The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

Fanfiction

Disclaimer:

I do not own Skyrim or any of the NPCs, Quests or game dialog. The rest of the characters are mine. Enjoy and please review!

Right peeps! The promised Uvelaes Nilera POV for those who have been following For the Jester's Heart – complete with Uvelaes's insinuation that makes everyone sputter and blush in chapter 23. Unlike For the Jester's Heart (which is surprisingly clean despite the sometimes bloody bits), I've made a reference to sex here. Nothing major and perhaps not too obvious (I was watching Game of Thrones before I finished this so nothing is obvious after that), but still – if you're not 13+ (T-rating, peeps – not my call here) you probably shouldn't be reading this – or playing Skyrim, for that matter. Anyway, I'm done rambling on about uselessness right now – do enjoy this, and may the Night Mother wrap you in her cold, loving embrace, and may you walk always in the shadow of Sithis.

Welcome Home, Brother

Uvelaes Nilera couldn't believe his luck – couldn't believe that this was actually happening, despite how desperately he had hoped and dreamed for it. The Dunmer ran his hands over his face, moonlight washing over him from the still-open window of his room in Dead Man's Drink, Falkreath.

She had come to him in Dragon Bridge, this little, petite Nord girl with a voice cold and dark as an abyss, full of a power he had only heard among the most dedicated of Azura, Boethia and Mephala worshippers; those who had been blessed by seeing these daedra with their own eyes. This Nord girl had that same power, that same self-assurance that was dark and rich and cold, and when she had come the first night, he had known fear, despite her deceivingly slight build. She was quite beautiful, really… the way the dark leather she wore wrapped around her thighs, traveling up over her toned stomach and small breasts…. Uvelaes shook himself out of his thoughts before he got too carried away. He had always appreciated a beautiful woman, and he had no doubt this one would be exquisite underneath that bothersome hood and cowl. One thing he was sure of though – she definitely had blue eyes. He wasn't entirely sure how he knew, but he knew. Something about her was naggingly familiar, much like his betrothed and his mother had been all too familiar little more than two hundred years ago in Morrowind.

He couldn't really remember what had set him off, but he did remember that one day he simply couldn't take it anymore – the nagging, the whining, the demanding, the insisting…. So he had cracked and killed them both, summoning a dremora and a flame atronach and ordered them to kill his mother and betrothed. His father had walked in just as his spells reached their limit, and his summoned creatures faded back to Oblivion and Uvelaes had grabbed the nearest weapon – which happened to be a glass arrow – and stabbed it into his father's throat without thinking twice.

It had taken him little over two decades to decide how he felt about it, and finally decided he had enjoyed the kill. So Uvelaes did it again. And again, and again. Every time he talked his way out of jail time, insisting that he had been the one to try and help, or had just arrived on the scene if he couldn't get away fast enough. It was pitiful, really, how easily the guards believed every word he fed them. Uvelaes had never been one to shy away from work, either, so he took up traveling and left Morrowind, working and killing as he went, perfecting his craft as he went.

And then the Nord woman from the Dark Brotherhood had found him that first time, ordered him to kill and he found a new purpose, a new reason to go on as he had been. Why just kill for the pleasure and the thrill when you can also do it for money?

The little Breton at Four Skull Lookout had proven to be just the pleasure Uvelaes had been promised – after hunting in the dark for so long, a proper fight to taunt and tease his prey had been just what he needed to find himself again. Then he had traveled down to Falkreath somewhat by chance, and now, tonight, the Nord woman from several days before had returned as promised, perched on the drawers in his room as if she owned the place. He wondered at her silence, even to his naturally heightened senses, and how easily she recited the Tenets they lived by.

And then she had said the Sanctuary was just outside of this dead man's city…. Uvelaes looked out of the still-open window when a breeze stirred, swirling around him and pulling his midnight hair around his face. He grinned, thinking of the passcode he had been told to speak at the Black Door: Silence, my Brother.

