Teresa of the Faint Smile, Adventures of a Stringy Bosmer Options

[hazmick]

nightshade tea

Delicious!

Teresa makes a great lawperson, she kind of reminds me of a wild west sheriff. Not sure why Good luck to the city guard trying to catch the rest of the smugglers, though I think Teresa could do it by herself (or at least with some Spriggans )

[haute ecole rider]

What a wonderful chapter exploring a ruin I am completely unfamiliar with. Bawn happens to be one of the many Ayleid ruins I've never explored in the game. I usually stick to the ten containing the Ancestor statues plus Miscarcand, since I hate those places anyway. Cold, dank, moldy, slimy, stale bad air. Give me a good, dark mine any day. Teresa's reaction to the discovery of the skooma and the reasoning behind her decision to destroy the boat are both purely in character.

It seems not only the 'l's are giving you trouble.

She pulled the goggles from her eyes, but still saw naught but a glossy black liquid in the subterranean gloom

It seems your period ran off and hid in the shadows here!

[ghastley]

... welkynd stones had on{c}e perched atop their metal holders.

The l's not the only character misbehavin'

It's a different Bawn than the one I remember, but so what? And is she heading for a meeting with that nice Mr Blakely?

[Olen]

Indeed I like how you've changed the setting a bit. It suggests some evolution and lets it fit better with what you need. Her destroying the skooma made sense, though the boat might have been her being hot headed. In the rather unlikely event of the Bravil authorities doing anythingthey'd probably rather not have such a warning.

Still I can't help but wonder if there will be repurcussions for her from those in charge at Bravil. It wouldn't surprise me to find certain people were involved in that... the count or his son seem quite possible.

Nice addition with Gene Rana's nightshade tea. It helps highlight the difference between Argonians and other races. However I'm not convinced it would make you clutch your stomach (unless the arrow did that in which case it being 'the classic mark of its poisoning' is perhaps misplaced), it's a nerve poison isn't it and causes delerium and narcosis?

[Grits]

She ought to know, having learned the hard way after sampling Geen-Rana's nightshade tea so many years ago! For not the first time, she thanked Raven that her Argonian roommate had not been an alchemist. If Geen-Rana had been, then she would have been able to draw out the magical properties of the poison to make it even more lethal.

Yikes! I wonder if it’s the poison that makes it so tasty to an Argonian. I like this discussion of the difference between a natural poison and magical poison, like the difference between a potion and medicine. It makes folk remedies possible, and just makes the world a richer place. Of course a Geen-Rana mention gets a smile from me, even if she slightly poisoned Teresa!

Teresa knew that the destruction of the skooma and the boat would hardly put a dent in the armor of their business.

I love this expression. It’s still the same in our coastal area, you wouldn’t give a smuggler’s boat to a bunch of kids, and folks tend to ignore the lights they might see at night on the water.

It reminded her of sugar, but was far more potent, and far less appealing.

It reminded her of moon sugar, or plain old sugar? I don’t think this is the end of the skooma problem in Bravil, and I want to have it in my head right when the subject comes up again.

This episode makes me think a lot about why Teresa does things, and wonder how she would respond to different events. For example, how much of her action here was driven by civic responsibility, and how much by personal vengeance. If she caught Methredhel stealing in Bravil, what would she do? Did Teresa leave the bodies for the crows because she genuinely feels they deserve to feed on them, or does her anger at the smugglers extend to their corpses. Does she feel more of a connection with the magical forest spriggans than her fellow mortals. I’m not looking for answers, the story will tell me. It’s just to say that Teresa’s character has taken a big jump for me lately. I found her very appealing from the beginning of her story, but now she is also fascinating. She was a girl I wished the best for as she found her way, and now I’m wondering how the woman will make her world better.

[Acadian]

Wonderful how you turned this Arimer ruin into a little 'quest' of its own, complete with some mystery. Like Teresa, I was disappointed that she did not find an ancestor statue or other expensive treasure to help finance a place for Simplicia.

I enjoyed your rich review of Teresa's Analyze Alchemy spell - very handy! Her revulsion and response to the skooma was very Teresa, given Simplicia's history.

Her elfinity was very much on display as she considered, then rejected, providing the boat to a nearby fishing village. Unable to argue with her logic and not being one to reject vengeance myself, I also was pleased to see her torch the boat.

Now, I assure you that whatever wagon made those ruts leading to Bawn, it was not drawn by our dear Button. The mighty mare is fully accounted for at the Bay Roan Stables with a solid alibi.

Nit: 'Feeling dejected, Teresa returned the camp of her attackers.'
I suspect you meant 'returned to the camp'.

[mALX]

Teresa's reaction to the skooma - and why ... very poignient scene !! Great Write !!

[Jacki Dice]

His staw-colored hair hung down beyond his shoulders, and his nearly naked frame was bound in rolling muscle. Tattoos that glowed with a soft blue light covered every part of his exposed flesh, tracing intricate loops and whorls around his frame.

Oh hello.

Too bad he was a smuggler. That's definitely a deal breaker.

Wonderful chapters. I love her reaction to the skooma. It's very fitting considering what happened to Simplicia. I also love the bit of Spriggan justice

This post has been edited by Jacki Dice: Jul 12 2011, 07:14 AM

[Thomas Kaira]

Good riddance to Teresa's decision. I wonder how much of that shipment was bound for young Terentius down the way of that squalid dung-heap I... I mean... woodsy, quaint city on the mouth of the Larsius?

