The Ordinator, The time of change is approaching... Options

[Gaius Maximus]

So, I decided I would psot it ehre as well. Enjoy!

Chapter I

Raynari Vandareth sighed in relief, taking off his Indoril helmet. Sweat gushed down his brow, and he could feel the same was happening to his back, which gave him an uncomfortable feeling, since he could do nothing with his armor on. However, he wasn’t an Ordinator captain for nothing, so he could endure this feeling, like he endured the hits that came from Corprus monsters a mere several minutes ago.

“Captain? Are you alright?” A voice distracted Raynari from the dead body of a once-man in front of him.

Turning around, he was faced with an Indoril helmet, worn by one of his Ordinators, with whom he was tasked to clear out a nest of Sixth House heretics.

“Yes… Yes, I’m fine. Only several dents in my armor… Those damn monsters know how to pack a hit.” The Ordinator Captain replied, cleaning the sweat off of his brow with a gauntlet-less hand. The gauntlet that was supposed to rest on the hand was lying in dirt, deformed to the point where it was impossible to use it for its original purpose.

“Casualties?” Raynari finally asked after a moment of silence.

“We’ve got at least half a hundred of those beasts. Yet at a high cost, they took at least a quarter of our own men, and I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s double the number of them left in this cave.” The lower-ranking Ordinator replied with a sigh. Raynari shook his head slightly.

“Tell the remaining men to regroup into a schiltron. The heretics aren’t known for patience, they’ll come at us soon, so we have to be ready.” The Ordinator Captain ordered with a weary voice, again cleaning the sweat from his brow – it was still pouring. “Dismissed, Suleri.” Raynari added, cleaning the tip of his spear into the ground, which was also stained in blood.

With a salute, the Ordinator called Suleri hurried off, leaving Raynari alone with his thoughts once again. However, those thoughts weren’t the nicest ones, as the Ordinator Captain could hear footsteps approaching them – more Corprus beasts were coming into the cavern in which the Ordinators were trapped.

If this lasts for long, we’ll all be dead. Apparently, the informant underestimated the Sixth House while gathering information about this goddamn cavern… Vehk save us if no reinforcements come. Raynari sighed again, then shot a glance at his Ordinators. They were all weary, yet still more than willing to fight for the glory of the Temple and the Tribunal. They didn’t have much hope of surviving, and the little hope they did was in the form of a circular schiltron, a forest of spears deadly against cavalry and useful against infantry.

When the second wave of Corpus monsters finally began, the spear-armed Ordinators met it with grim face expressions and tightly gripped spears and shields. However, the mad beasts did not stop for even a moment of consideration, slamming into the schiltron. The tight formation retreated slightly, yet suffered light casualties, while leaving many bodies of Corprus monsters on the ground.

The Corprus monsters slammed into the schiltron again, suffering more casualties, yet making the circle of spears retreat a bit more. This was certainly not a welcomed situation, as soon enough, the Ordinators would be pushed into the wall, and their formation disrupted. Raynari had to quickly think a way out of this. However, it wasn’t that hard.

When the Corprus monsters slammed into them for the third time, he yelled out the command that could either doom the Ordinators or save them:

“ATTACK!”

Thus, when the Corprus monsters slammed into a part of the schiltron, their flanks were crashed into by the other Ordinators. Soon enough, the Corprus monsters were forced into fighting on three sides – their flanks and the front. Now was the time when Raynari had to lead a handful of Ordinators to smash into their rear, an action that the Corprus monsters would not expect.

As fast as possible, the party of some ten Ordinators separated from the main force, trying to stay away from the fighting. It didn’t take long for them to reach the location from which they could charge down on the rear of the Corprus beasts, hopefully turning their attention away from the other Ordinators long enough for the fighting to turn the way they wanted.

Raynari smirked, looking at the temptingly vulnerable rear of the Corprus monsters. However, the smirk was left unnoticed by his companions, since his head was covered with the Indoril helmet, which was in turn smeared with blood, as was his whole armor. He knew that soon enough, his armor would receive a new layer of blood, and a new set of dents from the monsters that fought ahead of them. Since there was no time to be wasted, the Ordinator Captain lifted up his spear into the air, then yelled out the phrase that all of the Ordinators were eager to hear:

“CHARGE!”

It took several moments for the Corprus monsters to realize what happened when the handful of Ordinators slammed into their back, and when they did, several of the monsters’ numbers were already dead with spears in their backs. However, when they did realize what happened, they turned to fight with ferocity that Raynari had not foreseen.

