Hey everyone! So, I've had this idea in my head for a while and since my Avengers or Warrior cats fics don't seem to work out/ I can't think of any good ideas, I thought I might act on it. Karliah was always my favourite character in The Elder Scrolls and I've wanted to do something on her for ages. But first, a few things.
1) Karliah's age is never explicitly stated, but I took a few things into consideration here. I read somewhere that Dunmer can live up to 200 years, and Karliah still seems pretty young when the Dragonborn meets her after 25 years in exile, so I'm putting her at around 35 by Gallus's murder (meaning she's around 17 in Dark Elf years and appearance)
2) A large number of character's in this fic are my own invention, considering it's set 25 years before the Dragonborn comes along. Not all of them though.
3) If you haven't completed the Thieves guild questline in Elder Scrolls V, you probably won't understand the events in this fic. You can still read it, I'm just warning you. Also, spoiler alert.
4) For the Rating, there's definitely going to be a fair bit of violence in a large number of the chapters, I won't go super descriptive but I won't hide away from it either. For language, i don't tend to swear that much in writing - if at all, but I might slip in the odd word very rarely. I'll put a warning at the top of the chapter if there's anything else I've forgotten or something particularly bad in that chapter.
Chapter 1 - Little wolf
Snow Veil Sanctum
4E 201
"Do you honestly think your arrow will reach me before my blade reaches your heart? And just like that, I flinch, fear flickering unwillingly across my face. The voice I've heard in my nightmares for twenty-five years, Mercer's face twisted in a combination of dry, mocking sarcasm and taunting. Even in the shadows, I see it all. twenty-five years and I've missed my chance. I grit my teeth and call back, praying to Nocturnal that the terror in my voice isn't as obvious as it sounds.
"Give me a reason to try." I snarl, all the anger I've ever felt towards him dripping from those seven syllables. I can't stop my hands from shaking, but I don't care, as long as they're steady enough to hit their target. At this point, I don't even care whether he - Mercer takes me down with him. at least I'll see Gallus again. He's had this coming for too long.
"You're a clever girl, Karliah." He knows full well how too hurt me, turning Gallus's words back at me. It might have been nearly three decades, but it still stings. As he obviously intended. "Buying Goldenglow estate and funding Honningbrew meadery was.. inspired." I feel a glean of satisfaction at the annoyance in his voice. Those two things must have irritated him. Good.
"To ensure an enemy's defeat, you must first undermine his allies." It was the first lesson Gallus taught us." If he can turn Gallus's word on it's head, two can place at that game. it works, Mercer bares his teeth angrily, although his voice remains deceivingly calm.
"You always were a quick study." The words come before I can stop them.
"Not quick enough, or else Gallus would still be alive." I snarl, bitterly.
The metal glints in the darkness, his dark eyes shining cruelly. He laughs, the same laugh I've heard in my head for twenty-five years. Only in my nightmares.
"Gallus had his wealth and he had you." A sadistic smile on his face "All he had to do was look the other way." Choking back language that I don't even know how I know, I wonder if Mercer feels any shame for everything he's done. He's supposed to be a Nightingale, for Nocturnal's sake.
"Did you forget your oath we took as Nightingales? Did you expect him to simply ignore your methods?" One eyebrow raises sarcastically as my answer. No. No he does not.
"Enough of this mindless banter!" He shouts, angrily. Dwarven metal glints in the shadows, pointed at my throat "It's time for you and Gallus to become reunited." Maybe, a long time ago, that trick would have worked. Mercer expects to lose my cool. But I've waited twenty-five year to kill him, and I can wait a little longer. Easily.
"I'm no fool, Mercer. Crossing blades with you would be a death sentence. But I can promise the next time we meet, it will be your undoing." I murmur, cutting through the silence.
And then I fade.
...
Snow Veil Sanctum
4E 176
Gallus is dead Gallus is dead Gallus is dead.
Holding out one hand to shield myself from the driving blizzard, my breath came in unsteady gasps that froze fast onto my skin, hot blood and tears spilling down my face. Every moment I seemed to spend pulling what little air I could into my lungs while also trying to keep moving. One foot at a time.
