Children of the Void, The sequel to The Story of the Listener Options

[Kayla]

Alright. I just finished writing and refining this to my satisfaction. I hope you all will enjoy this. This story takes place right after the last one ended. However, for awhile, it might be a few days between updates. I'm still trying to get some school things straightened out and I'm quite busy, but once things settle down at school, I'm sure I'll have more time to write. Enjoy what I have so far!

----
My boots crunched softly in the snow as I weaved through the trees in the forested Jerall Mountains north of Bruma. The moonless night was cold and shadowy; just the way I liked it. The Night Mother’s words echoed in my head as I pulled my black robe tighter over my lightly armored body to fend off the biting cold.

“I know the Speakers usually go out to meet our clients, but this one is special. I want you to handle it personally, dear Listener.”

For the past six months, the Dark Brotherhood had been busy. Not only had we added on to the sanctuary, we had received a fair amount of new members. Though I enjoyed them, none of the newer members really shone through as Speaker material. Coventia, the only Speaker we had at the moment, and probably my oldest friend that was still alive in the sanctuary agreed with me. Therefore, it wasn’t unusual for the both of us to be very busy meeting clients. There was no shortage of people who wanted others dead. To add on to the situation, politics in Tamriel had become very rocky. And when politics became competitive, we were usually quite busy. I had also heard whispers in the underground of plots to assassinate the emperor…

I caught a glimpse of light through the veil of tree branches ahead. I was to meet an old Breton woman who lived in a small cabin in the forest. As I got closer to the light, I could make out the shape of a small cabin in a distant clearing. Warm light was shining through the windows. I stepped out of the forest and into the clearing, the surveyed the small structure.

“This must be the place.” I mumbled to myself.

I pulled my hood up over my head to hide my face, then moved to the front door and knocked quietly. I waited a few seconds and received no response. I knocked again, this time, louder. Still, there was no answer. I couldn’t even hear any noises from within the cabin. Cursing under my breath, I grabbed the doorknob with a gloved hand and pushed the door open, stepping inside the warmth of the cabin.

The place was empty. The fireplace on the opposite wall was lit, as were some candles that adorned tables in the room. Suddenly, I sensed a presence behind me. Turning around, I drew my shortsword and was greeted by a blinding flash of blue light. I felt an impact in my chest that knocked me to the wooden floor, and a sharp pain that was both burning and freezing.

“You won’t kill me, you psychopath!” a panicked female voice screamed.

I quickly sat up, pulling my hood off to reveal my face. I saw an aging Breton woman with her back against a wall, frantically edging toward the door of the cabin. As our eyes met, I watched her expression soften.

“Oh my…” she breathed a sigh of relief. “You’re not a murderer.”
“Technically, I am.” I replied, standing. She walked forward quickly and cast a healing spell on me, which made the pain my chest subside. “I’m from the Dark Brotherhood. Did you just hit me with a frost spell?” I asked. In my opinion, frost spells were much worse than fire spells. They had a different sort of pain that you could only feel on the business end of a magickal burst of ice.

The woman’s blue eyes looked me over nervously. “I’m terribly sorry…” she said.
“It’s alright.” I murmured, stepping toward the fireplace to warm myself. “Who is it that you want dead?” I asked.

The woman hesitated. I looked over my shoulder at her, waiting for a response. She shifted nervously, ran her hands through her short, graying hair, and finally, she spoke in an anxious tone. “There’s a murderer out here. He’s killed all my neighbors… I think I’m next…”

I turned my head and watched as the flames in the fireplace danced.

“Why did the Night Mother want me to take care of this?” I thought to myself.

Keeping my gaze fixated on the fire, I spoke. “Lady, we’re the Dark Brotherhood, not the Fighters Guild. Nor are we mercenaries-“ Before I could say another word, there was a loud crash. Shards of glass scattered across the floor and a black figure practically flew into the cabin through the broken window.

The figure stopped a few feet away from me, standing up straight. It was much taller than I was. It spoke in a deep, gruff, and obviously male voice.

