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> Ahnaressu's Travels
Dantrag
post Feb 13 2005, 06:10 AM
Post #1


Councilor
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Joined: 13-February 05
From: The cellar of the fortress of the fuzz



Some of you (four, maybe five) may have read this already, if not, I hope you enjoy it. It is currently being written on the TES forums, but I will post it here also. I also plan on doing a wee bit of editing. (just for you guys!) Anyways, enjoy.

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Chapter 1
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The dunmer boy stood up from picking trama roots for a second to feel the fresh wind on his face. Wind without a host of sand was rare, so he enjoyed the calm while he could. I should get home, he thought. He picked up the chitin bow his now dead father made and his basket of trama roots before beginning the three hour walk back to the yurt he, his baby brother, and his mother shared. Little did he know of the eyes watching him from behind a mound of rocks.

The boy turned around quickly, not knowing what the noise behind him was. Chuckling at his own paranoia, he quickly launched an arrow into the rat's face. He scooped up the dead rat and put it in the basket with his mothers alchemical ingredients. The boy sat down for a quick rest. He rested his head on a rock and gnawed half-heartedly on a trama root. Soon the boy had drifted to sleep.

He awoke to loud screams and the sound of steel ringing against steel. As soon as he thought of his family, he grabbed his bow, and notched an arrow to its string. He ran to a high cliff looking over his camp. He spotted his fellow Urshilaku fighting off yet another organized group of rogue ashlanders for the third time in one month. The boy gritted his teeth and let fly his arrow. A rogue ashlander suddenly felt his head explode before lying down for the last time. The boy quickly notched another arrow ready to let fly until he spotted his mother in the corner of his eye.

The boys mother, Zaldin, cast a large fireball at the largest gruop of enemies. She looked in satisfaction as they beat themselves frantically trying to beat out the magical flames. She turned from the spectacle to see a dagger flying at her exposed throat.

The boy looked in horror as his mother fell to the ground, a dagger in her throat. He began to run towards her, tears welling in his eyes, but he remembered his baby brother. He changed his course and ran to his yurt to find his brother. He opened the door to find a man looting his yurt. The man didn't notice the small, skinny boy and the young dunmer didnt hesitate to put an arrow in his skull. After searching the dead man's body and taking his chitin dagger, the boy frantically searched for his brother. He threw open chests, urns, tossed away bed rolls, and pushing over tables, he eventually found his baby brother crying under a mound of blankets. He used the table he knocked over as a shield and waited for someone, (anyone!) to walk through his door.

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Heh, my battle scenes were better back in chapter 1.....
Enjoy.[/i]
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Dantrag
post Feb 13 2005, 06:15 AM
Post #2


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Joined: 13-February 05
From: The cellar of the fortress of the fuzz



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Chapter 2
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Ahnaressu wiped the blood from his face after freeing his dagger from yet another man's chest. He was exhausted, but he had to fight on through the fatigue, sorrow, and anger. He fought for what was left of his broken family. He moved to the front of the yurt and peeked out the door. He spotted a few survivors fleeing the camp with the remaining rogues not far behind. The young dark elf walked to the center of the camp and inspected the damage through teary eyes. He sat down in utter dismay, and the exhaustion and minor cuts and bruises of the fight finally caught up to him. He invited the blackness of sleep.

He awoke to the sound of his crying brother. Knowing the baby was hungry, he searched a nearby yurt and found a few comberries. He crushed them up and added some water to make a sauce and began to feed his brother. He let his brother crawl around while he searched for something useful. He found an iron shortsword and an enchanted ring.

"I don't want excuses, Nyph!" yelled Valnor, the leader of the rogues. "The remaining Urshilaku have the high ground, and definately in a position to easily defend themselves!"
"Even though they have the high ground, we can easily force them off the cliff onto more flat ground where we can take the rest of them." Nyph argued.
"Are you blind?" Valinor yelled. "They have archers at the top of that hill slaughtering all that come up. At this rate they might outnumber us! We took them by surprise at their camp, but now they are ready."
Nyph shrugged his shoulders to show that he conceded the point. "All we can do is wait."

Ahnaressu put the last shovel of dirt over the grave he dug for his mother. He scooped up his bag that contained an extra set of clothes, some food, Zaldin's alchemical recipies, and his baby brother, Relgar, with his head sticking out of the top. Where can I go? he asked himself. Where can I go? He tightened his belt that had his chitin dagger and iron shortsword, slung his bow and quiver over his shoulder, and headed west towards the coast.

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I know you're on the edge of your seat.....the coast IS a scary place you know....ummmm....yeah enjoy.
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Dantrag
post Feb 13 2005, 06:18 AM
Post #3


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Joined: 13-February 05
From: The cellar of the fortress of the fuzz



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Chapter 3
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The sound of the waves lapping on the shore kept Ahnaressu sane. It was a soothing, almost magical sound. It was Ahnaressu's indulgence in this magic that allowed a mubcrab to pass by undetected by the normally-alert hunter. Ahnaressu knew that he had to get to civilization if he was to survive. His only problem was mustering the courage to make such a difficult decision. He had no idea what to expect or even how to act. He scooped up his pack and his weapons, then cradled his brother as he began his journey to Ald'ruhn.

