Serene of Cyrodiil, chapter 6, Sidetracks and sorrow Options

[minque]

“There is sacredness in tears. They are not the mark of weakness, but of power. They speak more eloquently than ten thousand tongues. They are messengers of overwhelming grief...and unspeakable love.”
Washington Irving


Chapter 6 Sidetracks and Sorrow

“You can’t run away from your destiny, Serene, you will have to face the fact that you now belong to a House, to a family, and with it the responsibility it takes!” Sinnamu Mirpal´s words dug deeply into my heart as we sat by the fireplace in the Inner Shrine of Ald Daedroth that rainy evening.

I had arrived at the ancient Shrine of Ald Daedroth earlier in the afternoon, because the Ahemmusa Tribe now was safely settled there instead of the harsh lands on north-eastern Vvardenfell. Trey of High Rock had done a thorough job, making the Shrine a safe place for the Tribe. The Wise Woman had her own private chambers in the Inner Shrine, and she had decorated the thick stone walls with beautifully woven fabric in various deep earth-colors, with thick carpets on the floor to keep the damp cold away and a huge fireplace built in the center.

I felt safe here amongst my friends, far away from the evil schemes of Bolvyn Venim, the intrigues and disagreements among the Redoran Councillors…and the struggle to both be deeply in love with Athyn Sarethi and yet try to be an honourable Redoran.

Panic brought me here, panic from being aware of the hatred of Bolvyn Venim; knowing he would probably try to kill me in the cruelest way, panic from the passion that tore me apart. Here I hoped to find peace, to rest my tormented soul and finally to find myself and be a whole woman again.

I hadn’t thought of Sedrane though….

When Anja Swift-Sailer put me ashore on the island of Ald Daedroth I was astonished at first; I didn’t think the Tribe had moved out there already, but they actually had.

The first one to greet me was Sallit; he was remarkably glad to see me and grabbed my hand and literally dragged me up to the Shrine yelling out loud I was here.

Sinnamu was waiting in her chambers as he brought me there. She said nothing, just put her hand on my cheek, smiling. I got an odd feeling she had somehow known I was coming.

After arranging night quarters for me and also giving me a chance to freshen up after the jour-ney she asked me to join her in her chambers. And therefore we now were sitting in front of the fireplace and she made the remark about my destiny.

I told her about the things that had happened, including my feelings for Athyn, about Domesea, and about the panic that struck me at the funeral. She listened without interrupting me, just nodded at some points.

“You will always have a home with the Ahemmusa, you know that, so go get some rest now. I’ll give you a potion that will help you through the night.” Sinnamu gave me a purple vial which I should down before going to bed.

It was good to be back with the Ahemmusa again. Life had improved a lot for them since they moved to Ald Daedroth. Here they were safe from blight storms, outlaw Ashlanders and other pirates. They had an entire island for themselves and had begun to grow saltrice, ash yam and even hackle-lo! They were proud of themselves and couldn’t wait to show me all the im-provements they had made.

My first weeks at the Shrine I just “was.” I didn’t really do anything, just strolled about, talking to my old friends, helping out with cooking and the Guars of course. It was balm for my soul, except for that itch deep in my heart.

I felt guilty….guilty for abandoning Athyn in his grief, guilty of not standing up for my family, for my house. I ran away like a coward, and I was ashamed of myself!

It was at this time Sedrane Mirpal entered my life again…

He was the first man who had held me in his arms with love, and his dark red eyes still showed affection. I didn’t know what to say; in fact I was unable to speak because of the lump in my throat. Seeing Sedrane brought up so many memories from a happy time in my life, an uncomplicated time, compared to life with the Redorans.

“Serene, my precious, it’s so good to see you!” Sedrane embraced me and I felt a flash of the old passion, it had been so long…so very long…

We went outside for a walk; it felt somewhat easier to talk to him away from the others; besides I didn’t want to show my chaotic feelings in public. I knew I had to tell him all, as I had told his mother, including my relations with Athyn. He didn’t show much emotion during my story; as an Ashkan he had been taught to not show too many feelings.

