Serene of Cyrodiil, chapter 6, Sidetracks and sorrow Options

[treydog]

Glad she is back where she belongs- and a bonus! Guest appearance by everyone's favorite honorable assassin! Excellent characterization, as always, and wonderful story-telling.

Edited to fix typo.

This post has been edited by treydog: Feb 6 2007, 02:32 PM

[jack cloudy]

Now that's a way to say 'welcome home'. Dagger on the throat.

Heh, nice update as always. Now let's hope Athyn gets a chance to relax for once.

[canis216]

Well, I don't know about you but I always greet visitors with a dagger. What could be more friendly and intimidating intimate?

This post has been edited by canis216: Feb 3 2007, 10:53 PM

[Soulseeker3.0]

Wow, its good to see that Athyn still welcomes back Serene. Everyone else's reactions are nerv-racking though.. please keep up the good work.

[minque]

”I had this dream, but I’ll tell you about it…some other time,” Athyn said as we sat down on his bed, still holding on to each other. It was as if we didn’t want to let go; we both had the urge to just feel the closeness. I stroked his hair, kissed him repeatedly and then I cuddled up in his arms, my face tight to his chest. I was happy but yet also remorseful…

How could I even have thought of running away like that?

“Serene, don’t think about it…it was a sign from the Divines, I promise you! It was meant to happen, it had a purpose! I…I know that now.” Athyn held me tight and his words were comforting but I still had this nagging in my heart. Then I realised I hadn’t said a word and he knew what I was thinking anyway…

I wanted to ask him about the dream he had, but as his kissing became more intense, I understood he had other things in mind. This scared me at first; my experiences of men and their more physical wishes was not entirely pleasant, but the act I experienced that evening, together with Athyn wiped all the bad memories away and showed me the real power of love.

The first thing Athyn asked me next morning was if I now was ready to move in with him, and this time I said yes. There was really no other option… I got a chamber of my own, to keep my things and perform my coming tasks; as it now was clear that I would obtain a position within the House. This pleased me a great deal, for I was eager to serve and honor the Family that had adopted me, but most of all I was pleased about living close to Athyn.

Sarethi Manor was a crowded place at the time of my return, but as Athyn, merely from the sheer joy of having me back (At least that’s what he said!) was on his feet again really soon, things went back to normal rather quickly. Salyn went back to Ghostgate with his Buoyant Armigers, and one day we got a message from Varvur that he was coming home. His message was rather cryptic and neither Athyn nor I could figure out what caused this sudden visit.

Sethyas and I got back on speaking terms again; he was visiting rather often and I sometimes got the feeling he was keeping an eye on me, seeing that I was still there. It didn’t bother me that much; I was rather touched by his obvious care for Athyn…

One thing was not going back to normal, as I could see, and that was the eating-habits of the household. Athyn couldn’t get enough food; he was constantly hungry and spent a great deal of his time in the kitchen, preparing food, which he was really good at! Now I had to restrain myself, for I did not need that amount of food, but I usually kept him company and had a glass of comberry-juice or a cup of tea. Athyn was especially happy if there were visitors coming, and then he really enjoyed cooking. He used his mother’s cooking-book, and tried out almost all the recipes.

“I so enjoy cooking! Unfortunately Domi wouldn’t hear of me cooking; she said it was a sign of weakness and not appropriate for a Redoran Councillor,” Athyn pleaded as he took out a casserole from the oven, and proudly presented it for me. It was one month since my return and Athyn wanted to celebrate the occasion. I felt a bit awkward but I didn’t want to spoil it for him so I smiled at him and told him it looked delicious. It was! We had a wonderful meal together, just the two of us, sitting at the minor table by the fireplace in my chamber, in the light of just a few lanterns, enjoying the food and quite a lot of wine. His face was glowing, from the wine, or from just happiness and he looked younger than ever.

After we finished eating, we sat down amongst a bunch of pillows outspread in front of the fire. Suddenly he put his hands gently around my face and chanted to me, a hymn with the most touching words, a melody, strange but yet beautiful in its simplicity, with a voice hoarse and dark but filled with utmost emotion;

What a wondrous love it is
To bind two souls in faith,
Chained completely together
With never a false word,
Weal and woe, wish and real,
Woven each together
From first kiss to last breath,
First and last whispered in love.

