1idiotthalmorandco

[1idiotthalmorandco]

Antal-Lei had been trapped in his own thoughts, cursing his existence as he blinked back tear after tear. Whilst he was never ashamed to cry, he hated to cry in front of others, not wishing to cause them concern.

Gradually, he began to register that the stranger was speaking, about what he did not know. As he was brought back to reality Antal-Lei focused on the stranger’s tone. Being raised Saxhleel meant Antal-Lei had learnt to rely far more on listening to tone and observing body language. Strangely, Antal-Lei could not hear any fear; he could not even hear anger. He could only hear concern mixed with some wariness.

Concern that was probably for himself, it would never be for Antal-Lei. He had done nothing but confuse and terrify this stranger.

Glancing up, Antal-Lei observed the stranger open the door and seemed to indicate he wanted Antal-Lei to leave. His stomach dropped, it wasn’t unexpected (a small part of him had been hoping he would be kicked out) but it still drove disappointment home in him. This would always be the way wouldn’t it? He would cause someone to dislike him within minutes and they would want him gone. Though on this occasion, Antal-Lei felt he were deserving of this.

Slowly rising to his feet, Antal-Lei shuffled towards the door. Keeping his head bowed and body bent, he was doing all he could to appear as little of a threat as possible.

***

The children had been making many snowballs, the swiftest were hiding in the alleys and ready to lead Gilmyn on a chase through the twisting streets. The rest sat about the rooftops, all with their own pile of snowballs. The moment that door opened they would unleash a volley of snowballs.

There had been some debate as to if they should just run and knock on Gilmyn’s door whilst yelling rude names. But they had done that the last few times; they wanted to change things up.

From an alley nearby Gilmyn’s house, a Dunmer child stepped out with a mischievous grin that grew larger with each second. Snowball in gloved hands, they took careful aim and let the snowball go with considerable force.

Less than a moment later the door opened for some reason. Gilmyn’s distinctive red hair was clearly visible in the door frame but he had his back to the outside world, which only made this even better.

The snowball was travelling fast, it would either hit the door, fly straight into the house to smash against the wall or collide with Gilmyn’s head. Whilst the latter option was hoped for, it didn’t matter really. Any of these targets would provoke the Dunmer into running screaming into the streets where he would once again become a target for endless snowballs.

[1idiotthalmorandco]

Arianwyn's smile fell on noticing Nura appeared to be shivering. Oh no! Was this stranger cold?! For a moment, Arianwyn debated about lending the woman her Selkie pelt. It was warm but Arianwyn had been told ever since she was a child to never let her pelt out of her sight, never mind giving it to someone.

Fortunately Arianwyn was saved from worrying further as the stranger produced a large piece of brightly coloured... What was it made from? Was it like her pelt? Leaning forwards, entranced by the beautiful colours and patterns, Arianwyn reached out a hand to gently stroke the cloth. A small smile lifted her lips once more. It was beautiful indeed, whatever it was.

But if the stranger was cold, why was she holding out this colourful pelt to Arianwyn? Was it to show her?

Confused, but certain that Nura needed the unusual pelt, Arianwyn gave a reassuring smile as she gently pushed the pelt back towards the woman.

"Nuu-ra," Arianwyn attempted to say the woman's name again. Then "Cold." Arianwyn did not know what that word meant, whatever this woman was speaking was proving hard to understand, but Arianwyn guessed 'cold' had something to do with shivering.

Deciding to reassure the woman that she was not cold, Arianwyn held her arm out to the woman, showing the absence of any gooseflesh.

So it was food! Arianwyn was happy to know that this strange-smelling stuff was food but still she was full. Observing the stranger, Arianwyn grew alarmed when the stranger winced. Did the food hurt her in some way or was it horrible to taste?!

Perhaps… Oh no! Perhaps this was all she had to eat! Poor thing! Now very worried, Arianwyn decided that when this woman was asleep she would catch some fish for her.

Still it was important not to waste food, and as the stranger spoke Arianwyn picked up each lump of food, giving it another curious sniff, before replacing it back in the bag. But still she did not understand what the woman was saying, but understood by now she was trying to be helpful.

Smiling, Arianwyn watched at the woman hit her chest followed by the word ‘Nura’. Ah! That had to be her name! Smile broadening, Arianwyn placed her hand on her chest. “Arianwyn.”

Then, pushing the bag back to Nura, Arianwyn slowly repeated the name she had just heard. “Nuur-ra.”

[1idiotthalmorandco]

“You look Dunmer.” Antal-Lei stiffened, nothing else mattered but that. He still looked Dunmer, after all this swimming down the river. After all he had done to wipe away the traces of what he had been born he would forever be chained to his blood-race

He still looked Dunmer no matter how he tried to hide it! And no matter how much he wished he could have altered his face, he could not. He had promised his parents long ago he would leave his face alone. No matter how much he wanted to rip his nose off.

