Hey all! If you're currently reading my Star Fox piece, I guess this is as good a time as any to tell you all that I am putting that production on hold right now, reason being I need to do a serious revamp of both the prologue and the main story itself. Sorry if you were looking forward to it! For now, just enjoy my little story "Skylar: Hero of Morrowind!"
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Morrowind: An Adventure Begins
He awoke to a gentle swaying motion, like he was a newborn baby being cradled in a mother's arms. How he had gotten there, he couldn't remember, only that he had a paper due in two hours and had instead spent the night playing video games on his piece of shit computer. He was just really starting to stir when someone spoke to him, "Wake up."
He responded by somehow leaping several feet into the air from lying position and screaming, "HOLY CRAP! Who's there!" He looked to see a rather shocking looking man with a likewise shocked expression. The man who spoke was like nothing he had ever seen before: dark, ashen skin; a single piercing red eye; a scar running down the right side of his face, blinding the eye so that it was a dull brick red in comparison to the left one; and pointed ears. He was only able to stare at the strange man.
"W-we're here," the man continued. "Why are you shaking?" He had not realized it at first, but he had been shaking ever since he had woken up, before he had seen the strange, dark-skinned man. "Are you ok?" He was not sure. Suddenly, the memory of a dream came back to him, a beautiful voice echoing throughout, saying: "They have taken you to the Imperial City's Prison, first by carriage, and now by boat. To the east, to Morrowind. Fear not, for I am watchful. You have been chosen." He nodded, still reeling from all that was happening.
"Wake up!" the man said again, reaching down and grabbing him by the arm, pulling up. "Stand up. There you go." He dipped his head in a gesture of thanks, as his voice had yet to return. "You were dreaming."
"Thanks for the update, Captain Obvious," he thought to himself as he came to his feet.
"What's your name?" the man finally asked.
"Skylar," he said weakly, his voice still struggling to come out. "Yours?"
"Jiub," the man replied. "Well, not even last night's storm could wake you." There was a storm? "I heard them say we've reached Morrowind." Where? "I'm sure they'll let us go!"
"Hold on, hold on, hold on," Skylar said, holding up his hands in front of him. "What do you mean, 'I'm sure they'll let us go'? Who is 'they?' And where is 'Morrowind?'"
"You really don't know?" Jiub asked with disbelief. "Well basically—quiet! Here comes the guard." Guard!
A thankfully human guard came was walking towards the two of them. Skylar had not noticed that he was on the lower deck of a ship until now. He had started to speak when the guard cut him off, not even paying attention to the odd dark-skinned Jiub, "This is where you get off." What the fuck! "Come with me." I'd really rather not. All internal dirty humor aside, Skylar followed the guard as he walked back towards the ladder leading to the next level of the ship, and quietly thanked Jiub for all he had done, though it wasn't really all that much.
The guard that had come to get Skylar wasn't much for conversation, and neither was the ship's attractive captain, which she made clear before he could even say anything. Going up above deck, Skylar had to shield his eyes from the early morning sun. As his vision became clearer he beheld a majestic… swamp. But what really caught his eye was what appeared to be a giant flea. "Holy shit!" he yelled, almost falling back below deck. "What the hell is that thing?" Another guard, this one black, merely shook his head, mumbling something about outlanders before directing Skylar toward the docks where another guard was waiting.
As Skylar walked up the dock towards what was apparently some sort of census office, the guard stopped him with the words, "You've finally arrived, but our records don't show from where."
"Your records?" Skylar remarked coldly. "You kidnap me, but have no idea where from."
"Kidnapped?" the guard retorted. "You must have hit your head on the boat ride over from Cyrodiil. You are a prisoner of the Empire, and have been sent here for a reason. Now, can you tell me where your from, or not?"
"Fine. I'm from America," Skylar said poignantly. The guard stared for a moment with a confused look then repeated his initial question of where Skylar was from. "I said I'm from America. Y'know? The land of the free and the home of the brave?"
The guard just pulled his lip up in a sneer, humphed, and said, "Well from the way you look and the way you talk, I suppose that must be some new Nord colony that was set up without the Empire's approval, which would explain why you're here."
Skylar scratched his head for a moment, his dark blond hair blowing a bit in the breeze. The guard turned and headed toward the census office and the young man stared with his cool grey eyes set smoothly in his face, which needed a good shave. Finally, Skylar started after the slightly shorter guard, who directed him inside the office.
Upon entering, he was greeted with another guard standing by a heavy wooden door and a thin, balding man with grey hair and a Van Dyke style beard standing in front of him. As Skylar approached the older man, he began to speak in a very whiny and annoying voice, "Ahh yes, we've been expecting you! You'll have to be recorded before you're officially released. There are a few ways we can do this, and the choice is yours." Skylar was a bit confused, but let the man continue on. Instead of actually giving him a choice, the man placed a scroll in front of Skylar and asked him to fill out the information. Skylar started by writing his full name in the allotted space at the top: Skylar Merriwether Hughes. Then he looked at the other sections, which were a lot more confusing. Class? Specialization? Favored Attributes? Major and Minor Skills? Skylar looked up at the old man, who just stared back, smiling. He had the strangest sudden urge for a block of cheese, but looked back at his paperwork and went to write something down.