“You’re in the Dark Brotherhood?” he half stated, half asked.
“Yes.” I answered, staring at him.

The tall, shadowy man was unlike anything I’d ever seen. He looked like a Dunmer, except his skin was much darker, almost black, and his long, black straight hair went down past his broad shoulders. When our eyes met, I was absolutely mesmerized. His eyes were a deep red, very similar to the color of blood. The more I looked, the more I was convinced that any moment, he would begin crying tears of thick, sanguine blood. Looking past the color of his eyes, it was easy to see that he was a murderer. The eyes are the windows to the soul and his soul was as black as the void.

“The assassin and the murderer… this should be quite fun.” He said, stepping forward and brandishing an ebony shortsword.

As I drew my Elven shortsword, I found myself wondering how I had gotten into this situation in the first place. The old Breton woman dashed away from us as he charged at me.

He grunted with each swift swing of his sword. He was fast, but I was faster, dodging and parrying his blade, trying to get in a hit of my own. Though I had this man beat in a contest of speed, I was not about to challenge his strength.

After a few more minutes of dodging, and getting no hits of my own in, my back hit a wall. He smirked as he saw his opportunity. Quickly, he brought his sword down in a vertical slash. I managed to block it at the last second by holding up my sword. The ebony and Elven metal of the blades collided with a loud clash. He clenched his jaw as he used his strength to try and bring his sword down and break my defense. I was struggling just to keep his sword away from my body. I looked up at his face to see deep wrinkles and for a moment, I found myself wondering just how old he was.

In a sudden movement that surprised me, and pulled me from my thoughts, he drew a silver dagger from a sheath on his left leg. He brought the dagger up to stab me, but I thrust out my left hand and grabbed his arm. Now I was doing all I could to keep him from bringing two blades down on me.

Knowing I would surely die if my back stayed against the wall for too long, I used the last bit of my strength to push him away. Then, I grabbed his left hand and moved smoothly to the left, pulling his arm behind his back and simultaneously took his dagger from him. Wasting no time, I jabbed his own dagger into his neck. Oddly, he remained perfectly still, not even making a noise.

For a few moments, we stood there, frozen in absolute silence until I heard a dripping noise. I looked down to see a puddle of blood forming near my right foot… and a Daedric dagger lodged in my ribs.

“It’s over for you…” he said quietly.

I pulled the silver dagger out of his neck, scarlet blood flowing rapidly from the gash, and then I stepped back. Surprisingly, my wound wasn’t very painful. However, I knew that if the Daedric dagger were to be removed, it could be very serious. He turned to face me, laughing and clutching his wound, blood seeping through his fingers.

“What the hell is so funny?” I asked.
“That’s a bound dagger.” He replied.

For a moment I was quiet, then I looked up into his eyes.

“What is your name?” I asked him.
He seemed surprised by my question. “I am a monster. I have no name.” he replied.
“You are a man. You have a name. What is it?” I asked.

I felt the dagger in my ribs disappear. Warm blood was now flowing out of the wound at an alarming rate. For a moment, I thought I saw his eyes widen in a look of concern, but his gaze quickly intensified.

“My name is Verano, and you are going to die soon…” he said.
“How would you like to join the Dark Brotherhood, Verano?” I asked.
He grunted.
“You could prove to be quite useful.” I added.
“You’re going to bleed to death…” he said.
“So are you.” I said, meeting his gaze. I knew that the wound I’d inflicted on him was just as bad as the wound he’d inflicted on me.
We stood in silence for a moment.
“I’ll join…” he finally answered.
“Good.” I said, pulling two healing potions from my pocket. I began to drink one and tossed the other to him. My pain faded almost immediately.
I began to walk to the door. “Come, I’ll show you the sanctuary.” Apprehensively, he followed.

The Breton woman ran forward and grabbed my arm. “He’s a psychopathic killer! A monster! You’re going to let him join with you?!”
I looked at her. “Deep down inside, we’re all monsters.”
“You will receive no payment from me!” she shrieked.
“Whether or not you want to, you will pay my Lord. Sithis demands blood.” I said, slitting her throat before she even knew what was happening.