Frustration at himself grew as sadness crept up. Anger and hatred once more swelled within him, only this time it was at himself. His connection to the fire was severed as his thoughts became consumed once more by the words of the An-Xileel and words he had heard as a child. “Not a Saxhleel...Dres bastard...Grey-skinned filth...The Hist will only protect you so long as you’re useful...Shouldn’t have been allowed to live...You’re trying to look like us?! Oh how sweet! You know you could start by skinning yourself, that’d remove that disgusting hide of yours!”

The flames had shrunk as Antal-Lei’s vision blurred. He was numb to everything else. Blinking furiously, he fought back the tears. He did not want to cause this stranger worry, or a reason to mock him.

Eventually he spoke, though his voice was quiet. “Not ‘Argonians’ - Saxhleel.”

But he dare not elaborate on much more, he had been warned long ago about the dangers of revealing to Dunmer raised outside of Argonia of being raised Saxhleel. That many Dunmer would either kill him or try to take him back to Morrowind, especially if they were of House Dres.

Eventually, Antal-Lei opted for the somewhat cryptic response of “Know Saxhleel, know Jel.”

But no matter how hard he tried to distract himself by giving the stranger a response, Antal-Lei’s mind was in turmoil. He still looked Dunmer. He would always look Dunmer. He was never going to look Saxhleel. Perhaps he deserved to be cursed in such a way?

Biting his lip, Antal-Lei closed his eyes.

You look Dunmer.

You look Dunmer.

If he were alone he would have been screaming out anguished cries by now.

---

Unknown to both Dunmer, a gang of Dunmeri children were sneaking about the streets of the Gray Quarter. Bedtimes were not exactly strict in the Gray Quarter, well the parents did try to enforce them but many of the buildings here had holes, especially in the roofs. It was easy to sneak out. Other parents were perhaps a bit less bothered owing to their children being older. But just as long as their children remained in the Gray Quarter and were not out all night, all would be well.

The children knew that Gilmyn Ramarys had been out all day and they had eagerly been awaiting his return. Not because they adored him, rather he probably was one of the best sources of entertainment in the Gray Quarter. Ever since the young Dunmer had arrived here, the children had noticed Gilmyn’s short temper and how comical his reactions to everything were. How dramatic he was, and how he screamed, and yet unlike a Stormcloak, he would never harm them. He would yell all sorts at them and try to catch them, but they always outran him.

Sources of joy were rare in this garbage heap of a city, so any chance to actually laugh were always pounced upon.

The children stopped to gather in a nearby alley, clustered around a single lamp one of them had nicked from their house. Heads bent low, they discussed their plan - it would definitely involve snowballs. The children whispered of the icy patches they’d seen and soon they began to plot a route.

They would pelt Gilmyn’s door until he yanked it open. Then the more agile children would run past and lead Gilmyn through the winding streets as the other other children aimed snowballs at him. With any luck Gilmyn would run without too much care and he would slip over. That was always amusing. The way he would scream and swear whilst trying to stand up as the children threw snowball after snowball at him.

[1idiotthalmorandco]

So it was food! Arianwyn was happy to know that this strange-smelling stuff was food but still she was full. Observing the stranger, Arianwyn grew alarmed when the stranger winced. Did the food hurt her in some way or was it horrible to taste?!

Perhaps... Oh no! Perhaps this was all she had to eat! Poor thing! Now very worried, Arianwyn decided that when this woman was asleep she would catch some fish for her.

Still it was important not to waste food, and as the stranger spoke Arianwyn picked up each lump of food, giving it another curious sniff, before replacing it back in the bag. But still she did not understand what the woman was saying, but understood by now she was trying to be helpful.

Smiling, Arianwyn watched at the woman hit her chest followed by the word ‘Nura’. Ah! That had to be her name! Smile broadening, Arianwyn placed her hand on her chest. “Arianwyn.”

Then, pushing the bag back to Nura, Arianwyn slowly repeated the name she had just heard. “Nuur-ra.”

[1idiotthalmorandco]

@azari-of-alexandria

The magician known informally as ‘Anti’ had had a frustrating past few weeks - he had been searching all over country for this book. Whilst he had not been imagining he would be in possession of it quite yet, he had thought he would have come across one successful lead. Instead he had been coming across dead end after dead end and quite frankly he had been going in circles. But Anti had always been persistent and his determination had never failed him before.

And so he had woken up that day to act on his nw plan - he would once again try at his local library and examine the various texts for any possible mention of this book that he might have missed before.

After something of a quick breakfast (which involved eating random things from the cupboard whilst he got ready for the day), Anti saw to it that his apprentice was up. Most other magicians took on one apprentice in their life because it was the law, prefering to shut themselves away with their own research and afforded any child little time. But Anti was a rarity - he had taken on several, sometimes he took on more than one at once. Given he had always wanted children, but the law stated magicians could not have children, this was the closest he could get. And he always enjoyed teaching, to him there was nothing better than seeing that excited smile of an apprentice when they had improved.

To Anti it was just as important to pass on knowledge as well as to further your own. This was one of the many reasons he was determined to start a school for magicians. Another reason simply being Anti wished to teach more people about what spirits were, in that they were just as complicated as humans and far from being simply ‘demons’. As for what they actually were… That was another question entirely…

Anti had just been about to leave when he heard the word “Shoes!” being called out and turned around to find his apprentice shaking her head and smiling. Looking down, Anti chuckled, he had been about to head out in slippers!

