Preparation For Fellglow

Vargas makes his way back to the College of Winterhold. In the quarters of the Archmage, Vargas informs Savos Aren of the giant magical orb Tolfdir is guarding inside Saarthal. Savos is immediately impressed with Vargas and asks him to do some research about the orb while he helps Tolfdir get it to the college.

Vargas heads to the Arcaneum to look for books referencing the orb. Urag gro-Shub tells Vargas that an ex-student of the college ran off with some books recently. He remembers one of those books containing information about giant magical orbs. Orthorn, the ex-student, ran off to Fellglow Keep to join up with some rogue wizards.

Vargas gets a little rest in is dorm room before departing for Whiterun.

After the long wagon ride to Whiterun, Vargas meets with Farengar to discuss the events at the college. (There is no wagon to hire from Winterhold to Whiterun, but that sounds better than saying, "Vargas Fast Traveled to Whiterun." You can probably expect more of that. Also, I disenchanted some items near Farengar in Dragonsreach. This caused me to gain level 8; hence the mention of Farengar. For my level 8 perk I chose Animage from the Illusion skill tree.)

The next day, Vargas departs for the mountains to the west of Whiterun to find Fellglow Keep.

The Orb and the Gauldurson

Vargas begins to recognize that this excursion into an ancient Nordic tomb is going to turn out like his first. Warning Tolfdir of the dangers ahead, Vargas slips into the shadows and begins trekking deeper into Saarthal.

Kamehame.....

Vargas encounters several draugr the further he goes down into the tomb. However this time he is much more well prepared to deal with them. Using his stealth he lays down lightning traps and draws the draugr to them. For those draugr that he cannot trap, he unleashes his lightning directly.

Ha!
Dead Draugr Wight = Level 7

(This is the first opportunity I have had to use the Rune spells. I must say that while they are very magic intensive, it is fun to place them and pull enemies into them. I can see this as being a great tactic once I can get the Quiet Casting perk from the Illusion skill tree. For my level 7 perk I chose Illusion Dual Casting. This is so I can dual cat my Illusion spells on higher level enemies later. I also felt like my Destruction skill tree was getting too much attention lately.)

Vargas awaits Tolfdir when he enters the antechamber of Saarthal. There is a powerful magical orb floating in the center of the room guarded by Jyrik Gauldurson, an undead mage. This draugr is much more difficult to defeat; he is drawing power from the orb. Toldir concentrates on breaking the link between them, while Vargas releases is full magical might.

Jyrik Gauldurson and the Orb

After the battle, Tolfdir asks Vargas to immediately inform the Archmage about the events here. On his way out Vargas finds a second wall covered in ancient runes. Just like the first, he absorbs some understanding of the dragon tongue from it.

Saarthal

Vargas leaves immediately toward the excavation site at Saarthal. Bundled up against the harsh blizzard-like conditions, he is able to make is way there without any incident. Vargas is the first student to arrive, having taken a shortcut through the mountain pass. He uses this time to work on his muffling spell.

(I aquired the Muffle spell back in Whiterun, but haven't had a chance to use it yet. Everytime I cast it, my Illusion skill raises by 1 even with no one else around. I don't want Vargas to level too quickly, so I have decided to limit my use of the spell for the times when I am in need of silence. So no casting just to level up.)

Tolfdir opens the door to Saarthal and leads the students inside once everyone arrives. The architecture is very similar to that of Bleak Falls Barrow. Tolfdir leads the students down to where the excavation is taking place. Vargas is asked to look for magical artifacts by Arniel Gane, the mage leading the excavation of Saarthal for the college.

Vargas discovers a secret passage while at the excavation site. Tolfdir and Vargas are attacked by draugr as they make their way further into Saarthal.  After the attack, Vargas is given a dire warning of disaster in the future by a ghostly apparition claiming to be part of the Psijic Order.

College Admission

Vargas decides to seek out the College of Winterhold that Farengar spoke of. Vargas leaves Whiterun aboard a hired wagon and says goodbye to all the Dragonborn nonsense he his hearing. The journey to Winterhold is long but uneventful.

Winterhold

Vargas is unimpressed with the town of Winterhold. He thought that such a place to house a college of magic would be more grand. He quickly learns from the residents of Winterhold that they tolerate but do not condone magic. Vargas makes his way toward the college.

He is stopped at the college bridge by Faralda, an Altmer mage. She informs him that only those displaying a certain prowess in magic is allowed admittance to the college. Vargas easily passes her test and she leads him across the bridge.

Tolfdir's Lecture

Inside the college, Vargas is taken to a lecture where other new arrivals have gathered. An elderly wizard named Tolfdir is speaking about being safe when experimenting with magic. Tolfdir teaches Vargas the importance of defensive wards, especially when confronted with hostile magic.

After the lesson, Tolfdir asks everyone to meet him at an excavation site. The college is currently looking for magical artifacts in the ancient Nordic ruin of Saarthal located near Winterhold.

What To Do Next?

So far I have followed the main quest in order to unlock the appearance of dragons. Normally with my other character, I stick around Whiterun and build up cash to buy Breezehome. I am trying to play Vargas differently that my other characters, so I won't be doing that. I will also leave Lydia here in Whiterun, because Vargas tends to enjoy being alone when adventuring.

Now, I have a choice to make. What does Vargas do next?

