Chapter 3
Disclaimer: I own nothing in this work, the Elder Scrolls series belongs to Bethesda Game Studios and Bethesda Softworks
Hours later at the break of dawn, the three woke up one at a time. After washing and cleaning up in the relatively clean water at the bottom of the den, Kamilia started to make some breakfast and brought out some of remaining blood they saved from last night while Nadiya and Milana decided to examine maps of Skyrim and resuming her reading about current events, focusing on Skyrim. Once their meals were prepared, they sat down at a table near the fire, and began their discussion.
"So I took the liberty of reading up on these maps and this book on the various cities in Skyrim and the organizations within them, continuing from last night," Nadiya began. "We're quite a way from the nearest main road, which would take at least a day or two of uninterrupted walking to reach on foot. Assuming we stop to rest, which we likely will, definitely two days, possibly even three. However, I doubt our friends over there walked everywhere. They must have had some horses. They'd shorten our journey immensely."
"I hope they do. It would be hell on my feet if we walked the whole way," said Kamilia with a full mouth.
"Please don't talk with a full mouth Kam. And you're right Nadiya, it would be very foolish of them to not have at least one. Shall I go out and check the surface after breakfast?" asked Milana.
"Yes please. Okay, so assuming the rebellion isn't affecting all corners of the province which would make life drastically more difficult, we should reach this road here tonight or tomorrow on the 19th if we have horses," said Nadiya as she pointed at her map. "And from there I suggest we head north, then west a bit, then follow the road to the northeast then northwest at this bend, to this city called Winterhold. There's supposed to be a College there, dedicated to the study of the arcane. Kinda like the College of Whispers, only very isolated. I remember reading a little about it back in the City, and it's supposed to be a very safe place for mages, wizards and the like to practice various skills in magic. In the College we can complete our training, and we can also learn more about Skyrim in relative peace as long as the College isn't in the middle of a battlefield. Overall, the journey should take within two weeks."
"Really? That sounds like a good plan then. And it sounds like we'll fit into the College well enough, assuming they're willing to take us in. And if there's enough blood available. What's the area like?" asked Milana.
"Probably very snowy based on the name. Otherwise I don't know much, I haven't read what the environment is like there yet. Humph, I should've read up on this province when I had the chance, would help us quite a bit now. Oh well. What do you think Kam?"
"Sounds okay. Hear me out though, an institution dedicated to the study of magic that still exists in good condition in this day and age is a good thing especially in this province, but how long are we going to stay there? What with the Thalmor running about?"
"For a while. A long while. Like I said, we need to find a safe home and find out more about the civil war and the extent of Thalmor control. Once we sort things out we can go about dealing with the elves in this province, as well as finding others to sway to our cause of fighting the Dominion underground to eventually liberate Tamriel from those bastards. That may not happen for a long time though since the College is somewhat isolated, and it's a big province. Now I say we go to Winterhold because it seems to be ignored by both sides in this rebellion despite the local rulers aligning themselves with the rebels, and the roads leading there seem to be safer than the other paths heading elsewhere. Windhelm is much closer to us from our location, 'Mara's Eye Pond,' but I wouldn't feel comfortable residing there for obvious reasons."
"Why? Because of this Ulfric fella?"
"Yeah. The man sounds like he's tearing apart Skyrim and the Empire with his Stormcloaks just to get what he wants. He might have a good case against the Empire, but he sounds like a deluded maniac. And besides, this all seems like it's working in the elves' favor. In fact, I'd bet they engineered this whole charade to further weaken the Empire so they'll have a greater chance of destroying it later."
"Your theory makes sense, but honestly we need to figure out the situation one bit at a time. I say we should stop by Windhelm for at least a day to rest and to see these Stormcloaks and what they're like, why they're revolting. I think it'd be great opportunity to learn about what were the key mistakes the Empire made that led these Stormcloaks to rebel, and to learn from them. I still support the Empire that we knew, but we need the whole story in order to make a reasonable judgment," asserted Milana firmly. "Oh, and our blood stock will probably be close to empty once we get there, so stopping by should be a priority. No one will miss a couple of Stormcloaks as long as we make it look like bandits or wild animals or whatever did the job."
