Chapter 21

Veleth's Story part 3

XxXxXx

4E 140 - Rootspire, Blacklight

Modyn Veleth stood perfectly at attention before the entire Redoran Council, ignoring the warning pangs of pain in his left side. It had been nearly two weeks since he had finally been able to stand and he had been pushing himself hard to gain his strength back. He wasn't fully healed, not by a long shot, something that a military appointed healer had been quick to point out as soon as he had walked into Rootspire, but he was trying to out-stubborn the lingering pain. So far it seemed to be working, which was a good thing considering he had been standing at full attention for over an hour now and the angry scar over his left kidney was getting even more aggravated.

"So...the mission failed." The cold voice of Archmaster Remoran echoed harshly in the otherwise silent council chamber.

Veleth clenched his jaw so hard he was sure his teeth would shatter as his stomach roiled in anger but he kept his protests to himself. He had not been given the floor to speak and he doubted that he would anytime soon. When his father had handed him a letter requesting his presence at Rootspire to be questioned about his most recent mission, he knew it was going to be bad. This wasn't just bad…this was a remonstration, a royal ass chewing where he wasn't going to be able to defend himself. He was just going to have to take it and walk out with the tattered remains of his dignity…if they let him walk out with that much.

"You were told to find the group of refugees south of Narsis and escort them to Safepoint Stros. A simple escort with more than enough men, seasoned warriors I might add, to be able to get the job done. Yet somehow, more than half of your unit now lays dead in a swamp and not a single civilian made it out alive."

Veleth's felt his throat clench. The archmaster was making it sound like he didn't know the death toll. He knew it well. He had the entire list memorized, could see their faces in his nightmares at night. He had yet to get a solid night's sleep since that terrible day. Every night there were dead mer hanging from trees, their rotted flesh sliding off bones like rancid fruit and dead soldiers as far as the eye could see, their clouded, glassy eyes staring accusingly at him, blaming him for leading them to their deaths.

"Out with it. I wish to hear your explanation."

Veleth took a deep breath to steady himself, trying to get the images of his nightmares out of his mind. "We hadn't even reached the designated pick-up point when we smelled death. It was extremely strong and I just had a horrible feeling about it so I made the decision to go investigate. We came across a clearing and found every single one of the refugees. They were all dead, had been dead for a while by the look and smell of them, and had been hung from the trees. This wasn't a case of dying of exposure...they had all been killed. I ordered my men to cut them all down. We would hold a quick a funeral as we could afford for them and then report back. I knew whoever had killed them wouldn't be that far away but I couldn't just leave the bodies there."

"So you traded the lives of your men for a handful of dead refugees."

His head spun. Did he just hear them right? "My men were all of the same mind. We couldn't just leave them there, even if they were already dead. Each man with me knew the dangers of what we were doing, the perils of the area. None of us could walk away from that."

"You were not sent to play hero…or gravedigger."

"We were sent to save Morrowind! Those people were a part of Morrowind! We are Dunmer, we don't abandon our people like the Imperials abandoned us. What are we if not here to save those that need it? There were women and children there, who had begged for help. We were too late, there was no way we could have been there on time but only a heartless bastard would have turned away and left them hanging there." He found he was panting for breath when he stopped speaking, his hands clenched to keep from shaking from anger. He could see that his little speech had had no affect on the councilors. They didn't care. He had failed a mission. That was all they saw, that was all they cared about. Suddenly Veleth was struck with a feeling of frustrated hopelessness. Why was he even fighting if the councilors were only interested in their own agendas?

"So, what to do with such a heroic mer?"

"Archmaster, I will say on the commander's behalf that he refused his rotations off. He's been out there for years." An aide spoke up, a petite Breton woman, shuffling through a pile of papers Veleth could only assume contained his career records. The pile was a lot larger than he thought.

"So a heroic mer who at least knows how to work hard." The elderly councilor looked hard at Veleth, frowning, "And that injury?"

"The healer that looked him over before he came in here recommended he not go back into the field for at least a year. Lighter duty is fine but nothing to aggravate it...away from a healer at least." The woman shuffled through the papers with an impressive amount of speed, somehow staying organized even as the pile became more and more disorganized. "Most recommended would be desk duty for now."

Veleth allowed his annoyance at being talked about like he was no longer there to chase away the broken black hole of despair that were threatening to overwhelm him. Why did they have to bring up the injury? He had been able to ignore it thus far but now it was starting to get to him. Sweat ran down his back in rivulets from the strain. The last thing he wanted to do was collapse in front of the entire Redoran Council.

