Crying Purple Tears
Author's Note: Hey everyone. Thanks for all, err, both of your reviews! Daystorm Mage: I don't have a site with any artwork on it, but I was hoping on putting one up in the future. I haven't been able to do much with writing/drawing what with school and all. However, I am planning on finishing this story sometime soon. (Waits for cheers, and crickets start chirping) Heh heh, don't get too excited.
Disclaimer: I do not own Morrowind, or any ideas associated with the game. I do, however, own the characters in this story that don't appear in the original version of the game. This disclaimer goes for the whole story, not just this chapter, but I'm sure you already guessed that.
Raja felt a cold twig curl between his toes, but didn't hear the snap that should've sounded with it. He looked on the ground and noticed the twig had already been broken into several smaller pieces. Next to it, the damp ground sank into a small pool of water, no wider than his foot. He turned around, and saw dozens of dulled footprints in the ground, heading in all different directions. They all appeared to be the same small size, and had the long, rounded shape of a Dunmer foot. None appeared to be more recent than the other.
He crouched down next to one of the footprints and scooped a handful of dirt, holding it under his nose and inhaling it.
"Quite a surprise," he sighed. "It smells like dirt." Whether he was talking to himself or Corky, he wasn't sure. He turned around to check on the guar, which had its head cocked at the Argonian for his sudden outburst. Raja stood and held the clump of moist ground near one of the guar's nostrils. "What do you think, Corky?" The creature simply turned its head to the side, staring off into the distance, and Raja groaned. "Useless animal."
The foyada in which they were standing seemed to extend forever in two directions, the ends lost in the hazy sky as if pointing to the heavens. Raja shuddered, cursing the early morning chill, and pulled two gloves over his bare fingers. Normally he would have the golden Dwemer gauntlet Wraithguard hugging his forearm, but he would rather not have to experience another horrible hallucination as he did earlier that morning. He was only disappointed that he would never again be able to engrave his name in his foes with Keening, or crush skulls with the massive hammer Sunder. As much as he disagreed with the Argonian who claimed to be his younger self, the boy did make a very good argument. No self-respecting warrior should have to defend himself with an ancient gauntlet or an old blemished sword.
The temperature seemed to drop another several degrees, and Raja became a bit concerned for the girl's well being. It was bad enough to be a wanderer in the unpredictable Ashlands, but to wander in the Ashlands with nothing more than the shirt off your back was sheer madness. Raja sighed, and took a long cord of rope out of one of the sacks hanging from Corky's back. He tied the rope around the guar's neck and fastened the other end tightly around the trunk of a gray tree. He pulled tightly to make sure neither the rope or the wood gave.
"You wait here, Corky. I shouldn't take long." Raja drew his longsword and treaded softly behind a dense bush. He thrust it down into the ground and there was a loud squeak. When he lifted his sword, there was a large rat impaled on the end of it, which he removed from the blade and placed in front of Corky. The guar purred contentedly as it tore at the rat's flesh with its enormous teeth, all the while Raja watched with envy. "You know, you pack guars don't know how easy you have it." He chuckled while wiping blood off his sword with a ragged cloth.
The girl shook frostily as she scrambled on her hands and knees to the crest of the next hill. She arrived, wheezing and out of breath, and tried to stand only to fall back down. A cloud of dusty ash exploded into the air from the impact and dried her lungs, making her cough and cry for air. Through her tears, she could see nothing but barren gray wasteland in all directions. There were several animals roaming the wilderness, but none were bigger than she was, and shouldn't prove to be dangerous. If they became hostile, the girl had an idea of the direction she came from, and she could just run back to town. However, she was so close to her objective, she would rather run the entire region than give up and turn back. After all, she had tried that already, and found that it hadn't proved to be the better alternative. She forced herself onto her legs and brushed the dirt off her already ragged clothing.
All of a sudden, a brisk wind ran its fingers through her hair, and the sky became a foul red. Dust and small rocks began to swirl through the air and pelt her skin. The wind picked up until the projectiles were stinging her flesh. Shocked and afraid at the sudden storm, she hastily made her way down the slope of the hill when her foot got caught on the root of a tree and sent her toppling head over heels until she came to an abrupt stop in a large thorn bush.
"Poor girl. Are you alright dear?"
