Serene of Cyrodiil, chapter 7, Comfort is given, Justice is taken... Options

[minque]

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If an injury has to be done to a man it should be so severe that his vengeance need not be feared.
Nicolo Machiavelli


Chapter 7, "Comfort is given, Justice is taken"

After spending a week in the good custody of Lloros Sarano I was back in Sarethi Manor again. Athyn, who had visited me every day while I was in the Temple, was ecstatic at having me back. I was worried about him; he had had too many traumatic things happen to him during the last six months, and now he seemed more exhausted and worn out than ever. In fact what he needed mostly now, and I too, for all that it mattered, was a vacation, a break from the normal struggle. I promised myself that when all this was over with we’d go…somewhere…that was, if I survived…

The prophecy by Sinnamu Mirpal was very clear to me, and it was also confirmed by the recent attempt on my life, because I knew very well who was responsible for that; the amulet I ripped off my would-be assassin was familiar; it belonged to the Venim family. I doubted Bolvyn himself was the one who tried to kill me, but whoever it was, it was on his orders, of that I was certain.

So all I had to do was to challenge Bolvyn Venim to a duel and then end his life, at the Arena in Vivec…?

Of course it was not that simple! I had to ponder a lot how I should let Justice be taken. I had to take active part in the government of House Redoran, to be able to get to know where the loyalties were. I had to know the standpoint of the other councilors and also raise their disposition to me.

Thorough planning was crucial here; otherwise I would be the one who would bite the dust. I also needed to train my sword-skill. I hadn’t used my Katana for a long time and I knew I had to be beyond simply good if I was to defeat a man like the Archmaster. I didn’t even consider another way of fighting him; a duel at the Arena witnessed by the Nobles of my House would be the only honorable way of dealing with this matter.

I discussed my plans with Athyn; naturally he tried to talk me out of it!

“Serene, I don’t like the thought of you being decapitated by Bolvyn Venim, In fact I don’t like the thought of you being decapitated at all. I love you and I want to spend the rest of my life with you!” he said, holding me close to him. “Why not let Sethyas do the fighting instead? He’s very skilled and…and he is a man! Besides, I know you do not like to take lives, even if taking this life would be justified.”

I took his face between my hands, kissed him deeply and sighed;

“I was convinced you would be the first one to stand behind me in this! I’ve told you about the prophecy of Sinnamu Mirpal…I’ve told you about my weird dream…and you know I am protected by Azura! You, Athyn Sarethi, the sun of my life, I love you more than you will ever know, and I beg you to support me now! The life of Bolvyn Venim will be taken by a woman, not a man, and that woman…will be me!”

Tears burned behind my eyelids as I once more kissed him. I was aware of his fear to loose someone dear to him and also the fear of acts of reprisal from the Venim family. But I couldn’t let that stop me; I had to do this once and for all or I’d never get peace at heart again.

Before he made an attempt to answer me I told him about a book Drulene Falen once showed me, “The Hope of the Redoran”. I actually never read the book but Drulene had told me what it was about.

“You for one should know that some things just have to be done,” I said, “If you hadn’t defeated your cousin back then, we wouldn’t be having this conversation at all.”

Athyn hesitated for quite some time before answering me. I could see in his face he’d given in to me, that he’d stand by my side all the way…This was of great comfort to me.

“I’ll go with you to Fort Buckmoth,” he said, sounding defeated and tired. “You will have to go through thorough training before you can even think of challenging the Archmaster, because that’s exactly what you’re going to do, right?”

I nodded and he continued;

“Since you are familiar with that confounded book, I think you know the name of the lady who used to train me when I was young? Shardie was the very best trainer to be found. She and I got on very well together and it is because of her that I have the position I have now…But you know all that.” Athyn paused, getting out a bottle of brandy and two glasses.

“We will need some fortification I think,” he said and offered me a glass. We tasted the beverage and he continued;

“Shardie has a daughter, named Shardie-Lee, who now is a master-trainer at Fort Buckmoth. She’s known as just Shardie and she is the one who I’d like to train you. Then you will have the best there is!” Athyn gently stroke my chin. “I care so much for you my love; I do not want to loose you.”

“We’ll be off to Fort Buckmoth, first thing tomorrow,” Athyn concluded. “So let’s spend this evening as nicely as we can, shall we?”