I really don't get why you can now sell Skooma to any merchant you wish in this game. I really wish that you could only sell Skooma to Khajiit merchants or merchants who deal in stolen goods. That would make much better sense. Still, there is the dilemma of morals regarding the Skooma trade. Teresa has chosen her side, and I get the impression she intends to stick with it.

[SubRosa]

hazmick: I knew you would love the nightshade tea! Thank you again for inventing it.


haute ecole rider: My period ran off? Must be the wrong time of the month!


ghastley: The once and future ghastley. No ghostly seamen are in store for Teresa in the near future. But she will meet a Witch.


Olen: I got the stooping over from a description of belladona poisoning I found when I first researched which poison Teresa would favor. There are other symptoms to be sure, sweating, dilated pupils, etc... But those seem pretty common. I believe the bending over is from the nightshade's effect on the bowels, which is quite pronounced.


Grits: I am imagining that poisons are like spices to Argonians. I got the idea from hazmick, whose character Haa-Rei the Marsh Ranger drank nightshade and milk thistle tea.

Teresa is probably not familiar with raw moonsugar, so I figure it is just sugar that it reminded her of. Though how much different the moon stuff is from the regular sugar they never say. Turning it into skooma seems to be a pretty involved process.


Acadian: Teresa did mean to return to the camp, thank you for helping her get back there. The change of Bawn from the game is in response to what I think was a missed opportunity on Bethesda's part. There is an agent in Bravil's castle to hunt down Renrijra Krin because of the skooma trade. With Elsewyr right on the border, you would think Bravil County would the logical place to smuggle it across. But the only skooma smugglers we find in the game are at Walker Camp, outside of Cheydihnal. They should have put that near Bravil instead, and the Orum gang there too.


mALX: Teresa's reaction was one of those things that took no thinking on my part. It just came right out as I wrote it, thanks to her history with Simplicia.


Jacki Dice: How about this fella?. I loved being able to use the spriggans to kill the smugglers. Such a nice change from the game!


Thomas Kaira: Probably half of it was for the Count's son! Teresa has never had any dilemma regarding skooma. She just never had the opportunity to strike a blow until now.


Previously on Teresa of the Faint Smile: Teresa walked to Bawn in our last chapter, stopping off in the village of Maplemill along the way. Continuing on to Bawn, she was attacked by skooma smugglers within. But drawing them into an ancient forest brought the wrath of its guardians - spirggans - down upon the smugglers. After all of them were dead, Teresa found their cargo within Bawn, and destroyed it, along with their boat. Next, Teresa meets the subject of this chapter's title.


Chapter 36.1 – The Witch of Bawnwatch Island

13th-14th Frostfall, 3E433

Teresa stepped from the trees along the water's edge and set her feet upon the wooden bridge before her. The span crossed the strait between the southern edge of Niben Bay and a small island to the north. The rough planks groaned in protest under her leather boots, and the forester stopped to stare down with alarm.

The bridge had looked solid enough when she had viewed it from the ruins of Bawn. But now that she was closer, she had second thoughts. While it was wide enough for a cart to pass down its length, Teresa could see that the bridge could never bear such a conveyance. Many of its planks were broken, and several were completely missing. If that were not enough, the hand rails to either side were warped, and looked like they might break loose if they were leaned upon.

Picking her way across the bridge with care, Teresa was relieved when it did not give way and send her plunging into the bay underneath. She would not have minded the swim, but a fall through jagged wooden planks was another matter entirely. Even with the leather armor she wore, she would hardly be safe. She could just imagine her epitaph. "Here floats Teresa of the Faint smile, survivor of the Oblivion Crisis, Vilverin, Belda, Nagastani, and Bawn. Killed by a board though the neck."

Pausing three quarters of the way across, she lifted her eyes to the coast of the small island ahead of her. She was approaching its south-western corner, and it stretched away to the east in a rough crescent. Between the twin horns of the arc was a placid cove, with a narrow channel of water opening to the rest of Niben Bay in the east. Set back from the shore of the inlet she saw the forms of stone houses roofed with thatch, shielded by a dilapidated wooden wall. Yet now she noticed that no smoke rose from the chimneys, and that there was no sign of movement along the shore. Nor was there a fishing boat anywhere in sight on the water nearby.

So where were all the people? The forester wondered as she started forward once more. Was the village abandoned? It seemed an ideal spot for a fishing settlement, given the shelter of the cove. What could make people leave such a place? The skooma-smugglers?

Teresa looked up again as the whoosh of magicka filled air. Out of reflex, her right hand dropped to the arrow bag at her hip. She knew it would do her little good with her bow hanging unstrung from her shoulder however. With an effort, she lifted her hand from the feathered missiles. Staring at the end of the bridge, she watched as a form took shape behind a disc of magicka that fell through the air there.

It was shaped like an elf, with two arms, legs, and a single head sprouting from its body. Yet that body was not made of flesh, nor of anything substantial at all. Rather it seemed to be comprised of an ever-shifting vapor. It was too clear and soft to be smoke. It was more like a heavy haze, or a shimmer of heat against the horizon.

The creature rose into the air. As Teresa stared in amazement, the leaves that had lain scattered across the end of the bridge were thrown aloft and flew about it in a whirlwind, only to be scattered in all directions moments later. She could feel the wind rustling through her hair, and held up one hand to shield her eyes from the dust being flung about.