Breath in
Breath out
Repeat.
Biting my lip hard, I didn't comprehend the fact that I was too numb to feel the pain, and too unfocused to do anything but stumble through the endless sheets of white that made up my surroundings. A dull ringing pounded my hearing, combined with a voice in my head that refused to stay silent, loud and hauntingly familiar.
"Little wolf..." Squeezing shut my eyes, digging my fingers into my palm until they drew crimson, I still couldn't drown out the sound of Mercer's voice, taunting me in the moments after he had driven that dagger into Gallus's heart. He had forced me to watch as the man I loved lay bleeding on the floor, his bright blue eyes void and lifeless. I hadn't been able to look away, even as he had kicked him into that hole like a dead rat, just another ant beneath his boots.
"How does it feel, Little wolf, to know your claws aren't as sharp as you thought."
Breath in
Breath out
Repeat.
Little wolf. Mercer had known it was Gallus's nickname for me, alongside the many others he had used. Gallus is - was famous for his nicknames. He had had at least one for everyone he knew. I could still remember the ways his eyes had sparkled every time he talked, whether or not he was teasing, or being deadly serious.
I pause, hesitating for a moment. Pulling my cloak closer to my skin. If Gallus is dead, and Mercer killed him, neither of them are Nightingale's anymore, at least in Nocturnal's eyes. I feel a wave of guilt for not questioning that earlier, since the contract I made with the Mistress of Shadows should always be at the front of my mind, what with the sacrifices I've made for it.
I am the Last Nightingale. The sudden weight of that pressure surprises me, intertwined with doubt for the future. Mercer made it clear I couldn't return, he'd be after me, After today everyone would know that I killed Gallus and poor old Mercer was just a witness who barely made it out alive. My heart twists with bitter anger.
Mercer's destroyed everything I cared about.
Unravelling the fractured, swirling fragments of my mind, trying to put them into a distinct order so that they make sense. I remember one of the things that Gallus had often quoted to me, from some translated Dwemer texts he'd read a few years back.
"Only those with stone hearts can remain forever indifferent, Little wolf. Remember to release what you bottle up."
Like a deer in the lamplight, I freeze, a storm of memories suddenly threatening to knock me over.
2
I was too late.
Through a snowstorm that had only just picked up, with driving snow burning at my exposed skin, I could already see the ruin in the distance. Mercer had told me to meet him here, refusing to tell me why. He had always been mysterious, so I didn't question it. Only when I could see two figures ahead, and the glint of metal, I began to panic.
"Mercer! Gallus?" I waited for one of them to turn around, explain to me that everything was going to be alright. I waited for Gallus to look me in the eye and promise he'd be fine, like he did every time before heading off on a mission. I waited, even when I know it was never going to happen. I screamed my throat raw, every movement felt like lead as I forced myself one step closer to the storm.
I knew exactly what was about to happen.
I could only watch as the dagger plunged forwards, Gallus looking down in delayed shock at the liquid that kept on pouring out of his chest - How could someone have that much blood? He floundered as though he was drowning, even through the howling of the wind I could hear Mercer laughing and the terrible choking sound that ripped from Gallus's bleeding tongue.
Then he fell.
He didn't get back up. His black leather stained with dark red on the cold, grey stones. I watched, paralyzed with fear, the tears refusing to come just yet. I knew Mercer would see me, he had known I would come. And I wasn't exactly hiding.
"Karliah! Enjoy the show?" His cold high laugh chilled me to the bone, as unremorseful and indifferent as it was. The wind had stilled, just enough for me to see the hard chips of ice blazing in his eyes. I whispered just loud enough for him to hear, not even trying to hide the horror in my eyes at the monster in him that had just now shown itself.
"What have you done..." I forced myself to look straight into those black pupils, immediately flinching at the unhinged look I saw there. Was Mercer insane? I didn't doubt that, not for a second. But for how long? How long had he been planning this?
"That's a rhetorical question, Right? You know full well what I've done." His voice had morphed into something mocking, taunting. He was playing with me, like a lamb to the slaughter. The thought of it brought a sickness to my stomach. "In any case, you have three choices now, as I see it." I couldn't bring myself to speak, as I waited for judgement to come.
