Chapter 18
Revelations
XxXxXx
Fort Frostmoth, Solstheim – Sun's Height 4E 201
Nevano spent a long time leaning against the doorframe of the old offices, studying the room. He could see General Falx Carius in the back of the room. Even though he already knew that Carius was reanimated and was mentally prepared for it, it was still curiously painful to see the man he only remembered as alive alternating from standing perfectly still and staring at nothing with vacant eyes to agitatedly pacing around with an awkward gait. Nevano's biggest problem right now was how he was going to go about doing it.
Nevano sighed and looked down at his swords. They were capable of anything. Razor sharp edges that never seemed to dull, strong hilts that didn't sport a single scratch despite the hundreds and hundreds of years of bloody conflict and powerful enchantments that unwaveringly ignited at the command of their true wielder every time he called. Yet however powerful the swords were, they were just swords. In reality they were only as powerful as the skill of their wielder. Nevano was skilled, yes. He had over 200 years worth of experience, something not even the most skilled human warrior could ever think of boasting. He knew he had the skill but…he felt like he was killing his own past, one small thing at a time. Did he have the skill, nay, the fortitude to do this?
"I'm not killing him." Nevano muttered to himself through clenched teeth, "I'm putting him back at rest. This is not natural. I'm fixing a terrible, horrible mistake."
He dropped his pack off his back and took his cloak and the lenses off. Carefully he piled them against the wall. He wanted to be completely unencumbered for this fight. The ash spawn were a tough enough fight as undead beings but Carius had been an impressive warrior in his day. Nevano didn't want to take chances on Carius hopped up on the same unnatural strength as the ash spawn, especially since he could see the glint of the cudgel he had seen Carius wield long ago. It was a brutal weapon, designed more to crush than to slice. Cut flesh was one thing but crushed bones were completely another. There was no way he could hobble back to Raven Rock with crushed bones.
Realizing that he was stalling, Nevano rolled his shoulders and strode in, not bothering to be stealthy. Carius looked over and their eyes met across the room. Instantly Nevano felt more at ease with the idea of killing Carius. Carius' eyes were completely blank. There was no recognition in there, no emotion, no spark, no life. They were as blank as if they had been chips of glass. Even when his face twisted into a snarl, no emotion met his eyes. This wasn't Carius. It was his body, but Carius himself was long gone.
"I'm so sorry, Captain…though I think you made General before you died." Nevano said out loud to the body as it lurched toward him, "I promise to make this as fast as I can so you can go back to your eternal rest."
Nevano ducked the first swing of the powerful cudgel, wincing as it crashed against one of the pillars, showering him in bits of pulverized stone. He gulped; one hit of that and he was dead. He could envision his bones snapping just as easily and the shower of dust as a shower of blood. He attempted to snap a quick strike into Carius' arm while his weapon was still embedded in the stone, trying to incapacitate him a little but Carius was already starting his next swing, his unnatural strength giving him almost instant recovery from recoil.
"Vith, vith, VITH!" Nevano dove into a roll as the cudgel arced through the air right where he had been. "Dammit, Carius, I want to HELP you!"
"You are with Raven Rock!" Carius said almost mechanically, advancing on Nevano, "Raven Rock has declared war and must be destroyed!"
Nevano could only dodge. Carius was not tiring, not slowing in the slightest, despite the heavy weapon. There was simply no opening for Nevano to get a single strike in. He was in deep trouble. So he did the only thing he could think of; he talked.
"Can you remember way long ago? You asked me to help find out what happened with the alcohol shipments that affected moral in your fort?" Nevano shouted as he ran behind a pillar, "It was the priest remember? Nuncius! It's always the priests…they always tell you how to live your life without considering the consequences of the hardships of a soldiers life! Your soldiers began to hate you for it but were much happier once they got their booze back."
"My soldiers will tear you apart!"
"They CAN'T! Red Mountain KILLED THEM!" Nevano scrambled away from another hit. He was starting to run out of places to run to. This room wasn't very big. "Remember you asked me to find the smugglers? By Azura Carius you had a lot of problems around this fort. I helped stop that remember?"
"Red…Mountain…" Carius hesitated the barest of moments, just enough to allow Nevano to get to safety.