Then a woman stepped into view beside the sylph - for what else could such a creature be? The newcomer was tall, and her sandy brown hair spilled down in a waterfall past her small breasts. Teresa imagined that she was a Breton with that hair, not to mention her almond-soft eyes. She wore a short-sleeved dress of brown flax layered over another of blue and green, so the long sleeves of the latter were revealed. The same was true of her neckline, where the plunging design of the brown garment showed off the blue and green gown beneath, as did a slit down the front of her brown skirts as well. Her only adornments were a silver necklace with a spiral pendant, and a copper ring on her right hand.

She clutched a staff in one hand, which Teresa could feel was brimming with energy. Unlike most other mage's staves that the wood elf had seen, this was white in color, and bore a chunk of raw meteoric glass between the twin branches at its peak. A single, thin vine was wrapped around its length, bearing tiny leaves, and as Teresa watched, a tiny flake of snow wafted from its tip.

Screenshot

"And who is paying me a visit this fine afternoon?" She spoke with a strong voice, and Teresa stared at her. Something seemed strange about the woman, and familiar. Had she seen her before?

"My name is Teresa," the forester said in a clear tone. "I'm with the Fighters Guild. I was hoping to hire a boat to take me back to Bravil."

The woman looked her up and down for long moments, then lowered her staff and beckoned her to approach. At the same time the sylph lowered herself to the ground, and the wind about her grew still once more. Then she seemed to lose what little substance she possessed, and simply faded away into thin air.

"Ahh yes, so it is you," the human murmured thoughtfully. Then she spoke in a louder tone. "My name is Aela, and you are welcome here at Bawnwatch."

"Thank you Aela," Teresa said, allowing herself to relax once more. "Your village is certainly well protected, to have such a powerful magician as yourself standing guard."

"I wasn't standing guard." Aela shook her head, and nodded across the water to the south and west. There Teresa could see a line of smoke rising from the fires she had set within and without Bawn. "I saw that, and came to see what had caused it."

"That was me," Teresa spread her hands sheepishly. "I ran into some trouble in Bawn."

"I'll daresay you did," the woman remarked. "Are you alone?" When Teresa nodded, the magician's eyes widened. "You are lucky to be alive. There are a dozen skooma-runners over there."

"Not anymore," Teresa said softly. She stepped forward once more, crossing what remained of the bridge to stand before the Breton.

"You killed them?" Aela marveled. "By yourself?"

"No," Teresa said, "only one of them. The others chased me into the Haunted Forest. The guardians saw to them."

"They are not the only guardians of the forest it seems," Aela murmured. She looked Teresa up and down, as if appraising her. "You are indeed the one they spoke of."

"Who is that?" Teresa asked, wondering what it was about the Breton that seemed familiar?

"Why the bears of course," Aela said offhandedly, "and the ravens. They all speak of you."

Teresa would have been flabbergasted to hear that a year ago, not to mention more than a little doubtful of the speaker's honesty. Yet after all she had been through since discovering the beauty of the wilderness, it hardly seemed noteworthy at all. Of course the denizens of the forest knew her. How could they not? The woods were her home after all.

Still, something seemed strange about the magician. Something Teresa could not put her finger on. Had they met before? While Aela possessed the typical soft brown hair and eyes of her race, she was much taller than most of their women. In fact she was as tall as any elf, Teresa included. Now that the wood elf looked closer, she found that the other woman was broader in the shoulder than most women as well, and more narrow in the hips. Her hands were large too. Man-hands, some might say. Her voice also had more resonance, and Teresa wondered if that might have something to do with how pronounced her adam's apple was.

Teresa blinked. Why did Aela have an adam's apple?

Aela was not a she at all! Teresa fought to retain control of her features, and not betray the amazement that was blossoming within her. But from the flash she saw in Aela's eyes, she knew that she had failed. The Breton's shoulders drooped slightly, as if in defeat, and she turned away.

"This way." The mage waved for Teresa to follow her along a path through the sparse trees that dotted the narrow island. The forester said nothing as she walked along behind the magician. Her mind whirled with the revelation. Of course she had heard of the Two-Spirit folk before, but she had never imagined that she might meet one. She had thought that they were only elves, and priestesses, not to mention fearsome villains with terrifying powers. At least that was how the bards always portrayed them it in their stories. In any case, she had never heard of Two-Spirit peasants living out in the middle of the wilderness. What was Aela doing on Bawnwatch Island?

As they made their way along the shore, Teresa remembered the words of Spurius from Maplemill: "Gave me the look he, or she, whatever the blazes it is, did…" So Aela was the Witch that he was so consternated by. The same one that had cured the hopeful young archer Marcus of blood lung. Perhaps that also explained why Aela was here in the middle of nowhere, rather than living in a temple? The Breton was a not a priestess, but a Witch, just as Morcant was. As Teresa was herself.

Soon the trees opened up to a sandy beach that was empty of boats except for a single, small dory turned upside down. Nearby was a pile of driftwood, neatly stacked up into a pyramid as tall as any elf. Set back from the shore, atop a small rise that bordered the sand, were the stone homes of the fishing village. A wooden stockade ringed the settlement. Or at least it had. Now it was in a shambles, with nearly every post missing from the beach-side. The landward parts still appeared to be sturdy however, but even those revealed signs of warping and sagging.

Teresa could also see that the thatch roofs of nearly every home bore wide holes, and many of the doors and shutters were little better. As before she saw no lights, no smoke from cooking fires, and heard not a sound except for the lapping of the waves on the shore. In fact, there was not a soul in sight.

"Where is everybody?" Teresa wondered aloud.

"You are looking at everyone." Aela turned around and leaned on her staff. "I am the only one who has lived here for a long time."

"What happened to everyone else?" Teresa looked from the empty shell of the village to the magician. "Was it the smugglers?"

