It had been some years since Charles Reteius, Dandin's father, had moved to skyrim and joined the college of winterhold in hopes of gaining more knowledge. Some would call him a fool for leaving high rock. What knowledge could be gained at some nordic college filled with buffoons and inbred that couldn't easily be studied someplace in high rock. They were, of course, the lead in magical aptitude. No other race in Tamriel was on par with the Bretons except maybe the Altmer. Which, if you believe the old legends, a portion of their blood was contained in the Bretons.

The mer blood was especially strong in Dandin's family. Enough to the point that his fathers ears tapered off to just a slight point. Not enough for anybody to really notice, but it was definitely there. His father was exceptional when it came to alchemy and herbalism. When he first came to Skyrim he was disappointed in the colleges lack of an alchemy program, even with all of their books and studies they didn't have a set curriculum. Because of Charles extensive knowledge he was elected to be the head professor in the Alchemy course of study. Alchemists from all over Skyrim came to study under him and learn more about their art. In this way he is known as the grandfather of modern Alchemy, taking it from just a hobby studied only by apothecaries and assassins and turning it into a true school of study. I guess you could say Dandin had big boots to fill.

To him the interest in Alchemy was much less intense. Instead of spending his days trying to become better than his father or to at least live up to him he would rather spend his time with his nose in a good book, reading about the history of not only Skyrim but all of Tamriel. In this way one would call him a natural scholar. Not only did he know more about history than probably any other person in the college (including the archmage himself), in the course of his studies magic had become second nature to him. His intense study of magical history, the practices and most importantly the applications had lead him to become a sort of Prodigy in the subject. Most would not know of this talent in the college, other than Urag gro-Shub.

The library keeper had become sort of a friend to Dandin over the years. And although the orc didn't know much magic himself, he knew talent when he saw it. The two would spend their days reading and discussing books. They would debate and research ancient lore, piecing things together that people could only imagine or imagine caring about. Some of their discoveries were mundane in their existence though amazing in their discovery. For example, did you know that Palgius Septim III loved cheese of any sort? Neither do most people, except Dandin and Urag. Such were the discoveries made by the two. Things so hidden and minuscule that most people would be amazed that someone would even take the time to care, let alone figure it out. But to them it was the thrill of the hunt. The rush of piecing through pieces of history to find just the last piece of evidence they needed.

Such was the life of Dandin. The man, now of twenty four years of life, had been urged multiple times by Urag to apply to join the college. Each time the orc was met with a sense of uninterest, usually accompanied by words of Dandin's own dis-usefulness to the college. Why would they need a man who knew more about the history of the world than the knowledge of the now. To him that was reason enough to not even bother with them. Today was no different than any other, except for the upcoming disturbance.

Dandin sat in a comfortable chair, one that could be sat in for hours on end. His legs were crossed and a book lay in his hands, as per usual. His lazily thumbed through the pages, reading paragraph after paragraph on his chosen subject of the day. As he reached the last page a sigh escaped his lips and his feet shifted for him to stand. He scuffled his way over to the bookshelf near the front door of the Arcanaeum, but did not make it. The doors suddenly burst open and a multitude of people fell through, right on top of him. Who could fathom?!

"Ouch! What the hell are you doing?!" He burst out as he fell straight on his ass, nearly three people piled over him, crushing his frame with each passing second. In the background the sound of an angry orc echoed over to their position.

"You break it, you buy it," he spouted lazily before going back to what he was doing.