-Elden Root Infirmary-
Razum-dar paces in the infirmary as Softly-Speckled-Crab treats Jeziasi. All the other healing mages have been sent away. Softly-Speckled-Crab knows what she is doing, her healing skills are beyond her years. And there is Jeziasi's secret to be considered, though he doubts she will be able to hide it much longer. Softly-Speckled-Crab finishes and walks over to Razum-dar. "She will sleep and recover," Softly-Speckled-Crab says softly, placing her claws on Razum-dar's arm. "I can feel her healing faster than she should," she adds. At Razum-dar's expression, she shakes her head. "I will not speak of it... but the others will notice too. She has something...wild inside of her."
"She should not." Razum-dar growls. "This one has never been able to make sense of some of her choices."
"Some of us may have to make similar choices if we fail at Craglorn." Softly-Speckled-Crab warns," she starts to gently push Razum-dar toward the entrance. "I will stay with her until she wakes."
Razum-dar turns his head to regard the sleeping Jeziasi, he has rarely ever seen her so still. Softly-Speckled-Crab follows his gaze. "You...love her, don't you?" she asks.
Razum-dar starts. "What? That is a strange thing to ask this one!" he says. Softly-Speckled-Crab just looks at him, blinking her eyes. "Jeziasi is a wild thing." Razum-dar huffs. "She is not one that can be caught, and this one is the Queen's Eye, and that responsibility is this one's purpose." Razum-dar turns his head and walks out, Softly-Speckled-Crab watching him go. "He ran away without answering," she says to herself before moving back to Jeziasi's side.
Softly-Speckled-Crab sleeps on the floor near Jeziasi's side that night, so when Jeziasi starts to move Softly-Speckled-Crab is up in an instant and by her side. "Still," she says. It is far too soon for her to wake and be moving. What was damaged inside needs more time.
Jeziasi's eyes bolt right open and her gaze sweeps the room. "Teeth in the shadows," she says. "It's too dark." Jeziasi struggles to rise and Softly-Speckled-Crab pushes her gently down. "
"You must not get up yet," Softly-Speckled-Crab says. "Wait a moment." Softly-Speckled-Crab moves to light the lanterns, having turned most of them off when night fell and brings one over to Jeziasi's bedside. "No more darkness," Softly-Speckled-Crab says. "Now rest." Jeziasi's eyes gaze into Softly-Speckled-Crab's before fluttering shut once more. Softly-Speckled-Crab stands there for a few moments before returning to her nest on the floor.
It's a few days before Jeziasi wakes and Softly-Speckled-Crab stays with her the whole time and on the last day, she places her arm on Jeziasi's and then turns her head to see Razum-dar enter. He has been to see Jeziasi each day until Softly-Speckled-Crab pushes him out. "She wakes," Softly-Speckled-Crab says. "Her sleep has been uneasy, but deep enough to heal."
"Uneasy?" Razum-dar asks.
"Mortal minds are not meant to exist in Oblivion, even a short time would break lesser minds," Softly-Speckled-Crab says. "Her mind is strong, and part of her...may belong there in a fashion. Still."
A worried expression crosses Razum-dar's face. The length of time Jeziasi has been in Oblivion has been three years, and that was just Nirn time. Jeziasi's eyes flicker open and start darting around in panic at the unfamiliar surroundings. Razum-dar quickly moves to her side. "Be at peace, my old friend. You are home," Razum-dar says.
Jeziasi's eyes calm slightly and she sits up, wincing slightly as her hand moves to her side. "Your ribs will be tender for a while more. I will fetch bread and we will all gather in the meeting room." Softly-Speckled-Crab says, and she turns and walks out, leaving Jeziasi and Razum-dar alone.
Jeziasi looks around and then up at Razum-dar. "Elden Root? How in..." she trails off looking confused. The last thing she remembers is that crazy necromancer trying to kill her. She had taken out the horde of undead, only to have a searing pain shoot through her...and after that, it was just blackness.
"Yes, Jeziasi. And it is a long story and not just this ones to tell." Razum-dar explains. "Razum-dar will leave you to dress. This one will wait in the hall." He turns to go and then glances back. "You worried this one," he says and then walks out.
Jeziasi rises and glances at the table. Simple clothes, but at least they are clean. "...Home." she quietly says as she gathers the clothes and washes up in a bowl of water near the back and changes. After she's dressed she looks around again. This...is not home. It had not been since the wars. It was the first time she had been back in Valenwood since then...it seemed like a lifetime ago now. It was strange to be back... though she was not sure how she was pulled out of the Deadlands after that insane necromancer tried to kill her. Jeziasi turns to the entrance and walks out.
Jeziasi walks with Razum-dar down the corridor. "This one must ask, Jeziasi, what were you doing in Oblivion?" Razum-dar says, perplexed. "And wearing Daedric armor, none the less."
Jeziasi glances at Razum-dar, it was strange seeing him again. The last time she had seen him had been in Summerset, and the way they parted...she was not sure she would ever see him again. Was not sure she would ever return to Valenwood. "Clavicus Vile." Jeziasi answers. "He came to my house a few weeks after Summerset. Called in the bargain I made with him," confusion crossing her face. "I never understood why what he wanted of me was to visit his realm and other Oblivion realms should I choose it. Barbas even taught me how to find the weak spots between the realms, so I could travel between them. Jeziasi pauses. "He even said I could return to Nirn whenever I wished, there are weak spots that lead to it, as well. As for armor, there are no stores in Oblivion. I scavenged what I could when I needed to."
"That is puzzling," Razum-dar says tightly and then suddenly speeds up and moves in front of Jeziasi, who halts puzzled. Razum-dar looks around and no one is anywhere near the two of them. "If you could return when you wished, why did you not? This one does not understand," Razum-dar asks.
A look of pain crosses Jeziasi's face. "I...I am not sure, Raz. After what happened in Summerset and Shadowfen...I felt lost. so...I never even tried to find a path to Nirn. I just..." she trails off.
Razum-dar starts to ask about Shadowfen, but then he remembers what Tends-To-Tree's mentioned and he brushes it aside, for now, to focus on the current matter. "Jeziasi," Razum-dar says. "You have been gone for three years. Do you even know this?"
Jeziasi pales slightly. "It's impossible to tell time there, Raz. Day and night are all but meanless. Some realms are eternally night, some something else altogether. I could have been gone for three years, but it could have been longer. I truly do not know, my friend."
"Just how many realms have you been in?" Razum-dar asks. His expression turns serious. "And..."
Jeziasi looks Razum-dar in the eyes. "You want to know if I had any dealings with the Prince's, did anything I should not have?" she says angrily.
"Yes, Jeziasi," Razum-dar says. "This one is asking that. Or did you forget what Razum-dar is?"
"I could never forget!" Jeziasi snaps. "You reminded me of that in Summerset. You were very clear about it."