"No, mudcrabs," the Breton said with a shake of her head. "At least so far as I can tell."

"Mudcrabs?" Teresa wondered if she had heard the other woman correctly. "How can crabs run off the entire village?"

"It was abandoned when I came here five years ago, except for an entire colony of crabs." The Breton turned and continued on her way up the beach. Passing the dory, which Teresa noted was in good condition, they continued inland. Climbing the hillside, Aela led her to the nearest house. Teresa could see that the roof on this was still intact, as were all of the doors and windows. "There were thousands of them. They covered nearly half the island. You could walk across the beach without ever setting foot on the sand."

"Where did they all come from?" Teresa asked, looking back to the empty strand. "And where did they go?"

"I am not sure where they came from," Aela said. "But I found them a new home in one of the old castles down the coast. It's mostly submerged now, so it's perfect for them."

The Breton opened the door of the house, but leapt aside an instant later. Teresa jumped as well, as a pair of furred shapes darted from within and raced down one of the empty streets. Teresa's heart slowed as she stared after the speeding forms. Cats, she thought, just a pair of ordinary cats.

"That was Valdemar and Alain." The Breton laughed as she gestured for Teresa to enter. "They keep me company."

"So you said you found the mudcrabs a new home?" Teresa looked around the interior of the house. The late afternoon light slanted through the opened windows, revealing a simple one-room home. A glance up showed a handful of raw glowstones gathered into the latticework of a metal chandelier. It was exactly like Teresa had seen in half-a-dozen Arimer ruins.

"Yes, I led them to the castle," the Breton said behind her. "After we got rid of the vampires lairing there."

A fireplace stood at each end of the rectangular home. Before one was a small, round table and a pair of chairs. In one corner were two narrow beds, their box-shaped frames filled with what Teresa guessed were feather-stuffed mattresses. Against the other wall was a writing desk with a third chair, with a softly glowing welkynd stone perched atop it. At the opposite end of the building stood the kitchen, where an empty iron cooking pot sat on the floor beside the fireplace. To one side was a long counter holding neatly arranged copper pots and pans, as well as finely painted ceramic plates and cups. To the other stretched a rectangular table decorated by a vase of flowers. A large, round carpet took up the center of the room, as did another beneath the dining room table, and a third next to the beds. The walls were draped with colorful tapestries decorated with delicate knotwork designs, and several potted plants added their greenery to the room.

"We?" Teresa looked back to the Witch. "Vampires?"

"Ungarion, he is a friend of mine." Aela leaned her staff against the writing desk. Teresa saw several pieces of parchment sitting loose upon it. On the topmost one was written only two words: Green Man. Teresa could feel magicka lurking within the page, and realized that it was a scroll for summoning the creature. "We found that the ruins of the castle were infested with vampires, so we had to deal with them before the crabs could move in."

"Lucky crabs," Teresa noted dryly.

Aela simply shrugged. "I had a home of my own to gain from it," she said. "Enlightened self-interest is the force that holds the Multiverse together."

"Well, you certainly have a beautiful home," Teresa observed. Truly, it would be the envy of any commoner living in a country village, or within a city. The forester hoped that the home she would one day buy for Simplicia would look the same. She wondered how much work it had taken Aela to get it that way, not to mention keep it up?

"Thank you," the Breton said as she glided past Teresa to the kitchen. Teresa smelled the fragrant aroma of bergamot and lavender in her wake. She smiled faintly as the magician lit the hearth with a Flare spell. It was so welcome to see that she was not the only one to use that spell so! Then Aela took an iron skillet from the counter. Teresa could see that it was filled with succulent fish fillets, and licked her lips as the Breton placed it on an iron grate that sat above the flames.

"You are just in time for dinner," the brown-haired woman glanced back. "I caught some walleye this morning. There should be plenty for both of us."

"That is very generous of you Aela." Teresa stepped up to the counter beside Aela, and reached into the Thieves Bag at her hip. "I have some cornbread that I can add, baked fresh this afternoon by Baebiana from Maplemill. Plus, I have a bottle of this to wash it down." After placing the biscuits on the counter, she produced a long, tapering bottle of wine.

"That is Tamika's." The Breton lifted an eyebrow as she took in the distinctive bottle.

"It is only 430," Teresa frowned slightly. "But it is still good. I always carry a bottle with me, just in case."

This post has been edited by SubRosa: Jul 19 2013, 04:22 PM

[haute ecole rider]

What an enjoyable chapter!

But first, let's get the nits out of the way:

Even with the leather armor she wore, so would hardly be safe. She could just imagine her epitah.

The first sentence is a little hard to read - are you missing 'it' after so? If so, then the sentence would read as a fragment. It just feels incomplete on a couple of levels. And it's epitaph.

"Why the bears of course," Aela said offhandedly, and the crows. They all speak of you."

Looks like the second opening quote (after offhandedly) got scared off by the black winged ones.

Not to mention more than a little doubtful of the speaker's honesty.

Another sentence fragment, methinks.

To one side was a long counter holding neatly arranged copper pots and pans, as well as finely painted ceramic plates and cups. To the other side stretched a rectangular table decorated by a vase of flowers.

This is more of a personal thing than anything else, but starting two sentences this way to one side . . . to the other side is just a little disruptive for me.

Okay, nitpicking done. Now for the fun stuff.

"Here floats Teresa of the Faint smile, survivor of the Oblivion Crisis, Vilverin, Belda, Nagastani, and Bawn. Killed by a board though the neck."

