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> Old Habits Die Hard Part Five, New habits? Or just old ones recycled?
haute ecole rider
post Feb 4 2011, 03:26 PM
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Master
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Joined: 16-March 10
From: The place where the Witchhorses play



It's now time to start a new thread for Julian of Anvil. Now that she returns to her hometown, it's rather appropriate to start a new thread to celebrate!

Thanks to all who have read and posted input on Julian's story.

For those coming in late, if you've got the time, here are links to the previous threads:

Chapters One through Seven
Chapters Eight through Thirteen
Chapters Fourteen through Eighteen
Chapters Nineteen through Twenty-two

I hope you continue to enjoy this story as Julian works toward the inevitable conclusion!


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haute ecole rider
post Feb 24 2011, 05:04 PM
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Master
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Joined: 16-March 10
From: The place where the Witchhorses play



@SubRosa: I’ll be glad to help you teach Teresa how to ride when the time comes! And yes, he is a blackguard! I know of three stallions who have very pronounced mischievous streaks like this. wink.gif

@TK: MFT’s are really cool horses. I’ve owned Morgans, who are very similar. The Morgan breed is actually the basis of many American horse breeds, including the MFT, Saddlebreds, Tennessee Walkers, Standardbreds, Quarter Horses (yes, Quarter Horses) and later generations of mustangs. smile.gif

@Acadian: Yes, she is horse-crazy, and it’s catching up to her! And you’re right, not much thought is required for this decision! tongue.gif

@Olen: Lifespan is determined not only by genetics, but also by how the horse is used during his lifetime. Thoroughbreds start training as yearlings, they are saddled and ridden as two-year-olds. They are not fully mature until they’re five, so that kind of strenuous racing breaks their bodies down very quickly. I’ve met Thoroughbreds who have never raced, who didn’t start training until they were older, and they held up much better through the years. Seventeen for a race horse is considered old, while twenty is more common for a Thoroughbred who was never trained for racing (those are pretty rare birds, but do exist). By comparison, the stallions at the Spanish Riding School in Vienna do not start saddle work until they’re seven, and don’t begin the dramatic above-the-ground airs they’re famous for until they’re in their early teens. They keep working into their thirties. As for using horses, they are creatures of endurance. They can gallop for ten miles before becoming tired. They can trot for much longer distances (but the trot is more uncomfortable to sit for the rider). At a brisk walking speed, they can cover up to 40 miles before becoming tired. And ready or not, Cyrodiil is stuck with Blanco! blink.gif

@Captain Hammer: Console player here, so I never will have the benefit of the UOP. Yes, stallions have it made - just ask any of them! biggrin.gif

@mALX: Thoroughbreds are also trained to pick up the left lead every time. They have a difficult time cantering on the opposite lead. As for taking Blanco into battle, I think it’s more a problem of keeping him out of fights! nono.gif

The next three segments lead directly from one into the next without a break. I’m trying not to leave you with any unbearable cliffhangers, though. wink.gif

*************************************
Chapter 23.11: An Old Betrayal

The overgrown path wound between tumbled boulders on its way up the steep slope. I stepped out of the cool shadow cast by Anvil’s city walls behind me and paused to check the sky. Early evening. Sun will be gone soon. Still I knew the way and was confident in my ability to find my path home. My mind drifted back to the conversation in the smithy.

“Clesa offered to sell you one of her horses?” Morvayn chuckled. “And yet you hesitate? You who always wanted one for your own?”

“It’s not just any horse, Morvayn,” I examined the cuirass critically. It shimmered like ruby rain in the light from the forge. “Good work, Enilroth,” I nodded at the apprentice. He beamed at me and handed me the surcoat, mended and cleaned. The Kvatch Wolf looked up at me from the neatly folded fabric, slightly faded but still lethal of gaze.

“Which one did she offer you?” Morvayn brought my mind back to the conversation at hand.

I tucked the armor into my pack. “The stallion Blanco.” I looked up to see Morvayn and Enilroth both gaping at me.