Nadiya looked at her and opened her mouth to rebuke her, and then paused. A few moments later, she continued with a lower voice than before. "I guess you're right. Wouldn't be fair otherwise. It's just that these idiots seem blind to the real threat: The Dominion! They decide to rebel so they can openly worship Talos and take the war to the Summerset Isles by themselves? Lunatics I say. The Dominion is too powerful for any one province to handle alone. By the way, I did some reading on why Hammerfell succeeded against the Dominion, and their victory was mostly because of those 'invalids' after all. I knew it! And yet despite their victory, that land is still in utter ruin, a pyrrhic victory at best. If the Redguards, legendary for their skill in battle couldn't 'win' without that kind of cost, I highly doubt Ulfric and his cohorts would be able to even approach the Isles if that's their true intentions. I shudder to think what would happen if he succeeds in his petty rebellion. I respect the rebels for their willingness to war so openly against the elves, but the path they're taking doesn't do any good for the province, for all of the Empire. I wished they'd think with their heads, and not with their hearts."
"I agree with you fully. However, things seem to be complicated and I don't think we'll know the full story without personal interactions first. Oh, another thing; I read somewhere that the headquarters for the Legion is in Solitude, and that none other but Tullius is leading them. Did you know that?" asked Milana.
"I did. I've been reading about the Legion and its various assets and holdings in Skyrim. I'm glad Tullius is the leader of the Legion here, and I'm certain he'll lead his forces to victory soon. As soon as he puts down Ulfric, everyone can rest easy and the Empire can continue to rebuild."
"That's nice to think about. So when will you rejoin the Legion? Whenever you visit Solitude?"
"Not soon. I don't even know if I'll rejoin."
"What? Are you serious?" asked Kamilia with great surprise. "Why not? I mean, joining the Shadow Legion was one of the high points of your life if I remember correctly."
Nadiya breathed deeply and remained quiet for a moment. Then she started slowly, "I know I swore an oath to the Legion to protect the Empire and its citizens. But with the current state of Tamriel, it may not be the best thing to do. Really, all I need to do is complete my battlemage training, and I am sure the College has much to offer when it comes to combat training. I'm not too keen on rejoining the Legion just yet because it sounds like Skyrim needs a lot of help. According to these journal entries, the province has been under a lot of stress for a long while, and the war only added to that. Things are pretty grim in Skyrim and there's much that needs to be done in order to prepare against the Dominion. Doing things our way means we have significantly more freedom in accomplishing this. Sure, rejoining the Legion would be nice. I'd officially complete my training and I'd be a great asset to my fellow Legionnaires. But then I'd have to be taking orders, and there a lot I want to do that wouldn't be possible as an active soldier. I wouldn't be able to, for example, chase down a group of bandits terrorizing a town because I'm needed to defend a fort from Stormcloaks. Basically I don't want to rejoin the Legion because then I'd wouldn't be able to help out the locals as much."
"I see. Are you sure about this?"
"Yes. I can rejoin the Legion anytime. And besides, I think I can do more good if I'm acting alone. With you two I mean."
"Are you going to at least contact Tullius and let him know we're back in the fold?" asked Milana.
"I don't think that'd be a good idea. According to this map, there's a Thalmor Embassy not far from Solitude. Yeah, ridiculous, I know, "commented Nadiya to a surprised Kamilia. "It may be dangerous to head that way or even send letters because of their proximity. We can contact him when the time is right and safe."
"Don't you think you're being a bit too cautious Nadiya? I mean it's been twenty years, is it really necessary to sulk about in the shadows like a bunch of rats?" wondered Kamilia out loud.
At these words Nadiya turned and glared at Kamilia with ferocity, surprising the twin who wasn't expecting such aversion. Kamilia wondered why she was doing that for a mere instant, and then the twin remembered the Breton's time in slavery.
"Hey, sorry. I wasn't thinking right, hah-hah. I was just dozing off." She looked at Nadiya with a sincere yet nervous smile. "I uh, I just forgot about you-know-what."
Nadiya looked on for a few more seconds, then lowered her eyes. Speaking in a blunt tone she replied, "It's fine. I just want to be a little more cautious when it comes to those bastards. You understand that, don't you?"
"Right, right. But listen, it's been decades since we walked Tamriel. Don't you think it'd be unlikely that'd an agent would be looking for you still, or even recognize you?"
"Maybe. But I still don't want to take the risk. Please, just trust me."