Here are my choices:

• I can continue the main quest and head to High Hrothgar and visit the Greybeards. (I dread this long walk.)
• I can go to Windhelm and start the Dark Brotherhood or Stormcloak Civil War questlines. (I have never done either of these before, so they are both promising.)
• I can go to Riften and start the Thieve's Guild questline. (This questline is one that I have completed before, but it was long ago with a thief character.)
• I can go to Winterhold and start the College questline. (This is probably the best option, since Vargas needs to work more on his magic skills. So far Illusion is lagging behind Sneak and Destruction. I've started this one before, but never went very far into it.)
• I can go to any of the other holds and do various quests there.

I think the College of Winterhold would be the best fit for Vargas at this time in his career. Nightblade's need to be able to harness powerful magic. I can better train my Illusion magic since there is a trainer here. I will need to join to College at some point to get the Invisibility spell.

For now, I will start the College questline, but I intend to run through the Dark Brotherhood and the Thieve's Guild questlines later on.

The Unofficial Elder Scrolls Pages has been invaluable to me so far. I use it to make sure I spell names correctly since I don't keep accurate notes when I play. I also go to that site for hints and tips on playing.

Dragonborn

Back in Whiterun, Vargas reports to Jarl Balgruuf about the demise of the dragon. The Jarl and his brother believe Vargas to be Dragonborn after hearing about how he absorbed power from the fallen dragon.

The Jarl also explains to Vargas that the shout he heard on the way back to Whiterun was from the Greybeards. They are summoning the Dragonborn to High Hrothgar. Jarl Balgruuf bestows upon Vargas the title of Thane of Whiterun for his efforts saving the city.

Excerpt from The Nightblade Chronicles 

Dragonborn or not, I had drawn too much attention to myself in Whiterun. I needed to get away from there before people started asking questions about where I had come from.

Level 6

(After the meeting with the Jarl, I did some disenchanting and gained level 6. For this level, I chose Apprentice Destruction perk since that is the skill that I have been using the most. I need to work more on my Illusion skill, but so far the opportunity hasn't presented itself that much with the undead and dragons I have been fighting. In my next post, I am going to decide what Vargas will do next.)

Dragon Falling

Irileth and the guards arrive as the dragon swoops down on the watchtower. Smoke obscures Vargas's sight as the dragon breathes fire all around. Making his way down the tower, Vargas hears the dying screams of on of the guardsmen. He sees the dragon throw a limp body across the battlefield before it takes flight again.

Dragon Falling

Vargas gets on top of some rubble and lets loose a lightning bolt into the dragon. This causes the dragon's attention to turn to Vargas. A spout of flame churns forth from the dragon's mouth as Vargas leaps off the rubble. Irileth distracts the dragon long enough for Vargas to get out of its sight. As the dragon closes on Irileth, Vargas moves in from the side and lets loose his full reserve of magic into the beast's heart.

Absorbing A Dragon Soul

The dragon topples over and the guards all shout in victory. The dragon's body combusts into flame and Vargas can feel a surge of power storm through his body. After the a few moments the flames die down and Vargas roars into the sky uncontrollably. Irileth and the guards are shaken. Vargas quickly heads back to Whiterun as the guards look at him nervously.

Excerpt from The Nightblade Chronicles 

The more I shouted in the dragon tongue, the more I began to control this internal power. I did not embrace this power in the beginning because it felt unnatural.

Dragon Rising

Vargas, Irileth, and Farengar make their way upstairs to meet the Jarl in the war room. One of the guards from the Western Watchtower, reports that a dragon is attacking. The Jarl wants Whiterun to meet this threat head on with the full force of the Whiterun guardsmen. After ordering Irileth to gather the guards, Jarl Balgruuf ask Vargas to help with this threat. Vargas is the only one around that has seen a dragon and lived to tell about it.

Pep Talk

Vargas agrees to help and meets Irileth near Whiterun's city gate. Irileth gives the guards a speech about honor and valor to boost their morale. Vargas explains to the men what they are up against and the best strategy for bringing down the dragon. (Shoot it full of arrows and stay away from the fire and teeth!)

Dragon

As the guards make their way toward the Western Watchtower, Vargas moves on ahead to scout out the area. The watchtower is in flames and only one of the guards stationed there is still alive. The dragon is nowhere to be seen, so Vargas make his way to the top of the tower. Looking down on the destruction, Vargas hears the roar of the dragon as it swoops in from the sky.

 Excerpt from The Nightblade Chronicles 

During the dragon attack at the Western Watchtower of Whiterun, we were better prepared to face the threat. My previous experience and the courage the men showed gave us all the confidence in the world.

Words of Power

Glowing Runes - I Should Check This Out

After defeating the draugr overlord and finding the Dragonstone, Vargas is drawn to a wall with ancient inscriptions covering it.  As he approaches the wall, runes begin to glow. Vargas is strangely drawn to the runes and reaches out with his hand.

He feels a jolt of power course through him when he touches the runes. The runes stop glowing after this power transfer. Vargas is unsure what just happened, but he seems to be fine.

Important Meeting

Vargas makes his way back out of Bleak Falls Barrow. He needs to get the Dragonstone back to Farengar in Whiterun.

Back in Whiterun, Vargas interrupts Farengar and a stranger talking about his dragon research. After handing over the Dragonstone, Irileth bursts into the room with news that a dragon has been spotted near Whiterun.

The Jarl needs to see Vargas and Farengar immediately.

Excerpt from The Nightblade Chronicles 

Word walls are scattered about Skyrim. The inscriptions are written in the dragon tongue. You can call it destiny, fate, or perhaps coincidence, but with each wall found, I was able to increase my knowledge and power.