Sel, Chapter 3 Options

[Dantrag]

I was soon accepted into House Redoran, and my mother was pretty proud of me. Probably too proud. I didn't go to Athyn's class anymore, being too busy as councillor Venim's page. Or, at least until the fiery councillor died, and was replaced by his brother. All young hirelings in the House had to spend five years in a councillor's service, and I was no different. Close to the end of those years, my fourth, to be exact, I wondered why I was even in the House; I got no money for my service, being a page, and my family needed money. I should have gotten a job. There I was in Bolvyn's manor, getting fed and clothed while my family starved. My own damned fault. I paid for my selfishness.

----

I'll put the actual story here in a while; I just needed to start this back up.

This post has been edited by Dantrag: Feb 8 2006, 02:47 AM

[minque]

Wonderful! More Sel.....woah.....I can´t wait!

[Dantrag]

here's your least favorite story on the forums, returned!

-------

Sel walked down the hall, taking off his clothes as he did; he hated those clothes. He had to look like a true noble when he was in Bolvyn's -Arsyn's- hall, or something like that. He couldn't remember the exact reason.

He ignored the stares of the servants and guards passing him by, and he was soon in his room getting into some clothes that were actually worth wearing.

"Hey, you, servant!" he heard, calling behind him.

"Shut up, Retin." Sel replied, laughing with his friend's weak joke. Retin was always commenting on his hatred of 'rich people clothes'.

"Hey, listen." Retin said, changing the subject. "Uncle Arsyn said that he wants you to come on the hunt. They say there are lots of nix-hounds around this time of year."

"I'm going home. I spend enough time with my damned bow and not enough with my mother or sister." Sel said, packing his things.

"So you're going to spend your short vacation in your tiny hut?" Retin asked.

Sel nodded, knowing that Retin meant no insult; he just didn't understand Sel's point of view. There was a huge difference between them.

"Alright then, I guess I'll see you in a week." Retin said, walking out of Sel's room.

Sel packed the two dresses he had gotten from the Redoran tailor, and was soon out the door, thankful to finally be let out of the council chambers for reasons other than Redoran duties. Even though his house was very near Ald'ruhn, he didn't get there much, as he had to obey the rules of Arsyn Venim, who was all about discipline. Maybe even moreso than Venim was before being killed by the Nerevarine in the Arena. Sel wished that Athyn had gotten first pick of the pages so that he could serve under him.

Shielding his eyes from the sand, Sel trudged along the oft-used path to his small home. He knocked on the door, and instead of being greeted with a 'hello', he was greeted with a hug that squeezed the breath from him.

"Hey there, Sis." Sel said, breaking away from the hug. "I got something for you." He reached into his pack and retrieved one of those dresses.

Vysi took it without a word, and ran into her room, he guessed it was to try it on. Sel now considered her room to be more like a closet, since living in the Venim Manor.

"Sel!" his mother exclaimed, wiping her dirty hands on her apron before hugging her son.

"I got one for you, too." Sel said, giving his mother the other dress. He hoped they liked them; he had to trade three daggers for those. Three daggers that belonged to House Redoran.

The family sat down to dinner, Vysi was wearing her new dress, and was overly excited about it.

"Take some meat, mom." Sel urged, holding out a plate of cave rat meat.

He frowned as she cut off the tail and put it on her plate. "Why are you eating the tail?"

"It's the best part." Valia replied with a smile.

Sel thought no more of it. If he had, he would have realized that she was starving so that her children could eat.

This post has been edited by Dantrag: Feb 8 2006, 02:50 AM

[minque]

Quite wonderful update Danny.....you really make your charachters alive, the more I read about Sel the more I just love the boy. You also describe his family in a nice way, the cheerful Vysi who apparently had been longing for her brother and Valia...quiet calm and very loving...

So why do you say this story is the least favourite?......You gotta know by now that I love it and it is on my fav-list!

[Tellie]

Oh yes, more Sel. I have been waiting in patience ( actually banging my head in the desk each time it wasn't any new Sel updates, so please post more often as my head is getting wery sore and painfull, not to mention dizzy. ), so keep it up do ye hear me.