Ah, irony! Isn't that the truth, though? How many brave souls who survived great dangers were felled by a tick?

Loved the creaky bridge. A great way to discourage those Jehovah's Witnesses from banging on your front door!

As soon as the sylph appeared, I recalled the conversation you and I had about summoning "good" creatures (Aedra?) as opposed to the usual monsters and daedra.

And a cross-dresser! Loved how Aela was presented. It made me think of homosexual men in the Plains Indian cultures, as well as the shamans in NE Asia. Historically, shamans in Manchuria, Korea, Mongolia, etc tend to be women, but there have been a few male shamans as well. Your description of Aela certainly brought those two elements together in a very harmonious manner in my mind. And the fact that she found those despised mudcrabs a nice home (even cleared it of vampires!) just raises my estimation of her several notches, as that is very typical of Buddhism.

I had to stifle a laugh at this:

Cats, she thought, just a pair of ordinary cats.

"That was Valdemar and Alain." The Breton laughed as she gestured for Teresa to enter. "They keep me company."

So two of the four Musketeers are still getting into trouble! Teresa, are they really ordinary cats?

And dinner sounds so delicious! Wish I was there on that island (Mudcrab Island, perhaps?) with them!

[Olen]

There was some wonderful description in that piece, it wasn't long enough to damage the flow at all but it was really vivid and really worked for me. The witch is quite a character too, you certainly manage to original people to fill your story and back them up with plenty depth.

That the bears talk of Teresa is interesting and a nice touch, it shows them as more than animals and that she has effects beyond what she guessed. The crows though - that's more interesting as I recall they haven't had much to do with her so far. Perhaps they're just gossips...

Anyway I'm interested to see how this goes, they're far more equals than Teresa and Mordant were and that both shows how Teresa's developed but might also bring out another side in her, especially as it's been a while since she did anything particularly 'witchy' (well other than some potions which rather take a back seat against the archery competition and meeting people in the Fighters Guild.



This post has been edited by Olen: Jul 14 2011, 06:30 PM

[hazmick]

Mudcrab invasion is not a good way to go.

The character of Aela has me intrigued, a man-witch who kills vampires for mudcrabs is not something I have ever come across.

Then there is Ungarion. Would this be Ungarion the merchant?

[Acadian]

How interesting! A wonderful description of Aela, her home and island. You simply have to tell us a lot more of this tale about vampires and crabs and Ungarion! A delightful mix of the mundane (walleye fillets and copper cookware) with the mysterious. You also served up a nice mixture of forresty goodness and witchcraft - how Teresa is that? I enjoyed the cats and hope to see more of them. Oh, I hope you linger with this one for quite some time!

Nit? 'Yet that body was not made flesh, nor of anything substantial at all.'
Did you want perhaps, 'made of flesh?

[mALX]

She could just imagine her epitaph. "Here floats Teresa of the Faint smile, survivor of the Oblivion Crisis, Vilverin, Belda, Nagastani, and Bawn. Killed by a board though the neck."

SPEW! Teresa's inner thoughts - she never does anything halfway !!!

Why did Aela have an adam's apple?

BWAAAHAAA !! Aela is definitely an intriguing character!

I always carry a bottle with me, just in case."

I love this, Teresa prepared for any unforseen occasion: bottle of Tamika's on hand, ROFL !!!


You have captured my interest with this new turn in Teresa's storyline!! Awesome Write !!

[Grits]

What an enthralling episode. Aela makes quite an entrance with her summoned sylph and creaky bridge. Then her home is as warm and welcoming as she is.

"Why the bears of course," Aela said offhandedly, "and the ravens. They all speak of you."

I hope Aela plans to tell Teresa all about it. It seems that there might be some Morcant-style goodness coming!

What was Aela doing on Bawnwatch Island?

I wonder, too. I hope Teresa gets to spend some time with Aela, she is fascinating. I mean, she and Ungarion found a castle for the mudcrabs. A castle.

[SubRosa]

haute ecole rider: Nits picked. Is any cat ordinary?

Gay and especially Transgendered magicians are a regular part of not only those cultures you mentioned, but are fairly universal. They can be also be found in North and South America, Siberia, Polynesia, India etc... In Europe there was the Ergi of Scandinavia, Scythia had the Enarees, the Greeks had the the Semnotatoi of Hekate, and the priests of Hercules wore dresses. Then of course the Galli of Kybele were transplanted from Turkey to Rome during the Second Punic War (and took credit for the Roman victory ).

Deities themselves being transgendered is certainly nothing strange either. Ardhanari is both the male and female principles of Shiva and Shakti combined. There is Kybele's son Attis who died and was rose three days later as her daughter Atthis. Hermes learned magic by becoming a priestess of Aphrodite. Hermetic magic (probably the most popular and well known tradition of Western magic) was the result. Odin learned the seid from Freja, and sometimes walked the Earth as an old woman. There are just too many examples of Queer magic to list. I got the term "Two Spirit" itself from the Native American traditions. It is a translation an Ojibwe word that has become quite common in modern usage.


Olen: I have been portraying Raven/Crow as the same spirit guide (though technically not so IRL), so Teresa has been getting visits by both since the story began. However, I did go back and change it to ravens to be more clear.

We will be seeing more Witchy stuff for the next few posts, for the time that Teresa remains at Bawnwatch.


hazmick: I got the inspiration for the crabs from watching The Pacific. The island of Pavuvu was infested with crabs that would come out after dark. The Marines would find them in everything, their boots, clothes, you name it.

Aela is not a man witch though. She is very much a she, as this next post will show. I did originally have a regular male Witch in mind, named Ursos. But he never quite clicked for me.

