-Elden Root-
Softly-Speckled-Crab rests outside in the grass, the mighty tree at her back. Her eyes close as she swims in her memories, and her fears of what is to come.
Swim the current, Softly-Speckled-Crab.
Tree-minder Neeseta's words to Softly-Speckled-Crab shortly after Softly-Speckled-Crab had started her training in Star-Song Tribe. Softly-Speckled-Crab had never understood the river as the other Argonian's did, being born so far from the Hist, and had a lot to learn at Star-Song tribe. They taught her many new things and when she was ready, she had sunk into the Hist's river and was changed into life's champion, to be what she needed to be. Softly-Speckled-Crab had always felt deeper than others and always had an innate knowledge of those around her, could even swim into their feelings at times. And now? Softly-Speckled-Crab can feel so much more now. She can feel Nirn. It waits with bated breath, the corruption that has settled deep in its roots from Viperish Night's undead army that lies in wait for his final cleansing of Tamriel. Softly-Speckled-Crab can also feel the undead, but not where they are. Their locations are hidden and protected from her, from any who would seek to destroy them.
Softly-Speckled-Crab slowly opens her eyes. She wanted this to end, she wanted for them to stop Viperish Night's nightmare and his pain. He drowned the world in it, could not see beyond his agony and despair. But the truth of it was she feared they had lost the window to stop him. To stop this horrific fate. Softly-Speckled-Crab hisses sadly. She and her friends were to be family, was to be pack as Viperish Night's pack was. Instead...this is what they were.
Soft footsteps has Softly-Speckled-Crab looking toward the woods. The Wyrd, what remains, awaits her. Softly-Speckled-Crab stands and grips her staff and walks up to the young Bosmer woman, Wyress Tiasiesa. Tiasiesa looks at Softly-Speckled-Crab with serious eyes. "We have found the camp of the remnants of the Veiled Heritance. They have been murdering for the necromancer, preparing to help him when he attacks the Dominion."
Softly-Speckled-Crab bows her head. What will happen must happen. It is a mercy to happen. They may not be able to stop Viperish Night, but they must try anything and everything to do so. Including riding him of his allies. "It is mercy to end them," Softly-Speckled-Crab whispers. "But it is not easy. Lead, Wyress Tiasiesa. We will take care of this." Tiasiesa bows her head and then turns and leads Softly-Speckled-Crab deep into the Valenwood.
In the shadows outside of Elden Root Rufico speaks with Speaker Malkeyranis. "You understand," Speaker Malkeyranis says.
"We are not meant to fight an open war. And too many have fallen already." Rufico states.
"We must retreat into the shadows, our Night Mother commands it. Our last task is to take out Ikhil, and I have dispatched our silencer to take care of him. Without him, the Maormer will retreat from Summerset's shores, leaving Viperish Night without their aid in the coming war." Speaker Malkeyranis tells Rufico.
"I must stay here alone. Understood, Speaker." Rufico says, folding his arms across his chest. The Dark Brotherhood must survive, so they must retreat for now.
"Rufico," Speaker Malkeyranis says and Rufico looks at him. "You are not alone." Speaker Malkeyranis says as he turns and enters his dark portal.
Rufico stares at the portal and it's not until it closes that he speaks. "But I am..." Rufico whispers. As hard as he tries to regain his armor, his hard edges...with Theodyn it was no longer possible. Yet Theodyn had not spoken to him since... Rufico frowns. Every time Theodyn saw Rufico he turned and walked away. "Like a blade to the heart," Rufico whispers. The Dark Brotherhood was his family, but Theodyn was his heart. Rufico sighs. If he could destroy this, or at the very least bury it...he needed to. The tipping point had passed, they had failed. Now? Now all they could do was ready themselves for what could be an unwinnable war. Rufico turns and walks silently into the tree. Theodyn may not want to so much as look at him, but they had bloody business to deal with today. Razum-dar had at last found something, the camps where the remnants of the Worm Cult lie in wait to aid Viperish Night. Three large camps. The allegiances and guilds were busy recovering from the bloodbath in Summerset, so it was up to Rufico and Theodyn to take care of it. A small force would meet them near each camp from each allegiance, it should be enough. That is if Theodyn could work with anyone save himself for once.
Iveryni rests in her room far from the others. Before, she had felt a connection with them. After? Iveryni frowns. Had Dagon's flames tried to burn it away? To make her more loyal to him than to Nirn? The thought had crossed her mind. Iveryni closes her eyes remembering the searing flames. How they burned like agony and then how the agony turned to near bliss as she was transformed. In these flames, Dagon's voice had rung out to her. She remembers his words with crystal clarity.
Iveryni Rathnil, you will be reborn as my Champion. You will stop Molag Bal's spawn's mad scheme. Nirn is mine, not his." Dagon's voice had then turned darker, sending forboding down her spine. "Do not forget two things, Iveryni Rathnil. One, your mortal body was injured past the point of recovery by normal means. Two, you are my champion. For this conflict, and what comes after.
Iveryni was forbidden from speaking of this. Of what was coming, that is if Viperish Night was stopped. Molag Bal send the world into chaos, Mehrunes Dagon intended to do the same, and the Daedric Prince of Destruction demanded her by his side, loyal to him. Iveryni was to save Nirn...and then help bring it to destruction under her Prince's flag. Iveryni knows that at the very least Mehrunes Dagon's plans would not destroy all mortal life but...Iveryni lowers her head her hair falling in her face. She could not disobey her Prince. He held her in chains she could not break, for she walked into them of her own accord, to save Nirn and to be what she needed to be. No regrets on that, but regrets of what the future may hold? So very many.
Iveryni takes a deep breath and rises. Enough laminating. Her fate was what it was. "Deimyite," Iveryni says. A Daedric portal snaps open and the Daedra steps out. "You have them," Iveryni says. Not a question, as she sees the truth in his eyes. He has found what she asked him to seek.
"The four Reachmen clans you asked us to seek," Deimyite says with a delighted smile. "They lurk in Skyrim, waiting for Viperish Night to lay siege to it. More Clans plan to join them, but once we destroy the clans that have already alliged with the necromancer, they will rethink their position on joining the war." Deimyite's dark gaze seeks Iveryni, seeking the darkness within them that is needed for what is to come. "You know what we must do."
Iveryni meets his gaze. "Annihilation," she says. "Nothing short of that will keep the Reachmen from joining with Viperish Night. We will kill every last one of them." Iveryni grabs her staff from the bed.
"We will follow your command, Iveryni Rathnil," Deimyite says. "We cannot in mass in force upon Nirn, but you will have enough Daedra to do what is needed." Deimyite turns and enters the portal and Iveryni follows him.
Theodyn stalks around his room and finally slams his hand into the wall. "Damn it why won't she answer me?" Theodyn snarls.
Darien coalesces out of the sword and leans against the wall. "Because I am blocking you," Darien says with a grin.
