"Cicero showed me a book, Mother. A couple, actually. About you and the Brotherhood. I…I wanted to know if you could tell me the truth. Your story...If you don't mind."

xXxXxXxXx

Family is an important part of the Dark Brotherhood. It makes up who we are, what we stand for, and what we believe in. It is a refuge for those with no one, offering a sanctuary for those who need companionship, friendship….Or love.

This is by design, my dear Listener.

You must know that I write this down, fully aware that anyone could read this. I suspect that our Brotherhood has made powerful enemies, by the time I reveal this story to you. But…I believe that this must be known, written down and recorded, and so I take that chance.

Sithis has not given me any sort of power with which to tell the future, my dear. No Elder Scroll graces my lap, no seer whispers in my ear, no magic weaves a pattern before me. I do not know whether you are male or female, whether you are young or old, whether you are Argonian or Altmer. I do not know whether you are a hero of great stature, a product of noble birth or of unremarkable blood.

What I do know is that you are remarkable, for it is you that can hear my voice, and only you.

And I know that I love you, my….our, as Sithis reminds me, child.

Out of all of the Listeners that have heard my voice, only you have asked about our history. It is because of that that I have directed you towards where this lies. Where the story of the Brotherhood, where my own story, is hidden.

So we will start at the very beginning, but perhaps not at the beginning you believe.

See, there are beginnings before birth.

xXxXxXxXx

You know loneliness, my Listener. How can you not have? The life of an assassin is quiet, always born of something agonizing and sorrowful. But do not ever think you know loneliness in the way your father does.

He was forced into a battle with his only brother. After, Sithis was sent to the Void.

The Void is his realm. It's his Paradise, and his Oblivion. For the longest time, my Listener, he was alone. Expelled from direct contact with the planes he had helped create, he had nothing.

Can you imagine that? Such all-consuming loneliness? Mortals would have gone insane-but Sithis was not allowed that mercy. Insanity is not for those that came before the Aedra, you see?

That is where the devotion to sending souls to the Void comes in. Each soul that enters helps Sithis, alleviates the crippling loneliness that haunts him. One day, my dear, you will enter the Void. You'll meet your other siblings, other Contracts, and of course your father-he is not a cold deity. He cares for all of you.

He hasn't told me why he chose me, and I doubt he ever will, my Listener. I assume it was the same way I chose you-It is Sithis that gives me the power to find someone open to the Void. I must have been more open to the Void than most others.

He told me that there is a place filled with innumerable sparks, each a soul destined for one of the planes. At the moment of my conception, when my spark began to travel to Nirn, he touched it.

Now, that isn't an altogether unusual thing to do. The Aedra do it, and those they touch become priests or followers, devotees and heroes destined to work in their favor. The Daedra occasionally do it as well, but for the fathers of those great entities to do so? It was rare. In Sithis' case, unheard of.

It doesn't necessarily mean that soul will follow the path that is willed for them, my dear. Rest assured you finding family and home in the Brotherhood is entirely of your own will. The greater powers that influence Mundus cannot force you into a destiny you do not wish to be woven for you. It is we, the mortals, that force each other into imaginary roles we believe we have no choice but to follow-prophecies are our own creations.

When this event occurs, however, it leaves a physical mark on the soul's body.

And that is why I was abandoned as a newborn.

xXxXxXxXx

"...Cheydinhal."

Quiet descended on the Brotherhood at once. Nazir froze at the cooking pot, Babette looked up from her book, and the two Initiates-Rava Black-Oak and Matew Intav-gaped. That didn't surprise her. Cicero's reaction, however, did. He didn't abruptly stop, or turn to look at her like the others had. He went absolutely still, and absolutely quiet, his back to her.

"What's in Cheydinhal?" Nazir asked finally, cautiously breaking the silence. Nora shifted her weight from foot to foot before answering.

"Documents. Important documents that the Night Mother left….a long time ago. She wants me to go retrieve them."

"After the Penitus Oculatus razed the Sanctuary to the ground? You really think papers are going to be left after that?! And what in Sithis' name makes you think they've lasted since the Second Era?" Nazir demanded. His unease was shared by all of those at the table-Nora couldn't blame them. They'd sought a Listener for so long and had finally found one, at the expense of most of their organization. For her to walk into what had to be a closely monitored trap….

"Yes. These books-or book, I'm not sure how many there are-cannot fall into the Oculatus's hands." She said firmly, shoving away her own doubts.

"What would be so important that Mother would send you into Cyrodiil, Listener?" Cicero's voice was quiet-softer than any of them had ever heard it-with no hint of his usual madness. The Jester turned to face her, eyes hard and face grave. He appeared terrible-a thousand times more frightening than he had been when she had fallen from the Night Mother's coffin, when he had believed her to have committed sacrilege.

"Mother…when she was alive…she wrote what had happened during her life, the story of the very beginning of the Brotherhood, down. And then she hid it. If the Oculatus were to get ahold of it…They would know everything about us, everything about the Night Mother, our Sanctuaries-even about Sithis. They would finish what they stared in Falkreath, if they got their hands on this book." She felt almost breathless when she had finished. She left the talking up to Nazir most of the time, after all.

Cicero was clenching his fist repeatedly, staring at her as if he could bore a hole through her. She didn't know whether to stare back or to ignore it, so her gaze flickered between his unrelenting gaze and Rava, who was by far the least opposed to the trip, judging by the fact she was eating now and ignoring the tense air.

"Cicero will go with you." He finally said. Nazir looked at him, shocked.

"You? You've barely left the Sanctuary since we arrived! And it's been what, eight years since you last went out on a Contract? What in Sithis' name makes you think you would be able to keep Nora safe-"

"Enough, Nazir." Babette's voice silenced the Redguard.

"Cicero is the only one with working knowledge of the Empire's homeland or of the Sanctuaries outside of Skyrim. It has to be him. And Nora isn't a child. She's assassinated the emperor-she's slain the World-Eater! She can handle herself." Rava was now staring at Babette with no small degree of awe evident in her eyes. Nora couldn't blame her. Babette didn't like socializing much and spent very little time with anyone in the Brotherhood save Nazir.

"The Unchild is right." Cicero murmured.

"While we're gone…we might just pay the Oculatus a visit anyway." Nora added light-heartedly. Mat smirked. Glad at least one Dark sibling was on her side, she headed to her chambers. She could feel Cicero following her, but neither of them said anything until she was within the room, lifting the lid of a chest.

"What's wrong, Cicero?"

"….Cicero does not…approve of this." His voice was as cold and hard as it had been before-a shiver ran down her spine. She dropped the lid and turned to face him.

"Why?" She whispered, stepping forward. He stared at her for a long moment. When he spoke, his voice was jagged and rough, unsteady like a blade in the hands of one who had never before killed.

"The Oculatus are demons, Listener, and Cicero left them behind when he fled with Mother. But he left other demons behind too."