He wiped the tears from my face and kissed me….over and over again, and we sank down amongst the pillows and completed what had to be completed…At some point during the act he touched my tattoo and his fingers sent a burning sensation to my skin, and I felt he knew I had it.

“I’ll tell you of my dream,” Athyn said afterwards as we lay beside each other. He gently stroked my chin and gave me a devoted smile. “You know, Serene, Azura came to me…in my dream. I know it was her, I recognised her ice-blue dress, she was standing beside my bed, just like that, and she stretched out her hand towards me…and in her palm…” Athyn stopped and planted a kiss on my lips. “In her palm was a figure of a man…and it was Trey! Trey in full armor. I didn’t understand at first, but when I looked upon Azura´s face…when I looked at her, everything fell together….it was your face Serene, and I then understood the role you are playing in the future of our people!!”

I must have looked confused, because he then told me this story, from long ago:

“In ancient days, the Deep Elves and a great host of outlanders from the West came to steal the land of the Dunmer. In that time, Nerevar was the great khan and war leader of the House People, but he honored the Ancient Spirits and the Tribal law, and became as one of us.
So, when Nerevar pledged upon his great Ring of the Ancestors, One-Clan-Under-Moon-and-Star, to honor the ways of the Spirits and rights of the Land, all the Tribes joined the House People to fight a great battle at Red Mountain.
Though many Dunmer, Tribesman and Houseman, died at Red Mountain, the outlanders were driven from the land. But after this great victory, the power-hungry khans of the Great Houses slew Nerevar in secret, and, setting themselves up as gods, neglected Nerevar's promises to the Tribes.”

“But…” Athyn continued with a smile,” it is said that Nerevar will come again with his ring, and cast down the false gods, and by the power of his ring will make good his promises to the Tribes. And it is also believed that Nerevar has come back, that he is reborn in the shape of a man you know, my love, the man called Trey!”

I nodded; I had heard that from the Ahemmusa and I had also actually seen Trey, so I did believe him, but I still couldn’t grasp what he was coming to, why this dream explained everything to him.

“Trey is guarded by Azura, like you are. He is now completing the Fourth Trial of the prophecy called Seven Visions of Seven Trials of the Incarnate:

A stranger's voice unites the Houses.
Three Halls call him Hortator”.

I sat silent; the ancient tale made sense to me. There was an Incarnate, and I remembered clearly the words of Nibani Maesa at the Meeting amongst the Ashlander Tribes;

“.......The Third Trial........Urshilaku Nerevarine, and before the grass of the Ashlands turns brown again for the winter-season, he will appear in front of you, Sinnamu Mirpal, and ask you to name him the Ahemmusa Nerevarine. You may ask a favor of him; just make sure it will be of benefit for your people.”

It was Trey she was referring to, referring to his sojourn among the Ashlanders, to complete the Third Trial. Now he had proceeded to the Fourth Trial, and I subconsciously understood that I. somehow, was involved in his quest to complete it...

But…I did not know in what way…just yet.

[lord_wanhoop]

Interesting. You make a good connection to a(nother) masterpiece here. But curiousity is pouring out of my every orifice... If she aten't not no Nerevaress at all, how does she figure into the Grand Scheme?

[The Metal Mallet]

Serene's future seems to run somewhat parallel to Trey's quest. I wonder what she'll have to do to assist dear Trey.

I love the rapidly developing relationship that's being built between Serene and Athyn. Just like McDonalds (which I don't really like), "I'm Lovin' It!".

[jack cloudy]

Wow, never knew that Athyn was a cook. Hmm, I wonder how Serene fits into his dream. He might understand everything, I certainly don't.

[Black Hand]

Niiice...I'm enjoying the masterful touches of three parallels here. Soon the three of us will have to cowrite a short story of dialogue between the three heroes...

[minque]

Wow, never knew that Athyn was a cook. Hmm, I wonder how Serene fits into his dream. He might understand everything, I certainly don't.

Ehh, no I didn´t know he was a cook either....but it fits in somehow, and personally I´m used to live together with a cooking-maniac!

Now the dream is...strange, I admit it, but it will be more clear later, and you know how it is with dreams....they are peculiar!

