Serene Of Cyrodiil, Chapter 4, Ashlander Affairs Options

[Wolfie]

W00ty, more Serene
And the first bit of Chapter 2 of The Tale of Jonacin should show up at some point in the coming weeks, in case anyone is interested

(Yay for advertising! )

[Tellie]

kjempe bra minkey
translation: really good minkey.

i have finally manage to catch up with your story, after many hours of reading...puhhh.

I like this tory more and more, the more I read it, ( I only wish that I will get so good with my story ).

So please, continue. I think I have found out what part of your story Telemachos, will play, but I will ofcourse not tell anyone of my suspicions.


So may I have some more....I will give you brown cheese if we get more .

[jchamber]

well I just finished the third chapter and am looking forward to this one, I am almost tempted to skip my classes today if I were not in possible danger of failing my math class....I hate that teacher, anyway I found an example of what I was talking about in regards to repetitiveness, the use of "to my wits end" is used by both baladas and his niece, it's probably because you use these phrases often yourself, Or you just had it in your mind still, like when you are thinking one thing and say it instead of an intelligent reply to a question when someone is boring you...at least I hope I am not the only one who does that. anyway great ending, I like baladas much better in your story than in the game. I like how the talos cult was taken down in a new way as well, bery insteresting indeed. (misspell intentional for an accent, but I don't think that accent comes across well in writing, at least not mine)

(edit) - Where did you learn the names for the days of the week, etc. from the game? Where did you get daedric fonts, I saw a demo of them in the OB fansite kit but It isn't an executable. And why is it that when you edited the post with daedric in it the post didn't say.."edited..." like that down there?
V V

This post has been edited by jchamber: Feb 14 2006, 05:08 PM

[minque]

Ok! At last! I finally did it, I succeeded in writing an update! That is thanks to you guys who updates so frequently, that I got the inspiration to get it done with! A special note to Tellie: Thanks to you involving Serene in your story I just had to write my update ....now!

So here it is! Enjoy!

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One day Urshamusa Rapli told me of an odd dream of hers. I remember that day clearly because it was the same day that the strange Dunmeri woman appeared, the woman who came out of nowhere, at least it seemed so, the woman who would not reveal much of her past…..Still she had a message from an old friend of mine, Baladas Demnevanni. I will come to that later, though…

Urshamusa´s dream was indeed odd. She claimed she had seen me, together with a Guar, and not an ordinary Guar, for this one was completely white. White Guars are very rare; in fact I never heard of any of that kind at all. But this one was supposed to be sent as a sign from the gods to help the Ahemmusa Tribe. Urshamusa asked me to go and find this rare specimen, but did not tell me what to do with it, except I was not supposed to kill it, and she said I would know what to do when I found it.

She was very vague in describing the whereabouts of the white Guar, she just told me she had seen it in a spot where the rocks grew from the earth like the fingers of a hand. That did not tell me much as I was not familiar with the landscape in this part of Vvardenfell, so I decided to ask around in the camp to find out if anyone could tell me more. Kammu, one of the scouts, told me to head west, she was certain there would be a rock-formation matching that description somewhere in that direction.

I first consulted Sinnamu Mirpal in this matter. When she heard my story she looked at me and nodded her head slowly.

”Urshamusa usually has dreams that come true, so I´m afraid you have to seek the White Guar, Serene, but I cannot tell you how to act when you find it. But I do trust that you will know by yourself.”

Apparently both the Wise Women had the confidence in me that I would know what to do with a wild Guar, which by all means could decide to have me as lunch! But who was I to argue with them?

I went to Sedrane´s yurt, just to find that he was not there, so I laid down on the bedroll to get a few minutes of rest. I did not even get that; just as I closed my eyes I heard some excited conversation outside, and my name was mentioned by a female voice I did not recognise, so I rose from the bedroll just in time to see a strange Dunmeri woman enter. I brushed my hair out of my face, looked at her and greeted her as politely I could considering I just awakened from a three-minute nap.

"Hail, Stranger” I said, "Who might you be and what bring you to the Ahemmusa Camp?"

"Oh, my name is Telina Delvanni, mouth of House Telvanni, I was sent here by Baladas, to give you a late birthday present, and to live and help the tribe for some time, I come from Cyrodiil, but I don’t want to tell about my background because of earlier events.....not now at least, maybe later," she rambled very fast, hardly pausing to take a breath. It was exhausting just listening to her.