“Thank you.” Anti quickly corrected his footwear, and opening the door, looked back at his apprentice. “You are happy to self-study today? I am really sorry about this, this book is just hiding itself too well!”

“No problem, Anti! I’ll be fine!” His apprentice reassured him before Anti left his house and made his way to the local library. He had visited here many times but had brought on the ire of the librarians before because he had forgotten to return books on several occassions. A book had once remained in his house for sixth months, Anti had felt so bad about this he had paid a bit extra on top of his already large fine. But that was Anti, always apologising.

It didn’t take long for Anti to reach the library. Entering it, he paused for a moment as he recalled the name of the book he was looking for then set about finding one of the librarians. One who didn’t look too busy that was.

[1idiotthalmorandco]

Despite concentrating on the fire and seeming to slip into a trance, Antal-Lei had been trained to long ago to always keep his senses somewhat aware. This had been key to survival in Argonia, and given he could awaken at the slightest unfriendly noise, Antal-Lei was always more aware of his surroundings than he seemed.

Even so, such was his concentration on the fire and his breathing that his mind was almost numb and so it took him longer to register that the stranger was speaking. And even longer to process and understand the words.

Clenching his fists at hearing the word ‘Dunmeris’, the flames roared as if reflecting his emotions before quickly dying back down as the mage calmed himself once more. The boy was just curious, wanting to know what Antal-Lei spoke which was not a bad idea. It would certainly help with matters, but at the same time Antal-Lei was cautious. He knew how the Dunmer loathed Saxhleel so how would this Dunmer react on knowing that he was fluent in Jel? (Did Dunmer even know what the Saxhleel called their language?) Given how Antal-Lei had just acted, he presumed that this stranger would refrain from being hostile towards him. But even so…..this boy might want him out of here in an instance. Which would probably be for the best in Antal-Lei’s opinion, still very much worried about becoming enraged again.

But if he did not answer, the boy would keep on asking him. Or he could assume that Antal-Lei was growing cross again. No, far better to answer than not.

Without turning his head about, Antal-Lei continued to gaze into the fire as he spoke, the flames rising and falling in time with his speech. “...No Dunmeris….Speak Jel...Know….Jel is?” What Antal-Lei had wanted to say there was ‘Do you know what Jel is?’ but his limited grasp of Tamrielic had floored him. Even so, he was largely unaware that what he just asked made little to no sense.

[1idiotthalmorandco]

Sialeth’s confidence grew as the weapons were discarded, so much so that a smirk lifted the edges of his snarl but his eyes left never the Dunmer as a command called for Ruvex to pull the weapons to the other side of the room.

The large goat did that, bleating loudly at the stranger as she dragged each weapon to the opposite wall, not caring if she blunted the blade on the floor. As the weapons suffered, Sialeth found himself reminding himself not to let his guard down, readjusting his feet for a stronger, more stable pose.

“Your teeth will only get pulled if you try to bite me or start spouting blasphemous lies,” Sialeth growled, rarely blinking as all he could do was keep his bound spear pointed at the wretch’s throat until his relief arrived. Until then he could not relax and congratulate himself truly.

Sialeth had been focused on his prisoner that he had not noticed his relief had indeed arrived, and that their leader had shed his invisibility spell.

“That will be all thank you, Sialeth. You may stand down,” Rythyn was similar in height to Sialeth but clearly older what with his weather-beaten skin and a few wrinkles. He carried an air of authority that only comes with one who has been in charge for a rather long time.

And whilst Rythyn was shooting nothing but a disgusted look at the Dunmer, he was rather impressed by Sialeth’s composure. Sialeth had never been on a mission to Resdayn before, and given he had kept relatively calm and suceeded in getting the intruder to cooperate was no small feat on his part. Rythyn had no clue how one so inexperienced as Sialeth had managed to get a Dunmer to cooperate, but he had.

Rythyn held a bound spear in one hand but in his right he held a sword which although looked rather young, had been crafted with an ancient technique of the Chimer. And both weapons were pointed rather aggressively at the Dunmer.

Sialeth nodded, standing back and at ease, but kept his spear at the ready as the rest of the relief party materialised and stepped out. All pointing weapons (some physical and some bound) or had their hands ready to cast a spell. All shooting the Dunmer that same look of disgust, like the mer that stood before them was not a person, but some festering pile of food.

“Sialeth, did this...cursed one tell you anything?”

“It said something about coming here for research, that it ‘walked in door’.” Sialeth was giving the Dunmer increasingly smug looks.

Rythyn snorted. “’Research’... A likely story. Your kind are too greedy and idiotic to be so intelligent to opt for such enlightening paths. What were you hoping to do? Kidnap Sialeth? How long have you been waiting and watching? Who sent you?”

The first tail swish caught the Chimer off-guard and sent one flying back a few feet to land winded on her back before she picked herself up and fixed the guar with a look of annoyance.

