The Call of the Wind, Children of Kyne, Volume I Options

[Kane]

I just finished up the long volume II of this series, so I thought I'd start posting them both here. This entry is one of my first real stabs at writing out a tale and one of only a couple I ever finished. The dialogue is a little stilted and the chapters are short (needed more practice) so it isn't a long read. If you are interested in reading it, I hope you enjoy! (PS, I'm too lazy to proofread this one and I wrote in 2018, so if there are any spelling or grammar errors, I apologize in advance!)



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Prologue

The morning dew lay gleaming on the lush, green undergrowth of Cyrodiil’s Great Forest as the morning sun shined through the branches of its lofty trees. Deep in the heart of the woodlands, sat a small clearing and at its center lie a large rock, covered in silky green moss. Here upon this stone, sat an impressively large brown hawk - it looked far out of place among the other birds of the province, but it was not without purpose. Sitting as still as the unmoving stone beneath it, a wanderer could have mistaken it for a small statue to some long forgotten god.
Nestling its head into her wing feathers, she waited impassively for her prey. Soon thereafter, a crashing could be heard in the forests nearby. Quite suddenly, a pale, sickly looking Colovian emerged from the dense brush and scampered right through the clearing without so much as a glance at the large hawk.

Craning her neck, she listened for the pursuer she was expecting.

And sure enough, the gentle footsteps of a practiced stalker could be heard approaching the clearing, following the rampant destruction of the woodland left in the wake of the panicked, clumsy runner. The hawk lifted her head and waited for this new, but nonetheless expected visitor.

Ah, I see this predator is much too clever to wander into a forest clearing. The professional that he is knows to avoid such a thing, as it is ripe for ambush. Perhaps a little encouragement is needed…

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The mercenary did not like what he saw ahead. Peering through the bramble, he intensely surveyed the clearing, looking for any sign of an ambush. The vampire he pursued had thus far been crashing through the forest like an ogre, but that may have been a ruse. Vampires, he had always thought, were usually much cleverer than this oaf was.

Hesitating outside the clearing was wasting time, but his instincts were kicked into overdrive as he approached it. Long ago he learned to trust those instincts, and many times they had been the difference between life and death. So there he sat, eyes darting around the forest opening, searching intently for signs of danger.

Quite suddenly, the once calm morning changed as a brisk northern wind began to flow through the woods, rustling the treetops and bringing a slight chill to the air. Our mercenary barely noticed the change in clime, until he heard the whispers on the wind. Startled, he relaxed his eyes, and instead strained his ears to the wind, where he swore a voice had whispered to him. The breeze fluttered once more, and this time he was positive…his name was carried gently on the wind.

Kirin...approach my child. Follow your instincts…and my voice…

Standing up nervously, he shouldered his composite bow, and walked boldly into the clearing. To his utter surprise, the hawk he’d mistaken for a statue hewn above the boulder stretched its impressive wings, and spoke to him with an undoubtedly feminine voice.

“It is time for you to return home, my child. Skyrim awaits you, and your destiny has come. Left behind will be your days of mercenary work and feeble pleasures. They matter not now, and only what you accomplish next will be of any consequence.”

This was unexpected, and temporarily froze Kirin, as a million thoughts raced through his mind. He settled on only one, though.

“And if I refuse?”

“It will matter not. The aspect of destiny is inescapable, and utterly final. Try as you might, it will simply catch up to you later, at a time when you may have less choice in its subtleties. Heed my words, and I promise you will not regret the choice to follow them.”

Kirin pondered on her words once more, and quickly realized what he was dealing with. One should not refuse the finality of the divines… He removed his helmet, and knelt on the grass before the large northern hawk.

“Lady Kyne, I see the wisdom in your words, and I pledge myself and my service to you.”

“Very well, young Kirin. Your time in Cyrodiil is at an end. Return to your fellow brothers and sisters of Skyrim, and your true journey shall begin in earnest.”

