CoTD, Book 1 - Prologue: The Sojourner

• Posted by Nao August 15, 2017 - Filed in TSC: Long Story - #"#TSC:Long"  #"#TSC:Skyrim" "#TSC: Long Story"  #"#TSC: Skyrim"  #"#CoTD"  - 2,415 views

   

   

  

  

   

  

  

  AELINA SIBELLIUS

  

  Aelina Sibellius knew Morrowind like the back of her hand.

   

  She knew how the Velothi Mountains wound down the land with its arid hills that rolled gracefully through the range, separating Morrowind from other provinces. She knew how the broad Deshaan plains accommodated dense fungal forests and cavernous kwama mines. She knew how the eruption of Red Mountain in 4E 5—also known as the Red Year—covered the region of Vvardenfall in smoke and toxic ash, leaving it quite uninhabitable. She knew how the icy island of Solstheim was also affected by the emission, leaving the pure white snow smothered by the same cinders.

   

  Needless to say, Morrowind was home to Aelina.

   

  And, unfortunately, she was leaving it.

   

  For the first time in ten years, Aelina was departing from the familiar land of Morrowind. It was the first place she had ever called home—not just a place she lived in, but a place where she felt she truly belonged. Were she not an Imperial, she could claim to be a Dunmer herself. She was fluent in Dunmeris, their native language, and her favorite meal was scuttle with a coat of scrib jelly, washed down with some sujamma. She had read all the sermons from The Thirty-Seven Lessons of Vivec front to back, and had even translated it into Dunmeris—accurately, as scholars have told her.

   

  Morrowind was the only place she knew. And it was asking her to go to Skyrim.

   

  Ten years ago, the Morag Tong rescued her from herself. They trained her, gave her a purpose to live, and introduced her to the land that quickly became home. She stayed there for so many years, rarely leaving, because all of her contracts were here. She had only left Morrowind once, for a target that had fled to Black Marsh, though unsuccessfully. He still met his demise.

   

  She was one of their best assassins. That’s why they chose her for this contract. That’s why she was leaving. That’s why she had to leave.

   

  Aelina slumped to the ground, which was covered with ashes from the volcanic peak of Trelhetta. She fished through her knapsack for some food. Sifting through the cluttered bag, she felt the folded paper of her map of Skyrim, glided her fingers over the crinkled Writ of Execution, until she withdrew a flask of water.

   

  Bringing it to her lips, she gulped down the muddy water she had collected from a small pond. She grimaced at the miry taste, but she supposed it was better than nothing. It seemed that even though she had purified it, the taste had lingered.

   

  “So, you’re really going, huh?”

   

  Aelina turned to face the tall High Elf that stood atop a boulder, looking down sadly at the Imperial. Aelina chuckled. It was difficult, almost impossible, to imagine that just ten years ago, the two women were enemies. Their competitive and dominant personalities caused them to clash heads often. It wasn’t until they were paired on an assignment that they began to notice their similarities and bonded.

   

  “Don’t make it so hard, Elenari. You make it sound like I’m leaving forever.”

   

  “You might as well be,” Elenari stated, hopping down from her advantageous perch. Though her limbs appeared slender and fragile, they contained an impressive amount of strength and fortitude, something Aelina was all too familiar with after sparring sessions with the Altmer. “Your target is Ulfric Stormcloak. Do you realize how difficult that’ll be? This might as well be a suicide mission.”

   

  "Do you really have such little faith in me?" Aelina said teasingly. "I am one of the best for a reason."
  

   

  Elenari rolled her eyes. “And one of the humblest.”

   

  “We’ve been preparing for this for weeks. The Empire is paying a lot of money for us to assassinate Ulfric Stormcloak, and I’m not going to fail.” Aelina took another swig from her canteen. “The plan is perfect. The only way it could go wrong is if I mess up.”

   

  The High Elf scoffed, and tossed her long, golden blonde hair over her shoulder. “Enlighten me.”

   

  “It’s going to be hard to kill Ulfric, whether on the battlefield or on his own throne,” admitted Aelina, stowing the flask into her pack. “I’ll simply go along with my usual methods. As an enticing bard, I will seduce him with my music and charm. Then, when he asks me to join him in his quarters, I’ll slip a poison into his drink. This whole war will be over with a simple sip of wine.”

   

  “Easier said than done.”

   

  Aelina sighed. “A quote that bears much truth in its statement. The hardest part of this all will be crossing the mountains without being noticed. So I’m going through Dunmeth Pass to reach Windhelm. It’s the fastest and most efficient way.”

   

  “What about passage by boat?” Elenari cocked a single arched eyebrow.

   

  Aelina shook her head. “I’d have to travel to Solstheim for a ship to Windhelm. Besides, they would search my stuff to confirm whether or not I’m a danger, and I have the Writ of Execution on me. Simpler to just go through the mountains.” The Imperial turned her gaze back to the horizon, whose tapestry was cut by the jagged spires of mountains. The sun was hiding its bright face below the peaks, sequestering its warmth from behind the columns of rock. Aelina briefly wondered if she would ever see this view again. This contract could take months for her to complete, and that was if she even succeeded. A shudder traipsed down her spine at the thought of failure.

   

  Elenari placed a hand on her shoulder. "Gah kuayl, daeljuhn. You will need it."
  

   

  "Juohn." Aelina laughed softly at their frequent use of the Dunmeri language. Sometimes she forgot to speak in Tamrielic to those not fluent in Dunmeri. It was a bad habit that she had yet to break. "I must be going, sadly. Time is a precious commodity, one that I cannot afford to waste."

   

  “Goodbye,” Elenari said to her friend. Her eyebrows, knitted with worry and sorrow, expressed what words could not. Elenari frequently concealed her true feelings by lacing her words with apathy, but she was not as skilled at disguising her body language. Her facial expressions always revealed the truth.

   

  Unable to think of what else to say, Aelina murured, "Har as araa halberag ohn."

   

  It was an old Dunmer saying, "May the ashes guide you." Ironic, considering that the region of Vvardenfall was choked by the ashes of Red Mountain. Aelina had no idea who invented it, or why, but it swiftly became popular for its raw irony, and soon many were repeating it to their friends and loved ones who left the province. Those venturing into unknown lands.

   

  …Those like her.

   

  Elenari smiled sadly. “Goodbye, Aelina Sibellius. I pray this is not the last time we will see each other.”

   

  Aelina couldn't bear to return the words. She knew that doing so would only admit the peril of her situation and the impertinence of cautiousness, lest she fail and face execution--or worse, have to deal with the Morag Tong. Instead, she nodded stiffly, spun on her heel, and began a journey that no other would embark on.

  

  A/N: The use of the Dunmer language is a mix of information from UESP and a fan-made wiki where they construct their own rules for the fictional languages of the Elder Scrolls series. Even though it isn’t necessarily canon, I thought it would be intriguing to include it anyway.

   

  http://casualscrolls.wikia.com/wiki/Dunmeri_language

   

  Gah kuayl, daeljuhn is translated to mean "great benefit, friend", or essentially "good luck". This was found on UESP. Juohn means "thank you", which I took from the fan-site. And the saying "May the ashes guide you", I made up on my own with the use of the fan-site. I'm unsure how accurate I was to their rules, but I did my best in following them.

   

  I hope you enjoyed the prologue of Chronicles of the Dovahkiin, Book One. Although it is short, I enjoyed writing this prologue, especially with all the research I had to delve into for Morrowind.

   

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