Author's note: Shout out to Serenia the Black Dragon for following my story. Hope you're enjoying the read.

I just want to talk a moment to those of you who are keeping up with the story progress. Getting to this point in the plot feels huge to me. Up until now, Han lu has avoided the threads of destiny as much as he possibly could in favor of his own will. His resistance to taking orders was my way of making the story my own without just being a copy-paste of the game's plot. I've read a few fanfictions of Morrowind and they all seem to start out the same with the newbie missions and the same side characters. I hope that as you've read, you've felt like this was an original story based on a familiar plot. As reliant as I am on using the game for the world building of my story, the last thing I want to be is boring and unoriginal. Now that Han lu has to more or less follow the missions set forth by the game, I have to find new ways to be original and tell the story with twists and turns that my readers don't see coming from a mile away. I plan to do this by introducing even more characters as well as involving some whom you've already met, but haven't been heard from for a while. In addition to the main quest, I plan to detail much of the thieves guild quest line and by extension, the other factions as they relate to the guild war between the Thieves guild and the Cammona tong.

In my head, I kind of envision this as a three part story and following the rough draft I have planned would make chapter 58 or 59 the unofficial end of book one. Of course I didn't write them with this in mind, so I think I'll just continue to make this one long story and unofficially label it in three parts. Part one is Han lu learning of the Nerevarine prophecies and his struggle between his previous life and destiny. Part two will be the path of the incarnate and the struggle to overcome the factions and individuals who oppose the rise of the Nerevarine. The third takes place once the Nerevarine has overcome the political opposition one way or another and will chronicle his warpath to Red Mountain. My story will not end with the Battle of Red Mountain as there will still be many political tensions that were set aside because of the battle for survival, but once Dagoth Ur is dealt with, the people of Vvardenfel will already be armed, mobilized, and motivated to make some changes.

Part two will include the Tribunal quest line as I wish to involve all of the gods of the Tribunal in the story. I'd also love to do the Bloodmoon expansion, but it doesn't fit into what I have planned, so if I ever actually finish this story, I may do it as a part four or a separate short sequel. I do have a possible idea to lead into another story based on Oblivion with a small handful of characters making their various ways to Cyrodiil after the blight quarantine is lifted, but that seems so far in the future that I've only ever jotted down a few notes on it when a neat plot twist comes to mind.

I doubt that parts two and three will be quite as long as part one now that the ball is rolling, but I guarantee it will be packed with quality content once I actually get it done. I hope these characters have come to mean as much to you as they do to me and bless you if you've followed this story for sixty chapters now. I guess that's enough droning on. Enjoy this chapter, feel free to comment or leave a review, and thanks for sticking with me.

Han lu Urshar

Aryon ordered a servant to have a meal prepared. I noticed a bracer on the Dunmer's arm and it took me a moment to register that she was a slave. I opened my mouth to comment, but closed it again. 'That's just the way things are here,' I told myself. I struggled with how best to breach the silence, after all there was so much to talk about.

Mother was the first to speak. "Han lu, you know you're still my son right, whether through blood or bond."

"Of course," I assured her as though it were obvious, though it made me feel better to hear her say it. "I guess I just never really believed that I could really be the Nerevarine. Caius was so insistent, but I thought he was high. Actually I know he was high, but it's weird to think he could still be right. It feels like puzzle pieces are just falling in place."

Aryon hijacked the conversation. "Enough of business. My daughter and grandson have returned. I must insist on throwing a welcoming celebration for friends, family, and associates, even if we must emphasize that you are adopted for the sake of your mission."

Virisa smiled at her father, "Oh, I'm not sure you need to make a fuss."

"Nonsense. Now that you can come out of hiding, you must rejoin Great House society. And even if we must keep Han lu's mission a secret for now, he will need to be introduced to the public eye eventually. Better that the Great House nobles come to know him before he is under the scrutiny of claiming to be Nerevarine."

Virisa couldn't argue with this logic. I thought of a necessary detail though. "I had a run in with the Dren's of House Hlaalu already. By sheer chance, they found out that I was the assassin who tried to kill the Emperor. I told Lord Orvas that I was exiled and that explanation should hold up considering my youth, but there's no good explanation for why mom shouldn't still be hunted by the Empire. Caius has granted her clemency, but we can't exactly explain that to the Great Houses, can we?"

