Spirit Solace

The introduction of the spirits to Winterhold went somewhat peacefully, most people didn't care at all unless it affected them directly. Some were wary of those belonging to never-before-seen races, Rhasta being a Hill-Troll, Riki being a Tiefling, and Rubick, Spectre, and Medusa being... Whatever they were.

Rubick, Lina, and Rhasta immediately entered the newly built College of Winterhold after Michael had given Savos a basic, if limited, explanation of the situation, the Grand Magnus all but locking himself in the new Arcaeneum and forcing Savos and Michael to work in concert to strip the wards from the door to allow others entry.

Lina caused trouble by demanding a larger and more private room, her previous status as a Princess/Priestess making her far more annoying to handle than most others. Along with her tendency to burn people she didn't like.

Thankfully, Rhasta was more subdued in his requests, simply asking for a matt and a quiet place to meditate the days away, wishing to make himself familiar with Tamriel's local spirits and nature itself.

Savos only really accepted them due to their unique magics that functioned completely different to how anything in Tamriel worked. Plus, Rubick was a very good lecturer when you gave him the motivation to do so. A couple Magic Tomes had the Grand Magus all but shouting his knowledge in the new Hall of Elements.

Silencer surprised Michael by joining up with Anti-Mage and beginning mercenary missions around the Hold. While Surtr's rule had stifled a majority of any banditry around Skyrim, that didn't mean it'd been eliminated entirely.

With the money they collect and a sizeable loan from Michael himself, they'd begun construction on a temple on the opposite side of the mountain the Eye of the World was located. They planned to found a new Order known as the Silentium Magia, a combination of the Turstarkuri Monks and the Aeol Drias which Silencer originally belonged to. Their goal? Well, it was obvious for any who cared to listen.

The restriction of heretical magic, the maintenance of balance, and the protection of the innocent. They intended to combine the monks teachings with that of the Aeol Drias mages, creating warriors that would absolutely demolish any mage they come across.

It was a scary thought, to be honest, a warrior who could Blink right next to you, silence you and prevent you from casting spells, drain all of your mana, and use a spell that deals damage proportional to the mana you've lost.

Their Temple wasn't complete yet but they'd already started recruiting from the various orphanages around Skyrim. You didn't require great talent to learn such arts, so their pool of potential students was great... Plus, the Nordic temperament suited this kind of organisation excellently.

Medusa herself had started to try and befriend the Eredar, their unusual appearances and strong racial benefits made them the best choice for her to get her bearings in Skyrim. Their bluntness and sensitivity to magic made them preferable in her eyes... Though, even they were struggling to see through the snake-woman's appearance and see her for the person she actually is. A long road if Michael had ever seen one.

Kunkka had already met up with Ennura and the two had hit it off, and by that he meant that they'd drank a shit load of rum and fucked loud enough for the whole city to hear... Did you know Kunkka shouted 'AHOY' when he climaxes? Because Michael did, along with most of Winterhold, he wished Tiffania's Erase spell still worked on him...

Needless to say, he'd gotten permission to start construction of the Winterhold Navy. While most ship-builders were located in Windhelm and Solitude, they weren't required since Kunkka apparently had all the ship designs completely memorized. Add the fact that naval warfare in the Dota 2 universe was a lot more advanced than Tamriel, it was only a matter of time before Kunkka ruled the seas.

The only real problem on that front was manpower, Skyrim having a dear lack of sailors simply due to how the Northern Sea was. Get wet and you freeze to death, most ships sink due to the huge sheet of ice that covered the water, and winds so fierce they'd capsize even a Man O'War. Ennura was lucky Kunkka was a renowned captain otherwise their naval venture would fail before they even left port.

What was funding all of this you may ask? Well, many things, but the main economic drivers in Winterhold currently was the advanced technology that was being developed and utilised, the Frost Gems that grew in the Frozen Forest which massively enhanced any Ice Enchantments, and most recently the magical development occurring in the College.

The only real issue Michael had been having lately was Spectre... The phantom had no real goal or objective, and so treated him like her absolute master. When he'd told her to go away, she'd begun floating in the opposite direction. He'd only realised what'd happened when she'd done a full lap of the world and continued on still.

He asked if she'd happened upon Atmora or some other supposedly lost Continent but she'd shaken her head. Apparently, where Atmora once was was just more ocean, even Clavicus Vile's memories weren't concrete on what'd occurred there, so Michael thought it better be left alone for now.

After that he'd just had Spectre shadow him, hoping she'd learn something from watching him and begin finding some sort of balance. Her life in the Dota universe sounded like a horrific one, randomly appearing amidst battlefield, then dissipating once it was done, literally ceasing to exist until the next battleground was found.

According to her each iteration was another Spectre that held the same memories. This was probably while her speech was so garbled, her mind was connected with each Spectre, and multiple of her could exist in one moment.

The situation wasn't all bad though, his new 'bodyguard' didn't make much sound and was perfectly content to silently follow him. He'd only catch a glimpse of her occasionally when Darth got territorial and tried to shove her away... Only to be taught a lesson by the incredibly powerful phantom.