Cearbhail:

And now, Chapter 11. I might just go ahead and post all the new chapters tonight. It will give you something to read and it kind of blends in with the rest of the story. I want to delete the chapters that aren't updated altogether but... there are some chapters missing in my doc so... they're only on here. I need to keep this open so I can go back and retrieve them. Anyway, so... how's April Fools going? Anyone do anything fun? I want to hear about all the good pranks you've done today. Mine takes the cake though. I rewrote half of Khajiit Battlemage and am replacing half the story in one whole day without finishing the rest of the chapters first. haha. You have to suffer with an incomplete story for like a month before it actually gets fixed all the way..

Anyway...

=^^= Enjoy...

The week went by pretty quickly after my date with Nexa. Nexa shadowported me back to my bed, offered to join me in it… I told her no, and she left for the night. And the rest of the week started going by pretty smoothly. My body was still sore, and throughout the week only grew sorer. The training sessions were still nothing more than combat drills, running, doing squats, and swimming. My Destruction class started covering more and more spell-crafting. Launching balls of fire started becoming a little easier, but these fireballs were like sparks of fire as opposed to full-flame balls of death. Everyone else was in the same boat as me. We started working with other spells as well; trying to create counter-attacks with our spells; redirecting other spells either away from us or back to the caster; and most importantly, learning which elements trumped each other and vice versa. I was starting to get actual knowledge of how Destruction worked.

Enchanting was fun, as always. We kept practicing on filling our soul gems for practice, but while we did so, Jurard started explaining the many ways we could use this method of Enchanting to save our lives. She would bring in a new item every day and explain it to us. She tried to cover the ability to sense enchantments, but I guess I'm the only one with a knack for it with the exception of Davilia and Calfire. Calfire really rocks in that class. I think Enchanting is her specialty. Calfire also continued to find a way to sneak into our practices, almost to the point where she practically joined us in the formation. She didn't stand in the formation with the rest of the first semesters, but she would be standing nearby the formation, pretending not to care, but follow behind us and do whatever we did.

Restoration continued to make me want to bash my head in… well until on Middas, I got an unexpected surprise. I was just sitting there, trying to frustrate our racist teacher by asking her why so many humans seem to believe the Khajiit race's forms are predicted and controlled by the moons. To my credit, the teacher was just as angry as I was about it.

She actually stopped her lecture just to address it. "Ok, everyone. Time for a little lesson on mythology. You see, in the homeland of Khajiits, there are many different breeds of what are known as Khajiit. Now, it's been a common theme through many human-told stories of the various forms of Khajiits, all which have form types and breed types. So, long ago, before anyone knew better, there was a rumor that the Khajiits worshipped the moons because the moons helped shape them into which breed they grew in to. Now… we know better, those of us who study for a living anyway, or any who actually give a damn. The Khajiit race, as a whole, have completely normal breeding rites as everyone else on the planet. A Cathay and a Cathay will breed a Cathay. However, it become more confusing when different breeds start breeding with each other. A Cathay and a Suthay will spawn either a Suthay or a Cathay. It's a 50/50 chance. And Ohmes, well… their breeding comes from cross-breeding with the elven races, with the exclusion of the only furless Khajiit, which were made from the unfortunate mix-breeding between Bretons and Khajiits. The large Suthay-raht Cougar Ohmes breed hails from a mix-breeding from Altmer and Khajiit parents."

The lecture on our breeding became the subject of the day. She drew entire diagrams depicting the moons, the astrological charts… almost everything. You know… I thought she was just a racist know-nothing but once she got on the topic of Khajiits, she immediately went right into talking about Argonians and the formation of Shadow and how it started, and how it killed off an entire race of men called the Kothringi. She made a whole web that seemed to connect everyone to the same moon, even highlighting the birthsigns and how they continuously affected us to this very day. Even the whole month-based birthsign system was mere myth and just like how the Serpent sign can sneak through different months, sometimes someone will be born out of their sign's season. Like me… I was born on the fifth month, but I was born an Atronach. The Fifth month is the month of Shadow. In a sense, I may have been born with two birthsigns, but since I can't go unnoticed in ruins… I doubt it.

