Bad News

Well my summer is about to end. I'll be out of town for most of this week, and band camp starts next week. It goes from 8-5 every day for three weeks (i get sat and sun off) so i won't have enough time to write 3 posts a week. I'll try to get a post up every saturday, but no guarantees.

Thanks

29: Pranks, Part II

“It shouldn’t be too difficult to accomplish. I think that you’ll be perfectly capable of a little bit of espionage. Now off you go.” Volanaro smiled and bowed. “Good luck.”

I nodded. I knew what I had to do. The prank was a simple one, but apparently it would bring both frustration to Jeanne and, consequently, joy to J’Skar and Volanaro. I walked slowly upstairs and flicked my hand at a chest of drawers. The spell I had just learned flew from my hand and the drawer unlocked. I smiled and flicked my other hand at the drawer. A burst of dull-yellow magic flew from my finger tips and hit the drawer. I slowly pulled my hand backwards and the drawer opened. I dropped my hand to my side and used my mind to close the drawer. The spells Volanaro had taught me would be very useful indeed!

Volanaro came upstairs behind me and patted me once on the back. He winked and walked into one of the back rooms off the main hall. I started walking towards Jeanne’s quarters, and just as I came to the staircase I heard an explosion from the back room. Jeanne ran past me and towards the explosion. I heard yells of frustration, but none of pain. Everything was going to plan.

I ran up the stairs to Jeanne’s room. The door was locked, but the spell I had learned quickly popped the door open. I stepped into the room and went straight for Jeanne’s desk. I carefully poked through the drawers until I found what I was looking for: Jeanne’s Manual of Spellcraft. I smiled and slipped it into my robes. I then put everything back the way it was and was out the door, hearing it magically lock behind me. I jogged downstairs and into the living quarters. I bumped into an area of nothing and sighed.

“Hello, J’Skar.” I heard a growl and was punched in the shoulder.

“Not so loud, hairless-one. This prank is not over yet! Do you have the book?” I pulled the Manual of Spellcraft from my robes and held it out. An invisible hand took it and it disappeared some where in J’Skar’s robes. “Excellent. I’ll get this to Volanaro. Come back just after ten o’clock.” With that I felt a hand pushing on my chest and I walked out of the living quarters.

I divined the time simply enough. All I had to do was tap into the magical field the sun creates as it passes across the sky. It generates enough magic as it moves that it leaves behind a magical trail in the sky. The decay of this magical stream can be measured and used to tell time. A practioner of theoretical magic by the name of Clok once proposed that a device could be tuned to this magic stream and used to tell time anywhere, but his theories never got off the ground. Anyway, it was about 8:30 at night, so I had some time to kill.

As I walked through the main hall I passed by Volanaro. His little distraction had worked very well, although it looked like it had caused him some pain. His robes were charred and his face was covered in soot, but he smiled as I passed. Smoke was drifting lazily out of the back room, and I saw a few mages trying to sweep up the damage. I left them to their work and went out into the town. I was looking for a less chaotic place to have dinner, and I found a quiet little tavern that I sat down in and ordered a hot meal. It wasn’t exactly delicious, but it wasn’t half bad either. I finished with enough time to get back to the guild hall and practice some more of my new spells. I was especially pleased with the telekinesis spell, as it allowed me to not only reach and manipulate objects from a distance, but I was also able to identify them to a certain extent from that distance. I checked the time stream every once in a while, and when it was a quarter past ten I went down to Volanaro’s room.

He was sitting on his bed and reading a novel of some sort. As I entered I left the door open and heard it close behind me, obviously J’Skar was in here as well. Volanaro shut the book and stood up. He thanked me for my help in the prank, and told me to step back a bit. I did this and he raised his hands, making a rather complicated gesture towards the door. A burst of purple magic shot from his hand and collided with J’Skar. Even before the burst hit him I could begin to see him, and I wondered if the burst was just for show; Volanaro did have quite the soft spot for theatrics after all. Nevertheless, J’skar was standing right there in front of me. Although, he was not an Argonian as I had assumed. After I had felt that scaly hand on the back of my head earlier I was confused. J’Skar lifted a paw and I saw that he was wearing a glove made out of Clannfear skin. He smiled at me and I chuckled.

