Where the Sands Swallow

Claudia gazed out into the sands just beyond the city of Sentinel. The wind blew past her, a relentless blast furnace that stopped for no one. It was as ancient and endless as the sands of the Alik'r, the very desert that was all around her. Everything about this place was overwhelming, the heat, the sand, the wind and the sun. She pulled the cloth cowl she had further over her head to shield her eyes.

She had been shipped over here to Hammerfell a year ago. All because of that bloody cat and lizard and that stupid head strong Nord woman who never could turn down a fight. Several stubborn actions and a few disobeyed orders and a whole Cathedral was ruined and her life was turned upside down. For all practical purposes, she was a fugitive of the Empire, always a suspect for the Thalmor. All because of that cat, the lizard and the Nord.

She shook her head. She had figured out some time ago that they were actually not to blame for the whole matter. She was being unfair throwing all the blame on them. Nonetheless, it was easier to do so. Blaming two whole political systems that she did not fully understand was a little too abstract for her. But that had all happened a year ago. She had moved on and stitched together a new life. She had not seen Do'Ravier, Bann-Je or Sibylla for a year. They had all gone their separate ways.

And all she was left were memories and scars. It was hard finding an Imperial Cult temple to work with. Although the Redguards of Hammerfell had numerous followers of both the Imperial Cult and their local pantheon, many religious members were suspicious of lone Imperial woman looking to serve with a very vague backstory and a dazed look in her eyes. She had been able finally convince a small temple to take her on and even then they relegated her to tending to their flocks. At least she was able to put her archery to good use. The work was long and tiring under the hot sun and she was mostly alone or with few other people the vast majority of the time. It only let her help brood on the memories and mementos of a time gone by.

She still had her old bow and rapier. The lizard and cat had been thoughtful enough to retrieve them for her from the ruins of prison before they made their escape. She still had those nasty scars, twin fissures, one etched in her stomach with its mirror on her back. It was a grotesque reminder of where she had a run in with a vampire. And got run through for that matter. She could still hear heartbeats. It almost bothered her how proficient she was becoming at listening for them, practically feeling them. It certainly helped with locating all the livestock and for sensing when any jackals or wolves were on the prowl.

She did not get to see her reflection often, usually only in the shallow standing pools of water near an oasis or a small running stream out here in the Alik'r. She noticed a few small but distinct wrinkles starting to form, much too young for her age. It certainly had to do with being under the sun all the time. And maybe the stress from those few but intense months of fleeing and then trying to find a new life to hide in. Her amber blonde hair had grown even lighter, also probably from the sun until it had become more of a golden color. Her eyes still kept that faint hint of pink to them. At least she could still count herself as strong and fit.

Claudia looked over when she heard the sound of feet running up to her. She heard the quickening of his pulse anyway a long time before. She still had to act like she did not know. She decided it was Ilik, one of the younger shepherd boys. He was helpful it not always competent. Like most Redguards he had dark skin under a shock of jet black hair which always seemed to be in a mess. His limbs were lanky and long, not exactly in proportion to the rest of his body but he was still growing.

"Miss Vivinicci, Miss Vivinicci!" he called breathlessly, rushing up to her.

"What is it, Ilik?" Claudia asked, trying to sound genuinely unaware of the situation.

"Jackals! Jackals coming from over there!" the boy panted, doubling over but pointing in the right direction.

Claudia immediately raised her compound bonemold bow that was never far from her grasp. She could see the canine predators though they were quite some distance off. They trotted at a steady pace heading towards their direction. If they got too close they would spook the goats and sheep they were in charge of and then all chaos would break out. Claudia shook her head. Many of the local predators had learned to avoid her little herd with an especially generous distance. The jackals always needed reminders, though.

Her bow was taut, string protesting that it would not be pulled back any further. Claudia made it look far too easy, sighting her target and aiming her bow just so. There was a pause, enough to make Ilik wonder if she would ever fire. The bow sung a single loud note.

