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Part 1 : http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/imageshare/image.php?id=32115
Part 2 : http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/imageshare/image.php?id=32689
Part 3 : http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/imageshare/image.php?id=33752
Part 4 : http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/imageshare/image.php?id=35892
Part 5 : http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/imageshare/image.php?id=36420
Part 6 : http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/imageshare/image.php?id=39293
Part 7 : http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/imageshare/image.php?id=39859
Part 8 : http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/imageshare/image.php?id=41234

(possible minor spoilers)

It is known that shortly after becoming thane of Whiterun Hold, Audva joined the College in Winterhold. “She asked me about the College,” Farengar told me, “but seemed to pay little attention to me as I told her about it, instead she was focused on my map. It wasn’t until after she’d left that I realized she’d never been to eastern Skyrim before, so she was probably trying to negotiate a path.

"I didn’t see her for about a month, maybe a little longer, but when we talked it was obvious that she’d learned quite a lot. For the first time in ages I felt as if I was conversing with an equal rather than some uneducated warrior or some novice upstart mage. Every time I saw her after that, well, I knew I was out of my depth. She knew too, but that never stopped her from coming in for a good talk. She could talk combat with anyone, but in order to talk magic she’d have to go pretty far, probably to one of the other holds. Being one of the few mages in Whiterun Hold has its own perks.”

There are a number of things which remain well-kept secrets regarding Audva’s ascent to Arch-mage, even to this day. It is known that early on she was at least partially responsible for finding a powerful artifact which was brought to the College. Later that artifact caused some strange events to occur in Winterhold - a giant shield was seen around the College, keeping many of the mages out, and this was also around the time that Winterhold proper was attacked by strange wisp-like creatures. In both cases Audva and other mages were present and resolved the problems, but at the cost of several of their own number, including the Arch-mage and the Master Wizard. When the dust cleared, the remaining teachers agreed that she should be Arch-mage.

“I was just a student back then,” Brelyna Maryon told me, “but I remember that even the instructors were amazed at how quickly she learned all the different disciplines, including Enchanting. You’d think that an adventurer like her would make great use of Destruction magics, but that was the only one she struggled with. Alteration was her specialty, and even Tolfdir said that he’d never seen anyone with her mastery of it. Enchanting too - I think she substituted for Sergius a few times after he retired, and while the students may not have liked her as much, everyone knew they were learning from the most skilled enchanter in Skyrim.”

When I asked her about the artifact and Audva’s rise to power, Brelyna said, “Giraud, you’re a historian, so you know that there are some things the general public doesn’t need to know about. This is one of those things. But trust me, her actions saved the College and perhaps all of Skyrim, maybe even all of Tamriel, and during that time she more than demonstrated her mastery of magic, and it was that combined with her hands-on approach to problems that got her the position. She definitely earned it, and I don’t think she wouldn’t have accepted it if she thought otherwise.”

It is well-documented that Audva rarely ever used wards, probably because she wasn’t trained to. Most of her companions noted that when dealing with magic-wielding opponents she’d often shrug-off their spells, even sometimes absorbing them, her objective being to close into melee. Mages who have studied her tactics have noted that this probably had to do with her not being formally trained or specialized in damage-dealing magics, so it’s no surprise that she would rely on forms of combat which she was familiar with. Brelyna indicated that her actual use of magic was mostly detection spells, which she would use to locate her opponents and then fire at them with the bow, killing them more quietly than if Destruction magics were involved. Other mages have said that magic played only a secondary or support role for her, but when we examine her reputation among the Thieves’ Guild and the Dark Brotherhood, it becomes obvious that magic was essential to her.

Continued in part 10 : http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/imageshare/image.php?id=46364