The Enclave

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I walked down the path in the forest, absent-mindedly, occasionally sucking on my wine like my life depended on it. Honestly, it did. Or…at least my sanity. Same thing.

I don’t know how fast I was going, but apparently it was fast enough to reach Markarth without stopping to sleep. The sky was…

A tiny tittering sound met her ears. Like a night bird’s song, the whistle carried high on the wind. As the sun dipped its face below the horizon and folks returned to their homes for the night, the song climbed higher, ringing in her ears now. It sounded less like a bird now and more like a person, whistling into the wind. The more she listened, the more it sounded like music. Perhaps a bard? Then she heard a voice, interlaced in the whistling warble. Someone calling her name, over and over.

She traced it, weaving among the places the cool shadows touched. The song died just as she entered an alley deep with shadow.

“You came. I expected otherwise.” said the darkness, congealing into a black furred Khajiit in black cloth and leather, a hood pulled close over his face. Near him were two shadows; one was tall and lean, cloaked in black and almost invisible. The other was a Nightingale clad in full regalia. The Nightingale held a flute in its right hand, which it slipped into its belt. The tall shadow turned its face towards her, glowing blue eyes cold and steady.

“Nevena.” said the Khajiit, stepping forward before bowing low. “I’ve waited many years for the chance to reveal myself. I’ve admired you from afar, your skills are magnificent.”

She blinked a couple of times, staring back with confused, not-quite-wide-open eyes. “…That’s…I…” She began, then held her empty hand to her face. “Flattery. Nice try. Who are you, and when did I get here, I’m assuming I’m too drunk to remember getting here, and that’s fine with me, I’m not really sure if I care who you are, I just remember trying to go to the inn, and then I was walking somewhere else, and that sound. Excuse me, I seem to have forgotten where I was going with that.” She said, looking at the wine bottle in her hand. Looking around, she saw no promising targets, instead choosing to finish the remainder and throw the bottle at some nearby stone. The sound of the glass shattering served as a reminder that she wasn’t imagining this, a feeling that both disturbed and soothed her.

“So…yes. I’m going to turn around, and walk back to the inn, and sleep for a day or two. Possibly three.” She said, placing a hand over half her face, her eyes reflecting annoyance, confusion, and heavy influence of alcohol. She went to turn around, but was held back by a small voice in her head, a voice of fear.

“Before you leave us, here me out. I’m here because someone you once loved made me swear my life to protect you. Believe me, I’ve questioned it myself but my life is wholly pledged to guarding you. If I walk away, I’d be dead before sunrise. I’ll protect you, whether you wish it or not.” said the Khajiit.

“I am Rakshah Taj-Nar; I am the son of a merchant and a shoemaker, I was trained in stealth and theivery by the Thieves Guild and I honed my blades and bowmanship myself with naught else but my father. I am honor-bound and sworn to protect you from the Thalmor. I’ve killed more than twenty Thalmor this month that meant to slit your throat in the night, I’ve been your shadow for years now seeing you but never being able to speak. To tell you that I put my life on the line every day to make sure the Thalmor’s eyes are turned away from you, blinded to your whereabouts.”

There was a pause, she stiffened as she listened.

“This one is afraid.” said the tall shadow in a tiny whisper.

“She’s right to be. Every day she’s alive she’s in danger, not until the Thalmor are gone from Skyrim will she be safe. But I’m here for more than just talk. He’s waiting for you, should you wish to see him.”

She turned to glare at them and Rakshah said “Outside of town there are some hot springs and fumaroles where Giants tend to camp. The Thalmor avoid it, too dirty for them. You’ll find him there, he’ll tell you everything. Every question you have has answers.”

Rakshah kneeled before her and said “My life is pledged to your protection, Nevena. You may do with it as you see fit.”

Her eyes were open as wide as they would go, her eyebrows arched high. “I…I’m guessing you were there before I was. The Guild, I mean. I live in Riften. Although if you’ve been following me so closely, I suspect you’d already know that. I feel like I’m being lied to. Like you don’t know the first thing about me.” She held her hand in front of her face, and her head dropped forward into it. “I can barely manage my housecarl. She became more like my friend than anything. I can’t handle authority positions. Unless it’s authority over the alcohol going down my throat, or that of someone else.” She cracked a small smile, the hand coming away from her face. “I can’t handle this. And what’s this I keep hearing? I keep hearing mention of Thalmor. I thought their official stance was that I simply don’t exist. Everyone keeps insinuating otherwise. It…it’s frightening. I stayed here for a reason. I was caught, and I was let go. Everything should be over!” Her voice started to get louder and louder, her nerves frazzled and her concentration rising.

“There…there’s something going on here. And you’ll tell me everything, or I will not hesitate to set you on fire. Or…or stab you through with an ice spike, or electrify you…or…” She tried to think to herself of the other ways of death-dealing she knew, but none came to mind. She began to feel dizzy and overall ill; she contemplated pulling out another bottle of wine, but decided against it for once, as it might make her feel even worse.

“I can see you are determined. I know so very little, but I can relate what I know.” Here, Rakshah stood and looked at the tall shadow. “Karath here can help too, he’s been around long enough to know everything about Skyrim.”

Rakshah cleared his throat and began relating what he already understood.

