A/N:First time around at this, and I just fixed the formatting errors that were pointed out to me, I think. I'm self editing this, so if you see mistakes or have some pointers, please let me know. ~VP
Skyrim was a place of pain, misery and torture for Erissare. Heresy the Nords would cry, boasting of its sweeping landscapes, and rolling hills. It's not that place anymore though. Instead, it's now a soil for soaking up blood of her enemies, of her nightmares, past, present, and future.
At first she was reluctant, a non-violent person. Then, she made her first kill, oh how she loved watching the crimson tide pour down and quench the ground. The fear in her enemies eyes, their begs and pleads for pity and mercy. For once, she felt control, a giver and taker of life and death. After that, Erissare met the Dark Brotherhood, her hunters that unknowingly took their prey into their innermost folds. They praised her way of killing, calling it an art, a gift. That's when she joined the Dark Brotherhood, as a different person, changing her name to Virani. She saw joining them as an opportunity of sorts, one where she could kill and find others who relished in the delightful art of killing. She could also hide in plain sight. She enjoyed the bloody business, but the familial aspect of the group was a plus to a person raised in politically cutthroat family where love was nonexistent.
However, Virani certainly did not expect to find herself in the heart of a brewing storm, a war that could rip her new family into nothingness.
They had almost caught up to her this time. It was close, way too close for her personal comfort. After all, how was she supposed to know that the damn Thalmor were in Markarth? It was too risky to go back, too nerve-wracking to face that part of her past. As Erissare took off from that carved city of rock, she came across a stray. The Thalmor were idiots, still not knowing to leave one of their own alone. They do have plenty of enemies. With a wolfish grin, she crouched behind a boulder, and, as he passed she sprung. Her knife went cleanly into the elf's neck and through to the other side, eventually being pushed out a bit as Erissare and him crashed into the ground. He lay on the dusty, rocky road, struggling and still very much alive. She conjured up some flames and began to burn him to a crisp, his anguished screams very much like her own in captivity. One, one more dead and a slice of redemption, granted. After his tragic death from so-called bandits, who then left his looted body for the flies and maggots, she departed for Solitude without a second thought.
Finally, after a long run reached Solitude, a large city that was easy enough for her to blend in, but small enough for her personal comfort. The lack of Thalmor was a bonus. Erissare picked a few pockets and eventually collected enough septims for a small room and a meal, a luxury she rarely got. As she returned to the inn, she met someone. Her instincts told her to run, but followed along entranced by the man. With a sweeping bow, he latched himself to her arm and gave his name as Caccia. Honeyed words, smooth as mead flowed from his lips, and the closer they neared, the more intoxicating his words became.
Then now became nothing and nothing became now.
Erissare slowly came to in a strange place that was most definitely not Solitude. It was not a cave, but a cavernous temple. A stone altar lay directly in front of her, skulls surrounding the base, a jeweled goblet perched in the center. To her left, covering the expansive wall, was a mural, depicting the history of the most notorious killers in this world. The Dark Brotherhood, that after five long years, they had finally caught her and today she would die and they would fulfill the contract on her head. Then she smirked, realizing that they couldn't recognize her. She was fully covered, head to foot by mage's robes and a headscarf, a veil covering all but her eyes. Erissare remained heavily scarred after her captivity and because the scars were so identifying it would be safer from people to stay covered. A flawless opportunity to hide in plain sight, the Dark Brotherhood wouldn't recognize her, and she could change her name.
Her musings stopped short suddenly by a sound to her right. Whipping her head around, she saw Caccia and a clone! With a leap, Caccia, or who she presumed to be Caccia, jumped from his perch and introduced himself, "A pleasure miss, the name is Coccius. You have met my brother already, I know that full well."
She stared in shock, her head moving from left to right and right to left. Wiping the confusion from her face, she questioned them, "Who are you, and what do you want with me?" The identical young men looked at each other then at her, beginning in unison, "Well, my dear, we are representatives of the Dark Brotherhood, and we would like you to join us."
By this time, one broke twin off and said to her, "With one catch, prove to us your skill."
His brother then motioned to her to do a 180 turn, and she giggled in delight at the treat before her.
On the wall behind her, a man was tied up, spread eagle and face covered by an executioner's hood. She took her knife out of her boot and stalked over to her prey, circling him as a vulture would before ripping the hood from his face. He spat at her, hatred and malice in his eyes. Erissare smiled at him as a mother would her young before swooping down to press her mouth close to his ear, breathing out, "Do you fear nothing, even while your life is in my hands? No answer? Pity, that would have made things go so much faster for you."
