The rocky wastes of eastern Craglorn are littered with the ancient ruins of cities long lost to annals and lore. Wayfarers however have recently begun to convey tales of the curious appearance of large crimson crystals at the centre of many of these dusty ruins. They are said to attract both spell-fiend and atronach in much the same way as does the shards of the Mage’s staff at the Spellscar.

The aspects of the Celestial Mage claim that these crystals are tools of the Serpent, serving to siphon the power of the fallen Celestial for serpentine purpose. But the Aspects also tell that if I can break the crystals I might be able use that stored power to charge the gems of the Seeker’s Sight to aid us in discovering the location of the aspects still in hiding. As soon as I begin to attack the crystals however the fiends and atronachs attack, and with it’s destruction, a huge air atronach appears whose sole intent is my quietus.

News that the Serpent is able to use these mysterious crystals to gain in strength is no doubt worrying, yet strangely it also brings us hope. For just as the sorcerer’s firebolt can be blocked with a wooden shield, and the risen dead of the necromancer can be smote with a metal blade, these crystals show that even the Celestials cannot engage with the realm of Nirn without physical manifestation or tool. Even the Great Enslaver had to rely upon the physical anchors wrought in black forges of Coldharbour, otherwise his threat of a Planemeld would have been worth nowt more then a Nord maiden’s promise.

S.K

I follow Sara Benele into the Mage’s Staff obelisk and we discover a realm within that is drenched in magicka. It feels like we are caught inside an iridescent gemstone, coruscating with colours no mortal has ever seen. The air about fizzles and sparks, feeling at times as if the next spell cast might ignite the whole realm. Whilst looking up to the sky is not unlike looking into the oily puddles of a dwemer ruin; this is an altogether ghastly beautiful place.

Huge chunks of rock hang freely in the air upon which commotions of elementals and spell-fiends gather. At the centre of it all we see the black foreboding core; no not black, just devoid of all light.

I once more follow Sara’s lead, for she seems more confident in our path now. I had my doubts about this whole endeavour in the beginning, probably because Sara herself seemed unsure. I only put my faith in her because she is the sister of Gabrielle. But as we have gotten closer to ending this catastrophic threat her confidence has grown, and it has felt much easier to trust in her lead.

Some people are shut up tightly inside themselves like flower bulbs, and it only takes one person to shine a little faith for them to open up and blossom quite wonderfully. In this time-bomb Sara Benele bloomed into the person Craglorn needed her to be. Now there are two members of the Mages Guild I would trust implicitly.

S.K

On the outskirts of the notorious Spellscar of Craglorn, I am approached by a fellow member of the Mages Guild. She turns out to be the sister of none other but the esteemed Gabrielle Benele, perhaps the only member of the Mages Guild I would trust implicitly.

The sister Sara informs me that just before the constellations disappeared from the night sky, a huge Obelisk crashed into Craglorn breaking into fragments. The Obelisk, which the locals now call ‘The Mage’s Staff’, soon began emitting enormous amounts of magical energy, turning local mages into spellfiends and attracting all manner of aggressive atronachs into the area.

Sara believes that if we don’t act then the staff will eventually explode with enough power to turn all Craglorn into a crater. She requests my aid, asking that I fight my way through the fiends and elemental creatures to harvest elements from the broken shards that she may use to find a way into the core of the Obelisk, and once inside, hopefully discover a way to contain the immense energy.

It seems to me that she is risking an awful lot on supposition and theory. My only hope is that Sara isn’t twisting the facts to suit her theories, instead of her theories to suit the facts. I find however that I must defer to Sara’s superior knowledge and follow her lead, for my membership of the Mages Guild owes far more to my competence in the collecting of obscure tomes, rather then ever having read any of them.

S.K

Whilst travelling through Tamriel I have met so oft now with the improbable and implausible that when news reaches me that there are two Altmer maidens sheltering at the Crossroads Tavern claiming to be aspects of the fallen Celestial Mage, I feel neither surprise nor scepticism.

These ‘Aspects’ certainly have the semblance of the Altmer nailed, even down to their somewhat overbearing and pompous demeanour. What I find strange though is that all the statues and icons I have ever seen of the Celestial Mage have portrayed it as a bearded old man. If these Aspects had the choice of how to appear to mortals on Nirn why would they choose to appear as the one race guaranteed to irritate everyone else, even other Altmer. I can only surmise that this is their natural materialization upon our realm. I consider myself a courageous man, but I wont be the one volunteering to break this news to the stonemason’s guild.

The Aspects show me a vision of how the serpentine one split their essence into many pieces in an attempt to make the Celestial far easier for it to control. Yet when these Aspects fell from the sky to Nirn they became scattered across all Craglorn. So now I am in a race with the guileful Serpent to find these fallen Aspects. My hunt begins with a search for the three lost gems of the Seeker’s Sight around the dangerous Spellscar, where it is said that none but the maddened, desperate, or foolhardy dare traverse.

S.K