"Okay then. Once again, my sorries. Alright, so back to our original talk; so the plan is to head to the main road to Windhelm to check things out, then onwards to Winterhold?" asked Kamilia, eager to put aside the preceding awkwardness.
"Yeah. Might as well restock and get info in Windhelm like you said Mil. When do you girls want to move out?"
"Hmmm. We'd still need to pack up and that will take a while. Oh, almost forgot. I'll go up to check for horses. Hopefully they have a spare carriage as well," said Milana as she got up to put away her finished dishes first. "I'll be back in a few minutes," she called as she headed to the ladder leading to the outside. Nadiya and Kamilia then turned to finish their food.
Once Milana left, Kamilia looked to Nadiya and asked, "Hey, gotta moment?"
"Um, sure. We're not really doing anything but finishing up our food. Why, what's the matter?"
"Don't get mad, but... are you okay?"
"What? Am I okay?"
"Yeah, are you?"
"...Yes? Wait, what do you mean?"
"Well, I know things got tense while we were escaping the city, before we went to Sleep. Is there anything that Mil and I should be aware of? We couldn't ask back then on account of those elven bastards chasing us."
"Oh. Um, not really. Well, I hope the others are okay, like Inigo, Marcus, Nora, everyone. It's been over twenty years though, so I shouldn't be too hopeful. Besides, save for Ingrid, Lars, and the other Nords we've known, I am very skeptical of any of them being here in this province. Nothing else, really. And don't worry about what you said earlier, its fine. You don't need to memorize every detail of my life, especially things I want to forget about."
"I see. Well, I remembered you being very, very tense just before the Sleep. Did you have a flashback, or something else?"
"Uh, I don't... I don't know. Can we continue this later? I don't feel like talking about the Battle right now. Maybe later, when we reach the College."
"Oh absolutely. I'm just saying that we're here for you. I know it was hard for you to flee the battle, but please, if there's anything we can do to help just say so."
"Thanks Kam. I don't know what I'd do without you two. If I were the only one left, I'd probably lose my mind. Oh, there she is. Let's see what Mil's got to say," finished Nadiya. Kamilia looked at Nadiya with sympathetic eyes and then turned her attention to her sister.
"Good news, there are horses! And better yet, a nice, hardy carriage! A little dirty, but nothing a bit of work could clean."
"That's great! Some good news to start the day. Okay, so anything else before we pack up and leave?" Nadiya asked to the twins.
Both sisters raised an eyebrow. Kamilia said, "So soon? You think we should leave immediately?"
"Yeah, it'd be best to start our journey as soon as possible. Why, something wrong?"
"Not really. I don't mind packing up, but leaving right away, in the daytime?"
"We have hoods. As long as we don't expose ourselves too much we should be fine. Have you two slept and ate well enough?"
The twins nodded. "We're fine physically, or at least I am. You?" asked Milana to her twin. The other sister nodded, and then Milana said, "Okay, I guess we can move out. We honestly were expecting you to take more time to analyze and read those maps and records."
"Oh. Well, I think I'm set. We're bringing those books and other works anyways; we can adjust our plan if need be on the go. So, are we ready?"
"One more thing. I don't know about you two, but do you girls think that us being the only survivors out of several dozen is a little... odd? I mean, did someone plan to keep us three alive, and only us three?" asked Kamilia quite randomly.
She looked at her sister and one of her best friends for their response. They looked at her with confused looks. Moments later, Milana spoke up and said, "You know, it is a little strange. We weren't all grouped together, and now that I think about it I remember seeing my casket next to a couple of ones that had freshly dead members. I forgot their names, but anyway yeah. It seems like those smugglers skipped over our caskets. Any opinions Nadiya?"
The Breton girl pondered the possibilities for some time, and then offered her thoughts. "Maybe it was fate? Maybe the Divines thought to save us for some reason?"
Upon hearing her opinion, slight smiles appeared on the twins' faces and Kamilia said, "Huh. Maybe. Even if it's all a coincidence, I'd like to think that's what happened. Honestly, that seems the most likely scenario at the moment."
"But if that's the case then what are our destinies? Are we supposed to do great things?" asked Milana to no one in particular.
"Whatever the reason I'm sure we'll find out in time. Maybe not for a while, but eventually. Now if there's nothing else, shall we get going?" concluded Nadiya.