"Yes! It erupted. It destroyed Fort Frostmoth." Nevano said desperately, "I couldn't save Fort Frostmoth…not like I did when the werewolves attacked. Remember? You were taken while I was helping with the smuggling issue. After I found you we teamed up and killed a bunch of werewolves." Nevano tripped over a rock and fell flat on his back. Before he could scramble to his feet the undead general was upon him. The cudgel began its swing towards his head. Nevano squeezed his eyes shut and gave one last plea. "Dammit I was the one who hit you in the face with the snowball!"
The hit never came. Slowly, Nevano opened his eyes to see Carius standing over him, the barest flickers of recognition in his eyes. "Snowball…werewolves…Hircine…"
"Yes YES!" Nevano gingerly moved away from the path of the cudgel, getting to his feet, "We stopped Hircine's hunt. We stopped that and destroyed an entire glacier on the way."
"You…I…I remember…" Carius stumbled, "Please stop me. STOP THIS!"
"I will. I promise I will avenge this atrocity." Nevano brought up Hopesfire and Trueflame, "Rest in peace, sir."
Before the moment could pass, Nevano struck cleanly with both Truefire and Hopesflame, severing Carius' head from his body. The last thing Nevano saw before his swords struck was the grateful look on Carius' face before his head rolled across the ground. The body stood upright for a few moments before slowly crumpling to the ground. True to its undead state, no blood sprayed as would normally happen in a beheading. Instead old congealed blood oozed from the stump.
"I'm going to make sure this never happens to you again." Nevano said, dragging the body to the center of the room and putting the head back with its body, "I know you don't necessarily like Dunmer and I know you had misgivings about Raven Rock but maybe this final act will put your soul to rest once and for all."
He found several old pieces of wood furniture and broke them into pieces. With those pieces he made a pyre over the body of the general. "It's not a Imperial tradition, but I never understood why you would want to have a whole body laying around anyway. You just turn to dust eventually. When you're dust, no one can mess with you like this. Hopefully whatever god you prayed to understands but you Imperials always go on about how forgiving the aedra are. Good bye Carius." Nevano thrust the lit Truefire into the kindling and stepped back as the old dry wood immediately ignited. He grabbed the rest of his gear and left as the powerful heat began to disintegrate the mortar holding the room together.
As Nevano walked away, the wind blowing ash and sand in his face, Fort Frostmoth collapsed.
XxXxXx
Raven Rock, Solstheim
Several days after returning to Raven Rock Captain Veleth found himself standing in front of the councilor, trying his hardest not to favor his left side. That ash spawn had gotten a good hit through his armor and right over his old scar, as if he didn't hurt enough there to begin with. It wasn't a bad wound, fortunately, but it still stung enough to be suitably annoying. Even more annoying was that his armor had gotten heavily damaged. Mallory had given him a look when hr brought it to him to be repaired. It hadn't improved his mood any.
"So this stranger decided to just…go clear out Fort Frostmoth? On his own?" Councilor Morvayn had to repeat it because it sounded so utterly absurd. When repeated out loud like that, Veleth had to admit it really did sound incredibly strange even though it felt like the right thing to do at the time. "Adril, you said he and a Nord came in on Gjalund's boat earlier? Did either of you get their names?"
"I…did not." Adril blinked in surprise. Veleth was surprised too. Adril was usually far more thorough than that. Most visitors that came through were usually subjected to a rather in-depth scrutinizing from the second councilor.
"I only met the Dunmer and the thought never crossed my mind at the time to get his name." Veleth admitted. At the time he was more grateful to make out of that tight spot alive than to interrogate a helpful stranger. Not an acceptable excuse, of course, but…something about that stranger. He had just trusted the mer enough to not care about introductions.
"If this stranger makes it back alive, I want at least one of you to get his name." Councilor Morvayn seemed only a little annoyed…but also rather unsurprised. That was definitely very curious. Did he know something they didn't?
"Of course, Lleril." Adril said.
