Chapter 1: Fish

One by one the pile of squirming and hissing Slaughterfish grew on the dry, sandy shore of Niben Bay. Using only a fraction of her strength, Urzul grabbed the hungry snappers by their tails and flung them meters away, where they fell flat on the sand and went silent. Urzul's pants were rolled up to her knees and drenched in the cold lake water from all the Slaughterfishs' resentful splashing. Her entire body had splashes of water, from the rolled up sleeves of her suspender shirt to her short black hair tied up in a bun.

Every time she flung the nasty vermin out of the water, she let out a hefty grunt that always made the aristocratic Imperials taking walks on the beach turn their heads—sometimes they even ran away. But, Urzul didn't care. She learned at a very young age that her green skin and beastly under bite was always going to repel people away from her. Her mother used to always remind her, "Urzul, you're never going to make friends if you wait for people to talk to you first."

Urzul didn't have any friends.

The Slaughterfish came to bite at Urzul's feet on their own accord. It was in their blood. As long as she stood strong in a sentinel stance, the fish would be choking for air and flopping on the sand before she even got a scratch. She had just the perfect amount of strength and agility it took to fish. She was like a bear—but Urzul used to watch bears, and they didn't do as well of a job.

Another one came—Urzul could see the shadow if it's scaly body lurking through the shallows like a mountain lion of the sea. Urzul pitied them in these final moments; they always looked so sure of themselves. They were going to get their prey, and soon, Urzul was going to be without a limb. But that was never the case. It was almost mean of the divines to create a creature with such confidence, but little to no backbone.

Urzul kept her eyes fixed on the Slaughterfish's head. As soon as it entered Urzul's range of motion, she thrust her upper body forward and snatched the beast out of the water without a single mistake made. It flapped around for a few seconds, desperate to return home, but before Urzul could have a second of sympathy she had already launched it behind her like she was throwing a sports ball, and the Slaughterfish was dead. Easy.

Stood up from her hunched stance in the water to stretch her back and wipe the sweat off of her face from the beating sun. She took note of where the shadow was on the mountain side; it was the middle of the afternoon. The buying merchant would be making his rounds in Weye soon.

Weye was the 'village' Urzul was supposed to call home. 'Supposed' to, because Urzul didn't think having only two houses and a homeless man living in a tent under a tree counted as a village. But apparently the folks in the Imperial City do—that or they just feel bad for staring over the settlement like an overbearing parent.

Despite all of this, Urzul still liked where she lived, but less the exact location and more the vicinity. If anybody asked Urzul where she lived, she'd tell them she lived in the Imperial City, because Weye was attached to it, almost like a parasite. But across the bridge was Urzul's favorite place in the entire world. Every time she looked at the White Gold tower that reached high in the sky, she smiled at the grand magnificence. Inside the city walls it was all lavished in marble and brick, it smelt of fresh cooked meals, and the people wore silk dresses and gleaming sapphire necklaces. It was a place build for the divines. Even though she didn't live there, sometimes when she sat in bed at night, she liked to pretend like she did.

Thinking and daydreaming was the only thing Urzul really had to do for fun. Chasing and grabbing Slaughterfish by the neck and tossing them out of the Niben used to be fun when she was younger, but now it was just a chore, and Urzul had a few bites on her wrist that would probably scar and never heal. She took these fish to the merchant buyer every other day so she and her father could make a living, and that was it. One time she sold the merchant a dead fawn she found behind her house, and occasionally the merchant will ask for some mudcrabs, but that business has been going south for a long time now. Basically, her survival rested in the hands of the wealthy folk in the Imperial City ordering grilled fish at their fancy dinners. This used to bother Urzul, but now she was just bored.

The pile of fish was up to 10, which Urzul usually called enough unless it was a good day. Today wasn't a good day. She trekked barefoot out of the shallow lake, her toes kneeing into the sticky mud from down below. She plopped herself down on the dry dirt next to the pile of dead eels to catch her breath and relax for the few seconds she had. She didn't take very long breaks, knowing she still had to get the wheelbarrow from around the house and piled all the fish one by one onto the cart just in time for the merchant to come by.

It didn't take long for Urzul to spring up off the ground and do just that. She had a determined mind, when something needed to be done, Urzul did it. Within 2 minutes she had all of her Slaughterfish sitting dead inside the worn out wheelbarrow and was carrying it around the bay to her home. She lived unfairly close to her usual fishing spot, sometimes she wanted to take the long way so she could have more time to herself. Today wasn't that day.

It was around this time that Urzul set aside one of the fish she caught to eat for herself, but she wanted the coin more than she wanted the food. They didn't have much else inside the house, but that wasn't anything new. Urzul usually had one or two meals a day, whatever it took to not feel hungry. Sometimes it was a whole fish, most of the time it was several pieces of fruit. Pears were her favorite.

Once she arrived home, all she had to do was wait. She thought, maybe, this time could have been used to snag a few more fish, but it was always best leaving the buyers coming back for more.

