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Gloves shredded, blackened talons of bone peeling apart my fingertips I had caught the descending blade in the palm of a hand rendered stronger than the steel blade that it caught. There was no blood, only the solid impact jarring my entire body as it stopped dead. |
My other hand lashed out, not in rage but in a cold calculating strike that transcended all emotions. Her other hand was suddenly gripped around the wrist, pulling her closer to me while I pushing her towards the wall. We were that close I could feel her breaths on my face and see the hot, fat tears rolling down her c... |
The sight of the tears stopped the vampire as surely as the blade that was held in a transformed hand. Forcing the beast into the recesses of my soul I felt the customary tingling through my aching jaw and cheeks and my fingers reshaping into those of a man rather than daedra. Standing there with a trembling sword hel... |
"You trust me because when I say that I will not let anything happen to you I mean it." I began, and I felt her body relax and her breathing suddenly transform in deep wracking breaths. The sword slipped out of her hand and I released it as well from a hand suddenly feeling numb from the impact, hearing the blade clat... |
Suddenly free I reached out with my tingling hand, pressing it against the side of her face and feeling the uncomfortable heat emanating from her flesh as she looked up into my eyes. There was a moment as I struggled to talk, feeling the words worming into my mind and yet struggling to bring myself to say them out lou... |
"I love you Viconia," I whispered, admitting it not only to her but to myself with the simple words. In the months of travelling and the time spent together I knew that I had been holding back for not only far of losing her but of admitting what I had always believed to be weakness. There was a similar shudder of emot... |
"I have never been one to believe in fate," I began, feeling her body trembling as she shook her head at my words but unable to ignore them completely. "but after everything that has happened I am sure that we were fated to meet." |
She shook her head even harder, trying to crush the tears away and I could feel her frustration of her emotions fighting against a lifetime of engrained teachings. |
"No." She whispered. "It cannot be like this. After everything that has happened, I have still lost." |
My hand remained against her cheek and I felt the increased pressure as she leant against it unconsciously. Bunching up her fists as I let go of her other hand she hit me in the chest but there was no strength behind the punches anymore. Tears were streaming down her face as she heaved in deep breaths, her entire body... |
"I... I cannot go on any longer." In between sobs she spluttered the words out onto my breastplate. "I cast my white flag before you. You have... You have defeated me." |
My grip around her shoulders tightened as I tried the best I could to comfort her, feeling her shift in my embrace. Curling up and clenching her fists under her chin she pushed into my chest with surprising force. Months, if not years of pent up emotions flooded out of her, leaving her suddenly go limb and almost fall... |
"I... I don't know what it is about you, but I have opened up completely. I have let you inside with such honest and candour, and I am not used to that." |
We had slumped to our knees as she curled up even more into a protective ball. One arm was wrapped tightly around her, the other gently brushed against her flowing white hair in an awkward display of affection. Unused to showing any form of emotion myself I pulled away slightly, providing just enough space so we could... |
"Khaless zhah aphyon." She said before translating the words into common. "Trust is death. I have been betrayed again and again and yet I began to trust you. You were right; the first story was the truth." |
I felt her fingers reach up and mimic the movement of my fingers over her skin, and I felt the strange surge of connection where her skin made contact with mine. The feeling of warmth made me somewhat light headed and I ridiculously considered that this could possibly be nothing more than a dream from suffering a head... |
"I have begun to feel that I need you and this enthrals and enrages me all at once." A tortured smile creased her face, one that contained enough of the smile that I was growing to love so much. "I owe you so much. I doubt that I could ever repay you for what you have done for me. You are a safe harbour in a storm, an... |
"It’s going to take a lot more than you beating the shit out of me for you to lose me. Hells, it will probably even take more than the end of the world to get rid of me. No matter what happens, I promise I will always be here for you." |
For a few short moments we stared into each other’s eyes and her voice grew soft and fearful. "Despite everything, I will be with you if you were still to have me. I will not try to push you away again as I no longer have the strength." |