“Well now, we see another excellent prank come to its end. Ah well, the invisibility field is still there, just not affecting anyone anymore. Now to hide this little bugger.” He pulled the Manual of Spellcraft from his robe and made another complex gesture at it, and it disappeared. He placed the invisible book underneath his mattress and shook my hand. “Excellent work, my friend. Things can get so very dull around here, and you’ve just brightened our week.” I bid him goodnight and J’Skar walked out into the hallway. We went to our respective rooms and I planned my next few days. I think it is time for me to head back to Cheydinhal. The mountains are pretty, but just too cold for my liking. I shall inform Jauffre of my plans tomorrow and set out after that.

28: Pranks

The soft bed was much more welcome than the cot I had slept in at Cloud Ruler Temple. I awoke before dawn and sat down at the breakfast table. There wasn’t much on it, and I wasn’t really that hungry, but I ate a bundle of grapes before heading out into the dawn. I wrapped up in my robe and pushed out into the cold.

I don’t know why I enjoy these early morning walks so much. Perhaps it’s the fresh air or the stillness of the city, but I always enjoy a good walk. Not even the sub-zero temperatures could keep me away from the quiet streets. I prayed at the temple and spent a good bit of time warming myself inside, but soon I was back out in the streets, greeting anyone I met in the streets. Not a great diversity of people, of course, mostly guards and beggars, but I think a friendly face helped make their day a little better. It’s the small things that make the world better after all.

I returned to the Mages’ Guild and sat down with Volanaro and a woman I did not know at the breakfast table. My walk had worked up an appetite, and as I ate I listened to Volanaro and the woman talk. She was sitting at the head of the table, so I kind of assumed she was the Guild Head, but I couldn’t be sure. My assumption was soon proved correct as Volanaro addressed her as Headmistress. They were in heated conversation about something, though the details were a bit foggy to me. It sounded like one of the Guild Members had disappeared, but I didn’t catch the name of the mage or the circumstances of the disappearance.

Their conversation concluded, and Volanaro bid us both farewell. As he left, I noticed something rather odd: When he passed by the Guild Head he turned and smiled devilishly at her. She didn’t notice, but I could see him practically skipping with joy. I finished my breakfast and asked her about the disappearance.

“Oh, it’s just that one of our mages, J’Skar, has disappeared. Literally. Volanaro thinks that a spell might have backfired or something.”

“Can I help in any way?”

“Oh no, I couldn’t impose such a thing on a perfect stranger. Especially without reimbursement.”

“Well alright… How about this: I find J’Skar, and you give me a recommendation to the Arcane University.”

“Hmm, an interesting proposal.” She thought about it for a second, then smiled and said “Alright, it sounds like a fair deal. I need J’Skar back, after all. It would look terrible if someone important visited and one of my mages was gone! You might want to check with the other mages, see if they found anything.”

I spoke with a few mages, but all of them had seen nothing. I wasn’t too surprised of course. After all, J’Slkar had DISAPPEARED. Obviously he would be hard to see. I was beginning to lose hope, but then I spoke to a woman in the back room. She was purifying something in an Alembic, and when I spoke she did not take her eyes off of her work. I asked her about J’Skar and she sighed. She looked at me and said “Go bother Volanaro, it was HIS idea!”

I was a bit taken aback by this. I didn’t know what she meant, but I had an idea that it was linked to Volanaro’s smirk at the Guildhall Headmistress. Volanaro had left a while back, so I decided to make some more potions instead of searching the city for him. A few hours later he came back, still smirking slightly. I followed him down into the living quarters, intending to ask him about J’Skar. I jogged up behind him and asked him a rather pointed question.

“Where’s J’Skar?” He jumped a little, but when he turned around and saw me he smiled.

“J’Skar? Hmm, let me think…” He looked around for eavesdroppers before leaning in and whispering in my ear, “Can you keep a secret?” He smiled at me and I nodded. “He’s right behind you!” I felt a scaly hand grasp the back of my head and Volanaro burst out laughing. I twisted around and hit the hand off of my head, but I could not see anything there! Volanaro continued laughing, but when my hand closed onto the hilt of my axe he stopped abruptly.

“Oh come now, Will! Can’t you take a joke?” Suddenly it all made sense! I turned toward Volanaro.

“Ah, so YOU made J’Skar invisible. It was all a practical joke you were playing on the…” He held up his hand and smiled.

“On Jeanne, yes. We (meaning J’Skar and I) feel that Jeanne isn’t properly… qualified for her position. She’s only head of the Guild Hall because she buttered up people in high places. We’re just trying to rectify the mistake that was made. But now I’m afraid the jig is up, eh J’Skar?” The emptiness behind me growled in agreement. “Nevertheless, we are not finished with Jeanne. Not even close.” He grinned devilishly. “I would ask your help in this next prank, if you would be willing to assist.”

