Trinity of the Shadow.
Twin Hatchlings.
It was a cold and misty Loredas evening. It was the 14th of Second Seed 3E405. Paten-Brai was crouching in his mundane shack made from branches gathered from the trees near The Sheigal River. Paten-Brai was the first in a queue of many townsfolk who wished to see the two twin hatchlings, born several minutes before. Paten-Brai was their father. He had sharp features, brown eyes, green-brown scales and had a dorsal ridge. The 42 year old reptile looked down at his offspring and grinned. One boy and one girl. The male hatchling, like his father had a dorsal ridge (a webbed ridge stretching across the top of his head). He had green-brown scales and green eyes. The female hatchling, like her mother had spikes on her head, she had a slightly darker complexion than her twin brother. Her eyes were a reddish-brown.
The father spoke in a curious tone, "they are wonderful, what should we name them?" He glanced at his wife who glanced back and replied.
"It is our village's tradition that the father names a male hatchling, and the mother names the female hatchling". Matiis who had brown eyes and green scales was looking rather pale. She had watched over her eggs from the beginning to the end. She had difficulty sleeping due to the stress of paranoia. She was a very paranoid individual; constantly afraid that someone would take her eggs while she slept. But now she was not afraid, she was jubilant. "I think we should name the girl Ocheeva". Ocheeva was the name of Matiis' mother, who had passed away the year before.
"I'll have to think about the boy's name", replied her husband. "I want his name to carry meaning".
The Sun began to set across the brilliant, effulgent evening sky. Despite the bright evening in which they hatched, the twins were born under the sign of the shadow. A bright shadow, tein aava in Jel. Paten-Brai smiled and then whispered his son's name, "Teinaava".
The following day at 7am Paten-Brai waited by the river. He was a ferryman who ferried people along The Sheigal River into The River Argoniis which ran past the cities of Helstrom, Murkwood and Blackrose. He worked 5 days a week from Morndas to Fredas and charged 40 septims per passenger. In the distance he saw 4 people approaching. That would earn him a meagre 160 septims. The people gathered near the water. There were 2 Argonians, a Breton and a Bosmer. Both Argonians were female, the Breton and the Bosmer were male. After exchanging a few words the passengers handed him the money and stepped inside the wooden boat. The old rickety boat was not sufficient for such long journeys yet by sheer fluke it had ferried people through Black Marsh without any problems. Inside it was damp and fetid. The dank and musty air irritated the passengers regardless of the Bosmer's attempts to entertain the passengers by singing in an appalling tone.
"Paddle, paddle, paddle through the stream, through the dream. Life is a journey full of strife. Journey, journey, journey through the mist, past the Hist. Life is a journey full of-"
"WOULD YOU PLEASE SHUT UP?" Came a cry from the Breton, who was obviously irritated by the dreadful sound. The Bosmer paused briefly and frowned. All was peaceful. A gentle breeze calmed the temper of the middle-aged Breton who was drifting off to sleep. The boat continued down the river past small settlements occupied by various Argonian tribes.
The Hist trees sung together in a harmonious symphony, this pleased Paten-Brai. The Argonian passengers began to hum in tune with the trees but the Breton and the Bosmer could not hear the wonderful noise emitted from the forest. Only the Argonians could hear. "The Hist are connected", said Paten-Brai. "They are said to be sentient beings who acknowledge Sithis' role as the original creator." The other Argonians nodded in agreement but the Breton and the Wood Elf were not paying attention.