Enchanted Animals: The Magickal Nature of Plants, Animals, and People of Mundus

Enchanted Animals: The Magickal Nature of Plants, Animals, and People of Mundus by Winterhold Scholar Bargok gro-Nagrob

In nature, magicka and magickal properties are expressed in a huge variety of ways by people, as any mage would surely tell you, plants, as any alchemist would surely agree, and even animals, though from what we can see, not all of them in such a prominent way as others. All living things on Nirn are imbued from birth with magicka, the energy that is emitted from the sun and stars constantly. Naturally, the more connected one is to Nirn itself, the more intimate one's connection to magicka will be. As a result of this, we see plants with magickal properties, which we use in all types of alchemy. The example that stands out to me, and probably also to you, is Nirnroot, the humming, glowing plant that can be found growing across nearly all of Tamriel. Its name is an acknowledgement of the very deep connection between Nirn and magicka.

Along with alchemy, it is also very common to see people practicing magic. Now, clearly some people are more attuned to magic than others, and there are incredible differences in natural talent among individuals. How are we able to do such amazing things, from shaping reality itself, to controlling the very mind of another? Magicka, and its natural place inside of us, allows us to do such things. We men and mer are simply the most proficient at fine-tuning and expressing the magicka, to the point that we can do nearly anything with it.

Animals, however, seem to be the odd ones out. Aside from more humanoid creatures like the Falmer (which were once truly elves) or Goblins, we see very few animals that can perform magic to the degree that humans can. However, in my studies, I have come across reports of two very specific instances of the magickal nature of animals, thanks to journals recovered by adventurers. They both happened to be experiments on spiders, though I think we can extrapolate such findings to most other animals. One journal reports that an Altmer named Kornalus was experimenting with Frostbite Spiders (a horrific giant variety of spider found in Skyrim), with which he managed to find success... In enchanting them. Unfortunately, the Altmer, er, researcher was killed by the adventurer who so kindly returned his research materials to the College of Winterhold, and so were all his test subjects. Apparently, he had devised a serum that, when applied to the Spiders, created elemental effects that did not harm them. I took a trip to the location with some associates and was able to see first-hand the results. When moved, even the dead spiders produced, briefly, an elemental effect of fire, frost, or lightning. Enthralled by this subject, I elected to study it more closely. It was not long afterward that another adventurer (perhaps the same one?) arrived at the College with yet more research... Again relating to magickal spiders.

This time, my studies took me to the island of Solstheim. The Dunmer of Raven Rock welcomed me, but I was not interested in their settlement. No, I was bound for a ruin farther north, wherein there were spiders not just cloaked in elemental effects, but very closely tied to the elements themselves. Luckily(?), our dear adventurer friend had already cleared out the ruin, so it was mostly safe for exploration. I did hear the odd clacking of spiders occassionally, but never encountered a live one (ancestors be praised). What was there for study, however, was something mentioned in the notes the adventurer brought us: the Imbuing Chamber. Purportedly, certain gems, like rubies, emeralds, amethysts, and sapphires, could produce special spiders when combined with an "Albino Spider pod," though I was unfortunately unable to obtain one of my own to experiment with. The adventurer also provided us with a select few recipes for the Imbuing Chamber, one noting that sapphires created frost spiders, another noting that emeralds created poison spiders, and another noting that a soul gem produces a very strange effect, akin to mind control. That is not something I am particularly fond of experiencing.

These trips have left me with a very intrigued mind with regard to the magickal nature of other animals. What sort of animals could be imbued with elemental energy? What kind of power could this afford said animals? Would they be able to manipulate it? These are the kinds of questions that fuel innovation and, were it not likely very dangerous, I would probably be involved in myself. I'm not so sure I could handle initia experiment failures, though, as that would likely result in serious harm to the subject, as well as myself. Perhaps someone with a more steeled mind can one day shed more light on this topic, but until then, we are left to wonder about the magickal powers hidden within the animals of Nirn.