Satisfied, the twins agreed with no other questions. For the next two hours, the three packed up all necessary things and sorted out their personal items. They all changed into their semi-formal apparel courtesy of the coven and checked their weapons. Nadiya put her battlemage armor away in a chest, deeming it too high-profile to wear casually. "I mean, walking into a city rebelling against the Empire wearing Imperial battlemage gear, yeah, great idea," she said with heavy sarcasm when asked about the armor. Instead, she opted for her attire given to her when she joined the coven, a formal-looking outfit that doubled as a light armor of sorts. Soon, they were all pack up and began to haul their baggage up outside to put onto the carriage.
Upon stepping foot outside for the first time in more than twenty years, Nadiya realized something rather important. "Good gods, I forgot how bright it is in daylight!" she exclaimed. "Yeah, we figured. This was why we were kinda iffy on leaving so soon," said Kamilia, trying to shield her eyes and carry her things at the same time rather awkwardly.
"Damn, this light is ridiculous even with hoods. There should be a way around this," Nadiya muttered as they went up to the carriage.
"What, like wearing a full mask over our eyes?" suggested Milana sarcastically, while trying to place her bags with much difficulty. "Don't worry, we'll get used to it in a moment."
"Hmmm, maybe," replied Nadiya. For the next few minutes, the three struggled to put away their things while ignoring the sun, with much effort and little success. Suddenly, Nadiya shouted "I'VE GOT IT!" Startled, the twins yelped and fell from the top of the carriage onto the ground. Dazed due to the fall and having their hoods fallen off their heads which left them uncomfortably exposed to the sun, they looked at Nadiya in irritation. "Seriously? Did you have to SCREAM in our EARS?!" yelled Kamilia, emphasizing the two bold words.
"Ugh. Nadiya, what is it?" asked Milana, exasperated by the inconvenience.
"Darkly tinted glass that goes over your eyes! Sunglasses! So basically they're like regular glasses with a black tint to shield our eyes from the damned sun, and yeah! Sunglasses! It's interesting, you'd think that someone would've invented that by now. Come, what do you girls think? Something that I could market and make a lot a gold off of?"
At this suggestion the twins glared at her intensely for coming up with such an absurd idea. Then, Kamilia started to snicker, quickly turning into full-blown laughter. "What's so funny Kam?" asked a bewildered Milana.
"Oh come on Mil, that's hilarious! Sunglasses, hah! We needed something to lighten our spirits, and this was one of the most ridiculous things I've heard in a while!" replied Kamilia, laughing harder by the second. "You know how huge glasses are, what makes you think that people would want something like that on their faces all the time?" Milana glared at her boisterous sister, then gradually she came to follow her in laughter, realizing the absurdity of the suggestion. They both laughed for several moments, happy to have some joy in their lives for the first time in a long time. During all this, Nadiya folded her arms and made a face.
Humph! I'll show them. I'll make some sunglasses and then we'll see who's laughing later! All I have do is figure out a way to make glasses easier to fit on faces. thought Nadiya. At least they're happy though. It's good to see them laugh genuinely since, hell, before the war.
"Okay girls, okay laugh it off. Let's finish packing and then we'll be on our way."
Over an hour after packing up their things securely in the obnoxious sunlight, cleaning up the carriage, and feeding the two horses, they double-checked the den for anything they might need. Once content, they started on their journey, noting to inform officials about the existence of the illicit operation that was going on. Was being the key word.
Since the den was situated in a little island within a pond, the three vampires had to carefully maneuver the carriage and horses onto a rickety-looking raft to get transport them to the mainland. Luckily there were no complications and not twenty minutes later, upon reaching the opposite shore, the three began on their journey north to Windhelm.
Nadiya decided to take the driver seat, owing to her greater experience in handling horses and her desire to see the snowy wilderness of Skyrim up close. She got onto a dirt road that started from the pond and followed it, assuming that this one would lead them to the main road.
The twins stayed inside the carriage, doing some more reading in order to learn more about Skyrim while exchanging small talk every so often. Hours after leaving the pond, while they were quietly studying, Milana looked up and said, "Hey Kam?"
Kamilia looked up and asked, "What's up?"
"Did Nadiya say anything about why she was so tense, like I asked you to?"