The Captain himself, though, fought with ferocity that equaled, if not surpassed, the ferocity of his enemies. However, his ferocity blinded him temporarily, which almost cost him his life. As he impaled a Corprus monster with his spear, another one lunged at him from behind, knocking him on the ground.

Raynari was unfortunate enough to land on a rock with his unarmored hand. With a sickening crunch, he looked as his arm twisted in an unusual way, indicating that it broke. As if that wasn’t enough, he cut it quite deeply, and blood started gushing out of his wound. But it wasn’t the only of his problems – the Corprus monster jumped on him, pressing him to the ground.

After a bit of struggling, Raynari managed to turn himself around, coming face to face with the disfigured face of the monster. A sickening stench blew at his face, though he did his best to ignore it, hitting the monster in the face. This didn’t seem to have much effect, though, and in return Raynari got a hit that broke his nose. He felt warm blood on his face, yet ignored it, moving his head to avoid another such hit.

What the Corprus monster failed to see was that Raynari’s fine arm managed to grasp the shortsword that hung at the Ordinator Captain’s side. Just as the creature was going to land another hit, Raynari swung the shortsword. It too several moment for the monster to realize what had happened, yet it soon roared in pain, staring at what was left of its arm. The rest of it landed nearby, cut off by Raynari’s shortsword.

Blood poured out of the remaining part of the beast’s arm, mixing with the blood on Raynari’s face and arm. The Dunmer frowned in disgust, then drove the shortsword in his hand into the creature’s neck, causing more blood to pour on him and mix with that of his own. With a one last roar, the monster fell down on Raynari in full weight, hitting his head against a rock.

The last thing Raynari heard before passing out was cheerful shouts and heavy footsteps of many armored feet.

***

Raynari looked around a large room, seemingly made out of gold. He did not know where he was, nor how he got here, yet what he knew was that he didn’t want to be here. Still, the room was so beautiful, and the wooden door leading outside seemed so ugly in comparison, he couldn’t make himself leave. What drew him more were other doors, made out of precious gems and diamonds of all sort.

In an oddly sluggish way, Raynari walked towards the diamond doors. It took only several moments for him to reach them and open them. However, when he did, he felt himself falling through the floor before he could even see what was inside. As he fell into the abyss, darkness surrounded him. The Ordinator Captain heard someone laugh, before opening his eyes.

Sweat gushed down his enormously hot brow. Raynari felt weak and sick, which was probably the case, as the first thing he saw upon opening his eyes was a man in blue robes – the Ordinator healer. Raynari was back in Vivec.

[Gaius Maximus]

Chapter XI, Part II

Brushing aside the cloth that separated the yurt from the rest of the world, Raynari stepped out. After the stiffly air of the Ashkhan's yurt, the evening air seemed bitter cold, forcing the Ordinator to lift his scarf up like he had during the ash storm. Truly, the hellhole of Vvardenfell... The Dunmer's nose wrinkled slightly. A trip through the Ashlands is bad enough as it is; how do those Mer survive here is beyond me. He shuddered slightly, looking around the camp. As soon as he turned his head, he noticed several clothes that were the 'doors' to the other yurts shuffling; Raynari suspected that the Ashlanders were watching him, and indeed, from the corner of his eyes he could see several pairs of red eyes. A young Dunmer boy even dared to stick his head out, yet it was pulled back in by his mother quickly.

The sun had almost sunk in the sea by now - the Ashlands were trying to soak in the last few rays of sunshine before the night set in. The fires in the Ashlanders' yurts danced, and they would continue until the sun rose again and shed warmth upon the land - the nights in the Ashlands were ferociously cold, and all Ashlanders and experienced travelers knew that. The guars from herd of the Urshilaku pressed against each other for warmth, the creatures rubbing against each other’s sides. The warmly clothed Ashlander herder rubbed his hands together in a similar manner as he walked around, occasionally stopping to scrub the side of one or another guar. The creature would then grunt with satisfaction, triggering a chain of sorts as all the guars began grunting.

Raynari shook his head slightly, trying to brush away his thoughts about the blissful life he'd live as an Ashlander. No, His Indoril honor gave him a mental slap. I was born an Indoril, an Ordinator, and I'm proud of it. However, the moment those thoughts came to him, Raynari was forced to bite his lip. Are you? The ex-Ordinator's conscience squeaked. Raynari rubbed his eyes and sighed wearily, before quickly hurrying towards the largest yurt beside the Ashkhan's, hoping his troubling thoughts would be left floating as a dark cloud in the spot he stood moments ago.