As always full off quality interesting, some humor and exiting writing. I must say though that I fear for Sel's mother. Thanks alot for giving us a christmas update.

[Dantrag]

Here you go, Telendil; please don't hurt your head anymore!

------

"Take it." Sel insisted, shoving a bag of gold pieces in his mother's hand.

"No. It's yours, you earned it."

"And I'm giving it to you! I can do what I want with my own money!" Sel retorted. The money was actually money given to him indirectly from Arsyn Venim to buy new weapons. He had been stealing from House Redoran for awhile trying to help his family, and his mother never even suspected.

Valia sighed, and muttered something about him being just like his father. That angered Sel to a point. He wasn't like that bastarde at all! He would never abandon his family!

"Well, is there something I could buy from you?" Sel asked. "I've really got to go, but I still won't leave until you take this money."

Valia wouldn't have minded if her son never left, but he did need to go back to the Venim Manor where he could make a better future for himself and Vysi.

"As a matter of fact, I do." she replied. She walked into one of the only two rooms in the hut that served as her bedroom and opened a chest that she had told her children never to look inside. Needless to say, Sel had tried many times, but could never get the lock off. She walked back to Sel, holding a sword that was resting in its scabbard. The scabbard was nothing special; just black leather, but Sel didn't care; he would take anything as long as his mother would take the money.

"I would have sold it years ago." Valia said. "But your father told me to give it to you when you were old enough. He never said I couldn't sell it to you." she said with a wink.

Sel grabbed the sword from her and dropped the bag into her hand. "It isn't much, mom, but it'll help." he said, almost as an apology.

"You better get going after you say good-bye to your sister." Valia said.

"I would, but she ran off; I guess she's mad that I'm leaving again. Would you tell her I said good-bye?"

"Sure." Valia said, giving her son a hug and sending him off.

Sel trudged along, somewhat glad he was leaving home, and somewhat disappointed. He actually lkied the training he was required to do, but he hated all the ceremonial aspects of being a part of House Redoran, and he hated leaving his family to fend for itself. His mother was having trouble getting any sort of job; even jobs cleaining houses were taken. He was so busy thinking that he didn't notice the sound of footsteps trailing him...

Sel approached Under Skar, and walked inside the huge crab shell. He made his way along the rope bridges to the Venim Manor. As he was about to open the door to his home away from home, he heard a guard shout something to the effect of "What are you doing here?" Startled, Sel turned around to find out that the guard wasn't talking to him; he was talking to...Vysi?

With a loud sigh, Sel walked to where the two stood.

"Well, little girl?" the guard asked angrily.

"She's with me." Sel said hastily; he didn't want Vysi geting scared.

"Alright, but I don't know if Councillor Venim will allow her to stay with you." the guard replied.

"Don't worry, she's just visiting." Sel assured the guard.

"No I'm not! I'm staying with you!" Vysi protested.

"Alright, fine." Sel said in a tone that said that he was only saying whatever it took to calm Vysi down. "Come on, Sis."

Vysi followed, and once they were in his room, Sel turned on her. "What the hell are you doing?"

"Coming with you, stupid." Vysi said with a disarming smile. Even though she had just insulted him, he couldn't make himself be angry at her with that smile on her face.

"Alright, you can stay for a couple days, but then you're going home." Sel said, fearing that Venim wouldn't let her stay.

Vysi hopped on the bed next to Sel's and made herself comfortable. "That's Retin's bed." Sel said. "Take a nap on mine. I'll be right back."

Talking Arsyn into letting her stay would be the hardest thing about this situation even if he was one of the councillor's favorites. Arsyn was a hard man and tough like his brother Bolvyn, but was nowhere near as cold-hearted, so Sel didn't know how the councillor would react.

This post has been edited by Dantrag: Feb 8 2006, 02:52 AM

[minque]

O_o.....now it´s getting exciting, with lil´Vysi running around in Bolly´s manor....If I was Sel I´ll watch her carefully, ´cause Mr Venim is not a nice person..