The rest of the Chimer had taken a few steps back, staying well clear of the hefty tail as they bent over in sturdy crouches, bound spears glimmering as they remained pointed at the creature. Circling the animal they were at somewhat of a loss as to what to do.

The guar was not being aggressive, rather it seemed to be being more on the friendly side. It was not shy by any means. In fact it was little bit unsettling, the way it kept on looking at their bound spears... Like it wanted to eat them or something.

[1idiotthalmorandco]

Arianwyn began to calm, for even though she could not understand what the land-walker was saying, she did not seem to be such a threat as a few moments ago. For one thing, the glowing weapon had been tossed aside and now the woman was rummaging through a bag.

If this stranger had been going to attack her she would have done it by now. Growing bolder (but still a bit wary) Arianwyn crawled closer, gripping her pelt tight to her chest as she watched the stranger pull all manner of curious items out of her bag. She had never seen any of these things before and so they held her attention much like they would a child’s. She wanted to touch them, investigate them further but Arianwyn held back, no matter how much she wanted to hold that cloth.

It was then her attention was drawn by more unfamiliar words as the stranger held out a bag to her. Staring at the bag for a few moments, the Selkie crawled closer to inspect it, unsure of why it was being held out to her. Was this stranger gifting her with something? Why?

Sniffing the bag, Arianwyn pulled her head back, it smelt unusual and was definitely a new smell to her. Giving the bag a quick prod, she drew back but found there was no reaction. Another slower prod proved it to be unresponsive, and therefore, safe. Slowly and carefully, Arianwyn pulled the bag towards her. Shuffling away, Arianwyn sat herself back down as  she lifted the bag to admire it. She had never seen such material before.

Sniffing it again, she was curious as to what was inside and soon figured out how to open the bag (knots being one thing Selkies were particularly adept at) before she let the bag’s contents fall on the sand and was somewhat baffled. What lay there were several dark blobs of....something.

What was she supposed to do with these? Picking one up, she held it up to her eye, observing its texture before sniffing it again. Was it edible? Arianwyn wasn’t entirely sure. Perhaps if she had been hungry she would have attempted to eat it, but she had just eaten several fish not too long ago.

She had learnt long ago not to go about licking and putting unfamiliar objects into your mouth.

But just what were these lumps and why had the stranger been carrying them? Looking over in utter confusion at the other woman, Arianwyn held the lump out to her as if asking her to show Arianwyn what to do. 

[1idiotthalmorandco]

Antal-Lei was all but deaf to the boy’s voice (he vaguely picked out what could have been a name but due to the anger raging through Antal-Lei’s head all he could hear was ‘Gil-are-riss’), his anger made it hard to focus on much, let alone listen. The boy had started to become the only thing Antal-Lei could see which only further highlighted the change in the Dunmer’s expression. Those eyes that only moments ago had been narrowed in annoyance were now wide. Wide and leaking fear.

His fear was amplified by how he stumbled backwards, petrified to look away and yet desperate to get as far away as possible until the wall stopped him. He suddenly looked far younger, much more like a child.

He was scared, confused and could not defend himself, definitely not against a mage as powerful as Antal-Lei.

Antal-Lei had seen such fear before, he hated seeing others look upon him with such terror. Antal-Lei would never dare dream of carelessly hurting anyone! And so, in a split second, Antal-Lei’s anger disappeared to be replaced by surging guilt and horror. His eyes widened as his lips fell to cover his teeth. Stumbling back slightly, he was horrified at the murderous thoughts racing through his brain. That….That was not him! Almost immediately warmth returned to the room.

Taking a few deep breaths, the Dunmer remained motionless as he stared at the floor doing his best to keep calm. His head was spinning as he dispelled whatever excess Magicka was tingling through him.

Antal-Lei’s anger had mostly faded, still simmering but partly bubbling at himself. How could he have been so stupid to lose control like that?! Antal-Lei could have killed the boy! The mage may have no love for his blood-race but he would hardly dare dream of killing a random Dunmer. He had killed before, but that was for survival - food and self-defence. If he had lost it...if he had allowed the Wrath to control him in even the slightest… He would have murdered someone he barely even knew (and no-telling however many others). The boy may have been practicing soul magic, and as disgusting as that was, was it not the Saxhleel way to give a second chance? To forgive?

If anything he was disgusted at himself. Ashamed. And worried. How had he lost control so easily? Maybe it was because he had been terribly anxious and confused beforehand, only to enter this place and find it filled with the very things he despised, to find it was home to a race he loathed. Perhaps it was because it was the first time he had been around so many filled Soul Gems, and it had ignited an anger deep within The Hist…? It only served as an ugly reminder that The Hist could see and hear all of this and that their anger was terrible indeed.

Antal-Lei’s eyes had grown wide, staring at the Dunmer with something akin to worry and an apology.

“Did not mean… Sorry. Must control…” Antal-Lei looked as defeated as one could with their body language. He could barely speak Common Tongue. How could he possibly even explain to this stranger why he had acted like that, that such rage was unusual for him?

He would not be surprised if the Dunmer kicked him out right now. In fact perhaps he should just go, he could not risk losing it again and staying here. In the vicinity of the race that turned his stomach was hardly going to help matters.