Everyone asked questions about the myth, the lore, and everything in between, and how it all connected. She was very patient in making sure our questions were answered. I had to admit… this class was beginning to shape up. The class whizzed by pretty quickly after that. A whole without any problems. Dinner was light, we all had a small laugh. And when we went to training that night, everything went off normally. Another jog, although this one was pretty light. And this time I actually got to join everyone at the noodle place. I had a few good laughs as Maniel got up to the karaoke stand. A bard on standby started playing his song for him as he picked up a spoon. He magicka-waved it to enhance his voice and he started singing his heart out.

And… the rest of the week went by kind of like that. Classes were fun, and I found myself reading my necessary chapters in-between classes. The books on the mortal body and how the energy lines connected. Books on how elemental energy seemed to converge to make new spells. Books on how spells actually formed; the art behind crafting the spell tome. It was fascinating. And the week started to speed by. My body was sore before and after each evening practice, but I was starting to feel the difference. I was moving a little faster now, able to block most of the punches and kicks sent my way. Every night my opponent changed up.

Gotta say, Pra'ja was probably my favorite person to spar against. She would continuously egg me on, popping in and out of her shadowports. There was a second where all she did was pop in and out of her shadowports. And… I'm not sure if you knew this, but when she does her little 'puffing' act, she leaves behind a small cloud of black mist. Do this enough times around me and suddenly… I can't see anything. The mist likes to linger while it dissipates. Pra'ja used this as her preferred way of confusing me. She would create the cloud and then pop all around me, tickling me, pushing me, and even pulling my shorts down. She fights pretty dirty. I got my revenge though. I licked her feathers. And that irked her to no end. Jurard tried to get us to fight seriously, but she couldn't stop laughing long enough to actually pretend to be angry.

The entire week passed by quickly. And on Freedas, in Destruction class, Erandur came to me with a fun idea. "Dude, we should get out of the university for the weekend."

"Huh? You mean to go another town?" Why would I want to leave?

Erandur shook his head. "No, but there's an inn in town. In the Waterfront district. The Bloated Float. It's some kind of old galleon that was turned into a restaurant/inn. Well, on weekends, the galleon goes on weekend getaways. A weekend on the open seas; think about it. You, me, Davilia…" I could tell by his far-off stare that he was thinking more of Davilia being there than me.

"You just want to spend a weekend with Davilia, don't you?" I said with a sigh.

He shrugged. "Maybe she's uncomfortable without our ace friend tagging along."

Ah… I'm the buffer huh? I found myself sighing. "Shall I invite anyone else? Pra'ja, Clemens? Crassi?"

Erandur shook his head. "Pra'ja will do whatever she can to ruin my fun. Probably do anything she can to mess with me; she knows I like Dav. Crassi is… um… kind of doing her own thing with Calfire. Some kind of weekend warrior challenge. They're going out into the woods to see who can survive the longest. They're weird friends. And Clemens…" He didn't need to answer. Clemens also had a crush on Davilia. Having him along would only give Erandur some competition for her attention.

"What about Nexa?" She and I were dating… well, went on a date. It only seemed natural that I bring her along.

Erandur's eyebrow shot up. "And how well do you think that will go down with her? You… her… in a boat, for a whole weekend… sharing a room."

Ah… good point.

I finally sighed, shrugging. "Ok, you got me. I'll tag along with your guys; give you enough privacy that you can flirt and whatnot. The visible yet invisible ace friend." Gods, I'm just accepting this ace thing, aren't I? I don't even know if I am really asexual. The more and more I think of it, the surer I am. I try to think of having a real relationship with Nexa… one that involves… well… that stuff. But, I just can't think of a way where I would enjoy it. It kind of disgusted me actually. I guess everyone was right. Then again, I guess my sister would know more about me than I would know. She'd notice the things about myself that I would ignore.