"I see." the archmaster looked over a few pieces of paper that his aide handed him. "Seems the remainder of your men speak very highly of you, Commander Veleth. Well, in light of..." he trailed off as the door banged open and an imposing figure strode in, brushing off another aide who was trying to stop him from entering, "You're late, general."

"My apologies, Archmaster Ramoran. Had a few pressing matters to attend to." General Relas strode in and stood next to Veleth, giving him a brief nod, "I'll just jump right in then, seeing as how things are already in session. In regards to the commander here, I'm going to ask for you to dismiss any notion of punishment. That is what you had in mind, yes?"

"On what grounds?" Ramoran asked, a tic starting to develop in his eye. Veleth stood a bit straighter, feeling a bit more hopeful. At least someone seemed to be on his side.

"He followed orders."

"What orders?" Archmaster Ramoran looked like he desperately wanted to jump over his desk and throttle the general standing in front of him.

"Mine. Which, seeing as how he's a soldier under MY command, my orders trump yours or any other councilors. Yes, I know about the other set of orders, which is the whole reason why he's even in here in the first place even if you won't actually mention it. Anyway, Veleth was following orders but other...events conspired. Things that we will discuss at length later. In private. For now let's just say that the commander was the victim of faulty findings and improvised the best he could under the circumstances, which, unfortunately, resulted in casualties. The kid still led his boys home, despite nearly killing himself along the way. Generally I prefer my soldiers to show a bit more self-preservation but you can't get too upset at a man who is willing to show that much dedication to his men and to his people. On those grounds, I dismiss any and all charges."

"You're a pain in the ass to work with, Relas." Ramoran groused, "So what, exactly, do you propose to do with him? He can't return to your command, not with that injury."

Veleth's stomach clenched. Suddenly it no longer mattered whether he was here or not. He felt like a child who had been sent to a corner to think about what he had done while the parents discussed his punishment in the next room. The only difference was that whatever punishments his parents had dished out in his childhood for his various infractions had never been so life shattering.

"I have an idea."

"This better be good Relas." Ramoran narrowed his eyes, "Or I will not hesitate to kick your ass right out of here and knock both you and Veleth down to cleaning guar pens for the rest of your lives."

"Oh it is." In spite of his tone the general didn't look overly happy which made Veleth's stomach plummet. Whatever it was it couldn't be good. "Raven Rock."

"You're joking."

"They need a captain of the guard who can actually do his job without getting killed after a month. Those guards are next to worthless and bandits are continually assaulting the town. Oh, and Morvayn had that fun little incident with Hlaalu assassins, remember? I can't think of anyone better for the job than this stubborn kid who apparently doesn't know what time off means."

"Yes, I'm sure Morvayn will love the insult of sending him a broken mer."

"He's not permanently broken. I spoke with the healer before I got here." Relas sounded a bit smug. "In a month he should be perfectly fine to ship off. They got a healer there to take care of whatever might happen to him after that."

"Fine. We'll send his record along with a letter of recommendation. If he accepts, then Veleth will become in charge of the guard in Raven Rock and all notion of punishment will be off the table. I would think going to Raven Rock is punishment enough."

"Good. I'll have my assistant send along his current record as well as a recommendation of my own to your office." the general nodded, "Archmaster, as always, it's been a pleasure to be a pain in the ass. Veleth, walk with me."

Breathing shallowly to keep the pain at a reasonable level, Veleth followed General Relas out of the council chambers, more than happy to be away from the councilors who looked like wolves just denied a kill.

"And that, kid, is how you tell a bunch of councilors to shove it."

"Sir?"

"Welcome to politics." Relas said, turning to face him once they were fully out in the sunshine. "Now, I put you on the spot in there but this job is a bit more than it seems. Think of it as my last assignment to you for the time being. I have every bit of faith that you will be able to handle this one."

"Raven Rock? Isn't that where the ebony mines are?"

"Yeah, nice little resource hole. Morvayn's pet project he inherited from his mother. Not a fun vacation though. That island is dangerous. If the fauna don't kill you the locals just might. You won't be bored there. Good thing you don't like taking time off. No such thing like that in Solstheim." Veleth nodded, his head spinning a bit as he listened to the general. "You'll do fine there, you're stubborn enough to outlast the whole place. However, that island WILL knock that temper out of you. Hopefully at least." the general eyed him sideways, "While you look much better than the last time I saw you, you WILL be an insult to Raven Rock in your current state. Actually make use of your time off to rest for once. You'll need it for Solstheim. Dismissed...and good luck."

"Sir, wait...what happened back in Narsis? The things you said back in Rootspire..."