I smiled as warmly and honestly as I could, my fingers in their shredded gloves tracing patterns down the smooth flesh of her cheek and jaw as I leaned forward and pressed my lips to hers. |
Leaving the ruins of the basement behind and deciding that we had well and truly overstayed our welcome, Viconia and I moved on from the cesspit that was Bravil. With barely a backwards glance or even bidding any farewells, we acquired our equipment and faded into the streets like wraiths in the afternoon shadows. Neit... |
That night we slept together, curling up under our cloaks and clothing off the side of the road and passing out in each other’s arms. Too tired, cold and emotionally drained; neither of us could do much else but make ourselves comfortable in a mostly dry patch of ground, surrounded by the burbling of the marshland and... |
I woke with the morning sun as it began spearing through the mangroves, feeling strangely relaxed despite the obvious tightness of my shoulders and neck from sleeping in one position for the entire evening. Viconia continued sleeping for some time after myself, her face calm and peaceful and bereft of the scowls that ... |
After some time, she rolled lightly, eyes cracking open and while lined with veins there was a much softer light to them that morning. Blinking she looked up and gave me a faint smile, lifting herself up so I could roll and stretch out the creases in my spine from the evening with a series of pops. |
"Well, this is unexpectedly pleasant." She said, looking over me as I sat up and cracked my neck with my hands. |
"Except for the twinges that was the best sleep I have had in years." I replied, stretching my again back with another series of pops. |
There was a nervous energy about her as she sat, flexing her hands and looking at me with slight apprehension. With a nod of thanks, she took a hunk of hardtack and one of the waterskins as I handed them over to her. |
"What?" I asked, looking over to her and grinding away at piece of my own hardtack that had a consistency comparable to a wooden shield. |
There was a moment of hesitation, eyes looking about before finally settling on her hands. "Yesterday... You said that you loved me." |
I paused in mid-bite, meeting her gaze and carefully chewing as I thought. "I did." |
Rolling the thoughts through my mind like I would roll stones in the palm of my hand, I thought long and hard. The growing feelings that I had for her since we had first met had been growing stronger with every passing day. While I knew that there was a considerable amount of lust as a foundation it wasn’t just a phys... |
"Because I care about you. Even before what happened with the Mythic Dawn I would have died before letting you come to harm." |
"You need to work on your effectiveness then." She said half-jokingly, unconsciously pressing her fingers into her armour where the crossbow bolts had lodged. "but why didn’t you claim me last night?" |
"Claim you?" The confusion only lasted for a moment until the realisation flashed into my mind. My eys widened as I looked at her. "Oh..." |
With both eyes burning into me she watched me carefully, studying every inch of my expression. |
I felt incredibly nervous under her gaze and my mouth was suddenly dry and not just form the hunk of wood masquerading as bread after being baked far too many times. "Look, I’m not good with women. Never have been and probably never will be. After yesterday I didn’t think that it would have been a good idea to rush th... |
She leant over, pressing her lips against mine and for a moment we lost ourselves in the feeling. Reaching up, I ran my fingers through her hair as her hand pressed into my jaw. "Thrice now." She said huskily as she pulled away, the words rising from deep within her chest and almost sounding like a purr. |
"I really do think that I love you." |
The hunger in her eyes dimmed slightly and she looked at me with slight hints of confusion. "As you keep saying. But, other than the substandard examples I have seen during my time on the surface that word holds no meaning." |
"And I’m not sure if I can describe it either." I replied honestly. "The best I think that I’ll be able to do is show you, as I know the Drow don’t have a word for Love." |
"We do." The scowl returned with customary force. "Ssinssrigg. But it doesn’t hold the same meaning as what you put into yours. I would use it to describe how I feel about my sword, or my armour, not an individual." |
"What would you call a lover or partner?" |
"Mrannd'ssinss." |
Rolling the word around my tongue I tried to remember what little she had taught me about her native tongue. "Which means I would call you mrind'sins." |
There was darkness in her eyes for a second as I butchered the word. "Mrimmd'ssinss." She pronounced very carefully. "And don’t. The intent and meaning of those words don’t translate into common the way you are intending. The closest meaning to Mrannd'ssinss that I can comfortably translate is "male-who’s-life-and-see... |