We will learn more of Ungarion this post as well.


Acadian: I am afraid there really is not more about the crabs and vampires. It just did not come out in the dialogue. I am surprised at how much that has grabbed hold of people's imagination. That is a good thing though.

Nit picked.


mALX: Teresa never leaves home without a bottle of Tamika's. A girl just has to be prepared for anything that might happen.


Grits: More Aela in the next few posts. I am glad you find her interesting, as I was inspired to write her after seeing your inclusion of Servilla in the JF.


Previously on Teresa of the Faint Smile: In our last episode Teresa journeyed to Bawnwatch Island, where she met a Two-Spirit Witch living there alone. Next, Teresa learns a bit more about her host.


Chapter 36.2 – The Witch of Bawnwatch Island

They ate as Magnus crept down the horizon. Teresa marveled at Aela. Except for the few physical traces that she had noted upon first meeting the Witch, she never would have guessed that the Breton had not been born female. The way the Witch sat with her knees together, walked with a gentle sway to her hips, and her every other mannerism, were completely female. Aela may not have been born a woman, but she certainly was one now, Teresa mused.

As they finished the meal, Teresa realized that she was staring, just as the other woman's eyes met hers.

"Go ahead, ask," Aela sighed. Again, she slumped her shoulders slightly.

"I'm sorry," Teresa looked down at her lap with a frown. By Mara, how could she be such a lout! Especially when it was plain how sensitive Aela was about her body. It took an effort of will for the wood elf to raise her eyes to meet those of Breton once more. "It is just that I have never met a Two-Spirit person. What made you, well, you know?"

"Change?" Aela said with a raised eyebrow. "No woman is born with a perfect body. I was just born with one less perfect than most. Thanks to magic and alchemy, many of my problems could be solved though."

"So you always felt you were a woman then?" Teresa asked.

"I always knew I was," Aela said, "in spite of how much everyone else insisted I was not."

"That is incredible," Teresa breathed. "I mean you. Knowing that about yourself, believing in yourself. I wish I had half the willpower you must have."

"Well, they say my race is possessed with an abundance of will. Or maybe it is just stubbornness." Aela's eyes twinkled with mirth. "It helps that I was born under The Lady. Now there is irony for you!"

"I'm sorry," Teresa looked down at her lap. "You must hate having to explain this to ignorant clods like me all the time. I just always thought that people like you were something from bard's tales, like dragons. I never imagined…"

"That you would meet a Two-Spirit?" Aela smiled weakly. "You sound just like an Imperial. Well you probably have met people like me. You just did not realize it. Most people do not look at me twice. They see the skirt and the long hair, and never look further. Still, there is always at least one in every crowd who notices. Like you."

"I'm sorry," Teresa repeated, feeling warmth rising in her cheeks. "I'm not a very good elf. I don't know the first thing about being an elf really. I was raised by a Nibenean in the Imperial City. I never even knew another elf until I was eight."

"That could not have been easy." Aela observed as she took a sip of wine. "Outside of the halls of academia, I know many Imperials still hold quite a bit of prejudice against elves."

"Tree-hugger!" The shout rang in Teresa's ears as the other children surrounded her. A moment later a fist buried itself into her stomach, driving the air from her lungs. She fell to the hard stones of the alley, clutching her midsection and fighting for breath. "Twig! Point-Eared Freak! Woodworm!" The taunts rose from all around, as the human children pressed in around her small, slender form…

Teresa turned away from Aela - and the image from her past - and blinked. Ever since she had begun delving into her Shadow, memories like it had been bubbling up to the surface of her mind. There were so many things she had worked hard to pretend never happened. Yet they had happened, and would no longer allow themselves to be forgotten.

"It could not have been easy for you either." Teresa looked back to the other woman. "I imagine from what you say, elves are more used to Two-Spirits. But I never heard a good thing about your folk from an Imperial, except that you are all great magicians. But that's just another reason for them to fear you. Of course they do not have much good to say about sapphics either. Just that we are all immature, selfish, and failures as women because we don't hitch our wagons to the nearest sausage and squirt out a dozen kids."

"Well then, a sapphic, elven Witch with Arimer-white skin!" Aela cocked an eyebrow as she rose to her feet and gathered up the dishes. "You are certainly no ordinary woman either. We make quite the pair of outsiders."

Teresa looked down again. Curiously, she did not find herself embarrassed this time. Standing up as well, she helped the other woman with the plates. Then she realized that among the other things, Aela had called her a Witch.

And why should she not? Teresa mused. It was true after all.

That thought brought a faint smile to her lips as she stepped beside the other woman. Again, she reveled in the sweet scent that rose from Aela's soft skin. "You are right. We do make quite a pair. But where is your friend Ungarion?"

Teresa nodded to the beds at the other end of the house. Obviously Aela did not sleep in both of them.

"Oh, he lives in Bravil." Aela explained as she took the plates to a tub filled with water and began wiping them clean. "He comes to visit sometimes. I make scrolls and potions for him to sell. Aside from salamanders, he couldn't summon a hansom!"

"Take a chance on the Warlock's Luck!" Teresa found herself exclaiming. "I saw the two of you at the tournament! He's the Altmer who runs A Warlock's Luck!"

"That is Ungarion alright," Aela shook her head with a smile as faint as any of Teresa's own. The forester took one of the cleaned plates from her and began drying it with a cloth, while the Breton began scrubbing the other. "He just loves that line. I told him that no one uses the term Warlock, except people who aren't Witches. Male Witches are just Witches after all. But he won't listen."