Breath in
Breath out
Repe-
"Choice one." He wasn't laughing anymore, but his expression said pretty much the same thing. "You tell no one of this, and come home as a free elf." My eyes already showed my answer. By Nocturnal and every other divine in Tamriel, I couldn't do that. "Choice two, you attack me, I kill you. I tell everyone how you killed Gallus and tried to kill me." I don't doubt it. Nothing is too bad for him, anymore. "Three." He pauses, letting the words sink in. "You run, now, Little wolf." My response is quieter than the wind whistling through the trees.
"And?" He tips his head, snarling.
"I give you a head start."
]
3
I don't remember collapsing, my hands unsteady and shaking on the floor, digging into the snow as though it provides some sort of relief against the mental tortures running around in my head
Gallus is dead.
Even now, it seems like I've barely come to terms with that single, irrevocable fact.
I shouldn't have stopped moving. Exhaustion begins to sets in, replacing that feeling of adrenaline I've been feeling since I fled, stemming from my desperation to get away. I squeeze my eyes shut as a flood of nausea overtakes me, the world spinning around me. I'm vulnerable. But everything is too dark to care. I can only just see the hot crimson liquid spilling from my sleeve, creeping down my wrist. And I pray.
Nocturnal, I'm sorry. I've failed, and I don't deserve sympathy. This is all my fault. But please, If you still have any trust in me at all, give me your luck one last time. And I promise, by everything I still care about, I will kill Mercer.
And that's my last thought for a long time.
Karliah wasn't awake to see Nocturnal's response, if it could be considered that. Perhaps it was just luck. But that's exactly what she'd asked for. That luck came in the form of footsteps, and voices raised in awe at what they'd just found.
I will kill Mercer Frey
I will kill Mercer
I will kill...
I awoke from a torrent of nightmares and visions, screaming, crying and laughing. My eyes flashed open, adjusting fast to the dimmed lights of sunset and the blurriness that comes from being unconscious for several hours. It takes a few more moments for me to notice that I'm no longer bleeding out in the snow.
A metre or two away, a campfire burns cheerfully, sparks dancing in the now quiet, still air. Besides it, a Bosmer female crouches calmly, feeding the flames with a selection of firewood. A second Bosmer, a male, sleeps in an adjacent tent to the one I find myself in, with a soft leather skin protecting me from the cold. Neither has noticed that I'm awake, so I take the liberty to observe my surroundings.
They're both armed, the female with a bow on her back and a steel dagger by her side, the male with a long, steel sword by his camp bed. I recognise it at once.
Skyforge steel.
Companions.
Damn. The Companions and the Thieves guild don't tend to enjoy one another's company, to put it lightly. One was a brave, noble band of warriors that fought for "the honour of Sovngarde, the other a law-breaking group of former bandits and criminals, sneaking around and robbing people of their hard-earned possessions. It didn't take a genius to see the difference. In any case, I needed a cover story fast.
On the bright side, the companions would definitely help me if they thought I was just an unfortunate traveller.
I let out what I hope to be a convincing yawn, and wait for the female to turn around. Surprise fills her face at my open eyes. I'm used to that, it's not like my violet eyes are common among Dunmer.
"Oi, Gwilin. The Dunmer's awake." 'Gwilin' looks up, pulling himself up with ease. I don't ignore how he carefully picks up his sword first, carefully watching my every move.
"Has she said anything yet, Arwen?" She shakes her head.
"One moment." She looks at me, gently. If only she knew. "You good?" It takes a moment before I realise she's talking to me. I stammer out.
"Uhhm, Yeah, I''m good." As an afterthought, I add. "How badly was I hurt. Thank you Nocturnal for saving me.
"You passed out from a combination of blood loss, exhaustion and hyperthermia. Great
"Can you stand?" Can I? Gingerly, I pull myself up, wincing with pain as my muscles scream at the sudden movement. My vision goes blurry for a brief second, one hand gripping a near tree trunk tightly until the wave of confusion passes. Then I look up, pleased.