"In case you haven’t noticed, on the surface it’s not the words but the meaning and emotion you put into them." Carefully I rose to my feet, offering her a hand to help her rise. "I take it that we are something more than just travelling companions now?" |
Her laugh was musical. "Not yet we aren’t." There was a wicked gleam in her eyes as she moved closer and ran her fingers up my breastplate. "You lost your opportunity last night, but who knows what the future holds?" |
"Hopefully a decent bed and a bath that doesn’t have mud mixing through the water." |
"Shar’s sacred blessings I hope so." She moved closer and we kissed again, our arms wrapping around each other and I felt the solid thump of our armours coming together. |
"Until then you’ll just have to behave yourself..." The sultry grin of pleasure and amusement creased her expression into one that nearly made my heart miss a beat. "Mrannd'ssinss..." |
It was a lengthy journey to Leyawiin in the deep south of Cyrodiil, and every kilometre seemed to increase the temperature and humidity until we were riding in our tunics and daedroth scales. All my metal armour plates had been stuffed into various saddlebags, and I left my minotaur leather cloak and hood wrapped arou... |
No longer did we stay in separate rooms or sleeping on the bed and floor respectively. Each night we retired to our room resulted in sleeping in each other’s arms and by the third morning we rose exhausted after having very little sleep the night before. There had been times that I was thankful for my vampiric curse, ... |
Each night afterwards, and on one occasion while we stopped for lunch we relieved all the sexual tension that had been building for the past four months. Viconia especially was positively glowing as we finally came within sight of the towered walls of Leyawiin |
Built into the outcroppings of stone and foothills at the mouth and estuaries of the lower Niben; Leyawiin was a majestic sight. As the stronghold that not only provided a safe port for the ships and fleets in the southern Empire, but also secured the only sea trading routes to the Imperial city it was heavily fortifi... |
Trapped in between two provinces with less than a week’s travel separating them, the city had to be strong not just for the Empire’s interests but also for its very survival. Well experienced fighting against Khajiit raiders and Argonian insurgents, the militia was almost a private army comparable to the legions, but ... |
Viconia and I rode steadily down the highway towards the towering walls of the city. Gently swaying in the saddle as our horses trotted along, it was considerably more pleasant now that we found ourselves surrounded by the sea of rice paddies and the sun was playing hide and seek with the clouds. A cool breeze flowed ... |
Viconia was hooded, covering her skin from the light of the sun as best she could but already I could tell that there was a newer, healthier shine from the days of travel. I was wrapped slightly in my own hood and cloak, leaving little more than my forearms out as they began to go a burned pink from the hours of expos... |
"Do your people have a rite of Passage into adulthood?" she asked as we travelled along the highway and steered our mounts through the increasing press of travellers and merchants. "I'm curious." |
I glanced over to her, while keeping an eye on the dozens of people making their way throughout the area. For over a kilometre around the city the ground was solid and sparsely constructed. Unlike the other cities in the Empire, Leyawiin was constantly on a war-footing and only the bare minimum buildings were allowed ... |
The word of a recent attack on the city had reached us on the second night on the road south and around us there was the general bustle of military might that followed all engagements. Another Oblivion gate had opened but this time it had been a resounding victory against the Deedra. The details had been sparse, but t... |
Her grin was savage, and I knew that she was enjoying herself even if somewhat at my expense. "The Drow have a formal ritual, although it does vary from place to place. What we call "the Blooding" must be performed by both sexes upon reaching the age of maturity." |
"It sounds as suitably dark and violent as what I could expect from the Drow." I chucked lightly. "What exactly is it?" |
"It’s quite simple." She replied, closing her eyes and skin tingling as the wind from outside the small cave we were resting flowed across her naked body. "The young must hunt down and kill an intelligent being. Usually one of the adventurers cloth." |
"So one such as myself? That definitely sounds right for a warrior race." |
"You would've made a fitting trophy," It was her time to laugh quietly, and looked at me with her wolf-yellow eyes. "if for a simple youngling barely reaching puberty. My house insisted for the head of a holy warrior, and so I brought my Matron the head of a Akhulging Sigorduba - a Priest of some Cult in a neighbourin... |