But he had to calm himself entirely first, had to ensure he would not snap again. He had not looked at the stranger since, out of both shame and fear that looking at him again would only reignite his anger.

Turning to the small fire, Antal-Lei sat down and stared into its flames. His eyes started to glaze over as nothing but the flames filled his vision as he focused their heat and movement. Slowly he calmed his breathing, gradually taking deep, slow breaths as he brought the flames into time with it. With every exhale the flames roared and with every inhale they shrunk. If nothing else the sound of rushing fire was comforting to him.

Slowly but surely his anger was ebbing, but even so, it would be several minutes before Antal-Lei dared to even think about moving.

[1idiotthalmorandco]

Arianwyn had been in the middle of regaining her balance, absorbed in her giggles and concentration before she heard a cry of alarm, caught completely off-guard, Arianwyn stumbled and overbalanced to land in a heap on the sand.

Looking up in confusion her smile left as her eyes grew wide with fear. No, no, no, nononono! She had wanted to see the land-dwellers but not so soon! And she had been hoping to just observe them! Here she was, with nothing but her pelt. Her pelt she needed to desperately to hide lest it indicate what she was.

Clutching the rich pelt close to her chest as she tried to shuffle backwards, Arianwyn’s legs soon became entangled in it as she found herself trapped. Wide eyes staring straight up, the selkie soon found herself frowning in bafflement. Why hadn’t this land-walker moved and why was she covering her eyes? It was only now that Arianwyn could not help but feel a small amount of excitement as well as an increasing curiousity. Perhaps it was because this land-walker had covered her eyes, the Selkie felt less threatened. This was a human! An actual human!

Arianwyn had dreamt for so long about seeing the land-walkers she could not help but forget her fear, even for just a moment. The rounded ears were so peculiar whilst the woman’s facial decoration fascinated the Selkie. What were they?!

Arianwyn observed the woman a bit more, noting how body was indeed wrapped in fabric like she had been told they would be. But why did they do that? The Selkies were not sure why completely  something about ‘keeping covered up’ or getting cold easily.

It was now Arianwyn found herself staring at the human’s...feet. The Selkie had been told that land-walkers liked to wrap their feet in more fabric but even so it still terribly unsettling to see, feet with no toes....

Still not a word from Arianwyn, she had only heard a few words from the woman and even then she had not really understood them. Very few Selkies understood the languages of land-walkers. Except for the golden-skinned ones, they still spoke the language of Selkies.

And right now her mind was all of a dither so she had forgotten any words of the land-walkers another Selkie may have taught her.

That being so, unbeknownst to Arianwyn, she did indirectly answer one of the woman’s questions. Even though she was sitting rather still and naked bar the pelt draping her front, her skin lacked the blue-purple tinge that indicated a chill. There weren’t even goosebumps, not a slight shiver.

As Arianwyn slowly pulled herself back to reality, though still very much fascinated by the woman before her, she began to sense something else. Like there was something of incredible Magickal power nearby, eyes darting about the Selkie quickly noticed the glowing blade at the woman’s side. Her eyes widened once more as the fear crept back in, there was something off about that sword, like it harboured something unpleasant. But most of all, it caused Arianqyn to hiss ever so slightly in fear due to being a sword. She had been told of what a sword looked like, of what they were capable of, and she feared them greatly like all other Selkie.

All excitement gone, Arianwyn’s breathing quickened in panic as she tried desperately to scramble backwards. Tried to stand. But she was too unsteady and wrapped up in her pelt to get nowhere. Her eyes locked on the sword, she gripped her pelt close to her body as she bit her lip, one pointed tooth peaking through as her mind raced, trying to think of any words that could help her. but she couldn’t, she was frozen in place.

[1idiotthalmorandco]

“Good.” Sialeth nodded as if to himself. “And Ruvex only addresses people in such a fashion if they have been rude to her or I. I suggest you learn about manners... Now, hand over your sword and any other weapons.”

Keeping his spear trained on the Dunmer’s neck, Sialeth’s gaze flicked the pommel of his sword. Inwardly he was cursing himself. Why had he volunteered to be the one to stay behind? Already he could feel his superiors’ cold, disapproving glares upon him. To not have such cursed filth already on his knees was embarressing.

“And I suggest you hand them all over now, I will know if you haven’t.” Comically, Sialeth had risen up on his tiptoes as if to glare more closely at the Dunmer.

Meanwhile outside, concealed under a powerful illusion spell a group of golden-skinned mer astride magnificent ibex approached the ruins. However even before they had got close they registered something most peculiar to be situated outside the building. As they grew closer they noticed the brownish lump had a tail before they drew to a halt.

Frowns crossed Chimeri faces as they exchanged baffled glances with each other. Just what was this thing? Choosing to keep on the safety of their mounts, the twenty or so mer cautiously ventured forth a bit more to surround the bizarre creature.