Great update as usual,......you might have time for another one.....pretty soon huh?

Please.....

[Dantrag]

It's late, I'm not tired, so I'm listening to some Iron Maiden and writing some Sel.

--------------

It didn't take long for Arsyn Venim to give an emphatic 'no'. Or, that was what Sel wished he had said. What he actually said was much more eloquent and pointless. "Your darling sister is not a pledged Redoran, nor is she a servant, and therefore I am forced to give you leave to escort her to her proper home." He could have saved minutes of Sel's time as well as his own if he had just said, "Take her home." or "No, she isn't allowed here." Maybe Arsyn was as cold-hearted as his brother was.

Damned nobles. Sel thought. Always trying to sound smarter and more important than you.

He strapped on his new sword --he reminded himself to look at it later-- and got his sister ready for the trip home. He didn't mind though, as it got himself out of the morning prayers. It was a wasted hour spent praying to Vivec, Sotha Sil, and Almalexia; from what Sel could see, they were just attention-craving brats not worthy of being called a god at all. Especialy not after the Nerevarine had exposed them as frauds. Any group of people that required you to pray to them everyday for a certain amount of time was a little full of themselves. Redoran and their Temple ties. It made him want to go Telvanni sometimes. Even if it meant reading spell books all the time. At least when he got back Retin would probably be there too.

He opened the door to his house and said hello to his mother, but he doubted that she heard him over her own relieved rambling over Vysi. The incident taken care of, Sel gave another good-bye and returned to the city and the nobles.

"What did you get with your gold?" Retin asked just as Sel walked through the door.

Please look like you cost a hundred gold. Sel thought as he unbuckled his sword belt and laid the sheathed sword on Retin's lap. "That."

"Damn." Retin said in awe after pulling the sword free. It was of finely crafted silver, and had a fierce green glow around the blade. The leather-bound hilt fit a dunmer's hand perfectly, and the sword's balance was without flaw. "How in Vivec's name did you get this for a hundred gold?"

Sel smiled at his luck. This would allow him to get away with the other things he sold to give his family money and dresses. "I traded my old sword, a few daggers, and my bow along with the hundred gold."

"Still...you got this pretty cheap." Retin said, still surprised.

"The merchant said something about a curse, but I think it's just a superstitious old geezer." Sel said, making something up to explain the gap between his wallet and the cost of a sword like that.

As soon as the word 'curse' was uttered, Sel's new sword had found its way clanging to the floor.

"It's not really cursed." Sel chided, picking it up and placing it back in its scabbard.

"I'm not taking the chance." Retin replied. Not wanting to think about a cursed sword in his room, Retin changed the subject. "So how was your vacation?"

"Fine." Sel replied, hanging the sword belt on his bedpost. "Nothing special, but it was relaxing."

"I got two nix-hounds on the hunt." Retin boasted. "Only my cousin Arsyn Venim got more."

"Cousin Venim?" Sel asked. "He was your uncle last week, and I think he and Bolvyn were your brothers a few years ago." he added with a laugh. Retin made too much of his relation with the councillor, and used it as a bragging right. Sel found it funny that the relation always changed.

"Well, I read the family tree wrong." Retin said, thinking it a good save until he realized that Sel was saying it with him. I guess I already used that one. Retin thought bitterly.

"Don't we have to go to the practice field?" Sel asked, looking at how far the candle burning beside his bed had shrunk.

"Yeah, wait up." Retin said, hurriedly getting out of his expensive clothing and into some more fitting to a sword fight.

"Alright." Sel said, leaning against the door after strapping his sword on.

Retin buttoned his shirt and grabbed his small axe as he ran out the door. They were going to be late. Again.

This post has been edited by Dantrag: Feb 8 2006, 02:55 AM

[minque]

Ahh yes.....very good as usual.....I somehow feel a build-up of tension.....or is it just my "magic-skill" playing games with me?

Somehow I feel something´s gonna happen soon......something ....ehh not so nice..

