Chaos was the Nerevarine, the Incarnate, the return of the ancient hero Nerevar. She had met the god-king Vivec, killed Dagoth Ur with less effort than she expected, and received Azura's star, which was now displayed on a shelf in her Hlaalu stronghold. She had loved, lost, lived, and nearly died countless times.
She was also one of the last remaining remnants of the Thieves Guild.
She was the ranking member of the Guild. She was also the only one who had survived the fall of the Camonna Tong. She knew it was up to her to reestablish the Thieves Guild, but she was so old, so tired…
Her eyes drifted shut as she remembered how it all began…
A young Bosmer walked into the cornerclub. "Hail, Blackcap!" cried most of the men and mers in the place. She gave a grand bow and a smirk in return. She was small, smaller even than most Bosmer, and pretty, with a strong but feminine build, black hair and big, expressive eyes that more than a few hapless mers had gotten lost in when she was working them for one thing or another.
"Do you know where Big Helende is?" Chaos asked the nearest Guild member.
"Ah, you just missed her. She left on a job just twenty minutes ago. She was headed for the docks. I think you may still catch her if you run."
She thanked him quickly and turned around. She left Dirty Muriel's and took a moment to orient herself. She then took off with surprising speed towards the docks, jumping occasionally because it was quicker than just running, and she needed to be working on jumping more. She jumped right over a Telvanni guard, laughing, and skidded to a stop in front of the docks. Big Helende was just getting on a boat.
"Wait! I've got that retort you needed!"
Big Helende looked up and smiled at her protégé. She asked the harbormaster if he would agree to wait for her a few minutes. He nodded and Big Helende got back off the boat and went to see Chaos.
"Chaos, my daughter, hello. You have the grandmaster's retort for me?"
"Yup." Chaos handed it over. "You better appreciate that, I had to kill a Corprus Stalker for that!"
"Well, then it's a good thing you've been working on your skill with a bow isn't it?"
"Yes, thank you. I love you too."
"Ah, but am I wrong?"
Chaos smiled and rolled her eyes. She looked back at Big Helende just in time to see her troubled look as she put away what appeared to be a letter. Immediately she became worried.
"Big Helende? What's wrong?"
"Nothing, my daughter. Nothing." She tried and failed to give the young Bosmer a carefree smile. "It's nothing."
"Or so you want me to believe. Big Helende, you can't lie to me. I know you too well." Big Helende sighed and gave up the pretense, sitting down heavily on a nearby rock. "Yes, you do." Somehow the letter had reappeared in her hands. "But I will not tell you," she said resolutely. "It's a burden you don't need right now."
"Well, if you won't tell me…" Quicker than Big Helende, even with her Altmer reflexes, could react, Chaos had ducked in, stolen the letter, and hopped out of reach. "I'll just find out myself." She shook the letter open and started reading. Big Helende jumped up and tried to snatch it away before she could finish, but Chaos was too quick for her mentor, who was getting on in years (even for an Altmer, a race known to live nearly a thousand years, barring dangerous lifestyles). Chaos' brow wrinkled as she read. She looked up when she reached the signature, worried.
"Big Helende? What does this mean?"