Chapter 2

Years ago, Inuel had been stolen from her Bosmeri parents in Malabal Tor by Telvanni slave traders, and taken to Vvardenfell. At the time, the Ahemmusa tribe of coastal Ashlanders made camps near the Telvanni community where Inuel had been taken. They began to take notice of the strange and exotic races sent out to fish, farm, and garden. They came to understand that these were slaves, and began to help them escape. The Telvanni soon took notice, and began investigating the escapes. It wasn't long before they began to suspect the Ashlanders, and started sending armed forces into their camps. The Ashlanders, already being nomadic, easily relocated, but having to do so further and further away from the Telvanni settlement. Their rescue missions became fewer and less frequent.

Inuel was only five or so at the time of her enslavement, and was to be a pet for a wealthy couple. When she misbehaved, she was put in a cage outside, behind her masters' abode. It was here that the Noanis, on a scouting mission, saw her and decided to rescue her.

They secreted her away in the dead of night, fully intent on reuniting her with her family. Inuel had very poor memory or communication skills to tell them from where she hailed, but through landmarks she remembered and through various books they obtained on Valenwood and the Bosmer, they gleaned that she was from Malabal Tor.

It would be a long journey for tribal folk, but the Noanis, with their young son, Amanis, set out with Inuel to find her family. Even by boat, it took weeks, but they finally arrived. They found her village burned.

It was never stated, but the Noanis adopted her that day. Taking what few mementos remained, she left with her new family back to Vvardenfell.

There, they raised her alongside their son, teaching her not only the ways of their tribe, but also the ways of the Bosmer, so she would never forget her heritage.

Seeing her penchant for magic, they had her train with sorcerers from the Urshilaku tribe of the West Gash. Their son, whose magical talents lent themselves to the more natural vein, trained with an Urshilaku shaman. As they grew in skill and stature, they began running rescue missions of their own, whenever they traveled back to the coast to visit their family.

It was on one such mission that they were caught, and put in a cage. Due to the anti-magic properties of said cage, it took them days to escape. By the time they made it back to camp, it had already been destroyed. The two teens had to bury their parents, now the lone survivors of their tribe. They sought refuge among the Urshilaku, vowing one day to put an end to the Telvanni slave trade, once and for all.

In his grief, Amanis turned to thievery and drinking, gradually drifting off to parts unknown. Inuel buried herself in studies of magic, and of Dwemer engineering. She eventually found herself in Deshaan, where she caught the eye of the followers of Sotha Sil. She was then taken into the Clockwork City, and studied among the devotees.

Years passed. The siblings separately felt homesickness for the Ashlands.

An Ashlander religious festival was coming up, and independently, they both decided to attend that year.

Much to their eventual surprise and mortification.


The dunmer looked her up and down in surprised recognition, red eyebrows shooting toward his tousled ruddy hair.

"Innie! Good lords and lady, didn't know you were here!"

He rose and embraced her, thumping her on the back and spilling some of her bitter tea.

She shoved him away, staring intently into his eyes.

He had grown considerably since she last saw him. Of course, they had been teenagers, just on the cusp of adulthood. Even his voice was different. But, it was still him.

"Did. You. Participate?"

"How do you mean?"

"Last night. Did you participate?"

He tugged at his shirt, adjusting the collar in feigned nonchalance.

"Not that it's any of your business, but no. All the tents were taken, and some people were taking their sweet time, weren't they?"

Inuel blushed deeply, looking away, and sat down on a nearby stool.

"'Sides, even if I did, the escorts ask for the house names before leading the lovebirds in, you know."

"How do you know?" she asked with suspicion.

"Well, I done it, haven't I? I been an escort in years past. They get their own little party, and let me tell you…" he chuckled, mock-shivering and grinning.

"Please, don't." She massaged her temples. If her lover found her chatting with another man, would he walk away without a word?

"Look, it's lovely catching up, but I promised to meet someone. And I'm starving, so if you don't mind…"

"Ah, brilliant. I'm dyin' for a spot a brekkie! Lead on, sister mine."

Too polite to tell him to sod off, she grumbled and trudged toward the dining tent. His speech and mannerisms had changed so drastically… he was a complete stranger to her, now. The back-alley slang, his casual gait… he was positively Breton. And she hated it.

After they had settled at a table with their plates, Inuel continued to glance around. Her man of the night would simply have to get over his jealousy, as she didn't know how to shake Amanis. She cracked open the large arthropod leg on her plate and bit into the sweet, hot flesh. She couldn't remember the last time she had nyx ox legs. It took her right back to her first bite when she was a young child.

"So, what ya been up to?" Amanis asked playfully. She hated that tone, but at least it was familiar.

They caught up, Inuel giving vague, curt depictions of the Clockwork City and her research there; Amanis lapsing into nigh-bardic recounts of his kleptomaniacal exploits.

