The Archmage of Winterhold
"This is getting exciting. It's been a while since I've fought someone, especially after returning to train with the Greybeards' master," Einar said while looking at the wizards in front of him. His voice held so much excitement that even the ground beneath them began to tremble.
This worried the wizards even more, seeing the power the young man was gathering to unleash. But upon hearing him speak, the leader quickly spoke.
"You... speak... Icelandic?" said the leader of the wizards. Although he couldn't understand some parts, Einar understood the question.
"Icelandic? What's that? Although you can talk to me, it seems you learned the Nordic language," Einar replied, pausing for a moment as it seemed they could converse.
"Nordic... That's very ancient," the elder said while motioning to the others to appear friendly, showing that they no longer wanted to fight now that they could communicate.
"You're not going to fight?" Einar quickly asked, a little disappointed as he stopped gathering power in his hands.
"If we can communicate, there's no need," the elder said quickly with a sigh. "Please, stop. Perhaps we met on the wrong foot."
"Tsk." Einar quickly put on the mask that had fallen off during the fight. Although his hood never fully revealed his face, from the features that could be seen, he was quite young.
"Sorry, but could I ask you to release him?" the elder said, pointing at the wizard dressed in black lying on the ground completely stiff.
"It wears off in a few seconds," Einar replied calmly, and just a second later, the wizard could move. He quickly stood up, glaring angrily at Einar. But having heard the conversation while petrified, he didn't continue attacking.
Seeing the wizard's furious gaze, Einar spoke again.
"You're lucky it wasn't lightning," he said while showing his hand, from which powerful bolts of lightning flashed, illuminating the entire forest.
Obviously, the wizard didn't understand Einar's language, but he understood what Einar meant, so he just snorted angrily and stepped aside.
"Allow me to introduce myself. I am Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts," Dumbledore said, trying to sound friendly.
"Hogwarts? What's that?" Einar asked quickly.
"Hogwarts is a school of magic where talented young people learn to develop their potential and discover their place in the magical world," Dumbledore quickly explained.
"I see, like the College of Winterhold... You resemble Savos Aren," Einar said, looking intently at Dumbledore. "Then, let me introduce myself as Einar, Archmage of the College of Winterhold. The other titles don't seem to matter." Einar said quickly, since when talking to wizards, being an Archmage was what counted.
"Archmage? Although I don't know if it means the same thing. I also don't know where the College of Winterhold is. Could you explain, please? We can continue talking in my office," Dumbledore said, inviting Einar.
Einar gave a quick glance and accepted confidently, although he never let his guard down.
...
"I see, so being so young, you were the head of a magic school of great excellence from what I hear. Although I'm sorry I don't know where that place is," Dumbledore said as they walked toward his office.
"It's fine. I didn't know about Hogwarts either, so I guess we're even," Einar said calmly, not giving it much importance, since he became the Archmage of Winterhold after Savos Aren and Mirabelle Ervine died.
"Though I must say you're quite skilled in magic to not need a wand to cast powerful spells," Dumbledore said as they reached his office and he motioned for Einar to sit down.
"Wand? Are you talking about staves? They're pretty useless when they run out of energy. It's better to use your hands, especially because they only have one spell. I prefer to mix my magic," Einar said, not understanding.
"It seems we're talking about something else," Dumbledore said as he explained how wands worked in detail.
"I see, so they're completely different objects. The magic school I attended never had those... wands," Einar said quickly with some intrigue. "Though it seems they become quite useless without them," he added, remembering how he easily disarmed them.
"Well, some skilled wizards can use magic without a wand," Dumbledore said while demonstrating by making a cup float toward him with ease.
"Then it's better if we get straight to the point since you seem like the type who prefers to cut to the chase. Are you the one they call the Conqueror of the World-Eater?" Dumbledore asked directly, looking seriously at Einar.
"You mean Alduin. Then yes, that's me. I am the Dragonborn of the prophecy, though I was supposed to have already fulfilled my task. That's why I was training with the Greybeards so my VOICE wouldn't destroy the places where I stayed. Seeing that I became so strong after defeating Miraak, the Daedric Princes wanted my soul at all costs, so Akatosh kidnapped me and sent me here. To be honest, I don't know where I am right now," Einar said patiently.
Dumbledore had a headache trying to understand everything Einar said all of a sudden, but he understood one thing: this was the man Firenze had spoken of, the one who had fulfilled his destiny and could not be bound to another. Someone so strong he needed to be approached with caution.
Although Dumbledore only saw a young man no older than 17 or 18 years old sitting calmly before him, Einar radiated danger with every movement. Not even Mad-Eye Moody made him feel this way. It was clear that from a very young age, Einar had to fight for his life, which meant he was not only powerful but also had the experience to back it up.
Fortunately, by talking to Einar, he realized he wasn't a bad kid, just someone direct and quite calm. Obviously, outside of battle, since he seemed like a completely different person when fighting.