“The High Rock stallion?” Morvayn whispered. “How much is she asking for him?”

“Forty-five septims,” I answered.

“Forty-five?” this time it was Enilroth’s turn to croak. “But she told me she paid ninety for him! Why so cheap?”

Cheap? I wondered. Forty-five septims is cheap? “There is a condition to the sale,” I shrugged. “She wants me to bring him back every spring so she can breed him to her mares.”

After a few moments, Morvayn snickered. “Oh, ho that Clesa! So that’s how she is going to get out of paying for his keep ten months out of the year!”

I glanced at the amused Dunmer. “What?”

“What use is a stallion when he’s not breeding?” Morvayn asked me. “Since mares tend to come in season only during the warm weather, and since one wants early spring foals, he’ll get bred in the spring, get all his ladies in foal, then he gets to loaf around the rest of the year.”

“Not a bad life for a male, when you think about it,” Enilroth returned my glare with an innocent gaze.

“So I should refuse the offer?” I remarked casually. For some odd reason, my heart sank as I said it.

“No!” both Morvayn and Enilroth shook their heads vehemently and in perfect unison. “A High Rock bred stallion is a valuable animal,” Morvayn continued. “And this one is trained by one of the top trainers in Tamriel. Mira Renoir’s renowned for the horses she breeds and trains.”

“I’ll think about it,” I gathered my weapons. “I’m afraid he’s too much horse for me.”

“Ah, not at all, not at all Julian,” Enilroth assured me. “I saw you with him earlier this afternoon. He took real good care of you. You’ll not go wrong with that horse. He’ll last you a long time, he will.”


I returned to myself with a sigh. A glance around showed that I was now halfway up the steep slope. That’s it. I’ll spend my pension and buy him. But I’ll have to warn Clesa that the Oblivion Crisis takes precedence, and if it was still ongoing come spring -

When I surveyed my surroundings for wildlife, my gaze fell on the tumbled stone blocks of Fort Strand, off to my left. Instantly all thoughts of white horses fled my mind as more powerful memories staggered my stride.

“Come on, Julian!” The handsome young man caught my left hand and drew me up the slope after him. “There’s no one there, I already checked it out.”

Still reluctant, I looked up at the ruined keep of Fort Strand. “I don’t know, Jared,” I still hung back. “Those places don’t stay empty for long.” I still remembered when the Anvil guard and the Legion cleared the fort of bandits just a few months ago.

“It’s the only place around here where we can have privacy, Julian,” Jared stopped to face me. “Unless you want to go to your mother’s house?”

I flinched at his words. A year later, it still hurt to think of Mother and Cieran. I had not been back to the house since that dreadful night. “That’s cruel, Jared,” I whispered, turning my face away from him. “You know what happened there.”

“I’m sorry, Julian,” his strong arms were around me. I let him press my head onto his shoulder for a moment before I broke away. “That was thoughtless of me.” He cupped my face gently in his hands, callused from years of hard labor on the galleons that sailed between Hammerfell and Anvil. “You do know I love you with all my heart, don’t you?”

My pulse sang in my throat as I nodded. “Yes, I know.”
Ah Dibella, how I wanted him! But fear of the unknown held me back. “But I’m still not certain -“

“Don’t you trust me?” Jared asked, hurt filling his dark eyes.

I took a deep breath and fought to still the moths in my stomach. “Yes, I do, Jared. I - I trust you.”

We explored the ruin’s first level, then Jared led me to a high-ceilinged room with stairs leading up to a stone platform at one side. I was surprised to see a mattress spread out on the floor, heaped high with blankets. Jared used the torch he carried to light two tall braziers and a third wide and shallow one. As the flickering light grew and filled this corner of the room, I saw a flagon of wine, two pewter goblets, and a plate of grapes and strawberries on a napkin near the mattress.

I stared at Jared as my seventeen-year old mind clicked through the implications. “You set this up ahead of time?”