I thought about it for a moment. So long as no one got hurt in the process I was fine with it. Plus, if what Volanaro said about Jeanne’s “friends in high places” was true, then I would love to pass out some healthy justice.

“Alright, what do we do?”

27: Blades

I rose stiffly from the “bed” I had slept in last night. It was no more than a piece of padding on the cold stone floor and a few blankets. I pulled on my robe and my shoes and stood staring blankly at the wall. I realized I had no idea where anything was in this fortress. I looked around the barracks but saw no guards, obviously they were all on duty. I didn’t want to go outside into the freezing mountain air, as my robe would provide only minimal protection from it. Last night was cold enough for me for a while. As I stood there looking confused I heard someone moving around up above me, and noticed a staircase nearby. I decided that would be as good a place as any to look for directions, so I proceeded upstairs.

I nearly ran into Martin as I rounded the corner, as he was coming from the other direction and the hallways were a bit cramped. He apologized and stepped back to let me through, but I just laughed. “You really aren’t used to this whole Emperor thing, are you Martin?” I asked with a smile.

He grinned at me, “Yes, it will take some getting used to. I’m used to being around people of noble heritage, but they were generally rather insulted at the sight of me. I was about to go to breakfast. Care to join?”

“I’d be honored… your majesty.” I bowed slightly, but then snapped back up and let him through. “To be honest, I don’t know where anything is around this place. I was going to ask for some directions before I ran into you.” I followed him through a sliding wooden door and into a great hall. It was mostly empty, and we proceeded right through it and into a much smaller room. It looked like a place to eat, read, whatever. A lounge, if you will. There was some bread, cheese and fruit on a table, and we sat at it and discussed the vagaries of magic. I was concerned about the Oblivion gates and what they might have done to the field of Conjuration magic, as it is mostly based upon Daedra. He suggested that it might make the spells easier to maintain or to cast. I was still worried, and I planned to go into Bruma and visit the Mages’ Guild there to find out more. I was seriously out of contact with my preferred field, and I wanted to get a spell to summon some sort of lesser Daedra. We finished and I left him chatting with a few off-duty Blades.

I stepped out into the cold air. It truly was freezing, and I held a bit of magical flame in my hands to warm them. Occasionally I would lift the flame up and warm my face, but there was little else I could do, short of setting my self on fire. I found Jauffre standing out in full Blades Armor in front of the main building. I approached him and asked him about the future.

“Well, at the moment I am attempting to gain contact with several of my sources. It will take some time before I know anything else. Listen, I would like to thank you for everything you’ve done. I would like to extend to you an invitation to join the Blades.”

I stared in disbelief at him. The Blades?! The Emperor’s secret service? I was in total shock, but I managed to dribble out some words, “Thanks, err… Thank you! I’m truly honored!”
He smiled, “Excellent!” He drew a sword and presented it to me. “Then I hereby declare you a Knight Brother of the Blades.” I took the sword and bowed. My heart was still beating at a quick pace. The Blades are the most selective organization in the Empire! And I had just been entered into them. I thanked Jauffre again and he told me I had some time. He would contact me when I was needed.



I took a short stroll around the perimeter of the fortress. The thought of being a Blade was bouncing around inside my brain like a Cliff Racer on Skooma. When I reached the head of the wall though, the thoughts stopped and stared. It was quite possibly the most beautiful sight I had ever seen. The sun was low in the sky, and the city of Bruma was laid out before me. I sighed, it had been a while since I was in the mountains, and I had almost forgotten their beauty.

I watched the sun rise for a short while, then jogged down the large flight of stairs to where I had left my horse. He was gone, and I jogged back up the stairs to ask what had happened to him. Then I saw a Blade walking my horse out to me. I thanked him and brought the horse down the stairs to more level ground. I mounted and rode down the Mountain to Bruma. I dismounted at the stable there and led my horse into the pen. He started chomping away happily at a bit of grass and I proceeded into town.

My first objective was to find the Mages’ Guild. I asked a nearby Guard and he pointed me in the right direction. I entered the main hall and greeted a tall Altmer there. I identified myself as being from the Cheydinhal Guild Hall and that I was passing through Bruma. He seemed jovial enough, and told me his name was Volanaro. I asked if he knew any spells of summoning, and he did know one. He told me that it was a Summon Scamp spell, and I nearly jumped for joy. I asked him to teach it to me, and fifteen minutes later I was summoning Scamps perfectly. Unfortunately, I could not remember what it was like to summon a Scamp before the Oblivion Crisis began, and so I could tell no difference between then and now. I asked Volanaro if he had noticed any differences in summoning, but he said that he had not summoned anything for quite some time.