The yurt was not that far away from the Ashkhan's, yet its entrance was facing the same way as the Askhan's, so Raynari had to walk around it. When he finally found a door, the ex-Ordinator made note of what he guessed to be the sign of the Wise Woman's yurt - a rug, made out of wool, as far as Raynari could see. On the rug was depicted what he assumed to be a black shalk, or so he thought, since the creature was similar to a giant scarab, and since scarabs did not live in Vvardenfell, Raynari couldn't think of a way for the Ashlanders to know of them. None of them seemed to like traveling a lot, anyway, and he didn't know of any merchants that would trade scarabs.

Gathering his courage, Raynari attempted to knock. The only thing he managed to do was make the cloth move, yet that was enough. From inside, a raspy, old voice came:

"Who summoned you?"

"Sul-Matuul, Ashkhan of the Urshilaku under Moon and Skies." Raynari replied, recalling an old phrase some of the Dunmer still used while greeting each other. His mother in particular used it frequently, particularly when speaking with Temple Priests.

"Why did he send you?" The voice continued.

"To test me and, should I pass the test, tell me what the Urshilaku know of the Nerevarine." Raynari's nose again wrinkled - those silly Ashlander customs were lasting too long for his taste. He could've answered questions for hours and hours straight during daytime, yet he was freezing, which made him irritated. If this continued for long, he could soon lose what calmness he had left, and start spitting out not such pleasant words at the Wise Woman.

Fortunately, his rage was not to spill. Yet.

"Enter."

Raynari suppressed the urge to rush into the tent and warm up next to the fire that was obviously burning within the yurt, and instead walked in slowly, lowering his scarf to again cover only his neck.

Immediately upon entering the yurt, Raynari swallowed a cough as some sort of a colorful mist flowed straight into his face. For a moment, the only thing the Wise Woman could make of him was a pair of blinking, rather annoyed crimson red eyes, glancing from a purple cloud.

Even more irritated, Raynari waved his hand in front of his face, trying to rid himself of the mist, which proved to be quite an annoyance, as it seemed to keep coming back. Finally, the ex-Ordinator realized what was happening, and stepped away from the entrance, allowing the mist to wiggle out, directed by the barely noticeable draught.

Finally free from the mist, Raynari bowed to the Wise Woman in front of him, Nibani Maesa. This action allowed him to cast a quick glance around the room.

In the middle of the yurt, a fire blazed. All around it, clay bowls and pots were placed, filled with odd substances, herbs, plants and parts of animals of the Ashlands. Those mysterious things, obviously used during rituals and worship of Good Daedra and the Ancestors, were what emitted the mist, as some of the pots and bowls heated up from the fire and the heat triggered some of the content's alchemical properties.

On the wooden supports of the yurt, many more plants and herbs hung, many of which Raynari was seeing for the first time. There were little plants that the 'settled people' were accustomed with, as they did not grow in the Ashlands, and trade between settled and nomad Dunmer was, at best, scarce, as only several merchants were willing to journey out of the cities into the Ashlands, where the 'nomad devils' lived and claimed to rule. The Ashlanders, on the other hand, were not too keen to journey out of their territory either, and both sides stuck to the unwritten rule that neither would touch the other until provoked. The Ashlanders broke this unspoken agreement at times, but then, so did the settle House or Temple people. Imperials considered themselves above this, and took what they wanted from the Ashlanders while giving them little, if anything at all.

Asides for the plants, there were little objects within the yurt. An old wooden table on which lay more pots and bowls, a worn bedroll, and a pair of carpets, almost identical to those in the Ashkhan's yurt, summed up the Wise Woman's Nirnic possessions.

However, Nibani Maesa herself seemed much more worthy of attention than her yurt.

The Wise Woman was an old Dunmer, as could be expected. She wore simple Ashlander-made robes, adorned with fangs of animals. Her face was ploughed with wrinkles that seemed to be much deeper than those of your usual Dunmer woman of respectful age. And her eyes... Her eyes were unlike any others Raynari had ever seen. While as red as those of any other Dunmer, Nibani's eyes seemed much, much deeper and much more understanding. In a way, they reminded of the Ashkhan's eyes; however, they seemed much more mature, hiding treasures of simple, yet great wisdom of the Ashlanders.

“You say that Sul-Matuul sent you?” Nibani snapped the ex-Ordinator out of his thoughts.

“Yes. He told me to go to you and seek your wisdom on the matter of the Nerevarine Prophecies.” Raynari replied, again feeling irritation rear its ugly head in his chest – how much longer until the actual test began? After all, he had a play to pull, a Temple to bring down and a continent to conquer, he didn’t exactly have much time to chatter with wise women of Ashlanders, no matter how much wisdom they seemed to possess.