"Razum-dar had no choice!" Razum-dar says. "Your decisions after the wars are questionable! And you cannot tell this one there is no blood on your hands from those decisions."
Jeziasi looks down then back up at Razum-dar. "I did what I felt was right for me, and what I felt I had to," she says. Taking a deep breath, she continues. "The only Prince's I had contact with was Clavicus Vile and briefly Mephala. I made no further deals or anything of that nature."
"You must have done something, Jeziasi," Razum-dar growls. "Meridia is quite angry with you."
"I know that," Jeziasi says. "And I have no idea why. If it is because of the deal I made with Vile, something that happened in Summerset or..." she trails off.
"Or because you, the Vestige who wars against Daedric Princes, made a pact with Hircine?" Razum-dar says, his eyes narrowed.
"I have my reasons for that!" Jeziasi says. "I do not regret it, Raz."
Razum-dar moves closer to Jeziasi. "This one searched for you because we need you. Razum-dar learned some interesting things that even he did not know, my old friend, from that search." His eyes lock onto Jeziasi. "You lost control in Vvardenfell. Do you even know the Telvanni tried to order a write of execution order on you? Do you even care?"
Jeziasi stares at her friend at an utter loss of words. She struggles for a few moments before finally speaking. "I know I was losing control. I...did not know the Telvanni knew about it."
"How could you not suspect at least? Razum-dar says. "Vivec knows too! Only because you saved him and Vvardenfell is he willing to disregard the Telvanni. Though he does not want you setting foot back there, ever again."
"Then it worked out," Jeziasi says. "I got control after Vvardenfell. Problem solved."
Razum-dar growls. "Got control by... Jeziasi how on Nirn did you think joining the Dark Brotherhood was an acceptable way to regain control?"
"Because they have control over their murderous desires," Jeziasi says. "Seemed like my only option at the time. I had to stop the Court but my control was near nonexistent."
Razum-dar's eyes regard Jeziasi. "You never once thought of returning home and asking old friends for help? For this one's help?" he asks. Razum-dar would have helped you, Jeziasi."
Jeziasi looks at Razum-dar silently.
"No, this one did not think so," Razum-dar says angrily. "Razum-dar has always been your friend and ally, but you would not ever come to this one for help. Only once have you let me help you, Jeziasi. Is that kind of help the only one this one is good for?"
"That's...that's not true," Jeziasi says. "I am just..."
"A lone wolf." Razum-dar finishes. "Come, Jeziasi. The others are waiting. It's time to meet them." Razum-dar turns with a growl and stalks off toward the meeting room.
Jeziasi stares after Razum-dar. He is so...angry at her. Confusion crosses her face. He never mentioned any of this in Summerset, and Summerset had been the first time she had seen him since the wars. The last thing he had said to her was not to hunt in Dominion territory. Jeziasi sighs and follows after Razum-dar.
Jeziasi walks into the meeting room and leans against the wall her eyes darting to each person in it in turn. "Jeziasi," Razum-dar says frostily. "You have already met Softly-Spoken-Crab. The rest are Theodyn, Rufico, and Iveryni," he points to each of them in turn. "Iveryni is the one you owe for bringing you out of Oblivion."
Softly-Speckled-Crab is laying on her belly on the floor, munching on bread. Iveryni is sitting by the table, Theodyn is looking at Jeziasi with wide eyes, and Rufico is munching on bread looking unconcerned.
"Someone helped with the portal," Iveryni says. "I had not mastered such yet, though I now have."
"Thanks," Jeziasi said. "What is this all about?"
Iveryni frowns. "Razum-dar did not explain it, yet?"
Softly-Speckled-Crab rises and snags a piece of paper from the table and hands it to Jeziasi who reads it. "Azura? It is not the first time she has helped. Vvardenfell..." she hands it back. "So we save Nirn and stop the bad guys." Jeziasi shrugs.
"You make it sounds so simple," Razum-dar says. "This one knows you know it is not so simple."
"Can I point out you almost died?" Rufico asks. "What?" he says when Theodyn glares at him. "It's a valid point."
Razum-dar growls. "This one forgot to ask about that."
Iveryni raises an eyebrow. "I must wonder what was so much more important to talk to her about then all of this, and that little fact."
Jeziasi runs a hand through her hair. "This insane Argonian necromancer appeared in the Deadlands accusing me of the craziest and impossible things, and when I denied them, he tried to murder me."
Everyone in the room freezes. Theodyn is the first one to move, he walks to the table and picks up a sketch to bring to Jeziasi. "Is this the necromancer, Vestige?"
Jeziasi gives Theodyn a look. "Please don't call me that," she says and then looks at the sketch. "Yes, this is the one that attacked me. He's the threat?"
"His name is Viperish Night," Iveryni says. "Using necromancy, he murdered every living thing on an island. And I do mean every living thing," a haunted look crosses her face. "I saw the aftermath with my own eyes. Nothing will ever live on that island again. It is cursed with the darkest of magic." she pauses. "That island should not have existed. It was outside pact territory...they kept slaves there." Jeziasi's eyes flash with fury and she softly growls. "That is right, it is a sour spot with you, considering you slaughtered and devoured Dumner slavers across Vvardenfell."
Jeziasi's eyes widen and she furiously looks at Razum-dar, who shrugs. "A very lovely Dunmer woman with short hair told us that. She seemed angry at you. Razum-dar knows you know what lovely Dunmer that would be."
Jeziasi swallows softly. "She is still..." Jeziasi looks lost then shakes her head. "It's in the past and not relevant now."
Razum-dar snorts. "You are making many many people angry, Jeziasi."
Theodyn looks back and forth between Jeziasi and Razum-dar. "To get back on topic," he says quietly. "Impossible things?"
Jeziasi looks confused. "Perhaps I should just tell Razum-dar."
"No, Jeziasi," Razum-dar says. "If it concerns Viperish Night, it is for all of us. You are going to have to learn to rely on all of us."
Jeziasi looks away, hiding the sadness in her eyes. When she relies on others to help save Nirn, they tend to die. She breaths softly and brings her thoughts back to the now. "It is utter madness, what he accused me of," Jeziasi says. "He accused me of abandoning him or giving his egg to a monster. He claimed I was his Egg-mother."
Everyone just stares at Jeziasi. "What in Oblivion?" Rufico utters. "We all know Viperish Night has a few screws loose, but that's just..."
"I know," Jeziasi says. "Not only do Bosmer not lay eggs, but I would know if I ever had any children. And he was close to my age as well, so...he is utterly mad."
Softly-Speckled-Crab gets a strange look in her eyes and she walks to the table and picks up the journal and starts to flip through it before moving to Jeziasi and handing it to her. Jeziasi reads it and frowns. "I remember this. during the Court of Bedlam's attacks on Summerset the Psijic mages were also dealing with...what was it? Something to do with a staff and time portals."
"Very little is truly impossible," Softly-Speckled-Crab says.