“The Thalmor have, for a very long time, been trying to put forward a plan to allow the dominance of Altmer over all of Tamriel. However, it’s more than conquest though that is the first step. There are several powerful places where the magic of Nirn runs through Tamriel. These places are called the “towers”. There’s the White-Gold Tower in Cyrodiil, the Brass Tower of High Rock, the Red Tower of Vvardenfell, the Green Tower of Valenwood, and the Gray Tower of Skyrim. They attach Tamriel to Nirn, keep us rooted firmly to it.”

Here he turned to Karath and asked “That’s what they do, right?”

The shadow only blinked and Rakshah turned back and said “Anyways, the Thalmor have one by one destroyed every single tower which roots us to Nirn. The more towers that fall, the more Tamriel becomes unstable and things like the Oblivion Crisis will occur….or whats happening here and now with the awakening of the Dragons. There is only one tower left to oppose the Thalmor’s final plan to allow the Altmer loyal to the Dominion to….I don’t know….ascend to some higher plane and leave us here to deal with whatever chaos ensues.”

Here he paused taking a breath and pulling down his hood to show his young furry face. “Whatever the Thalmor is doing, they can’t succeed. The chaos they are sowing here in Skyrim must be put to an end. But the Thalmor know any dissent or questionable loyalty or usefulness, even in former members, could crumble their plans. They have been systematically eliminating everyone who was once affiliated with them; informants, spies, even retired Justiciars. They become more paranoid daily, I could barely get that letter to you without it being intercepted. Io, Karath and I and the only thing that’s been keeping you safe.”

Here, Karath stepped foreward and doffed his hood. A black scaled Argonian with glowing blue eyes stared at her, his voice louder but still hissing and soft “Even now they hunt you, I sense three approaching us. Their life aura is strong, they are waiting.”

The words sailed right over her head; she barely understood anything she heard. “…What in Oblivion are you going on about.” She said, her voice monotone. “I…who is that. I just…what are you trying to say? You…you’re lying. You have gone to great lengths to do this to me. You or someone you know. I…no. Just…I can’t…” She turned around to walk away and forget anything had happened, but she began to stagger. “Should have passed out ages ago…” She muttered to herself, head in one hand. The hand on her face began to glow a warm peach color, and a low-pitched hum came from it. It died out after a short while, and she started to stagger slowly away. “You’re lying. I didn’t choose them…I don’t know anything about them…” Her voice was shaky and laced with anxiety.

Lucky for her that she was stumbling or the arrow would have sunk into her eye socket instead of sailing past her left ear. Rakshah leapt into action, drawing a bow from his back made of supple wood. Like a hawk he picked out the first target on the thatched roof of a building nearby. The arrow struck true and the Thalmor archer screamed, dropping dead from the arrow burrowing into his heart. Two more Thalmor rushed them, swords drawn and tried to force them back into the alley. Rakshah swung the bow like a club and struck one, staggering them long enough for a throw dagger to spout like a leaf from the Altmer’s throat. Io nodded and went to the side of the staggering Nevena whose fireballs were fizzling here and there.

Karath watched, eyes blinking slowly. Rakshah drew his daggers, sharpened glass daggers he had stolen long ago from a Thalmor he had slain. He ducked around the swing of another and buried his blades into its chest and with a sharp kick drove the Thalmor swordsman back far enough for him to swipe at his arm with the daggers. However, the Atlmer fought back and bashed him with his shield and forced Rakshah to stumble a little. The sword came down in a wide arc, it was almsot slow motion as Rakshah dodged to the side and in a swirling tilt cut the Altmer’s throat.

There were two more Thalmor running towards them, mages by the looks of them. Confirmed when lightning began to arc around them, striking Rakshah in the chest and sending him flying. Karath stepped cooly in front of them and looked at them, eyes unblinking. The mages stopped at stared for a moment, then Karath’s eyes changed color to a livid red. The mages didn’t get a chance to scream, or rather they would have if they could speak. They simply cowered in fear, choking on their own breath. Karath took a step forward and they cowered back, crawling on their hands and knees. With a casual gesture, there was a flaming scythe of green flame in his hands…which he brought down without mercy and severed their heads.

“We must go. The Guards will have heard. Help her walk, we’ll have to get out of town. Take her to camp.” said Rakshah turning to drag the bodies into the alley, hoping no one would spot them until morning. Io grabbed Nevena like a child and with speed and grace she and Karath fled, a thick mist swallowing them up. Karath’s doing, of course.

Her first instinct upon being touched was to scream and fight back, but she decided against it, realizing it was better if she went with them. “Well…that’s a first…” She said, in a state of relative disbelief. “…If I didn’t need to pass out somewhere…I wouldn’t have come to Markarth in the first place…” She muttered to herself, trying to force her brain to remain active until they got wherever they were trying to go. “…Would have just gone straight to Solitude…less trouble there…never been attacked like that before…ever…set up…being set up…someone set up…” She went on and on, making less and less sense as time went on. She was anywhere from ten seconds to ten minutes from passing out for however long it took her body to return to normal…

They spirited her outside the city, to the wilds surrounding Markarth. Several tents and a fire was burning there, Io motioned to Nevena to sit. “We’ve been camped here for a day, waiting for Rakshah’s charge to show. I didn’t expect you to be….well….you should rest, he’ll be back soon.”

Rakshah had finished hiding the bodies when the Guards appeared, searching for the source of the disturbance. “A cat? Of course, your kind is always making trouble.”