She then spread her wings once more, and took to the skies above Tamriel, flying ever northwards.skies above Tamriel, flying ever northwards.

This post has been edited by Kane: Dec 10 2024, 03:08 PM

[Kane]

Seeking Knowledge

Upon arrival, Kirin met a personable Redguard named Razelan outside of the embassy. He was a regular party-goer who accepted the Dominion for what they are and kept relations with them in the interest of business. Razelan was also a drunk, as evidenced by him already being intoxicated before even going in to the party. Kirin kept that in mind, because a friendly drunk can be very useful.

After presenting his dubious invitation, Kirin climbed up the outer stone steps and pulled open the iron reinforced wooden door and stepped into the Embassy vestibule. A tall female Altmer immediately walked toward him to introduce herself and the first thing Kirin though was, she wears way too much makeup.

"Welcome. I don't believe we've met. I am Elenwen, the Thalmor Ambassador to Skyrim. And you are...?"

Kirin greeted her and spoke amicably to her for a few moments before she was called away by the bartender, Malborn. Afterwards, she excused herself and went back to hosting her party. Not wanting to jump the bow on this operation Delphine cooked up, Kirin decided to mingle with some of the guests for a while, so as to not draw any suspicion. After speaking to various dignitaries for small bit of time, he made his way back to Razelan, who by this point in time was very drunk, and cut off from the bar as a result.

Spotting an opportunity, Kirin brought a drink to him as a way to butter up the inebriated Redguard even more. It didn’t take much convincing, though, and before long Razelan was causing one Sithis of a scene in the middle of the party. Malborn and Kirin quickly darted into the kitchens, where the wood elf directed him to his gear, and a door into the rest of the Embassy.

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Getting past the Thalmor patrols wasn’t easy, but it was manageable. Dealing with Rulindil and the other elf in the interrogation chamber was dicey, though, and Kirin barely managed to save Malborn’s life when two more guards showed up with him in tow. The end result was a mad dash back to Riverwood with the news that the Thalmor were searching for another former Blade named Esbern.

Delphine was overjoyed that the old man was still alive.

"Esbern? He's alive? I thought the Thalmor must have got him years ago. That crazy old man... Figures the Thalmor would be on his trail, though, if they were trying to find out what's going on with the dragons."

He was an archivist for the shadowy organization for a number of years, and was quite possibly the last remaining expert on dragons and dragonlore. In other words…Kirin and Lydia were now off to Riften.

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“I’m glad you made it back alive, my Thane,” said Lydia. “And I’m glad you made it back before I strangled Delphine.”

Kirin chuckled. “She can be hard to deal with sometimes. But Delphine is valuable to us nonetheless, and I will continue to follow Kyne’s path.”

And that path now led them through the dense birch trees of the Rift hold. Their journey was a slow one, as they contended with rain and what felt like near constant bear attacks. Sunny days didn’t speed them up either, though – they instead found themselves stopping to enjoy the beauty of the southern forests and relaxing under the vibrant colors of the fall foliage.
The Rift always had a special place in Kirin’s heart, and had the Lady Kyne not gifted him Elysium, he likely would have settled upon making a home for himself somewhere amongst the dense trees he and Lydia now walked beneath.

He was particularly lost in these thoughts when Lydia noticed the far way look in his eyes.

“Is everything alright, Kirin? You look a thousand leagues away.”

“Oh, I’m fine. Just thinking about life, and how things don’t always turn out how you expect. I always imagined settling down in here in the Rift someday, but now that I have Elysium, I’ll likely never need anything else.”

“Funny how things work out, eh?” mused Lydia. “I thought I’d never get out of Dragonsreach and Whiterun, and now….here I am – charged to the Dragonborn and the chosen son of Kyne.”

Kirin nodded before beginning to pack up his gear again.

“Better get to it, Lyds. We’ve got another day or two before we reach Riften.