Athynae Sarethi: The Making of a Princess, Entries from Athynae's childhood journals Options

[Athynae]

Hey guys, well seeing as Athynae and sometimes Athlain's antics as children have been referenced in Blood on the Moon and each time I have found myself writing the "memory", mostly in an effort to better understand her, I thought I would share some of those blasts from the past with you. The entries will not necessarily be in order, just snapshots from here and there at different ages and occasionally some entries from the PoV of other friends and family just to add some spice. The first entry will be the story of Athynae getting her first journal and why.




I hope you enjoy Athynae's childhood antics, I have sure had fun writing the handful that I have so far. Even better are some of the "memories" from others who know her. Just be cautious while reading with any beverages close as she has a tendency to speak her mind (like you didn't know that) and we all know what that can mean when a child is involved.




"Mama are housecats baby Khajiitt??" While standing next to a family of Khajiit in market square kind of thing.




*Note: It has been pointed out that Athynae seems a bit mature for her age in some of the entries and if I were gauging her by my two eldest children that would be true(quite normal but no less wonderful), however two ideas mingled together in regard to her intelligence and maturity; One- She is her own person and there is no comparing her to anyone on that level; Two- I sort of combined my two youngest children, my daughter who is and always has been an adult (just ask her) and my son who, at the age of two, slipped out the sliding glass door, off of the deck that was 5 feet off the ground (we have no idea how he did it), climbed the fence and went to the neighbor's to help him work on a car, oh, and he only had on a pull-up, my motorcycle goggles and his sister's paten leather dress shoes.




Please do what you do, comment, correct, suggest but most of all I hope you enjoy.





Athynae Serethi- The Making of a Princess…





I dedicate this endeavor to the three people who are responsible for Athynae's existence:




minque for creating her and graciously sharing her with treydog




treydog for making her a part of Athlain's world and subsequently introducing me to her through his story then allowing me to become her writer




and of course




Black Hand who has allowed me to make Seth such an important person in Athynae's life.

THANK YOU SO MUCH

This post has been edited by Athynae: Feb 3 2012, 03:09 AM

[Athynae]

First and foremost thank you all! RL has been a bit of a whirlwind this week with the arrival of my first grandchild. She is happy, healthy and perfect not to mention quite the beauty, and no I am not biased...

Now, this one is a bit long so grab a cup of hackle lo tea and join me on a ride...I was going to split it into two parts but, well, I didn't want to think that hard today I just wanted to get to the sharing it part. So, let's race shall we?

I had another history lesson with Father today and walking outside I found it hard to imagine the scenes he described before Nerevar Reborn had defeated Dagoth Ur at Red Mountain. The time before the Blight ended seemed almost like a fable, especially looking at Ald' ruhn now, since Mother had become Arch Mistress of House Redoran. One of the lessons that Father focused on was Dunmer traditions and how maintaining House Redoran's warrior heritage during peacetime was difficult. But Mother and the Council had continued to hone our martial skills with tournaments and competitions.

Children began their training in the ways of Great House Redoran as early as age 3 or 4, with lessons on the importance of honesty and integrity; how to handle weapons- mostly swords; and in the last decade, the use of guar as mounts, the same way horses were used on the mainland. Truthfulness was something we were expected to exhibit at all times, in all of our dealings- within the House and with others. There were competitions for warrior skills, with divisions by age, starting at age 5. There were small sector meets bi-weekly and regional tournaments yearly, but to compete in the regional tournament one had to earn a place either by number of wins or election of a recognized master of a particular skill. The regional tournament was open to competitors from outside of House Redoran, if they could qualify- AND pay an entry fee. As Mama liked to say, "Though we are not a 'merchant House' like Hlaalu, we still need money." Of course, in some ways, we still had to pay a price for letting outsiders in.

The weapons part of the tournament had been held the previous week and now it was the riding competition, which in truth was a series of races. Because the riders had to be lightweight and agile, the guar races were limited to those under 17. The 5 to 7 group raced around Ald'ruhn, the 8 to 10 group raced to Bal Isra and back, and the group I was in- 11 and up- raced to the old Ghost Gate and back. Adults also rode, but they did not participate in the races.

