The Unmourned

Chapter 1 – A Dunmer in the Dark

A fire crackled in a stone enclosure against a wall. A young Imperial lad sat in a chair and poked at the flames, he was lost in his own mind. A small wooden table with some provisions to his right, and door that leads to a hallway. To his left the wall is bare, save a Tribunal banner. At his back is a bed, where a nameless Dunmer lay unconscious.

He ran through the dark, chased by the unknown. He screamed, but only he answered. He ran, but he was followed by him. Him, who stared through a golden mask.

The dunmer awoke with a start, gasping for his breath. He could not sit up straight, his body was sore and his head was pounding. The Imperial rushed to bed side, one hand on the hilt of his sheathed blade. From the dunmer's perspective the imperial was nearly six foot tall, shaven, and shoulder length dirty brown hair.

"Who are you?" The dunmer croaked. His voice was harsh and weary. He sounded as if his soul was a thousand years old.

The imperial lifted his hand off his hilt and responded, "Cocius Leonia. Do you know where you are?" His voice was soft and unassuming.

"I'm…..I…" His head shifted from side to side.

"Cocius!" A voice barked from beyond the door.

Sighing Cocius made his way to the door, "I'll be right back."

Cocius opened the door and stepped into the hallway. There he came face to face with his captain, Miles Entius. Entius was an aging, yet hardened Imperial solider. He was balding and bearded, sporting heavy metal armor.

"Has he awoken? Has he started talking yet? What has he said?" Entius fired off these questions rapidly, though he expected no real answers.

"Only just sir, he doesn't seem to know where his is," Cocius explained.

Entius sneered, "Why don't you have your weapon trained on him."

"Well you did call me out here..."

"Don't get snide with me boy, whatever he is dangerous."

"Whatever he is? He's just an elf, sir."

"Are you forgetting that he was dead when we found him? His corpse was ice cold in Edusal, but when I retrieved this," Entius flashes an amulet of the Sixth House in front of Cocius," he sprang to life and attacked me!"

"Are you forgetting that you bludgeoned him back to near death? And then we dragged his barely alive body through the sunlight."

"And?"

"He is not a vampire sir."

"Well then what the hell is he?!"

Cocius smirked and headed back towards the door, "He is someone who has been blessed by the gods."

Entius whispered back at him, "Like you Cocius? Blessed by your gods? Grey Wind."

Cocius cletched at Entius' armor and pushed him into wall. Cocius bared his teeth and pushed words through the gaps, "You will not use that against me, not after everything I've done for you, for the empire."

"And you will continue to serve me and your emperor until your service has been fulfilled. Now go, tend to your nameless dun…"

"Balam."

Cocius backed away from Entius, and they both stared this sight. The dunmer was standing in the door way, leaning against the frame.

"Balam Atherea."