Aryon waved his fingers as if clearing the air. "It shouldn't be a problem. We tell the truth, that she escaped and let it be implied that she is under my protection, which is why the Empire doesn't pursue her. Even if someone goes to the Legion, there will be no warrants for her, so the Legion will make no attempt at an arrest. If anything, that will imply I am powerful enough to influence Imperial politics and that can only benefit us."

Virisa chuckled. "Han lu, may I introduce your crafty old grandfather," she joked. "He never seems to miss a trick."

Aryon couldn't help a smug smile. "Just wait until you meet your grandmother. If you think I'm sly…" He let it hang in the air.

"I hadn't really thought about having a grandmother. I guess I assumed you were a widower."

Aryon feigned incredulity, placing a hand over his heart. "How old do you think I am? She's in Vivec at the moment, visiting a friend. You also have an aunt and uncle in Sadrith Mora. They have two children of their own."

I turned to my mother excitedly. "What about Bargrum? Where's he?"

Virisa sighed. "He didn't take to living here. He left weeks ago and I haven't heard from him. I think he took you and your fathers' deaths very hard. He hadn't quite been the same since."

"Neither had you, my daughter," Aryon muttered from behind his glass. "It's good to see you smile again."

There was a knock on one of the doors and Aryon bid entrance. Fargoth, Blue, Cindana, and Gildee all entered under the watchful gaze of Surane Leoriane, Virisa's new Blade bodyguard/parole officer. Aryon stood to greet them. "Ah, welcome to my hall. It is a…" his eyes lingered on Blue for a moment and his sentence faltered for just a moment before continuing," pleasure to meet my grandsons companions. Whatever your business, I'll be glad to make room for you while you remain here."

Fargoth marched to his place at Virisa's side, knowing the welcome was meant for the visitors. Blue and Gildee muttered their own polite replies, getting flustered as they were not accustomed to being addressed by nobility. Cindana on the other hand, just gave a prim curtsy. They had been offered changes of clothes by Aryon's servants while Caius had met with us. Blue had declined and still wore his prison clothes, minus his armor. Gildee and Cindana wore dresses that were fairly simple in accordance with their practical tastes. Still, I couldn't help notice their formliness now that armor and tough travel clothes were replaced with fine linen. Gildee was beaming and I guessed she didn't get the chance to dress up often considering her mobile lifestyle. In comparison, Cindana looked perfectly comfortable in the attire.

"Please," Aryon continued. "I hope you'll join us for a meal." Gildee conspicuously settled between my mother and I once I'd introduced her. Cindana and Blue took the opposite side of the table, Blue choosing to keep his distance from Aryon and keeping his gaze down. He looked decidedly uncomfortable as he saw that slaves were waiting our table, some of them Argonians themselves. I watched with interest as the two slaves noticed an Argonian at a Great House councilors table. Blue couldn't meet their eyes.

Virisa insisted on knowing how each of my 'friends' had met me and Gildee quickly took the initiative, much to Cindana and Blue's relief. Mother couldn't help but shoot me a knowing look, causing me to flush in discomfort. "My friend Ajira introduced us in Suran. We were staying at a tavern and we danced away most of the evening."

"Oh really," mother asked with a wry grin. "My Han lu, danced the night away? That doesn't sound like him at all."

I cleared my throat to correct any misconceptions. "May I remind you, Gildee, that you had bewitched me with a spell? That ended when someone nearly got away with stealing my bow."

Virisa saved me from the fire, coyly asking, "And you two have been friends ever since?"

I cut ahead of Gildee, hoping to head off the insinuation that we were in a relationship. "She only came looking for me because Ajira is missing. I think she teleported away from a shipwreck, but we don't know where she would have gone."

"She didn't come back to Balmora," Gildee insisted. "Cindana and I looked for two weeks."

I nodded. "I don't think she would go back to Balmora. The Mages guild master had it out for her."

Gildee shared a knowing look with Cindana. "That's funny. The guildmaster went missing not long before we left Balmora. If Ajira only knew, maybe she'd come back there. As it is, we'll have to search the surrounding area, including the Bitter coast and Ascadian Isles region. I don't think she'd wander too far. She isn't very adventurous."

I perked up. "Did Caius mention to you that he was going to have his network on the lookout for her?"