"For now, forget it. What I know won't change what happened nor does it concern you. When you get back from your time in Solstheim...maybe then we'll talk." Relas turned to leave but hesitated, "If I were you, I'd be very careful in handing out trust."

Veleth was left standing in the middle of the district, his mind reeling and his body threatening to give out. This was a bit much to take in all at once. A…promotion? Demotion? What was he supposed to make of Raven Rock? SOMETHING happened in Narsis but he wasn't supposed to know? And what was with that cryptic message about trust? He had no idea how long he stood there in the square, absently watching soldiers, aides and civilians alike go on about their business in various degrees of urgency. He was struggling very hard to make sense out of everything but neither his mind nor his body were willing to obey his commands.

"Need a lift?"

Veleth jumped and spun to see R'is sitting on a horse behind him, smirking at the very rare occasion of catching his friend unawares.

"What are you still doing here?" Veleth demanded, "Please tell me you didn't steal another horse. I had a hard enough time bailing you out the last time you claimed to have borrowed a horse."

"Unlike you, some of us actually take our rotations off." R'is grinned, "And no. She's borrowed. Actually borrowed. She belongs to…you know what, let's not go into that. Come on, you look like you're going to pass out."

Veleth gratefully took the proffered hand and, with a little effort, settled behind the saddle. He managed to bite back the grunt of pain, purely out of pride. R'is was more than aware of how bad he hurt but that didn't mean he wanted to put voice to it. He wanted to salvage what was left of his pride and dignity.

"Where to?" R'is said, not commenting on it at all, something Veleth was grateful for.

"Military justice building." Veleth said shortly, trying to find his balance. It was never easy balancing behind a saddle.

"Right." R'is turned the horse towards the military district, "How did it go?"

"You're going back without me."

"I knew that."

"Longer. I got reassigned."

"What? Why? To where?" R'is demanded, looking over his shoulder.

"Too much damage. I can't take the field for a while. Plus they were none too thrilled with what happened."

"What?! But you..."

"Yeah I know. It is what it is." Veleth sighed, not really wanting to relive the council meeting, "My new job is Captain of the Guard in Raven Rock."

"RAVEN ROCK?" the horse shied a little at R'is' outburst, causing Veleth to grunt as he nearly slid off the rounded hindquarters. He really had no handhold beyond his only balance and strength, which was waning fast. "That's a...that's worse than a demotion! Only those they want gone go to Raven Rock!"

"Thank you for screaming out what I already know to the entire district..." Veleth said flatly, shooting a glare at a gawking boy, sending him running down the street.

"Sorry but damn Modyn." R'is frowned, "I thought they'd go easy on you."

"Apparently not." Veleth said, exhausted suddenly. He was so tired of this so-called game. He never wanted to be a player in it in the first place but it seemed to suck him in. Now he was…here.

"Well, don't let it get to you. Go in like a stubborn hurricane, clean up the place, serve your time then get your ass back here so we can go out and cause more trouble. Or so you can come get me out of trouble." R'is glanced over his shoulder at him, "That injury aint permanent, right?"

"It's not."

R'is pulled the horse up in front of the military justice building, "I'll be in Blacklight for a while. For once I'm going to make sure you actually take your time off, though all I have to do really is tell your mother."

Veleth slid off the horse, contemplating slapping the mare on the rump as hard as he could to send her running off. "Get out of here. I'll look for you later this week."

"Don't stay here too long or I really will tell your mother."

Veleth gave him a flat look…then slapped the mare as hard as he could on the rump, sending her running off down the street. He allowed a self-satisfied smirk to creep across his face as he entered the building when R'is yelp of surprise reached his ears. He didn't look back but he really hoped that he was clinging to the side of the saddle.

"I heard you were "nominated" for the watch position in Solstheim." his father said by way of greeting as Veleth dropped gracelessly into a chair, not looking up from the mountain of paperwork that never seemed to get smaller.

"I just left Rootspire." Veleth groused irritably, "How fast is that wonderful news spreading?"

"Solstheim generally makes for good gossip fodder." Jorun glanced up at him, "You are also underestimating bored aides and how fast they can move when they have something to talk about."

Veleth sighed, reading between the lines; his father had someone listening in as he couldn't be there himself. While he understood WHY it rankled him more than a little; he was now the scuttlebutt of the entire military in Blacklight. Who knew how far it would spread. Kogo? Xyr even? Someone might as well send notice to Firewatch at this rate.

"Solstheim is a nasty place. You'll stay busy." Jorun brought his son out of his dark brooding, echoing General Relas, "There are worse assignments."