[treydog]

A wonderful depiction of Azura and the cryptic messages she sends. And a guest appearance by someone familiar to me... . It will be interesting to see the role Serene is to play in Trey's quest to become Hortator.

[mplantinga]

I am overjoyed at Athyn's recovery, and surprised at his great culinary skills. But, I guess, you have to love a man who cooks.

I enjoyed the mix of poetry, prophecy, and history/legend in this installment. It added a wonderful depth both of emotion and significance to the events that are unfolding. I look forward to seeing how Serene fits into the Sarethi household and what role she is to play in Trey's destiny.

[minque]

”All you have to do is to be there, listen to their talk, and make your own judgements about it.”

Athyn tried to convince me that my presence at the forthcoming Council-meeting was very much needed, not for me, but for him. He said he needed me there to stand by his side, giving my silent support. I hesitated; I wasn’t sure the other Councillors would be very happy having me there.

We were having our regular morning-talk in bed, before facing the daily life. This habit was established since the second I moved in as it seemed, and we both enjoyed it. It was one of the few moments we had on our own.

“The others would ridicule you, my dear, for bringing me,” I tried to talk myself out of it; I wasn’t at all interested in taking part in the Redoran Council Meetings…not at all!

I knew the best way to end this discussion, in fact to end any discussions with Athyn, was to kiss him, which distracted him and made him want something entirely different…

Afterwards I sat up in bed looking at the man beside me. Even though he was old enough to be my father, I didn’t see him that way. His strong wiry body, his dark glittering eyes, so filled with emotion, the dark grey-streaked hair, dishevelled as always at this time, all this made him so attractive to me, and I loved him more than ever. And he also had an infuriating habit of being able to pick up the thread of a conversation without missing a beat.

“No, Serene, they wouldn’t! Maybe the Archmaster…but not the others! Deep inside, they loathe him as much as I …or you, my love!”

But of course my first Council-meeting turned out to be disastrous. I attended, due to Athyn´s wishes, and the Archmaster did his best to insult me and spit out his hate towards me. I suffered, not for my sake, but for the pain in Athyn´s eyes when he had to listen to the evil words of Bolvyn Venim. Needless to say, the other Councillors remained quite silent, save Brara Morvayn. I noticed some shame in the eyes of Hlaren Ramoran, but Garisa Llethri was absent, due to personal reasons it was said.

I had a pretty good idea what those reasons were…

That meeting was my first and my last for quite some time. I decided not to attend any kind of gathering with Bolvyn Venim present.

I pondered my life and future during the following weeks. While doing that I decorated my study, a minor room in the basement of Sarethi Manor. Athyn had given it to me shortly after I moved in, a room I could do what I wanted with, but there had been no time for me to really make it mine…until now. I needed this to keep my mind off Bolvyn Venim, and to decide what I had to do to fulfil Sinnamu Mirpal´s prophecy. Deep inside I knew what it meant, but I wasn’t ready to really grasp it…yet.

Instead I gave much thinking about how to be of any use to Trey’s struggle to be named Hortator. As far as I knew he was in the Telvanni-districts now to try to convince those crazy wizards to give him the title. The only Telvanni I knew was Baladas Demnevanni….and that brave young girl Telina…something.

Since I was planning to go to Gnisis Marketplace anyway, I decided to pay a visit to Baladas at the same time. Gnisis Market was known to be the right place to go if you wanted to buy woven carpets and ceramic pottery, and I had a room to decorate! Apart from that it would be nice to meet Baladas again…

A faint sun was rising over Red Mountain that cold Loredas-morning in mid First Seed, as I set out for Gnisis. At least there was no ash-storm and I wore a dark violet cloak, made of finest Kagouti-hides dyed with heather, so I could stand a bit of harsh weather. Athyn didn’t really want me to go; he was always worried that something would happen to me, so he wanted Sethyas Velas to accompany me. I refused; this was my trip, and I did not want any man to interfere with my shopping, or my eventual meeting with Baladas Demnevanni for that matter.

I enjoyed the trip with the Strider to Gnisis. The sky was blue and the colors of the rising sun were magnificent. Navam Veran, the driver, was cheerful as always, and fed me with the latest gossip about the inhabitants of Ald´ruhn.