“Oh, it’s guar. Honestly they’re pretty harmless and mostly stupid,” one of the Chimer commented, this one having been to Resdayn a few times. Gazes travelled from the animal to the doors of the ruin, to see they had been forced open and everyone knew that perhaps not the most experienced Chimer was in there right now. Sialeth had never really been down here before. By no means was he experienced in getting rid of intruders.

“You are to stay out here, the rest with me,” the leader of the party announced, pointing to about eight Chimer to stay behind and keep an eye on the guar. As these Chimer set about standing guard and watching the peculiar creature whilst the rest dismounted, leaving their mounts outside as they entered the ruins in silent. Bound weaponry glowing, they moved with silent steps as they climbed the walls to edge around the rooms and corridors before they heard a voice, the few Chimer ahead were able to make out a figure that all had them inwardly hiss and recoil in revulsion.

A Dunmer. A blighted grey-skin wretch.

The Chimer turned to stiffened silence, watching from the walls and hidden in the shadows as they exerted invisibility spells over them.

[1idiotthalmorandco]

The words, the frustration and anger contained within them, emphasised by the boy’s arm movements, fell against Antal-Lei but almost immediately he failed to registered them. For he picked out two words that overrode any reasoning. Words he knew all too well from memories he had experienced. He knew what they meant and he refused to be spoken to like that. He would not have some Dunmer throw around such slurs, he did not need further reminders of atrocities his blood race had committed. It was quite disgusting really, that supposedly the Dunmer had outlawed slavery but still used slurs from such a time. Already fairly cross, Antal-Lei’s anger was only further mounting.

“Do...NOT call me....slave!” Antal-Lei’s voice had grown louder, more guttural whilst the room had grown perhaps slightly colder. Eyes narrowed with teeth bared, his hands were curled slightly as his claw-like nails started to puncture through his gloves.

Even though he was not in an agreeable mood, hardly fancying discussing his origins, perhaps if this idiot knew his name he would at least call him that. And not some derogatory term, which Antal-Lei found far less attractive, having been called a small dictionary of slurs in his life.

Besides, if there was any chance this Dunmer had encountered Saxhleel, perhaps the Saxhleel had mentioned his name in passing. There wasn’t a single Saxhleel who didn’t know of his name pretty much. Only those who had left Argonia at a young age, or had been born outside of Argonia, may not know of him.

“Name...Antal-Lei... You?” His voice had grown quieter, but the underlying growl remained a very real threat, like he would not think twice about ripping out this boy’s throat out.

[1idiotthalmorandco]

Ruvex’s abrupt entrance triggered a barking laughing from Sialeth as well as a quirk of annoyance. Why did this tainted wretch have such a good balance?! Why did he deny him the satisfication of watching him fall over?!

Nodding his approval at Ruvex, his face and eyes were now alight with a cruel triumph as his confidence grew. Whilst further anger welled within him at the way this stranger pointed and looked at Ruvex.

A series of quick-fire Velothi commands and some clicks had Ruvex bleating rather menancingly as she started to walked towards the Dunmer. The aim being of course, to corner him. Sialeth could not let this monstrosity go, no matter how much he would have liked to. With any luck the relief would be here soon and the fate of this abomimation could be decided.

Jumping down from his perch to land nimbly and light-footed upon the floor, Sialeth made slow, delibrate steps towards the stranger. As such, the stranger was nearly a foot taller than him, meaning all Sialeth could do was stare up at him with narrow, ferocious eyes and bound spear aimed at the Mer’s throat.

"You will not be leaving, as of now you are my prisoner. And how dare you point like that at Ruvex?!“ Sialeth growled before his voice grew louder in snapping anger. He was now speaking in Aldmeris, refusing to allow the blighted thing to hear any more of his blessed language. "You will speak Aldmeris, not the sacred tongue! And don’t you dare speak the tongue of the cursed ashen ones in my presence!”

By now Ruvex was snorting and tossing her head, as if demonstrating the sort of damage she was capable of inflicting.

[1idiotthalmorandco]

Antal-Lei looked up when the toddler asked for attention once more to see the gathering of children. He could not help but smile at all the young faces. It was so strange and yet so gratifying to be considered family by another. He had never dreamt in his younger years that he would be beloved by so many. A far-flung wish.

For a moment he was distracted as Indressa relieved him of the newborn, nodding in acknowledgement to her thanks as he passed the infant across carefully. A second more his concerned gaze rested upon her, she was exhausted and should not have been left alone with a baby. No matter how much he had tried to change things in at least Redoran, the stubborn House refused to adopt some of his suggestions.

His attention was brought back to the young Mer as he swamped by the excitable youngsters. Falling back into the chair with a laugh, Antal-Lei allowed the children to smother him. Voices from every direction, hands grabbing at his clothes whilst Antal-Lei did his best to greet all the Mer. Doing all he could to answer their questions. Which was hard given some were young and understandably impatient, some starting to nearly scream his name in a bid for attention.

“Yes, I will look at your art. Oh did you make that? Yes I can play with you. Yes! You have grown! Oh, a loose tooth? Yes I can do some magic for you. Stories? Of course I tell you some! Presents? Oh you’ll have to wait and see! Yes, I’ll make cocoa for you all later! What’s th-?”