I looked at her curiously; she was a beautiful woman, yet she had some nasty bruises on her face, no doubt the usual ”welcome-greeting” of Zallit, the ultimate guard of our Camp. I clearly remembered how he greeted me when I arrived here!

"You come from Baladas Demnevanni, in Gnisis? Oh I do hope he’s ok!!" I must have sounded worried because she said a bit impatiently that he was doing fine and she was to bring me a late birthday-present from him. I gasped, for I never celebrated my birthday; in fact I hadn’t done it since I was sixteen.....that fateful day that changed my life forever.

I accepted the somewhat battered parcel, wrapped in some turquoise cloth, and in it were two books, one was the “Notes on Racial Phylogeny and Biology, Seventh Edition”, by the Council of Healers, Imperial University, the other was “Research-Notes of Potion-making” by Baladas himself. I was really happy to receive those two books; I remembered seeing them when I visited Baladas....so long ago, or at least it seemed that way.

I smiled as I gently put the books on the shelf beside me and then thanked Telina warmly for bringing them to me. Then I just had to tend to her facial wounds so she wouldn’t get any scars from them. I put my hands on her face and focused. The healing-energy arose rather quickly this time and I could to my satisfaction feel her wounds close neatly, without leaving a scar behind.

Telina was thankful to me for healing her, and she turned out to be very nice company. Obviously she had not spent time with another woman for quite some time, so she was eager to talk to me about “female” things. We spent a couple of hour’s chit-chatting over a mug of comberry-juice, and I even told her about Milie Hastien in Balmora, as she mentioned that she wanted someone to style her hair!

Then suddenly she had to leave, saying something about not having a tent of her own, and before I was able to tell her that she could spend the night in one of the bigger tents there she was off!

I smiled, Telina certainly was a fresh spirit, but now I had to get some rest before going on the search for the White Guar.

The weather was not very satisfying when I set out for the White-Guar task the following day, grey and cloudy, the rain was just hanging in the sky. I wore my thick leather-cloak just in case the rain came down on me, whilst walking the westward trail from the Ahemmusa Camp. After about two hours of walking I sat down and had a quick meal, bread and scuttle and a sip of water.

Early in the afternoon I spotted the significant formation of five upright boulders, like fingers of a hand, so this was the sign that I had reached my destination. I looked around carefully; I did not want to be taken by surprise by the White Guar, since I did not know how hostile it was.

Even with my precautions I was terrified when I suddenly heard a quaking sound about three metres to the right of me, and there it was! The White Guar came towards me, very slowly, just waving its big head back and forth. I stood absolutely still, waited for it to make a move. Sweat was trickling down my spine, I was more nervous than I thought I’d be.

The White Guar looked at me, well at least it’s eyes were directed at my face, then it turned around and started walking away from me, stopped, turned to me again, waving its head, like it was trying to urge me to follow! I then heard a voice in my head, very faint, yet familiar;

“Serene, follow me, fear not, I wish you no harm”

I trembled, it was as if the Guar talked to me, inside my head, or was it some incarnation of Azura? I did not know, but I found my legs moving, nearly outside my own will, following the big white Guar.

I didn’t know where we were heading, I just followed. Then suddenly the White Guar stopped with a sad groan. I approached it and spotted a dead body lying just beside some small rocks. It was the body of a woman, clad in the traditional Ashlander-outfit that most Healers and Wise Women wear. I kneeled beside the dead woman; she was middle-aged, her hair was grey-streaked and I could see from her tormented gaze that her death hadn’t been very pleasant.

I took a deep breath to avoid bursting into tears, then I gently searched her body in order to find something to show who she really was. I found an amulet in a leather-pouch around her neck, neatly tucked away under her blouse. The figures on it did not tell me much, but there was a warm sensation in my hand while holding on to it. I decided to bring back the Amulet to Urshamusa Rapli; she would know what to do with it.

I looked around; I just had to give the poor woman a decent grave, in order to prevent wild animals feasting on the cadaver. There was no possibility to dig a hole in the hard rocky ground so I built a mound of stones to cover the body. It was a hard work to gather enough stones and I didn’t finish it until sunset. I wasn’t very keen on being out in the unknown wilderness at night so I looked around to see if there was a cave or something in which I could spend the night, but I found nothing.