"This IS." Jeziasi snaps and walks to the table slamming the book down. She glances at the books and papers and suddenly freezes.
"Jeziasi, what is it?" Razum-dar asks.
Jeziasi picks up another sketch, hands shaking. She looks at it, eyes blinking rapidly. Iveryni moves to her to see what has her rapt attention. "That is an Argonian from a memory fragment Viperish Night was accessing," Iveryni says. "We know now his name is Stalks-In-Darkness and he is a former Dark Brotherhood member who went rogue before vanishing over four years ago."
Jeziasi swallows tries to speak and swallows again. "He told me his name was Swims-in-Silence," she says softly.
Razum-dar moves to Jeziasi. "Your grounds-keeper said you went off with an Argonian for a awhile before vanishing. This is him, you are certain?"
Jeziasi nods a shocked look in her eyes. "He...asked me to hunt with him after Vvardenfell, but I declined. Then he came back after Summerset and I felt...lost so I went with him then. I thought it would get my mind off what happened."
Theodyn looks confused. "Why would he lie about his name if all he wanted was to hunt with you?" he asks.
Jeziasi glances at Theodyn, the tips of her ears darkening. "We did more than hunt. But Bosmer and Argonian's cannot... Also, Argonian's bond before they have eggs. So again, impossible."
"And Yet..."
Everyone's head turns as the door opens and a Breton woman walks in. Jeziasi's gaze moves across her. "Your one of the Wyrd," she says. "From Valenwood?"
"It is Viridian Woods in Bangkorai that my Wyrd calls home," she says. Her eyes narrow. "I am Wyress Asteria, and we share a common enemy."
"You know of Viperish Night?" Razum-dar asks.
"Yes." Wyress Asteria says. "I knew him from years ago and called him friend. But now, now he is the Wyrds enemy. He is the enemy of all that lives."
"And you have come here to offer your aid?" Razum-dar asks.
Wyress Asteria is silent at first. "The woods must come first, and we have lost four of our own. I came to give you information and seek out Valenwood's sisters, and perhaps to recruit those with untapped nature magic within them. After that, I will return to the woods, but you will have the aid of the Wyrd when you need us."
Jeziasi's eyes have been glued to Wyress Asteria, though she stays silent. Iveryni glances at Jeziasi and Wyress Asteria. "What did you mean by what you said when you came in?" Iveryni asks.
"Viperish Night was our guest years ago. He was struck down by corruption, and when we purged it from him we found a secret..." Wyress Asteria trails off. "The woods and our sisters must come first but I am ashamed to admit we gave in to his mentor's threats. Failed to share what we learned with Viperish Night. We have paid the cost for that." her eyes glimmer with anger and pain.
"Get to the point." Razum-dar orders.
"Viperish Night has mer blood within him. He's part mer, even though he appears fully Argonian. His blood tells a far different story.
"That is an impossibility," Iveryni says.
"Yes, it is." Wyress Asteria agrees. "And yet..."
"Are we repeating ourselves?" Softly-Speckled-Crab asks. "Very little is truly impossible," she repeats.
Jeziasi stalks to Wyress Asteria, staring at her in the eyes. "It is impossible," she repeats. "He is mad. I would know if I had...I cannot have eggs. It's..." she growls softly her eyes flashing.
Razum-dar is there in a moment blocking the other's view. "Razum-dar thinks you have something in your eye, old friend," he warns.
Jeziasi looks started and she takes a deep breath. Wyress Asteria looks at her knowingly. "You may have to part with that one soon," she says, glancing around the room.
"Better on your terms than a surprise, Jeziasi." he cautions.
Jeziasi crosses her arms, aware of the confused looks of the others, though Iveryni seems less so. "It is..." she sighs. "Viperish Night tried to murder me. He is far stronger than I would have expected. I cannot be what he claims I am though."
Wyress Asteria holds out her hand. "Your blood then," she asks. "Respectfully asked for.
Jeziasi's arms remain crossed. "Jeziasi, don't be so stubborn," Razum-dar says.
"The evidence is in front of us. You know this." Iveryni says. "Stalks-In-Darkness, time rips, what more do you need?"
Jeziasi looks a little lost but at last, she holds out her hand to Wyress Asteria. Wyress Asteria takes out a knife, making a shallow cut down the side of Jeziasi's hand. The blade glows as Wyress Asteria focuses. Finally, she cleans the blade and sheets it. "It is your blood that runs through Viperish Night." Wyress Asteria announces. "He is yours, however it is possible.
Jeziasi steps back slightly, looking very unsettled. "This makes no sense," she softly growls. "Why?"
"Seek the one that should not be," Softly-Speckled-Crab says, quoting part of the prophecy. "This is why. His creation is impossible, but somehow still true."
"I must depart." Wyress Asteria says. "There is too much to do and little time in which to do it. Viperish Night will wage war against us all. I will be in Valenwood for a few days, should you need me." She turns and walks out.
"This is too strange," Rufico says. "Is it too late to go back to being a horrible thief?" Theodyn glares at him. "Just kidding!"
Jeziasi starts to pace confusion warring with anger across her face as she struggles to keep control.
"V...Jeziasi." Iveryni says. Jeziasi stops to face her. "This Swims-In-Silence..."
"No!" Jeziasi interrupts her. "He never told me he was a shadowscale. Never told me he gave me a fake name. Never told me he..." she trails off. "this makes no sense!"
"Life and death magic." Softly-Speckled-Crab muses and looks at Jeziasi.
Jeziasi furrows her brow trying to think. "I...think I remember my mom talking about the Wyrd once. How she had almost become one with them until she met my father. But I never..." she traces her sides and frowns as her fingers met nothing but cloth. "I lost my daggers so long ago. In the dark." she sighs. "I went the path of the warrior, not anything else. If I could have done anything else...I am not sure."
Iveryni thinks. "Jeziasi, what did Swims-in-Silence say when he came for you?"
"Just what I said," Jeziasi said.
"I mean the exact words if you remember them," Iveryni says. "Stalks-In-Darkness, or Swims-in-Silence if you prefer, seems to play a larger role in things than we thought. We need information."
"... Hunt with me, for a while, Jeziasi." Jeziasi recites, a faraway look crossing her eyes.
"You told him your name before he asked you, then?" Iveryni asks.
"I...no," Jeziasi says. "I don't think so anyway. Tends-To-Trees might have told him."
"And if she did not?" Iveryni asks.
Razum-dar frowns. "Razum-dar does not like where this is going. You think he targeted Jeziasi?"
Jeziasi's eyes flare and she suddenly slams a fist onto the table. "I am the hunter, NOT THE PREY." Jeziasi snarls and stalks to the door. "I am going for a run."
"Jeziasi!" Razum-dar snaps and when Jeziasi turns to face him he walks up to her and pins her against the wall with his arms and leans in close so only she can hear his next words. "Razum-dar knows what you mean by that. This one warned you!"