“I’ve done nothing.” said Rakshah, lifting his hood.

“You sneak-thieves are always cutting purses, day or night. What did you steal, some string?” and here the Guards laughed.

Rakshah gritted his teeth “I have no time for your insults. Good night, gentlemen.” and he went to storm off but a Guard stood in front of him.

“Hang on, cat. We want to ask you a few questions first.”

“I have no answers for you, now please leave me alone.”

“Little kitty cat thinks he’s tough!” shouted a Guard, making the rest laugh.

Raksha had had enough, he took a tiny smoke pellet from his pouch and tossed it. It burst to create a field of blinding smoke and giving him the gap to leave. Leaving the Guards coughing and sputtering.

He arrived at camp later to find everyone settled.

Upon reaching their destination, she gladly collapsed to the ground and slipped into a state of semi-consciousness. She could hear everything that went on, but her eyes were shut and her mind was rather dark. Voices and nature sounds met her ears but didn’t really register, and she lacked even the energy to pull herself into a ball. Every so often her consciousness would return and she would put her hands to her face, her hands glowing again; she was trying to heal herself, hoping a healing spell would work on alcohol sickness.

It was far into the night when Rakshah returned, his legs ached from running. Unable to match the speed or the ease that the Nightingale could run, or Karath’s ability to run without tiring.

Karath was on watch, he was always on watch. In fact, Karath did not need to eat, sleep or breathe. When he did take a breath, which was rare for him, it was to exhale this foul green gas which he had used before on Rakshah when he was near death from a poisoned arrow. Whatever it was, it had always made Rakshah feel a little colder inside. Like he was a little further into the grave than before.

Karath nodded as he approached and he saw Io had removed her armor and was sleeping in another tent. Poking the fire was Valandrius in the flesh, he glanced every so often at the sleeping Nevena. Rakshah didn’t say anything but sat down and warmed his cold fingers.

“They are moving faster than anticipated.” said Valandrius, “Did you tell her?”

“As much as I was able…” replied Rakshah. Valandrius was…not entirely alive anymore. Repeated breaths from Karath had turned him more and more undead. His eyes had fallen out, replaced by green orbs of fire. Arms and legs withered to sticks of bone he was even more emaciated. His repeat immersion in Karath’s breath kept him alive, kept him fighting but at the cost of his being. Karath was a necromancer of unparalleled power and even the Thalmor feared him, when he was younger and still alive. Long withered by age and death, Karath was barely an argonian anymore. Just an argonian shaped shell filled with dark power.

But they needed Karath the same way they needed Io and the Thieve’s Guild. Karath had an army of Draugr waiting under his thrall for the time to strike. Valadrius looked at Nevena again, but Rakshah couldn’t read any emotion in those burning orbs.

“I’ve tried my best.” said Rakshah “But I can’t do this alone…”

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I walked down the path in the forest, absent-mindedly, occasionally sucking on my wine like my life depended on it. Honestly, it did. Or…at least my sanity. Same thing.

I don’t know how fast I was going, but apparently it was fast enough to reach Markarth without stopping to sleep. The sky was…

A tiny tittering sound met her ears. Like a night bird’s song, the whistle carried high on the wind. As the sun dipped its face below the horizon and folks returned to their homes for the night, the song climbed higher, ringing in her ears now. It sounded less like a bird now and more like a person, whistling into the wind. The more she listened, the more it sounded like music. Perhaps a bard? Then she heard a voice, interlaced in the whistling warble. Someone calling her name, over and over.

She traced it, weaving among the places the cool shadows touched. The song died just as she entered an alley deep with shadow.

“You came. I expected otherwise.” said the darkness, congealing into a black furred Khajiit in black cloth and leather, a hood pulled close over his face. Near him were two shadows; one was tall and lean, cloaked in black and almost invisible. The other was a Nightingale clad in full regalia. The Nightingale held a flute in its right hand, which it slipped into its belt. The tall shadow turned its face towards her, glowing blue eyes cold and steady.

“Nevena.” said the Khajiit, stepping forward before bowing low. “I’ve waited many years for the chance to reveal myself. I’ve admired you from afar, your skills are magnificent.”

She blinked a couple of times, staring back with confused, not-quite-wide-open eyes. “…That’s…I…” She began, then held her empty hand to her face. “Flattery. Nice try. Who are you, and when did I get here, I’m assuming I’m too drunk to remember getting here, and that’s fine with me, I’m not really sure if I care who you are, I just remember trying to go to the inn, and then I was walking somewhere else, and that sound. Excuse me, I seem to have forgotten where I was going with that.” She said, looking at the wine bottle in her hand. Looking around, she saw no promising targets, instead choosing to finish the remainder and throw the bottle at some nearby stone. The sound of the glass shattering served as a reminder that she wasn’t imagining this, a feeling that both disturbed and soothed her.

“So…yes. I’m going to turn around, and walk back to the inn, and sleep for a day or two. Possibly three.” She said, placing a hand over half her face, her eyes reflecting annoyance, confusion, and heavy influence of alcohol. She went to turn around, but was held back by a small voice in her head, a voice of fear.

“Before you leave us, here me out. I’m here because someone you once loved made me swear my life to protect you. Believe me, I’ve questioned it myself but my life is wholly pledged to guarding you. If I walk away, I’d be dead before sunrise. I’ll protect you, whether you wish it or not.” said the Khajiit.

