The Black Arrow
Let me just introduce you to some characters before we all get lost.
Lylaia; a young wood elf assassin, skilled in the art of making poisons, masquerading as a botanist.
Hircine; The Daedric God of The Hunt.
Leon; A Nordic hero living with The Companions.
The Companions; A group of warriors, much like a guild, that help the people of Skyrim.
Skyrim; The country north of Cyrodill.
Cyrodill; The heart of the empire of Tamriel.
Tamriel; The eastern most continent of Nirn.
Nirn; The planet, much like earth, where all of this is taking place.
Chapter 1
Lylaia sighed as she looked around outside of the carriage. The trees were bare and the mountains were tall, crowding the small valley of Whiterun. Lylaia had snow-white hair that had been pulled back into pigtails that ran from her neck down to the small of her back. Her skin was pale and she could feel it getting cold in the night air.
She looked to the carriage driver who was mumbling something in Nordic tongue. "Excuse me? When exactly are we going to reach the city of Whiterun?" Lylaia seemed impatient but she had been sitting in the carriage for at least eight hours, and she could have walked had she not been so tired from her journey across the border of Orsinium.
'We're getting' there. 'Ol Buck here is just tired" the man motioned to the paint horse pulling the carriage. It was moving quite slowly and looked lazy rather than tired.
Lylaia groaned a little but opened her journal. It wasn't really a journal, but a magical book given to her by Hircine, her master. Hircine was the Daedric God of the Hunt. Daedric worship was frowned upon within the empire so Lylaia mostly kept to herself about it but you might be wondering how a small town wood elf would end up working for a Daedric God.
When Lylaia was young she lived in the quaint town of Redleaf. The only population was Lylaia, her family, and about eight other families. While it was small it was all she ever needed. When she was about nine her father handed her a bow and taught her how to hunt. She was an instant prodigy, much like her father she was a sharpshooter. She could spot, aim, and kill a snow-shoe hare from about 200 yards. As she grew older she only improved. One day she ventured high into the mountains in hopes of finding hardier meat to share with her family.
Lylaia was attacked by a Snowy-Saber-Cat and lost her left eye. She was able to run away with minor scars but the doctor said she would never be able to shoot again, much less hunt at all. Her family wept and she was heartbroken to lose something so important to her. After about a year of grief and silence the Daedric Lord, Hircine, took pity on her. He offered her his own left eye in exchange for her services. She was overjoyed and didn't think before replying yes.
The first job she ever received from Hircine was to hunt down a family of five and slaughter them without anyone finding out it was her. Lylaia was 16. It left a scar on her heart, and she became cold and detached. It seemed she no longer cared, or valued the lives of herself or others. When she turned 18 Hircine called on her to leave Valenwood and travel Tamriel while doing his bidding. She had already agreed and so followed his orders.
Hircine gave Lylaia the enchanted journal that he would write the names and addresses of those she was supposed to kill in. Now Lylaia is 19 and she has grown used to killing people, animals, children, woman, anything that Hircine told her too. As long as Hircine assured it would be no one from her family, which he did.
Lylaia heard the carriage stop and the horse snorted groaningly. She got up and jumped out of the carriage grabbing her bow and quill of arrows on the way. Her bow was enchanted, giver to her by Hircine. He had named it Arashihime, or Storm Princess. It sent a shock of lightning through anything it hit with an arrow. The bow itself was made from the bones of dragons, the ultimate hunters. It was painted black and had intricate blue carvings that made tribal markings and spirals. The word 'storm' had been carved into it in ancient Daedric.
The carriage driver made an 'ahem' sound and held out his hand. Lylaia cocked an eyebrow before nodding and handing him 15 gold coins. He smiled, "Thank ya ma'am. It was a pleasure." Lylaia nodded curtly and walked past him up to the city gate.
A guard approached her, "Hold fast traveler." He held out his hand and the crest of Whiterun, a steed with a bronze collar, was on his shield. "There has been a report of traveling thieves. I'm going to need to see some identification" he explained with a skeptical glance.
Lylaia smiled sweetly, "I am here on research but um"-she reached into her quill and pulled out a small scroll-"here is my proof of registration and my license to travel."
The guard took it and unrolled the parchment with a grumble. "A botanist, eh? You here to see our flowers lass?" He looked at her with a smirk on his face. 'Arrogant, Nords…' she thought irritably.
