A/N: So I have recently fallen hard for the elder scrolls series, and I have some friends to back me up for motivation for this so This might get done! This is one story along with three other's, the final product will be one giant story from each OC's different POV... err, I'm not going to give away too much so just keep in touch and keep reading and maybe review please?
The cold burned through her thin cloths into her skin as she laid on the hard icy snow mix that covered the forest ground. Her mind flickered to different things as the hot traces of hypothermia started to settle it's way into her flesh. She had crossed the border of Skyrim into Cyrodiil for what reason again? Right, that monster had come, that stupid terrible monster with fangs glistening with blood in the moonlight and a growl so fierce it sent hardset warriors fleeing.
She took a raspy breath and stopped halfway from the pain. How could she have hoped to survive the run? Even having gotten away without more than a few scratches that vampire had given her a run a good chase. Yet now she wondered if she should have taken the swift, painful death of being sucked dry. After the thought crossed her mind though a few hard tears rolled down her burning cheeks and sending sparks across her skin. She could barely think about letting him take her life like that. After all, they had been friends once upon a time, hadn't they?
Slowly she felt her life-force wavering away and she let it pass. She was far too tired, far too weak to do anything about it. The last thing she saw before spiraling into blackness was the curls of her blonde hair swirled out on the snow infront of her, and her last thought was a wonder as to why things had turned for the worst.
"Get up."
"Get up."
She heard the demand yet in her mind it was but a fine mist of words. Her pulse pounded it's way through her sore beaten body and her thoughts scrambled to collect themselves. Where am I? the thought managed to cram into her, giving her conscience something to grip and focus on. After pondering reality slapped her.Why aren't I dead?!
There was a low growl that caught her attention before a sharp crack sliced through the air. Pin needles of pain shot up and down her right side as her right shoulder-blade was struck. If she hadn't been so worn down it was certain she would have screamed from the sudden agony.
The words came to her again, deep, dark and menacing. "I said, get up!"
The feeling of worry washed over her at the thought of being hit again. She couldn't say that she was completely terrified of the figure, oh no, the voice actually intrigued her. It perked her interest more than any feel of caution and thus she used the fueled energy that spiraled form her hit to push her face out of the snow and push herself up onto her knees.
A hard lump formed in her throat at her sight met with the form that she was only slightly surprised to see. The void stretched out before her, a large cascading black hole with the only light inside being from the sparks of immense power that rippled through it. it stood at least a hundred feet across and the hight was just highest then the forest trees. As it swirled it disturbed nothing of the earth.
"Good..." the voice said, a soft light purr in the tone this time. "You can endure many things, a perfect quality I like in my daughter's."
She froze while staring up at The Void. "A...a daugh...ter...?" she barely managed to choke out and there was a low laugh.
"Yes, I suppose you know where I'm leading with this?" the voice asked. The genuine tone it held as it asked now piqued her curiosity further. She sat back on her heels and thought a moment... A daughter, daughter. The breton's mind flicked and suddenly flooded information as she suddenly remembered before the attack, before her mind and body were battered.
Half of her felt the sudden need to back away, yet the other wanted to go up and throw herself into the void so she could look around for that damned daedric and rip his throat out.
She bit down on her lip hard, thinking well before speaking. "So... Sithis..." she murmured. When The Void didn't object that the name was wrong she continued with a surprisingly straight voice "You were the one... you tore down my life just so... I could come and be one... of your damned children?"
There was a deadly silence and she felt a different kind of cold sink over her. It pushed away the heat of her illness and sent chills darting up and down her spine as she waited the reply. A few mere heartbeats later the daedric grunted "That's a thought, yet not the one I went for. I merely used the inevitable event to lure you into something that would have occurred in the far future."
She tilted her head slightly "So even if you hadn't sent out that trigger, it would have happened anyway after a time."
"Precisely." He stated.
A few minutes of silence covered the air as her thoughts clicked once more. She finally settled on one disturbing fact, if he had triggered the vampires bloodlust this way, what was the original way? Was it any more gruesome or would it have given them all more times?
The girl opened her mouth to ask yet her heart lept when she found The Void had nearly disappeared. It's form rapidly became more transparent and only then did she feel a true spark of fear at being left alone with barely any instruction. She heard the voice once more "My motives will be revealed by the end. Over the next few years you will grow, and when the time is right you will be approached by a speaker who will lead you into a new... fascinating service under me."
The void faded completely once the words were spoke and the world of pain seemed to crash back down while her energy diminished once more. She gritted her teeth and rocked back on her heels, flopping down in the snow once more.
I won't be much use to him if I die here. She thought bitterly, gritting her teeth. Her gaze scanned the light gray clouded sky while her thoughts began to wander. A few memories filled her mind and she smiled at them as they flickered through and passed. The times they laughed, when they accidentally threw the blacksmith in the river, when they would call each other odd names... what was it they used to call her again...?
Her heart stopped and her eyes opened wide. Her name, sweet gods what was her name? How could she forget her own name?