“Yes,” he smiled at me. “I wanted to make this special for you.” This time when he took me in his arms, he pulled me against him. The heat from his body suffused through mine as he kissed me for the first time. “There’s no one like you, Julian,” he whispered into my mouth. “No one else for me.” I melted against him as his hands began roaming up and down my back, shivers trailing after his palms. “I promise it will be memorable.”

Jared kept his promise. It
was memorable. He fed me grapes and strawberries doused in wine. We drank from the same goblet, looking into each other’s eyes. He never stopped touching me, making my body ache for more. By the time he took my virginity, I was more than ready to lose it. In the warm afterglow, my energy depleted, my curiosity satiated, my body sore yet somehow fulfilled, I fell asleep in his arms.

I woke some time later to cold darkness. Disoriented, I lay on the mattress, trying to identify the familiar contours of my sleeping alcove above Morvayn’s smithy. Only a dull glow from the wide brazier appeared in my vision. I blinked and struggled to a sitting position. The ache between my legs, my nudity beneath the quilts brought memories back.
Jared! Where is he?

“Jared?” I called into the silence. When I heard only a faint echo of my voice bouncing around the large room, I groped around. My fingers closed on the haft of the torch, cold and inert. After identifying the handle by feel, I crawled to the brazier and shoved the business end of the brand into the embers. The dying flames reignited the pitch on the torch, and I held it up to look around. Within the small globe of light from the brand, I saw no other living creature.

Puzzled by Jared’s absence, I found my clothes.
Where is Jared? Why did he leave me alone? Is he all right? Did he explore more of the fort? What time is it? It must be late - Athesi must be so worried about me! I drew on my undergarments, ignoring the blood clotting on my thighs, the small spot on the mattress. As I picked up my skirt, I began to shiver from the chill seeping across my skin. Quickly I finished dressing, slipping my feet into my shoes. I picked up the torch from the brazier and found my way to the stairs leading down from the platform. The oaken door at the side of the room was still locked. He didn’t leave through this door.

It was still light when I made my way out of the fort keep into the evening air. I doused the torch in the patch of sand beside the door and made my way out of the ruins. Overcome by a sudden urge to bathe in the sea, I started down the slope toward the road that ran around the city walls.

An hour later I reached the harbor. I walked past the shuttered storefronts and warehouses, the ships rocking at their moorings. Jared’s ship,
Hallin’s Heart, still remained at its dock, dark and quiet except for the creaking of its timbers.

Golden light and laughter spilled out the open door of the
Blue Anchor. I thought again of Jared’s disappearance, and turned toward the inn. Perhaps his captain knows where Jared is. I straightened my skirts and smoothed my hair back from my face. I’ll just stop in and speak to him, then head for the point and go for a swim.

I stepped into the smoky interior of the tavern, my eyes scanning the faces of the sailors and wenches that filled the common room. Captain Rizhad looked up from the fate stones scattered over the wooden table in front of him with a scowl. His black eyes met mine with a start, then his gaze flickered toward the fireplace at the opposite side of the room.

I glanced in that direction and recognized the brown-haired Imperial girl who had always made fun of my name, my height, and my eyes. Her head was thrown back onto the shoulder of a Redguard sailor, his muscular arms around her waist, his lips pressed onto her neck. The green gem of an amulet glittered at the base of her throat with her giggling. Astia’s eyes lowered from the ceiling and locked with mine.

“Ah!” she exclaimed, holding her hand out to me. “Miss Know-it-all! Do you know how I got this?” Her hand touched the amulet at her throat. “He gave this to me because I am the most beautiful woman in the harbor!” Her hand touched the sailor’s close-cropped hair. He lifted his head from her and looked at me.

My heart stopped as Jared and I locked gazes across the room.
What is he doing with her? With Astia of all women? Does he know she is engaged to another man? He held my eyes for an eternity before he smiled slowly. I backed a step at the contempt I could see in his black eyes. Contempt for Astia? Or for me? How could he leave me and go to her? The raucous noise faded away into woolen silence. Then a hand grasped my arm and drew me away from Jared and Astia, out of the tavern.