Antal-Lei was cut short by a familiar voice, looking over he saw his old friend standing in the doorway with a gentle smile on his face. As Gilmyn spoke, to which the children let themselves down and filed out of the room with excited voices.

Sitting up with a splutter and laugh (the weight of the children on him had made breathing difficult to say the least), Antal-Lei noticed one child had not been so obedient. The young boy was try to open Antal-Lei’s pack, impatient to see what his adoptive uncle had brought him.

“That includes you too. Presents later,” Antal-Lei’s tone was firm but gentle. The boy turned to look a bit upset. “You will not have to wait long. Promise,” Antal-Lei reassured the boy who still looked disappointed but had perked up a tad, leaving before Gilmyn could reprimand him further.

Turning his attention to his friend, Antal-Lei cocked his head to the side slightly in that bird-like manner he so often adopted. “Well I was here only... Was it a year ago? No... 6 months? I cannot remember. I remember Indressa had just discovered she was expecting. But have I not changed at all?” Antal-Lei had a mischievous twinkle in his eyes, wondering if Gilmyn had noticed the purple streaks in his hair. The new dye was hard to miss given its intense colour. That and the light blue he had also had dyed in recently. Thankfully his hair, at least for now hid his ears which unfortunately received another beating recently. Some habits were hard to kill and it had only been 2-3 months ago or so Antal-Lei had once more taken an obsidian blade to his ears and carved another chunk out of his ear. Although it was small and hidden behind an earring, Antal-Lei knew his friend would pick up on it. All because of a disaster involving a hatchling Antal-Lei blamed himself for, he knew it was not his fault entirely, not really. But of course the Dunmer blamed himself anyway.

He was doing his best to ignore Gilmyn’s age, but he could not, it was too obvious and with it came the painful reminder that Gilmyn was nearing the end of his life. All the more reason to make as many visits as he could. But it would not do to dwell on such dark thoughts. To distract himself, Antal-Lei stood up with a stretch and a minor yawn, rubbing his eyes as he did so.

“Riding a cliff racer really is exhausting. Especially when you are riding an ash storm,” Antal-Lei said without thinking then immediately regretted it. He did not want his friend to worry and now he had just admitted to doing something dangerous. Well, it sounded dangerous, Antal-Lei had been careful as usual, riding the edge of the storm. At the edges of such a storm, the ride was fast and undeniably fun.

Quick to change the topic, Antal-Lei glanced at Gilmyn’s bound walking stick. “And I see you still refuse to use the sticks I send you,” he chuckled, nowadays, Gilmyn’s stubbornness was endearing and something that had never changed.

“May I ask where all the adults are? And how old is Indressa’s child?” Antal-Lei enquired as he moved over to his pack. Leaving the question regarding why Indressa had been left alone to care for the child (in fact why all the infants had been left in the care of their older siblings), unspoken and hanging in the air. “Oh, I’ve replaced the security runes again.” Crouching down, Antal-Lei undid his pack with a simple finger flick as the knot came loose via the spell. Pulling the opening wide, Antal-Lei started to rummage through it.

Tamriel’s Up

[1idiotthalmorandco]

Antal-Lei found himself staring utterly perplexed at Theodore. What could he not understand?! Of course he hated his ears! He hated he had them. He hated what he had inflicted upon them. And now the Breton was asking why.

A wave of shame broke against the Dunmer. He did not want to explain this, it pained him too much every time. It was hard to explain, even in Jel, his feelings about his ears were confusing to say the least. Even Antal-Lei found it frustrating at points. He wanted them off, he wanted them on. He wished to harm them and yet he felt ashamed of how he had mutilated them. A source of bullying when he was younger, a reminder of what he was. And yet the concern his parents had had for him, that his family still had for him meant he hated the cuts he inflicted upon his ears.

How he had cut them, a sure sign he was never going to win his battle of self-loathing. That he was never going to be strong.

And now once more his ears were the subject of a conversation. The previous calm and relief Antal-Lei had felt scuppered by flood of embarrassment. At Theo’s questions, he cast his gaze down.

His panic only grew when Theo produced his writing tools and placed them in his reluctant hands which gripped the notebook limply. His hands had gone bizarrely numb whilst his fingers ran over the paper in an almost childlike fascination. It felt incredibly dry, not damp at all. Raising a nail, Antal-Lei ran a nail down a sheet to discover a most unpleasant noise and dragging effect. Pulling his nail away he saw he had caused a minor tear in the paper as well as a dirty streak.

“Sorry,” Antal-Lei mumbled, now feeling too ashamed to even look up. Looking at the pencil, he tried to recall how Theo had held the writing tool. His stomach dropped as he realised he did not and now was in an even more humiliating position.

Slowly his picked up the pencil at the un-sharpened end. It felt hard and yet the Dunmer got the feeling would snap without much force. It was now another feeling started to creep forward, one of paranoia, was Theo trying to humiliate him? Why was he being to pressing about his ears? Why was he making him use this...drawing tool?