Silence indeed, he thought, mulling over his options. Uvelaes finally decided that he'd leave after breakfast at dawn, and settled back onto his bed. There wasn't a chance in Oblivion he would sleep now, but leaving wasn't an option if he wanted to get out safely and keep those who wanted the Brotherhood to be ashes in the wind unaware of what was happening under their noses.

Uvelaes was dressed in dark clothes, his glass quiver of arrows tied onto his hip, and carried his bow in hand as he stalked through the Pine Forest. It was time to search for this Black Door to the west of Falkreath.

It took Uvelaes most of the morning to finally find a clearing where two horses grazed quietly, and just a little further down a deep pounding met his ears, much like an ancient heartbeat. He followed the sound to a massive, heavy stone door of red and black, ominously carved with large white skull, seemingly blessed with a red hand, under which was another white carving of a skeleton crumpled in the corner, four white skulls at its feet. It was this Door that pulsed and thundered with its own rhythm. He touched the Black Door, and stared at it in wonder when a dark voice rasped out a question: "What is the music of life?"
"Silence, my brother," Uvelaes said, mildly surprised by the calmness of his voice.
"Welcome home," the door hissed, sliding open a little. It responded easily to the Dunmer's touch, and once he was inside it shut with a soft boom.

Uvelaes Nilera grinned broadly: he really was home. Now he only needed to deal with this 'Astrid' woman. He raked his fingers through his hair at the sudden draft, a tattered tapestry fluttering wildly as Uvelaes made his way down the stairs and around the bend. He didn't get very far when a blonde, curvaceous woman in the same red and black armor as the slimmer Nord woman appeared from a side room and turned to stare at him. She drew a long black blade and sneered at him. "Who are you? Well, I suppose it doesn't matter either way – you'll be dead soon enough."
Uvelaes flashed his teeth at her. "You must be Astrid. The Listener said I might get some trouble from you. She also said that I should tell you that she sent me here."
He cocked his head to one side in interest as the woman's face darkened, and she seemed unable to speak in her fury. "ALLYSSSAAAA!" she screamed, her voice ricocheting off the stone walls. "Come," Astrid hissed and spun round to stride deeper into the Sanctuary. Uvelaes followed her calmly to a large cavern, one of the ancient dragon Word Walls everyone spoke of on the opposite end, a broad staircase to the left of it, and next to that was a stained glass window above a small waterfall and pool, and a narrower staircase next to that. To the right of the Wall was a side passage that rose to a deeper part of the Sanctuary, and closest to Uvelaes was another side area with training dummies, weapons as well as a forge and armory. Astrid called for Alysa again, and Uvelaes presumed this was the Nord woman who had found him in Dragon Bridge. He hoped so, and if she was, then she was the Listener, the true leader of this fallen Brotherhood. "Sithis help you if you don't come now! I will gut you and feed your bloody entrails to you if I have to come find you Alysa!" she shrieked again. Uvelaes rolled his eyes: he was really beginning to consider cutting Astrid's throat. A group of assassins came closer from deeper within; a young, slim woman with mouse brown hair and ice-blue eyes leading them, trying hard not to laugh as a merryman in black, red and gold motley pranced around her, the bells on his cap jingling as he tried to make her tell him why someone he called the 'pretender' was calling for them. An elderly Breton man scowled at the two, and a large Redguard clearly of Alik'r descent chuckled, hand on his scimitar as he looked on at the scene unfolding before him. The last and most cautious was another – but younger – Imperial, by the looks of it.
The jester had turned sour at the sight of Astrid, muttering something angrily to himself when the group came to a halt. Astrid prepared to fire up another insult, and a young girl's voice stopped her mid-word. "Shut up, girl! And respect your Listener's actions!"

