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Nahlia asked that Julian Catous and I should add to the records of the Scholarium. I'm not sure if Julian is working on her addition in secret, but I assume that's the case. There are so many books here, I'm almost not sure what to write. Can I even make a poor choice of topic? Archmage Ulfsild included all sorts of books in her library so I can't really do anything to disrespect or tarnish her collection. Which is comforting. Well, I suppose this is it then.
The writings of Votary Llaren, Knight of the Lamp.
I'm not sure that life ever turns out the way we expect it to. Younger iterations of myself dreamed of battles and skirmishes, racing between foliage to outmaneuver my enemies. I thought that adventure was always exciting cave-delving and revelations.
Sometimes it is, and those moments are thrilling. But adventure and battle are more complex than I'd ever given them credit for as a youngster. Many of my compatriots would never appreciate the work I do with the order now. They wanted a certain type of adventure and became soldiers. Luckily for me, the Order of the Lamp thought I had the qualifications to be a knight.
As I sit here with quill in hand, I find I can't quite believe all that I've done. All that I've seen. I thought I would just be a bodyguard for the mages. Protect them from trolls and minotaurs while they did something serious and bookish. But that hasn't been my life at all.
Well, to be fair, I have fought off trolls.
But I've found, much to my delight, I do not fight alone. Almost all of the mages I'm sent to protect know how to defend themselves. Sometimes (like now) I get to pair up with another votary in the order.
I've battled furious Dremora on cliff faces, defeated raging atronachs in the depths of mountains, and cut through armies of the undead to stop necromancers from sweeping across whole territories. I'm not so idealistic to say that those battles were easy affairs. Mages make a lot of noise and cause a lot of distractions. It's never easy to use my own weapons in the chaos of a magical battle. I suppose that's why the order is so particular about who they recruit; not every fighter can perform in those circumstances.
But now I find myself here in a hidden library. I suppose I expected more danger, but I'm not going to complain about a slower assignment. There's enough to explore and learn that my days aren't spent idly waiting for another assignment. So no, life is not as I expected it and that's wonderful. It's real.
Well. For now I think that's about all I can say on the matter. Nahlia, I hope this is a good addition to the collection. And wherever she is, Ulfsild appreciates what we're doing here.