Veleth stayed quiet, his mind again turning over his encounter with the strange mer. The kid was young, incredibly young. First glance impression was that he hadn't even reached his majority yet. However his demeanor spoke of someone with a lifetime of experience. He had been calm, efficient and more than a little skilled. His gear certainly spoke of someone who had been through a lot. The armor was well-worn to him, not something brand new that he obviously bought just to appear like a fighter. Veleth hadn't seen much of the swords. Those had been a blur of sharp metal then hidden away under a dark cloak. Then the kid had grinned at him, over-grown ridge of dark red hair falling over his eyes that he had covered with lenses torn from a netch leather helmet and…Veleth felt he should know him. There was a glimmer of familiarity sparking in the back of his mind that he couldn't quite place. Something about that grin, mischievous and lopsided, that was just so frustratingly familiar.
"Good. Now, Adril, you said a Nord also came on the ship?"
"Yes, they seemed to be traveling together though, going by Veleth's account, they split up. They certainly seemed on friendly terms with one another. Geldis said they got a drink together before heading out and kept the whole place entertained."
"Another mystery." Morvayn sighed, "Veleth? Anything to add? Did the mer say anything about his travel companion?"
"No. He never mentioned it. But I…I swear I know him." Veleth said slowly, "I couldn't see his eyes so I can't be sure, but I thought I recognized him from somewhere. Odd thing, he saw Red Mountain in the distance and it seemed to affect him but he looked far too young to have lived through the Red Year. He didn't say anything but the look he gave it was like someone seeing an old enemy."
"That's…certainly odd." Morvayn said, frowning, "Where would you know him from?"
"I can't quite place him. He's too young for me to have met him back when I was in the militia and certainly I don't remember him visiting Raven Rock before. But he's talented with a sword. He fought off those ash spawn with little effort so he's been fighting somewhere."
Morvayn sighed, "Well, if he's had any measure of success then he should be making his way back here any moment now. I would like to meet this mer so when you see him, bring him to me."
Veleth nodded respectfully and headed back out, only a slight hitch in his step. This mystery was going to drive him crazy until that kid came back, if he came back.
XxXxXx
Nevano half stumbled back into Raven Rock a day later, tired and gritty with sand and ash. His hood was thrown back but he kept the lenses on to protect his eyes from the ash. His red hair wasn't in his face, which made him suspect that it was even messier than usual, standing in all directions, stiff with ash and sweat. Judging by the looks the guards on duty at the gates were giving him, it was even more impressive than he thought. That or some sort of rumor was making the rounds around town. Why did he strongly suspect the latter?
He found the captain patrolling the town and he was pleased to note that he wasn't showing the slightest bit that he had been injured. Tough mer. It was still driving Nevano crazy that he thought he recognized the man from somewhere and it wasn't helping that his mind kept jumping to Jorun. Wait…Jorun had a son. By Azura why couldn't he remember that kid's name? He'd be…around this captain's age by now wouldn't he?
As he was doing some hasty math in his mind, the captain in question noticed him and walked over. He definitely seemed pleased to see him but Nevano could read the surprise in his eyes from across the town center. Nevano held his smirk in check. Everyone underestimated him. No one thought a short, smart-mouthed Dunmer was worth much. "Before you ask, the ash spawn are taken care of. They won't be coming back to Raven Rock."
The captain gave him a grim smile, "Excellent! Was it really Carius?"
Nevano scowled, "Someone was playing necromancer in that fort. It was really Carius…undead and very confused. He's back to his well-deserved rest. They won't be coming back to Raven Rock but this whole thing isn't over yet. I'll hunt down this person so that's it'll be over with once and for all. It'll take some time though. Not entirely certain where to start."
The captain shook his head with a sigh, "That's really a shame. Thank you for helping. I know you didn't have to, nor do you have to go after the Necromancer."
"I help people." Nevano answered honestly, "It's what I do. I once did it for a living…now things like this seem to find me."
"I never got your name earlier…"
"That's because I didn't give it." Nevano grinned, "But then, neither did you. Don't think you were really thinking about it, taking a smoldering ash sword to the side and all."
"Not the worst injury I've ever gotten…" The captain conceded, "Anyway, since I feel like being polite, I'm…" the captain trailed off as two mer joined them, "Adril…"
Nevano followed his gaze. He quickly recognized Second Councilor Adril Arano from when he had first arrived from Gunjar. However, unlike last time when the serious mer's attention was on Gunjar, he was fully focused on Nevano. The other was a well-dressed woman who was walking close enough to the councilor that Nevano guessed she must be Adril's wife. She was very pretty but there was a certain sense of stress and strain about her, pulling at her features. If anything it only heightened her beauty, reminding Nevano of a statue of a goddess that withstood years and years of the elements. Despite the weariness in her eyes she graced Nevano with a warm smile that made him instantly trust her more than her hard-faced husband.