"I will not hurt anyone," Jeziasi says softly. "But I cannot stay here. I have to run or I will lose my mind," a look of panic crosses her eyes. "I may have been away from Valenwood for a long time but I know how to avoid my own people."
Razum-dar locks eyes with Jeziasi. "Tell me you have enough control for this, and this one will let you go."
Jeziasi pauses and takes her time answering. "Yes. But if I do not run, then that changes to no. If...I can run."
"What does that mean?" Razum-dar asks.
"Maybe nothing. I don't know." Jeziasi says.
Razum-dar lowers his arms and steps back. He looks at the others. "Jeziasi, these are now your allies, the ones who will stop Viperish Night and save Nirn. This one knows you never asked for this and that no one has the right to ask you for anything more but Razum-dar is asking. Tell them now rather than later.
Jeziasi's eyes stare into Razum-dar's then she looks at the others. Softly-Speckled-Crab sitting on the floor with so much bread...and who healed her, stayed with her even as the darkness seemed to move in. Iveryni, standing by the bookcase looking at her with intelligent and wary eyes, she who took help from an unknown source to bring her back from the Deadlands. Rufico and Theodyn standing near each other. Rufico seemed rather carefree, but his eyes were so haunted. Theodyn looking at her with a little bit of hero-worship in his eyes, but also in those eyes was depths of grief. To rely on others only to see them die... she did not want them to die to save Nirn, but they were...willing to fight this fight. She sighs softly. "I...was called." Jeziasi starts haltingly. "I could have refused, but after the war's I was lost, cold, in spiritual crisis. So I followed the call and was attacked. I did not reject...well some call it a curse, some a blessing. I would say the latter. It offered freedom." Jeziasi stops and takes a deep breath. "He offered freedom. Freedom from the chill that Coldharber left on me, freedom to hunt and be strong." she stops, taking a pause.
"He?" Theodyn asks.
"...Lord Hircine." Jeziasi answers.
Theodyn's mouth falls open and he just stares at Jeziasi.
"You're a werewolf," Rufico says and then laughs. "I would of never! The Vestige a werewolf?"
"I suspected as much," Iveryni says. "It would be nearly impossible for a normal mortal to survive in the Deadlands, much less other realms. And your standing here before us, mere days after being nearly killed."
"Jeziasi heals very fast," Softly-Speckled-Crab says munching on bread.
Jeziasi looks at Razum-dar who shrugs. "Go for your run Jeziasi and return to us after, yes?" Jeziasi nods and turns heading out, with one last glance behind her. They took that better than she would have thought.
A little bit later Theodyn is reading through a small stack of Argonian lore, trying to keep his mind off of the Vestige. It was hard to imagine. he frowns as he reads. "I don't understand how this is possible," he says.
"An Argonian and a Bosmer walk into a bar..." Rufico starts.
Theodyn glares at him.
"You asked," Rufico says with a shrug. He nudges the books. "Any help here?"
"Not related to man or mer. May be part amphibian or fish, because they can endure in cold temperatures, unlike many reptiles. They usually lay eggs." Theodyn shrugs. "Argonian's are very different. And there is so much not known. Some of this is just theories."
"It makes my head hurt," Rufico says. "This and the time displacement. Why?"
Theodyn returns to the book he's reading, though his eyes look over the page over and over without really reading it.
"Hey," Rufico says nudging him. "She's a person just like us. Not some mythic hero from legend. Yes, she helped save the world, but that does not make her perfect."
"I know," Theodyn says. "But she fought against Daedric Princes. But she is..." Theodyn trails off.
"Not all who follow Daedric Princes are evil. Caseyln was not bad for falling Merida." Rufico says. "Although every single member of the Worm Cult WAS evil. It depends."
"But..." Theodyn trails off. "She turns into a man-eating werewolf. Vvardenfell..." again he trails off.
Rufico sighs. "I once saw in black and white like that. I think part of me still does a little. All the Imperials that followed the Worm Cult had to have been evil. Is that true? I never went back to find out." Rufico shrugs pain glimmering in his eyes. "But I know now the world is a more complicated place than that. You saw Jeziasi's reaction when slavery was brought up. She did not kill the Dunmer because she wanted to murder people and dance in their blood. She thought they were evil, and maybe she is right in a way. Dunmer are screwed up for thinking it's their right to keep slaves. But some of them are trying to change, so they cannot all be the same."
Theodyn just stares at Rufico for a long moment. "You think a lot more deeply than I would have thought," Theodyn says.
"Hey!" Rufico says. "Uh...please don't tell anyone that. Please. I would lose my reputation as a no-good scoundrel."
"Your not that." Theodyn insists. "And I will try to accept this as well. We want the same thing. To end suffering and end evil. To save Nirn and those we love."
Razum-dar and Iveryni are walking around Eldan Root, the large hollow tree filled with people going about their daily business. "You seem troubled," Razum-dar says. "It is about Jeziasi?"
"Not the only thing on my mind, Razum-dar. She is not what we expected but it makes her seem more real, then a mythic figure." Iveryni trails off looking troubled. "Someone helped me and I do not like not knowing who or why."
"You like everything answered in a nice neat fashion." Razum-dar remarks.
"Perhaps I do," Iveryni admits and turns to Razum-dar. "Returning back to Jeziasi, this Argonian must have targeted her, Razum-dar. If life magic means Mer or Wyrd, then if one was looking for a mer, they would go to Valenwood or Summerset. Not Shadowfen.
"That disturbs this one greatly, Iveryni. If true, why Jeziasi in particular?" Razum-dar frowns. "Though from her reaction earlier it may be best not to bring it up again until she has settled back into Nirn a little."
"Is she stable, Razum-dar?" Iveryni asks.
"Jeziasi is strong. One of the strongest people this one has ever known." Razum-dar says. "Even after years in Oblivion she still has her sanity. She's just shaken. This whole thing with Viperish Night would do that to anyone."
"It is not possible, and yet it is," Iveryni says.
Away from the others, away from Elden Root Jeziasi sheds thoughts as well as form and races through the late evening forest in her wolf form, trying not to think, trying to forget what she had learned on this day. For a time it works until blinding pain wrenches her paws out from under her and she crashes to the ground fur melting until the wolf had vanished. Jeziasi lies there on the cool forest ground before slowly sitting up. "Just...tired still." she softly says to herself. It has to be that, and nothing more. But memories of the fight with Viperish Night swirl in her mind. The same blinding pain struck her then as well. She thought it was the grievous injuries inflicted by the horde of undead. Jeziasi raises her head at the soft sound of munching grass, a doe is in front of her and she freezes her head turning toward Jeziasi. Jeziasi looks at the doe. She never really gave much thought to her natural Bosmer magic or abilities. The path to strength seemed at first with sharpened steel, and then claws and fangs. And the world had demanded such strength from her. Slowly Jeziasi holds out her hand. "Not hunting you," she says, though even in wolf form she would tend to pass the females by unless it was the only source of prey. The doe hesitates then moves to Jeziasi, allowing Jeziasi to rest her hand on the doe's head and as the doe moves closer, lowers her hand and rests her head against the doe's warm fuzzy head. "Have I...done something wrong?" she says. "Life in Oblivion was one of pure survival. I never had the time to wonder why I stayed so long..." Jeziasi's eyes close. "Swims-In-Silence...should I have known something was wrong with him? Or Did I..." she trails off. Did she know and just chose to ignore it? She did not think it mattered at the time. Slowly she rises and the doe blinks and walks into the forest, stopping to sniff a patch of grass where a small head rises, a little fawn. Jeziasi watches them for long moments before turning and heading back.
