I've decided that I'll be putting my main focus on this story along with Mira's Secret Notebook and one other story for now, as I really enjoy writing Magicka and Ether Collide. But, as MEC is going to be about 10k words per chapter, it will likely take the majority of my writing time.
This is an updated version of chapter one; the way it was supposed to be.
For those of you who like in depth descriptions of a character, I'm sorry, but you won't be getting that from me. I'll give you a bit more description of the main character than I normally would, as he is an original character, but don't expect to get everything all at once.
On the same note, I won't be telling you everything the main character can do this chapter. You'll find out bits and pieces of his abilities, personality, and ideals as the story progresses.
Fair warning, this story may seem a bit slow at the beginning considering Fairy Tail won't be interacting with the Dragonborn just yet, as I want to set up his place in the FT universe before the fateful meeting of the two sides.
Anyway, on with the fic!
All Encompassing Story Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail or The Elder Scrolls.
Magicka and Ether Collide
A Whole New World
Wars are fought over it. Lives lost and families ripped apart just for the chance to possess some of it. The thing that drives people mad with lust, and the thing that has the potential to destroy that which makes us who we are: Power.
This thing that makes the world go round can be gained through a great many ways, some of the more common being birthright, wealth, and strength. All three of which generally play a part in creating the most powerful individuals, those who rule the kingdoms. As a part of the search for power, many would scour the continents in search of objects with great capabilities; artifacts from ages past. Powerful objects can be either a blessing to the living, or the things that tear peace asunder. The latter being the more common case, as it is right now.
As Ancano was channeling the power of the Eye of Magnus, the Arch-mage and the Dovahkiin tried in desperation to stop him. For one, they had no idea what the power of the Eye would even do. On top of that, they couldn't allow something of such great power to fall into the hands of the Thalmor; the Altmer already had too strong a hold on the Empire as it stood.
However, their attempts were in vain, as Ancano had already caused a destabilization in the Eye, its power beginning to surge and crackle throughout the room.
"Arch-Mage Aren, we should get out of here!" the Dovahkiin said, grabbing the older mage by his robes.
"Go, friend. I must stay and do what I can to quell this disturbance," the Arch-mage said, pushing the Dovahkiin towards the door.
"No, come with-"
However, before the Dragonborn could continue, he was blinded by the Eye's illumination. The light from the explosion of magicka erupting from the Eye was the last thing the Dragonborn remembered as his mind wandered an endless plane of darkness. Minutes, hours, days had passed, but he couldn't tell for sure just how long his mind had been surging through nothingness. Then he felt himself shaking. It started off soft, but began to get faster and faster. As he felt his mind begin to clear up, he came out of the nothingness and into a haze. Realizing the shaking for what it was, the Dragonborn's eyes shot open, followed by large gasps for breath.
"Are you alright?" he heard someone ask.
Looking to his side, he saw a young brunette with vivid green eyes, no older than seven. She was kneeling next to him with her hand on his shoulder. As he looked at her, the girl jumped back, an almost fearful expression on her face. Behind her was another girl with the same features, maybe five years of age, standing with her hands behind her back, her eyes darting from the ground, to him, then back to the ground. It was clear she was either nervous or shy; or both.
"Yes, I'm fine," he said, sitting up and rubbing his throbbing head. Feeling his mask, Nahkriin, on his face, the Dragonborn took it off, placing it by his side. "Damn, what the hell happened?" he said, pulling his Nightingale Hood down and once again rubbing his head as he continued to look around. As his hands passed over his messy black hair, he noticed how sweaty he was. His gaze fell on the little girls once again, and he noticed the older girl's expression lighten a bit.
He began to think that perhaps his mask and hood were a bit intimidating for them. Then again, his armor and clothing choices tended to be on the darker side, so he couldn't blame a child for being fearful around him.
Looking around a bit more, he saw that he was now in what appeared to be a desert; he figured that's probably why he was overheating at the moment. Who knows how long he had been laying out in the scorching sun with all of his armor on.
Maybe twenty yards behind him was the entrance to a small village, whose architecture he had never seen before. Wondering for a brief moment if he was in Hammerfell, he shook his head and removed the weapons he had strapped to his armor, placing them neatly next to his mask. Taking off his ebony gauntlets, he rubbed his wrists for a moment, trying to ease their soreness. He then took off his Ebony Mail chest piece and leggings along with his Deadric boots, being left in his sweaty gray shirt and black pants.
"Ah, that's better; that heat was unbearable," the Dragonborn sighed in relief as he began to stretch out a bit. As he began to rub his sore feet, he remembered he was in the company of others.
"What's your name, little one?" he asked as he returned his attention to the older of the two children.
The taller girl hesitated for a moment before replying, "Miika...What about you?"
"Andistyr."
"It's nice to meet you, Mr. Andistyr," she said in a timid tone.
He chuckled before grabbing his mask and one of his swords. Standing up, he offered his hand to the young girl. "It's nice to meet you too, Miika."
Miika's expression began to brighten even more at this point, a large smile starting to form on her face as she shook Andistyr's hand. "This is my sister, Koko," she said, motioning toward the smaller girl behind her.
"Koko, it's nice to meet you as well."
The younger of the two girls averted her gaze and grabbed on to her sister's sleeve.
"Sorry about that, she doesn't like meeting new people," Miika said with a sad smile, patting her little sister on the head.
Before he could respond to her, Andistyr heard someone call him from nearby, "Dovahkiin!"
Turning to the voice, he saw Tolfdir, one of his closest friends and teachers from the College of Winterhold, walking his way.
"Tolfdir!"
"What happened, Dovahkiin?" the older mage asked as he came closer to Andistyr and the two girls.
"I'm not sure. All I know is that Aven and I couldn't stop Ancano," he said while clenching his fists. "The Altmer bastard was casting a spell at the Eye and it started to become unstable. The last thing I remember was Aven pushing me toward the door and the Eye starting to release a massive amount of Magicka. Then everything went dark and I found myself here."
Tolfdir nodded after contemplating what the Dragonborn had said. "Interesting. The same thing happened to me. A white light was all I could see before my mind was overcome with darkness." Looking around a bit more, he scratched his old cheek. "It would appear we aren't in Skyrim anymore."
Andistyr chuckled at this. "Yes, I would agree. I was thinking the Eye might have somehow transported us to Hammerfell, but this architecture is strange," he said, motioning to the small village behind him. "Also, the only people I've seen are these two girls, but they appear to be Imperial. If we were on the border of High Rock or on the southern coast I wouldn't think anything of it, but this is the middle of the desert. Almost no race but the Redguard would reside in a place like this."