"I'll be damned if I can think of one right now."

"Mine guard."

"Ok, you got me on that one."

"Salt mine."

Veleth made a face, "That's not employment. That's imprisonment."

"Usually hard to breath down there."

"I get it!"

"Don't look at this assignment as a bad thing." Jorun said, dropping his file on his desk, "Look at this as a way to gain new experience. The more knowledge you have, the more effective you'll be in any situation. And you'll know for future reference that not completing a politician's side projects lands you in trouble."

"I can take the typical parental response as long as you don't break out into a Nerevarine story." Veleth tried to bite back a cringe.

"Oh I very easily can."

"Please don't."

Jorun snorted in amusement but took pity on his already aggravated son, "How's your side?"

"Standing at attention for that long did it no favors." Veleth said, not willing to admit out loud that the pain was starting to toe at the threshold of his considerable pain tolerance. He'd be able to make it home but anything more than that would finally break him and leave him curled in a ball of agony for a day or so. "I'm still not cleared for duty."

"Not surprised, considering not long ago you were nearly dead. That wound was bad but the infection AND the poison?"

"Yeah, great."

"Give it time." Jorun advised his stubborn son, "You've recovered a lot in a remarkably short time for an injury of that magnitude. But of course it's still not fast enough, is it? Stubborn boy. Now get out. I got work to do. Go home before your mother gets mad at both of us. Or before she hears about your new job from a source other than you."

Veleth practically scrambled from the room at that.

XxXxXx

Raven Rock, Solstheim

Councilor Lleril Morvayn sighed as he looked over the massive pile of documents and letters he had received from the mainland. He tried to remind himself that seeing this many meant he was still high in favor and use with the council and Raven Rock was not a useless outpost. Not yet anyway. There were concerns but that was not something to worry over at this exact moment. He needed to get through this mountain of mail first. As he sorted through the documents a letter fell out. Curious, he picked it up. It wasn't like the other official letters that bespoke of basically nothing. It had an official seal on it but not that of a councilor.

"Adril, come take a look at this." He sat back, motioning his friend and advisor over, "This is from one of the safepoint generals."

"The seal of Stros." Adril said, taking a closer look at the seal, "General Relas I believe is the man in charge there."

Morvayn broke the seal and quickly scanned over the letter. He started and looked up at the second councilor. "Listen to this Adril; "Councilor Morvayn, I am requesting that you seriously consider this soldier, one Commander Modyn Veleth, to be your Captain of the Guard. He is one of my best soldiers; one that I am loath to lose in the ranks but a recent injury has prompted his removal from the front lines in southern Morrowind. He should be healed up enough to perform all duties required to lead the Redoran Guard.

That's the formal request I was told to make. Informally Veleth is a stubborn, hotheaded kid who got himself tangled in something that none of us fully understand yet. That is the only reason I'm letting him go from my ranks to yours. The kid is blunt as a brick, hates political intrigue and has a temper to match that of a bull kagoti in a rut. However, there's not a more dedicated soldier in my ranks. You tell the kid to get something done and it's ridiculous how well and how fast he'll do it. He will walk through Oblivion barefoot for his men and the people under his protection. It's proven detrimental to his own health how stubbornly determined he is. Until this last fateful mission he has never failed me in anything I have set him to. Until I solve this tangle which I cannot put in writing, he needs to be out of the way and what better place to utilize his skills than whipping those fetchers you have into shape? I'm willing to bet my rank he will have them working like a seasoned unit within a week.

-General Relas"

"Wait...did that say Veleth?"

"It did. Must be the old armiger's son." Morvayn put the letter on his desk and leaned back, steepling his fingers, "That does not bother me over much. I've met Jorun before. Like everyone else I thought he was crazy when he looked at me and said that I should consider going inside that it would rain soon. The sun was shining and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. An hour later it was pouring rain. Mer is only crazy if you look at the surface. Get to know him and you realize he knows FAR more than he lets on. Most of the time I think he secretly enjoys everyone underestimating him. If his son has even a fraction of intuition he has then we might have a deal here. Hmm, if General Relas wrote then there might be something from the council in this mess."

Adril dug through the pile of scrolls and pulled out the one from Archmaster Ramoran and scanned over it, "Lleril, the Archmaster has stated that this injury was...by Azura how is this mer even alive?"

"How bad?"

"He was run through with a poisoned spear in the middle of nowhere. He went without healing aid for over a week." Adril grimaced a little, "He was injured down by Narsis, was taken to Stros and made a last ditch effort ride to Blacklight. He didn't do it alone but by the gods...half that journey should have killed him."