“I am Rakshah Taj-Nar; I am the son of a merchant and a shoemaker, I was trained in stealth and theivery by the Thieves Guild and I honed my blades and bowmanship myself with naught else but my father. I am honor-bound and sworn to protect you from the Thalmor. I’ve killed more than twenty Thalmor this month that meant to slit your throat in the night, I’ve been your shadow for years now seeing you but never being able to speak. To tell you that I put my life on the line every day to make sure the Thalmor’s eyes are turned away from you, blinded to your whereabouts.”

There was a pause, she stiffened as she listened.

“This one is afraid.” said the tall shadow in a tiny whisper.

“She’s right to be. Every day she’s alive she’s in danger, not until the Thalmor are gone from Skyrim will she be safe. But I’m here for more than just talk. He’s waiting for you, should you wish to see him.”

She turned to glare at them and Rakshah said “Outside of town there are some hot springs and fumaroles where Giants tend to camp. The Thalmor avoid it, too dirty for them. You’ll find him there, he’ll tell you everything. Every question you have has answers.”

Rakshah kneeled before her and said “My life is pledged to your protection, Nevena. You may do with it as you see fit.”

Her eyes were open as wide as they would go, her eyebrows arched high. “I…I’m guessing you were there before I was. The Guild, I mean. I live in Riften. Although if you’ve been following me so closely, I suspect you’d already know that. I feel like I’m being lied to. Like you don’t know the first thing about me.” She held her hand in front of her face, and her head dropped forward into it. “I can barely manage my housecarl. She became more like my friend than anything. I can’t handle authority positions. Unless it’s authority over the alcohol going down my throat, or that of someone else.” She cracked a small smile, the hand coming away from her face. “I can’t handle this. And what’s this I keep hearing? I keep hearing mention of Thalmor. I thought their official stance was that I simply don’t exist. Everyone keeps insinuating otherwise. It…it’s frightening. I stayed here for a reason. I was caught, and I was let go. Everything should be over!” Her voice started to get louder and louder, her nerves frazzled and her concentration rising.

“There…there’s something going on here. And you’ll tell me everything, or I will not hesitate to set you on fire. Or…or stab you through with an ice spike, or electrify you…or…” She tried to think to herself of the other ways of death-dealing she knew, but none came to mind. She began to feel dizzy and overall ill; she contemplated pulling out another bottle of wine, but decided against it for once, as it might make her feel even worse.

“I can see you are determined. I know so very little, but I can relate what I know.” Here, Rakshah stood and looked at the tall shadow. “Karath here can help too, he’s been around long enough to know everything about Skyrim.”

Rakshah cleared his throat and began relating what he already understood.

“The Thalmor have, for a very long time, been trying to put forward a plan to allow the dominance of Altmer over all of Tamriel. However, it’s more than conquest though that is the first step. There are several powerful places where the magic of Nirn runs through Tamriel. These places are called the “towers”. There’s the White-Gold Tower in Cyrodiil, the Brass Tower of High Rock, the Red Tower of Vvardenfell, the Green Tower of Valenwood, and the Gray Tower of Skyrim. They attach Tamriel to Nirn, keep us rooted firmly to it.”

Here he turned to Karath and asked “That’s what they do, right?”

The shadow only blinked and Rakshah turned back and said “Anyways, the Thalmor have one by one destroyed every single tower which roots us to Nirn. The more towers that fall, the more Tamriel becomes unstable and things like the Oblivion Crisis will occur….or whats happening here and now with the awakening of the Dragons. There is only one tower left to oppose the Thalmor’s final plan to allow the Altmer loyal to the Dominion to….I don’t know….ascend to some higher plane and leave us here to deal with whatever chaos ensues.”

Here he paused taking a breath and pulling down his hood to show his young furry face. “Whatever the Thalmor is doing, they can’t succeed. The chaos they are sowing here in Skyrim must be put to an end. But the Thalmor know any dissent or questionable loyalty or usefulness, even in former members, could crumble their plans. They have been systematically eliminating everyone who was once affiliated with them; informants, spies, even retired Justiciars. They become more paranoid daily, I could barely get that letter to you without it being intercepted. Io, Karath and I and the only thing that’s been keeping you safe.”

Here, Karath stepped foreward and doffed his hood. A black scaled Argonian with glowing blue eyes stared at her, his voice louder but still hissing and soft “Even now they hunt you, I sense three approaching us. Their life aura is strong, they are waiting.”

The words sailed right over her head; she barely understood anything she heard. “…What in Oblivion are you going on about.” She said, her voice monotone. “I…who is that. I just…what are you trying to say? You…you’re lying. You have gone to great lengths to do this to me. You or someone you know. I…no. Just…I can’t…” She turned around to walk away and forget anything had happened, but she began to stagger. “Should have passed out ages ago…” She muttered to herself, head in one hand. The hand on her face began to glow a warm peach color, and a low-pitched hum came from it. It died out after a short while, and she started to stagger slowly away. “You’re lying. I didn’t choose them…I don’t know anything about them…” Her voice was shaky and laced with anxiety.