He went in through the main gate, where he was taken aback by the hustle and bustle of the people. He quickly went behind a house and curled up with Relgar. In mere moments, Ahnaressu was fast asleep.

He was shaken violently. Ahnaressu sprung into action. He spun out of the gaurd's reach and kicked the gaurd in the crotch. Ahnaressu only kicked bonemold greaves, hurting his foot more than the guard. The Redoran gaurd grabbed the boy ruoghly by the shirt collar, and threw the boy to the ground. The guard asked "Where are your parents, boy?" Before Ahnaressu could answer, Relgar began to cry, having ended up on the hard ground from the skirmish between Ahnaressu and the guard. The guard put poor Ahnaressu down on the ground and replaced him with Relgar. "This is no place for a boy, much less a baby. Go back home and sleep in a bed. Sleeping in the streets is illegal." the guard explained in a rather gruff tone. "There are laws saying where I can and can't sleep?" Ahnaressu asked incredulously. The guard calmly put Relgan back into Ahnaressu's arms and said "Just go home. Don't sleep on the streets again, and this incident will not repeat itself."

Ahnaressu was still shaken up from his interesting dilemma with a guard, but was glad nothing more serious happened other than a nagging bruise on his foot. He calmly walked up to a Breton passerby and asked where he could find a bed. "Sure," answered the man. "Try the Ald Skar Inn." He said as he pointed it out for Ahnaressu. The young dunmer nodded his thanks.

He walked in to the Ald Skar Inn and asked for a room. "that will be ten gold per night." the barkeep said. "Could I offer you potions in exchange for a room?" Ahnaressu asked while holding the potions made by his mother. The bartender laughed in his face. "No only gold will do. But you could try selling them to someone for gold. The mages guild always buys things like that." Ahnaressu got directions to the mages guild and headed that way.

The skinny dunmer made his way through the streets of Ald'ruhn, while playing with a ring in his pocket. He walked into the Mages Guildhall seeking someone to buy some potions. He found a tall altmer. The high elf would buy potions, and as he reached for some money in a small chest, Ahnaressu spotted a tanto. Dismissing the thought of stealing that weapon, he thanked the alchemist and moved on, all the while fiddling with the ring in his pocket. The ring! he thought. Having no clue what the enchantment on the ring was, he asked a breton woman by the name of Edwinna to identify it. As edwinna took the ring from the boy's open hand, she was shaking with emotion. "This ring is powerful, but it is only of use to a mage like myself." Ahnaressu was young, but not dumb. "What does it do?" he asked. "Really, it would be of no use to a boy like yo-" Ahnaressu seemed to Edwinna to get six feet taller as he asked forcefully, "What is the enchantment on the ring?" Edwinna answered, "This ring, when activated, shoots a stream of flame wherever it is aimed." It seemed useful to Ahnaressu but ot nearly as useful as gold, so he sold it to Edwinna for one hundred gold.

"They have fled, Sir!" Nyph reported to Valnor. After a two day standstill, niether side had gained nor lost ground. Valnor clenched his fist and ordered "I want all of them killed, spare none. CHASE THEM TO THE DEPTHS OF OBLIVION!" Cheers from the rogues erupted all around Valnor as he led the chase.

The score or so Urshilaku that survived the raid ran through the night. The men and older boys occasionally stopped only to rain a blanket of arrows over their attackers. The twenty ahslanders only had seven men able to fight. The rest were women and children. But one woman stood alone against the night sky, raining flame, lightning and frost over the rogues. The Urshilaku wise woman sought revenge.

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Don't worry, chapter lengths get fixed after chapter 4. I realized three paragraphs is the exeption, not the rule.
enjoy.
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Dantrag
post Feb 13 2005, 06:21 AM
Post #4


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Joined: 13-February 05
From: The cellar of the fortress of the fuzz



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Chapter 4
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Alkorahn watched as his fellow tribesmen battled bravely to defend him. He watched in awe as the Urshilaku warriors fought with their usual discipline and precise movements. It was almost a dance that every Urshilaku knew. They complemented each others movements in harmony. Alkorahn realized that he had stalled too long. He took a deep breath and began to run towards Ald'ruhn, the city their savior was believed to be.

Valnor watched from a distance as his fighters met the Urshilaku. His rogue dunmer ashlanders and scattered orcs were falling, but their numbers far outweighed the Urshilaku. He agreed with his second-in-command, Nyph, that it was a diversion. Why else would the ashlanders risk everything? While known for bravery, ashlanders were not know as stupid. They did not survive by attacking everything they saw, but by making rational decisions on whether or not to run or to fight. The dunmer Valnor, Nyph, and his hand-picked warriors went around the main battle and searched for what the Urshilaku did not want him to know about.