"Tough kid."

"That's another point I wanted to mention; going by his record he's barely out of adolescence!"

"Yet he's a commander."

"He's a child still. An injured one who is the son of the province's nut!"

"He's young, which means he has the energy and drive to gain some measure of control over Solstheim. He got injured severely but survived, meaning he's tough enough to survive whatever this island throws at him. He's a commander, which means he knows what he's doing with equally stubborn obstinate fools. As for his breeding...I already made my point there."

"I'm not going to convince you otherwise, am I?

"Not at all, Adril."

"Why?"

"Veleth's father was the first supporter of the Nerevarine, even sacrificing his job as an Ordinator in favor of his friendship with an outlander who everyone considered a dangerous heretic." Morvayn tapped his fingers again, "We all thought he was crazy then. Then they both go and prove the whole world wrong. That was a powerful lesson that I learned then. Since then, I've tried to never judge based on outward actions and appearances, and I'm especially going to apply it this mer. If General Relas says this man can make a difference here, then we will give him a chance to clean this place up."

"Shall I send word to the Archmaster that we are most... pleased to accept this commander?"

"Captain now, and yes."

XxXxXx

4E 140, 26th Last Seed

Veleth watched as Blacklight disappeared over the horizon, a slight pang of…something he couldn't quite identify in his chest. How was this any different than being deployed to southern Morrowind? This was just another deployment, just going in the opposite direction. The wrong direction.

Wrong. Everything about this was wrong.

He sighed and turned his attention away from the receding shoreline, instead allowing himself to become distracted by the unfamiliar feel of the necklace around his neck. His mother had not been the least bit thrilled that he had been due to leave on this day in particular. To Veleth it was just another day but, to his great surprise, even his father insisted that at least some acknowledgment be made to his fiftieth birthday. Thus the pendent that was currently hidden under his armor. He pulled it out and looked it over. It was a simple metal pendent with the multi-armed star of Azura carved into it and inlaid with a lighter colored metal that caught the light and reflected it brightly. He clenched it tightly in his hand, feeling the engraved star leave an imprint on his palm. As much as he normally disliked celebrating his birthday in anyway, he truly appreciated this gift. It wasn't about his birthday or his leaving. To him, it represented that at least a small handful of people still believed in him. That meant more to him than anything as he headed off to the unknown.

"With this wind we should dock at Raven Rock in a few days, commander." One of the sailors said, breaking him out of his reverie. Veleth didn't bother to correct him. Right now he was neither a commander nor a captain. He watched the waves lap against the side of the boat. It was going to be a long few days.

XxXxXx

4E 140, 30th Last Seed – Raven Rock, Solstheim

Councilor Lleril Morvayn watched as Raven Rock's new captain disembarked off the ship from Morrowind, critically assessing him as he walked down the dock. Modyn Veleth was a tall, powerfully built mer, more like a bull than the more lithe frame of most elven kind, just as General Relas described him. Despite being previously injured, he gave no indication of it whatsoever in his movements. While pleased that his new captain was physically imposing, something he would undoubtedly need to rely on out here, it was the mer's eyes that really caught his attention. There was that resignation there, of course, that everyone had when they first arrived to Solstheim but it was over-shadowed by a glint of stubborn determination that spilled out onto the rest of his face, setting his jaw tight and his brow in a hard line. That was something Morvayn was highly pleased with.

"Adril." He said, motioning to his friend and advisor, "Why don't you show our new captain around, get to know him a bit?"

"In other words, you want me to get read on this one?" Adril came up next to him.

"I can already tell this one is different." Morvayn said, "His eyes alone are telling me he'd take on the whole island on his own if we so asked it of him...if he believes we have a good enough reason."

" 'A good enough reason'?" Adril quirked an eyebrow up at that, "What is that supposed to mean?"

"I'm willing to bet the councilors back in the Rootspire tried to tear him apart but by the way he's still standing tall, they failed to fully break him." Morvayn tapped his fingers, not fully explaining himself. "I'm starting to think General Relas was on to something about this one. Get to know him, show him around, and then introduce him to his men. Then come tell me how everything goes."

"Of course, Lleril." Adril hesitated before he moved away, "Anything in particular you want me to look out for?"

"No. I'm just curious how this one will react is all." Morvayn tapped his fingers, "Oh, and don't stop him once he gets going. I'm curious to see just what he'll do."