The quiet forest is replaced by the bustle of Elden Root as Jeziasi walks through it. Bosmer stops to glance at her and Jeziasi finally ducks into a small shop to escape the gazes. Everyone still knew who she was...but they did not really know her. She was no hero. She was just herself.
Jeziasi looks around the small shop, moving to a table and running her fingers down a set of daggers. Thin and deadly. Rather tribal looking. She glances around and sees an assortment of weapons and armor. Her gaze locks onto a set in particular. "Do you like it?" A Bosmer walks in from the back, his eyes eager. "I was inspired by a trip to Murkmire. I combined Bosmer style with Argonian. It would look great on you, I just know it! In fact, I want to gift you a set. And those knives as well! I know who you are, we all do."
Jeziasi looks up and shakes her head. "I can't just accept something like this for free," she says. She starts to back away but the Bosmer erupts in a whirlwind of movement and soon as the gear and swords boxed up.
"I insist! In fact, you cannot stop me. I can run very fast and I'll have these at the mage guild before you know it for you. And you know how rude it would be to bring them back then." he grins at her and turns his head toward the back. "Sira, I'll be back soon. Watch the store." he runs out of the store before Jeziasi can stop him, though she tries to follow but he is long gone.
"He can run fast," Jeziasi says and heads back to the mage guild.
Razum-dar is waiting for her. "We are having dinner," he says. "Also a rather excited Bosmer dropped off a box for you." he gives her a sniff. "And you did not hunt, I would smell if you did."
"He would not take no for an answer," Jeziasi said with a shrug. "And the only creature I saw was a doe with a fawn."
"Razum-dar will show you to the spare room you'll stay in while we are here," Razum-dar says, seeming slightly puzzled she did not hunt.
After a bath and a change into the armor gifted to her, Jeziasi finds the others and sits at the table with them. It is a quiet dinner at first with most of the group giving glances between their food and Jeziasi. Softly-Speckled-Crab dips her bread in the stew and chews it, and then breaks the silence. "Teeth in the shadows?" she asks.
Jeziasi stares at Softly-Speckled-Crab, and Softly-Speckled-Crab stares right back. "The Scuttling Void." Jeziasi finally says after she figures out she must have woken up at some point and said something to that effect. "Eternal Darkness, shadow Khajiits, waves of skeevers, and worse things. Some places are cast in ever-present purple gloom and other places, there is nothing but impenetrable darkness, where things lurk to shred flesh from bone."
"So the shadows seem to have teeth," Softly-Speckled-Crab says, and Jeziasi nods.
"Skeevers," Rufico says with a shutter. "I hate skeevers. Hate."
"It took longer than I would liked to find a path out of that realm," Jeziasi says. "And then I end up in the Shivering Isles, which was not any kind of improvement."
"Speaking of Shivering Isles..." Theodyn speaks up. "Ves...I mean Jeziasi, Sheogorath says your off his favorite list."
At Jeziasi's expression, Razum-dar leans back. "He is why we know you were in Oblivion, old friend. Though he seems rather angry at you. Your good at that it seems, though this one thinks it's not too healthy making those kinds of things angry."
Silence once more falls over the table as everyone slowly eats and Rufico looks around. "So, Jeziasi, what do Dunmers taste like? And did you ever eat any Imperials?" he says conversely.
Theodyn stops with his spoon halfway to his mouth, Razum-dar covers his eyes with a paw, and Iveryni kicks Rufico under the table. "I am curious now too," Softly-Speckled-Crab says.
"Not you too," Iveryni says with a sigh.
Jeziasi stares at Rufico and starts to shake until she cannot hold it in anymore and laughs. "You do not really want me to answer that do you?" she asks.
"Naa," Rufico says. "Just breaking up the depressing silence that fell over the room. Sides, someone had to ask it. Might as well be me."
"It sounds like a nightmare," Theodyn says. "Why did you stay so long in Oblivion if it was that horrible?" he asks.
Jeziasi is quiet at first. "Not all of it was. There is wonder in the realms as well. Some of the spiders in the Spiral Skein shimmer like precious gemstones, though they are very venomous as well. One could spend a lifetime, and only see the smallest fractions of it all. It's very nearly beyond mortal comprehension."
Razum-dar puts his spoon down. "Jeziasi, just how many realms of Oblivion did you visit?"
Jeziasi thinks. "If you include the briefest times spend in Shivering Isles and the Colored rooms, seven," she says to startled looks.
Rufico finishes his stew and just shakes his head. "Three years... I spend only a couple of months in the Imperial sewers during the planemeld and it nearly drove me mad. Three years..." he trails off. As Iveryni gives him a strange look Rufico shrugs. "We all have stories of the planemeld. Glad you stopped that Jeziasi."
"It was not just I," Jeziasi says. "And it was a long time ago, it feels like it anyway."
Razum-dar looks around and seeing everyone is done eating, he says. "Now that we are done with dinner, perhaps we can touch on the issues again." his eyes move to Jeziasi. "What happened with you and this Argonian?" he asks. Jeziasi tenses, her eyes narrow. "Perhaps it is too soon then," he says.
"No," Iveryni says. "The cause may be just as important as the result and time is against us. Viperish Night is not the only one we need to be concerned with."
Jeziasi growls softly and looks down at her empty bowl, pushing the spoon around. Theodyn looks to her and softly asks. "What was he like?"
Jeziasi stops growling and looks at Theodyn. "Very quiet, we rarely spoke. Never even seemed as if we needed to," she answers as Razum-dar and Iveryni fall silent, seeing how Theodyn with a more simple question had gotten her to speak of thus. Jeziasi continues. "His scales were like the darkest night when moons and stars fail to shine. When darkness fell, I could hardly pick him out from the shadows. His twin line of horns was just the right length and went down nearly to his neck. He was very strong too, I have never known an Argonian that strong before." Jeziasi's eyes seem far away. "He made the pain and memories go away. So we could just exist simply. We hunted, and I could be myself with him. Hunt as myself, or my wolf. It did not frighten him, I don't think anything could have. After hunting, we feasted. And at night..." Jeziasi trails off. "And the rare time's memories intruded, he distracted me at times, other times he told me to sleep and when I woke they seemed very distant." Jeziasi falls silent.
