A Brighter Future?, The story of Tara Willow. Options

[Tábrasa]

Hello! I'll start by introducing myself.

My name is Tábrasa and I'm new to the forums. I've been silently looking at some of the stories on the forums and have felt truly inspired.
Therefore I have decided to start the story of my Breton Wiccan, Tara Willow, who I've been travelling with for the past year. Below is an introduction to Tara, which will soon be followed by the Prologue...

INTRODUCTION TO TARA WILLOW

Tara Willow is a 20 year old female Breton born on the 14th of Rain's Hand, 3E 413.

She is primarily a Conjurer but also dabbles in Destruction and Illusion. She is also handy with a blade in certain situations.

Her father died when she was a teenager and her mother resides somewhere in Cyrodiil, under a new name following events in High Rock that led her to abandon Tara as an infant.

Tara's father was a man obsessed with the art of Mysticism; but in the wrong kind of way. He wanted to experiment the thought of finding a way to turn the human body itself into a soul gem; an experment not only ridiculed, but dangerous.

One day, however, he managed to succeed in his experiment; using a teenage Tara as his unwilling test subject. He managed to trap a spirit withing Tara's body, leaving her in an unusual state.

Tara now has to permanantly live with an extra spirit inside her, who she named Willow, after her surname.
Willow is able to communicate with Tara and take control of her body for brief periods; but only when Tara desperatly need's her assistance. However, Willow's possesions are almost NEVER a good thing.

Currently Tara is on a mission to find her mother, mainly for her own piece of mind. All she knows is that she is in Cyrodiil, but nothing else. The only thing she has to offer any aid in her quest is the memory of her mothers face...

This post has been edited by Tábrasa: Dec 12 2011, 01:17 AM

[Tábrasa]

Everyone, thank you so much for your warm welcomes! I really hope you enjoy Tara's story, here is the first part of the prologue.

The prologue will be in three parts.

Just a quick NOTE: There is a scene in the chapter which some people may find upsetting.

***

0.1 ~ Prologue

3E 423 - Farrun, High Rock

Tara was woken up, again, to the sound of her parents fighting. She never understood why. On the outside they appeared to be the perfect couple, but when the lights went out and they were out of view from the world, that’s when their true feelings for each other emerged.

Tara slowly crawled out if bed and crept towards her bedroom door. She slowly reached for the door knob and turned it ever so slightly, then pulled the door toward her. She didn’t know exactly what they were arguing about, but she heard her name mentioned on more than one occasion.

She saw it. Through a small opening in the door she saw her mother and father arguing. It was terrible, horrifying even, but Tara was used to it. She was used to the bitterness and the hatred they had for each other. She would look and the other mothers and fathers of Farrun and feel nothing but jealousy. She wished her parents could be happy, be normal. The amount of times she deemed running away the only option was one time too many.

She continued to watch her parents through the opening, praying silently to herself that the fighting would be over soon; mainly because she wanted to go back to sleep.

After five minutes of watching them Tara decided to sit down to view them instead. She knew it wasn’t going to end any time soon. Both her mother and her father were extremely strong willed and stubborn, so neither of them was prepared to end the fight without a win.

Tara then heard the arguing getting clearer as her parents took the fight upstairs. Tara slid away from the door opening, out of sight, but still listening carefully to her parents.

“This is obscure, Riccard! You can’t expect the guild to agree with this!” Tara mother pleaded.

“The guild has no business in this whatsoever, Jada, no business at all!” Riccard replied sternly.

“But you are dabbling in magic’s that no one has ever dared to! What do you expect me to do? Sit back and keep my mouth shut?”

“Well, that would be a good start!”

Then Tara heard something else she was used to, her mother harshly slapping her father on the cheek.

There was a silence. Intrigued by the silence Tara slowly crept her vision back to the door opening.

She then witnessed something she’d never seen before.

Riccard raised his fist and with such terrifying force he punched Jada in the eye, knocking her down with an incredible thud.

Tara was left reeling, eyes wide in shock at what she had just witnessed. She watched as her mother led on the floor, crying. She was in agony.

All Tara could do was run back to her bed and hide under the covers. She hoped everything would be okay soon.

***

“But mother, why do you have to go?” Tara asked. Her and her mother were sat at the table; or rather Tara on the table and her mother on a chair next to her, gripping her hand.

“I don’t want to, sweetie, but… it’s just something I have to do.” Jada replied, her eyes remorseful. Tara looked up from her knees and at her mother.

“Are you going because father hit you?”
Jada looked at her daughter, this time in horror. “Sweetie, what are you talking about?”

“Last night. I saw father punch you. I saw you crying.”

Jada remained silent for a second, eventually forcing a smile with the hope of comforting her daughter.

