Hello everyone, I am very new to the creative fanfic world, but I thought I should give it a shot! Based mostly on the Dawnguard DLC with a spin on a different type of magic. It might seem a little slow at first, some growing pains I suppose. But I'd rather not rush anything and have flat characters.
Disclaimer: I only own Elise.
Elise always liked to wake up early. The early bird catches the worm, baby, her mother used to tell her fondly. Her alarm blares at 6:00 am sharp, the loud ringing reverberating around her small apartment.
Elise releases a groggy groan as she is ripped out of her slumber. It's always the hardest first thing in the morning. She lays nestled in the warm blankets until she gains the motivation to sit up and lean back on her hands as she stares out of the windows next to her bed. The sky is still dark and few of the city's inhabitants appear to be awake at this hour. She yawns loudly and cracks her back.
"Alright, let's get ready.
Elise spends most of her morning practicing the violin in her apartment. A heavy rainstorm set in later that morning, encouraging her to spend most of the day home. Elise has expressed an aptitude for playing the violin at a young age, performing in concerts as an adolescent to playing in a small orchestra after college. Her lithe fingers glide over the neck of the violin as she practices, pouring her heart and soul into her song. Her violin vibrates and sings bittersweet notes around the room as thunder drums along outside. It's not long until a large crash of thunder outside startles Elise out of her revere and the lights in her apartment flicker out.
"Of course," she mutters and sets her violin down before going to the circuit breaker box on the wall above a small bookshelf. As she does she feels her leg catch on a book as it falls to the floor.
"Fuck!" she curses as the hardcover book falls sharply and hits her toe. "What the fuck was that?" After failing to reset the power, Elise kneels down at the cursed book. The green, leather bound cover looks unfamiliar except for the raised imprint over the center. She runs her fingers over an outline of a drooping lily nestled in a circle with several lines jutting out from the flower like sun rays. Her other hand absentmindedly grabs at her gold necklace with a small pendant, about as wide as the pad of her thumb, with the exact imprint of the lily.
"Strange how I've never seen you before," she flips through pages of an unrecognizable language. Pages and pages of texts she could not recognize until she flipped to the next page and a piece of sheet music fell out.
She can make out the title in the dim light. The paper feels ancient as she holds it to the light coming from outside.
"Tinvaak, Lovaas, Wundun."
Speak, Music, Travel.
Elise shivers as a sudden chill rolls over her shoulders. Why does this sound familiar? Are these three old composers? Places?
The apartment is eerily quiet, Elise sets the sheet music down on her music stands and readies her instrument. She plays slowly as she absorbs the notes. Despite the hesitancy, the violin sings strongly. Each note appears to play even louder from the instrument until Elise reaches the end of the page.
Elise sets her violin down as she feels a wave of nausea come over her. Her vision darkens before she sees the floor come up to meet her.
Elise.
.
.
.
.
Elise.
That voice. Elise feels herself floating, eyes glued shut. She is floating in a sea of shadows in an endless void. She sounds so calming.
Elise, darling. You need to wake up, the mysterious voice reverberates in the darkness. A voice like velvet, soft but almost sultry.
Just a few more minutes, let me rest just a few more minutes. I feel so tired. She doesn't know who she's communicating with. Hell, Elise isn't even sure if this woman could hear her at all. At this point she doesn't really care, her body feels as if all her bones were replaced with lead. It's almost as if she's sinking, if that's even possible here. Am I dreaming?
You have come home, the voice replies. But it's time to wake up, there is something on the horizon. Something that wants to destroy this world's beauty and life. Elise, it is time you come home.
Home…
Wake up…
The first thing Elise notices as she rises from her slumber is the scent of old parchment paper and candles. It takes her a while to command her eyes to open, but when they do she is met with a grey stone ceiling, starkly different to the white popcorn-like ceiling of her apartment. She sits up after a moment and takes in the furs she is nestled under, the small partition separating her small wooden bed to the rest of the large stone room. It is lit by several braziers scattered around, no windows lead outside. Where the fuck am I? Elise's heart begins to race and she throws the furs off and swings her legs off the edge of the bed. The sudden movement slaps a bout of nausea up into her head, making her vision swim.