This year there weren't many competitors in my age group- Athlain and I, a boy from Vivec that was our age, and an older boy from the mainland that I had raced before. I guess he came here for two reasons: one, his parents could afford it and two, no one knew him so the chance of any public humiliation was lessened greatly. And there was one other, a Hlaalu kid whose family lived in one of the huts by the walls. And, if I had to guess, they had bribed a Guar Master for a nomination to compete, because Athlain and I were the uncontested champions. He was the winner of the track races and even sometimes a race like this, but usually the cross-country ones were mine because I did not slow down for obstacles. I trusted Lumhara and she trusted me.

The day before the race, Athlain and I had just finished taking Lumhara and Cos Mear for a workout when Berwain, the Hlaalu kid, came into the stables on a guar that I had never seen before. He had stripes on his neck and hindquarters and a wild set to his eyes. Honestly, it made me nervous because most guar, especially the ones around here, had very gentle expressions and were quite sweet.

"You've won your last race, Thin-A Longhair." I didn't care for the nickname but I didn't go freaky either when the kids called me that; they were just stupid. Calling me names either made them feel better or they were just copying the kids they spent time with; it didn't matter to me one way or the other. The only name that I could not stand was known by one other person and there is no way on Nirn Athlain would tell- because he knew what would happen if he did.

"Yeah, we'll see, Bug Stain; the day you beat me will be the day I fall to my death from a pebble." The look on his face told me he was confused,

"In other words- imbecile," I had learned that using words containing more than four letters greatly decreased the chance Berwain and his pals would understand and so lessened the need for me to "educate" them with my fists, "It won't happen. You couldn't beat me if Lumhara was blindfolded."

"You'll see; you're getting ready to eat dust, elf-witch."

I raised an eyebrow and looked at him for just a moment, then I closed my eyes and started moving my mouth and rubbing my fingers together. I heard his retreat, along with that of his less than impressive guar; their feet moving rather quickly. Athlain elbowed me and we both burst out laughing.

"I wonder what would happen if you did actually turn one of them into a bug or something?"

And we roared again.

We were still giggling as we took care of Lumhara and Cos Mear, making sure they had fresh, clean water and straw bedding. We gave them each a nice helping of their favorite fruit grain mix too. Just as we started out of the stable Mae and Cai arrived in their typical fashion- talking simultaneously in low voices. As they got within earshot they ceased their rumbling and looked up.

"Hello Athlain, Athynae. How are you today?" Cai's vocalization came out dripping with honey. Something was up.

"What do you two want now?" Athlain asked, rolling his eyes. I did not like it when they played pranks on Athlain or me, and they did not, thankfully, pull them on my brother Ra, probably a good thing. BUT that did not ever stop me from being impressed by their abilities. They could not handle weapons of any fashion with any degree of expertise; they barely rode and never raced; but, when it came to pranks, they were the undefeated masters.

"Thyna dear, we are in need of your assurance, certainty, that you will win the race tomorrow," Mae intoned with the same sticky, dripping quality her sister had used. "We have a friendly bet with Berwain's little sister that you will win and we cannot lose because, well- we don't want to, but also because we bet those lovely hair ribbons Aunt Serene brought us from Sadrith Mora." Cai was matter-of-fact.

I was just listening, trying to keep from laughing at them, which was never a good thing.

Mae threw in just to be sure "You know- the ones that change color to match what we are wearing?" As if I didn't know what they were talking about.

"If Father finds out that you've been betting, especially something like that, you will be kneading dough and washing dishes until next Frost Fall." Athlain could be such a ninny sometimes. Of course the only thing he did to get in trouble was follow me. I think the only reason Aunt Baria and Uncle Trey let him keep playing with me was because they, like Mother, believed he actually kept me from doing some things. I enjoyed Athlain's company; at least he had more than one brain cell, so I wasn't going to tell them any different.

"Well, I fully intend to win, can't think of any reason this year will be any different than the past… how many times have I won this one Athlain; I can't remember."

I could feel the daggers coming from Athlain's eyes, "I hate you."

I smiled, "I know. That's why you never spend any time with me." And I cocked my head to the side and fluttered my eyelashes.