So let´s hope you find yourself not tired again soon, Danny!......*hint* hint*

[MerGirl]

Yay! *claps* Awesome update.

Sel's sister is just so cute!

for the updates, keep up the good work!

[Dantrag]

Ever wanted to just crawl into a hole and never come out?

Me either. Anyway, here's an update.

--------

"Don't think so." Sel said as he blocked Retin's axe with his padded sword. With a deft twist of the wrist, Sel had his blade up under the crescent of Retin's axe, flipping it out of the noble dunmer's hands.

"Damn, you're getting too good at that." Retin said, retrieving his axe for yet another run.

Sel smiled confidently as they went at it again. This time Retin was forced to block, and held his axe vertically, using that space under his axe's blade to push against Sel's sword.

Not strong enough to push back, Sel was forced to disentangle his sword from that oppressive axe and roll away to the side. As he came out of the roll into a low crouch, he saw the perfect opportunity for a hit. He slashed horizontally, the soft padding around his sword hitting Retin just above the hip.

Until Sel's enchanted sword cut easily through the padding.

Retin collapsed to the ground, clutching his side as blood flowed from the wound.

"Are you alright?" Sel asked, still not quite grasping the situation. He held his sword in front of himself in awe.

"No! Go get a damned healer!"

Sel ran off back towards the manor that he made his home, and soon returned with a healer. Luckily, the wound wasn't bad, as Sel had pulled away before the sword went to deep.

When Retin stood, wounds magically healed, all Sel could do was apologize.

"Sorry. I didn't know it was that sharp." Sel said, looking at his feet, ashamed.

Before Retin could say that Sel had one hell of a weapon, a messenger approached holding in his hands a letter.

"Is there a..." the messenger began, looking for the name on the letter. "Selenil Vendas here?"

Sel walked towards the mer. "That's me."

"This is for you. I'm so sorry." was all the messenger had to say before running off to deliver other messages.

A confused Sel opened the letter and he slumped down so that he was sitting on the ground, staring off into space immediately after reading the contents.

Concerned, Retin picked up the letter that had fallen to the ground. It read:

Selenil Vendas,

We regret to inform you of your mother, Valia Vendas' passing. Your sister, Vysi Vendas, will be staying at Fort Buckmoth until you are able to take her.

It wasn't even signed by anyone, but Retin guessed that it was some ranking Imperial officer. They handled things like this when a body was found or someone reported a death. He stood there awkwardly, not knowing what to do or say, but wanting to be there for his friend.

[minque]

OMG! Nooooooooo......it´s terrible! no no...not the story.....the fact his mom died!

Now please don´t let me wait too long to find out how she died..pweese Danny?..Strange I knew it was coming (from the rp) but it still quite schocked me....

Very well written as always!

[Fuzzy Knight]

Well I've finally had some time to catch up with you're story as well as Minque's story and need to start on the others too...

I really like the way how you make the characers actions short and descriptive when in fights and not to detailed (as I tend to do sometimes )

As well as Minque, I think you also manage to make you're characters very much alive and natural.

And that Sel's mother now have suddently died makes it very interesting and as Minque said; I'm also very egee(sp?) to find how how she died. I'll keep a close look on this, you keep up the good work Danny!

[Dantrag]

about time for an update, no?

----

He didn't believe it. He had seen her that very morning, early though it may have been. As he looked back, though, he realized the things that he hadn't really thought much of. He didn't think twice when he saw how skinny she looked. Or when she ate only the rat's tail. Did it even have any meat on it? He realized that she had starved herself so that he and Vysi could eat. It made him angry at himself, especially since he was eating well here in Bolvyn's manor and he had eaten some of his family's scarce food while his mother ate a rat's tail.

"Get up and go get your sister. You've been sitting there over an hour." Retin said in a demanding tone. "She's probably feeling as bad as you, and you're leaving her all alone in some Imperial fortress."

As much as Sel wanted to sit there in his self-loathing, he wanted as much to make sure his sister was okay. He didn't reply, but he did get up and make his way slowly towards Fort Buckmoth.