We had far too much brandy, far too much good food and maybe far too much love, but I still remember that evening as maybe the last evening that I still was somewhat innocent.

My head was aching and I could hardly stand the bright sunshine the following morning as Athyn and I were heading towards Fort Buckmoth. He, too, obviously suffered from last night’s events because he walked by my side silently with his head somewhat down. The sun was warm and I was drenched in sweat under my full Imperial Armor. Athyn had to take off his robe and carry it; the heat, or maybe last night, took its tribute out of him, and his face was a tad more grayish than usual, with beads of sweat forming on his forehead and he had to stop a few times to regain strength. I was carrying a small satchel with a few shirts and an extra pair of trousers together with my usual herbs and plants; nothing much really but it felt as heavy as if I’d had stones in it.

We found Shardie-Lee sitting in the shadows in a corner of the courtyard when we arrived, her brown skin glistened with perspiration and she was drinking from a large jug. Four young soldiers were scattered on the ground, totally exhausted, apparently from the hard training.

When Athyn presented himself and me her eyes widened; “I’ve heard about you, Serjo Sarethi, from my mother!” she exclaimed with a smile, “Nice to finally get the opportunity to meet you!”

I let Athyn do the talking, for my stomach was in uproar and I merely felt like vomiting; the heat and last night affected me severely. I sat down in the shadows, taking a sip of water, thinking ruefully that I’d have big trouble getting to my feet again…armor is just not meant to wear sitting down…

[minque]

Yes, Blackie, someone's helping me..

So therefore I dedicate this and the two following installments to

The Metal Mallet

who is my honored guest-writer, since you all know, fighting scenes isn't my cup 'o tea

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My armor and sword had already been brought to the Arena by two of our servants. I just had to bring myself there. The silt strider driver did not speak to me during the trip, so I took the opportunity to close my eyes and get some rest.

It was a bright sunny day when I landed at Vivec Strider port.

A wonderful day to die…

I had to stop those thoughts; I wasn’t supposed to die, and I had promised to stay alive! I enjoyed the gondola-trip between the Vivec Foreign quarter and Vivec Arena. Vivec really is a peculiar town; it consists of different so-called Cantons, built right out in the sea, Each canton is a huge building with different levels and a lot of corridors and rooms. You certainly need a map to find your way around. You can travel between the cantons by gondolas, a rather pleasant means of transport. From the water, you can see the majesty of the city rising from the sea, as well as the sun reflecting from the waves.

At the Arena I was shown into a small room, with a narrow bed, a chair and a large cupboard, where I had a chance to prepare myself. My armor and weapon were placed there already. I lay down on the bed, totally exhausted after last night’s lack of sleep.

The muffled roar of the spectators of the Arena woke me from the small nap I was taking. It seemed as if they thought the fight taking place at the moment was an exciting one. Well, I intended to show them what a spectacle truly was!

Now that I was awake, I decided that it would be a good time to begin final preparations for my duel. I picked up my Daedric dai-katana from the rack at the side of the cupboard and placed it upon my lap.

Daedric weaponry was widely known for being quite weighty, but fortunately the weapon was balanced so perfectly that the weight didn’t pose a problem. I brushed my hand against the flat of the blade, observing the light-absorbing blackness of the metal. Brilliant flashes of crimson seared the edges of the blade, giving it a very intimidating appearance. I deemed the blade unscarred after my inspection. It would hopefully tear right through whatever armor Venim decided to wear.

I almost found it odd how much I was looking forward to battling Venim to the death. Almost. Any other time than this I would’ve despised the notion of killing someone. But this, this had to be done for the benefit of my House. The Redorans would eventually crumble under the oppressive nature of Bolvyn Venim. I couldn’t let that happen!

The next thing I did was don my Imperial armor. While putting on the heavy armor I couldn’t help but think about how long it had been since I had done my service with the Imperial Legion. It felt like ages ago; so much had changed.

Yet, some things had stayed the same as well. I felt like I was the same person as I was back then. Sure, the events I had experienced had revealed new things about me, but I felt that those things that made me truly Serene were still intact. I also knew there were people who had confidence in me, people who expected me to manage this. That scared me terribly.