I put the question about the Oblivion Crisis and its Affect on Conjuration on a back burner and moved to an alchemy station. Here I spent a good bit of time crafting potions and poisons, and by the time I was done it was late. I ate a quick dinner at the guild hall and then went to bed in one of the rooms. Perhaps tomorrow I can learn some more spells.

26: Speeches and Salutes

A cold northern wind blew down upon us as we set off from the Priory stables. The sky rapidly grew dark, and soon the clouds opened up on us. We were drenched almost immediately, and there would be no point to going back or seeking shelter. We could deal with the cold, but if any assassins found their way to us when we weren’t expecting it we would be in a heap of trouble. The rain continued for a great time, and we were just entering the mountains before it stopped. I had decided to take a bit of a detour from the main road, forcing us to push our horses up several steep hills but also cutting our trip time in half. The rain kept all manner of creatures away from us during the ride, but I did see a pack of wolves following us for a while. We outran them and were soon riding up the final slope to Cloud Ruler Temple.

It was quite an impressive sight. By the time we reached the fortress, the skies had cleared completely and the sun was just about to set. The walls were made of curved stone and it was at the very peak of the mountain. I understood then how it could be defended so easily. The fortress was both elegant and functional, its walls thick and sturdy, and the people guarding it were the best trained in the entire empire. Martin would be very safe here indeed.

We dismounted and approached the huge gates. They opened slowly and a man in the armor characteristic of the Blades stepped out to greet Jauffre.

“Welcome, Grandmaster.” He glanced at Martin. “Is that him, sir?”

“Yes, Cyrus. This is Martin Septim, Son of Uriel Septim, and heir to the Throne of Tamriel.” Cyrus went up to Martin and knelt, welcoming him to Cloud Ruler Temple.

“Thank you, Cyrus. But I am not Emperor yet!” Martin was obviously not used to being someone of great importance. Cyrus stood and ushered us into the Fortress. We went up a few flights of stairs, and there stood a large group of Blades in two lines along the path, each bowing as Martin passed. Martin was unsure of what to do, and he looked almost scared. We came to the head of the group and Jauffre turned around. He began a short speech to the group of Blades.

“Blades, dark times are ahead of us. Emperor Uriel Septim and his sons were murdered under our watch, and the barrier between Oblivion and Nirn has been damaged. The Amulet of Kings has fallen into the hands of the Enemy, and the Dragon Fires have been darkened.” The Blades listened with intensity, showing no signs of fear or hopelessness. Jauffre continued, “But all hope is not lost… The man who stands before you today is Martin Septim, Son of Uriel Septim, and true heir to the throne.” He turned to Martin, raised his sword, and cried “HAIL DRAGONBORN! HAIL MARTIN SEPTIM! HAIL!” The Blades all did likewise, and I felt I should join in.

Martin was a little bit shocked, to put it lightly. He nearly jumped when Jauffre started saluting him, and when the salute died out, he stepped forward hesitantly and gave a very short speech.

“Jauffre, Will, everyone, I thank you all. I know you all expect me to be Emperor. I’ll do my best, but all this is going to take some getting used to. I will try my hardest to be worthy of your loyalty in the coming days. That’s it, thank you.” He stepped back and started to drop his gaze, but then thought better of it and held his chin up.

“Well, the Blades are at your command, my liege. Everyone back to your posts now.”

Martin turned to me, “Well, that wasn’t much of a speech was it?”

“They didn’t seem to mind” I replied truthfully.

We spoke for a while about his future as Emperor, as well as the Amulet of Kings and Daedric Magic. He agreed that the rules had changed. There was no possible way those Oblivion gates could have been sustained before. He believed (as well as Jauffre did) that the Amulet of Kings was a sort of “key” to maintaining the barrier between Nirn and Oblivion, and that the Dragonfires were the physical representation of that barrier.

I thought about this as I went to rest in the barracks. It was getting late, and I had a lot to think about. Plans must be laid for the future, and we need the Amulet of Kings back if we are going to stop Mehrunes Dagon.

Schedule Change

No post today, im moving it and all further friday posts to saturday. Cheerio Chaps!

