CHAPTER 5 'Miraak. Miiiiraaaak,' Teldryn murmured slowly as he walked alongside me, deep in thought, the lenses of his helmet catching a glint of late afternoon sun. 'What a curious man he must be. It seems as if nearly everybody... almost knows him.'

I remained quiet and stared ahead, squinting through my hood at the vast expanse of fallen ash and charred trees that stretched out into the horizon of Solstheim before us.
The sun was beginning to sink in the sky; A cold breeze was beginning to bolden as it washed over me and brought with it the faint smell of sulfur. My cape billowed slightly as I trudged through the thick blanket of ash, my boots sinking a little deeper into it with every few dozen steps.
Everything in my field of vision was a shade of brown, grey or rust. The orange sunset was deepening in colour; a blurred orb disappearing behind the ash-covered hills, obscured by the thick and hazy atmosphere. I gazed into it, the monotony of our trek lulling me into a state of mild entrancement.
'And he has a temple, apparently.' Teldryn's intermittent but constant commentary was a pleasant sound, despite its subject matter. He wasn't saying anything much that required me to respond, and so I was content to listen.
'You must have done something impressive to have captured his attention.'
'I wish I knew what it was,' I said dryly. 'None of this is making sense yet.'

I thought again of the numerous dunmer we had seen today who had been gathered around the monument that Teldryn had called the Earth Stone. The expression in their eyes was vacant, and tortured; as they swung their tools they had uttered the most ominous words:

"Here in his shrine, that they have forgotten... Here do we toil, that we might remember."

Teldryn's voice roused me from my far away thoughts.
'I doubt if we'll make it to the temple any time soon.' He stopped walking and looked up at the sky. 'We haven't much light left in any case. Here is as good a place as any to rest for the night.'
'Alright,' I said quietly.
Something had caught my attention; For a moment I thought I had glimpsed the briefest of shadows quickly scoot from the corner of my field of vision, disappearing behind the trunk of a charred tree. I abruptly stopped walking and quickly dropped into a slightly crouched stance, my left hand immediately flying to grasp the hilt of Dawnbreaker. My eyes darted quickly around me, scanning left and right, and then focusing on the burnt tree trunk where the flicker of movement had been.
I heard the singing of metal against metal as Teldryn immediately drew his sword with his right hand, his left instantly rising up and beginning to glow dimly with a magical light. He must have seen it too; his reaction had been as instantaneous as my own.
He shot me a rapid glance through his mask before advancing forward, quickly placing one foot in front of the other with surprising agility and grace as he approached the area next to the burned tree.
I felt a pulse of adrenaline and fear ripple quickly through me as the soft, cold wind caressed my ears, and I strained to listen for any sounds.

It was then that a piercing whistle broke the silence, and a deep thud shook through me as an arrow embedded itself in my upper back.

A cry rang out from my lips, not of pain so much as shock and anger; I fell to my hands and knees, Dawnbreaker hissing as I wrenched it from its scabbard. As I sprung back onto my feet, I saw Teldryn racing toward me, his left hand thrust forward as the glow from it intensified and a dark blue tear in the air itself materialised before him. Moments later, a flame atronach rapidly emerged from the swirling light and immediately raced after Teldryn, its arm raised high above its flaming horns, leaving a thin trail of fire in its wake.
'Get down!' he snapped.
Another arrow hissed through the air and embedded itself into the ash next to my feet as I quickly jumped aside and glared angrily at the crest of the nearest hill, feeling the coldness and pressure build up in my right hand from the spell I was summoning.
There it was; a figure crouching behind a burnt stump, bow drawn and pointed directly at my chest. The chitin armour he wore made his silhouette jagged and hard to define for a moment. I drew back my right hand and gritted my teeth, my face bearing a vicious snarl beneath my mask as I surged forward and threw the Icy Spear at the archer with all of my force and anger.
The figure swiftly hid itself behind the nearest tree as the icy spear hit the ground where he had been and shattered loudly. I put all of my effort into covering the distance between myself and my assailant, striving to reach him before he had the time to nock another arrow.
I roared angrily and brought my blade down with full force upon the crouching figure as he fumbled for his sidearm; a shower of ash spat up from the ground as he deftly leaped clear of my sword and it buried itself into the ground where he had been a split second before.
I heard a schick as he drew an elven dagger from his armour and a swoosh as he swung it hard at my neck; A loud clang rang out as I blocked the blow with Dawnbreaker, the attacker grunting from the effort of his swing.
Before he could recover, I instantly leapt to the side and brought my blade sweeping into his left flank between the plates of his chitin armour. He roared in pain and outrage as I wrenched it free, blood spilling from the gaping wound as I stepped around him and grabbed his head from behind with my right hand, drawing Dawnbreaker back as far as I could with my left.