"So he's not a Witch too then?"

"Oh no," Aela said. "Ungarion is, well, he's Ungarion. Part Sheogorath, part Auriel, part Nocturnal, part I don't know what! We went to the University together."

"So are you and he…" Teresa let her words trail off, as she glanced to the woman beside her. The Breton handed her the second plate, which she began drying as Aela went to work scrubbing the utensils.

"No," she said quietly. "Not anymore at least. Not since I changed. It was hard for him when I did that. It took me years to realize just how hard. But he has always stood by me. Without him I never would have gotten through University. But I think he's still in love with that skinny seventeen-year old boy he shared a dorm with. Women have never, well, never interested him. To be honest, men have never caught my fancy either. He's just the first person to ever see something in me that was special."

"Oh," the forester said. So Ungarion was only interested in other men, like Ardaline's brother. Here Teresa thought her relationship with Tadrose - if she could even call it that - was complicated! Poor Aela and Ungarion, pulled together by fate, yet forever separated by their genders. She laid a pale hand on the other woman's shoulder, in a way she hoped was comforting. "So did he help you in one of your subjects?"

"You might say that!" Aela smiled back at Teresa. "In the most important one of all: paying tuition. After I transitioned, my parents cut me off. Ungarion helped me raise the gold so I could stay in school. Even back then he was always wheeling and dealing. You name it, and he found a way to get it, then sell it. Even still, I had to take out a loan from a usurer to make up the difference. That's when we started adventuring, to pay it back. It took me years, and I nearly had my legs broken more than once, but we did it."

"That is amazing!" Teresa exclaimed. She could not imagine making it through the Arcane University, even with someone else paying for it all. But having to study all day, and then go plumbing through caves or mines all night, it just seemed incredible. "You are amazing!"

"That is not something I normally hear," Aela chuckled. She reached up to her shoulder and gently took Teresa's hand in one of her own. Her head leaned forward slightly, and tilted to one side. Teresa took a deep breath, knowing exactly what the other woman was saying, all without words. Her heart fluttered in her chest, and she could not take her eyes off Aela's soft lips. What would they feel like, pressed against her own? How would the Breton's long, silky hair feel when it was draped over her body?

Then the burning eyes of Tadrose Helas filled Teresa's mind. She could almost smell her primrose body wash, and feel her hard, muscular body against her own. With a sigh, she pulled away from Aela, and looked aside.

"I'm sorry…" Teresa murmured. "I just can't."

"Because of what I am." The Breton's words were more sour then twenty-year old shein.

"No." Teresa reached out to softly cup the other woman's cheek, hoping it would convey the honesty in her words. "I think you're beautiful. But there is someone else. I look at you, and I see her instead. I cannot really look at any women anymore, without comparing you all to her."

"She must be quite a woman." The Breton's eyes looked away, gazing out the window into the night outside. "What is her name?"

"Tadrose," Teresa smiled as she thought of the dusky-skinned armorer. Where might she be now? In her forge most likely. Or perhaps curled up in the sitting room with a novel. "Tadrose Helas. I've never met a woman like her."

"Tadrose? From the Bravil Fighters Guild?" Aela's eyes widened as she looked back. "You're kidding? I didn't know she was sapphic."

"Well, I don't really know if she is." Teresa felt her cheeks turn warm, and now it was her turn to look down.

"Oh my," Aela sighed. "So she doesn't know how you feel about her?" Teresa felt the other woman's hand settling gently upon her own once more. "I was right. We do make quite a pair then! Sometimes I wonder if I am living in some silly play, with the way my life is so twisted and turned around. At least I am not the only one!"

Teresa managed a faint smile as she looked back up at the other woman. "So do you know Tadrose then?"

"I used to, somewhat." The Breton went back to her wash basin. Handing Teresa the now clean forks to dry, she began wiping the knives. "Back in our adventuring days Ungarion and I ran with a group. Seridwe was one of them. Her hair was always perfect. She taught me the fine arts of womanhood: hair, makeup, how to walk, and talk, and pick out clothes. You know, the important things."

"We all sort of drifted apart about five years ago, after Do'Sakhar died. Ungarion opened his shop. I settled down here. Valens went to Morrowind, chasing some strange dreams he was having about a moon and a star. Seridwe joined the Fighters Guild in Bravil. Ungarion and I still had dinner or just a bottle of wine with her once and while, when I was in town to pick up supplies or drop off scrolls."

"Seridwe?" Teresa thought, "I know that name. Pappy mentioned her before. She was at…" Then it came to the wood elf, and her voice dropped to a murmur. "…Bruma."

Aela nodded, her own face a grim twin of Teresa's. "She never came back."

They finished the last of the washing in silence. When Aela opened her door to dump out the dirty water, her cats slinked back inside. Both made a fuss over Teresa, sniffing her feet and rubbing against her ankles. The forester could not help but to kneel down and pet them both, which brought a harmony of contented purrs from the felines.

"Well I see you made some friends!" Aela exclaimed when she returned. "I have always said that animals are the best judges of character."

"I think so too," Teresa said as she slid her hands along the soft fur of the cats. "Where did you get them?"

"They got me." Aela smiled and walked over to pick up one of the felines, a red tabby. "A few years ago in Bravil, Valdemar here leapt out of an alley to attack my ankle. Then his friend Alain followed suit." She nodded to the chocolate tabby which Teresa still petted. "I had no choice but to capitulate."

"So do you take them with you when you travel?" Teresa asked. "Or does someone take care of them for you?"