"Ah, Captain, I see you've found our new friend here." The second councilor looked hard at Nevano, "I believe we met on the boat arriving from Skyrim."
"Yes, we both were thinking about how a quick toss in the bay might have done wonders teaching my loud-mouthed friend the subtle art of speaking without being as brash as a bristleback in a thorn patch." Nevano smirked, enjoying seeing the taken-aback look on Adril's face at his own reckless manner and the grin on the Captain's face that was quickly hidden when he ducked his head. Was that a glimmer of a sense of humor? Or did he simply not particularly like the councilor. Nevano filed that bit of information away for later.
"We were hoping to catch your name." To his credit, Adril recovered quickly.
"Well, we were in the middle of introductions when you came along." Nevano said, not willing to give an inch. The game was on in full force. Actually it had been on the moment they had set eyes on each other at the docks. They were simply off the sidelines now.
"Usually it's polite that the stranger introduce himself first."
"Adril!" the woman admonished, interrupting the game, "He just went to that ruined fort by himself. The poor boy deserves more than this outlaw's greeting. I'm sorry, I'm Cindiri Arano, Adril's wife. Thank you for taking care of those ash spawn for us."
"The pleasure is all mine, sera." Immediately Nevano put on his best politeness, bowing his head a little. Nevano knew the sudden shift in manners would infuriate the councilor, keeping the game going despite the interruption, "It was little trouble."
"So you DO have manners?"
"Adril!" His wife scolded for the second time, "Lleril wanted to meet him remember? Enough of this and let's go indoors."
"Ah yes…this way." Nevano followed the councilor; a bit pleased to notice the captain went as well. He wasn't exactly worried he was walking into a den of wolves but having someone he had a bit or a rapport with, however recent, was a bit of a reassurance. He didn't feel quite like a prisoner this way.
Like with everyone else on this island, Lleril Morvayn had a tired, wary look that pulled at his features. However, unlike the others, Nevano rather expected to see that mask on the person in charge. Running a colony was no easy task, especially in a land that was less than hospitable. Underneath the tired stress, Nevano recognized Morvayn. Brara Morvayn's features shone through clearly on her son. Oh he'd ask later, but he was fairly certain that the toddler he had seen in the Redoran Council Hall was indeed the man who was now scrutinizing him carefully.
"Interesting choice in headwear there."
"I was in Skyrim and got a case of something called "snow-blindness". Just when I thought snow couldn't get any worse." Nevano grinned. Morvayn was either the smartest councilor he had ever met or the dumbest. He was definitely the most interesting. He had chosen to start their conversation with a disarming observation, instead of an accusation. It was intended to lower defenses and encourage trust. It worked, a little, but Nevano had delt with the likes of Helseth and Vivec. He would never fully lower his defenses ever again, but he appreciated the attempt.
"Well, you certainly have been causing quite the stir since you arrived here." Morvayn said, his tone suggesting that that stir wasn't a bad thing, "I was hoping to meet the man so willing to go diving headfirst into Fort Frostmoth by himself."
"I was TRYING to get him to introduce himself…" Adril said huffily.
"I'm not some infamous outlaw if that's what you're afraid of." Nevano interrupted, nodded his head at the captain, "Fairly certain your suspicious captain here would have sniffed THAT out and hung me from that massive wall before I ever made it into town."
"One would think you were as mysterious as the Nerevarine. I'd accuse you of that if it wasn't known that he went to Akavir and hasn't been heard of since." Morvayn said, causing the other three mer in the room to give him a slightly askance look.
"Akavir?" Nevano tried his best to keep the absolute astonishment out of his voice. Akavir? Who got THAT idea?
"So you are as ignorant on history as you are on manners?" Adril said dryly, "The Nerevarine disappeared right before the Oblivion Crisis, on an expedition to Akavir. Despite many rumors and speculations, he's been gone since."