A foot stomping the ground drew our attention back to the girls. "This is not the least bit funny you two," Cai pouted.

"Can you not take anything seriously, Athynae? I mean really, you of all people should understand how unfulfilling it is to lose," Mae finished.

"How would I know that?" I had my favorite look on my face, the one that made me appear to be the idiot of Under-Skar.

"OOHH!!!!!!! You know what I mean! You are so hateful! Why can't you just work with us here?" Mae fumed.

"You two got out of sequence there; maybe you need to work on that." I gave them my best
"helpful advice" look.

At that they both spun around and headed out of the stables, leaning in to resume their verbal rumble. It really did look quite frightening sometimes.



The next day started early for everyone involved in the races, as well as the multitude of spectators. The older competitors were requested to observe and be supportive of the younger racers. I didn't have an issue with the support part and I would definitely be there to watch Rahvin's race, but I wasn't a good spectator.

I slipped to the stables just to sit with Lumhara for a few minutes before I needed to go watch Rah race. Then it would be time to get her saddled and warmed up for her moment in the sun. I walked to her stall and as I passed I pulled the rag from the hook. She stuck her head over the door and before I got close I wiped her chin off; she had a tendency to slobber some and "some" with a mouth that big was actually a lot. I didn't mind though; I kept a goo rag for just this reason because she was the most wonderful guar I had ever seen. I would have tolerated far more from her than just cascades of slobber, but thankfully it wasn't necessary. I nudged her under the chin with my head and wrapped my arms around her neck and she made a little sound in her throat like she had swallowed a flute that was out of tune.

"I love you too girl. Are you ready to race today?" She pushed at me and started shaking her head back and forth and her eyes lit up. "That's what I thought; you are always ready to race. How did I get so lucky?" I patted her neck and then put a hand on each side of her face "Race fair, and fly fast and we will win, right?" and she bobbed her head almost like she was nodding. "I gotta go watch Rahbrat, I'll be back and then we'll go show all of them how grand you are." And she made a loud warble sound. I really think she understood some of what I said.

I started toward the finish line and just as I got to the spot under the observation deck that Mother shared with the rest of the council the cheers went up. They were in the last stretch from Bal Isra. Rahvin and two other kids were almost side by side. The others were a girl from the coast and a boy from Vivec. Rah glanced toward me and at just the right time I dropped my head in a nod. He gave a shrill whistle and Star shot forward like an arrow from a bow. Rah beat the other two by at least a guar length; Star was almost as fast as Lumhara and Cos Mear. In fact, the only reason she wasn't as fast was because she was smaller than them.

Mother and Father were off of the deck in the winner's circle by the time Rah reached it. I stayed where I was because well, just because; it's the way Rah and I did things. We couldn't actually let anyone know we liked each other. We even went as far as to stage fights on occasion just for show. Of course Athlain knew the truth, but he wouldn't tell. Rah looked at me as Father took him from Star's saddle. I winked at him, smiled and gave him our secret hand signal; he beamed, and so did I. As far as little brothers go, I was a lot luckier than most.

Rah might not be good with a sword but he was something else all together in the laboratory and an exceptional archer just to let you know. He was 4 years younger than me and had already invented a number of new potions. I was the adventurer; he was the alchemist. Mother and Father had resorted to building him an outdoor lab because of the intermittent noises and aromas that emanated from his room. Sometimes his experiments had more enthusiasm than science behind them. His latest creation was a potion that made the creature that took it change colors, like a rainbow sort of and it lasted for several days. Mother had tested to make sure it wasn't dangerous before he actually tried it on anything living. It was great.

I returned to the stables to get Lumhara ready for the race and I bumped into Mae and Cai.

"Sorry about yesterday Thyna." Mae spoke first.

And of course Cai followed "Yeah, sorry Thyna."

"It's ok, I do understand, I was giving you a hard time yesterday. You know that, don't you? I do not compete in anything without every intention of winning."

"Will you let us make it up to you?" Mae was at the top of the flop today. I wondered if they had a system- or if it was just random.

"What? There's nothing to make up, I just said…"

"Yeah, but we would feel better if you'd let one of us lead Lumhara to the starting line and hold her 'til the banner drops." Cai of course.