There was a dunmer almost the size of an Imperial standing there, he was holding a claymore that was leaning against his broad shoulder. All around him were dead ashlanders, all dead. Ahnaressu recognized one as the Ashkan of his own tribe, and he presumed the others to be the Ashkans of the other tribes. The unusually large, muscular, dunmer was standing there laughing as if he had won a great victory. He was saying something, but Ahnaressu could not make it out, much less read his lips. He could only understand one phrase. "I killed all of them." The large dark elf turned, as if he noticed Ahnaressu for the first time. He started to say something as he readied his claymore for an overhead chop.

Ahnaressu shot up out of bed. Relgar was crying again. Ahnaressu was still disturbed by his constant nightmares. He had dreams every night. It changed from seeing his mother slaughtered to seeing that strangely large dunmer every night. The boy got up, dressed himself, and gave his brother some scrib jelly instead of the usual comberry sauce. As soon as the baby finished his meal, Ahnaressu picked him up and made his way out of the inn.

Alkorahn ran on, through the exhaustion. He knew what his kin went through just to help him get away. He would not let them down. He quickly prayed to the Ancestors for speed, and then picked it up a little bit. He did not ignore the feeling that someone, or many someones, were following him. He felt his dagger for reassurance, though he doubted he could fight more than two at a time. Scared to look back, he ran on.

Valnor, a large, broad-shouldered dunmer, ran ahead of his group, easily outrunning them. He was only about ten paces behind this Urshilaku runner. He realized that this runner was a messenger of some sort, and obviously the reason for the diversion that was the battle. He was matching Alkorahn's pace, and was not gaining or losing any ground.

Alkorahn glanced back, even though he really did not need to. He knew of the runner behind him. Alkorahn was known for a high endurance, which was why he was chosen for this task. He was a long distance runner, and was well built for it. Alkorahn also noticed that this dark elf chasing him was also well built and accustomed to running hard.

Ahnaressu walked out of the Ald Skar Inn, where he was greeted by the morning sun. He walked down to the Rat in the Pot, where he could be found socializing or eating as of late. As he walked in he was greeted by the local Thieves Guild operator, Aengoth "The Jeweler" he was called. "Hey, my little sneak." the bosmer said in his high-pitched, almost squeaky voice. "Hey, Aengoth." replied Ahnaressu. Aengoth waved his hand at the dunmer boy and joked saying. "I was talking to Relgar." The baby merely continued to suck his thumb. "Sit down, Ahnaressu." Aengoth said as he pulled a chair out for himself. Ahnaressu did the same. They had a lengthy conversation about Ahnaressu's recent joining of the Thieves' Guild and his recent completed task. "You did good, kid." Aengoth said, "You deserve this." he said, handing Ahnaressu one hundred drakes. Aengoth's mouth opened slowly in shock.

Ahnaressu sensed something wrong and stood up and turned around, facing a drunk breton that was obviously trying to pick a fight with the younger and smaller ashlander. Ahnaressu handed the baby to Aengoth and swung his left fist to the right, connecting with the breton's face. The drunk clumsily swung back, and the blow was easily dodged by a sober dark elf. Ahnaressu retaliated with a straight-forward punch. Even though the breton was drunk, he was more experienced in bar fights than the thirteen year old dunmer. The drunk caught Ahnaressu's fist and twisted it viciously. Ahnaressu cringed in agony. Suddenly, he lost all control. His emotions took control of his body. Ahnaressu pulled out his dagger and shortsword. Dagger in his right hand, shortsword in his left, he slashed the shortsword back and forth from left to right, aiming for the breton's throat. The breton's intellect was obviously suffering because any sane man would have backed away from the swinging, slashing sword and viciously stabbing dagger.

Aengoth noticed that Ahnaressu lost control. He knew what happened and he used his illusion powers to paralyze the crazed boy. Aengoth noticed the error in his plan as the bar-fighter punched the paralyzed dunmer to the ground. Aengoth quickly used the same spell on the breton, and carried the boy out.

A few hours before Ahnaressu's fight, before the dawn broke, Alkorahn was still running, and this huge dunmer was doing the same. Alkorahn knew this would be a test of endurance and if his follower caught up to him, there would be a fight that the Urshilaku would likely lose. Alkorahn spat, muttering curses as he ran. He was exhausted, and he slapped himself a few times to keep himself from falling alseep. He looked back and noticed that the dark elf behind him was gaining ground slowly. That only drove Alkorahn further. He would not fail his tribe. At least, he would try his hardest.

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All I'm posting right now. So much copy/paste/read I'm going crazy. Enjoy the fruit of my labors! biggrin.gif
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minque
post Feb 13 2005, 01:03 PM
Post #5


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Joined: 11-February 05
From: Where I can watch you!!



Great Dantrag! Thanks for sharing your marvellous story with us....I read it in the ES Forums as well but I enjoy finding it here......

Keep it coming biggrin.gif


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Chomh fada agus a bhionn daoine ah creiduint in aif�iseach, leanfaidh said na n-aingniomhi a choireamh (Voltaire)

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treydog
post Feb 13 2005, 04:09 PM
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From: The Smoky Mountains



Great to see you and Ahnaressu here, Dantrag. I have been very impressed with your story and your characters.
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