She bit her lip hard and closed her eyes, searching her memories desperately. Ys... she could remember that much, it started with Ys. now if she could just find the other half she might be satisfied with herself before death swallowed her.
"Hello?!" a new voice shocked her into painfully turning her head in it's direction. She saw someone... an argonian by the looks of it, though she couldn't truly tell under the thick covers of clothing.
The figure came closer and bent down over her. "Breton? Are you alright?"
She growled, the action causing her to wince slightly. She hated being called by her race, it didn't show what she was at all, yet she guessed the argonian had nothing better to call her. "...I... help...?" she managed to gasp and he nodded.
"Of course small one, your lucky I found you and not the wolves." he chuckled before picking her up bridal style. She immediately curled to her best extent into his strong embrace, into the warmth her every fiber craved.
It was unknown as to what happened next as she slipped into darkness once more. When she awoke there were thick warm furs wrapped around her and she could distantly hear the crackle of a warm fire. Her mind wrapped her in a blanket of confusion until she shifted and found another presence pressed up against her back.
She jumped up into a sitting position and turned, facing the stranger. He was indeed an argonian as she had thought. An amused smile crossed his features as he watched her. "Sorry I pressed so close, small tent." he said and she nodded, that fact was pretty obvious as while she sat there her head nearly rubbed against the top.
"Thank you for helping me." She said softly. It shown in her eyes how happy she was to normally talk again and the argonian chuckled.
"Of course." he waved his hand slightly "What kind of Argonian would I be if I didn't help a cute lost lady?" his smiled widened as she blushed slightly. "Teasing my girl, teasing." he laughed before narrowing his eyes slightly.
"My name is Scar-tail, yours?" he asked and she froze. Why did this stupid affair have to arise so soon? She picked gently and the skin of the fur that surrounded her and glanced down.
She swallowed hard before answering "I can't remember, all I remember is it started with Ys." she sighed and Scar-tail pursed his lips, if thats what you would call it. To her it looked like a large 'O' shape as he pressed his scaly lips together.
After a few minutes of silence and some soft 'hmms' from him he snapped his fingers. "Ah! Well we'll just have to guess off the thirteen suffixes then hmm?" he asked, sitting up as well.
She nodded before blushing furiously as the furs fell away from his torso to reveil he was shirtless. "Doesn't that get cold?" she asked before really thinking.
He shook his head without any notice of her further blushing. "Here in the swamp it's too muggy to be anything but warm."
Her heart sped up. Had Scar-tail taken her all the way back to the Black Marsh? He must have seen her startled expression as he waved his hands frantically. "No no, we're at a swamp at the south end of Cyrodill." She relaxed and he continued. "Now does Ysola sound familiar?"
"Nope."
"Ysyssa?"
"That name sounds like a crime."
"Ysanna?
"Nah..." something did click about that last name though. "I do think it had an a in it."
He looked bright. "Ysara?" he questioned the breton felt her heart warm at the use of her name.
Ysara held back the urge to leap onto Scar-tail and hug him. "Yes! yes, oh now could I forget?" she shook her head and gently pinched the bridge of her nose in thought. How stupid she was to remember everything but her own bloody name. "Ysara Whiteflash."
Scar-tail nodded slowly "The cold has it's ways." he murmured before scooting backwards out of the furs and out into the swamp. "I'd love to hear your story now, but I assume after four days you're hungry."
The girl opened her mouth to speak but her stomach cut her off by growling loud enough for both of them to hear. The argonian chuckled "Mmhm" he voiced before turning away out to the fire.
Ysara laid back down on her stomach. She studied the argonian curiously, all up and down his back were dark orange crimson scales, when he turned the scales were brighter and there were a few greenish patches though the larges green patches were around his pale red eyes.
Slowly she looked away from the kind argonian. She wondered if she could really trust him, he was a stranger to her yet he did seem friendly and he did save her life. Was it really that bad to trust someone so easily?
Scar-tail came back to the tent mere minutes later, holding two roughly carved bowls. The breton's mouth started to water at the smell as he drew near and sat down outside the tent.
She eagerly dove into the fish stew, holding back a wince at feeling something running down her throat for the first time in the four days she had passed out. It felt good, get every swallow sent a shiver of pain through her. It would probably take a while for her to get used to the feeling again, but she didn't mind all that much, at least she was alive.
The Argonian watched the young breton with an amused expression as she dove into the food. Once most of it had been devoured and Ysara couldn't find the endurance to eat anymore he spoke "So, why were you out in the forests of Skyrim anyway?"
The question startled Ysara slightly, and her heart felt retched at the though of why she was laying there in that dark forest. I couldn't say wether it be that damned Vampire or Sithis... She thought, playing with the edge of her bowl. She let out a slow breath before speaking her words with care.
"Honestly I'm not sure myself..." They didn't sound as careful as she had hoped but it was all she could manage at the time.
Scar-tail flicked his tail ever so slightly and narrowed his eyes. This caused her heart to speed up in fear, had she said something unreasonable?
He shook his heard ever so slightly. "I suppose that can't be helped if you don't trust me enough to say yet."