I stumbled into the night air and began gasping for air, sobs tearing my chest into raw pieces. The hand that had pulled me out of the Blue Anchor steadied me. “Julian?” the familiar voice barely broke through the silent ringing in my ears. “Are you all right?”

I blinked back the tears, not wanting Felen Relas to see them. I turned away from him, but he caught both my shoulders and turned me to face him. “Julian, look at me,” his voice commanded me to obey. “Tell me what happened.”

I could only shake my head, the tears flowing freely now. Though I remained speechless, Relas understood. His ruby eyes lifted to the stars above us. “That fetcher!” he muttered under his breath. “I ought to slip some snakeroot into his ale! That’ll fix him!” Gently he wiped the tears from my cheeks, then enfolded me in his arms. “Did he hurt you, Julian? Tell me the truth.”

“Only my heart,” I sobbed into his shoulder.
But why does it hurt so much?

“Ach, that’s the worst,” he muttered into my hair, hugging me tighter. After a few moments, he released me. “Let’s get you home. Varel and Athesi are besides themselves with worry.”

“Don’t tell them,” I pleaded. Relas’s eyes darkened in a scowl. “Please don’t tell them!”


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Posts in this topic
haute ecole rider   Old Habits Die Hard Part Five   Feb 4 2011, 03:26 PM
haute ecole rider   @Olen: It’s funny, but Skingrad seemed like a good...   Feb 4 2011, 03:41 PM
Grits   Julian has so much history here - after all, she w...   Feb 4 2011, 05:32 PM
SubRosa   I think someone else mentioned it recently, but it...   Feb 4 2011, 06:34 PM
Acadian   Congratulations on the new thread! Julian is...   Feb 5 2011, 01:17 AM
D.Foxy   Congrats on the New new new (counts on fingers)......   Feb 5 2011, 02:01 AM
mALX   Congrats on thread five !!! WOO HOO ...   Feb 5 2011, 06:09 AM
Captain Hammer   Ah, I finally get caught up through the end of Par...   Feb 5 2011, 06:41 AM
Thomas Kaira   Got a little behind there for a spell. Not for lon...   Feb 5 2011, 10:26 AM
Olen   Thread five... this is long, very long, but it doe...   Feb 5 2011, 03:42 PM
haute ecole rider   @Grits: You will see Gweden farm in an upcoming po...   Feb 6 2011, 07:48 PM
mALX   GAAAH! Are we finally going to see Julian in ...   Feb 6 2011, 08:10 PM
SubRosa   Wasn't duracell the one that Robert Conrad did...   Feb 6 2011, 10:56 PM
Thomas Kaira   I see you are serving Italian tonight! How a...   Feb 7 2011, 12:01 AM
Acadian   “Now that’s what I’m talking about!” a brown-d...   Feb 7 2011, 01:57 AM
Olen   She certainly eats well, I might have to take up b...   Feb 7 2011, 07:56 PM
Captain Hammer   Ah, the hometown hero's triumphant return. Wel...   Feb 7 2011, 08:23 PM
haute ecole rider   @mALX: Time for that cold shower again! And ye...   Feb 8 2011, 04:48 PM
Captain Hammer   Interesting dinner conversation. Finding out that ...   Feb 8 2011, 05:23 PM
mALX   GAAAAH!!! NO JULIAN !!...   Feb 8 2011, 07:17 PM
SubRosa   Rescuing housecats? I loved this, because in the g...   Feb 8 2011, 09:10 PM
Acadian   What a wonderful conversational segment - one of m...   Feb 9 2011, 02:32 AM
Thomas Kaira   This was not a suggestion for the menu in your st...   Feb 9 2011, 06:50 AM
Olen   Nice line, clever. Introduce what comes alter be...   Feb 9 2011, 12:16 PM