After putting on my armor, excluding the helm for comfort reasons, I wrapped a simple red robe around myself. It wasn’t so bulky that it would inhibit my movements, but it did what I wanted it to do: hide my armor. My plan was to make Venim overconfident, then use that overconfidence to defeat him. Believing I was unprepared, Venim would be more reckless, thus allowing me to use precision and accuracy to my advantage. I knew that he would seek to do more than win- he would try to humiliate me.

The preliminary battle still raged, so I sat quietly on my bench and attempted to visualize the fight I would shortly begin. It was during this time that a knock on the door caught my attention.

The door opened and Athyn walked in, his hands folded together and his expression a mix of worry, concern, and hope. He slowly walked towards me, bent down to one knee and took my hands into his. He looked up to me, his eyes blank with emotion.

“Serene, my dear, I know this must be done, but why can’t someone else do it? Surely there must be someone else willing to defeat Bolvyn. I could ask Sethyas, he is strong and fit! I couldn’t bear to see you fall!” he said softly, kissing my hand affectionately.

I gently pulled Athyn up, so that we could make eye contact. “Athyn, as you said, this must be done. It was I who made the challenge, therefore it must be me who duels him. You know this better than anyone else. You only say such things because you worry for me. Besides, Sethyas has his own demons to fight; this is not his battle.” I kissed his brow, “But do not fear. I shall be victorious.”

My courage must somehow have rubbed off a bit on Athyn, as the worry on his face appeared to fade away. Determination now replaced it.

“Make sure you come back to me,” he said with conviction.

I nodded. “Go now, be strong for the others,” I said before he walked out of the room.

The next knocking on my door was a guard informing me that it was time to go. I grabbed my dai-katana and sheathed it on my back before following the guard to the Arena fighting grounds.

As I exited the room, a stretcher containing one of the previous combatants was being rushed past me. The combatant was an Imperial, covered in blood. Grievous wounds covered his body and the warrior openly cried out in pain from them. Even when he had been carried out of sight, I could still hear his wails.

I shuddered involuntarily. That could happen to me. Even worse, I could be killed… No! I had to maintain confidence. I couldn’t let such sights sway the outcome of my duel.

As I walked through the doorway into the fighting pit, the crowd greeted my entrance warmly with a few cheers and scattered applause. Outside of House Redoran, I wasn’t widely known. I knew this crowd was as large as it was because a virtual stranger was challenging the Arch Master of House Redoran for the position. Bolvyn Venim was widely considered a great sword master and this crowd was eager to see a slaughter. Well, I would give them one! Just one that they weren’t expecting.

When Venim stepped out onto the grounds, the audience surged, their cheers sounding like thunder. Venim waved appreciatively to the crowds, drinking in their praise. I silently cursed when I noticed that Venim also had a Daedric dai-katana strapped to his back. He also wore expensive ebony armor, which I knew was exceptionally strong. I was certain it would take more than one blow with my katana to tear into that stuff. My Imperial armor wouldn’t protect me nearly as well.

Off to one side of the spectators’ seating section was a raised platform. Upon it stood a large Nord in full armor.

“Silence!” the Nord’s booming voice bellowed. The crowd quickly followed his order.

“Before us stand two warriors. One wishes to be called House Redoran Arch Master, the other wishes to keep such title. This is a serious matter, and I must ask- Arch Master Venim, Lady Serene, will you not be reconciled?”

This was a formality; a chance for combatants to reconsider after the heat of a challenge had faded. Venim sneered and raised an arrogant eyebrow at me, as if offering me a chance. When I silently shook my head, he shrugged as if to say that what was to come was not his doing. The Nord stared hard at me and then bellowed:

“Ladies, Gentlemen, and Gentlemer, I present to you a duel to the death!”

The crowd surged once more, screaming their approval. The Nord raised his hands and the crowd grew silent once more. “To my left stands the challenger. Behold! Serene Catraso!”

My announcement received a mixture of applause, cheers, and even some boos. I waved slightly to the crowd, but my eyes were fixed on my opponent the entire time.

“And to my right,” the Nord continued, “Is the current Arch Master of House Redoran. The great Bolvyn Venim!”

After the crowd finished shouting their praise for the despicable Mer, the Nord continued, “I shall now dictate the terms of this duel. This will be to the death; no mercy shall be given. It has been decided between the opponents that no magic shall be used during the battle. Should any magic appear, the duel with stop and the caster will be arrested and executed shortly thereafter,” he paused to emphasize the point.

“Now, combatants…. BEGIN!”