Serene of Cyrodiil, chapter 5, Home is where your Heart is... Options

[minque]

Family isn't about whose blood you have. It's about who you care about

Trey Parker and Matt Stone, South Park, Cat Orgy, 1999


Chapter 5, Home is where your heart is

Before I continue with the story of the upcoming events in Ald´Ruhn, I think I want to say a few words about Intervention-scrolls, and spells for that matter!

It seems so utterly easy and convenient; you speak an incantation, either written on a piece of parchment, or you know it by heart, then all of a sudden you are somewhere else, just like that...

Of course it’s not that easy, all who have used this kind of transportation know what I´m talking about. You actually decompose yourself, your physical body, into its building-stones, and then you put them all together somewhere else, all magically of course. Now that has to affect you somehow and it surely affected me, when I suddenly found myself in the courtyard of the Ald´Ruhn Temple that rainy morning.....

The actual travel, or intervention, feels like you’re totally weightless, flowing in the void, whirling like an autumn-leaf. You have no idea what’s up and down, your intestines are all spinning around, or at least it feels like they are. Darkness and pain engulf you, the very air around you is filled with the most terrible screams from poor souls that never reached their destination.... and you are certain you will never get out of it alive. But of course you do, that is if you don’t happen to meet anything hostile where you end up.

The Almsivi-Intervention brings you directly to the nearest Tribunal Temple, so as I mentioned, I ended up outside the Ald´Ruhn Temple. I was shaken and nauseous, and it took a while before I could compose myself enough to gather my scattered belongings, check that all was there and head off to a well-known place, at least for me; the Mage’s Guild!

Ironically, I always seemed to be in a mess when visiting this Guild house, so it was no wonder Edwinna Elbert laughed when she greeted me.

“Serene! How wonderful to see you again.....but you look like you need to use our washing-facilities- as usual- I’d say!”

After a hot and invigorating bath I sat down in Edwinna´s office, wrapped in a worn but warm robe, telling her of my adventures with the Ashlanders.

“You need to go and see Neminda,” Edwinna advised me when I told her about my last encounter with Azura. “You belong to House Redoran, and they will most certainly take care of you, my child.”

So later that afternoon I went to Under Skar, to the Redoran Council-hall, once again dressed up by the generous Mages of Ald´Ruhn, to meet with Neminda.

She was pleased to see me but commented on how thin and wiry I’d become since the last time we met; it was no wonder though after living almost a year among the Ashlanders. When I told her about my time in the Ahemmusa Camp she listened carefully without a word until I came to the part about the Outlander who was asking to be named the Nerevarine, then she interrupted my telling;

“Ah, I know that man, he’s adopted into House Redoran, and he has a very good reputation within the Great House. He is a Breton as far as I know, from High Rock....He doesn’t speak so much about himself…” Neminda smiled, “But forgive my interruption, Serene, continue please.”

After I finished my story and also told her about Azura´s prophecy about “claiming my family,” Neminda sat silent for a while, in deep thoughts. Finally, she spoke:

“ Serene, I think I know the meaning of the words of The Divine. Leave now, and go to the Temple and talk to Lloros Sarano. He is a wise man and I think you may find it useful to talk to him.”

The Temple of Ald´Ruhn was rather small, just a few rooms on the ground-level, and then a bigger area downstairs. A rather friendly-looking Dunmer approached me upon my entering the premises and introduced himself as Lloros Sarano. It turned out he was a temple-servant, specialised in mental illnesses and healing, which made him utterly interesting to talk to. There were not many healers around Ald´Ruhn at the moment so he was happy to meet me so he could discuss his latest experiences in the noble art of healing. Or at least that was how I explained his questions regarding my own experiences with healing and restorative magic.

I spent the night in the Mage’s Guild, and the next morning I paid another visit to Neminda.

“Serene, it so happens that Serjo Athyn Sarethi, one of our councillors, may be able to help you out....he is a friend of my father and has had a lot of sad things happening to him and his family lately.” Neminda sighed and continued: “First his son was kidnapped, then he was the victim of an assassination-attempt, then he is almost certain his wife is betraying him, and above all his son was charged with murder.”

I gasped, thinking that there was no end to this poor man’s misfortunes, but also wondering where I fit into this? I couldn´t see the connections....not at all.