The sudden tenseness that ran through her body was detectable even from the distance between us. Carefully I steered my horse around a wagon filled with bags containing what appeared to be a significant amount of amber. "What happened?" |
"He took me for a beggar seeking guidance. He was far more learned than what I would've guessed, as he quickly managed to see through my deception. It still didn't stop me from using his own holy mace to cave in his skull." |
"Your Mother must have been pleased." |
There was an audible sigh and she looked around momentarily as we moved closer to an enormous building a few hundred metres from the walls. Over a kilometre away we could both see the broken spears of obsidian where an Oblivion gate had once stood only days previously. "It brought me respect in a society ruled by crue... |
"Pleasing the Spider Queen was out of ethos and on mantra, girding ourselves to conquer other races." She continued, even as we both looked up over the structure. It was a combination of fortress and cathedral, reaching into the sky with a spire of locally hewn masonry and surrounded by a two-story wall topped with cr... |
The haunting call of a battle horn sounded, and the highway cleared with an indecent haste. Wagons and carts were rolled over to the edges, those on foot stepping into the gutters and softer soil bordering the well-worn cobblestones. Within seconds the sounds of hooves began to reverberate through the air, thudding th... |
There was over forty of them, riding in a column four wide and at least ten long and cut a sight that I had never seen outside of wood carvings or in my imagination. Resplendent in their burnished steel plates and chainmail polished to an absolute shine, the entire group were fully plated for war. From their sallet an... |
As they cantered through the press they barely provided a sideways glance to those suddenly bowing or saluting their respect to the armoured knights. I watched, tapping my fist against my chest as the troop passed by us, towering over Viconia and I in their armoured might. A handful turned and looked at us as they rod... |
All of them were sporting obvious signs of battle. Shields had been buckled or rent, armour sporting new dents and metallic gashes where blades and other weapons had tried and failed to breach the impressive plate. Tabards and surcoats were scorched or still held the fading bloodstains of their foes that failed to hid... |
As they rode their massive warhorses through the opened gates of their monastery Viconia and I turned and steered our horses back into the road as the other travellers were already doing. Viconia especially seemed almost struck dumb by the sight of the Knights, looking back towards their fortress in an attempt to catc... |
"By Shar, I never imagined that such beings could exist!" There was a strangely dreamy quality to her gaze as she thought of what she had witnessed. "And such beasts! Those minotaurs we killed could not have been any more than half their weight!" |
"I never thought that I would see a Knight in the flesh." I couldn’t help but shudder slightly. The size of the armoured warriors and their horses left me feeling as though I was riding nothing more than a child’s rocking horse instead of our pack animals. "Most of the Knightly orders are far away in Hammerfell and Hi... |
"They look effective." She admitted as we rode closer to the city. The closer we got to the walls and the broken remains of the Oblivion Portal the more I began to notice the way that the ground had been churned up. |
"There’s no doubt about that." With an arm I gestured to the soil around the walls before the portal and the road, pointing out what I could see with my forester’s experience. "They met the daedra coming out of the portal head on." |
The ground was churned into a mire of clods of earth and mud created from daedra blood. It almost appeared as though a Sheogorath worshipper had tried his hand ploughing a field and I could see the trailing lines where two or three ranks of mounted soldiers had charged the portal across an area just over a hundred met... |
Despite the heat and humidity of southern Cyrodiil, Leyawiin was pleasant and relaxing, especially after our brief time within Bravil. The local wore full length dresses and various other loose fitting, comfortable garments to deal with the stifling humidity and year-round temperatures. After years in northern Vvarden... |
Viconia however seemed to revel in the heat and the local culture. While she admitted to feeling at home in the violent debauchery and crime-rife city of Bravil there was something about the way the locals that attracted her. Bravil may have been incredibly like Menzoberranzan but with worse plumbing and sewage; but L... |
For the first few days there was little to do but wander the streets and see the sights. The Fighters Guild here was idle, but not through laziness or ill-discipline such as those in Skingrad. There were no contracts to be had as the only organised source of competition for the Guild within Cyrodiil was based within t... |