'No...' He choked, blood gushing onto the ash in rhythmic spurts from the deep cut. His voice was heavy with shock and disbelief; His arms flailed as I pushed down on his helmet and forced him onto his knees. 'I yield...'
I snarled and felt the potent rush of bloodlust and power course through me as I drove Dawnbreaker straight through his back, its point erupting from his chest, stained dark red with the rich blood from deep within his heart. I exhaled through clenched teeth as his body stiffened, tortured gargles and chokes erupting from deep within his throat.
I sneered as I put my foot on his back, loving the sound of my blade singing as I brutally pulled it free from his armoured body. It slumped ungracefully onto the ground at my feet.
'Useless,' I hissed quietly to myself as I stared at the bleeding corpse. I could hear my own blood rushing through my head as my eyes fixed onto the small spurts still pulsing from his side. I slowly inhaled as I felt a powerful need slowly begin to rise from deep within me.

In one smooth movement, I pulled my mask aside and bent down, my mouth latching onto the bleeding wound, my tongue forcing itself inside the cut, stroking the smooth edges and scooping the hot, salty blood from within.
I swallowed deeply as the pulses became weaker, the blood slowly ceasing to yield to me as I began to come down from my intoxication. Whatever was left of him could be left to the mudcrabs and sandhoppers; He was nothing now.
I slowly stood up and wiped my mouth, breathing deeply, while staring down at the body before me.

My bloodlust began to subside, and the familiar feeling of shame and revulsion slowly began to replace it, as always.

I reached up and over my shoulder, grippig the arrow that was embedded there and grimacing as I pulled it from my flesh in one quick and rapid movement. After looking at it to ensure that the arrowhead was still attached, I absently cast it aside.

'Nysteris!'

I heard Teldryn's deep bark before I saw him as I turned, watching him run up the ash hill, sword sheathed and a flame atronach floating obediently behind him. His chitin armour was smeared with blood, but he seemed fine; Clearly the blood belonged to someone else. I quickly pulled my mask back up over my wouth as I waited for him to reach me.
'Turn around,' he demanded, panting slowly, putting his hands on my shoulders and turning them away from him. I felt him run his fingers over the arrow wound; 'You'll be alright.'
Although the wound from the arrow was painful, I was surprised and embarrassed to find that a hot flush rushed to my cheeks at his physical touch. I stood still, facing away from him, soaking in my awkwardness.
He slowly walked around to my front, staring down at the body of my attacker as it lay crumpled upon the ash. He crouched on one knee and reached out for something.
'Here,' He said dryly, 'I think you might have dropped this.' He grabbed Dawnbreaker by the blade with his gloved hand and pointed the hilt toward me. He tutted and shook his head as I grasped it.
'You should really take better care of a fine sword like that.' His hands travelled up to his helmet to lift it from his head as the flame atronach crumbled ungracefully behind him.
Upon seeing his face again, my breath caught in my chest for a moment; His black mohawk remained still in the gentle night time breeze, and his blood-red eyes narrowed as he looked down at the dead man, his helmet resting under his arm.
The dark tattoos displayed upon his face arched gently up and over his high brows and trailed to a blue patch on his lower lip, which I was having difficulty drawing my gaze from; his strong jaw was covered with rugged, short hair. His grey skin contrasted startlingly with the red of his eyes; I felt another blush and a slight nervousness as he turned his face to look at me. 'These are Morag Tong,' He said in a serious tone, His eyes widening as he spoke. He handed me a folded piece of paper. 'I believe that this was meant for you.'
I gently took it from him and frowned as I unfolded it.

Honourable Writ of Execution: Nysteris (further name unknown)

The aforementioned personage has been marked for execution as a member of an unlawful guild of assassins in accordance with the lawful tradition and practice of the Morag Tong Guild.
The bearer of this non-disputable document has official sanctioned license to kill the aforementioned personage.

I stared at it for a moment, trying to process the information, when I realised that it had just divulged a substantial amount of information to Teldryn that I had intended to keep to myself.

'I'm not going to ask any questions about that,' said Teldryn politely, leaning to the right as he transferred his weight. He gave a small smile. 'But I would like to have a chat with you over a fire and some drink within the next hour.'

I looked up at his face; he was even more handsome when his armour was covered in blood. I wondered momentarily whether the rush of battle had promoted a temporary rush of excitable hormones as well.

I smiled and relaxed a little. 'I hope you've got sujamma.'