Before he could continue with his conversation, the Dragonborn felt a tug on his sleeve. "Mr. Andistyr, what are you talking about?" Miika asked in a timid tone again, probably due to Tolfdir's presence.
"Ah, I'm sorry Miika," he said, putting a gentle hand on the girl's head. "This is Tolfdir, a very good friend of mine. Tolfdir, this is Miika, and this is Koko," he said, motioning to each girl respectively.
The elderly mage smiled at the two girls. "It's a pleasure to meet the two of you."
At this, Miika's expression brightened a bit once again. "Thank you Mr. Tolfdir. It's nice to meet you too," she said with a small smile. However, she soon adopted a confused expression and looked up to the Dragonborn. "What's Hammerfell?"
"I guess we really aren't in Hamerfell after all," Andistyr sighed while looking at the young girl. "Hammerfell is a province on the continent of Tamriel."
"Tamriel? I've never heard of a place with that name," Miika said, her confused expression growing even more prominent.
Andistyr and Tolfdir shared a look before turning back to the girl. "Where is this place, Miika?" Tolfdir asked.
"This is Hasume Village in the Forgotten Desert," she replied, her confusion growing even further.
"Forgotten Desert?"
"Yeah. In Fiore," she said. Upon seeing no recognition in the two older men's faces, she continued, "Fiore, on the continent of Ishgar."
"Miika, what do you call this world?" Andistyr asked in a quiet tone.
"...Earthland. Is something wrong, Mr. Andistyr?" the young girl said as she began to feel a bit uneasy.
The Dragonborn and Tolfdir's expressions darkened in an instant. "You have got to be kidding me..." Andistyr said in a dark, angry tone. "You have got to be fucking kidding me!"
Miika and Koko backed away at this point, feeling a bit scared of Andistyr's sudden anger. "Did...Did I do something wrong, Mr. Andistyr?" Miika asked as her eyes began to water up and a worried frown made its way to her young face.
Upon seeing the girl's teary eyed expression, the Dragonborn calmed down in an instant and knelt down next to the two. "No. Not at all Miika. I'm sorry, I just..."
"We are from a world called Nirn, little one. We were just surprised that we are even farther from home than we had thought," Tolfdir said after noticing the Dragonborn trail off.
"Yes. I'm sorry for getting mad, Miika," Andistyr said, putting a hand on her head. "It's just, I had something really important to do there. Now, it appears I wont be able to do that."
Tolfdir squeezed the Dragonborn's shoulder and said in a reassuring tone, "This wasn't your fault, Dovahkiin. There was nothing you could have done against the ancient magic of the Eye of Magnus."
After a moment, Andistyr nodded and stood up. Though on the inside, he was still upset that he could no longer finish what he had started back in Skyrim. Not wanting to scare the little girls again, he tried to put on the best smile he could while looking down at the two. However, he noticed Miika adopted a more grim expression as she seemed to remember something. "Um, Mr. Andistyr, do you know him?" she said, pointing to somewhere off in the distance.
Quirking a brow, Andistyr turned to where the girl was indicating and his heart sank, a pit forming in his stomach. "Oh no..." he whispered. Running as fast as he could, he stopped when he arrived at his dear friend Arch-mage Aren's mutilated corpse. He knelt down by the body, once again dropping his mask and sword. "Savos..." he said in a scratchy voice, tears beginning to form in his eyes. After a few moments Tolfdir, not being able to run very well in his old age, made it to the Dragonborn's side and knelt down, tears starting to cascade down his face.
"My old friend..." the elderly mage whispered as he reached out to touch the dead Arch-mage. However, before either of them could do anything else, their mourning was interrupted.
"There you are! Get over here. The boss ain't happy with you two, you little bitches!"
Turning to the loud voice, the Dragonborn looked through his teary eyes just in time to see a rather large man smack Miika and Koko on the head; four other men of equal size standing around them. Even from where he was, he could see the look of pure dread on the girls' faces, along with tears beginning to stream down their cheeks.
His emotions already in a mess, Andistyr's anger came to a boil as he grabbed his sword and stood up. Putting his mask back on, he began to stalk over to the group of men. "What the hell are you doing!?"
"Huh? Who the hell is this weirdo?" one of the men asked, taking in the visage of Andistyr in an eerie mask walking up to them. After a few moments the man started making his way towards the Dragonborn. The aggressor brought his fist up, ready to strike, but he never got the chance. Andistyr struck him in the chest with such force the man was pushed back a few yards and fell to his back, unconscious.
"What the hell?" one of the men said as he moved to attack the Dragonborn, followed by two of his companions.
"Get away from them..." Andistyr said in a low voice, his tone oozing hints of malice.
"Or what?" one of the men chuckled, unsheathing a sword and rushing the Dragonborn. Andistyr caught the blade with his hand, surprising the assailant, and rammed his free fist into the man's throat, causing him to splutter and gasp for air.
"Close your eyes, little ones."
Miika, still trembling with fear, glanced at the Dragonborn one last time before pulling Koko into her chest and covering the younger girl's eyes. Shutting her own eyes as hard as she could, she fell to her knees and held her little sister close.
Andistyr tossed the man's sword aside and brought his hand to the hilt of his own weapon, an Ebony Sword of the highest quality. He unsheathed the blade and, before the other man could even react, drove it deep into his chest. As the Dragonborn withdrew the blade from its target, his opponent fell to the ground in a dead heap, blood pooling from the punctured area into the sand below.
Upon seeing their comrade felled with such ease, the other men backed off a bit, fear beginning to worm its way into their hearts. "I said get away from them..." Andistyr seethed once again, the malice in his tone more prominent than before.
The leader of the group flinched, but it didn't seem like he was going anywhere. His subordinates, on the other hand, grabbed the man Andistyr had knocked out, turned on their heels and began running as fast as they could back into the small village. "You'll regret this!" the head man said as he also turned to run, not wanting to face off against the girls' defender by himself.
Pulling his mask off, he walked up to the children and put a gentle hand on their heads. "It's okay now, Miika. Koko."
Miika cringed out of fear, but upon hearing who's voice it was, opened her eyes and looked up to the man standing over her. She glanced at the bleeding corpse of the man her savior had just slain, her eyes widening in shock.
"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have let you see that," Andistyr said, moving to block the child's view from the horrors of mortal combat.
