The morning mist still clung to the cobblestones of Whiterun’s lower district, curling like breath around lamp posts and the sleek chrome of parked scooters. The sky was just beginning to pale behind the distant Throat of the World, painting the snowcapped peak in a sleepy gold. Birds chirped from the iron gutters of the stone apartments, and somewhere, muffled through a thin wall, someone’s TV was playing the weather channel in a low, monotone voice: "Light snowfall expected north of Windhelm. Roads along the Pale Pass remain closed..."

Thalia Varen, age fourteen, zipped up her magicka-blue hoodie and slung her canvas schoolbag over her shoulder. Her phone buzzed with a message—probably Hjordis again, asking if she was bringing snacks for the trip. Thalia grinned, thumbs dancing over the screen as she stepped into the hallway and locked the apartment door behind her.

The building smelled faintly of incense and cooking oil—her Dunmer neighbors across the hall always started early—and downstairs, someone had left a crate of donated books beneath the stairwell shrine of Julianos. She passed it with a respectful nod, more out of habit than faith, and emerged onto the waking street.

Cars were already rumbling past Dragonsreach Plaza, and a courier on a moped wove between them with a yawn. But Thalia barely noticed. Her mind was full of today’s school trip—finally, a real visit to the Dragon Museum up in Solitude. Draugr helmets, old sword hilts, maybe even a real Word Wall fragment under glass. Sure, the Dragonborn was probably just a myth, but standing near something that ancient? That powerful?

“Bet they won’t even let us touch anything,” she muttered to herself, then smiled anyway.

She tapped her phone again and queued up her favorite bardcore playlist—Elder Scrolls folk remixed with synth beats—and began the walk to the tram station, boots thudding on wet pavement. Her breath fogged in front of her as the banners of Whiterun fluttered in the breeze overhead.

It was just another day in Skyrim. Just with elevators, smartphones, and electric torches lighting the way.