Lucky for her that she was stumbling or the arrow would have sunk into her eye socket instead of sailing past her left ear. Rakshah leapt into action, drawing a bow from his back made of supple wood. Like a hawk he picked out the first target on the thatched roof of a building nearby. The arrow struck true and the Thalmor archer screamed, dropping dead from the arrow burrowing into his heart. Two more Thalmor rushed them, swords drawn and tried to force them back into the alley. Rakshah swung the bow like a club and struck one, staggering them long enough for a throw dagger to spout like a leaf from the Altmer’s throat. Io nodded and went to the side of the staggering Nevena whose fireballs were fizzling here and there.

Karath watched, eyes blinking slowly. Rakshah drew his daggers, sharpened glass daggers he had stolen long ago from a Thalmor he had slain. He ducked around the swing of another and buried his blades into its chest and with a sharp kick drove the Thalmor swordsman back far enough for him to swipe at his arm with the daggers. However, the Atlmer fought back and bashed him with his shield and forced Rakshah to stumble a little. The sword came down in a wide arc, it was almsot slow motion as Rakshah dodged to the side and in a swirling tilt cut the Altmer’s throat.

There were two more Thalmor running towards them, mages by the looks of them. Confirmed when lightning began to arc around them, striking Rakshah in the chest and sending him flying. Karath stepped cooly in front of them and looked at them, eyes unblinking. The mages stopped at stared for a moment, then Karath’s eyes changed color to a livid red. The mages didn’t get a chance to scream, or rather they would have if they could speak. They simply cowered in fear, choking on their own breath. Karath took a step forward and they cowered back, crawling on their hands and knees. With a casual gesture, there was a flaming scythe of green flame in his hands…which he brought down without mercy and severed their heads.

“We must go. The Guards will have heard. Help her walk, we’ll have to get out of town. Take her to camp.” said Rakshah turning to drag the bodies into the alley, hoping no one would spot them until morning. Io grabbed Nevena like a child and with speed and grace she and Karath fled, a thick mist swallowing them up. Karath’s doing, of course.

Her first instinct upon being touched was to scream and fight back, but she decided against it, realizing it was better if she went with them. “Well…that’s a first…” She said, in a state of relative disbelief. “…If I didn’t need to pass out somewhere…I wouldn’t have come to Markarth in the first place…” She muttered to herself, trying to force her brain to remain active until they got wherever they were trying to go. “…Would have just gone straight to Solitude…less trouble there…never been attacked like that before…ever…set up…being set up…someone set up…” She went on and on, making less and less sense as time went on. She was anywhere from ten seconds to ten minutes from passing out for however long it took her body to return to normal…

They spirited her outside the city, to the wilds surrounding Markarth. Several tents and a fire was burning there, Io motioned to Nevena to sit. “We’ve been camped here for a day, waiting for Rakshah’s charge to show. I didn’t expect you to be….well….you should rest, he’ll be back soon.”

Rakshah had finished hiding the bodies when the Guards appeared, searching for the source of the disturbance. “A cat? Of course, your kind is always making trouble.”

“I’ve done nothing.” said Rakshah, lifting his hood.

“You sneak-thieves are always cutting purses, day or night. What did you steal, some string?” and here the Guards laughed.

Rakshah gritted his teeth “I have no time for your insults. Good night, gentlemen.” and he went to storm off but a Guard stood in front of him.

“Hang on, cat. We want to ask you a few questions first.”

“I have no answers for you, now please leave me alone.”

“Little kitty cat thinks he’s tough!” shouted a Guard, making the rest laugh.

Raksha had had enough, he took a tiny smoke pellet from his pouch and tossed it. It burst to create a field of blinding smoke and giving him the gap to leave. Leaving the Guards coughing and sputtering.

He arrived at camp later to find everyone settled.

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I walked down the path in the forest, absent-mindedly, occasionally sucking on my wine like my life depended on it. Honestly, it did. Or…at least my sanity. Same thing.

I don’t know how fast I was going, but apparently it was fast enough to reach Markarth without stopping to sleep. The sky was…

A tiny tittering sound met her ears. Like a night bird’s song, the whistle carried high on the wind. As the sun dipped its face below the horizon and folks returned to their homes for the night, the song climbed higher, ringing in her ears now. It sounded less like a bird now and more like a person, whistling into the wind. The more she listened, the more it sounded like music. Perhaps a bard? Then she heard a voice, interlaced in the whistling warble. Someone calling her name, over and over.

She traced it, weaving among the places the cool shadows touched. The song died just as she entered an alley deep with shadow.

“You came. I expected otherwise.” said the darkness, congealing into a black furred Khajiit in black cloth and leather, a hood pulled close over his face. Near him were two shadows; one was tall and lean, cloaked in black and almost invisible. The other was a Nightingale clad in full regalia. The Nightingale held a flute in its right hand, which it slipped into its belt. The tall shadow turned its face towards her, glowing blue eyes cold and steady.

“Nevena.” said the Khajiit, stepping forward before bowing low. “I’ve waited many years for the chance to reveal myself. I’ve admired you from afar, your skills are magnificent.”

She blinked a couple of times, staring back with confused, not-quite-wide-open eyes. “…That’s…I…” She began, then held her empty hand to her face. “Flattery. Nice try. Who are you, and when did I get here, I’m assuming I’m too drunk to remember getting here, and that’s fine with me, I’m not really sure if I care who you are, I just remember trying to go to the inn, and then I was walking somewhere else, and that sound. Excuse me, I seem to have forgotten where I was going with that.” She said, looking at the wine bottle in her hand. Looking around, she saw no promising targets, instead choosing to finish the remainder and throw the bottle at some nearby stone. The sound of the glass shattering served as a reminder that she wasn’t imagining this, a feeling that both disturbed and soothed her.