“Athyn is most of all concerned about his son, Varvur. He is back home, and his name is cleared, but he is in a very bad shape, he has lost his will to keep on living, he’s just lying on his bed, staring into the air, not talking to anyone, not eating....he seems to be determined to die. Athyn is at his wit’s end, he doesn’t know what to do, now when Trey’s gone and all.” Neminda sighed once more and blew her nose.

“Trey?” I asked, “Is he that outlander I met?”

He was, and since he also was the saviour of both Athyn´s and Varvur´s lives and honour, according to Neminda, I could very well understand the loss the old councillor felt.

“Words spread fast in these surroundings,” Neminda smiled, “Serjo Sarethi knows about you, Serene, and he knows you’re back!....So go to Sarethi Manor and talk to him..”

Sarethi Manor didn’t look very fancy from outside, just another door in the wall, but inside was a completely different thing. A spacious hallway, with ornaments on the walls and a thick red carpet on the floor, sloped slowly downwards, leading to a huge room, with austere furnishings....

The man that approached me was at least double my age, tall, with black, grey-streaked hair, dark-red very sad eyes and a face that showed he had had his share of life and it had not been all pleasant. Yet it was a fascinating face, pointed cheekbones, straight nose and a strangely sensitive mouth. I couldn´t take my eyes off him.....

“Serene was it, right?” His dark voice had this magnetism that affected me more deeply than I then realized!

“Y-yes” I stuttered, “Neminda sent me, she thought maybe you could have some use for me.”

Athyn Sarethi smiled, led me to a chair and bade me sit down. The fate of young Varvur Sarethi was sad. The young man had been kidnapped by the Archmaster of House Redoran, Bolvyn Venim, accused of a crime he didn’t commit. Although it was actually more complicated- he probably HAD fought with the other young man, but had been under the influence of malign magic at the time. It was a well-understood point of Dunmeri (as well as Imperial) law that a person was not responsible for their actions if they where bespelled. He had been rescued from Venim Manor by the outlander known as Trey of High Rock; as Athyn mentioned the young Breton, his face brightened, almost glowing. I understood this man was very dear to him. Still, Varvur was accused of the murder of his best friend, Bralen Carvaren, so not only did he loose his friend, he was suspected to have taken his life! The whole thing sounded absurd to me but I kept my mouth shut.

Trey again acted and cleared Varvur from the accusations, but Varvur was mentally in a very bad shape ever after. As he spoke of his son’s worsening condition, the animation left Athyn’s face and he clasped his hands before him so tightly that I could see the knuckles whiten. He gave me a long, searching look before he spoke-

“Serene, it is my understanding that you are a healer of great skill- perhaps even greater than you know yourself. I have spoken with Lloros Sarano- I asked him to determine whether the stories of your skill are accurate…forgive me if that seems intrusive, but I had a pressing need….”

He then made his request- my task was to cure Varvur...one way or another, and the worst thing was....I had not the faintest idea how to do it!

[minque]

Ok....another one, with a nice cliffie down at the end! .Give you something to think about....
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Against my initial intentions, I decided not to visit Sarethi Manor again. It wouldn’t lead anywhere; I could not stand being under the same roof as Athyn and not “having him”. It would be too painful, so I tried my best to forget about the Sarethi family. I had accomplished my task of curing Varvur, or at least I had made a decent try, so it was time to get on with my life.

The sad thing was that I had no idea what I wanted to do with it!

After more than a week of wavering, one rainy morning I found myself heading towards Under Skar, pretending I just was going to see Neminda because it had been a long time since I last visited her. I did go to the Council Hall at first. Neminda was glad to see me but did seem a bit astonished that I still lived at the Mage’s Guild.

“I thought you were living with the Sarethi family by now, you did such a good job with Varvur, and Athyn, I’ve been told!”

I hesitated; it didn’t feel right to tell her why I chose to remain with the Mages, so I just shook my head and smiled.

“I think I’ve got to tell you there have been a lot of rumours among our Councillors lately, quite a few dark events have taken place during the last six months, and the Archmaster isn’t acting like he should. It’s common knowledge that he’s a womanizer, but some says he’s now gone too far!” Neminda said slowly. “Naturally there’s no real evidence he’s done something really illegal or even unethical, but the rumours flourish nevertheless.”