25: Assault on the Priory

The road to Weynon Priory was short and quiet, as neither Martin nor I had said anything since our last conversation. A feeling of dread crept into my mind, but I simply dismissed it as being an aftershock from the terror of Kvatch. Nevertheless, I was wary as we approached Weyon Priory, and I stretched out my hands in case I would have need of them.

The outside was mostly quiet when we arrived; a few people were standing around and chatting but nothing else. They were wearing very familiar robes, but I couldn’t quite place them. The old man from the Priory who had given me the horse stepped out of the Weynon House and approached the small group of men in the robes. He began speaking to them, and Martin and I proceeded indoors. Suddenly, I remembered where I had seen the robes before: They were worn by the people who assassinated the Emperor!

I spun around, but I did not want to alert them to my intentions, so I walked casually towards them. As I passed Martin I told him to get inside and wait for me. I watched the four men in the robes very carefully, looking for any sign of attack they might make. Very soon, I perceived a small gesture one of the men made, and instantly I launched a fireball at them. It caught one of them men in the side, igniting his robe and knocking him over. I pulled out my axe and charged at them, and I knew they would not be defenseless for much longer. I was not surprised when strange weapons appeared in their hands and armor suddenly coated their skin, and brought my axe up to smash down upon the nearest assassin. He was quick, and the conjured weapon weighed nothing for him, but I outsmarted him. He had brought his mace up to block an overhead attack, so I shifted my weight ever so slightly and twisted around to bring the axe to his side. I heard ribs crack and the assassin crumpled to the ground. A burst of flame was all that was needed to finish him off. I turned towards the other two assassins and found that they had murdered the old man and run off into the Weynon House. I ran after them, sounding an alarm as I went. I hoped Martin could hold them off; we could not afford to lose either him or the Amulet of Kings.

I burst into the Priory House and received a mace to the chest. I was thrown backwards, out into the yard again. I healed myself and opened the door again, this time holding back a bit in case the assassin had another mace for me. He did, but I stepped away from the blow and counter-attacked. He soon lay in a crumpled heap by the door, and I started to make my way up the stairs when several more assassins came in through the door behind me. I spun and found myself face to face with 4 more assassins. Wasting no time, I launched a fireball and simultaneously swung at the head of the nearest assassin. He was knocked back into the expanding flame, but the other three were largely unharmed. I backed off a bit, knowing I couldn’t take all three of them at the same time. Luckily for me, Jauffre appeared behind the assassins and brought a huge Dai-katana down onto their unsuspecting backs. I attacked at the same time as he did, and the confused assassins were soon cut to pieces.

“The Amulet! We must protect it!” Jauffre was bounding up the stairs before I could even catch my breath, and yet I followed after him. Suddenly, Martin was thrown out of a small room I had not noticed before. He fell to the ground and groaned, and just then an assassin stepped out of the same room that martin came from. He was clutching the Amulet of Kings, and when he saw both me and Jauffre waiting to stop him, he turned to a large window and jumped out through it! I looked down from the window and saw the crumpled form of the assassin lying on the ground, but he was soon surrounded by several other assassins who pried the amulet from his grip and ran off.

Jauffre slammed the table with his fist, obviously furious that they had escaped with the amulet. I went over to Martin, hoping he was still alright. He groaned a little, but a few healing spells later he was back on his feet. Jauffre came over and shook his hand.

“So you must be Martin. I am Jauffre, Grandmaster of the Blades.”

“Pleasure to meet you Jauffre, but please, can we talk about this whole heir to the throne thing?”

“Not now, we need to get to a safer place. Will, would you like to help out some more?”

“It would be my pleasure.” I replied, eager to atone for my past sins against the Empire. “Where do you have in mind?”

“Cloud Ruler Temple, it has been the Blades’ fortress for many years now, there Martin will be safe.”

“Isn’t that up north of Bruma? In the mountains?” I thought I had heard of it before, but I had never seen it.

“That is correct, now come, it is a long ride.”

The three of us went down to the stables, and I found that my friend had indeed found his way home. I mounted him, and when Martin and Jauffre were on their respective horses we set off for Cloud Ruler Temple.

24: Talking

I left the captain to his grief. I probably should have comforted him, but I am afraid I could not think of anything to say. I made my way back through the smoke filled halls of the castle. My body ached with fatigue, and my spells of healing could do nothing about the pain. Somehow, I reached the chapel and sat down on one of the unbroken pews. I prayed to the gods for forgiveness, but even as I made my plea I could feel sleep dragging me downwards.
A young looking guard was standing over me when I awoke. He apologized for waking me and presented to me a hastily wrapped package.