"You seem quite calm for being in an unfamiliar place," Dumbledore said, staring intently at Einar.
"Well, I've been to places you can't even imagine and fought against all kinds of enemies that would drive anyone with a weak mind insane. I'm used to it. To me, this is just another adventure," Einar said calmly.
"So, what's your plan now?" Dumbledore asked.
"No idea. I don't think Akatosh will let me return. Although the Daedric Princes won't give up so easily. After all, they are immortal. But I understand why he threw me out of Skyrim. It's obvious that my soul could spark the greatest war ever, completely destroying the mortal world. For now, what I'll do is simply find a place to stay here and finally rest after such a long time," Einar said calmly.
"How about this...? One of my professors recently resigned. Why not take his place? Since you seem to have battle experience, it would be perfect," Dumbledore said patiently.
Einar, upon hearing this, stared directly at Dumbledore before responding.
"You just want me to be close enough to keep an eye on me, right?" he said bluntly.
"To be honest, that's completely true. After all, not even all the professors of Hogwarts together could touch you," Dumbledore quickly admitted, trying to get on Einar's good side. "Although, considering your age, I'd prefer for you to be a student, but that would be an insult to your experience."
"Professor of what branch? I don't think our magic is the same," Einar said calmly. He didn't care about the reason; he believed that if they turned against him, he could destroy everything in his path and leave easily. After all, he had many powerful abilities he had not yet demonstrated.
"The class is called Defense Against the Dark Arts. In this class, students study and learn how to defend themselves from all aspects of the Dark Arts, including dark creatures, hexes, jinxes, and curses (dark charms), as well as dueling. Don't worry, the school will provide all the materials you need to teach," Dumbledore said quickly.
"Basically, it's fighting, right? That's fine," Einar agreed easily, accepting the proposal.
Just as Einar accepted the job, Hogwarts suddenly began to tremble as the walls seemed to scream in pain. Then, a dark aura started to emanate as if it were burning.
"Aaaaah!" After that scream, silence returned, as everyone in the castle stared at the walls of their school in shock.
…..
Meanwhile, in the Forbidden Forest, a centaur was staring in the direction of the school intently. It was Firenze, the centaur who had spoken to Hagrid earlier.
"Curses are an attempt to change a person's fate towards a dark path. Trying to impose a dark destiny on one who cannot be bound to any other is like trying to break a stone with an egg," he said as he turned around and continued his path peacefully.
...
"What an interesting school... Looks like I'll have fun here," Einar said with some excitement.
Meanwhile, Dumbledore snapped out of his surprise, realizing what had just happened. That was the curse Voldemort had placed on the Defense Against the Dark Arts professors. A curse Dumbledore knew about but had never given much importance to, as it only prevented professors from teaching for more than a year.
Although some ended up badly, most of the former professors simply resigned.
"By the way, aren't you going to take off your mask? I still don't know your face," Dumbledore said, looking at the helmet.
"Sure, but only for a while. I usually wear it because my VOICE is too powerful," Einar said as he gently removed the mask, along with the hood.
Then, Dumbledore was slightly surprised. Besides being young, Einar was extremely attractive. In front of him stood a handsome young man with silver-gray hair, green eyes with a serious gaze that even seemed noble. If someone mistook him for having Veela blood, no one would be surprised. Too bad only women could be Veela.
Seeing Dumbledore's surprised look, Einar responded:
"It happens. My mother is a beautiful Altmer who fell in love with the most handsome Nord she could find. And I was born. Well, at 13, they kicked me out of the house to join the Imperials while they kept making babies," Einar said mockingly as he put the mask back on. "Luckily, my ears aren't like my mother's, otherwise, I would have suffered even more from the Nord's harassment, as they are quite racist, especially toward mixed races."
"You said you wear your mask to contain your VOICE, what do you mean by that?" Dumbledore asked, recovering from the slight surprise.
"The VOICE or the Thu'um is the language of dragons. It's also very ancient magic used through shouts. I, as Dragonborn, learned each and every one of these shouts just by seeing them once. That's why sometimes it might slip out when I speak. That's why I wear this enchanted mask. But don't worry, so far, no one has died. They only flew a few meters away. On the other hand, my masters had to take a vow of silence because a single whisper from them could destroy a mountain," Einar said calmly.
"A mountain? To be honest, I hope your masters don't come looking for you," Dumbledore said quickly.
"No. They live in silence and do not interfere with the world," Einar replied quickly.
….
Meanwhile, in the Forbidden Forest:
"Ugh... What happened?" Hagrid said as he got up painfully, looking around and realizing he was in the Forbidden Forest. "Did I fall asleep?" he said while touching his head in pain.
"Ugh... I guess I drank too much. Better head back home," he said, seemingly having lost his memory from hitting his head so many times against various trees.
Then he simply got up and walked towards his house calmly.
—---------------
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