Veleth looked around. Raven Rock was about as nondescript as a town could get. The entire town was all one color, the color of grayish red ash. It wasn't very large; he could see the entire town from where he was standing at the docks. Already his mind was memorizing the layout of the town, noting places where people seemed to be heavily congregating, places where people seemed the most or least comfortable being and, most of all, the glaring lack of guard. In fact, he didn't see any at all. That would be the first thing to change. He already had 5 different patrol routes mapped out. All he needed was men walking them.

"Ah you must be our new captain." Veleth looked up to see a serious looking Dunmer addressing him, "I'm Adril Arano, Second Councilor to Councilor Morvayn. Welcome to Raven Rock." Veleth nodded politely, "Come, I'll show you around."

He followed the second councilor around, adding names of notable landmarks to his mental map of the town; The Retching Netch, the ebony mines, the market place, Morvayn Manor, the temple and the Bulwark. Despite the bland color of the town and the ever-present danger, the surprisingly large population was rather upbeat and positive. Dunmer mingled easily with the smattering of humans and the occasional Orc, Bosmer and Altmer, far easier than they did in Blacklight where relationships were still a bit strained.

"The East Empire Company has a big presence here. They are annoying to deal with but a necessary evil." Adril frowned, "They've been pulling back recently. Things aren't as prominent as they used to be. Not sure exactly why but that's another problem for another day."

Veleth thought back to the villages that had been burned and broken to the ground, to the times they camped in such ruins for the camouflage and wondered 'who died here?' while they tried to get what sleep they could. He thought back to the constant underlying fear that every time they closed their eyes they might never open them again for fear that something might sneak up and kill them in their sleep. The complaints Adril had over dealing with an annoying trading company were clashing horribly with the complaints his men used to have.

"At least there's no swamps..." he muttered under his breath.

"Pardon?"

"I said at least it's not a swamp." he said, "Ash is a lot easier to deal with than standing fetid water."

"Ah, that's right, you fought against Argonians in southern Morrowind." Adril nodded, "Until you got injured, correct?"

"Correct." he said, his side giving a warning throb.

"You were a commander…you're rather young for a commander aren't you?"

"I was born into a soldier's life, thanks to my father. I spent my whole life preparing and training to be a soldier. By the time I was old enough to join the Redoran Army I already had combat experience and could lead a small unit." Veleth struggled to keep his tone neutral. "My age was never an issue."

Adril said nothing and continued the tour. After a while Veleth finally found the opportunity to ask the questions that he had been trying, and failing, to find the answers to since before he left Blacklight.

"What happened to the last captain?"

"Did no one brief you?" Adril asked incredulously, "He got careless and became reaver bait. That's the barebones of it. There were a myriad of other problems we had with him so when I got word that the reavers had his head on a pike outside one of their camps I wasn't overly surprised."

"Reavers?"

"What we call the bandits out here. Traitors one and all. I'd rather have to deal with rogue Ashlanders to be honest. What DID they tell you about Solstheim?"

"That if the fauna and flora don't kill you, the locals will." Veleth paraphrased, carefully avoiding saying he was told next to nothing, as this was a punishment assignment. He was more than well aware that none of the councilors who sent him had bothered to brief him. It was a snub. They were still sore over Relas stepping in and by not giving Veleth information he needed to know and making him sound like an uninformed fool, they were getting a small form of petty revenge. One more reason Veleth was glad there was only the one councilor and his advisor here to deal with.

"That's true enough." Adril begrudgingly agreed, "The last man didn't have your extensive training but he did have years on you."

Veleth frowned. Again there was that dig at his age. "Age can mean nothing. There are many mer my age with just as many years in the field as I do. Reversely, I know mer double or triple my age who have never lifted a weapon and never SHOULD. If there's going to be an issue with my age, let's have it out."

Adril held up his hands, "Even you have to admit you would have reservations on soldier who has just seen his first half century."

"I judge on attitude. I don't care how young or old they are."

"While a good philosophy to run by, practicality gets in the way."

"Never has in my squads. There's no perfect age to be a soldier. Quit treating them like kids or old men and start rewarding their hard work and suddenly you can't tell who is too young, too old or in the prime of their lives." Veleth twisted his jaw introspectively, "I will say this though...it's the old guys that generally make the best fighters. They get cranky on long marches and quit taking shit at that point. Most enemies end up trying to scramble away from them. Killing things makes them happier and less likely to snap at me later."

"Unfortunately, these aren't like the men you are used to." Adril said quietly as they approached the Bulwark, "I'm afraid you'll have your work cut out for you with this lot. We don't get the best or the brightest sent out here. Most were sent here as a form of punishment…much like you I'm afraid." Veleth shot him a look. "I'm more than well aware of the Redoran Council's tactics. However, I also respect Councilor Morvayn's intuition. He seems to think that the council threw away a gem to spite the mine owner, so to speak. I have a few reservations myself but there's no denying that we are in desperate need of someone to take control of the guard."