“It is from Captain Matius, He wanted to thank you for everything you’ve done. He said that his warrior days were over, and as such he would have no use for this anymore.” I took the package and found it to be rather heavy and rough. When I unwrapped it, I saw that it was a suit of armor similar to that of the guard before me, and that it was of the finest chain mail. The cloth was a bit dirty, but otherwise it was relatively undamaged. I could sense that it was magically enchanted, but I did not take the time to divine the exact enchantment. I thanked the guard and told him to thank Captain Matius for me. My pack welcomed the new suit of armor into its folds, and the young guard walked out of the chapel.

I knew that there was work still to be done. Martin still needed to be taken to Jauffre, and there was much to do before Martin could take his seat at the throne of the Empire. I bid farewell to the charred shell of Kvatch and proceeded down the mountain path to the refugee camp. The long winding road down the mountain took me by surprise, as I did not remember coming up so far. Apparently I had been too focused to notice how high up I was when I had rushed to help the guards… How long had it been since I had found out about the siege of Kvatch? I do not know how long I spent in the Oblivion gate, and the hideous clouds above me blocked out all light and sense of time. So how long had it been?

Martin was waiting for me in the camp, but I was too tired to proceed. He said that we could both use some sleep, and we would continue in the morning.



I had the strangest dream. I was flying above a crowd of oddly dressed people, all clustered around a small box. There was a flash of flame, and they all scattered away from the box. Nothing happened for a moment, but then suddenly fire began spitting out of the top! The flame changed colors and danced, and then box suddenly shot something into the air. It looked like a rock, but it exploded in a sphere of color! This continued for some time, and when the box had stopped its infernal spitting, everyone began to cheer. It was very strange indeed.



I awoke sometime around seven in the morning, and found Martin already cooking himself a breakfast. I pulled some bread and cheese from my pack, and we ate in relative silence. When we had both finished, we set off down the hill and towards Skingrad. Neither of us spoke for some time, and the road was quiet. Suddenly I remembered why the road up to Kvatch had not seemed so long. I had been riding my horse! I cursed myself for forgetting about it, but going back for it would take hours! I sighed and decided not to go back for it, I figured it would probably find its way home to the priory on its own.

We passed through Skingrad, but decided not to stop. It was still early in the day and neither of us was that tired. However, when we got through town and into the woods, Martin seemed to cheer up a little. He began talking, and soon we were chatting away like old friends. When the conversation turned to our backgrounds, however, things took a darker turn.


“I was raised on a farm in Kvatch County. My father was a simple man, and I helped as best as I could. But I was never quite like him. He was perfectly happy to farm all his life. I knew there was something more to the world than sowing and plowing. I started… dabbling in Daedra worship. Every child has his rebellious phase, but mine was particularly dark. I soon became harsh and unkind to my father, even assaulting him on occasion! One day, another worshipper lost control of a Daedroth he had summoned. It went on a rampage, killing several of my friends. It was then I realized what was happening to me. I threw away my horrible past, and joined the temple. I am not proud of my past, but it did serve me well during the siege. I think that without my time as a daedra worshipper, I would never have survived the siege. What about you? What sort of background do you come from?”

“I shall start with my early childhood. My parents had been traveling to their new home in Valenwood when my mother was pregnant. She went into labor during the trip, and no one was around to help her. My father tried his best, but he was a merchant, and had no idea what he was doing. My mother died during childbirth, and to this day my father does not forgive himself. When I as young he attempted to teach me in the ways of magic. He hired a tutor and I started at the age of eight. He didn’t want me to be in the same position he was in with my mother; unable to heal her pain with magic. Bretons are naturally adept at magic, and I learned quickly. My father was too demanding however, he pushed and pushed at me. Finally, I could not stand it anymore. I left him and went to join the Mages’ Guild. They cared for me and I learned at my own pace. I rose through the ranks very quickly. By the age of twenty I was a fully fledged Magician. I was able to buy my own house and do my experiments from there.

“Then I went too far. The Daedra I summoned destroyed my life. I was thrown out of the Mages’ Guild in Valenwood, and locked away in the Imperial City Prison for 5 years. My sentence was actually for 30 years, but the Emperor happened to go through my cell. I lost most of my magical skills, and my body atrophied. Now, I am back in the guild, although I will never be able to go back to Valenwood. I have vowed to help the Emperor, even after his death, because he freed me. Not much farther now, Chorrol is down this road.”