On the second night we had arrived I found myself and Viconia stuck between a group of guildsmen and locals in a tavern, using a combination of our reputations and presences to break up what was going to be a brawl if it continued for any longer. The members of the guild in Leyawiin were strong, courageous and highly ... |
With no contracts to be had and a new dynamic between the Viconia and I, we simply explored the city. For the first two days we did little more than introduce ourselves to the local guild before exploring the market places and plazas. After my plunge into the ruins of Nornalhorst our wealth had only increased once mor... |
Early in the morning on the second day Viconia and I were making our way through the city’s markets, looking over the collections of trinkets, oddities and goods from throughout the bounds of the Empire. Although there was no affectionate touching or holding of hands between the two of us, anyone watching could see th... |
Despite the confirmed threat of Oblivion hanging over the city there was no fear like what had infected Anvil. The guard was strong, well experienced and highly trained and with the incredible example of the Order of the White Stallion’s charge into the portal on everyone’s lips it was as though nothing untoward was a... |
From throughout the Empire traders stopped at the city on the way north and the teeming multitudes on City Isle. Jewellery from Summerset Isle, Nordic swords, Orcish armour, and rare textiles from Morrowind could be found here, and it wasn’t long before Viconia found several more pieces of jewellery to add to her smal... |
Making our way through the markets I watched as Viconia flitted from stall to stall, finding herself the centre of attention not only from the men but also from the women. She was dressed in a flowing silken dress that if it showed any more skin it would have created a minor scandal. Even with the underdressed state o... |
The looks of horror at the truth in her words seemed to keep Viconia amused when she told portions of her tales, but the increase in her confidence was startling. I had not noticed the ways that she had kept her flesh hidden over the months previous; thinking that it was simply because the sun burned her far more than... |
Between the two noblewomen and two clothing vendors that they dragged her to, they managed to distract her as they fawned over her. The highborn women were utterly set on finding something more suitable than the dress she was currently wearing, delving through the piles of clothes with an excitable energy that only le... |
"Greetings good sir." One of the nearby vendors called out. "You look like someone who could benefit from my stall." |
Turning and looking over the middle aged orc standing proudly before his wares, I saw how his cart was almost groaning under the weight of the weapons that were arrayed upon it. Further behind him at the corner of a nearby alley stood his shop; a simple smithy that seemed unsuited for the skill and experience of the O... |
"What have you got for me?" I replied, wandering over to him as he beamed and stepped backwards to his cart. |
"Whatever you need." There was a laugh from the greenskin. Like the rest of his kind he was monstrously large, chest and shoulders half as wide again than mine and consisting almost entirely of muscle. Flecks of white were beginning to win their battle against the last of his thinning hair, but the beard that clung to... |
"I’ve got anything you need to remove a problem in your life. Just depends on what your preference is." There was no doubt that he knew who I was and the looks that he sent to, and received from the other vendors spoke volumes. The others were upset that he had managed to gain the attention of one of the heroes of Kva... |
Like most of his kind, his craft had been made with an innate gift in the art of forging metal. It was a very closely run tie between Orckind’s ability in creating weapons, and their natural skill in wielding them. Like a lot of people, I believed that their expertise in one increased the other, and this particular Or... |
Axes, Maces, warhammers, swords, flails, polearms, daggers and battle picks were arrayed in a carpet of death dealing implements. Each one was forged from various materials and in various designs. Most were obviously Imperial, even if some were made from more than just simple folded steel. I ran my fingers over a dagg... |
Each piece had been lovingly crafted, forged with the skill and might of the orc standing beside me as I picked a few of the weapons up in turn, feeling their balance and weight and marvelling at both. Nearly seven kilograms of solid beaten metal ensured that it was a weapon designed for only the strongest of swordmen... |
The amusement of the orc and several of the other witnessed died and was replaced with a combination of awe and respect as I wielded the blade effortlessly and left it humming after cutting through the air. So focussed on the blade they all had failed to noticed how my bunched arms had grown slightly in size and my fa... |
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