Erandur wrapped me in a guy hug. "Thanks, dude. I owe you one." He stood up and walked over to Davilia's desk. She still sat on the other side of the room even though Erandur and I sat next to each other every day. He started talking to her, pointing over to me. Dav finally nodded, smiling. Looked like she was willing to go. When Erandur walked back over to his desk, he very discretely smiled and gave me a thumbs-up. Great… a weekend of being a third wheel. Yay…

And so, right after our classes were done on Freedas night, the three of us quickly got together and headed to the Waterfront district. We had to skip dinner though; the ship left at 18:00, which only gave us an hour to get there. The three of us raced across the city as fast as we could. Our bodies were somewhat sore, but the whole week of running and whatnot did wonders for our ability to run across the town in an hour's time. The city was huge, mind you.

So, we got to the Bloated Float, ordering a three-people suite. There were only two rooms like that, and luckily in these colder months there weren't a lot of traffic through the inn during the weekend trips. No one wanted to be out at sea during the cold months. So, we managed to score a whole suite to ourselves without having to worry about reservations. If we didn't manage to get a room this weekend, Erandur was prepared for us to go stay at an elven spa in the Elven Gardens. I kind of wanted the spa, but I guess that will be another weekend trip. Now, I know I'll bring Nexa with me to that. She looked like she needed a day to relax. Hopefully without killing someone.

So, by the time we got our rooms ordered, the three of us dropped off our clothes and such. We went down to have a light dinner, and I spent it within visible range, chatting and whatnot, but not distracting between the romance starting to bloom between Erandur and Davilia. I could tell they seemed enthralled with each other. I kept wondering if I should continue to sit here and pretend to be part of their conversation or if I should make myself scarce. Would be even be ok for me to be in the same room with them tonight? Gods… I'm really in the dark here.

I ended up just sitting there silently, enjoying my fish and milk while they continued chatting about their classes and whatnot. I assumed if they wanted me in the conversation they'd specifically look at me and ask my opinion on something. Otherwise, this was like a weekend vacation for them; I was just here as a buffer if things became too intense for either of them.

Erandur was back to being his overly happy, smiley self. It was like he had a switch, when he was training, he was dead serious and he didn't joke. When he was alone with us…he acted like an uncoordinated goofball. It was so unlike any Altmer I've ever met. Davilia seemed to be warming up to us, enough to where she agreed to come hang out for the night without having her nose in her book every second of it. Thinking back, I wish I had had enough time to go back and bring Nisha. The two of them were good friends and she would have enjoyed this. And Nisha could have been out of the way. She could have kept me company while these two entertained each other.

After dinner stretched by, I decided to head back to the room. I was exhausted from the whole week, and I wanted nothing more than to lay my head down. I closed my eyes and drifted off to a long-awaited sleep that did not include waking up to Nexa standing over top of me. Davilia and Erandur joined me shortly, and even though they were goofing around, laughing and chatting all night long, I managed to easily fall asleep.

Until I heard my door open. I thought maybe it was Davilia going off to the bathroom, or Erandur sneaking away to get something from the snack lounge. So, when I opened my eyes, you can guess my surprise at seeing a Redguard with a pillowcase hovering just over my body.

I didn't have time to react. A weird noise came from my doorway and I suddenly felt stiff, like I could move. Dav and Erandur started to wake up, but they were just as easily taken down. We were tied up, thrown over someone's shoulder, and carried somewhere. I was thrown down and only then did the Redguard pull the pillowcase off my head. Looking around, I was in a storage room. Sitting beside me were Davilia and Erandur. We weren't alone. There was one other prisoner. He was the Orc bouncer that helped serve the drinks. He was thrashing against his ropes, trying to scream curses through the tied up gauze or something.

Then there were the guards. There was the Redguard swordfighter, he looked like one of the Alik'r pirates you hear about. Were we hijacked by pirates? There was also a Breton. She wore enchanted basic robes but her glowing hands told me that she was a dangerous mage. The Redguard walked up to the Orc as he started thrashing even harder against his ropes, actually starting to rip them.

"Well, well, well. You're actually quite capable, aren't you?" The Redguard asked as he brought his curved blade to the Orc's throat. The Orc growled through his muffled wrap, starting to throw himself up to attack the Redguard. The Redguard snapped his hand out, quickly striking the Orc on the head. The Orc crumpled over and as far as I knew…the Orc was dead. I mean… a giant gash on the head… you don't come back from stuff like that.