"Yeah." Arwen nods in satisfaction, her dark eyes following my movement cautiously. Near what I assume to be her tent, I quickly spot a bow. my bow, black ebony gleaming in the firelight. I glance up before she notices me looking at it. Apparently, neither of them recognise a Nightingale bow when they see one. Which isn't surprising, considering we officially don't exist. "Thanks, by the way. For saving me. I would have died out there." If I'm going to out the act on, It stands that I would be grateful.
"No prob. We're Companions, Me and Lin, It's what we do." I act surprised, eyes widening. I count three beats before responding, awe imbued in my voice.
"Companions? As in, Ysgramor and the five hundred companions?" They both laugh in good nature. I guess they get that a lot. Then Arwen asks;
"You're a Skyrim native, then? If you've heard of us. What's your name." I remember the name and story I'd come up, and, Just like Gallus taught me, I say it as though it's my story, confident and conversational
"Solstheim, actually. My name's Accalia. Although you're right, I've been in Skyrim for a while. It was also my dream to be a merchant, and there's better business in Skyrim than there is in Solstheim. I was travelling with some merchants when we got ambushed by some bandits. For as I know, I'm the only survivor." I look down, as though I'm mourning the loss of my companions.
"We're sorry for your loss. Skyrim can be a dangerous place sometimes." Gwilin murmurs solemnly. I manage a small smile.
"I figured." I close my eyes as if trying to push away bad memories, and quickly change the subject, "How long will I take to heal?"
"A few days, tops. In all honesty, you're probably pretty close to healed already." Arwen tips her head curiously. "Where are you planning on going once you're ready again. anyways."
"Azura guides my path." That's a lie. I've never worshipped Azura in my life, but I can hardly say Nocturnal, can I? From my visits to Solstheim, it seems most of the dark elves there worship her, and it's another way to alienate myself from the fugitive I am now. I think of Mercer, probably planning my demise as we speak. Karliah the thief worships Nocturnal, Accalia the Merchant worships Azura. Simple as.
I can't exactly say it, but I'd want to move sooner than later. In a day or two, Mercer will dispatch men to search for my corpse, with orders to kill me if they find me. Some of them might have been my friends once, but I murdered Gallus, according to Frey. That's enough to make them hate me. I wonder what other lies he's spread about me. I wonder if Nocturnal plans on revenge. I can't help the determination that fill my head at the moment. I WIll be the one to kill him.
Not that I'll be able to do anything if Nocturnal decides my failure has forfeited the rights to that. She's certainly angry at me, there's no question in that. I let my feelings for Gallus cloud my judgement, and I've effectively destroyed her temple guard. One Nightingale dead, another a traitor, and the last exiled. Gallus is probably the only one she's not angry with.
The Bosmer share a glance, almost as though they can read one another's thoughts. Then Arwen speaks, an offer intended for me. I wonder as he speaks if Nocturnal is still looking out for me, or if I'm just getting a number of lucky breaks. In my experience, the two are basically the same thing.
"You can come with us to Whiterun, if you have nowhere else to Bannered Mare takes anyone who pays, and I could uses a hunting partner." She pauses glancing hungrily at my bow." That's a nice bow you've got there. Ebony, no?
I don't much have to fake the enthusiasm that follows. In Whiterun, under the Companions protection. It'll keep me safe from Mercer, for a short while. That's all I need.
"Really! Uh- I mean-. Sure. Yes, that'd be amazing. And, uh, yes- my bow is Ebony. Custom-made by an old friend, actually." I pause, before adding, "How-uh. How far are we, you know. From Whiterun." In response, Gwilin pulls out a crumpled map from one of his fur lined pockets, laying in out on the carpet of snow. He points.
"Half a days journey from Whiterun. on foot. We're an hour away from a nearby nordic ruin, by the name of Snow Veil Sanctum. You know it?" I barely suppress a shiver, and not just because it's cold.
"Yeah. "I swallow painfully "I know it."
And That's it. Chapter one, at least. I lost motivation about half way through, so it took longer than I would have liked., but I'm looking forwards to the next few chapters. Writing in first-person is a bit of a headache for me, though, so I'm probably going to swap to third person briefly in the next chapter, just to speed things up. Review and favourites would be hugely appreciated, and I hoped you enjoyed. okie bye.