Uvelaes turned to stare. A vampire… a vampire child… he realized, taking in the way she clamped a hand over her mouth, eyes wide in fear as she fled to somewhere else. Astrid was turning red with fury, while the young Nord woman in red and black robes looked on, mildly amused. Uvelaes flashed her a grin and appraised her form – the very form of the woman who had found him. "Ah, I remember you as the assassin who found me and brought me home. You really are quite exquisite without the hood and cowl, although the armor is much more flattering…."
Her eyes have her away – they seemed to get colder, and the jester stepped forwards, a hand on his dagger and his face a storm. "You speak to the Listener of the Dark Brotherhood! You should show respect towards the greatest of us all, new blood," he spat.
The Dunmer glanced between the two, taking in the arrogant tilt of her head. She was the Listener – there was no mistaking it now, or ever. He bowed slightly. "Forgive me; I had not meant to disrespect you, my Listener."
"Hm," she huffed, mildly unimpressed and the merryman visibly seemed to calm down. "Astrid, meet our newest member, Uvelaes Nilera. Uvelaes, meet Astrid, the current… leader… of our Sanctuary," she struggled with calling Astrid their leader… Uvelaes could see why – he'd have cut her throat or led a coup d'état a long time ago. He looked the older Nord woman over, ignoring her glares.
"So you just happened upon a new brother, then, Alysa?" Astrid asked stiffly.
Alysa flashed a smug smile. "You could say that, I suppose – though I doubt that would please the Night Mother. I'm sure our brother would like to get settled in somewhere – Aventus can show you around," she gestured at the shocked young Imperial who stepped forwards immediately. Astrid stormed off like a spoiled little child, and the Listener beamed at the jester. They are definitely lovers, Uvelaes concluded, watching as the merryman wrapped his arms around her and spun her in tight circles, both laughing while he sang praises to Sithis, the Night Mother and all other things associated with assassins, and they disappeared up the broad flight of stairs.
"It's a pleasure to meet you," Uvelaes said to the remaining group, to which the young Imperial grinned, the elderly Breton scowled and grumbled about young pups and ignorance, and promptly hobbled away. Uvelaes grinned at the elder's back. "When you live through your first real contract, it'll be a pleasure to have met you," the Redguard chuckled.
Uvelaes laughed. "Yes, I suppose that's true."
"I am Nazir," he rumbled, and left the Dunmer and the Imperial boy.
"So you are Aventus."
"Aventus Aretino," he nodded, his brown hair falling into his eyes. "I was the newest until you arrived."
Uvelaes nodded slowly. "Do show me around, I'd like to see the place in all its glory."
Aventus grinned "I'll show you around the way the Listener showed me."

The elderly Breton named Festus Krex was the mage of the group, and while he kept many of his arcane secrets to himself, he seemed pleased to know a second mage had made his way into the Dark Brotherhood. Nazir had turned out to be a worthy debating partner, and Aventus was simply naive. Uvelaes learnt that the (very insane) jester's name was Cicero, and the Keeper of the Night Mother, matron of the Dark Brotherhood. Alysa had recently been chosen as the new Listener in over one hundred years, and that wasn't sitting very well with some members of the Family. Uvelaes was told about the vampire child Babette, as well as a fortune-teller by the name Gabriella, and finally Astrid and her husband Arnbjorn the werewolf. Festus had left in search of the vampire child for information about certain herbal properties, and Aventus was the one to mention the Argonian Veezara, last of the elite order of Shadowscales, when Alysa and Cicero arrived.
They walked close together, grinning at each other like the love-struck fools they were. They were the only ones who weren't still prodding the Dunmer for information.

