument.

"There's no point in arguing, Evoker, your task is to begin immediately" He said with a definite sense of finality.

"What is my task, Master-Wizard?" J'Skar asked, seeing the truth in Raminus's words and slowly beginning to warm to the idea.

"To recruit for the guild hall, around four members and yourself should be sufficient, I know this is a few more than there was originally, but when the guild hall is rebuilt, it will be larger and more important, the central hub of the fight against Necromancy."

"Where should I start, what do I do?" J'Skar asked, panic starting to edge back into his voice.

"You should start here in the University, although you will also have to look outside for new recruits or mages who might be available for transfer or have no placement. Choose those that will be best suited to the tasks that the Bruma guild hall will now deal with- the removal of necromancy from Cyrodiil. Simply ask around for volunteers, search around every town until you have the required number of recruits. Any further questtions?" Raminus explained in a calm voice.

"No, Master-Wizard, I'll begin straight away" J'Skar replied standing and going to one of the doors.

"Oh, and J'Skar," Raminus called from the bench

"Yes, Master-Wizard?" J'Skar answered, turning

"Make them good" Raminus replied, giving what J'Skar thought to be a discreet wink.


Part Three: Down To Business


J'Skar, for once, did exactly what his superiors told him and set off around the University. Many of the young apprentices and wise old scholars passed by without so much as a glance, and the young Khajiit was stunned by how different their attitudes were out here than in the Archmage's Lobby. None of them looked like they were in the frame of mind for listening to what he had to say, so J'Skar headed to the Mystic Archives, he remembered the Argonian scholar, Tar-Meena, as being very knowledgeable- she was always the one he turned to for answers in his University days, surely she would have some advise.

"Ahh, young master J'Skar, yes I still remember you: 'But what does this mean, Master-Wizard, but why, Master-Wizard, but how does it work, Master-Wizard' always with the whats, whys and hows. And how is your destruction going, or was it illusion you were into? And I'm so sorry about what happened, truly I am." Said the green-skinned Argonian scholar with slowly increasing levels of seriousness.

"First, I'm honoured you remember my questions, I'm a firm believer in questions." J'Skar replied

"As am I, Master J'Skar, as am I" Tar-Meena said

"Secondly, Destruction was my big thing but I enjoyed Illusion as well, and a good thing to. But anyway, I offer a little training in Destruction now, earns me a few Septims, or it did..." he said trailing off.

After a lengthy discussion over sweetcake and some Surilie Brothers wine. Tar-Meena had decided that the best person for J'Skar to ask about recruitment was a young Breton apprentice by the name of Maria L'Etoile who's parents had been killed by necromancers, prompting her joining the mage's guild researching necromancer activities. She had volunteered to become an undercover informant by infiltrating the necromancer cult, but wasn't selected, and it was fortunate she wasn't considering what happened to the one who had. Tar-Meena mentioned that she had a keen interest in spell-making and could often be found, when not attending lectures or studying in her quarters, in the Praxographical centre. Just before he left, Tar-Meena called to him, he turned and the tall Argonian handed him a book bound in old black leather. On it's cover was a blood red design which J'Skar remembered from the robes of the necromancers.

"It will tell you much that you need to know about the workings of the cult- it was retrieved from a powerful necromancer and placed in my care several years ago, I think it will be of use to you" She explained

J'Skar took it, thanked Tar-Meena and wrapped the book up in a blue cloth. With a final goodbye, he left the Mystic Archives.


Maria L'Etoile's face was young and smiling, but J'Skar could see that it hid the scars of fear, sorrow, anger and loss. Her mid-length dark hair hung down around her face and occasionally a strand would come loose and float over one of her chestnut eyes, only to be hastily brushed away by one of her pale hands.

"So, you are the young Khajiit I've been hearing about." She said, looking J'Skar up and down. "I know how you feel, the same thing happened to my family, except the King of Worms wasn't involved then." Maria didn't seem so much pitying as understanding, J'Skar preffered it that way.

"And you are the Breton praxographer I've been hearing about. I have something of a proposition for you." J'Skar replied.

"And what might that proposition be, Evoker?" The young Breton replied, intrigued.

"You were reccomended to me by the Master-Wizard, Tar-Meena as one knowledgeable in the field of Necromancy- knowing about, I mean, not practising it." J'Skar continued.

"What of it?" Maria asked. J'Skar could see she was interested.

"I have been tasked by Raminus Polus, the council steward, to restore the Bruma Mage's guild and recruit the replacement members. The rebuilt guild hall will be the centre of the fight against necromancy. You are, I am told, an ideal cantidate. If you agree, you will be one of five, myself and four new recruits. So what say you?" J'Skar proposed.

"I say, yes, if my studies permit. I cannot allow myself to abandon my studies. Although I have always believed in acive learning, as it were" Maria said, slowly. J'Skar nearly shouted with joy.

"Once you have decided, ask for me at the Arch-Mage's Lobby, if I am not there, I will be back within a few days. Farewell, Apprentice." J'Skar jabbered, barely containing his excitement. He turned and left the cosy Mage's Quarters and hurried off to continue his search.

Standing directly in front of J'Skar as he left the building was a small bubble of activity quite different from the usual hustle and bustle- An Imperial Legion battlemage was brawling with a dunmer in a black hood and robes bearing the necromancer symbol. J'Skar gasped as a flash of lightning catapulted the Battlemage across the University and into the staircase leading to the lobby. A flame of hatred lit up in J'Skar's heart. The hooded figure leapt up and turned to J'Skar, pulling out a glowing dagger. With a growl, J'Skar rolled out of the way of the necromancer's fireball, which ignited the Mage's Quarters door. J'Skar yelled an incantation and hurled a freezing ball of Magicka at the necromancer, but he was too quick and the freeze-bolt simply chilled the grass behind him. The dunmer opened his mouth as if for an incantation but nothing came out, he mouthed the words silently attempting to direct the attack. Maria L'Etoille smiled as a frost atronach materialised next to her,

"Silence" she said simply, grinning

J'Skar grinned back, but the elf was not defeated yet, he swung the dagger in a controlled circle, narrowly missing J'Skar's chest. The apprentices and scholars were in uproar now- summoned creatures and offensive magics were hurled at other necromancers and undead. The Legion Battlemages, including the one who had attempted to apprehend the first necromancer, charged into combat, destroying the necromancers with sword and spell-fire. J'Skar yelled an incantation to destroy the dunmer's weapon, who hurled it to the floor in anger, swinging wild and ineffective punches instead. J'Skar hurled a lightning bolt and the dunmer was finished,

"One down," he said to Maria.