I felt a cold wind blow through the small chamber in which we were sitting. I was glad Varvur was out of the way, but I also felt a rising rage against Bolvyn Venim. I knew the rumours were most certainly true but I wouldn’t dream of getting Varvur back as a witness; it would probably just cause his death, and deadly hurt to Athyn, which was the last thing I wanted.

“What kind of events are you referring to?” I asked carefully, “I am no particular friend of Archmaster Venim, on the contrary I’d say, but could you tell me more?”

“Since his wife died in childbirth, about 20 years ago, Archmaster Venim has literally had an incredible number of women, inside and outside our Great House. Naturally he’s been very discreet about it, but those things tend to get out anyway, despite how thoroughly you try hiding them.”

“There are also some men who mysteriously disappeared, and their wives have been ’taken care of’ by the Archmaster.” Neminda continued. “Then some of our nobles have been threatened by assassins, and there have been at least two murder-attempts on Athyn, but you know that already!”

I nodded, “Trey of High Rock saved him twice, as far as I know…”

“Yes!” Neminda exclaimed, “He truly is a loyal and righteous man, and also most certainly Lord Nerevar Reborn…But he now has a difficult task before him= he’s applying to be the Hortator of House Redoran.”

“A Hortator?” I asked “Excuse my dumbness but I haven’t the faintest idea what that is.”
“It’s a war leader. He will unite our troops and lead our Great House in war,” Neminda smiled, “And it’s not a dumb question at all, the problem is to get all of the councillors, including the Archmaster, to vote for him at the next Grand Meeting.”

I pondered all that information, and tried to get a structure of it…

Archmaster Venim was playing some kind of wicked game here, probably to strengthen his power. He also obviously used, or rather misused women, for his own benefit. I knew for certain he had a tryst with Domesea Sarethi, and probably also with Fathasa Llethri. And as far as I understood he had some dark connections to the Sixth House Cult, which the incident with Ash-Statue indicated.

He was also a murderer….and would not hesitate to murder again….

Then there was Trey of High Rock… He would be an excellent Hortator and Archmaster, but how he would get the votes from the other stubborn Redoran Councillors, I really didn’t know.

“I think I’ll have to discuss a few things with…” I began, and then Neminda immediately interrupted:

“Athyn! Why of course you have to, he’s your sponsor and benefactor in House Redoran!”

I blushed; really I shouldn’t need an excuse like that to visit Sarethi Manor, but it felt better to have an important errand to discuss before going there.

Neminda noticed my red cheeks and gave me an amused smile.

“Go see Athyn immediately!”

I didn’t go…then …and I still regret it in some ways, even though it probably changed my life for the better.

Instead I went to see Mistress Brara Morvayn, who lived in an apartment in Under Skar.

Her husband was dead, murdered from what I understood, and her home infested with corprus monsters after some issue involving an Ash-Statue. I thought this was too much of a coincidence not to be investigated a bit further.

Mistress Morvayn was an impressive woman, probably in her early fifties, but as far as the Dunmerii race is concerned you can’t be absolutely sure of their real age. Her hair was jet black with only some minor white stripes in it and combed in a complicated style. Well dressed she was in a purple and blue robe with silver embroideries.

She received me in her library, a rather large room where the walls were entirely covered with huge book-shelves. Two comfortable-looking armchairs were standing in a corner and between them a table, with some pitchers made from that green glass said to be found in mines on this continent. They were really beautiful, and I vaguely remembered seeing similar ones at Arvs Drelen….
“A good day to you Sera Catraso,” she greeted me, “I have heard some interesting things about your skills. Words travel fast in Ald´Ruhn you know!” she smiled and gave me her hand.

It was a delicate hand, a hand of a noble woman who obviously never had done a day’s work it her life… I took it and was astonished at the firm grip. This lady had strength and sincerity, I could almost feel it.

“A good day to you too, Mistress Morvayn,” I replied, “I’ve come to present myself to you as newly adopted kinswoman in Great House Redoran.”

Mistress Morvayn turned out to be a really nice acquaintance, bold, determined and humorous, despite her great loss.

“He’s a very insecure male,” she said about Archmaster Venim, “He needs to be recognised…all he time he needs to put his attractiveness to the test. That’s why he courts everything that wears a skirt…except for me of course!” she chuckled.

