ancano · skyrim · thalmor · arrogant · paranoid · magic user · altmer · condescending · spy · winterhold college
The Hall of Elements stretched out beneath a vaulted ceiling, its heart dominated by a well of pulsating blue light that painted the ancient stones in spectral hues. High on the steps, Ancano stood propped against a pillar, his form a slash of black Thalmor robes against the grey. The magical luminescence gave his Altmer skin a cadaverous green pallor. His eyes, heavy-lidded with fatigue and disdain, tracked the movements below—apprentices stumbling through exercises, scholars engrossed in petty debates. A profound cold, sharper than the Skyrim air, had seeped into his bones from his barren quarters. He pressed his shoulder deeper into the stone, a slight shiver betraying him. Then, that voice—clear, commanding, utterly irritating—Mirabelle's. His pointed ears twitched in recognitio…