I looked into Verano’s blood red eyes. “My name is Sarelle. I am the Listener of the Dark Brotherhood. Welcome to our family.”

[The Metal Mallet]

Oooo so we meet, Revan's Verano. And what an entrance! A duel where each combatant ended the victor in a way, which is unfortunate for the elderly Breton. Beautifully descriptive, I can't wait to see the other recruitments or her meeting up with characters that have all ready joined (I don't know whether some have all ready joined or not). This is going to be such a fun read! I'm glad you're giving each update time too, makes the writing that much better, I can tell.

[Kayla]

Why thank you!

[treydog]

The thought you have put into your concept shows- good action, plus plenty of insight into the characters. Even if they aren't necessarily "likable," they are compelling.

[Black Hand]

OHBOYOHBOYOHBOYOHBOY!!!

[minque]

yay.....now THAT was a good start! Highly enjoyable oh I can´t wait for the next update! Very well written...ohboy!

[Mazelure]

Hey good to see you around Kayla and it's even better to see you writing stories again (Its been a while). By the way good job in this one... it has a pretty kick a$$ beginning .

[Kayla]

It has indeed been awhile Mazelure! I'm very happy to see you around as well!

[Avego]

After reading your last one this one looks even awsomerererer (word? doubt it)

[Ibis]

Aaah Kayla ... what a well thought-out fight scene and yet totally engrossing & seemingly off-the-cuff. I too cnnot wait to meet the other Children of the Void!

[Kayla]

Thanks for the replies, guys! I've had lots of time to write recently with the exception of yesterday. And I've got quite a bit of the story laid out.
----

Verano and I walked back through the woods, heading south to the stable near Bruma where I had left Shadowmere.

“What were you doing out here?” I asked.
“Killing people.” He replied, smiling. I couldn’t help but laugh.

I understood his urge to kill. I remembered my early days as a murderer. The only thing that could quench a thirst for blood, was, in fact, blood. And just by looking at his face, and the way he fought, I could tell this man had been killing for a long time. He had known just how to kill me when we fought earlier. Many murderers that I had met simply knew how to kill. They could suffocate someone in their sleep, they could slip poison in someone’s food or drink, but if they were ever attacked by a seasoned fighter, they would most likely be killed. Verano knew how to fight and he knew how to kill. I found that admirable. I knew he would be useful to us.

We stepped out of the woods and onto a road. Our boots thumping on the frozen, packed dirt.

“Why do you kill?” I asked, in an attempt to get to know him better.
He looked up into the night sky. “I kill because I want to. It’s a rush. It’s satisfying.” He answered. I found myself agreeing with him.

We walked on in silence until the lights of the city of Bruma came into view. It was truly a spectacular sight. The torches carried by the Bruma watch could be seen, moving about the city as though they were floating and the large torches on either side of the castle were like beacons in the darkness.

“What a view…” he said, seemingly lost in thought.
I nodded. “It’s quite nice.”

We walked toward the city, staying on the road. I could see that we were nearing the stable when he surprised me by asking a question.

“How long have you been in Cyrodiil?”
“I was born in Morrowind. I don’t know why… but, I can’t remember much from my childhood. I can remember living in Vivec for awhile, and frequenting the Mages Guild, then coming over here to live in the Arcane University.” I said.
There was a moment of silence before he spoke again. “I was born in Morrowind as well. I came here when I was younger. Morrowind is a strange place…”

I walked through the gates of the stable, approaching Shadowmere, then climbing onto her back. I then helped Verano on.