"Damn you!" Theodyn yells at him. "Let me talk to my Prince! NOW!" Theodyn pauses and stares at Darien. "How can you do that? You are not!"
"Am I?" Darien says with a laugh. "Or perhaps Meridia just does not want to speak to you."
Theodyn snarls again. "Which one is it?"
Darien sighs the grin falling from his face. "I do not know." Darien shrugs. "Perhaps Molag Bal is blocking her somehow?" As Darien sees Theodyn getting angrier he sighs again. "Theodyn, Viperish Night, and his pack are not on Molag Bal's side." Darien thinks about that for a few moments before correcting himself. "Well... it's complicated anyway."
"Just go back in the sword then, since your useless," Theodyn commands.
Darien falls silent for a few moments before speaking. "Just as your friends are useless? As Rufico is?" Darien finally says.
"Do not speak to me of him!" Theodyn snaps.
"Why not?" Darien asks.
"He..." Theodyn says, his face turning red. "He threatened me! Attacked me!"
Darien grins. "And he kissed you. Let us not forget that part." Darien laughs as Theodyn snarls at him again. "Hey, don't get me wrong, I prefer the ladies. But Rufico has that dark brooding thing going on. And he's not bad on the eyes either. You could do a lot worse." Theodyn just stares at him and Darien's grin fades again. "In all seriousness, he loves you," Darien says. "And he's trying to reach you. Why is that so hard for you to understand?" Theodyn turns his back on Darien and folds his arms across his chest. Again, Darien sighs. "Figure it out. One thing people hate is being strung along. Decide how you feel about this, and tell him."
"There is no time for this!" Theodyn snaps.
"...Theodyn, the world is ending. There is always time for this when the world is ending." Darien says with a shake of his head. Theodyn looks back at him and briefly, Darien can see the lost look on Theodyn's face before the mask slams back down.
"Back in Dawnbreaker, Darien," Theodyn says. "I have Worm Cultists to kill." Theodyn turns and grits his teeth. He has no issues with killing the traitors to life, but the fact he has to fight with Rufico. Rufico who attacked him! Rufico who...confuses him so much. Who makes the mask slip, who makes Theodyn feel something other than cold light and righteous anger and hate.
"Very well," Darien agrees. "Dawnbreaker is yours. Just ask yourself this, after all this is over, provided we are not all eaten by zombies, do you want to serve your Prince forever? Or do you want something else?"
Darien vanishes after he speaks these words and Theodyn turns and picks up Dawnbreaker, staring at it in anger and puzzlement. Did any of them have an after, or was this all they were meant for? Theodyn sighs and moves to the door. Time to find Rufico and get this over with.
-Deep in Valenwood-
Softly-Speckled-Crab crouches in a tree surrounded by the Wyrd Sisters. Grim silence seems to echo and Softly-Speckled-Crab regards the Wyrd, so very few left. Was the mood because they would have to take so very many lives today, or because they wanted to take vengeance for their fallen sisters? It was not the Veiled Heritance who killed their sisters, but they had aligned themselves with the one who did. Softly-Speckled-Crab turns her attention back to the camp below them. Remnants of the Veiled Heritance, still plotting, still hating Queen Ayrenn and all she stood for, Altmer at their worst. But even that did not justify wholesale slaughter of these Altmer below them. It was the fact that they followed Viperish Night that did. Nothing less than the fate of Nirn was at stake, and they had to take as many of his allies away from him as possible, since finding his vast army of the undead was utterly impossible. One final time does Softly-Speckled-Crab gaze at her allies, and at last, she decides their grimness is a result of vengeance, the desire for it. The Wyrd are powerful, and yet very hard, willing to do anything for their forest. Viperish Night threatened even the green for the corruption of the band would desecrate even the land. So...the Wyrd sisters sought vengeance for their fallen, and vengeance for what Viperish Night would soon do. He sang the death of all life in his madness. Softly-Speckled-Crab nods to Wyress Tiasiesa and she gestures to her sisters and they spring down from the trees like wild beasts, descending upon the Veiled Heritance below. Softly-Speckled-Crab leaps as well, landing amidst a group of them. Vines spring forth from the ground at her command and wraps around their bodies and necks. "To lessen Viperish Night's army in any way...is a mercy," Softly-Speckled-Crab hisses at them. "Forgive me." The vines convulse and snap their necks quickly and Softly-Speckled-Crab moves on to the next, vines shooting through bodies, roots smashing skulls, Softly-Speckled-Crab kills them as quickly as she can, and at last, it is all over and all the Veiled Heritance lie dead. Not a single of the Wyrd have fallen and Softly-Speckled-Crab looks over them and then at the fallen.
Wyress Tiasiesa moves closer to Softly-Speckled-Crab. "You do not like this part." Wyress Tiasiesa observes.
Softly-Speckled-Crab bows her head. "It must be done. I will do what I must, but I do not like swimming in the river of death." Softly-Speckled-Crab says.
"Even if they deserve it?" Wyress Tiasiesa says. "They would help the necromancer destroy everything, including our forests. Does such action not deserve this fate?"
"To believe that is to believe that there is no redemption, no changing the course of our river," Softly-Speckled-Crab says as she stares across the sea of dead bodies as her vines wrap around them to drag them to their burial into the earth. Softly-Speckled-Crab hopes this may prevent Viperish Night from rising them. Hope, for hope is all that is left.
"He will not stop," Wyress Tiasiesa says. "We know that. So should you."
"I know," Softly-Speckled-Crab says and her thoughts turn to Jeziasi. A single drop in Viperish Night's river, all for her love of her son. A drop can change the flow or be lost, but Viperish Night's river has not changed.
-Bangkorai-
"So," Rufico says, arms crossed. "Not even going to try and talk to me?" Rufico's eyes dart to Theodyn who's standing at ready nearby.
Theodyn frowns and his grip on Dawnbreaker tightens. "Let us just get this done so we can prepare to go after the... Viperish Night and his pack." Theodyn says tightly.
Rufico sighs. Still only one track on Theodyn's mind. Rufico looks around to see the Ash'abah standing at ready, waiting to start the battle. Today has been busy bloody business. First, Reaper's March and a contingent of Khajiit warriors. The Worm Cultists never saw them coming and between Rufico's murderous skills and Theodyn's expert swordsmanship with Dawnbreaker and the ferocity of the Khajiit, they made short work of it, leaving none left alive. Next had been The Rift, Nords helping that time. The Worm Cult camp there had given them a bit more of a fight, one of their scouts having detected them, but again the results were the same. Total annihilation. No prisoners, no survivors. Those who tried to run, Rufico cut down without hesitation. And now, Bangkorai. Deep in the desert mountains with a group of Ash'abah send from Alik'r.