Her knife went to his mouth, a line curving up to his ear, the same being done to the other side immediately afterwards. Her lips then attached to his as the blood ran into her mouth, oh how sweet it tasted. She drew her tongue through one of the cuts, tasting more of the honeyed substance before reaching his ear once more. "Are you sure there is nothing you are afraid of?"
The man by this time was squirming, whimpering in agony as she began to litter smaller cuts over his body, each oozing a steady waterfall of crimson. The sight made Erissare's knees weak in pleasure. By this time, the gleeful cackles of the twins and the man's anguished screams were nothing but a dull roar in her head. She eventually stepped back and admired her work smugly. Tied spread eagle on the wall, his body covered in cuts and blood, and through this whole time, he was smiling. Her cuts on his face made him smile unceasingly. As she strode toward him one final time, he turned from man to beast. Eyes bulging in fear, breathing erratic and coming in short gasps as he struggled to live. With one last flourish, his life's spark was extinguished.
She drifted back down to reality from the nirvana that she, just moments before, had resided in. Finally, the elated cackles and applause from the twins grabbed her attention and she wiped her blade and bowed to her audience of two. "That was-
quite the show." One began and the other finished.
She had given up attempting to tell them apart. "What is your name, little elf," they asked her curiously.
Holding her head up high, she proudly declared the new name that she had thought of,"Virani."
"Well, little Virani, we are pleased to announce that you are welcome in our family, the Dark Brotherhood after that little show of yours."
Nodding her head in acceptance, she noticed that one pulled a lever behind him, opening the entrance to the cave. She squinted as she walked from the dark temple into the light outside. Turning to the men on her left, she looked to the horses and then to them, with one eyebrow quirked. They smoothly explained that people always joined, and they learned to always bring the right amount of horses. They helped Virani into the saddle before mounting themselves, and they immediately took off at a brisk trot.
Eventually, they reached the town of Falkreath, a perfect place for a home of killers because every building was named something of death. It was only a matter of moments before they left the deathly silent town and disappeared into the surrounding forest. They then turned down a brushy path, carefully hidden so as to only be seen by those looking for it. Exiting the trees, they came to a clearing where an inky, black pit was, accompanied by a door placed into stone. The twins dismounted, followed by Virani, who tripped over her long robes.
The horses then trotted into the pit and disappeared from sight. She shot the twins a questioning look, but they waved her off, simply saying, "It's complicated."
Instead, they made their way to the door which asked them in a disembodied voice, "What is the music of life, brothers?"
The twins chorused together, "Silence, my brother," and the entrance swung open.
Turning to Virani they told her to remember the password for now and that the password would change every now and then, sometimes stranding a poor soul outside for ages until he guessed the proper answer. Then, for the first time, she entered her sanctuary.
Upon descending the staircase they came upon an antechamber of sorts. A stone wall was pushed against the furthest wall from them, a stone throne behind it and a pair of wooden doors next to the stately seat. The table was littered with maps and various other papers. Feeling a sharp elbow nudge her side, she turned and Caccia murmured in her ear, "Our Listener and Mother's Keeper live in there."
Upon seeing her puzzled face Coccius himself then leaned in, "All in dear time, initiate," before he took off for the stairs, Caccia hot on his heels and giggling gleefully.
She rolled her eyes at antics of the young men before scampering after them. The stairs led to another room, much larger and almost like a cavern. Braziers lit the inside, clearing it of the dark feel of the dank air. A blacksmith's forge was in a niche to the left and training equipment just beyond the forge. Water splashed over slippery rocks and into a pool of clear water before another set of stairs rose to another area. Crossing the room, and up the stairs she went to the left and found herself in another room similar to the first but this one was filled with alchemy and enchanting components. Rustling and movement in her peripheral vision made her head snap towards a dark pit that a Frostbite spider inhabited. Hearing noise from the next room over she made her way over and stepped into a hall filled with chatter. All eyes turned to her, twenty-two eyes to be exact before a tall, fair woman of Nordic descent rose from the head of the table and made her way forwards to Virani. "What's your name, Elf?" she demanded and Virani stated, her coal black eyes glaring at her.
"I'll give you my name, if you give me yours, Nord."