Before that happened, we were all struggling to get a grip of our situation. And right after the Redguard pushed the Orc down, pulling his sword out of the Orc's skull… we stopped struggling. We were too busy looking at the dispatched Orc. Was that going to happen to us? I should have brought Nexa along. I really should have brought Nexa along. And I'm really glad I left my sister out of this. If I die… she at least has a good home now. A good future ahead of her.

I looked around the place. There weren't a lot of options I could use to help me escape. There were the two guards: one male Redguard, one female Breton with a glowing fist. I knew that I couldn't take them both, not with my arms tied behind my back. The Breton looked like a sorcerer. It was like a battlemage only without the swords and clubs. They still dressed up in heavy armor but they mostly blasted elemental magic everywhere instead of using a good sword up close. If I were to do anything, my friends might get fried. And vice versa. We all know what could happen if we tried to fight back. And we're not fully mages yet. This sorcerer looked like the real deal. If we tried to fight her, especially with our hands and feet tied up, our mouths gagged… we were going to have a hard time. At the very least one of us would die. And if we're out at sea, if the ship sinks… we're dead anyway. Hypothermia would take us. Unless… we magicka-weaved our way out of this.

I looked at Davilia. She looked scared stiff. I'm guessing we all just got dragged out of bed and gagged. I looked over at Erandur, who looked contemplative. He neither looked worried or threatened. He just looked…calm. Did he know something that I didn't know? Our prisoners didn't want us talking to each other so they kept us gagged. I can understand why. They didn't look threatened by us, though. We were children; what could we possibly do to a bunch of adults with swords and armor? If they untied me, I'd show them.

I just needed the guards to look away for a second. I needed to magicka-weave this rope keeping me pinned down. Enchant it with some kind of distraction… or Silencing. Something to take down a sorcerer.

"Sir… I found these in their rooms." A third person walked up, carrying our robes. Oh crap.

"Mages?" The sorcerer asked. "Great, just what we need. I'll get the bindings."

Well, it was now or never. I started feeding raw magicka into the robes, but as soon as I started doing that, I was hit with a massive Silence. The sorcerer sighed as she turned around. "That should hold them until I get back." And it did. I couldn't cast a single thing. She eventually came back with slave braces. Ugh…

She slapped the slave collars onto us. "These are enchanted with Silence. There will be no spell-slinging from you tonight." Well, there goes my only plan. Fuck. After she got those on us, the guards pretty much went on their business of raiding our room, taking everything from us. We were unlucky enough to be in our pajamas when we went to sleep. If Erandur had been wearing his armor, he probably would have just beat the crap out of our captors.

As far as I could tell, we spent an hour or two sitting in the hub of the closet. I thought about slipping in and out of sleep, and I might have too, but…I was worried that something would happen to me if I did. Erandur might have tried to get free, but with that slave collar Silencing him, he didn't dare budge. Eventually, the Breton came back carrying all the pieces to Erandur's armor.

"Wow, this is expertly crafted. No mere child could make this." She looked at Erandur, seeing his eyes narrowed in anger. She looked to the Redguard. "Sir, this child might be important. I think we're risking too much for these kids. This armor has enchantments I never thought were possible to manipulate. It's nearly flawless in its creation. If this kid has this… I have to wonder how he got it."

The Redguard grunted. "We were ordered to take all the prisoners and stow them in the closet, steal their stuff, and nothing else. Let the captain figure out what we're going to do with them later."

The Orc with the open-head wound started to groan, shifting on his side. He was still alive?! What? The Redguard noticed the Orc was starting to move again.

"Wow, still kicking huh? Thought I put you down." He walked up to the Orc and kicked him in the stomach. The Orc spat up some blood that splashed onto my fur and passed back out. The Redguard scoffed as he wiped some of the Orc's blood off his chin. He looked at us and smirked. He has a sick grin on his face, one that I saw on Nexa once or twice. Oh no.

He looked at his partner and said, "Hey, Anya? Can you believe we're here babysitting?"

She crossed her arms. She said, "And student mages at that! Like they could even escape their rope without their wands and staffs." She pointed at his sword and said, "Why don't you just kill them so we can leave?"