She sat on a lonesome barrel that was right outside the door to the cottage she lived in. The only ones there were her and her father. The other house, the one that makes this worthless settlement a "village", was right across the dirty road. The only person who lived there was a cranky old woman named Astrid who only came out of her house to go grocery shopping. Sometimes she wouldn't even do that, and a delivery cart would arrive by her door and give her an assortment of goods. Urzul noticed they both liked pears.

This wasn't the only place Urzul called home—up until she was 16, Urzul lived in a disgusting run-down swamp, also known as the city of Bravil. The people there were nasty, the drinking water always tasted like moss, and the only people that would bother visiting that dump were associates of the Mage's Guild and thieves who weren't skilled enough to heist Leyawiin. There was nothing but bad memories of bullying, name calling from the ignorant off the street, and when she was 10, she watched her mother leave her life forever. Bravil was hell on Nirn, but sometimes, Urzul missed it.

For 5 years Urzul has been tossing fish and eating pears off of the trees of Imperial-claimed utopia. Now she was 21. Sometimes Urzul thought to herself which period of her life has been better, but could never come up with a cohesive answer because nothing in her life has ever been "good". The question is always "which was less bad?", and Urzul didn't care to answer.

The merchant was here now. She didn't see him, but the sound of his large obnoxious cart could be heard from every corner of Cyrodiil. Eventually the little man's shadow became visible on the long marble bridge that connected the elites of the Imperial City with the commoners of Weye. This merchant lived a double life; Urzul wondered what he thought about White Gold Tower. Was it a miracle? Was it a neighbor?

Urzul got off of her uncomfortable barrel to meet him at the end of the bridge like she always did. She carried the fishy Wheelbarrow across the dirt and eventually they both made awkward eye contact. Urzul had been meeting and selling with this man for 5 years—she didn't know his name. She didn't ask.

The man made a familiar nod and let the hefty weigh of the cart handles off of his tiny shoulder. He was a bosmer with a haircut that didn't really suit him, and the pointy shoes that he wore made him look like a forest nymph. Urzul felt self-conscious about the height differences, since she stretched a considerable way above his head, and felt bad they both had to crank their necks in either direction in order to look at each other. One positive thing she thought, though, was he sure had confidence.

"So then," he said to Urzul without wasting time, "How many?"

Urzul turned around to look at her wheelbarrow, even though she already knew the answer. "10."

"10? Again?"

Urzul didn't respond.

"I know you have more than 10 in you. Look at your shoulders. You could give me at least 20, probably 30."

Urzul remained silent, and just shrugged her shoulders.

The bosmer man let out a frustrated scoff and waved his hand rudely, "Eh, whatever. You Orcs. I'll give you 40 for the 10."

Urzul's eyebrow arched as the bosmer looked at her with his beady little eyes. She didn't make any movements. "…Just 40?"

"You're going to complain? 35."

"I just caught these."

"25 gold. You're lucky I come here at all you know, there's plenty of fishers at the Waterfront that could give me ten times your supply." He remarked, before putting on a false smile, "But I'm a nice guy. I like to support small businesses. So put your head down, Orc Girl, and take the gold before you have to throw those fish back in the bay."

Urzul remained expressionless and didn't make any attempts to acknowledge the bosmer's rude remarks. She did what he said, and loaded all the fish into his cart.

The bosmer put the gold into Urzul's hand and sarcastically smirked, "I appreciate your business" before picking up his cart and heading back into town. Urzul looked down at her hand—she only had 20 gold.

This would be enough to a week's supply of pears, which was fine, but Urzul knew her father would just gamble it all away so she was going to keep a close eye on the pear tree.

And to speak of the devil, right after the Merchant was across the bridge, Urzul was startled by a grumbling voice that yelled "URZUL!", that made the black hairs on the back of her head stand up.

Urzul turned around at her own pace, because it was just her father. He was motioning for her to hurry inside the house. Urzul knew why.

She walked towards the house and her father began to get anxious. His pale green skin, which didn't match hers, was wet from the sweat and his oily hair was slicked all the way back, probably from all of his stress. Pay day was the only way to get him feeling normal for a few hours.

"Well? Well? How much did we get?" He said hastily the closer Urzul got to the front door.

Urzul didn't answer until she was all the way there, "20."

"20?! That's it?! How many did you catch?"

"10."

"Dammit Urzul. Why can't you be a better haggler?"

Urzul just kept walking past her distraught father and into the house, where it wasn't any hotter or cooler. The downstairs was just a sad worn out kitchen, and of course the large round table Urzul's father used to host his card gambling nights. She didn't like the downstairs, but she didn't stay there anyway.

Urzul's father came back inside and shut the front door. "Alright, fine, 20 is fine." He said in an anxious tone, "I-I'll just cut back tonight. And I'll come out with 60!"

Urzul didn't care, "I'm still keeping my 5."