Miika's eyes began to tear up once again as she stood onto shaky feet, helping her sister up as well. When she looked up into the eyes of the man before her, the tears fell unbidden down her face. To his surprise, she lunged at him, squeezing him in a tight embrace. "Thank you..." she said in an unsteady voice.
This was followed in an instant by Koko joining her sister and clinging on to the Dragonborn as tightly as she could. "Thank you..." she spoke in a quiet voice for the first time between her sobs. Andistyr wasn't used to behavior like this, so he just wrapped his arms around the two girls in a gentle, comforting hug. After about a minute or so, Miika had calmed down a bit and released the Dragonborn from her vice-like grip, but still held onto his sweaty shirt. At this point, Tolfdir had made his way over to them with a saddened expression still on his face.
"Who were they?" the elderly mage questioned.
Wiping a few stray tears from her face, the older of the two girls looked up at the Dragonborn and Tolfdir. "They're part of a magic guild from the village. They make all the orphaned kids do work for them, and they beat us if we mess up or do something they don't like. Sometimes they do it just because they can. They don't even feed us..." she said in a dismal tone, her eyes losing a bit of their luster. Feeling his anger once again rise at such treatment towards mere children, he felt his fists beginning to clench.
"Where is this guild?" Andistyr asked through gritted teeth.
"See that tall building? That's where their guildhall is," she said, pointing to the tallest building in the small village. Making a mental note for later, Andistyr took a few deep breaths to calm himself. It wasn't easy to make the Dragonborn angry, but when it came to innocent children, or any innocent party for that matter, his fury was quick to make an appearance.
Turning from the guildhall back to the girls, he frowned. "You two are orphans?"
Now that he thought about it, though, the dirt and grime on their faces along with their tattered clothes should have been a dead giveaway.
"Yes. I don't even remember my parents. As far as I know, I've just been living in the streets with other orphans."
"Me too," Koko said in a quiet tone, letting go of the Dragonborn and looking at the ground.
"You two aren't blood related? If Koko was a little older you could be twins."
Miika shook her head. "Nope. The guild in this town bought Koko from another guild last year. I've been watching out for her since then, because those guild mages don't take care of us," she said through gritted teeth as tears once again started flowing down her face.
"Slavery..." Andistyr said in a pained tone. Although it was outlawed back in Skyrim, slavery was prevalent in some of the other provinces; especially Morrowind.
Miika shook her head once again. "Not really. Some of the guilds in the area do sell kids to one another, but we aren't really slaves. We have to do what we're told, but other than that we can do what we want," she finished in a sad tone, hugging her sister.
"Why doesn't anyone stop them?" he asked, not understanding how such behavior could be tolerated. After all, the small village looked rather well built, so there should be at least some form of governance, right?
Miika looked to her sister, then back to the Dragonborn. "The guild threatens all the people in the village. If someone goes for help, the guild hurts their families; so no one can do anything about it," she said, once again wiping the tears away from her face, trying to be strong in front of her little sister.
As he looked from Miika to Koko, who was still crying and looking at the ground while holding on to her big sister's sleeve, he noticed how small and weak the two girls really were. "When was the last time you ate?"
Miika, surprised by the question, looked up at him with wide eyes. No one had ever asked her that before. "Um, Koko had a slice of bread two days ago. I'm not really sure when the last time I ate was..."
Andistyr looked at the two girls with an incredulous expression before glancing at Tolfdir. Two days without eating for someone Koko's age was horrendous. What's worse, Miika not even remembering the last time she ate probably means that she hadn't eaten in at least a week. Fighting the urge to let tears spill down his face at the cruelty bestowed upon these two innocent children, he knelt down and looked into Miika's eyes with a guilty expression. "I need to bury my friend, but after that, I'd like to treat you two to a nice hot meal. I'm sorry for being so selfish," he said, looking down in shame.
Miika's eyes lit up in an instant at his offer. She gave him a fierce nod, along with a blinding smile that he swore melted his almost frozen heart. She once again jumped at him, squeezing the much larger man as hard as she could. After a moment, she backed off and looked up to him with saddened eyes. "I'm-I'm sorry about your friend."
How could someone be so vile to such a happy, sweet little girl. Andistyr gave a small, sad smile at her warm nature before he turned to look at the corpse of his good friend Savos Aren, a pained expression making its way to his face. "I'm sorry, too."
..
...
..
After a short ceremony, the Dragonborn lingered by the makeshift gravestone for a few moments. He knelt down and placed a hand on it as he said, "Rest well, my friend."
Picking up the surprisingly undamaged Archmage's robes they had taken off of Aven's corpse in preparation for burial, he stood up and handed them to Tolfdir. The older mage just shook his head. "No. You should keep them. He was much closer to you. You were almost like a son to him, so I know he would want you to hold on to them."
"Tolfdir. You are much wiser than me and you've been studying magic far longer. Even though we're no longer at the College, someone worthy should have these robes, and you are the only person I see fit to wear them."
"Dovahkiin, I can't accept them. You should be-"
"Andistyr. Call me Andistyr from now on Tolfdir. We've been friends far too long for you to still be calling me Dovahkiin," the Dragonborn said with a smile. "And please, take these robes. For me."
Tolfdir offered his own smile before letting out a tired sigh. Reaching out, he took hold of the robes and ran his hand along the high quality material. "If you insist... Andistyr."
Taking a deep breath, the Dragonborn turned to the two young girls standing a short distance away. Walking up to them with the best smile he could muster, he noted their morose demeanor. The girls offered their own weak smile as they walked up to him and gave him a warm hug. "I'm sorry, Mr. Andistyr..." Miika said in a whisper. Koko didn't say anything, but nodded in agreement with her older sister.
"Thank you. But, don't worry girls. He lived a long and fulfilling life. Though I wish he didn't leave the world of the living the way he did, I know he would want all of his friends to smile and continue on with life," he said as he patted both of them on the head. On the inside, though, he was still having a difficult time coming to terms with what had happened. One of his closest friends was dead, and he had no one to take out his grief on.
Or did he? As a thought popped into his head, he glanced to the village and saw the guild building Miika had been talking about. Andistyr just thought of the perfect relief for the pain he was feeling.
However, before he could do that, he needed to make good on his words from earlier. "Well then. Miika, Koko, shall we get something to eat?"
Both of them beamed at his words, but he couldn't help but notice that there was still some lingering sadness in their eyes. He had to wonder why these two would feel this strongly towards him; someone they had just met not even two hours ago.