“That was an accident that you shouldn’t have seen. But no, that isn’t why I’m leaving. I wish I could tell you why I’m leaving, but…”

“But what, mother?” Tara asked. Jada thought for a while and then shook her head to remove the thought she had.

“Sweetie I really can’t tell you. You just have to believe and trust that I’m leaving for the right reasons.”

“How can I do that when I don’t know why you’re leaving?”

Jada remained silent, tears evident in her eyes. Tara then continued.

“Can I come with you?”

Jada slowly shook her head. “No, sweetie, you can’t.”

Tara looked back down at her knees. Jada then lightly grabbed Tara’s chin and lifted Tara’s gaze into hers.

“Look,” She started before taking off her silver necklace and placing it around Tara’s neck. “Keep this with you at all times, okay? Keep it as a symbol of my love for you. Where ever I am, however far away from you I may be, this is to remind you that I will ALWAYS be thinking of you. You will be on my mind from dawn till dusk. You will always be in my heart. Just because I won’t be around doesn’t mean I don’t love you, okay?”

Jada then slowly kissed Tara on the cheek, but the moment was spoiled by the appearance of Riccard. He stood in the doorway to the dining room; arms folded.

“I thought you were leaving?” He asked firmly. Jada stood and headed toward Riccard.

“I am. There is a carriage outside waiting for me. Would you at least help me with my bags?”

Riccard glared at Jada and then reluctantly headed to the front door to get the rest of Jada’s things to load them into the carriage.

As Jada was leaving the dining room, Tara asked her one more question.

“Mother… why are you leaving me alone with father?”

Jada stopped and slowly turned her head toward Tara. She said nothing; only cried. She tried to say ‘sorry’, but the tears formed a barrier her words couldn’t break through. She left the dining room. She left Tara’s life. Tara didn’t know whether it would be forever. But for now; she was alone.

3E 432 - Farrun, High Rock

Tara stepped into her house, keeping an eye out for her father as she snuck in through the door. She had just been out celebrating her nineteenth birthday with her friends, and if her father found out she knew he would freak. She didn’t even know if he remembered it was her birthday. He never had any time for her; but she was fine with that. As far as she could recall they had only had one conversation since Jada left when Tara was ten, and that conversation was only initiated when Tara accidentally got in Riccard’s way.

Tara walked through the house, looking for her father, but he wasn’t anywhere. She could only assume that he was in the basement working on his research. Ever since Tara’s mother left he had spent nearly every day working in the basement; and only the gods knew what he was working on. She stumbled into the kitchen (she had had more than a few goblets of wine) and looked in the cupboard for food. Her hunger was unbearable. When she walked over to the cupboard she noticed something on the table. A note. She picked up the note and read it aloud to herself.

“I’ve gone to get supplies. Don’t go in the basement.”

It was written by her father. She rolled the note into a ball and threw it on the floor. She went to open the cupboard, but caught a glimpse of the basement door. She stared at it for a while. Father won’t be home for a while, I think. Maybe the reason mother left is in the basement?

She slowly closed the cupboard door, ignoring her excruciating hunger for now as she walked toward the basement. When she was stood before the door she had a large intake of breath and prepared herself for the secrets she was sure to discover.

The basement was dark and miserable. The only source of light was a pathetic excuse of a torch flickering slightly in the corner of the room. She headed towards the torch and grabbed it. She looked around the basement. Nothing out of the ordinary. A few alchemy supplies and spell books. The only thing that bothered her was the unidentified smell that lingered. It smelled dead, like a rotting wolf. But with the source of the smell unknown and the basement less than interesting, Tara- Hold on. What’s this?

Tara looked at the table and saw an unlabeled, leather bound book. It looked like a journal. She placed the torch carefully beside the table and opened the book, looking behind her quickly to check for her father. Nothing.

She placed a seat near the torchlight and sat down. She began to read.

…I feel like my experiment is finally ready for testing. Jada disproved of it but I am certain that I can prove her wrong. For years I’ve had this theory that the human brain is capable of carrying the soul of the dead and extracting it at will into enchantments; much like a living soul gem, if you will.
I have stored some bodies that I have found under the floor board ready to extract their souls ready for the experiment…

“Bodies? The smell…” Tara gasped, but she continued to read.

All I need now is somebody that I can use as a test subject. Someone who is willing to be a marvel in the art of Mysticism. Someone who is willing to risk their life for my research into-

Abruptly Tara was grabbed from behind; her eyes covered, an arm held tightly around her neck. After a struggle, a potion was forced into her mouth, which she had no choice but to swallow. After her body started to relax, her musles loosening and her eyelids began to drop, she fell unconscious.

This post has been edited by Tábrasa: Dec 15 2011, 09:33 PM