“I became an adventurer.” He continued. “I’ve been everywhere in Tamriel. Even Solstheim. I like Cyrodiil a lot though. No one fears me here… I don’t feel alienated when I’m forced into a social situation. I felt that way in Morrowind.”
I found that odd. “Usually, they’re not that way to Dunmers in Morrowind…” I said.
“I’m not a Dunmer. As a matter of fact, I’m not entirely sure what I am. I have many attributes that can’t be classified to a single race… I started adventuring to find out who I really am in the first place. I’ve never really found out anything…” once again there was a moment of silence. “Well… I’ve heard of a race called the Dark Naryn. Though, throughout my travels, I’ve discovered nothing about them except whispers and wives’ tales…”

Shadowmere’s hooves pounded against the ground as she quickened her pace. I became aware of the subtle change in surroundings as we neared Cheydinhal. The evergreen trees transformed into lush hardwood trees. The snowy hills changed to damp green plains and lowlands filled with clear water.

“The Dark Brotherhood sanctuary is in Cheydinhal?” Verano asked as the city became visible.
I nodded, looking almost directly behind us to the east. I could see thin rays of light on the horizon. It would be morning soon.
He chuckled. “It’s such a peaceful little town…”

I directed Shadowmere into the stable, then Verano and I dismounted and I led him into the city. The guards at the city gate cast suspicious eyes at us, but didn’t say anything.

The town was very quiet as we walked toward the east wall. I led Verano to the abandoned house and pushed the front door open. We walked across the old, dark structure, reaching the basement door. I opened it and led him down the stairs and through an underground passageway and stopped at the stone door with a painting of the Night Mother, along with our symbol on it. I remembered the first time I tried to open this very door and smiled as I grabbed the doorknob. The moment my fingers touched it, a distant voice spoke.

“What is the color of night?”
Verano looked at me.
“Sanguine, my brother.” I answered.

The door swung open, and we stepped inside.

“Ah… home sweet home.” I said, smiling and looking at Verano.
He stepped forward, and looked around, seemingly amazed.
“Come, I’ll introduce you to our Speaker.” I said.

As I walked forward into the main hall, I noticed it was empty. Not even our skeletal guardian was patrolling the hallway. I stopped in my tracks and just as I was surveying the main hall, a strong arm wrapped around my neck, restricting my airway. Another arm grabbed my right arm, and pulled it behind my back, ensuring that I wouldn’t draw my sword or move too much for fear of a broken arm.

“Sarelle!” Verano yelled, drawing his sword.
“Hello, Listener.” A familiar voice whispered into my ear.
I smiled. “It’s alright, Verano.” I managed to choke out, while holding up my free hand.

In one swift motion, I knelt down as low as I could, grabbed my assailant’s leg, and pulled it out from under them, sending them crashing onto the stone floor. I heard a familiar Khajiit his and watched as it scrambled up.

“Ro’Vir Shadowfang… I didn’t know you were back. I said, smiling from ear to ear.

The Khajiit with the pitch black fur and glowing yellow eyes grinned a toothy grin. His tail shwished in front of his face as he revealed and retracted the silvery blade that had been implanted into the tip of his tail. That blade was one of the most dangerous weapons I’d ever known. Ro’Vir’s claws were also enchanted with elemental destruction magic. They were very painful and very deadly. I knew this from experience.

“I see you’re still alive, Sarelle. I look forward to the day I end your life.” he hissed.

Ro’Vir was completely serious. He’d been trying to kill me since he joined the Dark Brotherhood. He was a very good fighter, and a master of stealth and murder. This made him an exceptional assassin. For this very reason, Coventia always had him out on contracts. The risk of him killing someone in our sanctuary was too great, according to her. I'd always tried my best to convince Coventia that if Ro’Vir ever broke one of the Five Tenets, he wouldn’t do it again, if he survived the Dread Father’s wrath.

“You just keep trying to kill me, you adorable, fuzzy little kitty. You won’t succeed.” I said, reaching out and tickling under his chin. He growled, then disappeared into the shadows.

This post has been edited by Kayla: Aug 25 2006, 12:49 AM

[The Metal Mallet]

Hahaha! Wonderful exposition and introduction of Jack's Ro'Vir. Just that brief introduction make me feel like I know him well all ready, it'll be interesting to read about him. We also get to know Verano better in this one. Seems like there's a strong resemblance to Sarelle with him so far, considering that they agree on many things.