"That would be amazing, Mr. Andistyr," Miika said with a small bounce as she clasper her hands together in front of her chest.
"Miika, just call me Andistyr. You too, Koko," he said with a warm smile as he started walking towards his armor and the rest of his weapons.
"Okay, Andistyr," Miika said with a noticeable shyness in her voice and facial expression.
Koko just looked up to him for a moment and nodded before looking to the ground again. After a moment, she reached up and held onto his sleeve as they continued to walk.
From behind them, Tolfdir wondered just how much pain they must have been through to latch onto someone so quickly after helping them just once. As a soft smile formed on his face, he started making his way after them.
After Andistyr finished putting his armor on and strapping his weapons to their rightful places, it had only taken a few minutes to arrive at the center of the small village. Miika had told them that only two restaurants were still open because of the local mages guild. From what she told them, the Dragonborn seemed to arrive at the conclusion that this guild was forcing the townspeople to pay 'protection money'. Those who owned a business were worse off, because they had to pay protection for themselves, and their business. Hence, most businesses didn't last very long under the guild's rules.
Choosing the restaurant that was closer, Andistyr started walking up to its doors. Noticing that the two girls weren't following Tolfdir and himself, he adopted a confused expression.
"What's wrong?"
Miika looked to the ground and fidgeted while Koko held onto her. "Maybe this wasn't such a good idea..."
Raising an eyebrow, he walked up to them and knelt down. "What are you saying, Miika. Come get something to eat. Akatosh knows you two could use some meat on your bones," he said as he smiled and gently pinched Miika's cheek.
The little girl blushed slightly in embarrassment, but shook her head. "It's not that we don't want to, but..."
"The guild might be in there," Koko said almost in a whisper to finish her older sisters sentence.
"I hope they are," Andistyr said with a chilling grin plastered on his face. The two girls stared wide eyed at him.
"But they-"
"Miika. Koko. Lets go," the Dragonborn said, not leaving any room for discussion.
The girls looked to one another before they hesitantly followed Andistyr back to Tolfdir and the doors of the restaurant. Tolfdir was the first to enter, taking a few steps into the small building. Andistyr followed right behind him and came to his side.
"H-Hello. Just the two of you?" said a thin woman in her mid twenties. She had a smile on her face, but the Dragonborn could tell it was forced. Her eyes were screaming of fear and depression. Taking a quick scan of the rest of the room, he saw a few other employees with the same expression, as well as some of the customers. In the center of the restaurant, though, was a large group of men sitting at a few tables. They were laughing while cursing up a storm and throwing insults at each other. Andistyr couldn't help but think that their gruff appearance reminded him of the five men who had surrounded Miika and Koko a few hours ago.
"Dovahkiin, take off that forsaken mask. You're frightening her," Tolfdir said in a chastising tone.
"Ah," the Dragonborn said before reaching for his mask and pulling it off along with his Nightingale hood. "Sorry about that, Miss. Sometimes I forget I'm even wearing the thing," he chuckled.
"Oh, it's not a problem," she said, a bit calmer. Both Tolfdir and Andistyr shared a look, noticing that she was still quite fearful, and that look of depression was still set deep in her eyes.
"Just the two of you?" she asked again.
"No, there are four of us," Andistyr said as he moved to show the woman the two young girls holding on to each other behind him. The Dragonborn noticed that they seemed even more frightened than they were outside, so he assumed that he was right. Those guys in the center of the restaurant are a part of the village's guild.
"Oh, I'm sorry, Sir. Those two can't come in," the woman said in a low, pained, and almost terrified tone as she glanced behind her to the group of guild mages.
Quirking a brow and clenching his fists, Andistyr said, "And why is that, exactly?"
She looked at him in a pleading way, as if asking him to please drop the subject before anyone notices. "Th-They're orphans. They aren't allowed to eat here."
Now clenching his jaw as well, he spoke, trying his hardest to remain calm towards the woman, as she seemed to be trying to hide the girls from the view of the guild members. "I'm treating them to dinner. Is there a problem with that?"
The woman started to shake slightly as she heard a few chairs scrape along the floor. Looking to the noise, Andistyr noticed a number of guild mages stand up and stare at the two young girls behind him with a scowl on their faces.
"You bitches! Where the hell have you been!?" one of them said as he started walking towards them. "The boss is gonna have your heads for what happened!"
Then he stopped as a man with red hair grabbed his shoulder. "Who are you?" the red head asked with a pointed look towards Andistyr.
"My name is-"
"This is the Dovahkiin," Tolfdir said, interrupting the Dragonborn. Andistyr gave the older mage a quick glance before returning his attention to the men in front of him.
"Were you the one who killed our guildmate?" the red haired man asked with a calm voice. However, the disgusting look in his eyes betrayed his tone. All of these 'guild' members had the same eyes.
"Yes," is all Andistyr said before the man lunged forward, pushing the young woman to the ground as he readied a fist to connect with the Dragonborn's skull.
Andistyr just grabbed the man's face, stopping him on the spot. The man was flailing with an enraged look in his eyes, but the Dragonborn's reach was longer, preventing the man from making any contact.
Turning his eyes to the other guild mages in the room, he saw them tense up a bit at his deathly calm visage. Throwing the man in his hand on the ground with a decent amount of force, the red haired man hit his head with a loud thunk, and stayed down in an unconscious state.
A few of the guild mages drew their weapons, while others seemed to start charging themselves with some form of energy. However, Andistyr noted, this magic felt quite different compared to his own. Deciding not to worry about that for the moment, he withdrew his Ebony Sword and started stalking forward towards the men.
All of them flinched at the menacing sight of a man clad in black armor, with a sword blacker than the darkest night sky, making his way towards them; a look of hatred and disgust on his face. All of the other customers and employees cowered in the corners of the restaurant as the Dragonborn continued towards his targets; his menacing presence bringing fear to all of them.
"So you're the guys who have been making Miika and Koko's lives miserable," he said through gritted teeth, his face becoming twisted with disdain.
"W-What?" one of them stuttered, "They're just orphans, who even cares about-"
The man was cut off by a feeling of pain in his chest. With a look of confusion, he glanced down only to see a sword piercing him, right below his heart. Looking up, he saw the Dragonborn staring coldly at his first victim.
"I care..." he seethed as he pulled his sword out of the man's chest, followed by the sound of a corpse hitting the ground. Everyone stared at him in shock, with the exception of Tolfdir. The old mage had seen the Dragonborn's speed up close many times, after all.