"Give me ten minutes with them." Veleth said, reining in his temper at the veiled insults, "I'll be able to tell you if there's the slightest chance these fetchers will make passable guard."

Leaving the surprised second councilor behind he strode over to where the guard was milling about, waiting to be introduced to their new captain. They glanced up at him but not a single one offered up the slightest bit of acknowledgement or respect. He was unsurprised but a bit dismayed by how wildly unorganized, undisciplined and unenthused the guard was. He knew going in that it was bad but this was a whole new level of bad. Veleth wasn't a mer who demanded everything be polished to a perfect shine, that was about as impractical as a soldier could get, but he did have a problem with the blunt weapons and cracked armor he was seeing. That was something that would get soldiers killed in the most innocuous situation. He briefly flipped through files he had been handed early on in the tour as he watched men slouch around not really doing much out of the corner of his eye. For the most part these weren't a bad bunch. Most had clean records with fairly nice recommendations. A few were sent here as punishment but so far his infraction was by far the worst. He huffed as he tossed the records on the ground behind him. So it wasn't the men...it was their leader. They had been running under an incompetent captain for so long they were completely uninspired and weren't likely to easily take to anyone. He had one shot at making an impression on this crew and he had to make it count. He wouldn't get another.

"Stand at attention!" He barked, mentally preparing himself to bite back a cringe at the slow response time and the less than sharp stances. He wasn't disappointed. "My name is Modyn Veleth. I'm your new captain and…"

"Veleth? Ain't that the insane Nerevarine loving s'wit?" One guard interrupted. Sareloth, if Veleth remembered from the files. Perfectly clean record, had even volunteered for this post. Now reduced to this. He smirked as the other guards sniggered like fools, "Wait, or are you his spawn?"

Veleth took a deep breath and mentally counted down from three. Then he punched Sareloth full in the mouth, sending him reeling backwards. Wasting no time, he quickly kicked the mer's legs out from under him and followed him to the ground, pinning him face first into the ash-covered ground with a knee to the middle of the back. Veleth pulled his dagger from his boot and yanked the man's head up by the hair and pressed the dagger against his throat.

"I don't care what you lot decide to call me behind my back. Believe me, I've heard it all." He said in a perfectly calm controlled voice to the line of now terrified guard, "However, I will NOT stand for any sort of blatant disrespect. When I call you in, you will be here, at perfect attention and it's 'yes sir' or 'no sir' and nothing else unless I ask for it. You will be polite and respectful to every civilian in this town no matter how mean or nasty they decide to get and when I send you out on a job it will be done thoroughly and professionally or else you will have to answer to me. You really don't want to have to answer to me. You will wish every creature or monster or reaver on this island is after you first before you have to answer to me." He pressed the dagger harder against the throat, eliciting a few drops of blood and a whine from his unfortunate hostage, "This place is not Blacklight. It's not Necrom, hell it's not even Kogo! This place is wild and dangerous, more so than any place I have ever seen. If you want cozy and comfortable I will send you back home on the next ship...in a prisoner hold for insubordination and you can clean up shit at the Safepoints for the rest of your life. Your other option is to follow my orders and survive long enough to go home to a nice retirement." He let Sareloth go and stood up, dragging the man to his feet. Then he gave the confused mer a friendly clap on the shoulder. "I'm not here to beat you into submission but if I have to knock sense into each and every one of you I will. I'm here to protect this town and keep you alive while turning you into some of the best guard House Redoran has ever seen. So? What's it going to be? Hurry it up, I'm not exactly known for my patience."

Ever mer stood up straight and immediately saluted, but none more sharply than Sareloth. He smiled. "Good. Now go get your weapons and armor ready. All I see are sorry excuses of metal. We'll go over the new patrol routes once you get yourselves something that can actually do some damage and protect your sorry hides. I expect all of you back here in fifteen minutes."

He watched as they instantly jumped to it, pleased at the new respect even if it was born of fear for now. Later, it would blossom into true respect. He had merely planted the seeds. He rubbed at his side with a pained grunt. He might be in pain for the next week for that little stunt, but he had made exactly the impression he wanted to. They were his now. This might be the death of his left kidney but after all the work he was about to put into them they would turn out to be some of the best. All in all, he was pleased.

"Second Councilor Arano." He said out loud, not looking over to where he knew the advisor was watching; "You can tell Councilor Morvayn that I'll give him a guard worthy of Mournhold in its prime within a month."