The Wise Woman wrinkled her nose. Impatient. Quick to anger. Something is troubling his heart, perhaps a difficult choice to be made. She quickly evaluated the Mer in front of her. This was certainly not the Nerevarine as she imagined it, but then, these days nothing was as one would like. And if the Nerevarine would prove to be this flawed person, then he would at least be able to save Vvardenfell and all of Tamriel, or so Nibani hoped – this ‘Nerevarine’ certainly seemed able-bodied as a warrior, her tribe valued such people.

“Very well. I shall take your word for it so as not to waste more time. Sit.”

Raynari held back a frown. ’Take your word for it’... What is she implying that Ordinators are liars? That the warriors of the Temple and House Indoril are not honourable enough to be trusted by the devious nomads? Again, he found himself defending the one thing he was supposed to despise as a high-ranking member of the Sixth House.

Regardless, Raynari sat down. Nibani took an empty bowl off of the table, set it in front of the fire, and sat down as well. For a few minutes, the only noise in the yurt was silent shuffling of the Wise Woman’s robe as she picked up and put ingredients into the bowl. After a while, it was exchanged for the noise of those same plants being mashed with a pestle.

Finally, Nibani stood up, the bowl in her hands. She approached Raynari.

“Close your eyes.” The Wise Woman instructed, and as the ex-Ordinator did as he was told, he noticed that Maesa was soaking her thumb in the mush.

A shiver went down Raynari’s spine as the unpleasantly cold mush touched his face, the Wise Woman’s thumb directing it, painting some sort of ritualistic signs all over his cheeks, chin, brow and even the eyelids. Occasionally, it would stop when Nibani would need more of the mush, before again resuming her work.

After several minutes, which seemed like hours to the ex-Ordinator, Nibani lifted herself up, putting the bowl down on the table. “Do not open your eyes.” She instructed, collecting more of her ingredients.

Raynari could not make out much of what was going on around him. He could see some smaller lights appear next to the large one – perhaps Nibani was setting down candles, or whatever the Ashlanders used in their place, around the fire? The only real thing he knew was that some sort of a robe was whirled around him, or rather thrown on his armour. Obviously, these were preparations for some sort of a ritual.

Finally, Nibani spoke again:

“Listen closely, and repeat my words exactly as I speak them.”

Raynari nodded slightly, incapable of fending off the feeling that he was being treated as some sort of an old mer who has trouble understanding the world around him. That reminded him of his father – an Ordinator as well. Sorrow gripped Raynari’s heart as he remembered how the once great warrior turned more and more childish as years passed by, as even Mer, despite their long lifespan, were not spared by time. Then, sorrow was replaced by fear as he thought about what would his father, his entire family say if they saw him now, and knew of his deeds.

“Mother of the Rose, Goddess of Dawn and Dusk, Mother of the Dunmer, Lady Azura, I speak to you, asking your guidance.” Nibani once again snapped him out of his thoughts.

“Mother of the Rose, Goddess of Dawn and Dusk, Mother of the Dunmer, Lady Azura, I speak to you, asking your guidance.” Raynari repeated, as if they were exercising for some particularly hard part of a play and he was being assisted by someone who knew it very well.

“Show me what is right and what is wrong; show me what is true and what is false.” The Wise Woman continued, Raynari repeating everything.

“In these uncertain times, be a guiding light like your Dawn for your Nation, and bring an end to their enemies like Dusk brings the day to an end.” Again, Raynari repeated everything, feeling as if he was one of those Daedric worshippers, sitting in a shrine in the middle of Vivec, seemingly the only one aware that the Ordinators will barge in any second and put a quick end to this.

“If your prophecy is at hand, if your chosen is here, give me a sign clear as the day you bring.”

After Raynari repeated those words, several things happened suddenly – Nibani let out a short yell, the biggest light in the yurt disappeared, changed with a bright flash, one from which Raynari couldn’t hide even behind his eyelids. The ex-Ordinator was unaware that the sun had sunk behind the horizon that very moment.

After a few moments, the slightly wavering voice of Nibani reached Raynari’s ears:

“You may... open y-your eyes now.”

Eagerly, Raynari did so, quickly looking around the yurt.

The fire had went out, along with the things that vaguely resembled candles that were put around it in bowls. One of the bowls had cracked, as Raynari noticed. Nibani Maesa was shivering slightly – apparently, she did not expect this to happen.

“This... this undoubtedly was the sign we needed. The Ashkhan should be here soon... Then, we will speak of the secrets of the Nerevarine Prophecies, which our Cult has been guarding for ages uncounted now. I trust Sul-Matuul will want you to pass the test of Wisdom, and to find and take the One-Clan-Under-Moon-and-Star, the ultimate proof of the Nerevarine.”