"Tolfdir, take Miika and Koko outside," he said in a warm tone as he smiled at the two girls. "I should have asked you before this even started. I'm sorry you had to see that again, Miika. Koko."
Tolfdir nodded and ushered the girls out of the restaurant to hide them from the scene of utter carnage that was likely to follow.
Turning from the door, Andistyr's warm look turned to a glare as he set his eyes on the dumbfounded guild mages in front of him. "Now then, shall we continue," he said more than asked.
As a few of the men shook themselves out of their stupor, they clenched their fists and charged him. "You piece of shit! You're a dead man!"
"No. I'm going to eradicate your entire guild," Andistyr said in a voice so calm, it was chilling for everyone in the room.
The woman who had greeted the Dragonborn stared at him with wide eyes as she sat on the floor, not having gotten up after being shoved aside. She watched as he moved in an almost elegant manner between the attacks of the guild mages, slashing and stabbing each man that made an attempt on him. The calm and composed look on his face made it look like he wasn't even trying. As scream after scream met her ears and as body after body hit the floor in a lifeless heap, her eyes never once left the sight of the man in black armor.
Only a man with no heart could kill people like this. Only a man who couldn't feel guilt or sadness could do what this man was doing. Only someone who enjoyed and thrived off of killing could be causing the slaughter she was witnessing. Fear wasn't the word she would use to describe what she was feeling right now. She was feeling utter dread and horror at a level she couldn't even comprehend.
As the Dragonborn approached his last victim, he raised his sword in the air and looked at the cowering man for a moment. "I hope the Dreamsleeve is kind to you, that you would be reincarnated as a good man in your next life," he said with an emotionless tone as he brought his sword down, the sound of fresh blood splattering on the ground was followed by the thunk of a body hitting the floor.
He closed his eyes as he started to take a few deep breathes. Just then, with the lack of fighting sounds, Miika had burst into the restaurant and ran to the Dragonborn.
As he was turning to the pitter-patter of small feet hitting the wooden floor, he found himself on his back as Miika had lunged and jumped onto him, causing him to loose his footing at the unexpected action.
"Miika, you shouldn't be here!" he said in a worried tone. He looked at the door and saw Tolfdir and a crying Koko enter the restaurant. The old mage had a frown on his face as he covered the youngest girl's eyes with his hand, his other hand holding onto her shoulder.
"I don't care!" Miika screamed as she held onto his neck as tightly as she could with tears falling from her eyes. "I was just so afraid! I don't want you to get hurt..." she said, her voice turning into a soft whimper towards the end as her tears started soaking his neck.
As he sat up, bringing Miika along with him to now be hanging from his neck, the Dragonborn saw Koko squirm out of Tolfdir's hold and run to him. The quiet girl's tearful expression caused a pain in his heart as she wrapped herself around him as best she could. It didn't seem to matter that he was wearing armor; Koko just held on as if her life depended on it. "Andistyr..." she whispered in between her sobs, only loud enough for Miika and himself to hear.
The Dragonborn would be lying if he said he wasn't surprised by the girls' actions and words. Again he had to wonder, how could these two sweet little girls have been treated in such a way. Also, what surprised him even more was the fact that they seemed to be so deeply attached to him so soon after meeting him.
He pried Koko off of him, much to the youngest girl's disapproval, before bringing her to his front, right beside Miika. He put a gentle, warm hand on both of their cheeks, wiping away a few tears. He then cupped the back of their heads and brought them forward, their heads now on either side of his own as he embraced them. "I'm sorry, Miika. Koko." The two girls hugged his neck as tears continued to stream down their cheeks.
The woman who had greeted them upon first entering was still wide eyed, but now for a different reason. She knew Miika and Koko quite well. After all, she fed the two and the other orphans behind the restaurant whenever she had food to spare, which unfortunately wasn't all that often. How could these two little sweethearts care so much for a man who was so cold and ruthless? How could a man like him be so warm and compassionate with the two girls?
As she looked at the heartwarming scene in front of her, she saw how genuine the man's smile was as he held the two girls in his arms. Through the girls' tears, she saw how attached they were to him, and how worried they were during his fighting. As she continued wondering how this was possible, she felt someone grab her throat and pull her to her feet.
"That's enough!"
Everyone turned to look at the red haired man, who Andistyr had knocked out earlier, grasping the woman and holding a knife to her throat. The Dragonborn gently removed the two girls from his embrace and stood up.
"You killed all my friends!" the man shouted as his knife started to draw blood from the woman's neck. "I'll kill this bitch because of you!"
"What does she have to do with this?" Andistyr said in a serious tone.
"Nothing at all!" the man said with a twisted smirk on his face, "I'm pissed, so I'm just gonna kill the bitch!"
"Miika. Koko. Close your eyes," Andistyr said in a warm tone. The two girls did so without a second thought, hugging each other while squeezing their eyes shut.
However, before anything could happen, the woman stomped down on the assailant's foot as hard as she could, causing him to hunch over in pain, releasing her from his grasp. Even though she was still terrified of the man who had killed all of the guild mages moments ago, she found herself running toward the Dragonborn as if on instinct. But, before she reached him, she felt something warm dripping down her lower back and stomach. Confused, she looked down to see the tip of a knife sticking through her abdomen.
"ANNA!" a loud scream filled the room.
At this point, a middle aged woman ran from behind the bar of the restaurant over to the woman who had just been stabbed. "Anna! No, no, no!"
The now named Anna looked to the man with black armor standing in front of her, tears beginning to fall down her cheeks. She looked at the man who was as cold and ruthless as they come, but also had a very warm and compassionate side. Her eyes were shining with a pleading look; a look that said, 'Please, save me.'
She fell to her knees and held her stomach as the warm liquid seeped through her fingers. Behind her was an enraged looking red haired mage who was now staring at Andistyr with a look that could only be described as utterly psychotic.
"FUCKING BITCH DESERVED IT!" he shouted, rushing at the Dragonborn with what appeared to be a fist encased in this world's strange form of magic.
"YOU'RE DEAD! YOU'RE ALL FUCKING DEAD!" the red head shouted out in rage.
In the background, Andistyr could hear some of the normal customers and employees either crying or begging for their lives. The red haired man opened his mouth again, probably to chant the name of whatever magic attack he was about to use. After all, the other guild mages who had tried to use magic on the Dragonborn had done the same thing.
