Gaenor: Reloaded Options

[ShraX]

I posted this on the official TES forums, and although it's not finished, I'll continue updating both here and there.

If you haven't read the other two stories I've written, one of them is in the Fan Fiction section of this site, and you can PM me for the other. There really is not much needed to know when reading this one, except who the already well-known characters such as Gaenor and Almalexia are.

Enjoy--

The Nerevarine lay a lifeless corpse upon the Mournhold Temple steps. His blood trickled out of the slashed openings in his neck, limbs and torso, and down each stair, leaving its stains as it went before collecting into a shapeless pool on the tiled courtyard floor. The High Ordinators were still, their armored masks hiding the looks of terror on their faces as they stared at their defeated savior. The Temple doors were now wide open, and Almalexia hovered at the entrance. Her Hands were nowhere in sight.

"My champion," she said softly in disbelief, her golden face emotionless. "Who is responsible for this?" She spoke quietly but the entire city heard her. A Hand emerged from the darkness of the Temple and removed his helmet., engraved with the Daedric runes for S and V. "Our guards watched the battle," he explained in his low, rumbling voice. "They dared not aid your Nerevar for fear of death by his murderer - the Bosmer, Gaenor." The Demigoddess floated down the stairs, over the the corpse of the Nerevarine and turned back to the Temple. "Salas, this wood elf has gotten his revenge, but Terenius' life is nowhere close to Nerevar's in worth. Remain here and clean this mess. I will find young Gaenor and speak with him." Her Hand bowed and ordered the two Ordinators, still in a stupor, to dispose of the Nerevarine's body, as well as those of the four slain Hands within the Temple. Almalexia's wrath was unbridalled, and vengeance consumed her. Her fury at the news of Nerevar's death manifested physically, killing all but her favored Hand, Salas Volar, in an explosion of goldy flames.

She flew from her place in the Temple courtyard high above the city and into the clouds which concealed the late afternoon sun's light. The moons were now more than halfway over the mountainous horizon and brought their stars with them. With a gesture of her wrist the dense clouds parted in two and the light of the lowering sun lit the city aglow. She closed her eyes and began searching for her prey. However, this was unnecessary. Almalexia expected this mortal to flee into hiding from her might, but he welcomed it. He was sitting on a bench in the Bazaar, doodling shapes in the dirt with his sword.

His armor was sundered, dented and sliced through. One pauldron was missing as well as both gauntlets and parts of his greaves. It wasn't clear to tell from his ebony armor, but he was covered in blood from head to toe. He leaned his blade on the bench and removed his helmet, then placed it over the hilt. It was hot and sweat was dripping from his forehead to his beard. He put both hands to his face and wiped it, and ran his fingers through his stiff hair. He sighed heavily and closed his eyes, waiting with open arms for death's embrace.

Almalexia dove towards him like a starving hawk upon a field mouse, disintegrating the clouds with the aura of flame around her. This mortal wood elf defeated her martyr in combat and had the audacity to sit on a park bench in plain sight! Masser and Secunda were rising in unnatural quickness and the sun was already out of sight. The furious demigoddess did not realize in her blind rage, but Gaenor tore away from his hands and looked up past her to see it: both moons took position directly above him, Secunda in front. As they slowed to a stop everything around him turned pitch black, aside from the raging Almalexia, now halted in mid-air, as well as both moons.

The elf slowly stood and faced his enemy in partial confusion. After his ordeal he truly cared not what his fate was. 'An eye for an eye,' was his logic. 'She took Terenius and I take the Nerevarine.. but this is very strange. perhaps this witch's debt is still not repaid.' He walked past her toward the moons, which were glowing and pulsating with light, as if to communicate.

"Much has happened this day. We must speak."

[ShraX]

Gaenor awoke hours later at the spot he collapsed on, near the side of a grassy hill. He slowly stood and removed his heavy coat so his body, now disengaged from his senses, would have an easier time travelling. He continued over the hill and followed his worn map to where the town of Eredjan was located. He walked quickly but his legs would fail from time to time, causing him to pull himself up and walk slower, sometimes even crawl until enough strength returned to him to stand again. His body was so lacking in energy that he would brace himself on nearby boulders and trees so as not to simply fall to the ground.

Along the way he spotted a forest boar, and with the last ounce of strength he had, slayed and cooked it through with one swipe of his Blade. He had no way of knowing if it was enough to satisfy his need for food or even how it tasted, but after devouring it in entirety, he was able to walk normally and without much trouble. Four hours passed across the rolling fields of Cyrodiil, and at last he could see the town. It was small, quaint and of Imperial design, and even included a fort near the mountains by which it rested. The weather was fine and breezy, and the flames of the elf's sword flickered in the wind. A guard stationed at the watch tower near the front entrance squinted awkwardly off into the distance, and immediately called for sentries.

"Commander, it could very well be him.. he fits the description as far as I can tell."
"Private, he's a mile away and.. it smells as if you've been drinking. Be cautious, and let him come to us. We don't want men outside with no cover if this stranger is hostile."
"Yes, sir!" The watchman waited until his commander left the tower until throwing his jug of beer out the side window and wiping his mouth, then called for the infantry below to hold back. Gaenor saw them in clear view and knew he presented himself in an aggressive manner, sword unsheathed and ablaze, but he would not trust these men so quickly. He advanced toward the town at a regular pace as the men watched, hands at their swords.

He came within firing range when the commander called out to him from behind the line of soldiers. "In the name of the Emperor, halt!" he yelled in a powerful tone. Gaenor stopped where he was in cooperation, showing them he was not looking for bloodshed. "State your name." The elf shouted back in as strong a voice as the commander, "Gaenor of Valenwood."
"Valenwood, eh?" the commander said to his men. "This could be him. Swords, men!"
The soldiers promptly unsheathed their weapons in unison and took a battle stance, their shields held just below their eyes.
"I bring no threat. Only news from Solstheim." Gaenor said. He then threw the head of Jkoryl to the ground in plain sight for all to see, and after a repulsed gasp of astonishment, the commander gave his order; "This Bosmer is not to be harmed while in Eredjan, and will receive lodgings at the inn for as long as is needed. To your posts!" Gaenor unequipped his Blade and the men marvelled at how it so instantly extinguished its flame.

They led him to a small, wooden census room with a table and some chairs with a bookcase at the opposite end of the door. There was a roaring fireplace in the corner, and unbeknownst to Gaenor, made the room feel much warmer than the windy plains outside. He and the commander sat down and called for a medic to care for the elf's wound on his back. "Why did you not take me to your fort for healing?" he asked. The commander kept a stern look on his face and replied, "I don't allow strangers in my fort. Anyway, you don't seem too bothered by it. Why is that?"
"Is this interrogation?"
"It's certainly not a tea party. Your sword matches the description of the Blade of Cinders, Knight Henar's weapon. Show it to me."
"I'm afraid if you touched it you would be disintegrated."
The commander grunted in impatience. "Remove it and show me its markings." He motioned for the guards within the room to position their spears at Gaenor's neck for insurance as he presented it to the commander.

After an hour of questioning and explanation, the commander satisfied all of his assumptions of whether Gaenor was Knight Henar, and told him he could stay in town for a yet-undetermined period. "I don't want him leaving the perimeter without me knowing it," he told his men. "He isn't Henar but he has his Blade.. which is very disturbing. He poses no harm to Eredjan, however, and so he can stay.. keep an eye on him at all times. Dismissed!" The elf took his room key from the lobby, pulled himself up the stairs and fell into a deep sleep on the unappreciated softness and comfort of his bed.

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