"Adril, enough." Morvayn said quietly, "We are not here to discuss ancient history."
"No, we were in the middle of introductions…" Nevano said, looking over at the captain "Pick up where we left off, yes?"
"Aye." The captain inclined his head, "Picking up where we left off…Modyn Veleth, captain of the guard."
"…Veleth. Now that's a name I know." Nevano swallowed hard, more than a little surprised that his voice remained as steady as it was. How popular was the name Veleth? No…it couldn't be. This man couldn't be…Jorun's kid…could it? By Azura, he hadn't seen the boy since he was very young, young enough to jump on Nevano's shoulders and cling on, begging for a story of the world outside his home that he could only dream of. Had it really been that long ago?
"You might be thinking of his father, if you've been to Blacklight." Adril was saying, bringing Nevano back to reality with a jolt, "That's not a mer you'd forget in a hurry."
"How so?" Nevano noticed that Veleth shot the Second Councilor a dark look but it was ignored.
"He used to be an Ordinator and then a Buoyant Armiger back in the time of the Nerevarine." Adril explained. Nevano bit his tongue so hard he could taste blood. There was only one mer that fit that description. ONE mer that had been both Ordinator and Armiger. Excitement bubbled up in his chest like a wellspring. His friend was still alive! "Jorun's now in charge of the guard in Blacklight. Too bad he's crazier than a Khajiit on moonsugar."
The warm bubble of excitement instantly died, replaced instead by the cold feeling of dread, "Crazy?"
"Seems to think the Nerevarine will come back one day." Adril shook his head, "As I said earlier, the Nerevarine went to Akavir. He's gone. Old man holds on to ancient history like a lifeline."
"Ah Jorun…" Nevano grinned, relief spreading through him like balm once again, "Dead on as usual. He's not crazy. He never was. He was always right and had the conviction, and stubbornness, to stand by it no matter how many things presented otherwise."
Nevano grinned wider as his audience perked up, seeing the small flicker of hope sparking in the captain's eye. So that's what the look of apprehension was. He had lived his whole life listening to people say his father was crazy for simply believing in his friend, probably believing it somewhat himself. Wasn't he in for a surprise. Curiously enough, Morvayn seemed to be expecting this, even smiling a little.
"To continue our pleasantry exchange, yet again, it's a pleasure to meet you, Captain, but we've met before. It's been a very long time. The last time we saw each other your mother, half mockingly, half NOT, threw a vase at my head for teaching you a few choice phrases in Velothi." Nevano pulled off the lenses that obscured his distinctive eyes, "To refresh your memory, and to be polite, my name is Nevano. And I believe that the second councilor owes you an apology. I can see Jorun right now giving that half smirk that doesn't quite say 'I told you so' but says it just enough for you to feel thoroughly chastised and rather annoyed. I know that look well. How many times that mer gave it to me…he was always right, you know."
"That's…impossible!" Adril looked like he had just been slapped in the face by a naked dremora, "The Nerevarine went to Akavir!"
"Yes, so you filled me in. Twice. This one makes three." Nevano said, crossing his arms over his chest, "But I never went to Akavir. I despise sailing and boats and the sea in general and that's a LONG boat ride. I'd rather run through a cave full of corprus beasts. Oh wait I've done that once already..."
"Adril, Cindiri, Veleth, may I have a moment to speak with Nevano?" Councilor Morvayn said suddenly, surprising everyone, but such was the trust he had with them that they all nodded and did as asked without question. Nevano watched them file out with only a few misgivings.
"You are truly the Nerevarine?"
"That I am." Nevano said, "Your mother was Brara correct? I remember her. I didn't like running errands for all those councilors but for her…I was more than happy to kill those ash vampires. I'm just sorry I didn't get there sooner. I'm a little shocked she came all the way to Solstheim though."
"She saw potential here for the Dunmer, a safe haven from the devastation all around."
"Well…she wasn't wrong." Nevano said, "Solstheim wouldn't have been my first choice but I can also think of worse places. You didn't seem the least bit surprised at who I was."