However, before the chant could even leave the man's mouth, a sword found itself firmly placed in his neck. As Andistyr withdrew his sword, the man dropped to his knees and stared at the Dragonborn with eyes that seemed to be confused and terrified. The entire restaurant was dead silent except for the sound of blood gurgling in the dying man's throat. After a few seconds, he collapsed to the floor, blood pooling around his head.
Andistyr turned on his heels to the woman who had been stabbed and laid her on the ground.
"What are you doing!? Get away from her!" the middle aged woman said, but was held back by Tolfdir.
"Please, Ma'am. Let him help her," the old mage said. At this, the woman seemed to calm down quite a bit at the prospect of Anna being saved.
Anna's vision was beginning to fade in and out. All she could see was the man in black armor standing over her with a calm, yet guilty look on his face. She wondered for a moment what would make him feel any guilt, seeing as he showed none when he was slaughtering the guild mages. She couldn't hear anything, but after a few seconds, she could see a bright light and felt a warmth she had never experienced before overtake her senses. The last thing she saw before her vision faded to darkness was the sight of the merciless man with dark armor hovering over her.
"What did you do to her?" the older woman said as she rushed to Anna's side. Although the look on her face made it seem as if she were completely out of sync with reality at the moment.
"What have you done!" someone yelled out.
Turning to the voice, Andistyr noticed a middle aged man cower upon being stared at by the man who had just singlehandedly killed roughly twenty of the local guild's mages.
"I healed her," the Dragonborn said with an almost confused expression on his face.
Everyone in the room stared at him in surprise. Very few people in all of Earthland knew healing magic, so why did this ruthless killer?
"I-I'm not talking about that. Do you know what will happen to this town when the rest of the guild finds out? All the men will be dead by the morning. I don't even want to think of what's going to happen to the women and children!" the man said with extreme worry on his face.
Andistyr just cocked his head to the side as he looked at the man. "Huh? Didn't you hear me earlier? I'll be annihilating the whole guild," he said in a calm tone, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
This caused everyone's jaws to drop a bit. "No. There's no way you can do that. You might be strong, but all the strongest members are at the guild right now, including the guild master!" someone else said.
"So what? They hurt Miika and Koko, so they need to be punished," the Dragonborn said as he turned to the two girls. "Can you two stay with Tolfdir for a bit?" he asked with a warm smile.
"We want to go with you," Miika mumbled with Koko nodding in agreement.
Andistyr's smile widened. "And I want you to come too, but it'll be dangerous. Please? Can you stay with Tolfdir?"
Miika looked between the Dragonborn and the old mage standing next to him. She nodded and brought Koko into a hug. Andistyr gave them both a gentle pat on the head before he turned to his old friend.
"Tolfdir, I'll be back in a bit," was the last thing he said before making his way out of the restaurant.
Watching the only person other than Koko who had ever truly made her happy walk away, Miika couldn't help but feel terrified that he may not come back to her. That he may abandon Koko and herself and leave them to continue fending for themselves. After the hope Andistyr seemed to give them, it was earth-shattering to think that she may never see him again.
"Mr. Tolfdir?" she said, tugging on the old man's shirt to get his attention.
"Yes, Miika?"
"Will he come back for us?"
Tolfdir gave her a sad smile before kneeling down in front of her and Koko. How it pained him to see such a sad face on such a warm child. He reached out and wiped a tear off the child's face. "Of course he will, little one. He's the Dovahkiin, after all," he chuckled, knowing the two girls had no idea what that meant.
Miika blinked a few times and felt her cheek. She hadn't even realized that she had begun crying. Turning to her sister, she noticed that Koko's cheeks were also quite wet. Pulling her little sister closer, she whispered, "Don't worry, Koko. You heard Tolfdir, right? He won't leave us behind..." Her tears then began to run faster down her young face.
Although Tolfdir didn't want to interrupt the tender moment between the two sisters, he felt that they shouldn't remain standing in the middle of a rather large number of corpses. They are children, after all. Seeing a staircase, he started to look around the room at all of the individuals. Some were still cowering, but most of them had gotten back to their feet. Anna was still lying on the ground, unconscious. Luckily she would live, thanks to the Dragonborn's quick healing session. The middle aged woman was still with Anna, tears freely falling from her face to the floor.
"Who is the owner of this establishment?" the old mage questioned to no one in particular.
"I-I am," the woman hovering over Anna said in a quiet tone, not even looking up to the man. Now that Tolfdir had time to reflect, he noted that she looked rather similar to Anna, though quite a bit older.
"Are you her mother?"
At this point, the woman looked up. "Yes..."
Tolfdir smiled. "I know how difficult it is to see a loved one harmed in front of you. But you don't need to worry any longer. The Dovahkiin healed her, so she'll be fine. She just needs rest because of how much blood she lost."
It would appear that the woman had tuned Andistyr out when he had mentioned healing Anna, as she seemed to be completely surprised. "She's going to be okay!?"
Tolfdir chuckled, "Of course." Though, after mulling it over, he figured he should have kept his chuckle to himself. It's not the time for laughter when this woman was so distraught over her daughter's safety.
"I know you're still quite rattled, but if you don't mind, what is up those stairs?"
"Huh? Oh, that's the upper level of the restaurant. There's just a small eating area and some bedrooms. This used to be an inn, but since no one really visits the village anymore, I haven't rented out a room in quite some time."
"After this guild came along?" Tolfdir questioned, trying to get more information on the village's situation.
"Well, yes and no. The guild used to be friendly and the village was quite prosperous for how small it was. But, when the current guild master took over, it all changed. He kicked out anyone he thought was weak, and started taking in really shady people. He tore down the orphanage and started using the kids as free labor," the woman said through gritted teeth.
"We tried to get a message to the council, but every time someone went, they ended up being killed by the guild, and their families brutally beaten. After a while, we just stopped..."
Taking a mental note to ask about this 'Council' later, Tolfdir nodded. "That seems to match up with what little Miika here told us earlier," he said, giving the little girl a pat on the head, rewarding him with a small smile. "I'm sorry for being so blunt, especially after my friend caused such a mess," he said, motioning to all of the bodies lying on the floor. "But would you mind if I take these two girls upstairs? I'd prefer them not to be around such a...violent scene."
Taking a second to take in the request, the woman eagerly nodded. "Yes, of course. Let me unlock it for you," she said before looking back at Anna once again.
"I can carry her upstairs if you want. After all, this doesn't seem like the proper place for a young woman to rest."
The woman contemplated his suggestion for a moment before nodding. "That would be perfect. If you could bring her to one of the bedrooms upstairs, I would appreciate it."
