"Make sure you wash your hands well with soap and water; it can be dangerous to handle raw meat so don't go touching anything until you've gotten clean," Mr. Kravos instructed, his voice stern and colder than she'd ever heard it before

'Except when he was putting on voices for storytime,' Ashe thought glumly, realizing she probably wouldn't be getting storytime for a while.

Keeping her eyes low and head bow, Ashe let out a quiet, "Yessir, Mr. Kravos."

The man said nothing and just gave her one final excruciating disappointed look before walking off and vanishing behind the kitchen doors. What made it even worse was how Rena's silver-blue eyes seemed to shine sadly as she let out a low, mournful whine, and licked Ashe's clenched hand before turning to follow her master.

The dog may like Ashe, may be protective of her, but Rena's loyalty would always be with Mr. Kravos first and foremost.

This left Ashe alone to, much like a kicked puppy, limp her way over the nearest washbasin, her butt still sore from the tumble she'd taken early. The soap smelt like lavender and the water was warm but Ashe couldn't enjoy it due to the shame she was feeling. She still took care to scrub all the way up her elbows, making sure to get between her fingers and under her nails though. Whenever she helped cook at home, Mama had been sure to tell Ashe that raw meat could get her sick -which was why it was better to overcook it than undercook it; they couldn't afford to see a doctor, after all- so Ashe had already known she needed to wash her hands really well, even if she didn't say anything.

'How could I have messed up so badly?' she berated herself. 'How could I have forgotten myself like that? I didn't just goof around with Mr. Kravos project, something I know is important to him, I could have gotten hurt! I nearly did get hurt! If I had fallen in with that deathclaw, it would have torn me apart! God, imagine how horrible Mr. Kravos would have felt if that had happened when he had his back turned?'

Shame sat heavy and cold in her gut; the knowledge that she had disappointed Mr. Kravos, that she all but mocked what he was attempting to do, made Ashe feel like she needed to throw up! She didn't expect to be punished... or, at least, not like Papa used to punish her, and Ashe knew that Mr. Kravos wouldn't do something as drastic as throwing her out but there was sure to be some consequences to her actions.

And Ashe wanted there to be.

If she were to be punished, if Mr. Kravos was to give her the belt or cut her off from meals for a few days, or gives her a lot of extra chores that Ashe would have to complete in a short time than she could just take it and this bad feeling inside her would go away.

"What can I do to make it up to him?" she wondered out loud.

Well, to start off she'd have to be perfectly polite and obedient; she wouldn't talk back or misbehave until the air cleared. Ashe would also take extra care when doing her chores, she'd do them before even being asked or reminded and would go beyond what was expected of her. The times when she had to placate Papa after messing up and getting him angry had taught Ashe that few things made someone happier than finding out a task they didn't want to do was already completed.

'Maybe I can get up really early one day and bring him breakfast in bed too?' Ashe thought. 'Papa always liked that.'

Mr. Kravos had recently begun trusting her to be alone in the kitchen to make herself simple meals so long as she'd asked permission first. Before she'd been allowed to go get as much water as she'd like and would even leave out different snacks for it she'd get hungry, especially after he'd first take Ashe in and she needed to put on a lot of weight, but she hadn't been allowed to handle any of the cooking knives or make anything the required fire to make.

Ashe had spent a lot of time showing Mr. Kravos that she could be responsible in the kitchen, hoping to earn the right to use the stove and oven by herself. After all, she spent years helping Mama in the kitchen and then cooking most of Papa's meals for him. Ashe was confident she could manage to make the basics like eggs & toast or grill some meat in a skillet, even if the appliances in Mr. Kravos' kitchen were really weird compared to what she'd had back in her community.

Even if the breakfast Ashe made was only some eggs and toast with jam, she was sure Mr. Kravos would appreciate it.

"That is a good way to start off, but what more can I do?" she mused, scratching her chin and splashing warm soap suds everywhere. "I know this project of him is really important, so maybe if I..."

Just then, a lightbulb went off in her head and Ashe's voice trailed off as she was struck by a brilliant idea.

"Ashlyn, its time for supper!"

Fighting to get her massive smile under control, Ashe folded the two pieces of paper she'd been working on and tucked them under her arm before bounding down the stairs to the dining room. Mr. Kravos was setting out plates of what smelled liked grilled beef steak and boiled vegetables all covered in a thick gravy with a small bowl of piping hot bread rolls, a butter dish on the side.

Still trying to fight back the urge to giggle, Ashe pranced right up to her guardian and held out the papers.

"What is all this?" he asked, bright blue eyes glancing down.

"A present."

With a low hum, Mr. Kravos took the papers and unfolded them. After looking the first one over, he asked, "Is this a list of names?"

"Mmmhmm," she nodded eagerly. Raising up on her tippy-toes, Ashe peered over the top of the paper and pointed. "I know you said the deathclaw should have a name, right? So I decided to come up with some ideas."

Even upside-down, Ashe was able to re-read the list of eight possible names scrawled in her own messy handwriting.

Jax

Spike

Ankle-Biter

Dave

Ribbon

Rush

Scales

Blue

"Ribbon?" Mr. Kravos asked, cocking his head to the side in amusement. "What made you come up with Ribbon?"

"Papa always said that deathclaws are super dangerous because they can 'slice you to ribbons,' so I thought it could be a good name in case it's a girl," Ashe explained with a shy shrug. "I think it's a boy thought."

"I do too," her guardian agreed. "Still, it was good of you to cover all the bases."

He topped that compliment with a ruffle to Ashe's hair that had her heart jumping for joy. Then Mr. Kravos looked at the second paper, "And what is this?"

