The deer stood next to a tree. It bent its head downwards and ate. A doe. While it was busy chewing, the bushes next to it rustled. Just as the doe was about to turn its head towards the noise, its throat was struck in the side with an arrow. The animal cried out and staggered before collapsing to the ground. A short, stocky Nord man emerged from behind a rock holding a wooden bow in his hand. A hunter. He approached the deer's mangled carcass with his hunting knife.

"Haha, a fresh kill! Bjornvald would be proud," announced the hunter with pride. The Nord thought he was just talking to himself. He was not alone, however. He crouched down next to the deer's body and started using his knife to cut off the hide and meat. But something was not right. The man, acting out of instinct, quickly turned around with his bow in one hand and knife in the other. There was nothing behind him. He cursed and crouched back down. Again, the man felt someone else's presence in the deep woods. He tried to turn around again, only to have a pair of hands clutch his neck and break it in a mighty snap.

And just like that, the quietness of the forest went on in serenity. But where the mighty doe once stood, there were two bodies: the doe itself and its hunter. A living man was leaning back on the tree next to the corpses. Mac started searching the body of the hunter. Nothing of value was in the late hunter's possession, however. Mac had no use for ranged weapons, either. Which is why he stalked the hunter who would snag some meat for dinner. Mac took his own knife and cut up the deer. He placed the pieces of venison into his bag.

The plan to escape into Skyrim was working so far for Mac. One may wonder, why is Mac running off? Mac isn't just some regular man, though. He is Maccabeus Lorenzo, born to the powerful Cyrodillic family. His family was Imperial and a strong supporter of the Empire. Why would a member of the Lorenzo family be vilified by the Empire? As said before, Mac isn't a regular man. When he was 4, he and his kin were caught up in the Great War. Their small town near the Cyrodiil-Valenwood border was one of the first to fall victim to the Aldmeri Dominion's treachery.

30 years ago - 4E 171

"Elven forces are here!"

A stray fireball flew by and incinerated the town guard. The man screamed in terror as he spasmed painfully trying to put out the fire. He cried for help, but about a second later, he collapsed and breathed his final breaths. In Maccabeus Lorenzo's tearful eyes, this was a living nightmare. An "Oblivion on Nirn" sort of situation. Mac ran away from the burning bodies back towards his family's mansion. "Mama, Papa!" he yelled. He was horrified to find that his house in flames. A look of relief swept across his face when he saw his mother carrying his little sister towards him.

"Mama!"

He ran up and hugged his mother and sister. He was relieved, then worried.

"Where's Papa?"

Mama stared downwards at Mac. Her eyes were bloodshot and wet. "Papa is out there fighting. Please, Macky, please don't go look for him." His mother's voice choked.

But why, Papa? thought Maccabeus. His sister suddenly screamed. Mac turned around and saw a lone Thalmor wizard approaching them slowly, both of his palms carrying bright flames. "MAMA!" The Thalmor did not hesitate to allow them to speak any last words as he fired off a single burst of fire at the three. The last thing Mac could see before blacking out was his mother jumping towards the fire.

The story of Maccabeus Lorenzo was that of tragedy. He and his sister survived, but Mac at the time would have rather died along with his friends and families. That same day, he was taken as a prisoner-of-war for the Dominion. He looked along the line of prisoners, and caught no sight of his father. He also lost contact with his sister about 2 years after the fateful day - some historians say that she was executed, others say she ran off and disappeared. Some even doubt if she exists anymore. Yet still, Maccabeus was going to grow up to be the most wicked man Tamriel had ever encountered.