"I'm here to see if I can make a breakthrough in alchemy practices using the plants found in Skyrim" she explained trying to hold her gaze steady. Her eyes were bright, like an icy blue sky. Her armor was made up of a black corset and breastplate made from moonstone, a pair of short black shorts, tall brown hiking boots, and fingerless black gloves.
The guard gave her the scroll back and Lylaia rolled it up, "Alright you can enter." He walked to the gate and whistled. The gates opened up slowly and the city came into view by the second. "Welcome to Whiterun" he nodded and stood against the open door of the gate.
Lylaia thanked him and walked into the city. Right next to the gate a blacksmith was working on some armor at the prep table. Children were laughing and chasing each other around. They ran past her and headed on down the street. Lylaia watched them and caught sight of an inn. Lylaia walked up to the sign and read 'The bannered Mare.' She opened the door and found a large dining hall with men and women gathered around a fire listening to a bard play the lute and sing. They were talking and laughing and the innkeeper seemed to be wiping down the bar with a dirty rag.
Lylaia walked up to her and the innkeeper put the rag down with to smile and asked, "Hello there, you seem new to Whiterun. Can I help you with anything?" The woman was an old, dark, Nordic woman wearing a fairly ragged red dress and a white apron. Her chocolate brown hair was pulled back into a pony tail that rested on her shoulders lightly.
Lylaia nodded, "I was actually wondering how much it would cost for a room for the night?" She looked around and sat on a stool at the bar.
The innkeeper smiled, "It's about 10 gold a night, but are you just passing through? You should stay for a while. Whiterun's a great place to settle down, if not at least visit for a couple of days."
Lylaia sighed, "I actually have someone I'm supposed to meet here but I've never even seen him before. Could you help me with that?" She took out 10 gold and put it on the table in a small brown sack. Lylaia finally took the time to notice the structure of the inn. It was built like a Nordic longhouse; a high ceiling that arched into a point in the middle of the room. The space was almost completely open except for the fire pit in the middle of the room that had chairs around it. The building could hold at least half the population of Whiterun itself.
The innkeeper took the gold and placed it under the counter, "Sure, who are you looking for?" She seemed eager to please, which made things much less stressful for Lylaia.
"His name is Leon, Leon Stryde. Do you have any idea where he lives? Or even what he looks like?" Lylaia asked remembering the name from her journal.
The innkeeper nodded, "Oh Leon! He lives up in Jarrvaskar but he's a regular here. I actually think he should be here soon."
Lylaia's mind jumped at the thought of him showing up but she was a little confused, "Jarrvaskar?"
The innkeeper nodded, "Oh that's right. You've never been to Whiterun before. Well Jarrvaskar is the home of The Companions. They're sorta like a guild, I guess. They help the citizens out with missions that they couldn't do normally themselves. Like I just saw them earlier today! About three of them took out a giant, could you believe that? Scary creatures out there."
Lylaia took into account all of the details. A regular at The Bannered Mare, who was well liked by the people, who lived in a mead hall with a bunch of other warriors. Usually she focused on isolating the person and killing them while they were alone. It was easiest when they were asleep, in their home. She could easily pick a lock. But someone in that mead hall would notice a strange Bosmer skulking around.
The door to the inn opened and a tall man with deep brown eyes and the same colour hair walked in. His hair was long and shaggy, it rested on the nape of his neck and the tops of his ears. His armor was thick and looked heavy, it bore the crest of a wolf howling. On his back he had a large battle axe that seemed to be made a strange steel material.
"There he is now!" The innkeeper nodded to the man and Lylaia's eyebrows shot up. The man looked over at the innkeeper and met eyes with Lylaia before looking away. "Leon!" The innkeeper smiled tenderly at him, like a mother to her child.
"Hello, Mirvana. You are looking ravishing as always" his voice was deep but still charismatic.
Mirvana rolled her eyes, "Alright, alright. So I hear you were supposed to meet this young lady here." She motioned to Lylaia with her hand.
Lylaia smiled her usual, 'I'm a little ditzy and I'm pretty' smile. She held out her hand and looked up at him with wide eyes. "I'm glad to meet you Leon, my name is Lylaia!" she said enthusiastically.
Leon looked a little confused, "Oh… well my name is Leon but I'm not sure we were supposed to meet." He shook her hand and then scratched his head curiously. "Do you have a mission for the companions, because you should take that up with Vilkas, not me…" he continued.