When Urzul turned 18, she made a deal with her father that she'd always get a fraction of the pay. This promise was hardly ever honored, but Urzul always tried.

"Your 5?! Oh, Urzul, my darling my love, Daddy can't afford to let you have that right now, okay?"

"Stop talking to me like that." She ordered. That tone irked her to no end.

"You're not keeping your pay. Now give me the gold."

Once again, without fighting back or disobeying, Urzul gave her father 20 gold.

"Thank you." He said, the tone of relief seeping through his pores and drowning the subtext of his voice. "Don't worry, Urzul, by the end of tonight I'm going to get you more than 5 gold—20! 30!"

Urzul didn't believe him. She never did. After every pay day, unless they were biting their resources down to the nail, Bogrum gro-Bogrum the proud father of Urzul would gamble away their entire pay until two days passed and Urzul made more. Today was Loredas, and all of his friends would be coming over as soon as the sun set to gamble the night away, lying to their wives about overtime at work—if they even had any to being with.

Urzul didn't want anything to do with it. The men who gambled with her father were vile, dirty, and they tended to cheat even though her father didn't have a deceiving bone in this body. They always took advantage of his hospitality and generosity and hardly ever let him win. He did win once, even doubled their income, but they took it all back from him at their next game. They did this often so he wouldn't quit the game.

So, she left the house for the evening. She could go up to her room, but she wasn't up to it. She preferred a walk down by the Niben to anything else in the world right now.

"Where are you off to, darlin'?" Her father asked when she creaked the door open.

Urzul didn't respond.

The route for her evening walks usually stretched around the isolated beaches overlooking the Imperial City, through the woods, and then back home. Tonight, she decided just stay on the beach. The sun was setting, and Urzul enjoyed the colors that reflected on the water during this time of day. She liked the feeling of her bare feet on the soft sand. It wasn't warm at this time of day, but it was still nice. One time while fish, Urzul heard a little elf girl complain to her mother that she hated getting beach sand in her sandals. That was one of Urzul's favorite feelings in the world.

It bothered Urzul that nobody else in the vicinity came to watch the sunset on the beach. Was Astrid too cranky and depressed to even look out her window? Were the Imperials too busy eating fish? Urzul found it hard to keep away from things that radiated with natural beauty. The sunset, the White Gold Tower, or even the Slaughterfish that jumped out of the water while hunting prey. If Urzul was lucky, sometimes she'd get a view of all three.

Just as the day was reaching night, Urzul could hear the scrapping of a mudcrab pinching its claws at Urzul. Even though it was hard to see, Urzul could tell exactly where he was just by the movement of sound, and she put all of her strength into a forward kick that sent the little beats flying so far away that Urzul couldn't hear the splash it made back in the water. It made her feet sting, but she'd get over it.

During reflective moments like these on her walks, Urzul often wondered what life would be like on the other side, inside the walls and living among the wealthy. Would she enjoy it? Or, would she hate it? Though she wanted success, she didn't want the social expectations that came along with it. People in higher power usually had to be mean. Even emperor Uriel, as benevolent as he's made out to be, must have moments where he uses his power to order extra fish at dinner. Sometimes Urzul wondered if he ever ate fish that she caught.

It was almost as if Urzul didn't really have a place anywhere in the world. Weye was beneath her, the White Gold Tower is above her, where should she go? Perhaps it would be best if she set up a tent on the marble bridge. She wished, maybe, she could have some sort of higher responsibility. She was strong, maybe she could be a bodyguard. Maybe the Blades were hiring. Or, alternatively, she could leave Cyrodiil and move to Skyrim where she could join an Orc Stronghold and slave away at a smelter making ingots and selling them to the Nords. Maybe they'd give her at least 40 gold for it.

But at the end of the day, there wasn't any other option for her staying put in Weye and taking her walks around the Niben bay like she was now. She could leave but, she knew she'd miss the cold breeze that grazed over the waterfront with every wave and hit with Urzul with a sprinkle that evaporated off her green skin in seconds. But it was those few seconds that reminded Urzul…maybe she should ride it out a little bit longer.

Her walk soon came to an end and she was home once again. It was pitch black outside by the time she opened up the front door, and she heard the envious laughter coming from half a dozen men sweating around a card table. They were Imperials, Nords, one Dark Elf, but not Orcs.

A few people turned to Urzul when she came through the front door but she didn't look at any of them. She headed for the stairs, but not without hearing their drunken ramblings.

"—Hey Bogrum, why don't you ante up night with your daughter eh?"

Everybody laughed. Urzul's father even let out a nervous wheeze.

"She doesn't talk much but I bet she'd roar like a bear after a night with me."

Bogrum gro-Bogrum, the loving father, went along with the laughter. "Now, now, fellas—I still haven't played my hand yet."

"Oh shove it, Bogrum, you're screwed no matter what you play— unless that bulldog daughter of yours comes down here and makes your drunken ass fold."

The men continued to laugh.

Urzul went to sleep.