He gave the guard at the door his sword as they had asked; the Imperials feared House Redoran because of their haatred towards the outlanders coming into their land. As much as they hated it though, none of the House leaders would be dishonorable enough to murder any Imperials without good cause. Except maybe Councillor Venim.

"I'm here to take Vysi Vendas away." Sel told the guard.

"The little dunmer orphan?" the guard asked unthinkinkingly, "Ask the gaoler."

"The gaoler?" Sel asked incredulously. "You put my sister in a cell?"

The guard was suddenly glad that this Redoran's sword had been taken away. "It um-it wasn't my decisi- Just go down there and get her."

"I hope you burn in hell." Sel said as he walked down the steps, anger at himself and the Imperials mixed with the grief of his loss, forming a horrible tempest inside him.

My sister is no criminal; no danger to them, yet they choose to lock her in a cell. The only thing she's done is see her mother die today, but apparently that's a damned crime. Whoever was in charge here would never hear the end of this.

"I want my sister out." he said flatly to the much larger, stronger, and older Imperial gaoler standing in front of him.

"Who'd that be?"

"She's the only twelve year-old dunmer here, I'm sure. Now get her out." he demanded angrily.

The gaoler did as he was told, but he flashed Sel a look that said that the dunmer boy was pushing it.

Vysi came out, her face looking tear-stained and pitifully sad. Sel became more angry and more saddened. Who the hell do these people think they are, locking up twelve year-old girls in dark cells? Poor Vysi, having to stay here with the stench of prisoners and the darkness; hardly comforting after our mother died...and these damned soldiers did it to her.

"Come on, Vysi." he said, taking her hand and leading her out. He gave the gaoler a cold, murderous stare as he left, the same one that he gave the guard at the entrance as he took his sword back.

Sel stopped once they were outside and turned to face his sister. "Are you alright?" Sel asked, "Did they hurt you?"

Vysi shook her head, and only when he was sure she was telling the truth did he continue on back towards Ald'ruhn.

Sel had his first reason to hate the Empire.

This post has been edited by Dantrag: Jan 6 2006, 09:10 PM

[Fuzzy Knight]

Nice story telling there Danny. Good written as always. First I thought you could use some more description when he knew that his mother had died, both in this update and the one before - But really do it great by totally changing how Sel is acting, against those guards for example when getting his sister and that's really well done...

Hope it could have been some longer tho, because it's getting more and more exiting now as he has 'The first reason to hate the Empire'

Keep it up!

[minque]

Awww-........really....it´s so sad.....but Sel really showed himself to be a good brother...my my......I always get very emotional when reading stories like this, hmm I´m a mother so it gets to me you see-......

Will we get to know how Valia died? I feel very sorry for both Sel and -Vysi

Please update soon will ya?

[mplantinga]

Silly me; I didn't notice you had started chapter 3 until today. You've certainly got this chapter off to a roaring start. So many things have happened already, and most of them weren't very nice. At least Sel has his father's sword; I am curious to find out more about its history and enchantment.

Thanks for another great update. I'll try to wait patiently for the next one.

[minque]

I'll try to wait patiently for the next one.

He he..I won´t be that patient though! Danny.....update....now! It´s an order!

[Dantrag]

Here you are.

----

They buried their mother the next day, and had to make the gravestone themselves. It was a large lump of a rock, and Sel carved his mother's name in it with a hammer and chisel that he borrowed from someone in what was once Bolvyn Manor.

Sel watched as Vysi put some freshly picked flowers on the spot of fresh earth, trying his best not to let any tears pass; he had to be strong for his sister. He was the parent now.

As best he could tell, his mother had been so poor that she could barely afford food anymore. As such, she gave it all to his sister, and when he was home, himself. She starved herself to death so that they could live. Noble, he couldn't deny, but it didn't make it hurt any less, or make him feel any less guilty. He had inadvertently killed his own mother. He even tried to eat a rat's tail the night before, and proved that it had no meat on it.