She smiled gently, nervously. Something didn't seem right about this amphibian all of the sudden. "I would probably trust you more if you trusted to tell me about yourself first." she mused, genuinely curious about the argonian. Though, she did always have a want to know more about people who came into her life for whatever way, and she never left without a good answer.
His gaze bared into hers yet she held it firm. She was starting to get some of her confidence back, of how she missed the feeling of her own security. Finally he sighed. "It's embarrassing to say, though I can see in your eyes I have little choice." he mumbled and she smiled widely, changing her position so she was laying on her stomach with her head propped on her hands.
"I won't go into detail," he started with a gaze that said he was serious, and she nodded understandingly. "I grew up as a Shadowscale."
"Shadowscale?" She questioned softly and he grimaced.
"In Argonia, those born under the shadow are taken and trained as Assassin's by the Dark Brotherhood." He explained.
A stiff shiver ran up her spine at the mention of the Dark Brotherhood. She really was to end up in their cruel claws if she was meeting up with their members already. She gritted her teeth and pushed the thoughts away, trying to listen to the rest of his story.
His red gaze darkened as he continued, unknowing of her discomfort. "I grew and trained with some... old friends. Though we went separate ways once we came to the end of our training." He took a deep breath "They stayed to work mostly with the Dark Brotherhood while I Stayed with Argonia, what a huge mistake I had made."
The air grew quite quiet and Ysara shifted uncomfortably. Something inside her shouted that she should stop his displeasure, tell him to end the story and that she could hear it a different day. Yet her curious demeanor whispered alluringly to encourage him to continue, if he wanted to join her trust, he should do as she asked.
She trusted the whisper.
"Go on, 'S not like I have anyone to sell you out to." she probed, wishing she had chosen better words.
Scar-tail studied her once more before he nodded. "Ah yes... They gave out harsh and unusual deeds, though I didn't oppose. I loved the thrill of hunting down the useless and unwanted with the twist of a challenge." he smiled slightly, but it quickly faded. "It proved too much for me at a time though."
"I failed in a battle against a very powerful mage..." he chuckled and lifted his left arm and Ysara stared horrifically at the large hunk of flesh that was missing from the reptiles side. Around the wound the flesh was charred black, but the center pulsed pink and red with blood. The layers of flesh that had healed over the wound obviously hadn't healed thickly, otherwise the pulse wouldn't had been so vibrant.
Ysara could feel his studying look and she looked back to lock gazes. "It looks like my pulse, but... pulse doesn't even show with so little skin." he explained and it took the breton a moment to fully understand what he meant.
"That's your heart." she said it simply, yet it came out soft.
"Yes, the mage did quite a number. I would not have lived weren't it for one of those old friend I told you about..." he shifted so he was leaning back on his hands, his scaly sandaled covered feet stretched out and came to touch the edge of the tent. "Only, I was so ashamed of my defeat I didn't stay to face him."
The young breton cocked her head curiously. "You ran?" she questioned carefully.
"It was the only thing I could think to do, heh. Argonia and my old friends were not happy with my choices. I was given a chance to return, but I declined even if it meant being put on their list. I couldn't bare to stand if I failed them again." He trailed off once more, yet this was a more peaceful silence then an awkward one. The worst of the brink had passed.
Ysara pulled away from the furs and pushed the bowl to the side. She let the argonians story sink in as she pulled herself out of the tent to stretch properly. So, he was an ex assassin. I wonder if his skills still transfer after... her thoughts stopped.
After a brief questioning with herself she looked down at him. "How long have you been running?"
A large beam of sun cut through the clouds and shimmered over them both. While she blinked in surprise, Scar-tail smiled and closed his eyes, basking in the warmth the sun had so generously granted them. His voice rolled with a new lightness "Let's see, I'm thirty-two now... So almost exactly two years." He mused.
Ysara nodded slightly. He looked young enough, but with a story such as that it wasn't hard to believe he was that age. She still pondered wether she could trust him, the recent betrayal that laid in her heart pushed away any thoughts of it. Still he deserved to know a little, after he had trusted her.
She sat down on the slope of the hill to the water. She glanced around, taking in the setting of the boggy swamp. The sun's yellow light set the yellow/green grass off beautifully and she smiled, understanding why argonians favored the swamps. It may have been dank and filled with muck half the time, yet that didn't take away from the beauty it did have.
Slowly she drew a circle in the small patch of sandy earth next to her. After hesitating a moment more she glanced toward Scar-tail again. "I can see why my friend wanted to visit the swamps so much." she started.
"Oh?" he questioned, opening his eyes and turning to her.
She nodded slowly, letting herself unwind slowly as she started to tell her newfound companion about her life in skyrim, and how it so abruptly came crashing down around her.
A/N: Okay, Sorry sorry sorry! I really didn't want to add any more to Ysara's past in this chapter then I had to, as it all come's out at a later time. R&R please, even the smallest comments help.
EDIT: I went though and delt with some grammer, I hope everything is inplace.