Commoners and Mages, Zerina's background Options

[Remko]

Hi Guys!
I fell in love (in a manner of speaking) with the character Zerina I invented. I wanted some more depth to her so I started thinking what she would have been like as a child. Soon I found myself writing it down and before I knew the first chapter was born. Overall it's going to be a short story (if I can restrain myself lol) in which I will describe several events throughout her youth to when she meets Rales.

I hope you like it


Chapter 1: Childhood

Vabdas residence, 3E290

‘Zerina, come inside dear. Dinner is ready!’ a Dunmer woman caringly shouted across the green pastures alongside the Quada Samsi, south of Gnisis. ‘And stay away from the river honey!’
‘Yes mummy,’ a young girl answered sighingly while wading through the river knee-deep and kicking the water. ‘I am big enough to decide for myself,’ she mumbled despondedly but was soon lured to the house by the wonderful smell from her mother’s cooking.

‘Yummy, Nixhound-stew.’ The smell was a familiar one, her mother always made Nixhound-stew when her father returned from the mines. He’d stay away for days and return grimy and utterly exhausted.
With her bare feet flapping though the wet grass, she ran towards the house to greet her father when a moist nose tumbled her over. ‘Hey buddy,’ she greeted her favourite Guar from the pack that was grazing around the Vabdas residence. ‘I can’t play right now, daddy’s come home,’ she exubarantly said to the animal.‘I’ll be back after dinner, alright?’ she said while hugging the animal. A wet tongue dragged across her face sending her into a giggle. ‘Not now,’ she said laughingly.
Quickly she pressed a kiss on its snout and ran home.

‘Easy on the door! How many times do I still have to tell you?’ her mother reprimanded her.
Zerina pouted her lips. ‘But, I wanted to-’
‘Yes, yes, I know, you wanted to see your father,’ her mother smiled. ‘But you still need to take it easy on the door. One day you’re going to break the hinges.’
Zerina’s eyes became wet and the corners of her mouth dropped. ‘I don’t want to break them,’ she said sadly.
‘No need to cry, dear. Just be more careful.’
‘Shijana, you’re being to hard on her,’ a gruff voice interjected.
‘Daddy!’ Zerina shouted and ran into his outstretched arms.

‘You been behaving, darling?’ Zerina nodded vigorously in reply.
‘Did you bring me something father?’ she asked with her almond-shaped eyes glowing with anticipation.
‘I might,’ he said with a mysterious smile. ‘How about a kiss first?’
With a wet sound she pressed her lips on her father’s cheek. ‘Now can I have my present?’
‘Okay, okay,’ her father smilingly submitted and slowly pulled a thin leather strap with a blood-red amulet suspended on it from his tunic. He put his indexfinger over his lips. ‘It must remain a secret, okay? You can not show it to your friends,’ he said conspiratorially while tying the leather necklace around her slender, long neck. A feature she inhereted from her mother. ‘Now, let’s have some dinner. Why don’t you help your mother set the table?’
She hated doing chores but since her father had asked her, she ran into the kitchen to help her mother. ‘And don’t run indoors!’ her father shouted after her while shaking his head amusedly.

‘Look what I can do!’ Zerina exclaimed at dinner. Her plate filled to the brim with Nix-hound stew was floating several inches above the dinner table.
‘Don’t play with your food,’ her mother told her off but a wink from her husband silenced her.
‘Where did you learn that?’ her father asked her intrigued. Of course he knew Zerina had learned it from simply copying her mother.
‘I watched mother and just did the same as she did. Wanna see?’
The pair looked at eachother meaningfully. Shijana was a resourceful mage but in many ways, her five year old daughter rivalled her, if only in talent.
‘Show me,’ her father said. Before her mother could interrupt her, the floating plate crashed down on to floor, slinging stew and ceramic shards throughout the entire kitchen while another lifted from the table.

‘How many times have I told you never to cast the same spell when another is still active? Now look what you’ve done. I just cleaned the kitchen,’ Shijana complained sighingly while her husband burst out in laughter. ‘So you think it’s funny, why don’t you clean it up?’ she jestfully adressed him and flung the moist towel towards him.