Hmmm, I wonder whose's going to showup next?

[jack cloudy]

Ah, so you've begun. I like the introductions so far and as Metal Mallet said, I can't wait to see the others.

[Kayla]

Sorry, guys. I have had the BUSIEST week of my life. -_- I'm looking to update in a day or two though.

[Black Hand]

I lost my dog, eight of my ten fingers, lost a leg walking to schooll barefoot eight miles uphill in the snow, BOTH WAYS!! And yet I still update to!

Just kidding, RL is more important then the fantasy, so do what you gotta do, and we'll be here waiting,.....and waiting.

[The Metal Mallet]

Haha, Black. I can one up ya, I lost NINE of my fingers!

But anyways, take your time Kayla, I'm a very patient person. You seem to be updating at the rate I do, and I still have an audience. You have the readers from your last fic still wanting to see more from you (I was one of them, though I was just a guest at the time), so I'm sure they'll understand the wait.

I'm sure I'll gobble it up with my eyes as soon as you do update

[jack cloudy]

Ah, you bunch of wimps. I've lost my fingers, my toes and am forced to type with my NOSE!


Ahem, we'll wait. Don't worry.

[Kayla]

Alright! I had some time for an update! Thank you for your patience.
----
“Follow me.” I said to Verano, leading him deeper into the sanctuary in search of Coventia.
“You say you’re the Listener… What does that mean?” He asked, his gruff voice filled with curiosity.
“The Listener is the highest rank that a mortal can hold in the Dark Brotherhood. There is only one Listener. The second highest rank is Speaker. There are five Speakers. The five Speakers and the Listener combined make up the Black Hand, which is the ruling body of the Dark Brotherhood.” I answered. He nodded. “You’ll learn everything else in time.” I said, coming to Coventia’s quarters and pulling open the heavy wooden double doors.

“Welcome back, Listener.” Coventia greeted me, smiling. “Who is this?” she asked, staring up at Verano. I could tell she was just as intrigued with his eyes as I was.
“This is Verano. I met him while I was out meeting the client. I think he could be a great asset to the Dark Brotherhood.” I said. Coventia nodded. “I trust your judgment, Listener.”

She stood and walked to a chest in the corner of the room, opened it, and withdrew a set of our infamous black armor.

“Here.” She said, handing him the armor, boots, and hood. “This is the lightest set of armor you’ll ever wear.” She continued, “Sarelle will show you the living quarters and the kitchen. When you’re ready for contracts, come see me or Sarelle. I am here more often than she is, though.” She concluded, smiling. Verano grunted in reply.

As I led him to his quarters, I explained to him how the Dark Brotherhood worked. “When someone wants another person dead, they do a secret ritual in which they stab human flesh while praying to the Night Mother. The Night Mother tells the Listener of the person’s prayers and the Listener sends Speakers to meet the person who made the request for murder. Gold is exchanged and plans are made there. The Speakers then send murderers from the sanctuary to take care of the contract. Though I’m the Listener, I was doing a Speaker’s job when I met you.”

We approached the living quarters and I opened the door, ushering Verano inside. When I walked in, many of the other murderers were just waking up. “Most revered Listener!” a Dunmer murderer said loudly. The other murderers looked up at Verano and me, standing in attention. I laughed. “Go back to what you guys were doing. Don’t mind us.”

I looked at Verano. “There are plenty of beds here. Pick out one and make yourself at home. This is a place of refuge and safety for murderers. No one outside of the Dark Brotherhood knows this place exists. We intend to keep it that way.”
He nodded. “I understand.”
“Good. Now if you’ll excuse me, I would like to get some much needed rest.” I said, turning around to walk the door and go to my quarters.
“Wait… Sarelle.” He said rather distantly. His tone definitely caught me off guard. I looked over my shoulder at him. “Yes?” I asked, trying politely to keep impatience out of my tone.
“I’ve lived a long time and I’ve never really had a place to call home… so thanks… for bringing me here… I guess.” He said, his usually cold voice showing a brief side of gratefulness.
“Don’t mention it. Your skills are remarkable and we could most definitely use you. Not a lot of people like to kill and fate needs someone to do its dirty work…” I replied.