The girl opened her eyes, and the world spun in all different directions. Swirls of colors clouded her vision, but she could barely make out the form of a humanoid creature standing before her. The creature was female, given by her voice. She may have been Nordic by the blur of colors of her face, but the girl wasn't entirely sure. The rest of the body was a mysterious combination of black and luminous green contrasting against the blood red of the ash storm. Though the Nord looked threatening, she didn't sound it.
"I'm okay." The girl replied, as she struggled to free herself from the dagger-like thorns. The Nord extended her hand and helped the girl onto her feet.
"Those thorns are very sharp. You should be more careful."
The girl nodded with her eyes to the ground.
"Are you lost?" Asked the Nord compassionately. "There aren't any towns out here for miles."
"I'm not lost." Said the girl, choking back a sob. The Nord crouched and ran her fingers through the girl's fine hair.
"It's a good thing I found you. Here." She reached into a pouch on her belt and pulled out a thick slice of cooked meat. "Eat this, it will give you strength. It's from an animal called the wolf that lives on an island north of here called Solstheim. I just came from there myself." The girl quickly examined it then devoured it, savoring the spicy taste. "By the way, my name's Nora. What's yours?"
The girl suddenly became woozy and stumbled over her own feet. She quickly regained her balance and fought to compose herself. "I don't have a name."
"Don't have a name? That's not right. Everybody needs a name, especially a pretty young woman such as yourself."
Tears were blurring the girl's vision, along with the dust flying in the storm. "I don't have a name." She repeated.
"Didn't your parents ever name you?"
"I don't have any parents."
Nora jumped back in surprise. "Oh, I'm sorry. I had no idea."
The pair walked several feet in silence.
"I have some more food, if you'd like." The girl nodded, and Nora handed her several large berries. The girl immediately shoved the salty berries into her mouth and chewed them ferociously, letting some of the juice dribble down her chin. "If I may ask, what are you doing out here?"
The girl hesitated. She wasn't too sure herself. "I'm looking for somewhere to live."
Nora chuckled. "Well, you're not going to find too many places out here. Only things out here are wild kagouti, diseased rats, and crazy Ashlanders. Throw in a couple of ash storms every hour and that pretty much sums up the place. There's nothing out here for you. In fact, if you're looking for a home, I have a two-bedroom house in Balmora that I'm not currently sharing with anybody. If you'd like, you can come live with me."
The girl sniffed back her tears and looked into Nora's sympathetic eyes. "You would do that for me?"
"Of course," said Nora with a smile. "You deserve it, you brave girl."
The girl smiled and turned to embrace Nora. "Oh, thank you!"
Nora crouched and threw her arms around the girl. "It's no problem." Suddenly, she grabbed the girl's shoulders and threw her onto the ground. The girl landed with such force that she tumbled several feet across the dirt and crashed the back of her head into a tall boulder. She screamed aloud in pain and felt warm blood ooze down her scalp. Her vision became blurred again, but she could see Nora making her way towards her with a thin green blade in her left hand and a large golden disk in her right. Stricken with fear, the girl struggled to make her way further up the wall but found that she couldn't gather the strength to do so and fell back onto the ground in desperation. Nora spoke, but her voice was distorted and seemed to echo through the girl's head. "Tell me, child. Do you know what a hired assassin is?"
The world began to spin in all different directions. The girl tried to shake her head, but she was so dizzy she couldn't tell whether or not she actually did it. Colors began to dot her vision, and she felt a bubbly liquid seep out of the corners of her mouth. Nora glanced at the girl out of the corner of her eye while unraveling an old parchment.
"Well, an assassin is a murderer, especially one who kills a prominent figure, by surprise attack. A hired assassin, myself, is one who is paid to actually perform the murder or assassination. Now you may be wondering why, if I claim to be a hired assassin, I haven't killed you yet. Well, that slice of meat and those berries I gave you were laced with a very potent, yet very tasty, so I've heard from some of my other victims, poison. I've heard it gives an extra kick to generally bland food. So I hope your last meal was an enjoyable one."
The girl responded with a quiet moan, all that she could manage.
"That's good. Now, do you at least know what a soul gem is?" She held up the gold disk, but the girl could barely keep her eyes open, let alone shake her head. Nora sighed and dropped her head. "Ignorant fool. You know nothing of the land! Had I chosen to spend last night in Ald-Ruhn, I would have found you naked and half-eaten by a nix-hound!" She sighed again. "Oh well. I suppose it's not your fault. Years ago, your father was supposed to teach you the way of the world. He never did live up to his promises, though."