“Enough about me now,” I finally said, drying my cheeks from the inevitable but annoying tears that always seemed to run down my face. ”Tell me about how life’s been with you and your folks.”

“Trey really did a good job clearing this place from the cultists,” Sedrane smiled “Then he escorted us here, the whole Tribe, you know! That was a journey, I tell you!”

They had actually built a couple of nice boats to take them across the waters, Trey had super-vised the construction and the manufacturing, and then he also led the armada safely to Ald Daedroth. The tribe had cleaned the old shrine from all dirt and grime, and then they made it into a real home. Every family got their own “apartment” consisting of one or two chambers according to the size of the family. The women made beautifully woven fabric to cover walls and floors to make the chambers more comfortable and unique.

“We have also managed to develop greater cooperation between other Tribes.” Sedrane said, “There have actually been a couple of cross-marriages between members of different Tribes, you know.”

I understood the island of Ald Daedroth was a good land to live on. Secure from attack, with good weather and fertile land, which provided them with good crops and good pastures for the Guars. Also the well-built shrine gave additional security and provided a good defence to almost any kind of attack.

As we walked along the waterfront I saw a young woman with a bow up a hillside. I was about to ask Sedrane who she was when I noticed a weird look on his face, like guilt or bad conscience. Then the woman spotted us and came running towards us.

“Sedrane!” she shouted from a distance, “You’re home! Who is our visitor?” As she ap-proached I noticed she was a young beautiful girl in a leather shirt with embroideries different from the normal Ahemmusa style. Her long silken jet-black hair danced around her face and shoulders as she came running, and her long slender legs hardly allowed her feet to touch the ground. Her dark red eyes looked into Sedrane´s with an unmistakable air of love.

“Shara!” He exclaimed with a faint grimace, “Ahem….this is Serene Catraso, who used to live with the Ahemmusa. I’ve told you about her, remember?”

“Serene….this is Shara, hunter from the Urshilaku-Tribe, ehh …she is to be….my wife!” The last word came out sounding rather strangled.

I felt an immediate sting of jealousy; somehow I’d expected Sedrane to …sort of wait for me, but I smiled at the young Ashlander-girl and greeted her as heartily as I could.

Shara flung herself on Sedrane, embracing him hard, and the kiss she gave him was indeed passionate so that I had to turn away from them. It was really ridiculous, but I felt a sharp pain inside and I didn’t trust my face not to reveal it.

Has he told her about us? I asked myself…

Then I decided to return to the Shrine to look up some of the women to see if I could make myself somewhat useful; besides I needed to be alone for a moment….

As I stumbled away from Sedrane and his soon-to-be bride, I almost bumped into someone, my sight blurry and faded, and would have fallen if he hadn’t caught my arm at the last second

“Hey, Serene! What’s the matter, sweetie?” Mabarrabael embraced me, just like that, like I was still a member of the clan, like I had never left. “It’s Sedrane, right?” he sighed. “It was you who once told me not to shed tears over a lost love, remember? And what are you doing right now, huh?”

I couldn’t resist smiling. Mabarrabael used to confide in me when I lived with the Ahemmusa. Once he had a bad crush for Lanabi, the Ahemmusa trader who didn’t exactly return his hot feelings and I, of course, had to tell him not to be sad about that.

Mabarrabael´s company did me good; he made me laugh, as always…We sat down on a flat rock overlooking the sea and talked for a good hour before hunger drove us back to the Shrine.
That evening, as I sat by the campfire, sharing the evening-meal with the Ahemmusa I wondered what would come out of this. I had returned to the people I loved but the reason for it could be questioned, and I honestly didn’t know what would become of me….

