Back in Mournhold, Karmyn's father was teaching her how to hunt. Karmyn's father, Gorddil Veniryan, would go out past the city gates, killing any prey that crossed his path. Her mother, Aryalsa Veniryan, would then sell them in the marketplace. Gorddil was teaching her so that one day she could potentially open her own stand, selling fresh meat to the citizens of Mournhold. Karmyn was very young, barely old enough to talk, when her father gave her the very first dagger she would ever wield.
An Elven Dagger, crafted of the finest Moonstone, iron, quicksilver, and leather her father could find, and emblazoned with her initials, KV at the base of the blade. She learned quickly how to use it, and went out hunting with him so she could learn how to find food. Her father even gave her one of his old hunting bows, so that she may learn the skill of archery.
But then the Argonians came, destroying the city, raping their women, and killing those that fought back. Karman's father was one of those they killed. Karmyn watched silent, from under the floorboards, where her mother his her as a tall Argonian ripped her father open. She forced herself not to cry, or else risking giving her location away. She sat quiet, as she saw her mother stumble on Karmyn's father's body, as she witnessed the second murder in that house. She fled only when it was ominously quiet.
Karmyn looked over the two that once cared and loved her, and found two Spell Tomes on her mother's body. One was the spell for Firebolt. The other, for Candlelight. Karmyn read the tomes, learning their spells, and in final tribute to her parents, burned the house with the spell she had just learned. And then she ran.
She ran out the burning gates of Mournhold, into the wilderness that surrounded the city. She ran for what seemed like ages. As the dawn began to break, she came upon an injured deer, his neck gashed open by claws of some sort. She put the thing out of its misery and cleaned the animal, the way her father had taught her, what seemed like ages ago. She wrapped its meat in some big leaves she found nearby, and cleaned her knife on the ground.
Karmyn kept walking, eventually making her way to Narsis, where she sold most of the meat, the antlers, and the hide for a fair amount of coin from the inn-keeper, a nice Dunmer woman named Ildysa Vendos. Ildysa had a daughter named Venriella, who soon became Karmyn's friend. Venriella, who was kind and caring, begged for her mother to adopt Karmyn, and eventually Ildysa obliged. Karmyn lived in Narsis for eleven years, until she was sixteen.
Venriella, a year older than Karmyn, decided to go to the College of Winterhold in Skyrim when she turned seventeen, and needed someone to go with her, to protect her. Karmyn, who had been hunting to earn her stay, volunteered to go with her only friend, and the day came when they would depart. Ildysa presented Karmyn with an Elvish bow that she bought by selling the venison Karmyn brought in. Ildysa had even enchanted it with a fire enchantment, and gave Karmyn a full quiver of 50 arrows. With tears in her eyes, Karmyn hugged the aging Dunmer.
"This must have cost you so much," Karmyn whispered into Ildysa's ear. Ildysa looked at her adopted child, with tears in her eyes. It was one of the few times Karmyn had spoken a full sentence to Ildysa, and it would be the last time she would ever do so.
"You earned it, Karmyn. All your hard work to kill and clean those deer and elk paid for this gift. Now go, have fun on your adventure. Divines know I wish I could have adventured when I was young," Ildysa said, her eyes brimming with tears. It was then Karmyn saw the hue of Ildysa's eyes. Not blood red, like most Dunmer, Ildysa's eyes were a more ruby color, shining with joy and glistening with tears.
Karmyn smiled at her, and donned her worn leather armor over her red clothes. Ildysa had gotten the girls horses on their birthdays, and Karmyn's sleek black horse stood proud, holding stores of meat, vegetables, salts, and firewood in its saddle bags. Venriella's shaggy golden horse, bought from a farm outside of Solitude, in Skyrim, held spell tomes of every school: Alteration, Restoration, Conjuration, Illusion, and Destruction. The two Dunmer teens mounted their horses, and began off, turning back to look at Narsis every so often, until it eventually went out of sight. They rode all day, and made camp as the sun set. Karmyn prepared a meal for the two, made of tender elk meat, roasted carrots and potatoes, and goat cheese. The girls ate their fill, and sat by the fire, watching it die out.
"Karmyn," Venriella said, turning towards her friend. "Why do you seldom talk? You always seem so lonely and sad and angry at the world."
Karmyn sighed, and stared at the dying flames. "Maybe it's because I am. Not physically lonely, you're always there for me, but maybe I feel mentally lonely. Because of my parents dying while I watched, unable to help. It never seems like anyone knows how I feel. I know others know the feeling, but it just seems like no one cares… because they all think I'm just a kid." Karmyn breathed deeply and swallowed the lump forming in her throat. She had never told Venriella about how she felt, and she wasn't sure if it was right to tell. Suddenly, Venriella embraced Karmyn, an act that made Karmyn's loneliness go away for a while. Because Venriella was there for her. Like always.
Yawning, Venriella announced she was going to go to sleep for the night. Karmyn stayed up, keeping watch, using her Candlelight spell to keep the area lit. Sometime in the night, however, she fell asleep.
The next morning, she woke up to Venriella cooking some potatoes. The cubed potatoes were roasted quite effectively and the girls ate their fill of the root vegetable before packing up and setting off.
"You don't have to keep watch you know," Venriella said as the girls traveled. She patted her horse, Falanie, affectionately, and faced Karmyn again. "Falanie and Virynas can wake us up if anything happens," Venriella said, and Virynas tossed his head, causing Karmyn to look back down at the black stallion and stroke his mane.
"Alright," Karmyn agreed. "I'll let the horses keep watch. But only until we reach the border of Skyrim. Then, we don't know what dangers lurk." Venriella nodded in agreement, and the girls walked on, almost making it to Blacklight that day. They turned in as the moon rose, and the next morning took off again.
They made it to Blacklight in a few hours, and went to the inn there. Cooking up the last bit of venison, they made a deer-and-vegetable stew, and ate it by the firepit, as a Bard sang songs of a Dragonborn, and men drank merrily until they passed out at the bar. Venriella turned in rather early, but Karmyn stayed up. She went up to her room, and laid in her bed, wondering what Skyrim would hold for her. Venriella knew what was in store for her, but what about Karmyn? All she could do was hunt. How would that turn out for her in the land of the Nords? Where every man had a foot of height on her, and even the women had more bulging muscle. She had seen a Nord or two around Morrowind, and they were a big race. She was still contemplating when the tendrils of sleep overtook her.
The next morning, Karmyn and Venriella had a meagre breakfast of eggs and potatoes, and then set off. Venriella had a document that stated the two could cross the border, a statement signed by the Arch-Mage of the College. The guards let them through, but not without looking at them as they passed by. Luckily, Winterhold was a day's ride away on galloping horses, and the girls admired the scenery as their horses sped through the snowy terrain.
"Venriella? Why didn't you just join the Mage's Guild in Morrowind?" Karmyn asked as the girls trotted up to the city of Winterhold.
"I wanted to go somewhere where I've never been. Somewhere different."
"Then why not the Mage's Guild in Cyrodiil?"
"It was too close to Narsis. I had to get away." Karmyn could understand that. However, before she knew it, they had arrived at the College.