"No," Gildee answered excitedly. "That's such a relief."

"The catch is that I have to go to the Urshilaku Tribes camp for Caius. I can't take time go looking for her right now."

Gildee's face became troubled, but she said, "I guess that makes sense. What should I do?"

"You can still look for her. You have to make a living too, right?" Gildee bit her lip and stared at me expectantly. I paused in confusion and slowly checked to see if she was trying to tell me I had some food on my face, but found nothing.

Virisa picked up on her queue faster than I and addressed it graciously. "I don't suppose you'd be willing to accompany him to the Urshilaku camp, would you? I'd feel better if I knew he had someone watching out for him"

Gildee gleamed. "I thought you'd never ask. This whole prophecy thing sounds like an incredible adventure. What about you two," she asked Cindana and Blue.

Cindana met Gildee's eyes with a blank, ponderous stare, then mine. I answered for her. "She'll be coming with us. What about you Blue?"

Blue was interrupted by Aryon. "I believe it would be a very bad idea to send an Argonian with you to the Ashlanders. If you think the Great House Dunmer dislike the beast races, you're in for a terrible surprise."

Blue seemed to sink a bit lower into his seat.

I prepared to speak in Blue's defense, but knew Aryon was right. "Blue, perhaps you can go find my contact with the Dren's."

Blue regained his confidence a bit and said, "I ought to ask you about that. You said her name was Safia." I winced slightly, realizing we were discussing a sensitive secret over dinner. "I remember her. She is the daughter of Orvas. Why would she help me?"

"I'll tell you in private Blue. It's a sensitive matter."

Blue nodded, satisfied for the moment and leaving a lull in the conversation.

Virisa hoped to break the silence, looking to Cindana. "So how do you know Han lu?"

I faked a loud yawn and said, "Excuse me. All the traveling seems to have caught up with me. What about you three?"

Cindana quietly nodded and Blue took the opportunity, saying, "Yes, me as well."

Gildee shook her head. "I don't think I could possibly sleep with all the exciting things going on. And I've never been in a castle, er tree tower place before."

Aryon stood. "I'll arrange you a tour, shall I?" Gildee shot me a winning smile. "Fargoth, you could see our guests are all properly quartered, couldn't you?"

"Of course Master. And I'd be happy to show Lady Gildee the Tower as well." As ordered, Fargoth stood to lead the visitors to the guest rooms.

Virisa leaned in and whispered, "Han lu, I'd like to speak with you privately if you're feeling up to it."

"Of course mom." Fargoth led the others away and Surane sat at a polite distance while mother and I waited for the others to leave.

Aryon made a point of clasping my shoulder before retiring, saying, "I'm so very glad to meet you grandson. Welcome home."

Virisa made no fuss at her new bodyguards presence, taking the minor inconvenience in stride. She wore a smile with just a hint of melancholy as she stood and sat in the chair next to me. I chuckled. "Where to even begin?"

"First things first I suppose," Virisa answered, taking hold of my chin to examine me. "What happened to your face?" I huffed.

"You should see the other guy," I quipped, dodging the question. Virisa snickered, but still waited for a serious answer. My head drooped, guilt mixing with the happiness of being reunited. "It was Cindana." Mother's eyes flashed with sudden venom towards the Altmer, but seeing it, I continued, tears starting to brim. "Mom, I… I killed her father."

The venom disappeared from Virisa's gaze, being replaced with concern. She reached up to wipe my tears and stroke my cheek. She spoke softly, like a mother should. "Tell me what happened."

I took a shuddering breath and explained, "I took a few jobs for the Mages guild in Balmora. The guildmaster is, or was a Dunmer woman who's obviously greedy for power. I fell in with her because she had the kind of work I was used to doing. She wanted me to strong arm her guild members and other influential mages into complying with her wishes and she paid well. Then she asked me to escort a guild researcher between cities. She didn't really have any interest in his safety, she just wanted me to get her the research notes the man was working on. I tried to convince him to give them to me. I really tried. I pretended to ask for copies as an interested student, but he could only show it to authorized people." My voice started to crack, "In the end, I cut him down and took it."