The girl's eyes shot open, and she struggled to ask "what?" but all that came out was another moan.
"Yes girl, I knew your father. Very well, I might add. But that's not important right now, and besides, I don't believe you deserve to know. So, if you don't mind too much, be a dear and let the poison seep through your veins." Nora placed her palm on the girl's forehead and gently pushed it to the ground. The girl was suddenly overwhelmed with a sense of peace, and let her heavy eyelids close. Nora began muttering a spell and stirred the air with her magic. Her voice was calm and collected, a melodramatic song-like mantra that comforted the girl and beckoned her to eternal sleep.
Raja staggered to the top of a nearby hill, his entire body burning red hot with fatigue. The sensation of exhaustion was something almost entirely new to him. He didn't know if he could stand it any longer. He fell onto his knees, gasping for breath, and surveyed the land beneath him. His eagle-like eyes penetrated the thick storm, taking in every small detail hidden around him. He came across the sight of two women, a Dunmer and a Nord. One was dressed in glass armor, the other wearing nothing but a worn skirt and a soiled shirt. When Raja squinted and studied the Dunmer's features, he learned it was the same girl who had visited his house over the past several days. The Nord was surrounded in a field of magicka and was holding a grand soul gem in her left hand.
Battlemage! Was Raja's immediate thought. He hastily shuffled down the side of the steep hill, careful not to lose his footing on the tumbling rocks. The Nordic mage had her head tilted back and her eyes closed, whispering the same mysterious hymn over and over again.
"Excuse me," called Raja. However, the Nord didn't respond. Raja put his arm on her shoulder and spun her around, but she remained in her dream-like trance. His focus wandered to her waist where he found an enchanted golden dagger swinging at her side. His eyes grew wide and he jumped up, quickly drawing his longsword. "Assassin!"
The Nord's eyelids flew up, and her eyes rolled from the back of her head. She stood, slowly unsheathing the golden dagger. "Who are you?" She asked ominously. "Answer me!"
"Killer D," answered Raja. "Warrior. Nerevarine. What do you want with the girl?"
"That's none of your damn business, I'm afraid." Her eyes were locked with his. They circled one another for several moments.
"Don't make this difficult," said Raja, as he drew his longsword back. He quickly pivoted in a circle, and swung his sword at the Nord's neck in an effort to decapitate her. Without the Ring of Azura sustaining him, his arms burned with the effort, and the blade traveled at a speed barely fast enough to scratch the glass armor. In a single fluent motion, the assassin crouched beneath the blade and back flipped, keeping her limbs low enough to the earth that she managed to completely avoid the blow. When her hands and feet touched the ground, she straightened herself with a smirk on a face.
"Nerevarine must be a new Fighter's Guild term for apprentice." She said with a snicker. Raja rushed towards her, thrusting his sword forward towards her heart. She quickly recited a spell and a translucent lavender bubble surrounded her, redirecting Raja's blow into empty space. She recited another spell and her skin began to glow blood red.
"Actually, the Nerevarine is the reincarnation of the ancient god-hero lord Nerevar." Raja drew back his arm for another lunge towards her torso. In a flash, she grabbed his wrist with her left hand and placed her right hand upside down on his chest.
"That's interesting," she said nonchalantly. "You look in the least bit a warrior to me, let alone a god-hero." With little effort, she lifted the Argonian's entire form into the air, and threw him several feet into a large shrub of Trauma root, laughing as the enormous barbs tore at the skin on his face. He landed in the middle of the growth with his arms and legs spread out and his head resting on a tangle of thorns. Somehow, beneath his glass armor, the thick brush almost took the form of a mattress. A hard lumpy mattress, but a comfortable one nonetheless. He lost himself in the moment, almost falling victim to the lull of sleep, but he forced his eyes open and began to hack through the thick undergrowth. The Nord was several feet away, continuing her previous mantra, kneeling on one leg with her head tilted back and holding the golden soul gem in her left hand as the girl continued to sleep behind her. As soon as Raja was back on his feet, he bellowed a deep battle cry and rushed forward. The Nord looked from the corner of her eye and reached into a pouch at her waist. As quickly as she turned, she drew a thick iron dagger and flung it straight at Raja's heart. The Argonian barely had time to react, when the tip of the blade cut straight through his armor and pierced his flesh.