“So…yes. I’m going to turn around, and walk back to the inn, and sleep for a day or two. Possibly three.” She said, placing a hand over half her face, her eyes reflecting annoyance, confusion, and heavy influence of alcohol. She went to turn around, but was held back by a small voice in her head, a voice of fear.

“Before you leave us, here me out. I’m here because someone you once loved made me swear my life to protect you. Believe me, I’ve questioned it myself but my life is wholly pledged to guarding you. If I walk away, I’d be dead before sunrise. I’ll protect you, whether you wish it or not.” said the Khajiit.

“I am Rakshah Taj-Nar; I am the son of a merchant and a shoemaker, I was trained in stealth and theivery by the Thieves Guild and I honed my blades and bowmanship myself with naught else but my father. I am honor-bound and sworn to protect you from the Thalmor. I’ve killed more than twenty Thalmor this month that meant to slit your throat in the night, I’ve been your shadow for years now seeing you but never being able to speak. To tell you that I put my life on the line every day to make sure the Thalmor’s eyes are turned away from you, blinded to your whereabouts.”

There was a pause, she stiffened as she listened.

“This one is afraid.” said the tall shadow in a tiny whisper.

“She’s right to be. Every day she’s alive she’s in danger, not until the Thalmor are gone from Skyrim will she be safe. But I’m here for more than just talk. He’s waiting for you, should you wish to see him.”

She turned to glare at them and Rakshah said “Outside of town there are some hot springs and fumaroles where Giants tend to camp. The Thalmor avoid it, too dirty for them. You’ll find him there, he’ll tell you everything. Every question you have has answers.”

Rakshah kneeled before her and said “My life is pledged to your protection, Nevena. You may do with it as you see fit.”

Her eyes were open as wide as they would go, her eyebrows arched high. “I…I’m guessing you were there before I was. The Guild, I mean. I live in Riften. Although if you’ve been following me so closely, I suspect you’d already know that. I feel like I’m being lied to. Like you don’t know the first thing about me.” She held her hand in front of her face, and her head dropped forward into it. “I can barely manage my housecarl. She became more like my friend than anything. I can’t handle authority positions. Unless it’s authority over the alcohol going down my throat, or that of someone else.” She cracked a small smile, the hand coming away from her face. “I can’t handle this. And what’s this I keep hearing? I keep hearing mention of Thalmor. I thought their official stance was that I simply don’t exist. Everyone keeps insinuating otherwise. It…it’s frightening. I stayed here for a reason. I was caught, and I was let go. Everything should be over!” Her voice started to get louder and louder, her nerves frazzled and her concentration rising.

“There…there’s something going on here. And you’ll tell me everything, or I will not hesitate to set you on fire. Or…or stab you through with an ice spike, or electrify you…or…” She tried to think to herself of the other ways of death-dealing she knew, but none came to mind. She began to feel dizzy and overall ill; she contemplated pulling out another bottle of wine, but decided against it for once, as it might make her feel even worse.

“I can see you are determined. I know so very little, but I can relate what I know.” Here, Rakshah stood and looked at the tall shadow. “Karath here can help too, he’s been around long enough to know everything about Skyrim.”

Rakshah cleared his throat and began relating what he already understood.

“The Thalmor have, for a very long time, been trying to put forward a plan to allow the dominance of Altmer over all of Tamriel. However, it’s more than conquest though that is the first step. There are several powerful places where the magic of Nirn runs through Tamriel. These places are called the “towers”. There’s the White-Gold Tower in Cyrodiil, the Brass Tower of High Rock, the Red Tower of Vvardenfell, the Green Tower of Valenwood, and the Gray Tower of Skyrim. They attach Tamriel to Nirn, keep us rooted firmly to it.”

Here he turned to Karath and asked “That’s what they do, right?”

The shadow only blinked and Rakshah turned back and said “Anyways, the Thalmor have one by one destroyed every single tower which roots us to Nirn. The more towers that fall, the more Tamriel becomes unstable and things like the Oblivion Crisis will occur….or whats happening here and now with the awakening of the Dragons. There is only one tower left to oppose the Thalmor’s final plan to allow the Altmer loyal to the Dominion to….I don’t know….ascend to some higher plane and leave us here to deal with whatever chaos ensues.”

Here he paused taking a breath and pulling down his hood to show his young furry face. “Whatever the Thalmor is doing, they can’t succeed. The chaos they are sowing here in Skyrim must be put to an end. But the Thalmor know any dissent or questionable loyalty or usefulness, even in former members, could crumble their plans. They have been systematically eliminating everyone who was once affiliated with them; informants, spies, even retired Justiciars. They become more paranoid daily, I could barely get that letter to you without it being intercepted. Io, Karath and I and the only thing that’s been keeping you safe.”

Here, Karath stepped foreward and doffed his hood. A black scaled Argonian with glowing blue eyes stared at her, his voice louder but still hissing and soft “Even now they hunt you, I sense three approaching us. Their life aura is strong, they are waiting.”