The dam holding my emotions broke and I started sobbing. Mother took me into a hug and I buried my face in her robed shoulder, staining the fine garment with tears. I continued, blubbering more than talking. "I did it so I could get back to you. I kept telling myself it was worth it if I could get back to you. That's what we always did. Everything dad did was to take care of us and I needed to take care of you. I don't understand. Why do I feel so guilty now? Why didn't I ever feel this way before?"

Virisa was quiet. She said nothing, rocking me back and forth and letting me cry myself out. Little did I know, she was wrestling with her own thoughts. She let minutes pass, preferring to comfort her son rather than broach the discussion.

I slowly regained some composure and drew back to meet her gaze, fighting to control my shuddering breaths. "When I got arrested in Cyrodiil, the Emperor's daughter came to see me in the arena dungeons. She accused me of having no guilt over my attempt on the Emperors life and she was right. Dad always said rulers were often just like us and extorted others for a living, but we didn't hide behind castle walls or armies. This wasn't like that. Itermerel was a good man. I did an awful thing and when Cindana's around, I feel awful for what I did. How do I fix this mom? I don't want to feel this way anymore."

Virisa was biting her lip to keep it from quivering and a silent tear made its way down her face. She put all her effort into drawing a breath without a shudder. "Han lu… I… Your father…" She paused, unable to find the words. "Your father was an ambitious man. He had to make himself feel that he was doing good by saying the things we did were for the family. That's part of why I was so attracted to him when we met. His parents were not wealthy by any means. His father was a herder which is a poor commoners profession. Adairan left the Ashlands to make his fortune which is how I met him. He started working for House Telvanni. Back then, he never talked about his past. He was young, handsome, and very cunning, like most of the nobles my father wanted me to court. At first I gravitated to your father as an act of rebellion. As far as Aryon was concerned, courting an Ashlander was forbidden fruit. In all reality, I was starting to mature and your father and I were drifting apart when he finally opened up to me about his past. That's what set him apart from the other men available to me. I could have had any number of suitors who were wealthy or handsome or powerful, but your father… I knew he could love Han lu. Not just in a romantic sense, but I came to understand he would put my welfare in front of his own personal success.

"It was soon after that we were engaged. Your grandfather's disapproval made it difficult for Adairan to succeed in House Telvanni after that. We went to live with his family in the Urshilaku tribe for a couple months which is when we found you. We decided together that such a special boy must have a greater purpose in life than herding or hunting in the Ashlands. We tentatively returned to visit Tel Vos in hopes that my father had calmed down over our marriage. It quickly became apparent he had not, so Adairan couldn't resume his career in House Telvanni. We decided to leave the country. Adairan's experience in House Telvanni ended up making it easy for us to live in Cyrodiil. The whole time, we kept telling ourselves that we were doing it for the good of our son."

Virisa paused to form a difficult thought. "We never separated our desire for a happy family from our work Han lu. We were so good at it that you were never in terrible danger as a child. I'd like to think that if our pasts ever started catching up to us, that we would have quit for your safety. Just because you're taking care of your loved ones doesn't excuse any and all misdeeds and we could have taken legitimate positions under any Lord or Duke in Cyrodiil. You could have gone to university and been a gentleman of the court. However, now that your father is gone, I see more and more that we were always talking each other into higher risk endeavors. Adairan saw it as a way to provide for your future and because of my upbringing, I believed it too. We brought you into the business because in our minds, we were preparing you for success, not putting you at risk. I don't know how we told ourselves that when we decided to kill the Emperor. We were out of our minds Han lu and in all honesty, we didn't care if we were good people anymore."

Virisa's voice cracked and she kept talking despite the fact that she couldn't stop crying. "I'm a terrible mother. I thought that you could grow up and be happy if you became like your father, but he was a maniac... and so was I." Virisa took several deep breaths and continued. "I don't know how to get rid of that terrible feeling Han lu. I feel it too. Honestly, I'm glad you feel it, because it means you have a better heart than either of your parents. I thank Azura that I've lived to see you come to this point and now… now I have the chance to help you live a better life. My actions subjected you to many hardships you never should have suffered as a boy. Maybe now I can make up for it by helping you bear the hardships in your future."

The tenderness of the moment pulled both of our faces into sad smiles and I reached out and embraced her. The act of both giving and receiving comfort, well, it felt pure and wholesome and good. It gave me hope that maybe Cindana's faith in me wasn't for nothing.