I must have made quite a face because Brara immediately added:

“I scare him to death! I do not look at him with those doggy-eyes that that little wimp Fathasa Llethri does...or ’Domi’ Sarethi, for that matter!”

I sat silent…Brara shook her head and took out a bottle of ancient Cyrodiilic brandy from a small cupboard behind her armchair.

“Let’s have a drink… May I call you Serene? You can call me Brara by the way.”

She poured the drinks, and I admired the beauty of the golden liquid in those magnificent green glass-pitchers, and wondered how this conversation would continue. Brara obviously knew quite a lot about the Redoran Councillors and the Archmaster.

“And then there’s Athyn! Poor stupid man but ever so nice and too kind for his own good. He believes that there’s some goodness inside everybody, and that will lead to his death, trust me!”

I must have made a sudden move, because I noticed Brara raising an eyebrow and then she gave me a satisfied nod, as if I had just confirmed something she had suspected. I would have to remember to never play cards against this woman!

“Nevertheless, my dear Serene it’s a pleasure to talk to you, or actually it’s been me who have done most of the talking, but you’re an excellent listener, my child!...Oh and I must admit I’m much more positively disposed towards outlanders since that nice young Breton cleared out my old house after the attack.”

Then she told me the following story:

“Thedryn, my late husband, acted strangely the last six months, ever since that evening he was called to the Grand Council for an urgent meeting. Yes, he used to be a councillor at that time! He never told me what it was about, but he brought a parcel with him that he immediately locked inside the chest of drawers in his study. His strange behaviour escalated; he barely spoke to me, and he used to go out late at night and was very angry with me if I dared to ask him why he had to spend so much time somewhere else and not telling me about it. So one evening, about three months ago, we were sitting having dinner , when a bunch of unbelievably grotesque creatures just came bursting in! I flung myself under the table but Thedryn just tried to negotiate with them!”

“Can you imagine such stupidity? How could he imagine it was possible to even try to talk to monsters like that?” Brara sounded bitter now, and I could fully understand that.

What I couldn’t understand was that she was sitting there, just three months after the murder of her husband and telling me all this, like it was a story or something! That woman really was one of a kind.

“So it turned out I was the sole witness of the murder of my husband, because their answer to his negotiation attempt was a severe blow on the head, followed by the most cruel slaying of a man you could imagine. He didn’t have a single chance to defend himself, and I was sitting paralyzed under the table. In fact I remained there for more than six hours before I even dared to come out.

I finally got out and dragged myself to Under Skar, where I happened to meet Athyn, coming from the Apothecary heading home. He naturally took me with him and I spent a couple of weeks in Sarethi Manor to recovery, until eventually Neminda got me this apartment.”

During her story Brara had taken several sips from her brandy and it was obviously affecting her now, her eyes glowed with fire and her voice had gone somewhat thick. I was hardly affected at all, despite the fact that I’d been drinking quite a lot as well, but her story, or rather the way in which it was told, frightened me a bit.

I suggested that I’d go out to buy some food, that it would sober us up a bit if we had something to eat, then Brara laughed :

“Ah sweet Serene! I don’t want any food! I want to be drunk; it’s been so long since I have had a chance to really talk to someone, who else would listen to an old widow?, So let’s celebrate that you’re a Redoran and I bid you welcome to the House; you’re a refreshing change from all the old geezers here!”

“You know…Trey…Trey cleared out the mess in my house, yes he did, but I can’t face moving back…not yet!”

Brara closed her eyes and leaned back, seeming to fall asleep, so I took the delicate pitcher out of her hand and prepared to leave, when she suddenly sat upright and grabbed my hand fiercely:

“He killed him, you know, and he will do it again!” Then she fell back, snoring heavily.

I put a blanket over her and left.

Outside the Council Hall I felt a sudden chill, as a familiar voice came to me, and the world went dim:

“Serene! Go home, there might still be a chance, but you must go home now.”

I didn’t have to ponder what Azura meant this time, so I turned around and headed for Sarethi Manor with an uneasy feeling in my stomach. The last few yards I actually ran and slammed the sturdy door open.

The stench! The metallic stench of…blood! As I hurried down the hallway I noticed the carpet was pushed aside, the floor was slippery with dark brownish grime.

Then I saw it…

“NOOOOOOOO!” My scream echoed between the walls….and I fell to my knees…