She continued to glance about, growing increasingly more worried. Her heart tugged painfully.

She cut Amanis off mid-reenactment.

"Well, it's been a delight. Hope to see you again soon." She rose, leaving her plate and half-drunk tea. Amanis rose, also, picking up her cup and handing it to her.

"Every drop, now." He smiled, but there was sternness to it; like he used to do when they were children and she was meant to be doing her chores or studies.

She snatched it from him, cheeks flushing. She gulped down the nasty liquid, gagging and gasping when she'd finished.

"Good. Now, about that, I wonder if I might trouble you further… Where are you living now?"

Inuel was taken aback. "Greenshade, actually. Near Shademist Moors, by way of Woodhearth." She frowned at him with suspicion.

"Why?"


Inuel mounted her magicked mare, shading her eyes against the noonday sun. Amanis patted his old guar, clicking his tongue and whistling, and the cart it pulled creaked as it trod heavily on the verdant grass.

"You would pick a place where it was always spring." He scoffed. "Call yourself an Ashlander."

Inuel didn't even respond. She gazed at the dirt road despondently, eyes perpetually welled with tears that threatened to spill. He had promised.

She sniffed, doing her best not to be bitter. It was not the way of Elitlaya to get attached. Now that she was finally in the know, she almost wished she wasn't.

"Not far, now. We'll pass through a small village, then the gate will be to the left."

"Oooh, a gate! How fancy."

She rolled her hazel eyes, a smile tugging at her downturned lips.

Small monkeys and fat lizards skittered out of the path as the two passed on their mounts. A light rain had started, and Inuel wanted to relish in it. The air had been so dry and dusty at Ald'ruhn. While it was welcome nostalgia for the nonce, she felt in her bones she belonged here, in the green. She had missed the trees and non-arthropoid life. She missed the rain that didn't carry black soot with it. She missed the breeze.

Would her unknown lover even visit a place like this, the polar opposite to the Ashlands? She thought not.

Perhaps their parting had been for the best. A promise needfully broken.

Nevertheless, she still ached for him. Imperceptibly, she ground her saddle, her cleft still tender from the night's activities. She gripped her reins, biting her lip. The motion of her horse was stimulating, even if she were fighting it… which she wasn't. She leaned forward slightly, breathing heavily through her nose as she climaxed.

She straightened and smiled amicably at a passing Khajiiti merchant she happened to recognize, as if nothing had just occurred. Amanis cleared his throat from beside her, and she darted a glance in his direction. He wasn't looking at her; he hadn't noticed either. Exhaling shakily in relief, she nudged her mare to pick up the pace.

Passing over the living wood bridge, Bosmer sentries glared down at them, gazes lingering on the rider of the guar. As they trode through the small village on the edge of the Shademist Moors, many of the Bosmer and Khajiit inhabitants waved and smiled. One or two beckoned to her for a chat and a cup of tea, but she silently declined with a forced smile and a wave. Amanis received stares of confusion and mistrust. Dunmer were not common in these parts, he assumed. If any were to hear that they were siblings, they'd probably laugh in their faces.

Soon, the stone wall came into sight. Inuel felt a pang of mixed feelings- homesickness, desire for a hot bath and a soft hammock… but most of all regret.

Dismounting, she muttered a spell, and dismissed her enchanted mare. Amanis nodded with approval.

"I remember when you couldn't get a beetle to vanish, and look at you now!"

She turned to regard him, shaking a finger.

"If you don't behave yourself, you'll vanish."

They smirked simultaneously.

"Right. The gate is spell-locked, but I'll give you a key. Follow me."

She brushed a living blue flower bud she wore on a leather strap against the great bone gate, and the vines holding it shut slid away. She pushed easily at the gate and opened it.

Amanis looked around in awe. A large, natural courtyard surrounded a pair of traditional Bosmeri pod houses. A variety of glowing and otherwise exotic plants grew where there wasn't stone pathway, and flowers nodded from all sides. Trees in sundry shapes and sizes swayed in the warm breeze, and the complex perfume of her garden almost made him dizzy. Seeing him standing there stunned, Inuel rolled her eyes and led the guar and cart to an overhang just out of sight.

A black faun striped with glowing lilac trotted over to meet her, bumping its head against her leg. She laughed and stroked it, squatting to give it a proper scratch and look it in the eyes.

"Did you miss me, Aster?"

It shook its head and snorted, then looked up. Amanis was coming up the path, and the faun danced over to greet him. Pleasantly startled, he ruffled the fur on its head while it bleated happily.

"You should have been the shaman, Innie. Lookit this place! How'd you end up a sorkie?"

She shook her head at him, arms folded. "Some things just come to me. Now, go and unhitch your guar. I've no idea where you expect to keep your things, though you could put them in the overhang until you've found a place of your own."

"Right, mum." his voice dripped with sarcasm.

Her eyes were beginning to hurt with all the rolling.