He did not want to admit his had no clue how to even use a pencil. But he did not wish to embarress himself further by attempting to use the pencil. Consumed by an urge to cry, Antal-Lei stared off into the distance at the floor, focusing his thoughts and doing his best to subdue to burning sensation in his eyes.

After a few moments silence, Antal-Lei still did not look up and could only mumble. “Cannot.”

----

From the bushes anger was further building within the Shadowscale. Was this man actually an idiot? Senka had half a mind to charge over and slap him. Had it not occurred to him that if Antal-Lei could use a pencil he would have a notebook and pencil with him?!

To watch Antal-Lei being reduce to such a vulnerable state was painful, but also told her of how tactless this man was being. And why was he pressing Antal-Lei about his ears?! Senka was certain she had warned this stranger about Antal-Lei’s feelings regarding his ears!

As much as she wished not to, if this continued down this route she would erupt out of these bushes without a second thought. And now... And now Antal-Lei was nearly in tears! Perfect! His voice, the way he kept his head down and his immobile figure all told of how hard he was trying not to break down completely.

[1idiotthalmorandco]

Blinking, Antal-Lei processed the stranger’s words as best he could. It was even harder to understand him now he was angry, speaking faster than before. Simutaneously, Antal-Lei noted the acrid stentch of smoke and passed a curious eye over the blackened logs. How odd, they should have not smouldered like that. Should not have produced all that smoke...

Unless... Oh Seth, this Dunmer was an idiot. Did this mere boy know nothing of how to keep wood dry? Yes Argonia was damp, but they still knew how to dry wood so it burnt with beautiful flames, not some hateful cloud.

Pathetic.

Antal-Lei’s anger only mounted with the boy’s tone. Why was he so pent up? Well... The smoke may have something to do with it, understandable even, But even so, that was no call to take such tone with him! He had no right to be angry! He was the one conducting illegal practices!

And what did he mean, everyone? ‘Nothing illegal’? What was this idiot babbling on about?! How was it possible to practice enchanting without a licence?!

The stranger alluded to black soul gems being forbidden... At least that was what Antal-Lei gathered and was pleased to note. But still that did not excuse what were obvious lies!

Fury seeping from his narrowed eyes, teeth now bared on an otherwise expressionless face. A few more seconds’ pause before he spoke, obviously taking a huge amount of effort and concentration to formulate his sentences. Antal-Lei quickly applied a small illusion spell to his teeth, even he knew that the sight of filed teeth in a foreign land would guarantee screaming.

“Need licence... Control amount of...pearl soul crystal... Not allowed...trapping some creature souls - sacred,” Antal-Lei growled, his tone quivering slightly as if to highlight just how upset he was becoming. He was clearly struggling to construct what was obviously a challenging sentence for him. For now he would neglect to tell the stranger of where he came from, perhaps it would help if he did but right now he felt in no mood to divulge any piece of information about himself. Then again, he could hardly hide his origins, with his hood down he had exposed his dipped-dyed hair of mismatched cutting. His fringe slightly askew, exposing his Hist leaf tattoo more.

“How legal... Why need no licence?” Antal-Lei remained standing where he was, matched in height with this stranger he could only stare furiously across at him.

[1idiotthalmorandco]

Sialeth’s snarled lips only grew fouler at the stranger’s attempt to speak his language, his face thunderous as he heard his beautiful language be butchered by the cursed creature. How dare this lower being even try to speak it if he had no clue how to articulate properly?! As for his accent, it gave the Chimer a minor headache. Was this wretch not fluent in Aldmeris?!

Sialeth knew that Tamriel had changed, but surely not so much that Aldmeris was a defunct language? Surely it was still widely spoken? Even if the Merethic Era was long since past to most, surely the elves relied on the universal language of Aldmeris to communicate between the races?

“You dare descrate my language with your cursed tongue?! Speak Aldmeris, insolent wretch!” Sialeth screamed in Aldmeris, He would not listen to whatever this filth had to say though he was slightly baffled. What could there be to gain here in terms of research? The Dwemer, like the Dunmer, were hardly worth such an honour. And as much as he wish he could let this foul creature leave, he could not - he had been discovered as as such this individual could not be permitted to wander free with such knowledge.

Face utterly feral, Sialeth was now leaning further forwards, spear burning a brighter blue as if to reflect its summoner’s rage.

---

Meanwhile Ruvex had stirred at the sound of her master’s enraged voice. Velothi ibex were trained from birth to respond to the raised voice of their owner so they could quickly come to their aid. Bleating slightly as if in mild annoyance at how her sleep had been interrupted.

Standing up, the giant creature stepped out of her room and into the main hallway. Her hooves clicking against the stone she navigated her way deep within the ruin. Once more her training telling her where not to step. Velothi ibex were trained to recognise a whole host of things as sometimes they would have to carry their injured or unconscious owners back to safety.

As she approached she saw her master looking noticeably angry, as well as slightly scared, but standing in the doorway was someone she did not know. They smelt strange and if they were annoying her master then she would intervene of course.

Clopping over, she headbutted the stranger none too gently forwards with the aim of making them fall over. Bleating in anger, Ruvex stared straight at this stranger with as much menace as an ibex can.