"Unlike many of my college and fellow Dunmer, I remember meeting the Nerevarine the first time." Lleril said with a smile, "I remember my mother saying how you really weren't anything like we thought you should be. An outlaw, a heretic, an exile from Cyrodiil…and, later, a hero. You didn't look like any of those things. That was the day that I learned that I should never dismiss something based on the expectations of what it should or should not be. Jorun was far more experienced in that than anyone I had ever met and he was rarely wrong. His son has inherited that trait, even if he isn't aware of it yet. Jorun had been hinting lately that maybe things would be coming to a head soon so I was on the lookout for something unexpected. A mer who dives right into Fort Frostmoth on his own? Definitely unexpected. The fact that my captain of the guard trusted a random stranger to handle a situation as dire as this when he can barely give up control of looking after Raven Rock? After I talked with him the other day, I knew."
"Unexpected." Nevano repeated with a wry smile, "That seems to be the word that follows me around everywhere I go. That and finding trouble."
"Speaking of trouble." Nevano stiffened, suspicion flaring up in him like a wild fire. "Morrowind itself is in trouble…"
"And just what, exactly, do you think I can do about it?" Nevano interrupted harshly, eyes hard.
"You're an icon, a strong individual that the people would happily unite under. You can lead Morrowind."
"No."
"No?"
"Do you know why the Empire was so successful for so long?"
"Why?"
"Because the emperors died." Nevano had had a long time to think about this theory, trudging along dusty roads or slogging through mud on his way to do his so-called heroic deeds, "Do you know why the Tribunal failed?"
Morvayn raised an eyebrow.
"Because they didn't die." Nevano narrowed his eyes, "I refused the exact same thing over 200 years ago because a power such as this is a poison. Even the strongest mortal will one day succumb to it. That's why I had left. Morrowind needed to learn to run herself and she probably could have had things not, quite literally, exploded. I can't and won't lead Morrowind. However…I can't stand the empire and I hate the Thalmor even more and I do agree that something needs to change. However, I don't think I'm the mer to help you do it. I'm sorry."
Nevano turned and left the building before the councilor could say anything more to try to convince him to return to his old job as champion and Nerevarine and Hortator and all that other shit. He didn't want it. He was NOT a hero. That was Gunjar's job. That torch had long since been passed and he didn't want it back again. He was too broken, too jaded to be of any help. As he pulled the door open he heard the councilor sigh.
"I'm sorry too."
Nevano pulled his hood over his face as he left the manor, starting to regret to his decision to come to Solstheim. He didn't know what to do about this. Gunjar's words on the boat came back to haunt him. Did Azura really lead him here, not just to help the people here but as the start of a plan to lead him back to Morrowind? No…he had done his job. He was done. He was not going to be the one to clean up a nation's problems again. He couldn't go through that again.
"You look like you want to punch a daedra in the face."
Nevano looked up sharply to see Veleth standing in front of him, arms crossed, obviously waiting for him. Nevano attempted to smile but was pretty certain it looked more like a grimace, "I have a certain one in mind to be honest." Then he held up a hand to stop the captain's next sentence, "I'm more than willing to talk but for gods' sake over drinks at least. Geldis has some awesome sujamma and I plan on putting a dent in his supply."
After getting a bottle of sujamma big enough to keep him occupied for a while and choosing a table tucked away in a corner, Nevano finally turned his full attention to the captain, "Well, no wonder I didn't recognize you right away. Last time I saw you, you were small enough to jump on my shoulders without knocking me over. Now, like everyone else, you're way taller than me." Nevano smirked inwardly when the captain twitched a little. Oh so the good captain was more uptight than his father eh? Oh there was fun to be had with junior here. Nevano could NEVER rattle Jorun, no matter how hard he tried. If anything Jorun always got the drop on him. "So, everyone thought your father was crazy hm?"
"I…have to admit I didn't believe him anymore than anyone else." Veleth admitted, "When I was younger it was easy to believe. Children's dreams. But as I grew up it seemed…I don't know. As Adril said, like clinging to a lifeline. You were gone. No one had seen you and Akavir seemed as good a reason as any to explain that away."
"I knew I was pretty good at keeping a low profile but I didn't think I was THAT good." Nevano took a deep swig of the bottle, "I just kept the damn yellow eyes hidden. No one suspects the short elf."