Rufico pulls the hood over his head and motions for Theodyn and the Ash-abah. They decent from the cliffs onto the Worm Cult camp, striking without mercy. Undead rise, only to be cut down by the Ash-abah, Rufico moves swiftly through the Worm Cultists, knifes finding their way across necks, throwing knives sinking deep into chests. Theodyn strikes with Dawnbreaker, its fiery light burning the remaining undead to ash, and its sharp blade cuts down Worm Cultists as well. Soon it is done, as it was in Reaper's March and The Rift. The Ash-abah move to contain the dead, in hopes it will keep Viperish Night from raising these, and burning the mass pits of the dead the Worm Cult was saving for him as well.
Rufico's gaze turns to Theodyn who turns from the battlefield to walk toward the cliff. Rufico silently follows him. "They dropped like flies. Many many dead flies," Rufico comments as he leans against a rock and cleans his blades.
Theodyn looks out upon Bangkorai. "Is that all they are to you? Insects to be killed without thought?" Theodyn says.
Rufico frowns as he pauses and gazes at Theodyn puzzling over his words. "No mercy. That has been your creed as well as mine since we returned." Rufico says.
Theodyn is silent long enough that Rufico fears he has gone back to silence in regards to Rufico, but at last, he speaks. "I..." Theodyn trails off and turns his head briefly to look at Rufico before turning his gaze back out on the horizon.
"Theodyn, look at me." Rufico demands and when Theodyn makes no move to, Rufico adds, "Please," and finally Theodyn turns back to him. Rufico's eyes lock onto Theodyn's. In his friend's eyes is despair. Despair for the wholesale slaughter today. Confusion crosses Rufico's face.
Theodyn reads Rufico's eyes and he frowns. "This is right, Rufico!" Theodyn snaps and turns away from Rufico yet again.
"Right," Rufico echos as he stares at his knifes. He had learned of murder with the Dark Brotherhood. People pleaded with the Night Mother to kill for many many reasons. But always a reason. This...hardly was one. They could contain them, arrest them, but Viperish Night's threat was so great, this was decided on instead. No mercy, no one left alive. It was dark bloody business, even for a trained assassin. "This is not right, Theodyn," Rufico says and Theodyn snaps his attention back upon Rufico. "This is necessary," Rufico continues. "but we massacred them all. Even for an assassin, this is a merciless unforgiving act."
Theodyn's expression wavers. "This is not what I wanted," Theodyn says, softly enough his words are almost lost. His eyes stare into Rufico's. "I wanted to stop the Vestige, stop Viperish Night, not...this."
A glimmer of the Theodyn that Rufico knew, buried under what Meridia had made of him. "Could have fooled me, Theodyn," Rufico says as he puts his knives away.
Theodyn snarls. "It's your fault, you know! I only felt the cold light of my Prince and then you...you..." Theodyn trails off, slowly changing colors.
Rufico smirks. "Still can't say it, can you? Am I that bad at it?" Theodyn turns bright red and turns from Rufico. "That's what I thought," Rufico says.
"Damn it, Rufico," Theodyn says. "Why did you have to do that? You just made everything harder."
The small smile fades from Rufico's lips. "Because I missed you, Theo. Lost in the light... Selfish I know. I was resisting, but you being so lost cost us our victory. Might cost us everything. So why not?" Rufico says with a shrug. Theodyn is silent at Rufico's words. Rufico sighs. "Please tell me you know you've been stupid Theo. Or are you going to hide in the light again? Hide...from me?"
"I...just feel such hate toward the... toward Jeziasi. I still do! I..." Theodyn trails off with a strangled tortured cry.
"Can you see now its not your hate?" Rufico quietly tells him.
Theodyn starts to shake. "Did she lie to me, Rufico? Prince Meridia said I would be stronger after. She never said this would be the result. Such coldness, such overwhelming hate. It drowns me, and at the same time calls me to it."
Rufico's heart nearly breaks as he hears the overwhelming pain in Theodyn's voice and he steps a few steps closer to him. "Daedric Princes use us mortals, Theodyn. Look what Molag Bal did to Jeziasi. How dark Mehrunes Dagon made Iveryni, to the extent she's willing to burn down the world to stop this." Rufico says. "It's not your fault, it's Meridia's."
Theodyn is silent before speaking again. "She wanted me to be her avenging light. Even if it cost us Nirn." Theodyn whispers the truth he finally is able to see.
"There you go Theo, not so stupid. Just blinded by the light, by a Daedric Prince." Rufico says.
Theodyn's hand clenches into a fist. "The light is supposed to be pure, good! Why?" Theodyn turns to Rufico. "Even if Prince Meridia is a Daedric Prince, she is of the light. Why is this the result?"
"Light or dark is not good or evil, Theodyn," Rufico says. "It can be either or even both."
"All I wanted was to save Nirn. To save so many. But the light..." Theodyn stops and Rufico can see him waver. To fall back into the light and not have to think such tortured thoughts, or to come out of it and bath in all the pain of the truth.
"Is this the Theodyn you want to be?" Rufico asks. "Is this the Theodyn you would want your sister to see if she was still here?"
Theodyn's gaze fills with fury and then pain and shock. "I..." Theodyn's voice fills with utter loss. "Not once have I thought of Seriana, of my parents and my home. Not once did what I am fighting for cross my mind," Theodyn whispers and he looks at Rufico, suddenly so very lost. "What did Meridia do to me?" Theodyn breaths. "Rufico please, help me. I don't want to forget again."
Theodyn starts to shake harder and Rufico moves to him and cups Theodyn's neck in his hand. "I'll make sure you remember, Theo," Rufico tells him before he moves in and kisses Theodyn. The first time was full of anger and frustration, trying to reach his friend, this time its sorrow and hope and this time Theodyn kisses back, his hand moving to Rufico's neck, his other to Rufico's arm which he grips tightly, as if afraid of being cast adrift and lost without him.
A distance away Darien leans against a rock and smiles. "Bout damn time," Darien says happily.
"Ah, young love. And from two crazy boys. I LOVE IT! Or do I hate it?"
Darien looks down at the cat that suddenly has appeared. "Did you just talk?" Darien says.
The cat looks up at Darien. "I know you know who I am! Do not pretend you don't know your Uncle Sheo!" Sheogorath hisses.
Darien shrugs. "You got me. Why are you a cat anyway?" Darien says.
"Because I can be! Or maybe I'm not and your just crazy enough to think I am!" Sheogorath states, and headbutts Darien. "Now shut up and watch the crazy! Or I will turn you into cheese!"
Darien holds up a hand. "I'll be quiet," Darien says as he gazes back upon the boys, but then his gaze turns back to Sheogorath. "Theodyn tried to contact Meridia. I thought maybe...but it was you." Darien says.
Sheogorath's eyes move to Darien's. "They would not give me a mortal to play with! PAYBACK!" Sheogorath purrs happily.
