#based on the 13th exarch theory

[madam-whim]

How Far We Will Go

(ESO drabble)

 “Fenn? There’s something we need to talk about.” Fennorian looked up from the list of ingredients he’d been working on, something or other he and Old Mjolen had come up with and that Izani didn’t fully understand. Alchemy was not exactly her forte, and she was glad Fennorian was there to take care of such matters. Having to distract him from his work didn’t sit right with her precisely because of that, but she couldn’t wait any longer, even if it meant seeking him out in a cold cellar below the Solitude Mages Guild. “Well, what is it?”, Fennorian asked, intrigued. Izani sighed. She doubted he’d retain his good mood for long when she told him the news. “When we went after the High King… Do you remember the journal I found? The one that belonged to Rada?” “The one in which he listed all the exarchs? Of course I do. Is there a problem? Someone we haven’t dealt with? Shouldn’t you go to Svana with this?” Fennorian was immediately on high alert, no wonder after what he’d been through recently, and Izani feared she would only make it worse. But he deserved, no, he needed to know. “I haven’t run into one of the other exarchs if that’s what concerns you”, she replied, trying to at least ease the worst of his worries. “And Svana doesn’t need to know. She’s busy enough as it is, and I don’t think this concerns her at all. I did keep the journal in case we needed to go look for the other exarchs, names making it easier and all that, I’ll admit that. But this is not about anyone giving us trouble right now. It’s about the missing exarch.” “You mean the one al-Saran refused to name even in his private journal?” Izani nodded. “Damn it, this is going to be… a lot. You know what? I think we should sit. This is not a conversation we should have down here.” “Now you have me worried”, Fennorian admitted, raising an eyebrow, still smiling for now. “Come. There’s a room upstairs that we can use. It even has a fireplace. Don’t think I forgot how much you hate the cold.”

A short amount of time later, Izani was curled up in an armchair in front of the fireplace. Apparently there were a few mages in Solitude who disliked the cold as much as she did, and she was grateful for it. Fennorian handed her a mug of spiced wine. “So. You wanted to talk about the missing exarch.” “Well, I guess there’s no sense in drawing this out. I think I figured out who it is”, Izani muttered, trying – and failing –  to disappear behind the mug clasped in her hands. “It’s just a theory at this point, mind you, and I wanted to run it by you first, see what you think.” He settled into the chair next to hers. “Well, go ahead.”

Taking a deep breath, Izani began her explanation. “Alright then. I’m assuming you remember our conversation with Rada, yes? And you may also remember that I thought something was off, I just couldn’t place it, no matter how hard I thought about it. So I read the journal again when I found the time, and... Rada mentions his brethren being trapped in Coldharbour, and that he’d have to free his exarchs first. Which is why he was so angry at us for killing Tzinghalis and Ulfra, right? He thinks we sent them back to Molag Bal. On purpose. As if I’d ever do that to anyone who left me with a choice. Lyris, too. We’ve both been there. It’s horrible.” “Well, I’d be angry too if it were me.” Fennorian cast a curious look in Izani’s direction. “Verandis did say his escape was everything but easy, and I’m assuming it wasn’t any different for them. But how did that help you with figuring out who-  wait. Wait, Izani, are you saying...” She could pinpoint the exact moment Fennorian realized what she was going on about. She nodded, feeling every bit as unhappy as her friend looked. “I don’t like it, but it makes perfect sense, doesn’t it? I mean, how many vampires do you know who got themselves out of Coldharbour? It’s insanely difficult to do even when you’re just some soulless husk Bal has no interest in. Imagine doing it when you’re someone who actually matters. I doubt just anyone could manage that.” “This cannot be a coincidence”, Fennorian mumbled, his voice trembling. “Verandis was always more powerful than he let on, so maybe...” “That’s… one way to put it.” Izani remembered it all too well – Verandis had always radiated power, even if he did suppress it, and she had a feeling he’d never even shown her a glimpse of what he was truly capable of. Not that she’d minded then, but now, all of this presented her with an entirely new problem.

“We’ll need to send word to Adusa and Gwendis immediately”, Izani stated. “Because if we’re right, all of this means you three are in danger. You remember what we told you about this Essenia woman experimenting on Adusa because she’s got Ravenwatch blood? We can’t be sure there aren’t more of her kind out there. At the time, we didn’t know about Verandis, but now...” “You’re right”, Fennorian agreed. “With Verandis almost certainly being our missing exarch... We’ll have to warn the others, just in case.” “Can’t take any risks”, Izani agreed. “Adusa mentioned they’d be going back home to collect some things. I have a friend working with the antiquarians across the street who’s really good with portals, if she can set me up with one to Shornhelm, I think I can catch them before they leave again.”

And now came the part Izani dreaded. But there was no way she could leave Fennorian in the dark about this. The Count was like a father to him, and besides, he was her friend, and keeping secrets from friends was not something she did, not anymore. Fennorian was already looking for a quill and a piece of parchment to write down a message to his sisters, and Izani hated having to burden him with even more knowledge none of them really wanted. “Fenn?”, she called to get his attention back, and he turned towards her, the look in his eyes troubled, as if he already sensed there was more. “Assuming Verandis is who we think he is, there’s one more thing”, Izani forced herself to say, then handed Rada’s journal to her friend. “Read it again. And tell me what you think.”

Izani watched while Fennorian went over the journal again. She could practically sense his concern growing with every line he read. When they’d first found the journal, their only concern had been saving Solitude, and they hadn’t had the time to think anything else, not even a thirteenth exarch. He’d appeared to be an enemy to Rada al-Saran, and back then, this had been all they needed to know. Now, it was suddenly all too relevant. “The entire section here…” Fennorian seemed to be at a loss for words, just like Izani had been. “I know”, Izani muttered. “It sounds terrible, right? Whatever this man has planned for Verandis, it can’t be good. We can’t let Rada find him.“ Her friend nodded. He looked so terribly shaken, pacing across the room. “That last line…”, he asked, his voice more uncertain than Izani had ever heard it. “Does it sound like they were… more than friends to you, too? I’m not the most experienced in such matters, but...” “We can’t be sure, but if you want my opinion, then yes”, the Redguard sighed. “But whatever went on between them, they were incredibly close. And now Rada is angry at Verandis. Very angry. And I don’t know how far he is willing to go.” “When you say how far, what you mean is… Is he willing to go back to Coldharbour to get his revenge?” “It is.” “How long ago was this written?”, Fennorian asked. “Because from the looks of it, it was before Tzinghalis and Ulfra died...” Izani bit her lip. “That’s what worries me, too. If he’s already started looking, then I’m sure he already knows Verandis is back in Coldharbour. And now, with us having sent two of his friends back there...” “You’re saying we might have given al-Saran the push he needed to go back. To find both his friends and Verandis”, Fennorian stated. With him being a vampire, he couldn’t turn any more pale than he already was, but Izani saw the shock and fear flickering across his features. “It’s possible”, she admitted. “And you must believe me when I tell you I do not want Rada to find Verandis first. No matter how scared I am, I can’t let that happen, Fenn. Not after… everything.” “And you’re aware of what we might need to do to prevent that from happening.” It wasn’t a question, and Fennorian wasn’t asking, because the real question was something else.

Izani took another deep breath. “So. How far are we willing to go?”

[harrycollins]

But there is one more, one whose betrayal runs so deep that my hand shakes even at the thought of writing his name. Once, I loved him as the greatest of my compatriots. Now I feel only hatred. I will seek him, my thirteenth sibling, not for freedom- but for reckoning.

Based on Verandis is the 13th Exarch theory.