"One can get lost when life is simple," Softly-Speckled-Crab says.
Jeziasi frowns. "This is true, but I did not feel lost with him. I felt...as if the outside world did not exist," she says.
"It sounds..." Theodyn blinks, not sure what to say. "Did you love him?"
"No," Jeziasi says. "I did not. It seems strange, to spend that much time with someone, but no, I do not think so. I am not sure what my particular feelings were then...closer to the wolf than the mer, I think. As if he was my pack, my beta. Or perhaps..." she trails off and shakes her head. "Never-mind."
"It ended badly, this one thinks," Razum-dar says.
Jeziasi looks to him startled. "No, I knew it was temporary. I knew one day he would leave and I would have to return to my life. I just... was troubled when he left, still. I was never sure why."
Iveryni studies Jeziasi and her description of Swims-In-Silence. "You describe him so well," she says. "But you never mentioned his eyes."
"Eyes are the windows into who we are," Softly-Speckled-Crab adds.
Jeziasi looks down bow furrowed. "I never could remember his eyes," she says and shrugs at the puzzled looks she's getting. "Strange, I know."
"...Hey," Rufico pipes in, "is it just me, or does anyone find the sleep thing creepy?" he says.
"More than that seems a little...unsettling," Iveryni adds.
Jeziasi is silent for long tense moments. "Perhaps...part of me knew that. I just dismissed it," she says.
"Jeziasi," Razum-dar says and Jeziasi looks over at him. "Somehow this has all resulted in Viperish Night. You accept this now?"
Jeziasi frowns. "I have to. I still don't understand how." Jeziasi falls silent again, her thoughts going to Viperish Night. He was so angry and so hurt. Filled with depths of darkness and madness that staggered her. Someone that far gone... rarely came back from it. Her thoughts move to Viperish Night's eyes, a mirror for hers, but the only thing of her she saw in him. And...there was his past to consider, Her shock at seeing his back, his angry hiss telling the truth of it. Slavers... she had gone mad against them in Vvardenfell for a time. "What is Viperish Night, Raz?" she asks. "Something created to be a monster or someone who was damaged to the point of becoming a monster?"
"Jeziasi, it does not matter," Razum-dar says firmly. "He is what he is now. A threat to the Dominion and to Nirn. He must be dealt with."
"It cannot be that easy!" Theodyn says. "I know he is evil and murders people, including my friends, but you are asking Jeziasi to kill her..." he trails off as Razum-dar growls at him.
"Viperish Night must have been created by unnatural means," Razum-dar says. "How can one be a mother if that is how it was done? This one says it is not natural. There is no reason to apply it to thus."
Jeziasi stands and starts stalking around the room. "I have killed someone I was close to before. I almost killed her once, to save someone I was close to. And the second time it was to save all Nirn. I do not know Viperish Night. It's easier that way. I will..." she looks at the others. "Help you end him. I love Nirn and I always wage war to save it, no matter the cost or who I have to kill or watch die. This changes nothing."
Razum-dar rises and moves to Jeziasi and she snarls at him. "Don't. Not one word of sympathy or I will go mad. It is what it has always been."
"Sometimes our destiny's are not of our choosing. But we become them with all our soul." Softly-Speckled-Crab says.
Jeziasi pauses to regard Softly-Speckled-Crab. "She is really insightful," she says softly.
"This one thinks she is touched by Azura," Razum-dar says. "Razum-dar says we should wrap this up for the night."
Everyone rises and starts to head out, but Softly-Speckled-Crab freezes, her eyes closing briefly before she opens them and moves in front of Jeziasi, looking at her. "Argonian's bond to have eggs." she insists.
"Viperish Night asked me if I bonded with Stalks-In-Darkness," Jeziasi says. "I did not know at the time Swims-In-Silence was Stalks-In-Darkness. My time with Swims-In-Silence was temporary though. We never..." she shrugs and turns to go.
Softly-Speckled-Crab moves in front of Jeziasi again. "You did not bond with him then?"
Jeziasi looks at her, she just answered Softly-Speckled-Crab. "I am not an Argonian, of course, I did not..." she trails off, a hand moves to her head.
Razum-dar turns to Jeziasi. "My friend are you alright?"
"I..." Jeziasi says before suddenly falling and Razum-dar leaps and catches her. "Softly-Speckled-Crab, what's wrong with her?" Razum-dar asks as he lies Jeziasi gently down.
Softly-Speckled-Crab sits on the ground near Jeziasi. "I am sorry," she says. "She needed to be pushed. The lady told me to do it." Softly-Speckled-Crab looks distressed. "It causes her pain and I do not want that. But she had to be pushed!" Softly-Speckled-Crab looks near tears and Iveryni sits by her, taking Softly-Speckled-Crab's hand in her own.
"I do not know what is going on, but if you felt you had to do this there must be reason for it," Iveryni says.
Softly-Speckled-Crab looks up at Razum-dar and then at Theodyn and Rufico. Razum-dar takes in her meaning and moves to Theodyn and Rufico and pushes them to the door. "Off to bed with you!" he says as he pushes them out the door. Razum-dar glances back at the girls. "Call this one if you need him. Razum-dar will be nearby," he too walks out.
It's been a few days since Jeziasi followed Swims-in-Silence into the deepest parts of Shadowfen. Today they hunt the lamia. Venomous serpents that hunt in groups, they will become the hunted on this day. It is a whirlwind of tails and blades, fangs and claws, and when it is done a multitude of dead lamia lay around the two. Jeziasi feasts in werewolf form and glances at Swims-in-Silence. Swims-in-Silence gazes at her and then toward the ruins the lamia was gathered around. He heads inside and Jeziasi tilts her head before following him, shedding her werewolf form along the way.
Inside the ruins, it's cool and Jeziasi finds Swims-in-Silence inside one of the inner chambers. He turns as she enters and holds out his clawed hand to her. "Bond with me, Jeziasi," he says.
Jeziasi blinks startled. Swims-in-Silence cannot mean what she thinks he means. Argonian's bond with each other when they wish to produce eggs, love may or may not come into play. It's either a life-bond or a temporary one, depending on the circumstances. Jeziasi slowly frowns. She is not an Argonian, and this is temporary. Confused she suddenly feels unsettled and takes a step back from Swims-in-Silence. Her instincts are screaming at her again. She wants to ignore them as she has been doing since she went with Swims-in-Silence into the marsh. But something is not right with him asking this of her. Why would he? There is no reason for it.
Swims-in-Silence lowers his hand. "Jeziasi?" he asks, moving closer to her and she stares into his eyes. "Do you like hunting with me?"