There was an abrupt howl before one of the jackals was upended with an arrow quivering inside its skull. Reminded of the ranged danger, the other two dogs quickly turned tail and sprinted off. Claudia could command an impressive distance with her bow.

"Good shot, Miss Vivinicci!" Ilik sang gleefully.

"Thank you, Ilik. Now please retrieve that arrow for me."

Claudia found herself enjoying the nights more and more. It got very dark out in the Alik'r when the sun went down. People who didn't know what they were doing were more liable to die and be swallowed by the endless sands out here in the seemingly eternal desert. If you know the land and paced yourself, you would know the small patches of vegetation where the flocks could feed, the watering holes where water could be found. It was a simple life but at least it was much more bearable at night.

Sitting near one of the small campfires near Ilik, Claudia continued looking off into the distance so not to ruin her night sight. In the end it would not really matter. She could hear the heartbeats of jackals and other prey a mile off. The other Redguards and helping hands wondered how she was so lackadaisical about evening precautions to prevent scorpions and snakes from curling up into personal belongings. She did not tell them that she could hear the tiny thumping hearts of those creatures too. They also made fun of her for constantly needing to be in her billowing robes and keeping her hands light leather gloves. Her alabaster skin burned severely in the sun, a painful lesson she learned the first few days she was in Hammerfell. Some even claimed you could practically watch her skin turn red within moments of being exposed. She was grateful for these desert robes, keeping the sun off of her during the day and helping her to keep warm at night.

Too much had changed in such a short time. She reflected on this as she gazed up at the twinkling stars set in their many constellations. The twin moons hung overhead. She wondered what had happened to those three, the Nord, Khajiit and Argonian. But those were bygone days, a time that might as well have been an eternity before. They had all split ways in what would not be described as being on the best foot. She had shunned the Argonian and Khajiit the whole trip to Hammerfell and left them without saying a word. She had not seen nor heard how the Nordic warrioress left even prior to that.

Besides, she was no Vigilant anymore. Those days were long gone. She did not know if anyone ever found that Mage of Peryite but she decided that was not her responsibility. Nothing had gone wrong and it had been a year since everything went to Oblivion back in High Rock. It was a bitter though that left something reminiscent to bile in her mouth. She had enjoyed being a Vigilant and priestess. Were the last few months of her career spent chasing a ghost, her jumping at shadows? Maybe there was a good reason that she was no longer working for the Order.

But here she was, a nameless keeper of sheep and goats out in one of the most unforgiving and easily forgotten places in Tamriel. It was not how she saw herself spending most of her life but where else could she go? She hugged her bow tighter to herself, trying to keep the chill out, forcing herself not to look into the fire. Perhaps what bothered her the most was not what happened in the past, nor the nagging doubts that the heartbeats, the fact she burnt easily in the sunlight, or even faint but definite fascination with blood was her slowly succumbing to vampirism. No, she could live with that. What bothered her the most was that she could still hear the faint whispers of Stendarr and Azura in her head.

She could not divine what they were speaking oh so softly into her ear. Sometimes she wondered if it was just her imagination. Sometimes she wondered if she was just slowly going crazy. Unfortunately, she had learned a long time ago not to dismiss such voices. She knew them too well. There was nothing intelligible about what they were saying. Nonetheless, she could never forget those voices.

What were they trying to tell her? What were they trying to remind her of? Why wouldn't they just leave her alone? Did it really matter? She put aside such nagging thoughts when she could though. It was easy to do so out here where the sands inevitably swallow and bury everything. Claudia got up, her bow in hand and arrow ready as she started to walk off stand closer to the flocks.

"Where are you going, Miss Vivincci?" Ilik asked curiously.

"I think there are jackals about, Ilik. Don't mind me." Claudia lied.

She could hear their heartbeats out there in these endless sands.

Author's Note: Yeah, sorry guys. You know that part where your life suddenly gets busy with a dozen things that need doing? Yeah, that's exactly what happened with the passing of summer.