I didn't feel comfortable with this at all, but I had two choices and I didn't like either of them. If I said no I would definitely pay a price later. If I said yes, I'd go ahead and pay the price now and get it over with. All I knew for certain was that something was up.

"If you insist, but think about what you are getting ready to do." There might be some that were fooled by those two, but I was not one of them.

I saddled and warmed Lumhara to prep her and met Athlain heading toward the starting line. "They caught me." I rolled my eyes.

"Yeah I figured; they caught me too, but I already told Rahvin I needed him to do it so I was off the hook." He gave a huge fake smile.

"I hate you."

"Yeah I know, that's why you never spend any time with me. But I guess I could find a new best friend." And he pulled my raised eyebrow look. I still did it better.

"Well you could, but they wouldn't be nearly as much fun as I am."

"Right, that's the biggest reason there is for me to run as fast as I can and find a new one."

This was a weekly conversation, almost like our own private club or something. "Yeah but you can't because," and I wiggled my fingers in front of his face, "I, my dear Athlain, cast a spell on you that makes you find me irresistible."

"I can't resist wanting to put a spell on your mouth to keep it shut."

We both laughed.

We reached the edges of the throng and there waiting for us were Mae and Cai and Rahvin. Cai was making goo goo eyes at Rah, like she always did. I still didn't get it; they were too young to even know if they were friends.

Rahvin knew the drill; he had done this for both Athlain and me several times before. I crooked my finger at Mae; Cai was lost somewhere between here and Masser. "Just hold the short lead Mae; you are really only walking with us; she knows what to do but the rules state that we have to be led to the starting line so…."

"I know; do you think I'm stupid?" she tossed over her head as she moved toward the starting line.

She seriously did not just ask me that. I could have answered, but I was concerned that it would make an already bad situation worse. I did not trust this girl as far as I could throw Lumhara but she didn't seem to be hiding anything and there weren't any bulges in her clothing. She didn't even have pins in her hair today; it was hanging in braids. The tension eased just a little, but not much.

Berwain reached the starting line just before we did and the other two racers were almost to the line as well. Berwain looked at Mae and said, "You are gonna lose that bet with my sister, Red- and when you do I hope your face matches your hair."

Mae didn't say anything, she just reached up to rub Lumhara's nose like she hadn't heard him. The horn sounded us to the ready, then sounded again to signal the handlers to step out, and Mae gave Lumhara's nose another pat. Lumhara licked her hand as she stepped away and just as the banner dropped the world spun like the little wooden top that Ra played with.

Instinctively I tightened my legs around her front quarter and grabbed the saddle horn with my left hand. We were flying, then we were falling, then we were spinning. I couldn't even focus enough to direct her with the bridle. I reached down as deep as I could so my voice was like the guar master's and I bellowed, "LUMHARA- ENOUGH!"

She hesitated just long enough for me to assess and direct. The pillars of the old Ghostfence flew past and then it was all speed and holding on until the turn. I tucked in as close to her neck as I could, she dropped her head and the world became a blur as we screamed toward the old Ghostgate. I did not know what Mae the Mad had done, but you could rest assured I would find out and there would be a counter attack. I was concerned for Lumhara more than anything. She was running faster than a cliff racer could fly; the only thing that I could think of that would do that was a fortify speed potion- a strong one.

Next thing I knew I heard guar feet thundering behind me and I tucked my head to look under my arm. Berwain was not far behind, but beyond him Athlain and Cos Mear were nowhere close and Cos Mear and Lumhara were very closely matched speed wise. So the Bug Stain had cheated. Well, I would never be able to prove that I wasn't responsible for this unless I just dropped myself from the race. And that was exactly what I intended to do as soon as I could get Lumhara to stop, which could be a few minutes or sometime next week…. Mae and Cai would rue the day on this one.

Berwain was laughing behind me because he thought he was catching up. Well what's done is done, so he needs a lesson in messing with the rules AND with me. I leaned into Lumhara's neck and I hummed. I'm not sure why it worked- it just did. For Star Ra whistled and she would take off, for Lumhara it was humming, that or my lack of musical ability, I couldn't carry a tune in a bucket with a lid. She left all of them, Berwain included.

