28 Last Seed, 3E 433
Morning
I awaken this morning at an inn in the Imperial City, Cyrodiil. I have very little gold to my name, and no real memory to speak of. I know that I am an Imperial, and I know about the world around me to a degree. What I do not remember is how I came to be locked up in the Imperial Prison yesterday, nor why. I have found myself and my fate thrust into the hands of the Gods – or perhaps the Daedra.
Yesterday I awoke in a jail cell, only to be immediately verbally assaulted by an angry Elf. He told me I was to die in that prison cell, but it was not to be. Instead, the Emperor himself, as well as his personal bodyguards, came, inadvertently, to my rescue. They seemed upset that I occupied that particular cell, one of the guards (who later was killed) telling the others that my cell was supposed to be off limits. I soon found out why when I was told to stay out of the way as the guards opened a secret passageway in the wall.
Before I could even think to follow them to freedom, one of the guards told me to stay put. But then the Emperor came up to me and seemed to study me for a moment before telling me he had seen me in a dream. Who am I to disbelieve? I don't even remember who I am, although my fighting style would suggest I was once some kind of thief. A thief who uses no weapons, at that. I seem to know the exact places I need to hit people with my hands to kill and/or knock others unconscious. I'm not sure if I should be afraid of myself or not.
Regardless – the Emperor and I had a conversation that I hardly followed. He seemed to be speaking more to himself than to me, though I do remember him telling me that he believed I had been born under the sign of the Steed, based on my speed. I cannot disagree, as I do seem rather quick on my feet. We didn't get much time to chat, really, as the guards soon shuffled us along. They seemed oddly on edge and bothered, and I found out why soon enough.
Once we got through the first part of the tunnel, the Emperor and his guards and I went our separate ways for a while. They went through a door, telling me not to follow on their way. So I waited for them to leave and then went through the giant, convenient hole in the wall. I found corpses, weapons, and armor, along with some scatterings of food. This is when I found out that I don't like to use weapons, and instead prefer my fists. My knuckles are admittedly a little bruised, but I am satisfied. I also seem to be quite proficient in sneaking.
Anyways, soon enough the royal group and I happened to run into each other again. Not a second after rejoining the group, suddenly we were all attacked by assassins in red clothing, who wielded terrifying magic and weapons. The guards made short work of them, before I could even get a single punch in. After realizing that I was even there, one of the guards wanted to kill me, thinking I was working with the assassins. Then the Emperor stepped up to me, yet again, and stopped the guards in their tracks, telling them to back off.
He spoke then of destiny and the stars, and of his death, which was drawing nearer. I didn't really understand all that he said, but still, I listened intently. Something in his voice made me want to listen. He truly spoke with the voice of an Emperor – strong and clear and calm. It soothed my nerves from having been sneaking around attacking giant rats in the passageways.
We were shuffled along some more by the guards, and this seemed to take hours. It did take hours, and it took even longer than it would have because every now and then, assassins in red would come out of nowhere to kill us. I did get my chance at defending the Emperor, whom I had grown to respect and like over the course of those hours. I am sad that in the end, I could do nothing to prevent his death. I can say with conviction that he was a good man, though he seemed quite morose towards the end. The odd thing is, he seemed morose not about his own death, but about something he kept hidden away within himself. There was something so profoundly melancholy about him that I felt a sense of duty in the simple act of keeping him company, though we did not speak again for hours.
The last thing he said to me before he died was that he knew I had a grand destiny before me, though he knew nothing beyond that, and that I was to find my own way. Then he thrust his red amulet – the Amulet of Kings – into my hands and told me to take it to a man named Jauffre at Weynon Priory, near the city of Chorrol. Before I could ask any questions – why? who was Jauffre? where was Chorrol? – he was killed. Right in front of me. The last assassin came from seemingly nowhere. My vision turned to the left of the Emperor for but a moment, and in the next, I, myself, was being attacked by the same assassin who had just murdered that noble man, the Emperor.
So shocked was I that for a moment, I hardly reacted to the threat on my life. Then the assassin was dead by my hands and I stood staring at the floor, at the pool of blood and the body of the Emperor lying sprawled across it. His face looked oddly peaceful, and I knew then that he had known from the beginning that he was to die that day, in that moment. This knowledge gave me some sort of peace of my own, though my heart still aches for him. It is odd… I hardly knew the man, and yet I feel for him as if he had been my own father.
One of the guards – the only one left, actually – ran into the room, having just fought off the last of the assassins in the room ahead. He was as shocked as I, but immediately came back to his senses. He bent down to examine the Emperor's body and noticed that the Amulet of Kings was missing. He looked up at me and saw that I had it, and became suspicious. In a dead voice I explained to him all that the Emperor had told me. Baurus, the guard, seemed alright with my having the Amulet afterwards, though he was confused, as I was. In the end, he decided that I had better do as I had been told.
He handed me a key and told me to go through the sewers and out of the prison through a secret gate at the end. Then to head to Chorrol. I numbly continued onward, sneaking through more passageways for hours and collecting what little gold and potions I could find scattered around. I seem to have a knack for lockpicking as well. Night had reached Tamriel by the time I arrived outside, and I gratefully breathed in the cool air. The sewers had been quite disgusting, as one can imagine. I had no idea where I was for a few moments, and tried to look around for any sign of civilization. By chance, I turned around and saw a massive white tower nearby.
When I cleared around the prison, I saw that the tower sat inside of a giant walled city, and this is where I found food, rest, and shelter from the rain that had started soon after departing the prison. And this is where I am now, at an inn in the Imperial City, having just eaten some breakfast. I guess today I am off to Chorrol, though I may want to take a look around the city first and see if there is anything of use before heading onward.
