"So what do you mean to tell me?" Marudil asked Sevria, "Why have you chosen to break the Green Pact just as I have?"
Sevria sat cross-legged on the ground and gave Marudil a solemn look. "It was many years ago... not long after you yourself turned your back on our sacred oaths to Y'ffre. I was... young, and impetuous. All I could think about was how our chief had disgraced our peoples' traditions, and how terribly I wanted to bring you to justice after the chaos that had erupted among the tribe after the fact."
Marudil nodded. "Go on."
"I researched our peoples' history after hearing of the Bosmeri peoples' ability to... to shapeshift. To become vile and ferocious predators capable of the most terrible carnage."
"The Wild Hunt."
"Yes... the way I saw it, a Bosmer who did not pledge allegiance to Y'ffre was capable of anything. So I had to prepare to meet such an opponent in battle, and the surest way to do so, I thought, was to embrace our most primal of abilities; to confront you as the dominant predator between the two of us. But... there was one thing standing in the way."
"The pact."
"Y'ffre condemned any Bosmer who'd choose to embrace the Wild Hunt before its apportioned time, to fall back to the Ooze after death. Seeking guidance, I prayed to Y'ffre himself in hopes of learning the right path from his wisdom..."
"And?"
"And I heard nothing. ... ... ... ... I prayed several times a night, desperate for Y'ffre to say something -- anything -- that would prevent me from sealing my eternal fate. But night after night... every time, I found myself more alone than I'd ever been."
"What conclusion did you come to?"
Sevria shook her head with an uneasy look in her eyes. "I wasn't sure of myself... at length I decided to attempt a transformation deep in the wilderness, far from civilized society so that no innocents would get hurt if things were to go wrong. The minute I tapped into the primal instincts... at that moment I could feel my body changing. Before long I took the form of a creature akin to a wolf -- my own totem, foretold from the day of my birth. It took a great deal of effort at first, but in several years' time I found myself gaining nearly full control of my monstrous form. Afterwards I recalled what had brought me to embracing this ancient ability when so many others had forsaken it, and I prepared to hunt you down. But..."
"But?" Marudil asked inquisitively.
"... But... something had happened to me. Something within me had changed. Alone on a secluded mountainside, the weight of what I'd done finally crushed my soul to its deepest depths, and I cried out in horror -- it was a bestial, primal roar, not unlike that of the mountain lions of Cyrodiil. I realized that in my pursuit to match wits with you -- you, who so aggressively disowned our gracious creator -- I'd become something just as loathsome as you were. Something wicked, not worth even the dirt on my shoes."
Marudil nodded compassionately as Sevria continued her tale.
"I bellowed my frustrations for several minutes before a second sensation began filling my soul: the thrill of what I'd done. What I'd become. I looked at my hands, which had become covered with dirt from crushing the ground below me in anger. They were not the hands of a beast, but the hands of a Bosmer. Legends told of those of our kind who'd done just as I had, and lost themselves to the beast within... yet this had not happened to me. I had retained myself, even after all I had done. And in this act, embracing my inherent animal nature, I'd revealed to myself a whole new world unknown to the rest of my kind. I leaped from the mountain to the ground below, ecstatic and brimming with energy as I raced across the forest. Suddenly your perspective had begun to make sense to me... and before I knew it my regrets had disappeared. A new day was dawning... and I was born anew."
"I see... ... so when did the others catch on?"
"The others? They sent you after me?"
"Rudinor, specifically, It was his instruction to assassinate the 'feral Bosmer' that threatened the community."
"Of course... word must have spread like wildfire. I must have been careless."
"Well I shall not disappoint him or his people. You took the form of a wolf... so a wolf, we shall bring them." Marudil rose to his feet, and Sevria followed.
"And then what?"
"Then, Sevria, we will begin our conquest against the Thalmor. If Ondolemar has official business in Valenwood, then he may prove to be a vital instrument in the freedom of the tribe." Marudil drew an arrow back, then sent it flying into a nearby wolf, killing it instantly. "Your people will be free once and for all."
"I do hope that you are right... the Silvenar tribe deserves better than to be reduced to fodder for the Thalmor."
--
The sun rose and the sun fell, marking another day. The tribe was uncertain that their dishonored chief would return victoriously from his glorious hunt... but Rudinor remained stoic. Maybe even detached altogether from the situation.
"No." Rudinor replied simply, "In my madness at his return I may very well have sent him to his death... I have been a fool."
Elberoth's eyes narrowed. "You don't sound especially mournful about damning your brother's soul to the Ooze."
"I have prayed on his behalf. Should Y'ffre take notice, He would surely spare my brother's soul."
"... You didn't send him after the beast in madness, did you? You knew what his chances were..."
"Are you calling me a murderer, Elberoth?" Rudinor's voice suddenly took an angry tone. "You dare dishonor your chief?"
At Rudinor's louder voice, the other members of the Silvenar tribe gathered around to see what was happening.
"You are my chief's brother." Elberoth countered, "My great leader is somewhere deep in the wilds of Valenwood, no doubt being hacked apart by a monstrous wolf. Should he return, as you agreed, he will take charge against the Aldmeri Dominion."
"But should he be lost forever in the forest, you will be justly punished for your accusations. Do I make myself clear?"
"Crystal clear... but I am not afraid of you, or your threats. You mean to punish me? You couldn't bear to punish the Thalmor for the lives they took from us, in accordance with the Silvenar blood law; by decree of our ancestors' code of conduct, we were honor-bound to take from them as many men as they'd taken from us. Yet you let that duty fall to your brother like the coward you are!"
"Are you talking about his massacre in the north? There was nothing honorable about it!"
"Prove me wrong, Rudinor. Six agents perished in Skyrim--"
"But seven were lost to us on that fateful day. Did he miss one?"
"Oh no... no, he's preparing something special for the seventh: the assassination of the Dominion agent who killed his sister. But you'd deny him that, wouldn't you? For fear that it would plunge our people into more chaos than you've given us!"
"Enough of this! If Marudil does not return to us with the pelt of the beast, you will be punished for daring to speak so grievously against your chief! Y'ffre have mercy on your--"
Before Rudinor could finish his threat, a monstrous shape swooped over his and Elberoth's heads. The tribe panicked at the sight of what looked to be a large wolf-like creature, headed straight for the middle of their gathering. Then came an arrow, which pinned the shape to a tree; it was not a wolf at all, but rather the pelt of one. Astonished, the tribesmen all looked at the spot where the arrow was shot from... and beheld Marudil on a looming hilltop, very much alive and well.
"People of the Silvenar tribe!" Marudil bellowed with his deep, gravely voice, "I give you what you sent me to recover: the pelt of the rabid beast that's plagued your lands and threatened your families! On this day, in accordance with our traditions as well as your own demands, I have redeemed myself from my transgressions against you, and your people! For years you have lived under the iron fist of the Aldmeri Dominion, forced to abandon the old ways in favor of their twisted idea of 'the future'! Well no more! Henceforth I shall lead your people to victory against our common adversaries of Summerset, and bring forth a new era of peace and independence! For freedom! For the Silvenar!"
The people of the tribe, once resentful of their former chief, now cheered heartily as it seemed that Marudil had finally resumed his role as their once-great leader. Where once they saw short-sighted barbarism, they now saw a wise and courageous tactician who would lead their people to victory.... but there was only one face in the crowd that dared to frown -- and even glare -- at the returning chief: Rudinor.
"Ah, didn't I tell you?" Elberoth said, "He'll drive out the enemy just as I always said!"
"... He will drive out nothing." Elberoth said ominously. Before Elberoth could ask what Rudinor meant, he had disappeared...
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