Recently I created a Dunmer Dragonknight named [Aduri Velas](https://www.reddit.com/r/elderscrollsonline/comments/1rnnux9/the_backstory_of_my_dunmer_dragonknight_in_the/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button). Since people have been discussing the class a lot lately, and I already tend to write little journals for RP, I figured I’d have some fun with it. So here it goes:

>During one of my wanderings through Stonefalls in service of the Pact, I remember dealing with a small cluster of shalks on the outskirts of Ebonheart. I was cleaning my bonemold blade when I noticed a shadow approaching beside me.  


>It was a Nord. Big, bearded, the kind who takes up a lot of space. He stopped a little too close, arms crossed, then leaned slightly toward my shoulder like we were about to share some deep secret.  


>He spoke out of the corner of his mouth.  


>*So, traveling across Tamriel now, huh, elf?*  


>Still a bit out of breath, I turned my head toward him with what I imagine must have been a confused expression. I shook my head.  


>*No. I’ve never left Morrowind.*  


>Which, for the record, is true.  


>The Nord let out a short explosive laugh, like an arrogant sneeze.  


>*I saw how you moved earlier against those shalks*, he said, *still standing there with his arms crossed. And by Kyne, that definitely wasn’t the kind of fighting an elf would learn here in Morrowind.*  


>I exhaled slowly through my nose.  


>With all the patience that someone in my position has absolutely no obligation to provide, I explained that what he had seen were simply Redoran techniques. Nothing particularly exotic for someone raised among Dunmer who value martial discipline.  


>But before I could finish my explanation, which by that point was already far from enthusiastic, he interrupted me with his loud and irritating voice.  


>*No, no. I saw you manipulating fire. Like the mages up north. Definitely not something a Dunmer would do.*  


>I raised an eyebrow.  


>Beside us, Red Mountain rumbled angrily, throwing smoke and lava into the horizon. I stayed silent for a few seconds, waiting for him to notice the irony of his own statement.  


>He did not.  


>*We’re Dunmer, Nord,* I finally said. *We’re pretty used to dealing with fire.*  


>His blue eyes briefly drifted toward the volcano, and he cleared his throat like someone who realized a little too late that he had just said something pretty stupid.  


>Still, he persisted.  


>*But you breathed fire,* he insisted. *A regular Dunmer wouldn’t know how to do that. Where I come from we call that a Shout. Or Thu’um...* He said the word with a bit of dramatic flair. *Didn’t expect an elf to pull something like that off, he continued. But I guess you people learned something new from Red Mountain.*  


>I stared at him for a moment.  


>Then I said simply:  


>*Shalks.*  


>He blinked.  


>*What?*  


>*Shalks,* I repeated. *They breathe fire through their mandibles. If they can do it, why couldn’t someone else?*  


>For some reason that seemed to irritate him deeply.  


>He shot me a crooked look, like I had committed some grave offense against his honor. Muttered a few things under his breath, then simply turned around and walked away.  


>I finished cleaning my sword at my own pace, sheathed the blade, and continued on my way.

Aduri Velas’ Journal: what kind of fire magic is this?