The words sailed right over her head; she barely understood anything she heard. “…What in Oblivion are you going on about.” She said, her voice monotone. “I…who is that. I just…what are you trying to say? You…you’re lying. You have gone to great lengths to do this to me. You or someone you know. I…no. Just…I can’t…” She turned around to walk away and forget anything had happened, but she began to stagger. “Should have passed out ages ago…” She muttered to herself, head in one hand. The hand on her face began to glow a warm peach color, and a low-pitched hum came from it. It died out after a short while, and she started to stagger slowly away. “You’re lying. I didn’t choose them…I don’t know anything about them…” Her voice was shaky and laced with anxiety.

Lucky for her that she was stumbling or the arrow would have sunk into her eye socket instead of sailing past her left ear. Rakshah leapt into action, drawing a bow from his back made of supple wood. Like a hawk he picked out the first target on the thatched roof of a building nearby. The arrow struck true and the Thalmor archer screamed, dropping dead from the arrow burrowing into his heart. Two more Thalmor rushed them, swords drawn and tried to force them back into the alley. Rakshah swung the bow like a club and struck one, staggering them long enough for a throw dagger to spout like a leaf from the Altmer’s throat. Io nodded and went to the side of the staggering Nevena whose fireballs were fizzling here and there.

Karath watched, eyes blinking slowly. Rakshah drew his daggers, sharpened glass daggers he had stolen long ago from a Thalmor he had slain. He ducked around the swing of another and buried his blades into its chest and with a sharp kick drove the Thalmor swordsman back far enough for him to swipe at his arm with the daggers. However, the Atlmer fought back and bashed him with his shield and forced Rakshah to stumble a little. The sword came down in a wide arc, it was almsot slow motion as Rakshah dodged to the side and in a swirling tilt cut the Altmer’s throat.

There were two more Thalmor running towards them, mages by the looks of them. Confirmed when lightning began to arc around them, striking Rakshah in the chest and sending him flying. Karath stepped cooly in front of them and looked at them, eyes unblinking. The mages stopped at stared for a moment, then Karath’s eyes changed color to a livid red. The mages didn’t get a chance to scream, or rather they would have if they could speak. They simply cowered in fear, choking on their own breath. Karath took a step forward and they cowered back, crawling on their hands and knees. With a casual gesture, there was a flaming scythe of green flame in his hands…which he brought down without mercy and severed their heads.

“We must go. The Guards will have heard. Help her walk, we’ll have to get out of town. Take her to camp.” said Rakshah turning to drag the bodies into the alley, hoping no one would spot them until morning. Io grabbed Nevena like a child and with speed and grace she and Karath fled, a thick mist swallowing them up. Karath’s doing, of course.

thereisnogod:

alanharris:

mikerickson:

“[E]ach ‘egg person’ and each ‘sperm person’ should be deemed equal in the eyes of the government and be subject to the same laws and regulations as any other dependent minor and be protected against abuse, neglect or abandonment by the parent or guardian,” says the resolution. “[L]aws should be enacted by all legislative bodies in the United States to promote equal representation, and should potentially include laws in defense of ‘personhood,’ forbidding every man from destroying his semen.”

…”However, any action in which a man ejaculates or otherwise deposits semen anywhere but in a woman’s vagina shall be interpreted and construed as an action against an unborn child,” reads the amendment.

I am completely dumbstruck by this.  Are people that upset over abortion that they would actually go this far to stop it?  I just… words fail me.

If I lived in Wilmington City, I would be in jail for life for how many times I would have broken the law today.

Everyone should just go there and jerk off in the street.

Stupid rules made by even more stupid people.

nevena-the-altmer-mage:

mentalpopcorn:

nevena-the-altmer-mage:

mentalpopcorn:

nevena-the-altmer-mage:

I walked down the path in the forest, absent-mindedly, occasionally sucking on my wine like my life depended on it. Honestly, it did. Or…at least my sanity. Same thing.

I don’t know how fast I was going, but apparently it was fast enough to reach Markarth without stopping to sleep. The sky was…

A tiny tittering sound met her ears. Like a night bird’s song, the whistle carried high on the wind. As the sun dipped its face below the horizon and folks returned to their homes for the night, the song climbed higher, ringing in her ears now. It sounded less like a bird now and more like a person, whistling into the wind. The more she listened, the more it sounded like music. Perhaps a bard? Then she heard a voice, interlaced in the whistling warble. Someone calling her name, over and over.

She traced it, weaving among the places the cool shadows touched. The song died just as she entered an alley deep with shadow.

“You came. I expected otherwise.” said the darkness, congealing into a black furred Khajiit in black cloth and leather, a hood pulled close over his face. Near him were two shadows; one was tall and lean, cloaked in black and almost invisible. The other was a Nightingale clad in full regalia. The Nightingale held a flute in its right hand, which it slipped into its belt. The tall shadow turned its face towards her, glowing blue eyes cold and steady.

“Nevena.” said the Khajiit, stepping forward before bowing low. “I’ve waited many years for the chance to reveal myself. I’ve admired you from afar, your skills are magnificent.”