We made the turn at Ghostgate and started for home. I tried to feel for any problems the potion might be causing but found none. Her heart and her breathing were a bit accelerated but that was to be expected under the circumstances. I really needed something worthy of this for Mae and Cai. I looked up toward the finish line and heard from far behind me Berwain's voice shouting "She cheated! She had to! There is no way that broken down old guar could beat me, NO WAY!"

Rahvin, Mother and Father were standing at the finish line when I crossed. It was not easy getting Lumhara to stop but she finally decided she was done and dropped her head so I could dismount. The look in her eyes was absolutely heart breaking. She did not know what had happened. "It's ok girl, I promise, it's ok. We'll get you to the stables and cooled down and I'll get Mother to take a look. You'll be fine." I don't know if she understood but I hoped she did.

Berwain crossed the finish line about that time still spouting about me cheating. I walked toward the judges' tower as Rahvin came toward me. "Rahvin will you please walk her for me? I have something to take care of."

"Sure Sis, what happened? You scared me." His eyes were red rimmed.

I mussed his hair "It's ok, promise. I am fine and Lumhara is fine. I can't say the same for your girlfriend and her sister though." And I gave him a disgusted look. "I'll tell you later, ok?" He turned toward the stables with Lumhara.

"Hey Sis?" I turned "She is NOT my girlfriend!" and he continued on his walk away from me.

Berwain was coming at me full on and I was ready for the crash but he stopped just short and jabbed his finger in my chest. "You cheated! I will have you banned from racing forever!"

"I cheated? Me?"

"Yes you, elf-witch" and he narrowed his eyes still with his finger pressed at the top of my chest just beneath my throat.

"If you do not get your stubby, dirty finger off of me, I am going to remove it for you and if I do the only way you will get it back is when I feed it to you," I whispered so just he could hear. He moved his finger, good choice. "Now cheating is not something that I practice, I have no need to cheat because I just don't. Now that is not to say that there was not some other person that put something into the mix and so I am going to take care of this. Are you ready to be the winner of the race, Berwain?"

The smile on his face was monumental and I let it stay there for all of about three steps. "Too bad! You remember that threat you made about me not racing for the rest of my life? Yea, well, it just bit you on your cheating behind!" and I turned back toward the judges' stand.

I knew he was going to try to jump me from behind, Goody I do get to punch him in the nose. I turned just as he reached me and put my right arm out stiff, with the heel of my hand right on the tip of his bulbous nose. Crunch. Crap, I didn't mean to break it. And he screamed like a girl.

Leaving him there, holding his face, I spoke to the judge, "Sera, I apologize for what happened here today and my part in it. I did not know it but my racer was given a fortify speed potion and to be fair I am removing myself from the race. I would also like to request a full check of Berwain's mount as I believe he was dosed as well." I felt Mother's hands on my shoulders as I finished my little speech.

"Are you ok?" Mother's eyes bored into mine like she was trying to see to the other side of Nirn through my boots.

"I am fine Mama, but will you please go check on Lumhara and make sure she wasn't harmed permanently?"

"I will check my sweet but there are not ordinarily lasting effects from just one dose of fortify speed. I am proud of you and what you did, that was the right thing to do."

"Yes ma'am, I know. I could not accept a win under those conditions. If I cannot win fair and square, I need to lose."

We turned to head toward the stables and Berwain yelped, "You broke my nose! You'll pay for this!"

Mother started to turn, and Father was already out of sight, trying to catch up with Ra I'm sure, so I cleared my throat to get her attention. She looked up just as Uncle Seth and Uncle Trey stepped out of the crowd. Berwain took a step toward me as I moved in front of Mother. There was no way I was going to let her pull the Arch Mistress card for this. But instead Uncle Seth was there; he bent over and whispered to Bug Stain, just loud enough for those closest to hear:

"You take one more step and she will consider it a challenge. Do you want to meet her in the arena tomorrow morning?" I loved that look, I just loved it, the one he gave Berwain, a look that said 'I could wipe up the floor with you.' But this time the look was a conveyance for me. It was really hard not to jump up and down and yell, "Take another step, please, oh please, oh please!"






This post has been edited by Athynae: Feb 26 2012, 04:38 PM