"It's a chart to keep track of how many pieces of meat the deathclaw eats each day. I figured that it will help you... help us figure out what kind of meat he likes best," she replied, internally wincing when it occurred to Ashe how messily she'd drawn the chart. 'I should have done better.'

But Mr. Kravos just smiled.

"That is an excellent idea, it will definitely come in handy," he praised. "Thank you, sweetheart."

Ducking her head to hide her blush, Ashe just mumbled out that "It was no big deal," and slid into her chair to poke at her dinner. The food was delicious, as usual, but it was noticeably plainer than most of the meals they'd been having lately. The noticeable difference meant that Ashe couldn't help but wonder if that was simply because Mr. Kravos didn't feel like cooking something more complex or because he was upset with her.

Then again... Ashe was getting juice with her dinner, so he couldn't be too angry with her.

Mr. Kravos cut into his own steak, running a piece through the gravy puddle before popping it into his mouth. "So, out of all of these wonderful names you've suggested, which do you think would fit the best?"

Ashe froze, the bread roll she was in the process of tearing in half still in her hands. 'This has to be a test. He must want to see how invested I really am, to see if I really care about this project.'

Swallowing hard and dabbing at some gravy with half a bread roll, Ashe replied, "Hmmm, the name has to be just right... so I want to spend some more time with yo- with our new friend first before deciding."

Clicking his tongue, Mr. Kravos gave a satisfied none and cut another piece of his steak. "An excellent point."

Smiling down at her plate, Ashe was confident she said the right thing.

'This is probably a bad idea but I have to know,' Ashe thought to herself as she crept down the stairs towards the library. She had to know more about the star stone. Ashe couldn't explain it, couldn't put it into words, but somehow she just knew it was the key to discovering more about Mr. Kravos and where he came from; if she could learn more about them, then she could learn more about him.

So Ashe returned to the library, tip-toeing through the dark halls so as not to make noise until she could safely close herself in the room. Not that she was particularly worried about that, honestly; a massive thunderstorm -one big enough to rattle the glass window panes in their frames with every boom of thunder- had rolled in after dinner and continued on into the night. There could have been an epic gunfight going on in front of the house and between the wind, rain, and thunder, it would be impossible to hear it.

The storm would also provide a convenient excuse for if Ashe was discovered out of bed. "I'm sorry, Mr. Kravos," she could say, "but the storm kept me up and it was really frightening. I wanted to read some books so I wouldn't be so scared. I know I should have just come to you for help but I didn't want to disturb you. I hope I'm not a bother."

Yes, that would be a good, believable explanation.

Despite the sound cover provided by the thunderstorm, Ashe was very careful to close the library quietly. The room was dim, light only by the star stones lanterns on the walls and the small lantern she was carrying. She put that down on the little table, gave a little shiver, and pulled her robe on her tighter; the small fireplace wasn't lit so the room was cold.

A bolt of lightning cut through the cloudy night sky and briefly illuminated the room through the narrow library windows. When Ashe was smaller and still lived at home, this would have scared her; it would have sent her running into her parents' room to face Papa's annoyance and Mama's comforting hugs.

She was brave now though and Ashe knew there were a lot scarier things in the world than a bit of thunder and lightning.

"Blackreach. Blackreach. Blackreach," she mumbled under her breath, scanning the spine titles of the many books. "I need to find a book on Blackreach."

Aaaaand... there was nothing.

"Plan B, then."

That meant starting at the beginning and working her way through aaaalllll the books.

My research suggests a much different cause, however. In the decades preceding their fall, the dwarven cities of Skyrim had been decimated by internal disputes and infighting over a most surprising cause: Aetherium.

Modern scholars know Aetherium as a rare, luminescent blue crystal found in some Dwemer ruins.

Ashe's bored brain stuttered to a stop, words clicking into place. Her eyes, which had just been lazily scanning page after page, not really reading or understanding anything and just hoping to find the word 'Blackreach, zeroed into the description she'd just read.

'...a rare, lumi...nes...cent blue cr...ys...tal.'

Automatically, Ashe's eyes flickered over to the star stone lantern that was casting the library in a cool, blue glow, providing the very light she was using to read.

'Well, that description certainly fit,' she thought, flipping back to the title page of the book and using her thumb to mark her spot. "The Ae...th...eri...um Wars by Tar...on Dre...th. Ded...i...ca...ted to Katria, my Friend and Col...lea...gue."

Ashe sounded the words out carefully; despite the instruction she'd been receiving, a lot of her guardian's books contained strange names and words that she still struggled with. She'd definitely been doing a lot better when it came to reading though. Mr. Kravos even claimed that she made 'years of progress' in just a short time. The praise was welcome but Ashe often doubted if it was really true.

"Katria, huh? That is a pretty name," Ashe mentioned to no one, flipping back to the page she'd been on and re-reading it more closely.

My re...search suggests a much dif...fer...ent cause, however. In the d...ec...ades pre...ceding their fall, the d...war...ven cities of Skyrim had been dec...i...mated by in...ter...nal dis...put...es and in...fight...ing over a most sur...pri...sing cause: Aeth...eri...um.

Mod...ern s...c...hol...ars know Aeth...erium as a rare, lumi...nes...cent blue cry...stal found in some D...wem...er ruins. Most con...sid...er it little more than a curi...os...ity, as it has proven all but im...poss...ible to work with: while it has a strong magical au...ra, it is al...chem...ic...ally in...ert, and no known pro...cess can en...chant, s...melt, mold, bind, or break it.

To the dwarv...es, of course, such problems were mere...ly a chal...len...ge. In the years following King Harald's reign, the Dwe...mer dis...cover...ed a con...sid...er...able source of Aether...ium in their deepest del...vings.

Dwarven.

Aetherium.

Dwemer.

Magical.

Enchant.

Alchemically.

What was Mr. Kravos hiding?