The Nord disgustedly sneered at her, "The Night Mother has given me authority above yours, initiate. I will not let an arrogant, lowly snobby elf like you, demand things of me!"
Upon finishing her angry rant, she pulled a glittering ebony dagger from its' sheath on her side and advanced with the weapon drawn. Virani stood there and only when the women were nose to nose and the dagger poised to kill did a blur attack the woman from the side, the woman tumbling towards the ground and the dagger skidding across the floor to hearth across the room.
The blur, a man sat on the woman and began to wail, "No, no, no NO! Mother asked for her, HER!" he screamed gesturing wildly to her, "Pardon her, Mother asked for, don't disobey Mother, don't let her fall into silence!"
The man was kicked off and the woman got up, brushing past Virani and exiting the room hastily along with the rest of the people. The man, Imperial in both looks and stature, nimbly jumped up from his position on the floor and brushed himself off, all the while speaking to her.
"Apologies, hehe, for my wife's behavior, she's not used to having her authority questioned, good for her to be knocked down a peg or two." He then attempted a bow, swaying back and forth. "My name is Cicero, Keeper of the Night Mother, my wife, Astrid is in charge, the woman that you just angered so awful. Now, now…" he trailed off searching for her name.
"Virani," she added in helpfully.
"Now Virani,-." He was then cut off by the same woman who began to screech at him.
"By the name of Auri-El, who is the Night Mother, what is a Listener, and what kind of madhouse is this?" She screamed at the Imperial.
Cicero who had paled fiercely before mustering a timid reply out, "Th-the twins didn't tell you anything?"
"No," she stated, "so some answers would be nice."
Cicero grabbed her golden hand in his pale one and led her over to the table and handed her a bottle of mead that she began to sip lightly. "Answers in due time, but you must go and find my wife and apologize. As Listener, she deserves your utmost respect and it is best to stay on her good side as she is the second in command."
Just as Virani was going to interrupt, Cicero held up a finger and continued to speak. "She will probably be in the first room you entered and will give you further instructions, now go."
The Elf got up and made her way to the cavern, encountering nobody as she walked towards the first room. Up the stairs she plodded before entering the room where the woman, Astrid was stabbing steel into stone and a Dark Elf wrote furiously. She saw Virani, cleared her throat and fled the room and left the two women alone.
"What do you want?" Astrid snapped out at her, all the while continuing her work at the table.
Virani lowered her gaze and simply said, "My behavior was unacceptable. I was ill-informed of the people of authority in this organization and I did not-"
"Spare me a speech Virani, yes I do know your name, Gabriella, who was just with me informed me of that moments ago. Now that you know, you will be responsible for you tongue. Listen closely, go to the forge and get your equipment from Arnbjorn, outfit yourself in the dormitories, they are located above the dining hall, and return to the main cavern. Someone will be assigned to teach you our ways and upon my approval will you go through initiation and become one of us. Should you fail your initiation, we will kill you if you are not already dead. Now get out!"
Virani turned and all but sprinted out and down the stairs and turned left at the forge. Upon seeing no one she leaned against a pillar and began to wait.
"So you're the fresh meat? I heard about what you did to Astrid, that takes some guts."
She whipped around to be greeted by solid mass of flesh and she gazed upwards only in slightest to be greeted with a ruddy face. "So you'll need gear, rummage over in those chests. I have work to do and I'm not going to babysit you."
He pointed to a group of chests and Virani began to rummage through, pulling armor that would fit on her out of the chests and into another pile. As she did so she attempted conversation with him.
"So your Arnbjorn?" she asked.
"Here's all you need to know beef roast: I'm a werewolf. I like killing things I hate annoying people. And the color blue gives me a headache. Clear?"
"Crystal," Virani threw over her shoulder as she left to find the dormitories. She made her way back to the kitchens before ascending the wooden stairs. Just as she thought, beds were littered throughout the room.
Seeing her satchel on the bed nearest her she wandered over and went through her bag, making sure that all belongings were accounted for before she dumped it into the chest and secured the lock on it. She then glanced about making sure no one was near before beginning to tug off her garments. Long robes fell to floor and revealed marred, golden skin. Scars littered the entirety of the woman's body, the brand of the Thalmor just above her right breast. Her fingers then began to dance over her left arm where textured wire had been pushed into touch bone and wrapped around the entirety of the arm. The wire was then ripped out, the wire removing nerves, muscle and tissue. Hot wax was then poured into the downward spiral of her arm, filling the wound with white-hot pain and inky black wax. She was so entranced by her memories that she did not notice the time that had passed or the soft gasp that came from behind her.