It was then that a beautiful sight came to Uvelaes – the one his new siblings called Gabriella. "My my, what an honor to see such a glorious kinswoman in this cold place – it warms my heart to meet you, Gab–"
"Yes, yes; you're the new one Alysa brought in that's going to cause Astrid to lose sleep," she droned dismissively.
Uvelaes blinked in surprise. "You are quite the gifted fortune-teller, Gabriella. Perhaps I can let you in on a future I have seen…."
"Ha! The only future you've seen is your death by target!" Nazir snorted, leaning back into his chair.
Uvelaes let the comment slide, focusing instead on Gabriella. He supposed he didn't really need to have her, but it would certainly be something they could both benefit from.
"Your charms don't work on me, kinsman."
"Ah, but yours certainly work on me. In the name of all things dark and unholy, tell me what is it you like, Gabriella," Uvelaes asked, leaning towards her when she sat down at the table between Nazir and Uvelaes. She glanced at him, a coy smile threatening to come out of hiding. "I would guess you are a woman of refined yet simple tastes, Gabriella," Uvelaes continued from his slight opening.
"Well, I will admit to that, Uvelaes. I rather enjoy moonlit nights and long walks on the beach…."
"I can imagine the perfect night would be a stroll along the coast on full moons. I doubt they would show themselves, though, for shame that they cannot shine as bright as you."
Nazir snorted harshly. "I can think of something else that would shine…" his hand dropped to the hilt of his scimitar.
Uvelaes glanced past Gabriella at Nazir. "Only for a great master from Hammerfell's Alik'r Desert, such as yourself," he flashed his teeth, appreciating the quiet laughter around the table when he glanced around. Especially from Gabriella, and Aventus. The boy was staring at the Dunmer male as though he was star-struck by Uvelaes's display. He winked at the younger Imperial. "And I'd never say no to such a fair youth…" the group chortled again, making Aventus blush a deeper crimson and hide his face deep in his tankard of ale. Uvelaes had always wondered what it would be like to take a male lover…. This young Imperial was certainly one he would consider for the position. Uvelaes smiled at Gabriella. "And what else, my Kinswoman? Surely there is so much more to you…. I know it as surely as you know the future."
"Yes; I quite like unicorns and knitting – in fact, one moonlit night I was strolling along the beach on the Gold Coast when I chanced upon a unicorn. I proceeded to stab it with a crochet needle," she giggled.
"I can think of another kind of needle you'd enjoy working with…" Uvelaes trailed, and was pleased to see her smirk coyly at him, while the rest of the group sputtered and giggled nervously as they caught his double meaning. "Is that so?" Gabriella asked, her red eyes shining. "And I suppose you're going to tell me it's a one-of-a-kind needle, with all sorts of special enchantments that will give me a night to remember?"
"Of course this needle of mine can do all of that and more – you need only grasp it," Uvelaes flashed a disarming smile at his fellow Dunmer.
"I'm beginning to think I would rather enjoy working this… 'needle'… as well…" Gabriella grinned, her red eyes shining.

Apparently that was the last straw for Nazir, because he abruptly left, grumbling about food as his excuse. Uvelaes suspected he and the Dunmer fortune-teller were reasonably close. Well, it's not my problem, he thought smugly. Conversation settled to a more casual theme afterward, with lighter flirtation from Gabriella on occasion. He'd find out about contracts from Nazir in the morning.

Dinner was embellished with the vampire child, Babette, and the wizard Festus Krex, and their argument over what was more effective in which situations – magic, or potions. Uvelaes was about to add his opinion, when an Argonian stumbled in.

He looked as if he had been sitting in a saddle for the past week without having ever ridden before, riding all day and as hard as he could go, and gratefully sank into a backed chair when Babette placed a plate of food in front of him. The Listener probed into his state of well-being immediately, Uvelaes noticed, and once she was satisfied he was alright, she gave in to demands to regale her latest assassination – Vittoria Vici on her wedding day at Solitude.
Uvelaes was awestruck by this young Nord woman's skills – to assassinate the Emperor's cousin and escape unsuspected was a feat Uvelaes currently could only hope he had one day; neverminding that the Argonian Shadowscale had helped distract the guards.

The atmosphere was a little tense and exhausting, though, and Uvelaes retired early with everyone else. The bed he and Aventus had found with some extensive searching was old, and with a lot of effort they had managed to half-carry, half-drag the old frame into the sleeping quarters. It certainly wasn't very stable, and Uvelaes was sure he would be riddled with fleas or some other by the time he made himself comfortable. So it came as a pleasant surprise when the beautiful young Imperial boy flopped down on it and the frame crumpled in on itself and he ended up on the floor. A bedroll will do for now, Uvelaes decided, sniggering with the Imperial. Some maneuvering later and the bed was at least out of the way for a little while, and the Dunmer unrolled his bedroll, settling comfortably on the stone floor.

He closed his eyes and smiled: not only was he happy for the first time in a long time, but the Dunmer Uvelaes Nilera was finally home, right where he belonged.