Veleth didn't say anything for a long while, his red eyes boring into the table like they would provide answers. Nevano gave him a moment, fairly certain he needed to absorb everything. He had gone from not believing to suddenly having the Nerevarine appear right in front of him. Nevano knew that he would have to drink an entire tavern's worth of sujamma in order to accept that. Wordlessly he slid the bottle over to the captain, completely understanding when he downed the rest of it.
"Jorun was right all along. I never really left. I went back and forth between Morrowind and Cyrodiil for years, helping where I could. During the Oblivion Crisis I closed as many gates as I could, during the Argonian invasion I would wipe out whatever camps I ran across. I just never rejoined any sort of main force. Then the Great War happened…"
"Chorrol. That really was you, wasn't it?"
"The Thalmor made a bad enemy out of me that day." Nevano opened another bottle. Too bad sujamma couldn't wipe that memory out of his mind. "I've hated them ever since. Been a long hard road from there."
"Yet you came back now."
"I didn't come back. I ended up back here. There's a difference. Solstheim was NOT my idea." Nevano really needed to ask Geldis for some stronger drink, "I came to help a friend. I'll help with issues around here but I'm not fixing all of Morrowind." Veleth nodded. He didn't seem satisfied with that but he did seem to accept it. "So I heard the mine shut down?"
"Ran out of ore, or so I'm told." Veleth said, going along with the abrupt change in topic admirably well, "Things have been rough since. There's a man here in town who seems to think its all a big cover up by the East Empire Company. He goes on and on about needing to get down deep in the mine. Crazy old man."
"Didn't think that a mine that big would run out so fast." Nevano commented, "I've seen smaller mines in Vvardenfell that have lasted longer."
"Now you sound like the old man."
"Old minds think alike, kid." Nevano grinned, "There's no fool like an old fool, but we're always right…shit that was me admitting I'm technically old out loud. Don't get used to that."
"I have to ask." Veleth changed the topic as abruptly as Nevano had earlier, "Those swords. Are they…?" Nevano drew Hopesfire and Trueflame without hesitation, holding them up for the captain's inspection, "Amazing. I never thought I'd ever see these two with my own eyes."
"Neither did the Thalmor." Nevano put them both on the table, running a hand over Hopesfire's blade, watching blue flames flicker in the wake of his touch, "Then it was the last thing they ever saw. I should have killed their emissary but that might have caused more trouble than it would have been worth."
"They really did have them then?"
"Briefly." Nevano didn't look up from his weapons, yellow eyes reflecting their razor sharp edge, "I was arrested at the Skyrim border simply for being in the wrong place and the wrong time. I was stripped of my gear and was about to be beheaded when a dragon, of all things, interrupted the Imperials little bloody ceremony. I escaped with a scant handful of people. The dragon trashed the town. I went back and recovered all my gear except the swords. The Thalmor had been in attendance and knew instantly that the swords were Truefire and Hopesflame…they just didn't realize who I was. After several adventures, I retrieved them. I don't think the Thalmor High Council is going to be promoting Elenwen anytime real soon."
"So my father was right again…" Veleth said.
"Your father knows me well." Nevano pointed out, "Had me pegged early, before even I knew me. He knew what I was going to do…and why I was going to do it."
For a long moment Veleth was silent, twisting his jaw as he stared at the swords with narrowed eyes. He seemed to be wresting with some thought or another. "It's bad…" he finally said slowly.
"It's bad everywhere." Nevano said warily, knowing exactly where this was headed.
"No…I was in Blacklight recently." Veleth finally looked up and locked eyes with him, "You could cut the tension with a knife. The Thalmor don't like the Dunmer insisting we remain as independent as we did under the Empire."
"And just what do you think is going to change that?"
"Revolution."
XxXxXx
A/N: I think I re-wrote the "big reveal" no less than 2 dozen times. My brain feels like its about to shatter. I was desperately writing this and tomorrow morning I have to get up at the butt crack of dawn (*groan*) to go take a GRE. Hopefully I score high enough that I can get accepted into the Masters program. I had to get this chapter finished or else I'll spend the 4 hours tomorrow day dreaming about this!
I'm going to go ahead and say Happy Thanksgiving to y'all! I probably won't have another chapter ready until December as things are about to get busy (but you never know. I might surprise even myself and get the next one ready sooner rather than later!) Have a great holiday and stay safe out there, my dears!