But before he could stick the quill in the jar of ink, another sudden urge took over him. Skylar's arm and hand moved almost mechanically as he dipped the quill in the ink and began to write: Acrobat; Stealth; Agility and Endurance; Acrobatics, Athletics, Marksman, Sneak, and Unarmored under Major Skills, and Speech Craft, Alteration, Spear, Hand-to-Hand, and Light Armor under his Minor Skills. Under the area of "Birth Sign" he wrote the Tower, and, after setting the quill down and letting the ink dry, handed the scroll back to the aging man. As soon as he let go of the scroll, however, Skylar snapped back into control of himself, questioning what had just happened.
The old man looked over his papers and kind of blanched at Skylar's choice of class, but everything seemed to be in order. He told the young Acrobat to show his papers to the guard, who was apparently a captain, and then continue on through to speak with Sellus Gravius. As he walked on, he politely closed the large wooden door behind him, and then came to a room that appeared to be for use as a lounge area for the people who worked in the census office. Skylar noticed a note on the table held down by the point of a freshly sharpened knife. Surely no one would miss such a paltry item that did not seem to be worth very much, so he yanked the dagger out of the table and slipped it under his belt, letting the note slip off of and flitter silently under the table. But that is not what really caught Skylar's eye. There was a bunch of silverware on the table, and a lock-pick, too.
Picking up a nearby sack, Skylar placed all of the silverware inside of it, making sure not to make too much noise that would attract the guard just down the hall behind the door he had so thankfully closed. He also took the time to try a bit of the yellowish meat that was on one of the plates, recognizing it as some kind of crabmeat. It was not the best food he had tried, but was welcomed by his empty stomach. Skylar also partook of some nearby bread, and when he was done with it, washed it down with a drink left on the table. It was some sort of whiskey, but was not all that strong, going down smooth and quenching his thirst. It also seemed to boost his strength.
Looking over at the shelves, Skylar's eyes now fell upon a small box. It was locked, but he had the lock-pick from the table. It only took a few tries to get the box to open, and took the gold coins from within, counting thirty-one. That could be useful later on. Thirty-one solid gold coins the size of a half-dollar equaled well over a hundred dollars for sure.
Skylar finished his raid by taking the silverware off of the shelves and snatching a book titled "The Firmament" as well, in case he needed some light reading. He then checked the two nearby baskets, but all they contained was some meats and a single small, pale green gem that looked like it could have some value. As the would-be thief inspected the gem, he had the strangest sensation that it was, for some odd reason, empty or hollow. Shrugging, he placed it in his pocket and walked out the door.
The door opened up into a small courtyard. Skylar took a deep breath of the salty, humid air and exhaled. He had no clue where he was, but surely that would change soon. And either way, it seemed that he was stuck here… wherever 'here' was. Skylar began to walk across the courtyard, but stopped suddenly as a strange sensation came over him. He felt the urge to reach into the sack he had picked up to carry his pilfered items, and pulled out a map. Where it had come from he did not know, but it showed him where he was, a small port town called Seyda Neen, located on the southeastern shore of an island called Vvardenfell. Placing the map back in the sack, he continued walking to the door on the other side of the courtyard, but stopped to check out a rather randomly placed barrel. Peering inside, he saw nothing of value but a small green ring that glowed with a light of its own. Inspecting the ring, he noticed small engravings around it. The energy it emitted felt, for lack of a better word, magical. Smiling, Skylar pocketed the ring and continued on through the door.
Waiting inside was a rather ostentatiously clad man, wearing golden armor with a red undershirt and golden bracers that bore the image of a moth. This was Sellus Gravius, the man that Skylar had been told to report to. Again, before he could say anything, the Golden-clad man began to speak, "Your papers, please. First, let me take your identification papers." Skylar handed him the scroll. "Thank you. Word of your arrival only reached me yesterday."
"Wait. He knew that I was coming?" thought Skylar.
"I am Sellus Gravius. But my background is not important. I'm here to welcome you to Morrowind." That word again, Morrowind. Why was it so familiar?
"M-morrowind?" Skylar asked uncertainly.
"Yes. You're in Morrowind." Gravius responded. "I don't know why you're here. Or why you were released from prison and shipped here. But your authorization comes directly from Emperor Uriel Septim VII himself." Whoa! The Emperor? "And I don't need to know any more than that. When you leave this office, you are a free man. But before you go, I have instructions on your duties." Duties… great. Work. "Instructions from the Emperor. So pay careful attention."
Sellus told Skylar all about what he was to do, who he was to go and see, and also gave him a letter that he was to give to a man named Caius Cosades. Gravius also answered a few other questions that the newly freed man had, but glared when asked about his background. Skylar took the hint, thanked the man, and left. He was ready to start this train wreck of an adventure.
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Hope you guys have enjoyed this so far. Please leave a comment if you see something wrong, or if something needs to be explained. Or just leave a review. Whatever suits ya! Next update will more than likely be Skylar getting to Balmora, if not him meeting up with Caius Cosades and a few other members of the Blades.