-Western Skyrim-
The portal opens near where the Razorhorn Clan has camped out. Iveryni crouches on a rock and gazes down at the camp, hidden in a clearing surrounded by large boulders. Many Reachmen are spread out below, but they will be destroyed as easily as the BearBeater and Boneslasher clans had been. Iveryni finally stands staff in hand and it starts to glow with Daedric fire. One of the Reachmen glances up at her and starts to sound the alarm, but it is far too late. Iveryni slams her staff onto the ground and Daedric portals open on the bounders surrounded the camp, Daedra pouring out, their soul purpose utter destruction. Iveryni leaps from the rock and joins the battle, flames pouring from her staff, turning the camp to cinders as the Reachmen start to die all around her.
Tarvi pulls his sister Fasi behind a boulder as the Razorhorn's temporary camp starts to burn. Tarvi turns to Fasi, the fire shimmering in his eyes, as well as the anger and fear. "Run, Fasi," Tarvi tells her.
Fasi hisses, her fangs glimmering. It had not been long since she had been turned, but long enough to gain control with her brother's help. "Razorhorn is my clan brother. I became this to help them. To be strong enough to help them!" she hisses angrily.
Tarvi takes her shoulders roughly in his hands. "I know! But you cannot defeat them, none of us can! Run, warn Storm Claws of what is coming. Save them if you can," he pleads with her.
A tear rolls down Fasi's face and she angrily wipes it away. "Come with me, brother," she begs of him.
"You know I canna do that, sister," Tarvi says. "They are cutting down any who try to run. Only you are fast enough. Go, sister. Remember us. Remember Razorhorn Clan." Fasi rises and turns and Tarvi touches her hand and she glances back. "If you canna save them, run far from here," Tarvi says. "Stay away from that damn necromancer. Allying with him brought this down upon us. Promise me. If you cannot save them, run far away from the mad necromancers war."
"Oh brother," Fasi whispers. "That may be farther than even I can run." Fasi's eyes harden and she turns from him. "I will remember, I am a Reachmen of Razorhorn Clan, now and forever." Fasi dashes away becoming a blur of speed that even the Daedra fail to notice and not once does she look back as her clan burns, for she will have not the strength to keep running if she does.
Tarvi stands and watches his sister flee, then turns back to the battle. He stands with his Clan, until the moment a Daedra's sword finds him and he falls with the rest of his clan.
Iveryni stands in the middle of the camp, fires still burning all around her. All of Razorhorn clan are dead at her feet. Deimyite moves up behind her. "You like it, Iveryni Rathnil. The destruction you wield. You are truly our Prince's champion."
Iveryni says nothing, for he is right. Part of her enjoys this now. The utter ruin her fire causes destroying everything in its wake. Iveryni knows she could far too easily give into that part of her and have no further doubts of the future, but is that truly what she wants to become? Someone who would so easily set Nirn aflame, just for her goals, or Dagon's? Or...perhaps just to see it burn. At last, she turns to Deimyite. "One last Reachmen clan to take care of," Iveryni says as she opens a portal.
Fasi races toward Storm Claws, her clan, and her past behind her in heartbreak and fire. She races past Storm Claw's guards and stops in the middle of the camp and is quickly surrounded by Storm Claw's Reachmen, various weapons pointed at her. "She's coming," Fasi hisses. "The fire witch is coming."
The Storm Claw's chieftain approaches, a fierce woman with ragged markings on both arms and claw marks down one side of her face. She orders her clan to be at the ready and then turns to Fasi. "Speak quickly, Razorhorn Clan." Chieftain Eiava commands of her.
The sound of her clan sends a painful burst through Fasi's chest but she pushes it aside. "There is no Razorhorn Clan any longer," Fasi says. "My brother baid me to run and try and save you, for there was no saving my clan from the fire witch and her Daedra dogs."
Before Chieftain Eiava can reply her Reachmen sound an alarm as portals open all around the camp. Chieftain Eiava spins from Fasi to her clan, barking orders. "Ri'Zakar," she shouts and the Khajiit of Storm Claw called Devourer of Khajiits approaches her, his staff gripped in one clawed hand.
"This one will deal with the fire witch, Chieftain," Ri'Zakar tells her, and a feral grin crosses his face. "This one will devour her heart for daring this."
Screams suddenly echo out and Chieftain Eiava spins. "Damn witch, she's targeted our storm mages." Chieftain Eiava races across the camp, her bow in her hands in a moment as arrows start to fly at the Daedra streaming into camp, and soon it is a battlefield with the sounds of battle and the roaring flames that threaten to destroy them all. Fasi spins around flashes in a blur of speed, attacking the Daedra, trying to save this clan, when she could not save her own.
Iveryni stalks to the center of the camp where Ri'Zakar is waiting for her. Her eyes move over him. "You will burn as well, Khajiit," Iveryni says as flames run down her staff and across her hands.
Ri'Zakar's angry growl answers her. "This one is Reachmen, of Clan Storm Claw, Not Khajiit, witch." Ri'Zakar growls. "And do not think you are the only one with fire, this one has fire of his own." Flames shoot from his staff, forming into a glowing ball that hovers near him and Ri'Zakar holds his staff at ready, electricity running down his staff. "The storm as well, answers this one."
Iveryni's eyes glow. "It is the fires of the Deadlands that I command. Your storm magic is nothing." Iveryni says and she moves her staff forward and fireballs streak out. Ri'Zakar raises his, lighting bolts colliding with fire and he races through the chaos his claws glowing with burning flames to slam onto her staff. Iveryni's staff glows and a burst of magic throws Ri'Zakar backward. He stumbles before quickly regaining his footing and in his left hand a fire whip appears and he snaps it toward her it wraps around Iveryni's staff and yanks it from her grip to be tossed upon the ground. Iveyrni withdraws her axes and the flames that wreath her hands cover them and she charges at Ri'Zakar and slams them down on his staff, sending it from his grip. The ball of fire streaks out and flies toward Iveryni, she dodges as Ri'Zakar comes for her, his claws glowing once more with fire as he streaks them down her arm, ripping through armor and flesh. Ri'Zakar suddenly cries out in pain leaps back, hissing wildly.
"What kind of witch are you?" Ri'Zakar hisses. "This one thought you mortal, but you seem more Daedra."
Iveryni's eyes narrow, as liquid fire streams down her arm to hit the ground with a sizzle. "Daedra?" Iveryni whispers. "I am not a Daedra. I am a Dunmer mage." At Ri-Zakar's unbelieving gaze she shakes her head. "Perhaps I am more akin to a Flame Atronach now, in some regards. Certain things were necessary." Her eyes as hot as the flames of the Deadlands, but with a sense of loss in them as well. "You will not live to ponder this. None of you who side with Viperish Night will live to fight by his side." Lava bubbles out of the ground and surges toward Ri'Zakar who dives to the side to avoid being buried and melted by the surge.