[minque]

”Trey of High Rock...oh yes he’s been to see me,” Baladas nodded and poured himself an-other cup of herbal tea. “He’s a good man and I’d gladly see him as Telvanni Hortator, but there might be some who would not…”

I remained silent, waiting for him to continue. I did hope he had put a word for Trey among the other members of the Telvanni council, but I doubted it.

“I’m almost sure Mistress Therana voted for him,” he chuckled with a grin on his face, “It would surprise me if she didn’t.”

I gasped; how could he be sure of that? Mistress Therana was mad as a hatter and totally un-predictable from what I’d heard. The explanation was more fantastic then I’d imagined…

“Mad? Therana? Oh my dear child, you have been misled, just like everybody else, but that is purely intentional!” Baladas obviously found this extremely amusing; he laughed and started walking back and forth in front of me.

“I like you, Serene, and for some reason I completely trust you, therefore I’ll tell you the best preserved Telvanni-secret there is! Nobody except Master Aryon and me actually know about it…well that young woman who probably will be our next Archmagister probably knows by now, but no one else, and I’d like to keep it that way, you understand?”

I nodded; the woman he was referring to, could it be…Telina?

“I’ve known Therana since we were children in Sadrith Mora,” Baladas began. “ She was smart, incredibly smart, maybe that was her misfortune, I’m not sure! Anyway we both stud-ied the noble arts of Magic; she was particularly interested in the school of Destruction, whilst I concentrated on alchemy and illusion. Therana was quite good-looking in those days, and I think she still is, but I’ll come back to that later! She turned out to be the best mage and wizard among us all; unfortunately she was aware of that and did not hide her superiority. I don’t think she had a single friend in those days, except for me. I was about the only one who could stand her, maybe because I was fairly skilled myself; if I may say so, and she respected me in her own weird way.

We both made our ways to the high ranks of the Great House Telvanni, through intelligence and skill and were promoted for the Council. I soon found out that this life was not for me. This made Therana furious; she and I had…a relationship at that time and she thought that I let her down. When I look back now, I regret that I didn’t persist in trying to talk her out of it, but she was…and still is, one stubborn woman! I probably wouldn’t have succeeded anyway.

So Therana became a Telvanni-.councillor…At first she seemed to do ok but her intelligence and her shrewdness for that matter, didn’t make her very popular among her fellow Council-lors, and certainly not with Councillor Gothren! He began to hate her and did everything he could to get rid of her; he even made a serious attempt to kill her, which did not succeed, but she was badly wounded and lay in coma for over three months. We thought she’d never wake up again.”

During his speech, Baladas had paced back and forth and now he stopped in front of me, watching me thoughtfully before he finally sat down on his big throne-like chair and so con-tinued:

“She woke up one day, and started to behave strangely, speaking all sorts of nonsense and was somewhat obsessed with spiders…Naturally everybody was convinced she’d gone mad due to brain-damage, since the injury Councillor Gothren caused her was a severe blow to her head. I was a bit suspicious though; I thought she overdid her madness. You must remem-ber I know Therana well, and her behaviour wasn’t very trustworthy…to me that was. About a month after her awakening she finally confided in me. She told me she pulled this act of madness to save herself and be an “observer” of the Telvanni-council. Fact was the others, except Gothren, pitied her and let her stay as a Councillor, believing she could do no real harm…”

Baladas smiled at the consternation that was shown all over my face, and said.

“So you see, Serene, Therana is as normal as you and me, and she’s a wonderful asset to have in the Council. That way I get all the titbits’ of information I need to keep me up to date with their schemes; besides Therana and I are able to spend time together, because I visit her rather often.”

I now understood why he was so sure about Therana voting for Trey as Hortator…But one secure vote wouldn’t be enough, so I had to think of something else as well. Maybe Telina could help? That is if I could find her and if she would consider helping me.

“Telina? Yes, yes, she might be able to help out in this matter; I’ll have a word with her, don’t worry.”Baladas said, “But I think the main problem is Councillor Gothren. Trey will most certainly have to kill him.”

