Hours 19 & 20: Accession

I return to the college and find Ancano still wreaking havoc with the Eye of Magnus. However, using the Staff of Magnus which I obtained from Labyrinthian, I'm able to easily defeat him. This final part of the quest-line feels very underwhelming and short compared to some of the epic dungeon-crawls previously completed. Once he's defeated, some Psyjic mages teleport in and spirit the Eye away, and the main one tells me I'm now Arch-mage, which Tolfdir then agrees with and everyone else just accepts. What the hell? 

Tharon-Zul reclines in his Arch-mage's quarters, having finally maneuvered his way into complete control of the feeble College

I have to say, I don't like it. It seems absurd that you would be made Arch-mage just like that, and I know it's kind of The Elder Scrolls' 'thing' that you get to be the head of each guild eventually, but I wish it wasn't its 'thing'. I would be content with simply holding a high-ranking position - becoming the head of the College breaks immersion too much for my liking and reeks of amateur wish-fulfillment.

Tharon-Zul wastes no time in taking advantage of the position, however, ransacking the quarters for valuables to sell on to the ever-eager Dremora merchant (I love his voice, especially the way he says "Haggling with you can be so... entertaining" when you trade with him, and "Ah, sweet Oblivion; soon I shall return" as he leaves). All-told, I've amassed about 19,000 gold now, with a few valuable items still in my inventory as well. Oh, and the above picture was taken before I found the Arch-mage robes, which I don with glee and which are very powerful.

So, that's the Mages' College quest-line completed. It took about 7 hours all-told, and consisted of:

Saarthal

Fellglow Keep

The Midden

Mzulft

Labyrinthian

Ancano at the College

Of those, all apart from The Midden and Ancano's final attack took around an hour each and felt very 'weighty' and satisfying to complete. It was a very quick affair compared the the Mages' Guild in Oblivion, but that was sort of counterbalanced by how awesome some of the dungeons were. Overall, I enjoyed it, but it could definitely have been longer. I also thought the general storyline was a bit vague and rushed, with Ancano very quickly turning rogue and then being defeated. He and his Thalmor crony from Labyrinthian both threatened the life of the Immortal Tharon-Zul, and for their treachery I shall visit utter ruination upon the Thalmor Embassy; that much is assured.

I spend the next couple of hours tying up some loose ends - I return to The Midden (actually The Midden Dark) and complete the 'Forgotten Names' quest by reuniting some rings with a strange Daedric-looking gauntlet, which summons a trapped Dremora pirate. I agree to release him and he gives me the location of some of his magically-buried treasure. I think it's pretty awesome to see a Dremora which got 'wrapped up' in mortal pursuits and adopted the guise and mannerisms of a pirate! I traipse around some frozen islands looking for the treasurer(which is quite a decent haul), and along the way look back to the College, which looks very impressive towering in the distance:

I also return to the first chamber of Labyrinthian to pick up a spell book (Ironflesh) which I missed before (an online guide said it could be Detect Life, which is one of the reasons I even wanted to go there in the first place, but Ironflesh is an okay substitute). Finally, I spend far longer than is reasonable trying to track down the merchant I found many hours ago outside Windhelm, who I'm sure had 26,000 gold. That would allow me to sell off all my loot in one go instead of piecemeal to the Dremora merchant. However, despite scouring the vicinity I don't manage to find her, and I think she's perhaps an itinerant trader and maybe tags along with the Khajit caravans. Oh well.

Finally, I decide it's time to head back to Solstheim; I've spent more time than I intended on the mainland, and long for the mysterious isle once once. My to-do list for when I eventually return to the mainland is currently as follows:

Destroy the Thalmor Embassy

Slay any remaining Synod mages still at large

Wipe out the pathetic Vigilants of Stendarr

Visit the Dawnstar Mythic Dawn museum, to which I've been foolishly invited

Find a way to complete the Jarl of Falkreath's bandit quest

Enter the actual labyrinth at Labyrinthian

Start the main quest, so I can return to Solstheim and face Miraak

I head to the Windhelm docks and pay for passage to Solstheim:

I'm glad to see the welcoming sight of Raven Rock once more