Ri'Zakar leaps up and circles Iveryni, who raises her axes. "This one seeks elemental power as well," Ri'Zakar hisses. "If this one had enough, you would be nothing to Ri'Zakar. But for now, this is all I have." Ri'Zakar roars and the fire whip appears in his hands again and it snaps forward with unbelievable speed to wrap around Iveryni's neck.
Iveryni utters a choking scream and reacts violently to the attack. Memories flash through her mind, Viperish Night's claws across her throat, and in response to her distress lava bursts from the ground at her screams. The lava melts the fire whip and Ri'Zakar is sent scrambling backward to avoid the deadly splashing of the liquid lava. Iveryni snatches her staff from the ground and Ri'Zakar starts toward her, electricity seeming to crackle from his very fur as he seeks to call the storm to him. Iveryni snarls and utters a strange Daedric word and her staff glows with intense impossible light and a burst of blinding white fire streaks toward Ri'Zakar and envelops him, sending him flying across the camp, landing out of sight. Iveryni sinks to her knees, shaking slightly. That was enough to end the strange Khajiit, though using that amount of power had staggered her briefly. Iveryni rises and looks around, the Reachmen of Storm Claw is no more, they have been ended just as the other clans had been. All Iveryni sees now is Daedra, fire, and death all around her, caused by her very hands.
Fasi had been tossed aside by the Daedra and thought dead. She had not time to come into her vampire power and all she can do now is watch in horror as the Daedra slaughter Storm Claw just as they did her clan. The pain of losing her clan with this sends such fear through her she crouches behind rocks, hiding and shaking waiting for a Daedra to kill her, for they allow none to survive the massacre. What is there left to live for, now? Fasi closes her eyes and waits for death to come to her.
A crash nearby and Fasi's eyes bolt open as she beholds Storm Claw's Khajiit lying on the ground, blasted by an enormous burst of power. Fasi crawls to him, Ri'Zakar is bloody and horribly burned, but yet still breaths, yet still lives. Fasi glances around and no Daedra is near. Perhaps...perhaps there is still a chance for both of them. Fasi grabs Ri'Zakar's arm and pulls him up, the Khajiit weakly opening his eyes. "Must...fight," Ri'Zakar says. "Must fight for my clan... they saved this one. This one is Storm Claw..."
Fasi lowers her head. "It's over. There is no one left. Just like my clan...this clan is no more." Ri'Zakar grits his fangs, barely containing a roar of rage that would surely alert the Daedra to them. "Run," Fasi whispers, the same word her brother told her. "There is no other option save for death."
Ri'Zakar shudders softly. "This one will kill the witch. But this one will flee for now. This one..." Ri'Zakar's eyes flutter and he passes out, leaving Fasi hissing at him, but at last, she musters strength and speeds out at vampiric speed with him, using all she has in her to flee with him without being seen.
-Somewhere in Western Skyrim-
Fasi limps through a decayed forest filled with heavy mist half dragging Ri'Zakar, who has not once regained consciousness. She can feel his life ebbing out of him every moment, he is slowly fading into death. He is not of her clan, but he is all she has left of her old life, which has been destroyed by fire, leaving little left. Once more, Fasi feels hope leaving her and that is when a figure moves out of the shadows and steps into their path.
He's a Nord, but smaller and more lithe than most. His light blue eyes have an eerie light about him, and his brown hair is shaved on both sides leaving a strip of hair on top that trails off down the back of his head in a tail. The Nord regards them and then turns back into the mist and walks off, glancing back once to see if Fasi is following.
Fasi stares after the strange Nord and then follows him. She has little choice, for Ri'Zakar is dying in her grip and there is nowhere else to turn. Most Nord's would turn on her and Ri'Zakar in an instant for them being Reachmen.
The strange Nord leads them to a cave filled with magic and alchemic items. He gestures toward a cot and Fasi dumps Ri'Zakar on the cot as gently as she can and sinks to her knees, worn to the bone. Fasi grits her teeth as the hunger gnaws at her, instead focusing on the Khajiit. "Can you help him?" Fasi asks.
"Deciding." The Nord says as he glances at them.
"Deciding on what?" Fasi growls.
"If he is interesting enough to save." The Nord says. "I perhaps can, but it is not what I usually...do." At Fasi's intense gaze he adds, "I can harm or I can heal. It depends." His eyebrows raise as he regards the two carefully. "Two Reachmen deep into Western Skyrim, one a vampire, one a Khajiit. These are not typical Reachmen. And the Khajiit is burned, but not by normal fire. Daedric."
Fasi rises and starts to hiss angrily at the Nord, but Ri'Zakar's eyes flicker open and he weakly tugs at her arm pulling her back down. "This one is not Khajiit," Ri'Zakar whispers and the Nord moves closer to the two. "This one is Reachmen. The Storm Claws are...were my clan." Ri'Zakar growls, a sound filled with agony, despair, and fury."
The Nord stares into Ri'Zakar's eyes. "You have such magic, rare for a Khajiit such as yourself. Wrong furstock for such powerful magic," he remarks.
Ri'Zakar breaths rapidly, drawing upon his last remaining strength to speak. "This one found a way to be powerful. Devour the hearts of Khajiits...such power it gives this one."
A small dark smile comes across the Nords face. "I would know more. Yes, you're interesting enough to save," he turns to Fasi. "Remove what remains of his armor and clothes," he orders her as he moves to his table and starts mixing various things.
Fasi starts to pull off what remains of Ri'Zakar's armor but is halted by horror when she removes the last of it from his chest. Deep savage burns, but his left side is sheer horror. The fur, skin, and muscles all burned away leaving the rib cage exposed, the bones charred black. Fasi leaps up and backs away as the world starts to spin. She can see Ri'Zakar's heart through the carnage left by the witch's fire. How he has enough strength to keep it beating, his sheer force of will must have kept him alive as she escaped with him deep into Western Skyrim. "This is beyond healing," Fasi breaths as she shakes.
The Nord looks over at her. "For most. I may be able to save him..."
Fasi stares at him. He is claiming he can do the impossible. "How? Who are you?" she asks him.
"I am Lyssavi," he answers her. "Outcast, since I am what a Nord should not be, by their reckoning. I also work for someone...yes you could put it that way...interesting. I have learned many many things that way. Such curious ways to harm and heal." Lyssavi's eyes narrow. "Now go, vampire. Find some Nord's to eat, if you can find one that's not drunk off his ass." At her angry hiss, he adds, "You are far too starved to risk you being here. You may attack and savage us both for your hunger."
Fasi knows he's right but how can she leave Ri'Zakar to this madman? Her eyes move to Ri'Zakar's. She is on the brink, but still... "I cannot leave you here with him," Fasi whispers. "I think he is mad."
Ri'Zakar looks up at her. "This one is dead, Fasi, no matter what he does to this one, he cannot make it worse." Ri'Zakar weakly says as his eyes slowly shut. "If it is a chance at not being dead, take it yes? This one wants to kill the witch someday."