"I would be careful, you may be unsteady for some time," a voice suggests. A tall man appears at the end of the partition and stands at the end of the bed. Elise takes in his sharp features: piercing eyes, sharp cheekbones, light blonde hair and a beard to match.
"You're very lucky I found you," he continues. "Who knows what would've happened if bandits did." He crosses his arms and raises one hand to stroke his beard, fiddling with the tie wrapped around the hanging end.
"Bandits?" Elise croaks. She tries to clear her throat. The mysterious man nods and moves to the table beside the bed to hand Elise a glass of water. Her hazel eyes never fail to leave his tall form. What a peculiar outfit, she thinks. Is he roleplaying or something?
"Yes, they have been insufferable these past few weeks," he says with disdain. "One of them tried to rob me of my lute the other day."
Elise sips her drink thoughtfully as she takes in what this strange man is saying. The sleep is finally wearing off, and her mind is buzzing.
"What is your name?" She asks quietly.
"Ah, my apologies! How rude of me, I am Viarmo, headmaster of the Bard College," he says proudly. He holds out a slender hand to Elise to which she hesitantly takes. His grip is strong and palms rough, yet Elise could tell there was a tenderness underneath. The hands of a musician. Did he say Bard College? Something catches Elise's eye, she tilts her head for a better view.
"Yo-your ears?!" Elise blurts out. Her hand flies to her mouth, eyes wide. She can see now that Viarmo's ears are pointed.
"I am guessing you have never seen Altmer where you are from, yes? It is rude to gauk," he raises a brow.
"I'm so sorry," she fumbles an apology. "Ah, no… Altmer do not live where I am from. My name is Elise Hardcastle, by the way."
"And where are you from?" Viarmo questions and releases his grip.
"Northpoint."
Viarmo nods. "High Rock. I suppose that makes sense for you, Breton." Truth be told, Viarmo has also been sizing up this strange woman the moment he found her. It was certainly strange, finding this woman unconscious on the wayside just outside the gates at Solitude late at night. Was she drunk? The stench of mead was nowhere to be found. And her clothes, very strange. He would've guessed she was a thief for wearing so much black, but Viarmo couldn't find a single weapon on Elise.
"Where am I?" Elise breaks Viarmo out of his thoughts. Viarmo ponders for a moment and sits down at the table, facing Elise.
"We are at the Bard College in Solitude," he begins. "Truth be told, I would've never found you if it wasn't for a dream I had the other night."
"Dream?"
"Dibella spoke to me," Viarmo ignores her. His brow furrows as he tries to remember the details of his dream. "She told me that I would find my greatest student just past the gates. I did not think she meant the gates of Solitude. But when I was returning from playing music at the docks, I noticed you were lying on the side of the road. I am assuming Dibella meant you. While I was expecting another Altmer like myself, I suppose a Breton will do. Your kind still has a great aptitude for magic, thanks to your diluted elf blood."
Elise is quiet and absorbs everything Viarmo says. Under his scrutinizing gaze she is trying to make sense of everything. The more he speaks, the more real everything seems. Where the fuck am I?! This is so bizarre. Who the fuck is Dibella? What is a Breton? I want to go home.
"You seem like you have a lot of questions," Viarmo relaxes and points to a washbasin in the corner. "I had the maid prepare some warm water for you. We can speak more over food after you freshen up. I will be waiting upstairs in the dining hall."
Viarmo leaves Elise, past the partition and down the hallway. After a moment, she hears the faint open and close of a door.
"What the fuck," she rubs her face with her hands in frustration. She repeats to herself that this is just some crazy larp event that she was somehow roped into. "Viarmo" is not the guy's real name and his elf ears are just the result of some amazing makeup. But there is a little voice in the back of her head that has her wondering how on earth did she manage to end up in the stony basement of this "bard college"?
"Okay, okay. There is no reason to freak out right now," Elise talks out loud as she stands up and walks to the washbasin. "He hasn't hurt you so far, so maybe you aren't kidnapped. Maybe this is some sick joke. Just play along for now until you get more information. Or a way out."
Elise splashes some water on her face and the back of her neck. It feels good, grounding her to the reality of all of this. She reaches for a towel hanging from the side of the basin. She grabs the towel and pats her face dry. Afterward, she pulls the towel down and is met with a small dusty mirror. "What…" she leans forward to get a better look.
"What the FUCK."