As Tolfdir picked Anna up, he was glad he was a Nord, otherwise this might be difficult in his old age. The older woman couldn't help but be somewhat relieved. Even though this group had caused such a mess for her. Even though her daughter was almost killed because of them. And even though the guild was probably going to go on a rampage because of them. She couldn't help but feel relieved that they were here. A small smile made its way to her face as she began walking to the stairs.
"Mary! Are you serious? Look at how much trouble these people have caused!" someone said.
The older woman, or Mary, turned to the one who spoke. "Did you see the way that armored man looked at these two girls?" she asked, pointing to Miika and Koko.
"Mary?" the person said in confusion.
"There was nothing but care and warmth in his eyes. Plus, he saved my daughter without even being asked. They are welcome here," she said, getting serious towards the end. This seemed to quiet everyone in an instant.
Amused by the apparent sway this Mary had over the other villagers, he motioned for Miika and Koko to follow him. "Come girls. We'll go upstairs until the Dovahkiin returns."
As the group climbed the stairs, Mary unlocked the door and pushed it open. As all of them entered the dark room, Mary flipped some sort of switch and the entire room was instantly illuminated with a bright light. In awe, Tolfdir looked around, wondering what energy powered these lights, making yet another mental note to ask about this once the Dragonborn returned.
There were only three tables in the small room meant for eating. Besides that, this upstairs level of the restaurant had four doors towards the back of the room, likely the bedrooms Mary had mentioned earlier. Mary walked up to one of the doors and opened it, motioning for Tolfdir to follow. The owner of the restaurant flipped another switch, and the bedroom was filled with light. Tolfdir entered and placed the young woman he was carrying onto the bed.
As Tolfdir and Mary exited the room, the owner left the door open so she could keep an eye on her daughter. "You can take a seat wherever you'd like," she said as she sat down at the table closest to Anna's room.
Tolfdir smiled as he took a seat at Mary's table, motioning for Miika and Koko to join him. "You said you don't rent out rooms anymore, but that room looked to be rather clean."
"Ah, well Anna and I stay here now, since we had to sell our home to the guild," she said with downcast eyes. "We couldn't afford to pay the guild their 'protection money' on ourselves, the house, and the restaurant, so we sold it to them... They didn't even give us a tenth of what the place was worth," she said through gritted teeth.
"They make you pay for your houses too? I'm sorry to hear that," the old mage said, not really sure what else he could say.
Mary sighed. "Yes. Quite a few people had to sell their homes. Many families moved in together so they could afford to have a roof over their heads," she said, glancing at her daughter for a moment to make sure she was okay. "I do hope your friend can do what he said. Dovahkiin, was it?"
"Yes. And I can guarantee that this 'guild' will never cause your village trouble again."
Mary offered a hollow chuckle, "I've been praying for something like that to happen for years now. To be honest, most of us want to leave the village after all the torment we've suffered. None more than the orphans," she said, looking at the two girls with a pained expression. "But, the guild doesn't allow anyone to leave..."
Tolfdir put a hand on her shoulder and sighed. "Well, when the Dovahkiin sets his mind to something, it isn't often that it doesn't come to fruition. I should know..." he said with a bit of annoyance toward the end.
All of a sudden, a loud bang was heard reverberating throughout the city. "Oh no! That's the guild master's magic!" Mary said as she shot up from her seat.
"Calm down Mary. Like I said, the Dovahkiin won't lose to someone of that caliber."
Mary wanted to believe the old mage, but she just couldn't seem to get rid of the worry she was feeling.
Another loud bang was heard and this time it was Koko to act up. She jumped in fright and clung to her sister's arm, shutting her eyes as tight as she could. Miika started caressing the younger girl's hair in an attempt to calm her down. "It's okay, Koko. He'll be back in no time!" Miika said, trying her best to be optimistic for her little sister. But, Tolfdir could tell from just a glance; Miika was terrified as well.
After about ten minutes of silence, the group upstairs heard a collection of gasps from the floor below. After some muffled words, they heard footsteps coming up the stairs. Tolfdir remained as he was, but the other three seemed to be on edge. Especially the two young girls.
As the door creaked open, in came a blood soaked man in black armor and a mask that could scare the hair off a cat.
"Andistyr!" Both Miika and Koko said in unison as they ran towards the man. He pulled his mask off and knelt down, meeting the two girls for a hug.
"I'm back," he announced while picking the two up and walking to the table Tolfdir was sitting at. He was about to place the girls down when their grip tightened. He ended up just smiling and taking a seat, the two girls situated on his lap for the time being.
"How'd it go?" Tolfdir asked.
"Fine. I had actually been wondering why no one came for us after I killed that first guy outside of the village. The guild master was rambling for awhile, but he ended up saying that he thought it'd be interesting to let us wander the village for awhile. Mistake on his part, I'd say."
Tolfdir chuckled, "Not that it would have mattered."
The Dragonborn just nodded as he looked to the young woman resting in a nearby room. "She's still not awake?"
Tolfdir shook his head. "No. She did lose quite a bit of blood, after all. And not everyone is as resilient as you," the old mage said with a bit of sarcasm towards the end.
Andistyr just rolled his eyes before looking to the middle aged woman also sitting at the table.
"M-My name is Mary. Anna is my daughter, so...Thank you so much for helping her" she said with a bow.
"Mary, it's nice to meet you. My name is Andistyr," he said with a smile.
"Adnistyr? The girls called you that, but Tolfdir said you were the Dovahkiin," she said in confusion.
"Yes. Why is that?" the Dragonborn said, looking to his friend for answers. He distinctly remembered asking the old mage to call him Andistyr from now on.
Tolfdir sighed, "I simply wanted to keep your real name a secret for the time being. That way if you get into trouble with the violence you tend to attract, you can use your real name when you go out in casual clothing."
With a bit of irritation evident on his face, Andistyr sighed, "Ignoring the part about me attracting violence, I suppose it's a rather good idea. Mary," he said, looking towards the woman beside him. "I would appreciate it if you didn't tell anyone my real name."
Mary nodded vigorously. "Of course. For the man who took down that terrible guild-" she paused for a moment in realization before lunging towards him and embracing him in a big hug.
"Thank you! Thank you so much!" she yelled as tears started to cascade down her face. "I've...I've waited so long for this!" she said in between sobs.
"It's not a problem, Mary. Like I said, those guys hurt Miika and Koko, so I had to do something about it. Besides, they were just a bunch of thugs, so I was happy to help."
