This is to be hopefully the first of many chapters detailing my new character's adventures. Due to a very busy semester in college, updates may come very slowly.
The Tale of Ra'jhad
Chapter 1
The raging fire’s angry flames irradiated an amber glow, its warm embrace shielding the patrons from the frost and hidden dagger both. The boisterous revelry did well to hide from the untrained eye the tension and uneasiness which always pervaded that most notorious of taverns in all of Corinthe. But it became plainly obvious when, for a brief moment, absolute silence befell all but the roaring fire in the center of the room. Normalcy resumed tentatively as Ra’jhad, an unassuming Khajiit of average height, clad in hide as black as his fur, made his way for a table in a gloomy corner of the tavern.
“Back on the skooma again, I see,” remarked Ra’jhad with an admonishing tone. The female Khajiit replied with a sincere smile.
“That stuff will kill you,” he insisted. “If not naturally, then from a blade you were too witless to see coming.”
“Who would lift a hand against Ra’jhad’s lover?” quipped Ahnisa.
“Former lover,” he cynically pointed out, running a claw down a horrific scar on the left side of her muzzle.
“Charming, as always,” she quickly replied, expertly concealing how deeply his cruel remark had wounded her. The disfigurement had ended their sexual relationship, she knew, but he had never admitted as much.
Ra’jhad pulled a chair and sat tauntingly with his back to the other patrons. A single, timid candle on the center of the table struggled to illuminate his dark face.
“I have come to say goodbye,” he said.
Ahnisa was dumbstruck. Not even she could mask her surprise, not this time. Ra’jhad very rarely left Corinthe, and certainly never cared to inform her of such things. Instinctively, she became suspicious, and afraid.
“I am leaving this cursed city, and do not plan on ever returning.” he continued, amused.
Ahnisa’s mind raced, trying to regain composure, to find something to say.
“What’s the matter? Skooma got your wits?”
“I... I’m sorry,” she managed to say. “This is quite unexpected news, you’ll agree. Why... why are you leaving?”
Ra’jhad’s face became cold and inscrutable as he stared into the lonely candle, sending a chill down the female Khajiit’s spine.
“Tell me, why am I feared?”, inquired Ra’jhad.
Ahnisa was not at all enjoying this conversation. Was he testing her? Had she unknowingly done something to slight him?
“You are Ra’jhad, leader of Corinthe’s underworld. Your name alone is enough to strike fear in the stoutest of hearts.”
“In Corinthe, yes. But what of Elsweyr? What of Tamriel?”
Ra’jhad reached for a massive long bow strapped to his back, drawing many nervous stares, and placed it gently on the table.
“You know to whom this belonged,” said the fearsome Khajiit. “He was an absent father, but he was the greatest warrior I have ever known. He achieved that by traveling far and wide, and preying on the strong. Tamriel was his school, and his prey were its unwilling teachers.”
He paused briefly to admire the weapon before him, and imagined the countless battles it had survived.
“Corinthe has outlived its usefulness to me,” continued Ra’jhad. “One does not find wisdom by mingling with fools.”
Ahnisa felt the blood rush from her face. At that moment, she became painfully aware of how deeply she cared for him.
“Ra’jhad!” she exclaimed. “You will not be facing Corinthe’s brash ruffians out there. Eventually, you will be outmatched!”
She realized her mistake even before the Khajiit’s eyes narrowed dangerously and his guttural growl reached her ears. Those who valued their life quickly learned to weigh their words carefully around Ra’jhad, lest they break the very thin ice they knew they were treading on. Ahnisa had just felt that ice groan in protest. She was his confidant, and former lover, but she wondered if that meant anything in Ra’jhad’s wicked mind. She often suspected that he confided in her not because he cared for her, but because he needed someone to talk to about more personal matters and knew she was smart enough to not sell the information.
“I leave tomorrow.” said Ra’jhad as he suddenly got up, strapping the long bow on his back. The room went silent again as he made for the door, save for Ahnisa’s heart beating furiously inside her chest. She struggled to hold back her tears as she realized why he had sought her. Ra’jhad’s mind was at ease, but it did not know, was incapable of even imagining, Ahnisa was convinced, that she would remain loyal not out of fear, but out of love.
Smoke rose thick from the tavern, the dense column blotting out the moon. Adjusting his eyes to the gloom, Ra’jhad pulled his cloak over his head and braved the chilling night wind.
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