Lylaia cut him off, "Oh no, I'm sorry my teacher must not have told you!" Leon cocked an eyebrow. "I am a traveling botanist from Valenwood. I'm here to study the landscape and flora of Skyrim. I am going to have to venture far into the wild and I'll need a bodyguard of sorts" she made everything up on the spot and shrugged as if the misconception had happened all the time.
Leon nodded, "Well okay, but you might have to fill out some paper work up at Jarrvaskar before we get this show on the road." He began walking towards the door.
Lylaia followed him out of the inn and tapped on his shoulder, "Oh no, no! The plant that I'm most interested in is the Deathbell flower and from my notes it is supposed to glow in the dark." She made a pleading look at him, "Please just this once, then we can come back to Jarrvaskar and fill out all sorts of paperwork."
Leon sighed, "Alright, but Vilkas is going to be furious with us both." Lylaia smiled and clapped her hands in excitement. 'This is going swimmingly, who knew that Nordic heroes were so thick headed' she thought with a smirk. The two headed out of the gates of Whiterun and Lylaia pulled her small plant log out of her quill. She flipped to the Deathbell page.
"It says here they are located in swampy areas. Would you know any swampy area nearby?" Lylaia looked up from the page as they walked.
Leon nodded, "Yea there is a big river right near here and there is a muddy area at the bank of the delta near Riverwood. Why don't we try there?"
Lylaia smiled and closed the log, "That sounds perfect!"
For a long while they walked in silence and Lylaia glanced ever so suddley now and then at him. Thick build, heavy armor, two handed weapon, young, fit, a little blunt on the brain side, probably a heavy drinker as well.
After a while Lylaia could start to hear the river churn and she walked faster towards the sound. She followed a path to the delta of the river where it split off into dozens of smaller streams, "This looks good" she nodded.
Leon grumbled and crossed his arms, "Let's get these flowers and get back to Whiterun." He yawned a little and looked around.
Lylaia grinned before pretending to look around near the river bed. 'He's tired, and a little fatigued from the walk, perfect. Should be an easy kill.' Lylaia headed off into the bushes until she was concealed by the darkness. She saw Leon look back towards the river bed and he jumped. "Leah? Where did you go?" he looked around.
'Ugh… it's Lylaia you idiot…' she thought before taking out her bow and aiming straight for his head with a steel arrow. Right before she was about to loose the arrow she heard a sharp voice in her head. "No Don't!" She winced and pointed her bow at the ground. 'What is the matter my lord?' she asked curiously. "You can't kill him, not now" Hircine sounded disappointed and a little agitated. 'You were the one who wrote his name down… why not now?' Lylaia cocked an eyebrow. "I overlooked his joining of the inner circle of the Companions. He is rising in the ranks quickly, he'll soon receive the beast blood.' Hircine sounded angry he had lost a kill, but he perked up when he mention the beast blood.
Lylaia asked no questions when it came to Hircine and sighed before slinging her bow back over her back and sheathing the arrow in her quill. Lylaia was annoyed that she would now have to make up some dumb story about returning to Valenwood, just to get this chump off her back. She stomped out of the woods with a distressed look on her face, "I can't find those Deathbells anywhere."
Leon looked extremely relieved, "Oh thank goodness, I was worried you'd run off and gotten eaten by a bear or something." He chuckled a bit.
Lylaia narrowed her eyes, 'I can handle you and a bear at the same time you fool.' She smiled and shook her head, "Nope! No bear attacks here." She walked back over to him and looked up at the sky. "I'm sorry but it's getting late. I'll have to try again tomorrow night."
Leon nodded, "That's fine. I'm sure you're tired anyways. You probably got a room with Mirvana so once we get back to Whiterun I'll head to Jarrvaskar and meet you in the morning."
Lylaia responded, "Okay that sounds good and by the way, my name is Lylaia." She looked a little agitated and didn't bother to support her cute smile anymore.
Leon blushed a little with embarrassment, "I am so sorry, I… I didn't hear it well enough the first time, and you only said it once and…" he trailed off before looking back up at her from his fidgeting hands.
Lylaia smirked," It's fine Leon, just try to remember it this time." She walked off down the river and headed back towards the road. Leon followed with a sigh of relief.