Jeziasi closes her eyes. "Yes," Jeziasi answers. Hunting during the day, being with him at night. Swims-in-Silence makes all the painful memories seem like a distant dream. Her instincts at last fall silent and Jeziasi relaxes as she opens her eyes. His request does not seem so strange now.
"Bond with me," Swims-in-Silence asks again, holding out his hand once more. This time she takes it.
Jeziasi's eyes slowly flicker open and she sits up, a hand to her head. Everyone has left the room, save for Softly-Speckled-Crab and Iveryni. She looks at the two with confusion and a trace of fear in her eyes. "I did not remember," she softly says. "Bonding with Swims-in-Silence. I do not know how I could forget such a thing." What compelled her in that moment to take his hand? And why did she forget it? Jeziasi frowns. The few weeks she was with Swims-in-Silence at times seemed to be a dream, simple yet all-consuming. Lost in the marsh, lost in Swims-in-Silence.
Iveryni starts to say something but Jeziasi bolts right up. "Not now." she softly growls and turns to the door. "I...do not want to know this."
Softly-Speckled-Crab moves to her, placing a hand on her shoulder. "You had to. I do not wish to cause you pain...but you had to. You know that."
Jeziasi glances at her. "I know," she says and then walks out.
Iveryni rises and looks at the door and back at Softly-Speckled-Crab. "She knows." Softly-Speckled-Crab insists. "Let her sleep on it."
"Let us hope that one night is all she needs," Iveryni says. "I do not mean to be cruel, but Viperish Night will not wait on her. He may be in Craglorn as we speak."
"It is not easy to have one's world break," Softly-Speckled-Crab says. "To know one thing, and have another be true. To have such things hidden in the river. It would cause anyone such pain and anger."
Jeziasi walks out of the room and pauses only briefly as her eyes fall on Razum-dar. She turns her back on him and walks to her room. He pads after her. "Jeziasi, are you alright?" he asks.
"Do you even care?" Jeziasi snaps. Razum-dar moves in front of her causing her to halt. "Stop doing that!" she snaps again.
"This one must ask how you can ask that?" Razum-dar says. "Razum-dar knows our parting in Summerset..."
"You threatened me!" Jeziasi says. "All for your precious Dominion."
"Warning, Jeziasi," Razum-dar said. "This one trusts you, but this one had to all the same." he looks at her and she looks away. "You're not angry at Razum-dar. What happened in there?"
"Swims-in-Silence. I bonded with him. I just forgot somehow." Jeziasi says.
Razum-dar's eyes widen. "Forgot? Jeziasi, this is very bad. No one just forgets something like that," he says.
"Don't you think I know that?" Jeziasi snaps. "I don't know how I forgot! I don't know if there is anything else I forgot. I don't know what's going on, Raz!"
Razum-dar places a paw on Jeziasi's arm. "Calm, my friend. This could not have been your fault. Something made you forget."
Jeziasi goes utterly still. "Raz... my emotions and instincts were out of sorts after Summerset. I had no idea if I could trust them, or myself."
"What are you saying?" Razum-dar asks.
"My instincts told me not to go with him." Jeziasi softly says. "I went with Swims-in-Silence anyway. And when those same instincts told me not to bond with him, not to stay with him, I ignored them again. Time and time again, I ignored them."
Razum-dar stares at Jeziasi in shock. "This one says that cannot possibly be true," he utters. Jeziasi just stares at him until he asks her, "Why?"
"I did not think it would matter," Jeziasi says. "I am so strong, Raz. How could one little Argonian be any kind of threat to me? And after Summerset, I just wanted something simple. He offered that." Jeziasi looks at Razum-dar with an unreadable expression on her face. "And later, it's as I said. He made the world go away. I did not think he meant me or Nirn any harm. Did he? He must have if this is the result." Jeziasi turns from him. "I am going to bed, Raz. Tomorrow we will figure a way to kill Viperish night and Swims-in-Silence and end this nightmare. Then I can try to forget it ever happened."
Razum-dar looks at her back. "Will it be that easy for you, Jeziasi?" he asks.
"...It does not matter." Jeziasi softly says. "I have killed someone I cared for before to save the world. As said, I do not even know Viperish Night, and as for Swims-in-Silence...I never really knew him, did I?" she moves away from Razum-dar and shuts the door to her room.
Razum-dar places a paw on the door. "Jeziasi..." he sighs. She has to let them help her. Perhaps tomorrow...though Jeziasi has never been very open. Razum-dar turns and walks away.
Iveryni wants to stay up. Study, or work on what information they have. Anything but sleep. She rather...despises sleep. It keeps her from doing what she needs to be doing. And...if she is being honest with herself ever since she pulled Jeziasi from the Deadlands it seems as if something is watching her and the feeling is strongest when she sleeps, when her defenses are down. But if she does not sleep, she will falter. And to falter now...or any time is unacceptable. So she prepares for bed, brushing her long hair in front of a mirror. She closes her eyes for but a moment and when she opens them she starts back, the hairbrush falling to the ground. The mirror has gone nearly completely dark and someone watches her from the darkness, and all she can see of them is a pair of dark knowing eyes.
"Dunmer, I have aided you. And you may be in need of my assistance again soon."
The voice, the same one that showed her how to open portals. Iveryni stares into the mirror. "My name is Iveryni," she says.
"I am aware of who and what you are. Iveryni Rathnil of House Telvanni...and yet not of House Telvanni. You blaze a new path. Something the Telvanni are not in the habit of doing." the voice says.
"What do you want?" Iveryni cautiously asks.
"The same thing you want. The path Viperish Night wishes to blaze is not one I care for. Therefore, if you need it, I will assist you, Iveryni Rathnil."
Iveryni stills, her mind going back to many of the things Softly-Speckled-Crab had been saying. "Do I want that?" she says.
"Want? Tell me, does want come into play when the fate of Nirn is at stake? Would you not become whatever you need to to stop Viperish Night?"
"This...is true," Iveryni admits. "But there is still a chance to stop Viperish Night before he finds..." she trails off. How much did this mysterious person know?
"No need to hide things, Iveryni Rathnil. I know what Viperish Night seeks. If he lays claim to it, you will need my assistance. And you will take it."
"If," Iveryni says. "We are going to do everything we can to stop him before that point."
"If then, Iveryni Rathnil. I will call on you should you fail." The eyes start to fade and then the voice adds, "You should ask what Divine Being would give a gift of death to a King in need." The mirror shimmers and returns to its normal state.
Chills run down Iveryni's neck. She had not even considered where the knowledge of the relic came from. She frowns wanting to return to her books. But...failure was even less an option and so she heads to her bed instead.
Jeziasi bolts up from the bed. Nightmares drove her from sleep, they chased her across the plains of Oblivion, shadows peel off from the darkness to pursue her, and when she turns to fight the wolf does not come and the shadows leap, blocking out all light and hope. Jeziasi snarls and grabs the bed, throwing it across the room to shatter against the wall. "I am the hunter, NO ONE HUNTS ME!" she snarls and grabs a chair sending it crashing against the wall. Her eyes flare and for a moment the wolf shimmers into view, flesh melting to fur, claws replacing fingers and she slashes the walls until the pain knocks the wolf from her again. She staggers to the door and flings it open, racing from her room and the mage guild.