Grits   I really enjoyed this quiet conversation over dinn...   Feb 9 2011, 10:30 PM
mALX   I really enjoyed this quiet conversation over din...   Feb 9 2011, 11:10 PM
haute ecole rider   @ Cap’n Bam Bam: Yes, tenant clearing will be a li...   Feb 10 2011, 03:09 PM
SubRosa   Cap’n Bam Bam? Sounds like somebody's been wat...   Feb 10 2011, 06:35 PM
Acadian   What a treat this delightful story was! Despi...   Feb 11 2011, 01:37 AM
Grits   Alliteration! :lol: Little girl Julian ...   Feb 11 2011, 03:20 AM
Thomas Kaira   Are we contradicting ourselves, now? :P (Sorry, ...   Feb 11 2011, 03:44 AM
Captain Hammer   Cap'n Bam Bam? While a fan of the Flinstones m...   Feb 11 2011, 03:52 AM
Olen   That was quite a bit of building... as said actual...   Feb 11 2011, 07:07 PM
Thomas Kaira   Is fingerling a word you invented? It's perf...   Feb 12 2011, 06:20 AM
haute ecole rider   @SubRosa: I’m glad you enjoyed that little scene b...   Feb 12 2011, 05:01 PM
mALX   The memories are thick in Anvil, my fave: Julia...   Feb 12 2011, 05:50 PM
SubRosa   I carried it back to Relas, sticking my tongue out...   Feb 12 2011, 08:17 PM
Acadian   This had a wonderful natural flow to it and was a ...   Feb 13 2011, 03:13 AM
Thomas Kaira   Carahil as I remember her in the game was very sti...   Feb 13 2011, 04:26 AM
Olen   The referances to in game books were great, and ma...   Feb 13 2011, 09:34 PM
haute ecole rider   @mALX: I really enjoyed writing Julian as a child...   Feb 14 2011, 03:04 PM
Captain Hammer   Okay, two posts to comment on, with very different...   Feb 14 2011, 06:51 PM
ghastley   The "two thrones of white ash" struck me...   Feb 14 2011, 08:44 PM
haute ecole rider   The "two thrones of white ash" struck m...   Feb 14 2011, 10:39 PM
mALX   The "two thrones of white ash" struck ...   Feb 14 2011, 11:25 PM
Thomas Kaira   Homecoming indeed! I see a future very fitting...   Feb 14 2011, 11:06 PM
Captain Hammer   I always brought Corvus back before getting Allies...   Feb 15 2011, 12:32 AM
SubRosa   you’ll learn more about Jared eventually What, tha...   Feb 15 2011, 12:52 AM
Acadian   Anvil is beautiful and you present it well! T...   Feb 15 2011, 01:52 AM
ghastley   I don't know about this version of Milona Umbr...   Feb 15 2011, 02:07 AM
Grits   Chapter 23.5: Again I saw Vigge the Cautious in h...   Feb 15 2011, 03:24 AM
Olen   You show Umbranox in an interesting light, quite b...   Feb 15 2011, 12:57 PM
haute ecole rider   @Cap’n H: Thanks for the kind words. And not to wo...   Feb 16 2011, 04:02 PM
Olen   Another character, and Blanco certainly is one. Y...   Feb 16 2011, 07:14 PM
Thomas Kaira   Well, Carahil is indeed putting Julian's skill...   Feb 16 2011, 09:24 PM
SubRosa   I only meant the Sirens as a joke, as that farm is...   Feb 16 2011, 09:38 PM
mALX   I only meant the Sirens as a joke, as that farm i...   Feb 18 2011, 07:05 AM
Captain Hammer   Ah, dealing with ye' olde rogue mages. Giving ...   Feb 17 2011, 01:38 AM
SubRosa   Hm, I wonder if I can trademark that. "Exorc...   Feb 17 2011, 02:10 AM
Acadian   Another great episode with Carahil. I think she i...   Feb 17 2011, 02:56 AM
Grits   “Why would I buy it when I have an equally dilapid...   Feb 17 2011, 04:34 PM
haute ecole rider   @Olen: Yes, I assure you, all the conformation tra...   Feb 18 2011, 04:56 PM