Fasi swallows. "I'll be back," she says and turns to Lyssavi. "Save him. My clan is gone and so is his. We have no one and nothing left. Save him." Fasi begs him before she turns and flees from the cave, flees from the impossible task she has asked of Lyssavi, flees from all that has happened this day.
Lyssavi turns to Ri'Zakar with a vial of noxious smelling substance. "This will be agony, my strange new friend," Lyssavi warns him.
"Do it. This one has no choices left," Ri'Zakar hisses.
"Very well," Lyssavi replies. "Should you survive, I think we may become the very best of friends." His grin borders on ghastly as he pours the strange liquid on Ri'Zakar's grievous injuries.
Fasi pauses once as she heads into the mist as Ri'Zakar's screams echo from the cave. She starts to turn back but the hunger finally overpowers her and she flees, seeking blood, seeking to lose herself in it and to bury this day's nightmare.
-Elden Root-
Later that night the four heroes return and gather in the meeting room in the Mage's Guild. Theodyn sits hands clasped together, Rufico leans against the wall, Softly-Speckled-Crab perches on a chair and Iveryni leans back in her chair wearily.
The silence is deafening. They are the chosen ones of the prophecy, set upon the path by Daedric and other forces to save Nirn..and yet they have committed near atrocities on this day. It had been Iveryni who suggested it and everyone agreed. Viperish Night was too powerful now, any method used to lessen it had to be taken. And so extermination of his allies was done. None would be foolish enough to stand with Viperish Night and his pack now. To do so meant utter annihilation without mercy.
Iveryni speaks first, breaking the silence. "It had to be done," she says, her eyes moving to each of them in turn.
Softly-Speckled-Crab looks back, Iveryni's gaze unsettles her. Yes, it had to be done, but the look in Iveryni's eyes is so very dark. Softly-Speckled-Crab hisses softly, "A mercy to try and lessen Viperish Night's power. A mercy to others." Softly-Speckled-Crab's gaze falls to her claws after speaking as she blinks softly, her spine aching with the thought of those who died. They may have been their enemies, but death destroyed any chance at another path.
Rufico crosses his arms. "Mass murder. We gave them no chance, Iveryni." Rufico says, his eyes locked onto Iveryni and she looks away before Rufico can see the truth in her eyes, that part of her liked the destruction.
Theodyn speaks last, looking down at his clasped hands. "It is my fault we had to do this. I...should have listened to my friends. My Prince blinded me." Theodyn blinks rapidly and Rufico moves from the wall to stand behind him. Theodyn looks back at Rufico.
"Is this alright?" Rufico asks softly.
"Closer, Rufico," Theodyn replies, his eyes diving into Rufico's depths. "You are the darkness to the light. I can see because of you." Rufico smiles a small smile and puts his hands on Theodyn's shoulders and Theodyn relaxes slightly.
Iveryni stares at Theodyn and at last shakes her head. "You're an idiot Theodyn..." Iveryni says.
"But he is our idiot," Softly-Speckled-Crab adds.
"Yes," Iveryni says, her eyes just for a moment softening before they harden once more. "You... all of us must be together in all of this, from now on. Viperish Night will set his destruction upon us any day now. Any day."
"We must be one pack," Softly-Speckled-Crab says.
Theodyn bows his head. "I will ignore my Prince." Theodyn whispers. "I can still feel her light trying to blind me but..."
"I'll keep you in the shadows, Theo," Rufico promises. "Just stay with me."
Iveryni looks a little confused and Softly-Speckled-Crab reaches out to touch her arm. "Love can save the world or it can destroy the world," Softly-Speckled-Crab tells her, smiling just a little. "We have a chance now, however fleeting to end them. We are our own pack now." Softly-Speckled-Crab's hand moves to Iveryni's and she grasps it and after a moment Iveryni grasps it back. Softly-Speckled-Crab reaches out and Theodyn looks at it before unfolding his hands and grasping it. Rufico sits by Theodyn and takes his hand, and Iveryni's in his other. It is a pact between the four, not to stray from each other. No matter how dark the road may be, no matter what they have to do, they now promise to stay together through the dark and the light, to the end of the river.
-Elden Root-
Razum-dar was very very busy. Audience with the Queen, passing along the Worm Cultist location to Rufico and Theodyn, informants to talk to, things to take care of. So much to do. No time to look at pretty ones or think of her. But at last the day fades into night and Razum-dar finds himself in his room with nothing further to do. He stares at the Khajiit bedding and finally gives up on the idea of sleep and he quietly slips out of Elden Root and into Valenwood, keeping to the shadows and routes only he as the Queen's Eye knows.
Clouds cover the moons casting Valenwood in the dark shadows of night. A flash of golden fur catches Razum-dar's eyes as a very large rabbit crosses his path. Razum-dar's eyes follow it and he suddenly darts toward it and the chase is on. As fast as Razum-dar is, the golden rabbit is so much faster, but the Khajiit refuses to be outdone by a rabbit and so he leaps onto a tree and swings down in the rabbit's path. A flash of claws and it is over. Razum-dar scoops up the rabbit and ties it to his belt and heads further into the woods.
An hour later finds Razum-dar in a small clearing. His thoughts have brought him to this very spot and he pauses, his paw brushing against the soft rabbit's fur. This, he should not do. Razum-dar gazes lost into the dark. "This one is foolish," Razum-dar quietly says to the night as his gaze turns upward. Jone and Jode hide their light, perhaps they think Razum-dar foolish as well. Razum-dar sighs softly. "Razum-dar needs to return to Elden Root. Not think of the pretty wild one." Razum-dar tells himself as he turns to go and as he starts to walk out of the clearing, the clouds suddenly part leaving Jone and Jode to shine their light down upon him. Razum-dar once more gazes up, his dusky green eyes filled with the light of the moons. Razum-dar's thoughts turn toward the near future. Death is what will happen. Jeziasi must die with her pack, but Razum-dar could just as easily die as well. What Razum-dar wanted, what he should not want, was one last chance to talk to his old friend without the chaos of battle and malevolent gazes. If he does not...Razum-dar fears all he will have in the end is regrets. Here, or in the Sands Behind the Stars.
Razum-dar turns back to the clearing and the moons light shines down upon it casting a statue in brilliant moonlight. Razum-dar gazes up at it, so fierce, with such large antlers. As wild as Jeziasi, it was no wonder she was drawn to Hircine. Razum-dar takes the rabbit from his belt and he lies it at the statue's base. "This one thinks this is how it is done. The Dominion frowns on interacting with Daedra, but perhaps we will keep this from them, yes?" Razum-dar says. The air suddenly starts to shimmer with power and the statue seems to soak in the moonlight, growing brighter, and a voice filled with unfathomable power rings out.
"A fitting gift. Golden rabbits are swift. To catch one is no small feat. Your offering is accepted, now speak what you would have of the Prince of the Hunt."