“´eard them Mages got´emselves some really fancy books, fer teachin´them scholars te read! Reeeally fine books…from Vivec they came.oh aye! And given by that noble Duchess who is the very fiancée of our Seth, so nice a lady she is that Lady Duchess…And Ienas Sarandas´ done it again, made a complete fool of ´imself! Now he has it comin´to ´im, mark my word…Oh and Counc´ler Ramoran is still sulkin´o´er that woman…tsk.tsk, when he’s got that fiiine lass jest under ´is very eyes.”

“Excuse me!” I just had to interrupt him, or he would have never stopped talking, “That Duchess you’re talking about, could it by any chance be Lady Ilmeni Dren you’re referring to?” That was the only Duchess I had heard of and I knew Sethyas had something going on with her.

“Aye Sera Catraso…´tis, now long time since she’s been in Ald´ruhn….I wonder?”

I didn’t find out what Navam was wondering, because we went down for landing at Gnisis Strider port. The weather had gotten much worse, as Gnisis was situated near the coast, the humidity from the sea easily gets in over the land and clouds are formed. So a drizzling rain met me in Gnisis as I hurried towards the Market.

***************

I put down my quill for a short moment, to stretch my numb legs and actually look at the room I was sitting in. The room hasn’t changed since then; this was the room I decorated back then, before it all happened, when I still was young and naïve, when I still had all those things undone, which would affect my life to such extent. This was my place of remembrance, my place of peace…The woven tapestries in dark red and brown were those I purchased in Gnisis that day in First Seed, so many years ago, the pots filled with fresh Heather and Gold Kanet were the pots I brought home back then…If the walls in this room could talk….

****************

Tulsi, Baladas Demnevanni´s tame Daedroth, greeted me by hissing and displaying her teeth…waving her big head from one side to the other, as I reached the inner chambers of Arvs Drelen.

“Who’s there?” The sharp voice made some memories awake in me, and I stepped rapidly forward. He looked exactly as I remembered him, and without any further comments he just embraced me.

“Let me have a look at you my child.” He held me at an arm’s length in front of him and appraised me thoroughly. A couple of tears ran down my cheeks as I remembered the last time I met this old wizard.

“Master Demnevanni,” I said, “I…I’m so glad to see you.”

“Then stop crying, for Stendarr’s sake,” he grunted, “You are beautiful as always but you have lost weight…are you really happy?” I nodded and wiped my face with the sleeve of my cloak.

Baladas bade me sit down and offered me some herbal tea, ingredients unknown to me but it surely had an effect on me, and I felt all of a sudden very calm and relaxed.

I told Baladas most of the things that had happened to me since I last met him. He listened without saying much; he just gave me a handkerchief when I spoke about the terrible death of Domesea Sarethi and my cowardly escape to Ald Daedroth after the funeral. His red eyes darkened as I mentioned Bolvyn Venim and he just nodded as I told about Sinnamu Mirpal´s dream.

“You do know what actions need to be taken? And that you have to actually do it- don’t you?” He asked me sternly. I nodded, but I didn’t want to think about that right now. My primary concern was Trey, to make sure he’d be Hortator.

[The Metal Mallet]

Hmmm... It looks like Serene has some important decisions to make in not so distant future... Let's hope she makes the right one.

Always glad to see a Serene update! Definitely a good one at that. I look forward to the next one!

[treydog]

The interactions of the Council are interesting- shows how a strong but corrupt person can poison the whole thing.... I wonder if Serene will try to work with the Telvanni or instead follow the destiny that Nibani and Baladas have both pointed out.

[mplantinga]

While I can understand the need to make sure things turn out well for Trey, I am concerned about Serene's apparent apathy toward her own destiny. Her experience in Ald Daedroth should have taught her the important of doing what she needed to do, both for herself and others, and not to ignore things that seem currently inconvenient. Perhaps we'll get to see yet again what kind of woman Serene really is.

Thanks for another great update. I am looking forward to seeing where Serene takes things from here.

[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

[The Metal Mallet]

Oh boy, oh boy! What does she have to do!?!??!? The suspence until the next update shall kill me!!!

Great update as always Minque!

[Lord Revan]

Ah, the end of chapter six of a great series. Can't wait 'til sven comes out, Minky.

[Black Hand]

Hmmm the plot thickens.....

I sit by ready to read!