They stayed in their own house from then on, Sel getting permission from Arsyn on account of his sister. It didn't matter anyway; his time as a page would end soon. Then he would get paid for being doing duties for the House. But until then, he needed a job.

"Do you need an apprentice?" Sel asked the armorer in town, hoping to get a job at the forge.

"A skinny boy like you? I don't think you could even dent the metal, much less shape it." the man said with a laugh. "Listen, someone like you would be better suited to something else."

Most of the other places said much the same thing. He wasn't able to do any of it. None of the pawnbrokers or traders needed any extra help, and he was told he was too young to work in a tavern. He even tried to get a job sewing for a clothier, but when he tried to prove that he could hem a dress, he was laughed at yet again.

I can't wait six months to get paid. Sel thought angrily. Six months was how long it would take for him to turn fifteen, and he had to be fifteen to be accepted as a full-fledged Redoran.

He had tried everything short of joining a guild, and that never appealed to him; it seemed that all guild members were in debt to their respective guilds. He was about to walk into the fighters' guild, hoping he wouldn't get laughed at there, before he accidentally ran into an altmer man. Needless to say, it brought him away from his contemplations.

"What are you doing, boy?" the altmer demanded, papers strewn everywhere from the collision.

"What? Oh, sorry sir. I guess I was somewhere else." Sel replied, helping the man pick up all the papers that Sel made him drop. One stuck out to him; it was a sketch of a sword with the word 'Chrysamere' written over it.

"What's this?" Sel asked, holding up the paper.

"That, my boy, is an ancient sword, sometimes called the Paladin Blade, but it is more commonly known as Chrysamere. It supposedly strenghens the user, as well as healing him when needed, but I have yet to find it." the altmer replied.

"No offense, sir, but you don't look like one to use a sword." Sel said, trying his best to be polite; he was sincerely interested.

"I'm not." he admitted, "But I'm a collector, you see. I enjoy collecting dwemer items, and other legendary artifacts and studying them."

"Sounds dangerous, looting dwemer ruins." Sel said, beginning to admire the man.

"It is; I've had to leave many an artifact lying on the ground because of some damned construct or specter." the man said, some frustration evident in his voice.

"Would you pay me for any dwemer items I find?" Sel asked, seeing a way to make money here.

"No, my boy; I don't want a child running around in a dwemer ruin just for money. It's dangerous." he said, condescendingly, as adults often do to children.

"I can handle myself." Sel said defensively.

The altmer seemed to notice the sword at Sel's side for the first time. "Hm...I guess you could be right." he said, stroking his chin as if deep in thought over something. "How about this; you can travel with me tomorrow to one of the nearby ruins, and I'll see how good you really are with that silver toy. If I find you to be good enough, I'll hire you as a bodyguard of sorts."

Sel was too happy about the prospect of making money to make a retort about the mer calling his sword a toy. "Where do I meet you?"

"Meet me in the Ald Skar Inn at dawn; I won't wait up for you so be on time."

With that, the altmer scooped up the last of his papers and walked off to the inn, where Sel supposed he had a room.

The boy trudged along, and realized that he had forgotten all about what hapened to his mother while he was speaking to that mer and looking for jobs. He had been too busy to. All of a sudden, the sadness and the anger hit him again, overwhelming him, but he was determined not to cry. After all if he couldn't stop himself from doing it by himself, who was to say that he couldn't stop it when he was around Vysi? He had to be strong for her. He was the parent now.

I'm a bloody parent now. he thought sadly. But then another thought came. Where the hell is my father? He should have been here, working to make money so that mother wouldn't starve. He should be here now so that I'm not the one taking care of the family.

He pulled out his sword and swung at the nearest trama root in anger. What kind of man was his father? Obviously not a very good one to let his mother die like that and leave him to fend for the family.

"I'm the parent now." he told himself firmly. "Father be damned."

This post has been edited by Dantrag: Feb 8 2006, 02:57 AM

[Fuzzy Knight]

Great update Danny I really liked this one, very, very nice written. I'm really looking forward to the next update, it's getting more and more interesting. Keep it up... Really like to see Sel fighting some constructs