Razum-dar's tail twitches. "A chance to speak to your champion. This is what this one asks. One last chance to speak to an old friend."
"Do I hear regret in your voice?" Hircine's voice echos. "You should hold nothing back in your hunt of my champion and her pack."
"For the Dominion, for Nirn, this one will not hesitate," Razum-dar says firmly.
"Yet, one last time?" Hircine says.
Razum-dar lowers his head. "This one asks this of you, yes."
"Very well, I will grant this boon. Sleep, hunter for the Dominion, and I will bring you to her. You may speak to her in the place between waking and dreams."
The world starts to spin around Razum-dar and he stumbles and falls upon the grass as unnatural sleep takes him, and takes his soul far from this place.
Jeziasi slowly stirs, the feel of the grass under her body, the sounds of the Hunting Grounds all around her. Jeziasi opens her eyes and rises, looking around to find herself in a small clearing. Her gaze moves to movement deep within the trees, briefly she sees Hircine in his Arawn form, though the ghost of his true self is shadowed within. His eyes find hers, his words echo in her mind. "A hunter has asked a boon of me, Champion. To speak with you." Jeziasi's eyes fill with curiosity as he finishes speaking and vanishes.
Jeziasi startles slightly as she breathes the scents in the air. So familiar, yet so impossible. Jeziasi stills, not turning around just staring into the deep forest as soft pad steps come up behind her and stop. "Jeziasi," he says. His voice, so familiar as well.
Jeziasi turns, her eyes staring into the dusky green of Razum-dar. She shakes her head slightly. "Why?" Jeziasi breaths. "Will you try to sway me? Threaten me? I will not betray him. I cannot."
Razum-dar's eyes regard her, filled not with anger, but sorrow. "This one knows, Jeziasi." Razum-dar gently says.
"Then why are you here?" Jeziasi asks again. It is unfathomable that he should be here, that he would interact with Hircine to be here.
"To see my old friend," Razum-dar says.
Jeziasi's eyes fill with sorrow before they harden. "We are not friends, Razum-dar. We are...enemies. We both know this, do not pretend otherwise with me. Why?"
"Regrets, Jeziasi," Razum-dar answers. "This one does not wish this, but it is so. Razum-dar wished to speak to you one last time. Not to change your mind, just..." Razum-dar trails off, for once at a loss for words.
Jeziasi is quiet for long moments. "Oh Razum-dar," she breaths. "I do not wish for this either. But it is. If I could...but you would not understand, would you? No one understands." The hard look in her eye wavers, the depths of pain seep through them, and her words.
"Then help this one understand," Razum-dar says.
Jeziasi's eyes harden and she slowly starts to snarl. "Damn you, Razum-dar, do you think me so foolish? Spy-master. Anything I tell you..." Jeziasi's hands curl on her daggers and she takes them out. Razum-dar starts to pack up and Jeziasi snarls softly. "No eyes in the dark watching. I will fight you as I am, and not as my wolf, but I will fight you. I will not allow you to trick me."
"This one is not..." Razum-dar starts to say before Jeziasi dashes at him, her daggers flashing through the air in deadly intent. Razum-dar spins out of the way and his sword is in his hands. "So you wish to punch this one again?" he snarls.
"I'll do more than that," Jeziasi says, her eyes flashing gold. Just barely is she restraining the wolf, so close to the surface his presence here has brought her emotions. Jeziasi spins around and brings her blades down, Razum-dar blocks them with his sword, and the two spin away from each other and then both spring again, blades clashing against blades, snarls meeting growls as they fight across the glen.
Razum-dar ducks under her next swing, his sword slams up and a dagger flies off into the forest. Jeziasi roars and her dagger slices through the fur on his arm and Razum-dar flinches in pain at the cut. If this is a dream it is far too real and so he slashes with his sword in turn, and now it is her blood that mists through the air. Jeziasi's blade flashes down and Razum-dar blocks and the power from both sends the weapons flying from each other's grasp. "Enough, Jeziasi! This one just wants to talk."
"Talk..." Jeziasi says. "WHY would you ever want to talk to me, Razum-dar? You gave up on me long ago. And maybe I deserved it. Maybe I made a mistake, pushed everyone away. But you do not get to come here and talk to me after all of it! Not here, not now!"
Razum-dar's eyes fill with anger and sorrow as he hisses at Jeziasi. "You have always been stubborn! This one thought he was stubborn, but you! You never ask for help! Ever, and then you turn on the Dominion. You turn on this one!" Razum-dar hisses louder. "Not now, Jeziasi? That is all we have. Soon there will be nothing else. You know this, this one knows this!"
Agony and despair flash through Jeziasi's eyes and she howls and throws herself on Razum-dar and they tumble to the ground in an angry pile. Razum-dar grabs her wrists and Jeziasi snarls at him before sinking her teeth into his ear and Razum-dar emits a painful screech and lets go. "Do not bite this one!" Razum-dar says and Jeziasi ignores him to spring on him again and tries to sink her teeth into his other ear. "Damn it," Razum-dar says and tosses her off. Jeziasi lands on all fours and her eyes are fully golden as the wolf starts to come out. She leaps at him and Razum-dar springs up. "You give this one no choice," Razum-dar snarls and he punches her and she crashes to the ground mid-transformation. "Enough!" Razum-dar snarls again as Jeziasi rises, anger and fury in her eyes. Razum-dar starts to back off, paws in the air. "This one understands now, Calm, Jeziasi," Razum-dar says. She is protective of her son, and anything she tells him could lead him back to Viperish Night, could expose their weaknesses. Razum-dar's duty has always come first. Razum-dar slowly turns his back on Jeziasi to regard the forest's depths. "This one asks if you could ensure anything spoken of here cannot be used against your champion." Razum-dar asks of Hircine.
The anger drains from Jeziasi and she steps back in shock at what Razum-dar has just asked of her Prince, her wolf leaving her. A moment later Hircine appears in the sky and looks down at the two, regarding them with amusement. "Very well," Hircine says. "A hunter after my Champion and her pack asking that...amuses me. Speak freely champion. I will bind this time in the mortal's mind. He will never be able to speak of this night to anyone, nor use it against you and your pack." Hircine fades from the sky, leaving the two alone again. Razum-dar turns back to Jeziasi, who stares at him before sinking into the grass, her hands running through it. Razum-dar sits in front of her and waits for her to speak, or to keep her silence.
Jeziasi finally speaks the despair enough to drown the world in her voice. "He never had a chance, Razum..." Jeziasi pauses and her eyes seek Razum-dar's
"Raz, old friend," Razum-dar says. "Here, in this moment, Raz."
Jeziasi nods and continues. "Life and death were not all that warred in Viperish Night. Daedric corruption, and because of the band he will never be free of it, even if he wished it. He never wanted this path, but he's lost to it now." Jeziasi closes her eyes as the truth and pain threaten to overwhelm her. "Can you not see a little? I know he holds blame for all of this, as do I, but it is not all his fault. I can see what he wanted to be, who he should have been allowed to be." Jeziasi opens her eyes and stares intensity at Razum-dar.