Raja cried in pain and fell to the ground, clutching his chest, feeling for a large amulet that would instantly close his wounds. Yet he found nothing.
The Nord approached and jerked the dagger from his chest. She then held the blade above her open mouth, letting the purple blood drip on her tongue. She gave it a quick taste, and then wiped the blade off on nearby foliage. "Hmm. Bitter, with just the least hint of sour. Perhaps not the blood of a god, but indeed one of a warrior."
Raja was still clutching his heart when, suddenly, he remembered the power of Mara's gift, and called upon it to heal his wounds. Also, countless years ago, on his way to slay Dagoth Ur, he came across a mysterious gentleman named Wulf who had given him an old coin. That coin had given him a special power, the Luck of The Emperor, which he had neglected for so long. There was a third power as well, one he had never used unless in dire situations. Hunter's Wind, it was called, a gift given to him by the daedra god Hircine so many years ago.
Raja jumped to his feet, no longer feeling any pain in his chest, and furiously began swinging his sword at the Nord. She jumped back in shock and struggled to avoid his blows. She managed to catch the tip of the blade on her left cheek, leaving a thick trail of blood that traveled from her jawbone to her nose. She gasped at initial shock and felt the wound, and then glared angrily at him and held out her hand to show off an enchanted ring. Then she squatted, almost as if she was going to lunge at Raja, and suddenly disappeared in a flash of gold and white.
"Perhaps I can teach you the essence of speed," he said mockingly to thin air, trying desperately to hide his fear. In response, he felt a gash form down the center of his back, forcing from him a loud yell of pain and surprise. The Nord became solid and grabbed him around his neck from behind, holding the razor edge of her dagger against the Argonian's throat.
"No thank you," she replied calmly, yet somewhat breathless. "I learned from someone who was actually experienced in the profession." She jammed her foot into his right calf, forcing him onto the ground. There was a loud crack and Raja felt a scream form in his esophagus, but all that resulted of it was a loud gasp. She pulled him onto the ground and rolled both of them over until he was laying face down in the dirt and she had her knee on his back. "Are you quite finished?" She fought for air and barely had the breath to ask.
Raja had the strength to do nothing. He relaxed his bruised muscles and let her force his head into the dirt to the point where he was struggling to breath.
"Good. Now, I'm going to need your help on this part. You see, I'm torn between two possible conclusions to this unpleasant encounter. I never got a chance to finish my soul trap spell seeing as how you so rudely interrupted my recital. But, the enchantment on that scroll has yet to run out. I can use it scroll again to take your soul and kill you immediately on the spot. You die, I become the hero. However, on the other hand, I can take my knee off your back and let you live. As payment for my generosity, you shall become my slave for the rest of my natural life, but not before parading through Vivec completely in the nude, carrying a banner of your defeat high above in the air. You lose all of your hard-earned reverence, and still I become the hero. Those are my two proposals. What say you?"
Raja forced his head up and a deep rumble formed in his throat.
"What was that?" Asked the Nord scornfully, trying to regain her breath. Raja opened his mouth and let an earsplitting roar escape his lips. The very earth trembled beneath them, and the storm appeared to switch directions. He set the palms of his hands against the dirt and, with as much strength as he could muster, pushed against the ground until his chest was several inches in the air.
"I am a servant to no one!" He screamed. The Nord fought to keep her balance, and abruptly struck him in the back of his head with her glass bracer. He fell to the ground in an instant, his vision swirling with color, surrounded by a veil of black.
"Fool!" Said the Nord as she clutched her dagger with both hands and brought it high above Raja's head. "Your fate is sealed!"
"No!" Came a small cry. Nora turned in surprise to find the girl rushing towards her with a small iron dagger in her hand. The girl swung with all her might and a scream came from Nora, but before she could swing again, Nora had her by the throat. She yelled a deep yell and, straining her muscles, body slammed the girl into the ground at an incredible speed. The impact forced a cloud of dust into the air and created a thick funnel in the storm. When the dust cleared, the girl was as still as death.