Virani whipped around, seeing a Dunmer woman standing on the steps leading down to the kitchen. The woman continued to advance towards Virani, who at this time began to hastily tug on robes and armor alike. The Dunmer reached her and firmly grasped Virani by her arms. "A wolf in sheep's clothing, you would've been found out sooner or later, Erissare. It'll be my pleasure to kill you."
Fear shot down the captive woman and she said nothing, did nothing, merely remaining stony still. "Well, don't you want to know my name? Tsk, tsk, quiet are we? You won't be much longer, I'll let the Family know about you, then we'll hear you scream. My name is Gabriella, you'll be screaming it for mercy soon enough"
Just as Virani was to be frog marched down the stairs she wrenched herself free and forced Gabriella to the ground. A hand forced it's way over Gabriella's mouth and a knife to her throat. "Listen to me, are you listening to me?" Gabriella nodded shakily and Virani continued, " You did not see anything, and you will not say anything. I'm going to let you up now and you're going to tell me why you came up here."
Gabriella struggled to stand and Virani gave her a hand.
"I came to bring you to the Chapel, Astrid wants to present you to everyone properly."
Gabriella grasped the Altmer's arm and began to walk her away from the stairs and towards a door. They stepped out to a narrow, craggy hallway. Virani was pulled along past numerous doors, through some and eventually made her to the Chapel. Benches were lined against the wall facing towards an ancient coffin. Astrid stood on the right and Cicero besides his wife. Virani began down the short aisle before stopping at before the pair. Astrid opened her mouth and began to speak, "You have been selected as an initiate to join our Family. As an initiate, you are disposable and currently not of any value to us. If you pass your Trial, you will be be a part of us and of value. Know this. Every Dark Brother and Sister is a child of Sithis. He whom we call Sithis has many other names. Chaos. Doom. Discord. Sithis is the Void. We of the Dark Brotherhood serve the Night Mother, who is the bride of Sithis. The Night Mother rules her children with a terrible Black Hand. The Black Hand is the ruling body of the Dark Brotherhood. It is made up of one Listener and Four Speakers. Four fingers and a thumb, if you will. As a member of the Dark Brotherhood, you must abide by the Five Tenets. They are the laws that guide and protect us. They are this. Never dishonor the Night Mother. I am not of the highest authority, she is. I am her Listener, she speaks to me and I relay her words to our Family. She stands behind me. "
She gestured reverently to the coffin. "You are not allowed to touch the coffin. To dishonor our Mother is to invoke the Wrath of Sithis. The Wrath of Sithis is a spirit that will confront you in your sleep and only if you defeat it, will you be welcomed back within us. You have three chances before be exiled from us. If you cannot defeat the Spirit or you are exiled you have one day. One day before we will find you and kill you. Never betray the Dark Brotherhood or its secrets. To do so is to invoke the Wrath of Sithis. Never disobey or refuse to carry out an order from a Dark Brotherhood superior. To do so is to invoke the Wrath of Sithis. Never steal the possessions of a Dark Brother or Dark Sister. To do so is to invoke the Wrath of Sithis. Never kill a Dark Brother or Dark Sister. To do so is to invoke the Wrath of Sithis. Questions?"
"Only one, Listener. Who are my superiors?" Although the Altmer's voice was submissive and humble, her gaze remained steadily straight ahead.
"Everyone is currently above you but you will be equal if you pass your Trial. Only those above you will be myself, Cicero who keeps our Mother preserved, then, Gabriella and Nazir, who are two of our speakers. They arrange the contracts. Everyone dismissed."
People left the room in a flood but Virani hung back and lowered herself against the wall. All of this was so new, she didn't expect what she thought to be a group of murderers to have so much order and control. The thought of this order, this control outside of her grasp… frightened her. Thoughts kept swirling and as she was about to become dizzy from them a voice interrupted her musings.
"Are you coming to dinner?" An Argonian towered above her with a hand extended.
"Yes, I am. I just needed to,"
"To collect your thoughts?" he had finished her sentence midway through, "I'm Veezara."
"Virani," and she accepted his hand and began to stand. Some idle chatter went between them as they walked to the kitchen.