Olen   Clever, I always thought sending a hero to be disg...   Feb 18 2011, 07:55 PM
Thomas Kaira   Very clever flip-flop on that quest, and quite log...   Feb 18 2011, 08:49 PM
ghastley   I'm left a bit confused as to how you're g...   Feb 18 2011, 08:53 PM
SubRosa   Undercover? As myself? Brilliant! Julian of ...   Feb 18 2011, 10:34 PM
Acadian   Hmm, I see Arielle's dilemma. Expecting some ...   Feb 19 2011, 01:28 AM
Captain Hammer   Because Napalm is like an applied version of Wiza...   Feb 19 2011, 04:50 AM
haute ecole rider   @Olen: Yes, I wanted to highlight the fact that Ca...   Feb 20 2011, 07:59 PM
Grits   Paralyzed by the weight of being is a beautiful de...   Feb 20 2011, 09:01 PM
SubRosa   The sun gleamed ruby through a misty sky This is a...   Feb 20 2011, 09:25 PM
ghastley   That all rings true from the times I've played...   Feb 20 2011, 11:04 PM
Olen   Interestingly this has never happened to me, and ...   Feb 21 2011, 12:21 AM
Acadian   A nice adaptation of the Anvil guild recommendatio...   Feb 21 2011, 02:46 AM
Thomas Kaira   Very nice, tense fight scene here. Crushingly eff...   Feb 21 2011, 07:42 AM
ghastley   I understand you are at complete liberty to chan...   Feb 21 2011, 08:26 PM
Thomas Kaira   Burden alone seems to just lock one in place, rat...   Feb 21 2011, 08:43 PM
haute ecole rider   @Grits: That phrase you quoted was a momentary fla...   Feb 22 2011, 05:03 PM
SubRosa   Excellent musings about the pros and cons of stall...   Feb 22 2011, 06:04 PM
Thomas Kaira   What a wonderful horse-filled chapter! My two ...   Feb 22 2011, 09:54 PM
Acadian   A lovely day at the beach. 'Again the walnut ...   Feb 23 2011, 01:43 AM
Olen   A good horsey section. Certainly it's an educ...   Feb 23 2011, 02:00 AM
Captain Hammer   Wow. I must say, I never had the problem of the Im...   Feb 23 2011, 03:29 AM
mALX   Thoroughbreds are trained like that for racing, en...   Feb 24 2011, 05:51 AM
SubRosa   Not a bad life for a male, when you think about it...   Feb 24 2011, 06:11 PM
Olen   Agreed with the A for effort, the hotel room is fa...   Feb 24 2011, 08:01 PM
Grits   Jared, that dirty dog. Waking up in the dark like ...   Feb 24 2011, 10:43 PM
Acadian   Methinks Morvayn is too harsh on Clesa. I think h...   Feb 25 2011, 01:35 AM
Zalphon   Methinks Morvayn is too harsh on Clesa. I think ...   Feb 25 2011, 02:45 AM
Captain Hammer   And so we meet Jared. Now, as a man, I find the i...   Feb 25 2011, 06:25 AM
mALX   So wait...because one boy at 17 years old was just...   Feb 25 2011, 07:27 AM
Thomas Kaira   Ugh... what a typical man. Hopefully that will dis...   Feb 25 2011, 08:02 PM
haute ecole rider   @Sage Rosa: Jared wanted privacy in his wooing, an...   Feb 26 2011, 09:00 PM
SubRosa   I was wondering if you were going to work the Sire...   Feb 26 2011, 10:17 PM
ghastley   Interesting shuffle-round of the skills. It's ...   Feb 26 2011, 10:50 PM
Acadian   Don't ever break into Julian's house! ...   Feb 27 2011, 03:03 AM
mALX   *** :O Poor Julian. No wonder she had never h...   Feb 27 2011, 03:19 AM
Thomas Kaira   Happy homecoming Julian! Wow, talk about a wel...   Feb 27 2011, 04:13 AM
Grits   This quest has never made sense to me in the game,...   Feb 27 2011, 02:21 PM
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