XxXxXx

4E 150

Veleth was returning from his final patrol of the night, his path lit by the light of Masser and Secunda. He had slowly adapted to his new home over the course of the years; his lungs no longer bubbled in his chest with every ash-laden breath and his voice took on the slightly rougher edge that marked him as a dweller of this unforgiving environment. More importantly, in his opinion, he had turned the guard of Raven Rock into a well oiled machine who behaved professionally and could handle just about anything this island threw at them. He was very proud of how well they had turned out and they, in turn, worked hard for him. Granted there were casualties, that was just the nature of such a dangerous job, but he made sure to honor every man they lost by carving their names into a large boulder outside the Bulwark gates, signifying their sacrifice while protecting Raven Rock.

"Ah Veleth, out late again?"

Veleth looked up and saw Councilor Morvayn walking towards his manor, undoubtedly returning from the Retching Netch. "Sir." He greeted politely, "Just finishing up my final patrol for the night."

"I swear you run on less sleep than I do." Morvayn smiled, "Ah, before I forget, there's something I wished to discuss with you."

"Sir?" Veleth followed him inside the manor, a little confused and curious all at the same time. There wasn't anything pressing at the moment that he could think of that couldn't wait until morning.

"I hate to bring this up now so late at night but I have to admit that it's already slipped my mind twice this past week and when I saw you I knew I needed to bring it up now or I would forget again." Morvayn explained as he went over to his desk and began to rummage in a drawer, "To be honest it's really not something I want to bring up but there's no getting around it."

Veleth patiently waited, trying not to yawn. He still couldn't figure out what was so damn important.

"You've been here for 10 years now." Morvayn held up a scroll. Veleth started a little, suddenly wide-awake. Had it really been a decade already? "You've served your time here and more than adequately. However the deal was after 10 years you were to be reassigned back to the main body of the Redoran Militia. I'll write to Blacklight, have you transferred home. With a glowing review I might add."

Veleth hesitated, "If it's at all possible, councilor…I'd like to extend my contract."

"Really?"

"I'm considered damaged goods to everyone back on the mainland. I do not want to be stuck doing meaningless tasks. Here I'm doing something that is actually helping people."

"Well I'm certainly not going to dissuade you. You are arguably the most effective captain we've ever had here. The guard has never been sharper and you've lowered the death rate by 63%. All the same, are you sure this is what you want?"

Veleth thought back to the council he had been forced to face years ago. He remembered the looks on their faces, the disregard for life and the frustration and disgust over his decision to do the morally right thing rather than what they wanted him to do. They had sent him to Solstheim, probably hoping he would get himself killed and then never have to worry about this "misfortune" ever again. He had been proud to fight, foolishly believing that he was fighting for his home and his people. He had never once intended on being a tool. Here, in this out-flung little town set in one of the most dangerous remote places he could think of, those virtues were so appreciated that everyone tended to go a bit out of their way to make sure he could keep on doing what he was doing. He had to admit to himself, very privately and within the confines of his own mind, that it was rather nice to be appreciated like this. He knew his duty was to go back home and...do whatever it was they decided an insubordinate injured mer like him could do but he couldn't stand the thought of leaving the tough people of Raven Rock. Damn duty. Damn the Redoran councilors in Blacklight and damn being forced to choose between the lives of innocents and a councilor's desires.

"I'm sure."

XxXxXx

A/N: This concludes Veleth's tale. I swear I thought it was going to kill me. I had intended to post before Christmas but between getting stuff squared away for school, absolute last second Christmas shopping and me suddenly having to bring not just two dogs but three horses with me across Texas for Christmas...yeah there wasn't a lot of dedicated writing time. Then I came home and great gravy writer's block batman! This one was a bear to get rid of too. Then the flash drive I save my files on corrupted this chapter and I panicked thinking I was going to have to start over (I can't STAND that) so I rage-quit for a few days until I realized it somehow got saved to my desktop. Then I hit writer's block again...And school started up amidst a torrential downpour/marble sized hailstorm. I feel like someone shoved Truefire through my brain and lit it up. So enjoy this nice long chapter as an apology for taking forever and a day and next chapter we will get back to Nevano. He's had enough time off. Time to go back to work.

By the by, I've fully discovered Archive of Our Own and I'm rather pleased with it. Never fear I will continue to update here ( will always be my first love) but I have also posted there (same username and fic name and all that) for anyone who frequents there AND I found out you can post fanart on there. I've been working on some pieces and maybe I'll get the courage to post it on there. Maybe being the key word here. I'm even pickier about my drawings than I am about my writings.