After a minute, Mary removed herself from the Dragonbron and sat back in her chair, wiping a few stray tears from her face. She looked to Andistyr and the two girls sitting snuggly in his lap with a smile on her face before he spoke up.
"Mary, I know it's quite late, but I was wondering if I would be able to order some food."
"Of course, that's not a problem at all!" Mary said without any hesitation. In an instant, she rushed downstairs. The Dragonborn and Tolfdir could hear muffled yells from the lower floor as they looked to each other.
"But, I didn't even order anything yet," Andistyr said, a bit perplexed.
When Mary hadn't returned after a few minutes, Andistyr decided to remove his weapons and armor so he could be a bit more comfortable.
Now in his casual gray shirt and black pants once again, the Dragonborn sighed as the two girls climbed back into his lap.
"That's better. That armor gets hot after a while, even when I'm not in the sun."
"I'm glad you're okay, Andistyr..." Miika said in a quiet tone with her head nuzzled against his chest. Koko nodded, her head on the other side of his chest. Tolfdir simply smiled at the site of the two girls in the Dragonborn's lap.
"I'm glad I'm okay too," he chuckled.
A few minutes later, they heard a number of footsteps coming up the stairs. As the door opened, they were all surprised to see a huge number of plates being carried towards their table. As Mary and a few of the people who had been downstairs almost completely covered the table with plates of food, Andistyr looked at her with a confused expression. But, before he could speak, Mary stated, "For the man who liberated our little village, you and your friends can eat as much as you want. And I won't be taking any form of payment, so just accept it," she said, crossing her arms.
Andistyr sighed, but he couldn't help but smile at the woman's kind gesture. "I've never been one to refuse a free meal. Thank you, Mary. Thank you so much. But, I doubt we'll finish all of this; it's quite a lot of food."
Mary just shook her head. "No, Dovahkiin. Thank you. And don't worry about it. Now that the cursed guild is gone, I can freely give this to the orphans without worrying about any repercussions." And with that, the rest of the people made their way back down the stairs to the first level of the restaurant, while Mary took a seat.
Leaning in to see the two girls, Andistyr noticed their almost unbelieving expressions as they stared at all the food in front of them. "Dig in girls, this is for you," he said as he patted their heads. Still sitting on his lap, both girls started to dig in, having never even seen most of these dishes before. All of a sudden, Andistyr stiffened, feeling bad for what he was about to do. "Miika, you need to eat slowly. I know you're hungry and you want to eat all of this yummy food, but if you eat too fast, you could get sick since you haven't eaten in so long," he said with a sad expression.
When Miika looked up to him with puppy dog eyes, he almost broke. But, he couldn't allow her to fall ill from something like this. "Please, Miika. Trust me."
After a moment, Miika nodded. "Of course I trust you, Andistyr!" she said as she once again dug into the food in front of her. This time, though, at a much slower pace. As he watched her, he was just grateful she wasn't suffering from severe starvation, otherwise he would have to make her eat only small amounts of food, lest she die from refeeding syndrome.
As they finished up, the girls sat in his lap, both with content smiles on their faces. "That was amazing, Andistyr!" Miika announced.
The Dragonborn chuckled, "Don't thank me, thank Mary. She's the one who prepared everything for you."
"Thank you, Mary!" Miika said with a smile.
"Thank you," Koko said, quite a bit more timidly than her sister.
As the Dragonborn set the two girls on the ground he stood up and stretched. "Tolfdir, we need to start thinking about what to do," he said.
The older mage nodded. "Indeed."
Miika, noticing that the two may be talking about going back to the 'Nirn' place they had mentioned earlier in the day, started to feel a sense of dread. She didn't want them to leave her and her sister. She wanted to spend as much time with them as she could. She wanted to sit on Andistyr's lap all the time, and talk about whatever was on her mind. She wanted to be able to hug him when she was sad. She wanted to stay with him...
"Andistyr, where will you go?" Miika asked, a gloomy yet somehow hopeful expression on her young face, Koko clinging to her sleeve with the same expression.
"I don't know. Tolfdir, what do you think?" he said with a small smirk as he turned to question the wise mage.
Tolfdir, seeing the looks on the two girls' faces, just shook his head, gaining a small smile. "I think we should stay in this village for now. After all, we don't know anything about this world. We should stay in one place until we learn enough to travel out and seek information that might help us return to Nirn."
His smirk turning into a wide smile, the Dragonborn glanced down at the girls and patted their heads. "You heard the man. It looks like I'm sticking around for a bit."
Almost in an instant Andistyr grew worried as he saw tears begin to stream down the girls' faces. However, their expressions seemed to contradict the tears. With the brightest smiles he had ever seen on their faces, the thought of them ever having a gloomy expression seemed like a distant memory. Both girls lunged forward and clung to him as tightly as they could, their tears of joy not showing sings of letting up any time soon. "I'm so happy..." Miika croaked into his side.
"Well, it looks like they're more attached to you than I originally thought," Mary said as she wiped a tear off her face from watching the heartwarming moment.
After hearing of the cruelty these two had to go through in their short lives, Andistyr couldn't believe that they could still show such a brilliantly bright smile to someone. The warmth and happiness the girls were showing him made the Dragonborn feel something he didn't think he'd ever feel again. A warmth was beginning to grow in his chest. He didn't want to see them unhappy and he didn't want to see them in pain. And he wouldn't. Never again would he allow their well-being to be jeopardized. Never again.
And that's chapter one for you; hope you enjoyed it.
It did turn out quite a bit longer than I had anticipated, but I'm fine with that. There's still so much I want to add to the story, so don't worry about me running out of content.
I know I left a few obscure facts left undefined, such as the Dreamsleeve. Just know, I'll get to that stuff next chapter.
For all of you nitpickers out there, Andistyr's ebony gauntlets are only armored on the top of his hands. The bottoms are only covered by a thin fabric, so he can indeed put a gentle hand on the girls' heads without taking off his gauntlets. Also, I know refeeding syndrome is a relatively modern term, but whatever. Andistyr's fucking smart, so it doesn't matter!
In the beginning author's notes, I mentioned that I'll be making this one of my priorities. However, don't expect a new chapter every day from me. I'll only post a chapter when I think it's ready. I won't quickly write one then post it as soon as I hit save, so don't expect that from me. It could be weeks between updates; just know I'm trying to offer you the best quality writing I'm capable of.
With that said, if you notice any spelling or grammar errors please let me know so I can fix them (I'd prefer a PM if you do let me know about a mistake).
Until next time!
-Mystiirious