I was getting a bit scared now, since I also found out that I had no clue as to where I was or how to get back to the camp again. I cursed myself for not bringing a torch; at least it could have shown me if there was a path or something. I was all alone in the night in the middle of nowhere; even the White Guar had vanished, if it ever existed, I wasn’t too sure of that either.

I squeezed the amulet in my pocket and started walking eastward, or at least I thought I did. I tried to think of nice things, like Sedrane and how it would feel to be in his arms again, just to keep my mind busy, otherwise I maybe would panic. The thoughts of Sedrane made me long for him terribly, and this time I couldn’t stop the tears from coming.

A hard blow suddenly struck my left shoulder from behind and I fell flat on the ground, banging my forehead onto a stone. I must have lost consciousness for some time because the next thing I knew I was standing tightly bound to a tree, unable to move either my arms or legs. A sharp pain emanated from my left shoulder, I could feel the blouse was wet on the back, and I couldn’t see a thing! My head was aching and when I tried to move it I immediately vomited.

“Sheesh, look at her, filthy pig” A sharp voice tormented my shattered brain, and in the next moment I felt a hard punch in my stomach which naturally made me vomit again.

“Emul-Ran, stop that, you’re making it worse!” Another voice sounded, not much but a bit less sharp it was.

I felt the world spin around, a flickering sensation of yellow lights, red mist and then......darkness.

[Kiln]

YAY! Finally an update from this awesome story, I'm incredibly glad to see that you wrote a bit more for us to read but alas you've still left me wondering what will happen next. I really liked the way you percieved Telina in your story and the way Serene behaves. As I'm sure you know I love your writing style and can't wait for the next part. Great story, update again when you can.

[treydog]

Hooray for more Serene! A wonderful update- I can almost live with the cliff-hanger in exchange for the cameo appearance of Telina. Still, I hope we don't have to wait too long for our favorite Morrowind character to be rescued.

The description of the White Guar quest was nicely done, particularly as you were able to fit it into the whole concept of Serene's overall mission amongst the Ashlanders.

[jchamber]

CRYBABY!! lol, other than that I was very happy with this new development, very nice way to end. It seems to me like you got character inspiration for Telina from my Fargoth maybe..... in any case I am kind of confused and interested as to why the person who you have said out of story wasn't the nevarine is doing some of the Nevarine quests, like helping the ashlanders and the guar quest. I don't think I wanted to know that Serene wasn't the Nevarine...it kinda was a major spoiler...oh well....too late to not read that post now lol.

I am really looking forward to the next update

where did you find the days of the week/calender/seasons from? in game? or a site? could I get a point in the right direction?

[Soulseeker3.0]

Wow, Great update Serene! I just now got time to read this amazing story. I must sya I'm at a loss as to what is happening to Serene.... I do hope she will be okay in the long(er) run. Thanks for another update and I can't wait for another... Not meaning for you to feel rushed that is

[Tellie]

Oh my...now I'm worried, and there is abseloutly now fingernails left for me to bite on...well I just have to fall so far down, that I actually have to chew my cat(s) claws....*ouch, ouff, OUCH* oki, I'm not doing that again. Please update soon, I'm getting desperate.

Well, this update was VERY GOOD, and most MOST welcome. Thanks for the thanks Minkey( ), I do like the way you descripted Telina here, I think Serene took it rather nicely as a matter of fact. You did nearly menafge to show her as the part-time-psychopath she is ( heh...heh...heh... ), no I was only kidding on that last one there ( about the psycopath thing. ) . But well a heavenly update filled with humor and some exitement. Keep it up.

This post has been edited by Telendil Delvanni: Feb 25 2006, 08:41 PM

[mplantinga]

At last, the long awaited update. It certainly did not disappoint. Telina's arrival was unexpected, but wonderfully appropriate. I enjoyed the encounter with the white guar; perhaps an incarnation of Azura is not so unlikely. I'll be looking forward to the next update to see what Serene has just gotten herself into; I do hope she'll be okay. Try not to make us wait so long this time, please!?!?

[Kiln]

Well Minque, your story is wonderful and I thank you for inspiring and encouraging me to begin writing even though I no longer plan to finish my story. You have been kind and helpful, and for that you have my thanks. Goodbye Minque.

