Morrowind, A fanfic Options

[Alexander]

Another fanfic about Morrowind you must be asking yourself? Do we really need yet another one? I've asked myself the same question
As some of you might know I tried a hand at writing some two+ years back, resulting in two chapters of something I didn't really like looking back. Though even back then, I'd had the idea for another, a different fanfiction.

For some reason despite the fact that I was very much convinced I was not a good writer, this idea stayed with me through all this time and kept nagging at me. Then early this year I decided to simply give it a go again, and the result is something I'm actually quite fond of. This is the result.

It's a fan fiction about Morrowind, set in the time after the events in the game Morrowind but before the events in Oblivion. It's told from the perspective of three people who play a large part in Morrowind's future, at least the future I've created with some parts told by other characters.

As you'll notice, some events in chapters start a little while before the end of the past chapters, just a heads up there.

And lastly, before I bore you all to death with my rants I'd just like to extend a very large thank you, firstly to everyone who ever read "Alexander in Morrowind" and told me it was good (whether they meant it or not ) and second a very special thank you to Treydog who sacrificed quite a bit of his spare time in order to proof read this story, and who played the role of Editor for me. I'm very grateful for that.

Now, on to the story.







The year is 3E 432 many things have changed since the return of the lord Nerevar, and even more things are changing. Four Great Houses have a new head. The Tribunal gods are slain. Temple doctrine is falling and failing rapidly. Oppression of other faiths has been removed. Many rumours float around, rumours of things unheard of in the very near past; The lord Nerevar wants to abolish slavery, Indoril generals are taking bribes and forsaking their honour, some or all of the Tribunal gods were killed by the lord Nerevar, the lord Nerevar used the powers of the heart of Lorkhan to make himself immortal and godlike, secret cults are rising in Cyrodiil, Imperial legions are being recalled to Cyrodiil to quell the unrest, king Helseth poisoned the last king, Mehrunes Dagon has come to earth in the guise of queen Barenziah, Sheogorath has started a love affair with Azura, Bosmer everywhere are planning the end of the world, Orcs have taken to worshiping Khajiit instead of Malacath.

Some rumours are a bit wilder then others of course, but if only half of them are true the future promises to be spectacular.

This story starts in Ebonheart, in the Grand Council chambers where the lord Nerevar is preparing for what could be the most important council meeting in many years.

[Alexander]

Chapter 2. Losing a friend.

Baladas Demnevanni knew he’d remember that moment for the rest of his life. The day had started normally enough, if you could call any council meeting with former enemies normal. Slavery was gone, abolished. Well there was no surprise there; Divayth Fyr had told him after the last council meeting that this would come. And even before that, since first meeting lord Nerevar, Baladas knew it was only a matter of time before he made this ruling. Baladas himself had not kept slaves for many centuries. He assumed none who had even spoken to Divayth Fyr, really spoken to him, would have wanted to keep slaves afterwards. So, slavery had been abolished, and then all of a sudden with a big bang the door had swung inwards.

He assumed, just as most people would, that after so many peaceful council meetings, the peace would be disturbed by an attack. But the tension left quickly dissipated. It had only been the silly Jester with bad timing. Everything settled down again, but then just as lord Nerevar was starting on his next item, corruption, he fell quiet and a look of both shock and surprise crossed his face. Baladas knew something was wrong; the moment he saw that look he knew something had happened. And then, when lord Nerevar had looked down to his cup, Baladas knew. He didn’t want to know, he didn’t want to even consider it, but he knew all the same. Lord Nerevar had been poisoned and would not live another hour.

As lord Nerevar was falling to the floor, Baladas saw the lord’s bodyguard rush forward to try and catch him. He was rising at the same moment, chanting incantations of healing and rushed forward, pushed Ilmeni out of the way and knelt above lord Nerevar. He cast his spell, and then another, and then yet another, but lord Nerevar did not so much as stir. Baladas stood up, looking down at lord Nerevar, still clutched by his bodyguard.

He hadn’t felt this powerless since being trained by Divayth Fyr, many centuries before, but right now he did feel helpless and powerless. If only he’d been more attentive; any retainer could have seen through this diversion, but he a true Telvanni master had fallen for it; hook, line and sinker. How he would be able to return to Divayth and explain how he’d allowed such a good friend to die, while he was in the same room, he did not know.

He also didn’t know how long he’d stood there; he saw the bodyguard finally letting go of the body of his lord, and that the priests were already casting spells to preserve the body. He noticed the glazed over look in the guard’s eyes, and he also saw Ilmeni look at him. With a determined stride the guard walked out of the chambers, apparently heading towards his own room. Ilmeni was fast trailing behind him, calling his name, but the guard didn’t seem to hear her.

Baladas was torn; he was pretty sure what the guard was going to do, and on one hand he did not mind at all, good riddance to a bad bodyguard. On the other hand however, it was the son of the Redoran Grandmaster and if he could do the Redoran a favour, who knew what it would be good for in the coming, sure to be trying, months.

His instinct was correct; as he walked into the room of the guard, he saw him with a blade in his hand, obviously intent on cutting himself. Ilmeni was trying desperately to use all of her weight to hold back the one hand holding the dagger. Baladas quickly stepped forward and held on to the arm as well. At the same time he muttered an easy spell, and the guard relaxed his body all at once. A simple sleep spell was often enough to take out even an experienced warrior, especially when the warrior was unprepared.

Taking the blade away from him, he helped Ilmeni put him to bed. Ilmeni thanked him, of course, though she also managed to stay as far away from him as she could without appearing impolite. It wasn’t something Baladas was surprised at. There were but a few people in Morrowind who felt confident enough to be in the same room with someone the likes of him, or Divayth Fyr, or some others he could name. Oh well, if that was the price of power, Baladas was more then willing to pay it.

Leaving the late lord Nerevar’s bodyguard in his bed, with Ilmeni watching over him, and after promising he would send Ilmeni’s servants to her if he should happen to see one, Baladas returned to the council chambers. They had removed the body of lord Nerevar; it was probably already lying on the Imperial Cult altar downstairs. At the long table two priests were trying to bewitch the cup Nerevar had been drinking from. Likely they were trying to determine what poison had been in the juice and track down the perpetrator that way. At the other side of the room, the Captain of the guards here in Ebonheart and the Dres representative, a Vizier by the looks of it, were questioning the guards. Baladas knew that would prove fruitless. He’d been at the back, looking at all the guards and most of the servants, they’d all been looking at the door and had all seen the same thing. They had also turned back around at the same time. No, nothing would come from that.

Baladas also knew he would have to bring word of this to Divayth Fyr as soon as possible, but leaving now would appear suspicious to say the least. It was a well-known fact that Telvanni didn’t shy away from using poisons to get ahead in their house. Instead, he turned to the two priests examining the cup and offered them his assistance. Again, that apprehensive look shot his way; under different circumstances it might have brought him joy, but not now. The priests agreed, and Baladas waited until the priests had tried what they could, and then cast his own spells.

He spent the better part of the afternoon casting spells on that dreaded cup; in the end he was nearly ready to throw the entire thing out the window. For some reason, none of his spells, and none of the priests’ spells, gave them any information. No poison presented itself, no anomaly was detected; for all they could tell it was pure and 100% Comberry juice. The only thing Baladas could think of to explain this was that somehow the poison must have been added before the Juice was made, perhaps as early as when the ingredients were growing on the land, maybe in the water used to water them. That would certainly make it appear as if no alien substance was present, if nothing was added but the juice itself, his best spells would be useless.

He was taken out of his ponderings by the Captain of the guards who came up to him and asked him the same questions he’d been asking people all afternoon.