"You have taken down those lost in darkness before." Razum-dar says, and then adds more gently, "You cannot bear to do it again, can you?"
Jeziasi lowers her head. "No. But it is more than that, Raz. Ever since the war, I've been missing something. I chased it through the moonlight night, into the dark, and beyond never knowing it was family I was missing. Never knowing I wanted it until Viperish Night. I love him Raz, He is my son. I never got to hold him, never got to protect him. So many nevers. I will not be the one who ends him. I will be the one who loves him through the madness and darkness until the end." Jeziasi shudders softly and falls silent.
Razum-dar slowly reaches out and places his paw on Jeziasi's hand. "This one understands now," Razum-dar says softly. "Razum-dar cannot stop hunting him...and you. But this one does understand. If..."
Jeziasi interrupts him. "No ifs, Raz. It is too painful." Her eyes glimmer with unshed tears. "I understand too. Your love for not only the Dominion but all of Nirn. One of the many reasons we were such good friends." Jeziasi takes a deep breath. "Hunt us, and I will not hate you for it. But I will not let you snap your jaws on my son, or our pack either."
"Stalemate!" Razum-dar says with a small sad purr. "This one could never hate you, Jeziasi. And...it lifts the heart of this one to know you do not hate Razum-dar."
Jeziasi looks down at Razum-dar's paw as it rests on hers, a small warm comfort. "...You know the why of it now, don't you?" Jeziasi whispers pulling her hand away.
Razum-dar is quiet before speaking. "This one was told by the heroes..." Razum-dar says, leaving the rest unspoken as he brings his paw back.
"I know Raz. His involvement could not be kept a secret, nor could the nature of it." Jeziasi says as she slowly looks up at Razum-dar. "I know what you must be thinking. How could I not of known? How could I have been so foolish?" Jeziasi's thoughts go back to the words she spoke to the Queen and Razum-dar when imprisoned. "You know what I told you back in Elden Root, Raz. I should have known who he was, his eyes are the same."
Razum-dar flinches at the pain and anger in her voice. "This one left you alone after Summerset, Jeziasi," Razum-dar says. "In pain, alone. This one let you go like that, once more."
"I pushed everyone away, Raz," Jeziasi says. "I know now I cast myself adrift. Overconfidence, pain, lost. So many things drove me the wrong way." At Razum-dar's look Jeziasi's eyes harden. "I know it was not all my fault. Swims-In-Silence bound me so he could control my instincts to quiet, so I would not realize the truth. I may have been lost and foolish, but I was not foolish enough to be lost in him for as long as I was."
Razum-dar stills utterly. This is not something he was told. This is not something he knew. "He did what?" Razum-dar says an angry growl building in his throat.
Jeziasi startles slightly and looks away. "When I bonded with him he leashed me, Raz. Compulsion. In Shadowfen he ordered me to sleep when I started to wake to the truth. To keep me with him." Jeziasi says quietly.
"Jez," Razum-dar breaths, that one word holding so much anger and horror. Not towards her, but what had been done to her.
Jeziasi looks back at him with fierceness in her eyes. "I can break it now, Raz. But I must not. Not yet."
"You intend to hunt him, yes?" Razum-dar asks her.
"All our pack does, yes. If..." Jeziasi trails off.
The fear in her eyes, the pain. Razum-dar swallows. "If?" This... this is something he thinks he does not want to know, but must still ask.
"If I do not lose Viperish Night to him. The corruption grows stronger every battle." Jeziasi says. "He cannot swim out of this river, and it is all he can do to keep from the furthest depths. He has come back every time to me. I..." she trails off, but nothing more needs to be said. Her fear that one day he will not swim back to her is written all over her face.
"Jeziasi," Razum-dar says softly. "What if you do lose him?" The look in her eyes of utter desolation tells him all. She will still stay with her son, even if it means... "Old Friend..." Razum-dar breaths.
"The river drowns us all, Raz. There is nothing else now." A single tear slides from her eye to trace a path down her cheek. Jeziasi hears the pain in his voice and she lowers her head. She'll lose him again after this dream ends. Lose everything, no matter how hard she fights. More tears join the first as she struggles to stop them, to remain, strong merciless hunter, she must be. But all that has happened overwhelms her. "Go, Raz. You now know the truth of it all. Leave any regrets here, and go. Let what must happen, happen. It is too late for anything else."
"This one will have one last regret if he leaves right now," Razum-dar says as he moves closer to her and places his paws on her arms. "This one hates to see a pretty one cry."
"You idiot," Jeziasi snarls and shakes his arms from her, and then slams her fists into his shoulders. Once more he grasps her arms even as she fights him and finally, she ceases. "Raz..." Jeziasi softly whispers before giving up the fight to stop the flood and she falls into his arms and he holds her as her tears darken his fur. They stay that way for a time, in the glen between waking and dreaming, in a peace that is ever fleeting.
Jeziasi finally pulls back and looks at Razum-dar, and places one hand on his cheek, his fur soft under her palm. "So many reasons this would never worked, but you loved me, didn't you?" she asks him softly.
"How could this one not?" Razum-dar purrs. "Pretty one, but so strong and brave too." Razum-dar brings his hand up to cup hers. "But you did not feel the same. Razum-dar knows this."
"That one night, I did," Jeziasi admits. "But I started to run, Raz. Away from everything. I slowly forgot how to be close to anyone, how to love them. Every time I tried, I was hurt, so I just ran further and further. After Summerset...I let myself fall. Let myself be caught, because it was easier somehow to live in that twisted dream he made for us in Shadowfen. I may have woken up sooner had he not bound me the way that he did, but I still went with him before that." Jeziasi breaths softly and adds, "My son taught me how to love again, to be close to another again, and for the first time how to put someone before my duty to Nirn, and before myself and my freedom. I know I still run, but with a pack now, until the inevitable end." Jeziasi's hand falls from Razum-dar and she rises. "We must hunt each other, soon, Raz."
Razum-dar rises as well. "Yes, old friend. But without regrets, this one thinks." A shadow crosses his eyes.
"One regret between us, Raz. If either takes the other's life, that will be our sole regret regarding each other." Jeziasi tells him. The truth she saw in his eyes of this, mirrors her own.
"Very well, Old friend." Razum-dar agrees. "This one does not intend to lose."
"And I do not intend to let my son be killed," Jeziasi replies back, and then her eyes lock onto Razum-dar's. "One request, my friend. One. Take me down first, if it is you whose jaws find us before the others. Promise me this, Raz."
"You never make it easy, old friend," Razum-dar says and his eyes stare into hers. "This one promises, for you, my wild pretty one."
Jeziasi gives him a small sad smile as the dream starts to fade, both being called back into the waking world.