[Tellie]

Well Minque, your story is wonderful and I thank you for inspiring and encouraging me to begin writing even though I no longer plan to finish my story.  You have been kind and helpful, and for that you have my thanks.  Goodbye Minque. 

you have no plans about finishing your story...why it's great, but you know all stories need an end,if they dont have one, they will never be...complete. So please dont stop it.

well minkey, can we expect a new update soon, you know i still have plenty of brown cheese left in the fridge, and you will get access to it as soon you update..but as always great story keep it coming.

[jchamber]

Well Minque, your story is wonderful and I thank you for inspiring and encouraging me to begin writing even though I no longer plan to finish my story.  You have been kind and helpful, and for that you have my thanks.  Goodbye Minque. 

Goodbye minque?????? does this mean you are leaving us kiln?...Don't goooooooo, I will miss you. actually I am getting on less now than I was. I think I am going to slow my fanfic to update once every three days or a week and I only reply to stuff that is still interesting and not really old...like most of the oblivion stuff I no longer look at....like upgrade computer...and all the hypothetical stuffs...neway I am looking forward to more updates minky so try to match my speed...j/k, I know you can't keep up with me b/c your stuff is of a higher quality instead of mass produced middle lane stuffs. lol.

What is it about being blind that makes people want to walk the dog all day long?
......
it like an obsession!

(yea I am goin' ta hell, rofl)

[Taillus]

Wonderful update Min. It is stories like this and Trey's that make me a little uneasy when I am writing my own work. I hope mine is even a fraction of the caliber that your story is continually. I may not post many comments here but I am never disappointed by this story and I will keep reading as long as you keep writing. You are an inspiration for all of us newbies in here

[Tellie]

I can say the same taillus, some of the writers here is just to good sometimes, but well your story is exellent to, and if you continue it will be as great as this one I think.

But well yes this is just an awesome story filled with emotion and exitement, keep it up.

[Florodine of Hlaalu]

whoa Shame on me. I read this update but i didnt reply, i have replied for all of them. Im sorry minque haha

Anyway awesome update i cant wait to see whats going to happen. All i need is one more update to get me through to the 9 days untill oblivion!!!!

[minque]

Ok friends and loyal readers....here´s another update to maybe give you the opportunity to kill some time waiting4oblivion!....enjoy!

...........................................................................................................................

”Serene, Serene! Wake up, talk to me!”

A voice, a really persistent one, I couldn’t avoid it, it stung through my battered brain, tormented me, forced me to rise in consciousness from the dark warm depth in which I currently resided. The pain in my back had somewhat diminished to a deep dull pounding, my entire body was sore and my mind fought against waking up, but in vain. A greyish blur came into sight and developed into a face, a face with dark red eyes, filled with love and devotion.

“Sedrane” I did not speak his name aloud, for my mouth was stone-dry, I couldn’t even whisper, but the fact that he was by my side filled me with hope, so I formed my sore lips to some kind of a smile.

Sedrane gently stroke my chin, then I felt his lips against mine, a faint swirl down my spine, then I surrendered to him and just let go. I wanted to hold him, caress him, I tried to lift my arms but the pain was so immense......

“Don’t move my love,” his voice was harsh with emotion.

“Sedrane, what shall we do with the corpses?”

Another voice, at first I couldn’t place it but then I realised it was Mabarrabael. I didn’t understand what he was talking about, and did not hear Sedrane´s answer as my consciousness went back and forth

I noticed, as my mind eventually started to clear up a bit, that I was no longer tied to that tree, I was lying on the ground, on some hides as it seemed. I then tried to recapitulate what had happened; the last thing I remembered before everything went really dark was a red overwhelming pain...and some shouting!

I tried to move my head and immediately felt very sick, so my desperate attempts to get rid of whatever dwelt in my stomach failed. Sedrane put his hand on my head and told me to lie down, as I apparently had a severe skull-injury. As he bent down and kissed me once again I noticed his cheeks were wet. I wanted to comfort him, tell him everything was going to be ok, but I wasn’t able to, not this time.

The next time I was aware of anything I noticed my body was moved into a more comfortable position. I also had a warm hide to cover me and there was some sort of shelter as I couldn’t sense the cold wind that always blows over the Grazelands, neither could I see the sky. Afterwards I wondered if it was the wisest thing to do to move me, but I obviously survived so it couldn’t have been that bad after all.

As far as I could understand, according to the conversation between Sedrane and Mabarrabael, they hadn’t the faintest clue of what to do with me. I was severely wounded; an arrow had penetrated my left shoulder, it was removed but the wound itself had become infected. Now that was something that could be cured with herbs or suitable potions, even the two Ahemmusa-warriors knew that. The problem was my head. The slightest movement made me either faint or throw up.