"They take care of themselves." Aela put down Valdemar, who instantly jumped to the nearest windowsill and began staring intently outside. "They hunt mice in the old houses, and have plenty of water from the lake. They only keep me around to pet them."

Teresa smiled faintly at the other woman's words. Perhaps she should get a cat, or maybe two, when she bought the house for Simplicia? Or maybe just one for the Fighters Guild. She could tell Pappy that it was to keep out mice.

"Will you stay the night?" Aela asked.

"I can't." Teresa shook her head ruefully. "I have to get back to Bravil. In fact, I came here hoping to find someone who could take me there in a dory."

"Well, I can't tonight." Aela said. "But I suppose we could sail over tomorrow morning."

"I'm in something of a hurry." Teresa bit her lip. "I need to tell the Bravil City Guard - or the Imperial Legion - about the smugglers. Those in Bawn are dead, but there's going to be more turning up there sometime. If they are quick, they can catch the fetchers in the act."

"I wouldn't expect anything from the city guard," Aela shook her head as she walked to the beds and opened a chest. Leaning over, she rummaged through the clothing inside until she drew forth a short skirt of Dunmer design and a loose top. "What with the Count's son being a skooma-sucker and all."

"I still have to try." Teresa said resolutely. "Someone has to do something. Look, I can pay you to take me tonight."

"I cannot," Aela said once more. "The festival is tonight. If you feel it is really that important, you can go down the shore to Thistledown. But I doubt anyone there will take you across Niben Bay in the dark. You may as well stay until morning. Bawn will still be there tomorrow."

"What festival?"

"The Witches Festival of course." Aela declared. "It's the thirteenth of Frostfall. Did you forget?"

Teresa looked down at the cat that sat enraptured at her feet. "I didn't know," she admitted. "I'm not very good at being a Witch, or an elf."

"You are doing just fine." Teresa looked up to see the Breton standing above her. The Witch handed her a ball of clothing and smiled. "Now get out of that armor and try these on. I'm going to put on something to dance in as well. I'm used to celebrating alone. It will be good to have some company for a change."

This post has been edited by SubRosa: Jul 14 2013, 01:52 AM

[haute ecole rider]

I used the term cross dresser because I couldn't think of the right term for what I wanted to say - transgender!

Of course cats choose their human pets, not the other way around. Much the way my Trinity chose me over being the church cat. Of course, it's a tough world out there for cats, and he knows it! Won't go outside for anything!

Loved delving further into Aela's past. Being a medical professional, I can't help but wonder, how did the change happen? I know you said magic and alchemy, but I want to know more! Many examples of ambiguous gender is present in the animal world - most commonly caused by an extra sex chromosome (i.e. XXY or XYY rather than the usual XY). That's how male cats can be calico - normally that can't happen. So it makes me wonder if transgender changes using magic can only function on those individuals possessing an extra sex chromosome? Such individuals often have ambiguous genitalia.

And Aela knows Tadrose, too? Small Nirn! And I wonder if this Velas she mentioned became the Nerevarine?

Looking forward to the Witches' Festival!

[Olen]

Aela is a truely interesting character, I didn't comment so much last time as I wasn't certain of who she was. It appeared Teresa had the same questions. I didn't see any of Haute's ambiguous physical form, otherwise I doubt Ungarion would have been so bothered by the change (poor bloke), just a woman's mind given the wrong body. Though if magic can manage that it makes you wonder what else it could do.

You must hate having to explain this to ignorant clods like me all the time

Teresa shows quite an understanding there, that what she was asking was difficult for Aela.

You managed to work up a lot of history quickly there and make some really unique and compelling characters. It's not a direction many would have tried, or managed to pull off so well. I suspect we might see more of most of these characters, and this festival of the withes sounds interesting too.

This post has been edited by Olen: Jul 18 2011, 08:56 PM

[SubRosa]

Normally I do not comment until posting the next segment, but I thought I would jump in just to clarify because it was brought up. What h.e.r. said about chromosomes happens in humans exactly as in animals, and results in many of the intersexed people out there (of which there are a lot more than most people think).

There is another reason for transexuality which was was discovered back in the 50's by an anatomist. As I am sure h.e.r. knows all human (and so far as I know all mammal) fetuses start out physically female. Then early on if they are genetically male they receive a testosterone bath that masculinizes their bodies (causing the ovaries to descend and become testes, the labia to drop with them to become the scrotum, etc...). This works on not only the genitals, but the brain as well.

As I was saying, an anatomist was doing some tests back in the 50s on rats. He found that the genetically female rats he gave an in utero testorone shot acted like male rats after they were born. The male rats whom he witheld the testosterone bath thought they were female. It is all in John Colapinto's book As Nature Made Him (as well as other places of course). Sometimes this also happens naturally, and a fetus just does not get the hormones it is supposed to while in the womb. Finally, there have been more recent studies on cadavers that show male-to-female transsexuals to have the same physical brain structures as genetic females, rather than males.

Aela is one of these latter, "garden-variety" transsexuals born physically male, yet instinctively knowing they are female. We will see more evidence of this later in the story, when Teresa sees her naked and gets a good look at the scar where her male genitals once were. I am trying not to go too much into it to avoid the story seeming like a scientific journal. My own takes are that she has used magic to help with surgery and later we will see hair removal as well, and alchemy for the equivalent of hormone therapy (an interesting factiod: the modern birth control pill was originally developed from a Native American concoction using yams. Other plants show estrogenic properties as well).

This post has been edited by SubRosa: Jul 19 2011, 12:24 AM