The veil of darkness lifted, and Raja opened his eyes. Before him, the young girl lay as still as stone. She was not even breathing. He rolled onto his back and saw the Nord examining a stump where her ring finger should have been. Blood was pouring out of the gash, and she had her teeth clenched. She noticed his movement and seized her dagger in her left hand, holding it awkwardly. She took a clumsy lunge at Raja, and even though he was still sitting, he managed to lean to the side and avoid her attack. He clutched her arm with his right hand, and with his left, delivered fist after fist squarely at her nose. Blood drowned his knuckles, and after the sixteenth blow, he released the Nord and watched her stagger backwards. Raja called upon the Hunter's Wind to heal him, and stood with ease.
The Nord's entire face was covered in thick red blood. She touched it and examined her fingers with a somewhat startled expression. Then she looked at Raja and ripped an amulet off her chest, calling upon a golden saint to grant her protection. But no matter how many times she chanted the spell, she was left alone to face Raja, who was advancing ever so slowly on her.
"Oh my. Please forgive me. Did I harm you?" Asked Raja with mock sympathy. He rushed forward and thrust his longsword until it found its mark, right in the Nord's ribs. She screamed and clutched her side, falling to the ground in agony.
"Please." She begged, reaching towards the towering Argonian for mercy. Raja stopped only inches in front of her face and, with the most powerful kick he could muster, sent the Nord soaring nearly fifteen feet through the air until she came to a crashing halt at a rock spire pointing into the sky. There was a deep cut in her chin, newly formed by the Argonian's thick claws. Raja loomed above her miserable form, firmly held her by the throat, and slammed her against the rock wall so hard that small pebbles crumbled from the surface and tumbled to the ground.
"Who are you?" Asked Raja. The Nord's head went limp as she tried to play dead. However, her chest continued to rise and fall, and he shook her violently. "WHO ARE YOU? Who is this girl that you were hired to kill?"
The Nord lifted her head and looked into his eyes. Hers were wet with tears, and her lips quivered. Then, her head fell to the side and her breathing ceased. Raja let the dead Nord slump onto the ground, and turned back towards the girl with a sense of defeat. Not once in almost forty years had he killed another human being. To think of the years and the money that young Nordic woman spent training in guild halls, and to accomplish your goals only to have them shattered in a single moment. It reminded him too much of his first years on Morrowind.
The Nord's eyes were now glazed over with death, and Raja had to force himself to draw his own away from the site of her pale face. Glancing at her side, he noticed there was a rolled parchment tucked between her belt and her waist. He quickly snatched it and unrolled it, only to find the majority of the ink washed away with rainwater. The only thing he could make out was the symbol of the Morag Tong stamped on the bottom of the scroll.
Sighing, he let the paper fall onto the ground and made his way back to the prone girl. He could see movement in her chest now, and felt a faint heartbeat. He brought his head close to hers and examined her features, searching her pale face for signs of life in case her heartbeat was actually his own veins throbbing with blood. He ran his scaly fingers through her hair, and she opened her pinkish-white eyes.
"Hi," said Raja with a smile. "Are you okay?"
The girl watched him for several moments, then very weakly shook her head. Raja nodded and fumbled in a pouch. He pulled out a vial of thick, clear liquid, and held it to the girl's lips.
"Drink." He insisted. The girl obliged and let the salty liquid ooze down her throat until the entire vial was empty. She choked on the horrid taste and let some of the liquid dribble down her lips. "You should feel a lot better after this takes effect. In the meantime, I have a house in Maar Gan, where we may rest until you're feeling better."
She stared at him for several moments, then asked "why?"
Raja looked surprised by the question. "Why? " He thought about it for several seconds, wondering himself why he endangered his own life to save a girl he didn't even know. Was it because I cared for her? But how could I care for her if I've never even met her before? "Because I want to know why you've been coming to my house. I want to know why you've been bothering me."
"No," she said. "That's not what I meant. I meant why are you crying?"
Raja cocked his eye. "Crying?"
"Yes. You're crying all over. Your arms, your legs, your stomach. You're crying purple tears."
Raja stared at the girl wide eyed for a few moments. He wiped off some of the blood coating his arms and examined it, then looked back at the girl with the same expression. He couldn't suppress his sudden amusement and erupted into raucous laughter, which made the girl jump. "Girl, there is much for you to learn in this world. Come. Let me carry you. You need to regain your strength."
The girl was slightly hesitant, but nodded silently, and crawled into his waiting arms.