Eventually I fell into deep unconsciousness....

“Serene, listen to me, raise your head and sit up!”

I noticed something turquoise in the corner of my eye, a persisent voice repeatedly telling me to raise my head, and then to press both hands on my temples and hold.

“Baladas?” I looked up into the deep red eyes of Baladas Demnevanni, and my body moved as of itself into an upright position, my hands pressed firmly at the temples....

Baladas looked me in the eyes, and slowly strange words came to me, so that I whispered them and I could feel the mist and shadows vanish from my brain and being replaced with an utmost calmness and harmony. I felt relaxed and very tired.......my eyelids dropped.

“Sleep, Serene, when you wake up you will be healed”

I let the darkness overwhelm me like a warm woollen blanket..............

I woke up, feeling quite alright, lying on a bedroll of that kind travellers use. When I looked around I noticed Sedrane sitting by the campfire obviously cooking some kind of meal, which smelled great. I then realised I was starving, so I stumbled towards the fire.

“Serene!” Sedrane´s voice was filled with joy and devotion, “You feel ok now? You know you really scared us; Was it one of the divines who possessed you? Both Mabarrabael and myself were paralyzed when you were talking in tongues.”

I was puzzled, and I did not understand at first but then the voice of Baladas echoed in my mind and I understood I’d had some kind of dream. But he was there, wasn’t he? I was still a little bit dizzy and I hadn’t grasped yet what really happened to me. The main thing though was that I was healed from my head-injury, my left shoulder still was a bit sore but it didn’t bother me.

Back in Ahemmusa Camp everybody had been upset and worried about my latest adventures. The thing was that a travelling merchant named Athanden Girith had been robbed by some, as he stated, “bastard Ashlanders” who stole his merchandise. After the theft he looked for their camp in order to see if there would be an opportunity to maybe recover his stolen goods when the bandits went to sleep, but what happened was that when the two thieves returned to their hideout they brought an unconscious and injured woman with them.

This made Athanden Girith to hurry towards the Ahemmusa Camp to get some help, and the first person he met was Mabarrabael, who immediately understood that it was me that the bandits had taken in custody.

Now this made the young Dunmeri woman, Telina Delvanni, really upset and she went to Sinnamu Mirpal to ask her for permission to try and find me, which she apparently did. Sedrane and Mabarrabael followed and found me lying quietly on the ground, unconscious, and the bandits dead.

“We thought you were dead,” Mabarrabael looked at me, “So we started collecting stones for the graves.”

Sedrane gave his friend a dark gaze, shaking his head.

“Then you started act very weird,” Mabarrabael continued, “You sat up, pressing your hands to your head and mumbled very strange words. I tried to talk to you but you were impossible to reach!”

At this moment Sinnamu Mirpal raised her hand, asking for silence.

“Serene, we know that you have connections with the other realm, but we also know that you have a very powerful Guardian Angel, Baladas Demnevanni. What you experienced was a telepathic dream. Young Telina must have gone to Baladas telling him you were hurt and he then telepathically lead you through a self-healing-process. This is a very powerful and intricate thing to do. So we must be grateful to Telina for saving our sister’s life.”

I sat quiet, what Sinnamu just told me was obviously the truth and I indeed was grateful to Baladas, who healed me by remote control, but most of all I was grateful to Telina Delvanni for triggering this. I only hoped I would be able to repay her someday.

[Soulseeker3.0]

YAY! first comment... I was almost literally on the edge of my seat the whole wounded part. please continue that was great

[jchamber]

after nearly three weeks of waiting........YAY!!! UPDATE!

tyty. I was kinda surprised you didn't milk the whole situation for more storyline involving the kidnappers.....and I like being surprized Very nice update indeed.

I knew I should have checked fanfic subforum first....woulda been the first to comment....oh well, next time....

[Tellie]

Ahh WOHOO....finally the update i have waited4 . I see that you have put a lot of your concentration on emotions this time....I like the way Baladas healed Serene, and also the growing relationship between Serene and Sedrane....:wub...but somehow I have the feeling that for not too long, they will have to break up... .

But as always wonderfull update, and I will look forward top the next one. And the repaying Telina, well lets just say there might be a chance that Serene will have the chance to repay her...but I wont tell it here...too crowded....