I nodded; glad it wasn’t me who had to take another life.

As much as I enjoyed spending time with Baladas, it was now time for me to leave. I was convinced he would do what he could to make it possible for Trey to actually be Telvanni Hortator.

Now I had to get on with my shopping; after all, that was one of the reasons for going to Gnisis.

I went to see Shulki Ashunbabi, my old friend, who I hadn’t seen for so long. She greeted me with pleasure and we had supper at her house, or rather cave, and talked for hours. I spent the night, or what was left of it, at her home. The next day was sunny and bright, an excellent day for visiting Gnisis Market. I bought some nice woven carpets and a couple of pots to have in my chamber at home, but of course I couldn’t carry them with me so I asked at the Strider port to have my stuff sent home.

I slept during most of the journey back, and arrived quite late in Ald´ruhn. The sky was clear and the light of Masser and Secunda lit the streets with a silvery shine. I was eager to get home and tell Athyn about my successful trip to Gnisis, and I sang to myself while walking past the Mage’s and Fighter’s Guilds.

I didn’t notice the shadow behind me until it was too late…I whirled around, and then I felt as if my head had exploded and everything turned dark.

I was walking in a dark tunnel; a light was visible at the end of it…far ahead. The light caused my head to ache and I didn’t want to approach it, but something pulled me towards it, a voice, persistently urging me to head on; “Serene, Serene, wake up, talk to me!” I couldn’t resist, although my head hurt terribly, and then I broke through into the painful white.

“Ah…at last, she’s waking up,!” The voice was familiar but I couldn’t see anything, just blurry shadows moving in front of me. After a while the shadows formed into a face; Sethyas Velas! And another face as well but I gave up trying to identify it. I felt bruised and nauseous and when I tried to move my head , a knife-sharp pain shot right through my entire body.

“Lie still, mind you, you’ve got a nasty blow to your head, don’t try to move,” Sethyas took my hand and squeezed it. “Stupid woman, walking alone in the streets after dark!” He mut-tered. I was completely disoriented; I had no idea where I was and why I was injured. The last thing I remembered was that faint sound behind me…and the shadow, after that…nothing.

“I was heading home after a…meeting at The Pot, when I literally stumbled over you, lying on the stairs. Gah, I thought you were dead drunk, until I saw the blood!” Sethyas shrugged.

My head stopped spinning around and I was able to focus on his face now. He looked angry as always, but also a bit worried. Behind him I noticed Lloros Sarano; obviously I was at the Temple, but I still couldn’t figure out what had happened, save that someone had hurt me.

Sethyas told me he had found me unconscious on the stairs leading to the open space in front of Under Skar, bleeding from a severe wound to my head. He had taken me to the Temple, where Lloros Sarano took care of me. The reason he’d stayed behind, he told me, was some-thing he found in my hand, which worried him a lot.

It was an amulet, a very unique amulet, which I, apparently when falling to the ground after the blow, had managed to strip off the person who attacked me.

“You know, the one who attacked you must have been very unskilled…or maybe you are ex-tremely thick-headed, else you would have been dead by now…” Sethyas said sternly.

I looked at him and when he showed me the amulet I recognised it, and everything that it meant. This was it, the stakes had just gotten much higher- the attack was a serious attempt to take my life. Someone very much wanted me dead, and I knew who it was. Now there was no turning back; I had to do what I perhaps should have done long before; there was no time for cowardice now, no time to hesitate before doing what I loathed most…

I looked Sethyas right in the eyes and said:

“Go home, tell Athyn I’ll be alright and that I have to do what is prophesied…for the sake of House Redoran…and for my own sake, as well.


Here ends chapter 6

[blockhead]

Wow. Intense. I'll just bite my nails until chapter 7. I hope we get to see Serene finally start some serious kicking of spotted owl.