Kill us? I can't believe it. It was now or never. I had to do something… anything. I couldn't let this happen to us. If only I could contact someone. If only I knew Telepathy… oh wait… I'm Silenced. That wouldn't work anyway.

The Redguard looked down at us and shrugged. "We aren't here to kill anyone. If we keep hostages, we'll have a better time getting away from the Imperial Legion." Oh thank the gods… at least we still have a chance of getting out of here.

She looked down at the Orc and said, "What about him, Stros? He's a liability."

Stros grinned at the Orc and walked up to him. He patted the Orc on the cheek and said, "Wakey, wakey." The Orc's eyes started to gain life. Stros stood up and put his foot on the Orc's throat. He said, "I wouldn't want you to miss this, Orc." He slowly slid his cutlass into the Orc's stomach. The Orc cried out in pain. He slid the cutlass up slowly, making him cry out in more misery as he continued to cut. He finally heard the cries from the Orc fade. He quickly slid the cutlass up, cutting him past the neck. He brought his sword around and slashed the head off.

I closed my eyes. It didn't matter. We were in a closed space. I could feel the blood raining down on me. I heard Davilia muffle out her horrified scream. Erandur just groaned as he felt the blood rain pour on him. Once I felt it was over; I opened my eyes and looked around. The Orc's body was strung up in front of us, dripping out onto the floor. The walls were covered in the Orc's blue blood. I looked over at Davilia, who looked like she was in shock. She didn't even look like she was breathing. Erandur looked furious but still patiently waiting for the right time to act. We were all drenched in blue Orc blood. You know… I remember hearing about horror stories like this. This was a classis way the captors scare the hostages into complying with their orders. Threats of having their own blood flying around like this do wonders to keep hostages silent. And it works. I am definitely scared stiff.

A blue image started forming in front of me. It was Erandur. He was standing there, wiping his brow. He looked over at me and said, "Vatu, remain calm. We'll get out of this…alive. We just have to be patient. Don't do anything reckless. They want prisoners alive; that means that they'll keep us alive if we cooperate. Got it?" I didn't' get a chance to answer. The blue image faded away and I glanced over at Erandur, who only nodded at me, Orc blood dripping off his eyebrows and ear-tips. How did he manage that? We were Silenced. When I looked at his ear, I could see a small earring. So… he weaved something of his own before we were Silenced. I wonder if it lets him bypass the slave collar. It must if he was able to project an image in my head.

Anya, the sorcerer, shook her head as she backed out of the room. "Stros! These are my favorite robes!" She screamed as she walked out of the room, covered in as much crap as we were.

For the hour that followed; we stayed silent. There wasn't anything that happened, with the exclusion of Stros getting bored from watching us. We were still scared shitless about what was going to happen to us. I couldn't snap these ropes, but what good would it do even if I could? I wasn't great at fighting yet and the only weapons I had were my claws. My spells were all close range; I had to reach my target first. I knew that I could corrode Stros's weapon if I got up close, but after that I was dead. That Breton's hand trembled with powers I knew I couldn't defend against. If I got to her first and somehow killed her, the Redguard would kill me with his cutlass. I kept running more and more scenarios in my mind, but I never saw one where I could overpower both of them.

I just felt helpless and I knew that my friends felt no different. I could take one, sure. That would ultimately give my friends another splash of blood to their faces and one less friend to talk to. I hoped that no one tried to be a hero today. We weren't ready. That's just the truth of it: we weren't ready.

A couple more hours passed by before we heard footsteps approaching us. Davilia had passed out a while ago. Poor girl must have blacked out. Erandur was still just sitting there, staring blankly at the door in front of us. The door flew open, and in walked an Imperial with a chip on her shoulder and a scowl on her lips. Stros nodded to her and said, "Captain?"

She looked at us and said, "We have a problem."

Cearbhail:

So, and now we get to this arc. Where it all goes to hell. (sigh). This arc was the biggest mistake of my life. It created the whole Chronicles universe, sort of. I think Cecilie created the whole Chronicles universe. She was the biggest mistake. I could be relaxing right now, not revising an old story.