"Not really. She did say she was worried about the others like Nora and Inigo. Other than that, she wasn't too willing to talk about things from back then."
"Alright. I hope that she'll be willing to talk about these things soon. Honestly, I'm a bit worried for her. I don't want her to have all of those feelings bottled up. What if something causes her to remember whatever made her so tense and she goes berserk? I don't want anything bad to happen to our friend, she's been through a lot over the past few years. I mean, as in before we Slept."
"Mil, she's a strong girl, you know that. I don't know about you, but if I captured and forced into service to scum like the Thalmor, I don't think I'd be sane at all. How many people do you know became fully rehabilitated more or less after enduring the worst the Thalmor had to offer within a month or so of escaping? Now, what I think would be the best way to help draw these repressed thoughts out would be to give her more time to cope and slowly she'll be willing to open up and talk. I'm not sure if these feelings are so strong that they'll overpower her and drive her to do, well, bad things, so I want to keep things going slow and steady."
"Okay Kam. I'll leave the therapeutic part to you then, and I'll focus on our plans to deal with the Thalmor. After all, you were always the relatable one."
"Oh come on Mil, it's not as if you're completely and totally socially inept, if that's what you're implying."
"You know what I mean. Back at the fair, from before the War? When you managed to scheme your way through those guards and got Nadiya, Reyan, and Ingrid to play those cheese pranks on those insufferable nobles?"
"Gods, who could ever forget that!"
The resounding laughter came to Nadiya's ears as she was looking in awe at the landscape. The land is certainly beautiful, and very snowy too! she thought. She had never seen so much snow, only once when she traveled to study at Bruma, within the Jerall Mountains. She hadn't gone out into the mountains during her time there, but she could see the great peaks up close from the city, so full of snow.
As she observed the land and its critters while directing the horses, she came to remember how cold it was back in Bruma. She had to wear a great fur cloak just to be able to walk outside. And now, although she could feel the cold, it did not affect her to the point where she needed warmer clothes despite only wearing her coven's lightly-tailored apparel.
She remembered how much fun she and her friends had up there, having snowball fights when taking breaks from their tasks and studies as students of the College of Whispers. Despite their meticulous and often redundant research, there was enough time to have a social life outside of the College, outside on the streets and outskirts of Bruma. She even went out on a couple of dates, but nothing lasting came out of them. Up in Bruma, things were simple and straightforward. Hell, everything was back then. Up until the War over a year later.
Nadiya was in the middle of a field trip to Skingrad when the Dominion initiated their invasion, and when she went to assist nearby Legionnaires, she found herself a captive in short order. After her escape she went into rehabilitation and was released after a month and a week. She would have spent more time recovering were it not for the fact that she was a Legionnaire, and due to the astonishing advance of the Aldmeri armies she was prematurely pressed into service for the Shadow Legion, the famed Legion known for the legendary Imperial Battlemages. She had joined the Imperial Army as a reservist while a student, knowing her skills was best suited for becoming a battlemage were it necessary to join the Imperial armies, and she believed that she could do much good as a Legionnaire. Unfortunately, her training was incomplete when she was captured. As such, she was not fully prepared to fight against the people that not only enslaved her but sought to dominate Tamriel. More than once she nearly lost her mind as she participated in battles all while people of all races and ages fought and died all around her. The Dominion viewed the Empire and its people as weak and inferior, fit for subjugation, and thus waged total war. Because of this doctrine Nadiya had to witness the worst of the atrocities wrought by them, something that she had already seen during her time in captivity. Sometimes there was nothing she could do to stop them.
She did hold firm through the toughest battles though, either through sheer force of will or through intervention. Often the twins were there for her despite not being soldiers themselves, being part of a militia group. Lars was almost always present, as he was one of the regulars assigned to supplement the Shadow Legion, along with Nimeia, Walks-with-Wind, and Alanni. In short, though her fortitude was tested immensely once again, she was able to pull through, though not without more scars both mental and physical.
And now she was alone with the twins in a strange and foreign land. No other familiar faces would be there to back them up if things went bad. To survive, they would have to find their own way in Skyrim, this time without old friends and family. Nadiya did not know what the future held in store for her and the twins, but she hoped that the Divines would keep them safe for as long as the Thalmor and the Dominion roamed Tamriel.