Jeziasi runs blindly into the night and suddenly she finds herself in front of a flickering fire in which Wyress Asteria and a gathering of Bosmer females sit. Wyress Asteria looks up at her and stands. "Walk with me," she instructs and heads deeper into the woods. Jeziasi stares after her before following.
The moons and stars shine down through the trees as Wyress Asteria sits on the grass and looks up at Jeziasi. "I knew you would seek me out. So you have accepted the truth."
Jeziasi sits and does not speak for a long time. Finally, she does. The words must come out, even if she rather forget. "I did bond with Swims-In-Silence. He is...," she trails off. "I do not understand how it is possible still. I know I cannot possibly..." she makes a round shape with her hands. "So it must have happened another way. I might have been aware of it since I did not remember the bonding until Softly-Speckled-Crab pushed me to remember."
"A mystery even I cannot see an answer to, but is that what you came to discuss with me, truly?" Wyress Asteria says.
Jeziasi falls silent again. No, it's not. Her mind flashes back into the Deadlands. Being thrown out of the window and crashing against the ground hard enough to break ribs. Helm gone, she had opened her eyes to see Viperish Night gazing down on her. His eyes...so similar to her own. It had made her heart stop, even though then she thought him mad and not speaking any kind of truth. Jeziasi places her hands on the ground, trying to ground herself. "I should not ask this," she says, "But...you said he was different once."
"Should not ask this?" Wyress Asteria says and looks into Jeziasi's eyes. "He in part came from you," she says and then gestures to the woods around them. "In these woods, wolf mothers hunt with their pack to bring food back to their pups. Bear mothers protect their young with great ferocity, a doe watches over her fawn and keeps them hidden from predators. How can anyone disregard this essential fact? It would be heartless to do so." she says.
Jeziasi swallows. "He thinks I abandoned him but I never even knew he existed. And he threatens all of Nirn... he has murdered and caused such pain..." Jeziasi trails off.
"And yet, you still ask." Wyress Asteria says. "It is as natural as breathing, Jeziasi." She falls silent. "Please give me a moment. The death of my sisters is still an open festering wound. To give you what you need, I need to center myself."
Jeziasi nods and time pass, the peace of the forest calming her nerves, and calming Wyress Asteria as well. She finally speaks again. "A question first, Jeziasi if I may." As Jeziasi nods, Wyress Asteria asks, "What I feel from you is small, but it is what I look for when I recruit sisters for the Wyrd. I do not think you're aware of it, the magic that never had a chance to grow."
Jeziasi thinks, trying to remember. "My mother," she finally says. "My village was small, though I can't remember the name of it, or even if it had a name. I felt pulled to the larger world after my parents died. I think perhaps that is why I never explored anything like that. The past before the wars is a faded dream."
"Taken from this world and from life then returned. It has consequences. Wyress Asteria says.
"I felt trapped after the wars," Jeziasi says. "Cold in a way I could not shake. Lost."
"And then you were called by Lord Hircine." Wyress Asteria states. "I doubt many would understand this."
"No...not really," Jeziasi says. "It is not an easy path but I would not go back and refuse it, either. It set me free, it chased away the cold. Perhaps it bound me to one of the Princes, but everything has a cost. And it seems acceptable cost to me."
Wyress Asteria reaches for Jeziasi's hand. "This path called to you strongly, though it is one of the many paths set before you. We all have more than one. The one we travel, it is not always just us who decides it. Perhaps in another life, you could have been one of us." Wyress Asteria's eyes close briefly then she looks back to Jeziasi. "Viperish Night took a path I had hoped he would not. When I first met him something about him puzzled me, and I took him back to the Wyrd with me."
Jeziasi starts a little. "Wyrd doesn't tolerate outsiders," she says.
"No, we do not. My sisters were displeased with me for a time." Wyress Asteria says. "I brought him to my village because the first time I set eyes upon him, he was sitting on an island with lamia. They made no move to attack him, and he made no move in turn. It was the strangest thing. And I saw this again and again as he dwelt among us. He loved the trees, he loved the animals. They would come to him and he would marvel over them. I could feel the life magic so strongly from him. If he had been a female, he may have been offered to join us, though..." Wyress Asteria trails off for a moment. "Though I could also feel the corruption within him. Necromancy. And unlike any mage that pursues that foul magic, necromancy was tangled into his very being like brambles. I have never felt anything like it, and it caused me such sadness. I knew he was at war with himself. War against the necromancy or submit to its darkness." Wyress Asteria looks down. "I thought he would choose the former. He helped save our woods and almost died for it. He had such gentleness in him, such kindness. I do not know what happened to him after, but it destroyed that part of him. When I looked into Viperish Night's eyes when he came back to the woods..." she trails off. "You know what I saw, Jeziasi. Utter darkness, depths of pain, swirls of madness."
Jeziasi staggers up and turns away from Wyress Asteria, leaning her head against a tree trembling. "I...I thought there was nothing of me in him," she rasps. "But..." Jeziasi trails off. The Viperish Night Wyress Asteria described was an utterly different person. One who found wonder in the world, one who would risk life to save it.
Wyress Asteria stands. "Viperish Night is not just one thing, Jeziasi. He chose this path but dark forces had a hand in his fall. He was strong enough to break free of it once. Something changed."
"He said he was taught by a monster," Jeziasi says. "That must be the mentor you spoke of. I will kill him. And..." her eyes turn haunted. "Swims-In-Silence or Stalks-In-Darkness, whatever he calls himself, caused all this. I will kill him too." she softly growls. "Though I cannot go and hunt them alone. I want to...but Raz would never forgive me, and the others..." she trails off. She hardly even knows this group of would-be heroes. It wars with her to stand with them rather than alone. But alone...she had been hunted when alone and it caused all of this. She had to stay. But... her eyes close and she clears her thoughts. "Wyress Asteria... what do I do about Viperish Night?"
"You know the answer to that." Wyress Asteria says. "I feel it within you."
Jeziasi opens her eyes and turns to Wyress Asteria. "Try to save him if I can find him. Try to tell him the truth and sway him from this madness. He needs to know if he does not, who his father is as well, though I do not know the full truth of Swims-In-Silence. And..." she trails off, eyes glimmering with sadness. "If I cannot, I will do what I must in the end. I always do. But I will try to save him first."
"I am in contact with other Wyrds now. We prepare for war. If we find Viperish Night, we will send for you." Wyress Asteria promises. "Try to rest now, Jeziasi. The coming days will be hard."
Jeziasi nods and turns to go. She pauses as if she wants to ask another question, but decides not to and returns to Elden Root.