Handily he caught the towel and set to cleaning the floor. It was partially his doing so it was more than fair he and Zerina would wipe away the spilled stew and remove the ceramic shards.
‘Come darling, put down that plate and help me clean up the mess you made. And no buts.’
‘Yes daddy,’ the little girl bleakly answered.
For several minutes Zerina helped her father but much to his amusement she only spread it out further rather than cleaning it up.
‘Go feed your Guar,’ he said.
He was rewarded with a kiss, a hasty thank you and footsteps through the mess leaving only more for him to clean up.
Amusedly he shook his head and wondered what his wife would say if she found out he had let their little girl go play outside, despite her orders.

This post has been edited by Remko: Jul 7 2010, 10:39 AM

[Remko]

Chapter 3: Adolescent

Gnisis, 3E 297 (Zerina age 12)

‘You are not allowed to levitate your classmates Zerina! I don’t want to have to explain to their parents that their children can’t come home because they are floating around somewhere or are eaten by Cliffracers.’
Zerina laughed impishly when she recalled the hysteric cries of the class bully not being able to come down from the ceiling. He had been pulling her hair and calling her witch throughout the entire day untill she had enough of it and had cast a spell on him. Of course she was the one sent out of the classroom instead of her tormentor, which was must unfair in the little girl’s opinion.

Her mother sighed. ‘It’s not funny, you hear! If I ever have to tell you again there will be consequences. You have to learn that you have to use your magic responsibly.’
‘Yes mummy.’ Zerina knew she had been out of line but she just hadn’t been able to help herself.
‘But, but, but… He hurt me,’ she complained with a trembling lower lip. ‘He was pulling my hair.’
Shijana dropped to her knees to bring her face level to Zerina’s face and placed her hands on her daughter’s shoulders tenderly.
‘I know love,’ she said reconcilingly. ‘I know he has hurt you but you can’t use your magical powers to get back on him. It frightens the other children. Tell the teacher or tell me, but please; no more spellcasting untill you are old enough to know what you are doing and to realise how much you can hurt people with it, okay honey?’
‘Will you teach me?’ Zerina’s eyes started sparkling in anticipation.
‘Promise you will behave and I might even teach you a spell tonight okay?’
‘You promise?’
Her mother nodded. ‘I promise.’

That night Zerina amazed her mother again with her magical talent. The ring Yagrum had enchanted for her had limited her spellpower but she still managed to cast spells that kept surpising Shijana. Even Neloth himself had struggled with the finer intricacies of the fortification spell she had managed to master in just two tries.
Of course she knew Master Neloth was too arrogant to realise he wasn’t as powerful as he thought he was but Shijana only knew two more powerful mages than she was sure Zerina would grow into. Divayth Fyr and Baladdas Demnevanni were the only two mages who were as powerful as they were benevolant. Most mages from her former House were corrupt, totally insane or in some cases, even both.

A promising young new member had arisen in House Telvanni but Shijana feared an assassination on his life any time soon. Differences of opinions and fueds had traditionally been solved that way but she had been sick of it and had refused councilship when it had been offered to her. Instead, she had fallen in love with a slave - a crime punishable by death for the slave and exile for the wizard - and had fled Sadrith Mora together with her love to the only place she knew she was safe. Tel Fyr, the tower of her old friend Divayth Fyr. The memory of her escape that night with the love of her life was still as clear as glass to her.

’I can’t let you do this Shijana, you will throw your life away for me. Gua..’ he started but couldn’t finish his sentence before the mage outside of his holding cage had cast a silence spell on him.
’Sshh,’ she had shushed him.’I am going to open this lock so we can escape together. I don’t want that life if it can’t be with you.’
His eyes revealed his emotions when his voice couldn’t. They shone with love for the would-be councillor of the Great House of Telvanni. The woman who would give it all up for him - a slave.
With a silent click his cage opened and without a further word, together they fled through the dark of night. To Tel Fyr, to safety.


‘Okay, now combine the spell you already know with the the one I just taught you.’ With a proud smile she watched her little girl weave spells that even she herself had struggled with. She could sense Zerina’s powers increasing every day; it wouldn’t be long before she would attract undesired attention from the Mage’s Guild. If it were up to Shijana, Zerina would never be confronted with the - in her eyes - corrupt guild. From what she had seen, most of their members were only out for personal accomplishment, rather than trying to do some good with their powers. Shijana was more than happy ignoring most of her arcane powers and had resorted in healing farmers and mine-workers with minor spells that hardly left an energy trace and simple potions next to be being a wife and a loving mother instead of a Telvanni councilor.