Then, I opened the door and swiftly walked down the dim hallway not stopping until I reached the door to my quarters.

I pulled the door open and walked into my room. I had quite a large room, but it was relatively empty save for a big, scarcely used bed and a few tables with books, candles, and alchemy equipment on them.

Whenever I had some spare time, I liked to read and mix potions. I remembered studying alchemy when I was a child in the Mages Guild in Vivec. I owed a lot to the Mages Guild. As a young child, they taught me to read and write. They also taught me geography, history, and theology along with the different schools of magic. I excelled in Illusion and Alteration as well as Conjuration and Destruction, but sadly, I was never any good with Restoration.

I also spent some time in the Thieves Guild in Morrowind and they taught me the art of stealth, though I seemed to be a natural at it, I didn’t know where I would be today without them.

I was also very good at fighting. I had always been quite partial to bows and short blades…

A tired yawn pulled me from my thoughts and I staggered over to my bed and lay down, quickly falling into a peaceful, deep sleep. In my dreams, I heard a far away voice that I knew I’d recognized. It was so very faint, though… suddenly, it shouted at me clearly. “Sarelle! Wake up! Now!”

I opened my eyes to see two glowing yellow dots and a glint of silver. I rolled over quickly to hear the sound of the sheets on my bed ripping and a loud hiss. I jumped out of bed and cast a night-eye spell, allowing me to see in the dark room. As the spell took effect, I saw Ro’Vir closing in on me.

“I will kill you this time, Listener!” he yelled, agilely leaping toward me.

I dodged him easily but he grazed my face with the blade on his tail.

“Resorting to sneaking up on me as I sleep? You’re not a very nice kitty at all.” I said, backing up to put distance between us.

He growled and charged at me, swinging his claws and flailing his tail.

I’d fought Ro’Vir enough to know that he got mad easily. When he was mad, he became a stupid fighter. I threw a small fire spell at him, and as he was momentarily stunned, I stomped down on his tail with my boot.

All the black fur on his body seemed to stand straight up as he let out a loud, pained wail. Just then, Coventia threw the door open, accompanied by Verano and a few other murderers.

“Oh, hello, Coventia. Did you know Ro’Vir is home?” I asked.
“My tail…” Ro’Vir moaned.

All the other murderers looked on, wide-eyed and silent as Coventia roared, “Ro’Vir! Report to my quarters! NOW!”.

I lifted my foot, releasing Ro’Vir’s tail. Coventia shot me an apologetic look as she led him away.

“Are you alright?” Verano asked, stepping toward me. “I’m fine.” I replied, rubbing the blood off my cheek.

I looked back at my bed to assess the damages. My sheets had been cut up, but I didn’t care. “You fight with him a lot?” he asked. “Yeah. He’s hellbent on killing me, but he never will. Plus, Coventia is now in the process of sending him out on another contract. We won’t see him again for awhile.”

I rubbed my eyes sleepily, wondering how much rest I’d gotten.

“Is this where you live?” Verano asked, looking around my room.
I nodded. “I also own a house in the Waterfront District of the Imperial City. I haven’t been there in a long time though.”

I checked the rest of my room, examining my alchemy equipment to discover that I had run out of ingredients.

I sighed, running my hands through my long brown hair. “I have to go pick up some more ingredients from the Arcane University… I guess I’ll go pay the Night Mother a visit as well.”

[The Metal Mallet]

It definitely seems that Ro'Vir is quite a pest. Good thing he's going to get sent off somewhere.

Nice to see a recap of Sarelle's skills, just to freshen up the new readers. The back history was also pleasant.

I'll enjoy the talk with the Night Mother. Can't wait to read it.

[Black Hand]

^ ^ ^
What he said.