She blinked a couple of times, staring back with confused, not-quite-wide-open eyes. “…That’s…I…” She began, then held her empty hand to her face. “Flattery. Nice try. Who are you, and when did I get here, I’m assuming I’m too drunk to remember getting here, and that’s fine with me, I’m not really sure if I care who you are, I just remember trying to go to the inn, and then I was walking somewhere else, and that sound. Excuse me, I seem to have forgotten where I was going with that.” She said, looking at the wine bottle in her hand. Looking around, she saw no promising targets, instead choosing to finish the remainder and throw the bottle at some nearby stone. The sound of the glass shattering served as a reminder that she wasn’t imagining this, a feeling that both disturbed and soothed her.

“So…yes. I’m going to turn around, and walk back to the inn, and sleep for a day or two. Possibly three.” She said, placing a hand over half her face, her eyes reflecting annoyance, confusion, and heavy influence of alcohol. She went to turn around, but was held back by a small voice in her head, a voice of fear.

“Before you leave us, here me out. I’m here because someone you once loved made me swear my life to protect you. Believe me, I’ve questioned it myself but my life is wholly pledged to guarding you. If I walk away, I’d be dead before sunrise. I’ll protect you, whether you wish it or not.” said the Khajiit.

“I am Rakshah Taj-Nar; I am the son of a merchant and a shoemaker, I was trained in stealth and theivery by the Thieves Guild and I honed my blades and bowmanship myself with naught else but my father. I am honor-bound and sworn to protect you from the Thalmor. I’ve killed more than twenty Thalmor this month that meant to slit your throat in the night, I’ve been your shadow for years now seeing you but never being able to speak. To tell you that I put my life on the line every day to make sure the Thalmor’s eyes are turned away from you, blinded to your whereabouts.”

There was a pause, she stiffened as she listened.

“This one is afraid.” said the tall shadow in a tiny whisper.

“She’s right to be. Every day she’s alive she’s in danger, not until the Thalmor are gone from Skyrim will she be safe. But I’m here for more than just talk. He’s waiting for you, should you wish to see him.”

She turned to glare at them and Rakshah said “Outside of town there are some hot springs and fumaroles where Giants tend to camp. The Thalmor avoid it, too dirty for them. You’ll find him there, he’ll tell you everything. Every question you have has answers.”

Rakshah kneeled before her and said “My life is pledged to your protection, Nevena. You may do with it as you see fit.”

Her eyes were open as wide as they would go, her eyebrows arched high. “I…I’m guessing you were there before I was. The Guild, I mean. I live in Riften. Although if you’ve been following me so closely, I suspect you’d already know that. I feel like I’m being lied to. Like you don’t know the first thing about me.” She held her hand in front of her face, and her head dropped forward into it. “I can barely manage my housecarl. She became more like my friend than anything. I can’t handle authority positions. Unless it’s authority over the alcohol going down my throat, or that of someone else.” She cracked a small smile, the hand coming away from her face. “I can’t handle this. And what’s this I keep hearing? I keep hearing mention of Thalmor. I thought their official stance was that I simply don’t exist. Everyone keeps insinuating otherwise. It…it’s frightening. I stayed here for a reason. I was caught, and I was let go. Everything should be over!” Her voice started to get louder and louder, her nerves frazzled and her concentration rising.

“There…there’s something going on here. And you’ll tell me everything, or I will not hesitate to set you on fire. Or…or stab you through with an ice spike, or electrify you…or…” She tried to think to herself of the other ways of death-dealing she knew, but none came to mind. She began to feel dizzy and overall ill; she contemplated pulling out another bottle of wine, but decided against it for once, as it might make her feel even worse.

“I can see you are determined. I know so very little, but I can relate what I know.” Here, Rakshah stood and looked at the tall shadow. “Karath here can help too, he’s been around long enough to know everything about Skyrim.”

Rakshah cleared his throat and began relating what he already understood.

“The Thalmor have, for a very long time, been trying to put forward a plan to allow the dominance of Altmer over all of Tamriel. However, it’s more than conquest though that is the first step. There are several powerful places where the magic of Nirn runs through Tamriel. These places are called the “towers”. There’s the White-Gold Tower in Cyrodiil, the Brass Tower of High Rock, the Red Tower of Vvardenfell, the Green Tower of Valenwood, and the Gray Tower of Skyrim. They attach Tamriel to Nirn, keep us rooted firmly to it.”

Here he turned to Karath and asked “That’s what they do, right?”

The shadow only blinked and Rakshah turned back and said “Anyways, the Thalmor have one by one destroyed every single tower which roots us to Nirn. The more towers that fall, the more Tamriel becomes unstable and things like the Oblivion Crisis will occur….or whats happening here and now with the awakening of the Dragons. There is only one tower left to oppose the Thalmor’s final plan to allow the Altmer loyal to the Dominion to….I don’t know….ascend to some higher plane and leave us here to deal with whatever chaos ensues.”

Here he paused taking a breath and pulling down his hood to show his young furry face. “Whatever the Thalmor is doing, they can’t succeed. The chaos they are sowing here in Skyrim must be put to an end. But the Thalmor know any dissent or questionable loyalty or usefulness, even in former members, could crumble their plans. They have been systematically eliminating everyone who was once affiliated with them; informants, spies, even retired Justiciars. They become more paranoid daily, I could barely get that letter to you without it being intercepted. Io, Karath and I and the only thing that’s been keeping you safe.”

Here, Karath stepped foreward and doffed his hood. A black scaled Argonian with glowing blue eyes stared at her, his voice louder but still hissing and soft “Even now they hunt you, I sense three approaching us. Their life aura is strong, they are waiting.”