Dance of the ja-Kha'jay.
By Lakyan.
Discalaimer: I forgot it in the prologue but meh. I do not own Oblivion or its characters. However all original characters are my own. If you wish to use them, ask.
Chapter One – Gathering information
The moons danced in the night sky, but there was no sign of the third moon from the week before. A large richly dressed Cathay-Raht, descended from the hills into the small town. He was riding a Senche-tiger, which was seldom seen outside the Confederacy. Both he and his mount were heavily armoured, which identified them as part of the Mane's personal guard. He gestured to his companions, who were almost identical to them.
"This is where I leave you my brothers. Vaba Do'Shurh'do." He waved them off with the Khajiiti expression. His companions were traveling to Morrowind and the Black Marsh. Other guards had been dispatched to other provinces, but he drew the straw for Cyrodiil. He nudged his mount to a building resembling an inn. He dismounted, and tied his cousin to the bar outside. He went in, and found the place smelling somewhat like cheese. He had heard of the proprietor, some crazy cheese-loving Khajiit lady. He found her asleep inside, woke her and hired a room for the evening.
He woke in the morning after a restless sleep, to the sound and smell of someone cooking downstairs. He walked down, leaving his ceremonial scimitar upstairs. The crazy cheese lady offered him some eggs, and he gratefully obliged. After he devoured these he took a small pouch out of his pocket. He stuck his finger inside and licked the powder off his fur. The crazy cheese lady watched him intently, having spotted him eating the moon sugar. He beckoned her over.
"I'm looking for information." He said, not bothering to introduce himself.
"Well that depends on what information you want. From the look if it, you work for the Mane, and seek his rival." The lady said.
"You are correct." And he placed a small amount of moon sugar on the table.
This swiftly vanished.
"Then you are too slow." The lady said.
"How so?"
More moon sugar made a brief appearance on the table.
"The child was born here in Border Watch, but the mother headed north the day after the birth."
The guard frowned, this did not bode well.
"Where was she headed?" He asked.
More moon sugar.
"North, perhaps the Imperial city, but there are many places north of here. She could be in Skyrim for all I know." The crazy cheese lady gulped up another portion of moon sugar.
"Where did she live?"
"In a small shack down the road."
The guard, J'manna, thanked her and walked off, leaving the pouch of moon sugar on the table. This quickly vanished into the proprietor's pocket.
J'manna pushed the door open. It wasn't locked. Either the inhabitant was lazy, or was not coming back. The bareness of the place made him jump to the latter conclusion. There was not much left, if there was much to begin with. Perhaps the mother had only been using Border Watch as a safe haven to hide throughout the pregnancy.
"Why?" he said to himself, as he walked through each room.
He picked a piece of paper up from the floor. It was a copy of the Black Horse Courier, the Cyrodiil newspaper. It was dated the day after the third moon had appeared in the sky. It was about the unusual conjunction of Masser and Secunda the night before. There was an article from someone at the Arcane University, commenting that this usually heralded the birth of the Mane form of Khajiit. This was nothing new to J'manna. There was also an interview with the High Chancellor Ocato, who suspected that he was expecting trouble from Elsweyr because of the moons, but he did not say why he thought this.
"Perhaps this Chancellor knows something." J'manna said to himself. He stuffed the paper into his pocket.
"Perhaps I should see this Ocato." He left the shack. He didn't even bother to close the door.
Ocato watched J'manna's movements inside the shack through a magic stone which had been secreted into a wooden beam in the ceiling. He watched as the armoured Khajiit pored over the Black Horse Courier. He frowned when the Khajiit had said he'd pay him a visit. Ocato knew who the man was looking for, as the mother fleeing had confirmed his suspicions. Doubly so, once he saw the child's face through the smoky stone. He watched the Khajiit leave the building, heard what the man muttered, and then called an aide.
"I will be leaving the City to visit an old friend. Please let the rest of the Council know I shall return in a few days." Ocato dismissed the aide, and went home. He gathered a few things together, before he left the Imperial city.
A couple of days later, Jauffre was eating dinner with Cloud Ruler Temple's newest visitor. He hadn't seen her for months. She had left the Temple abruptly, a short time after the Oblivion Crisis, seeming to disappear entirely. She was the Hero of Kvatch, and she had returned to Cloud Ruler Temple a couple of weeks before. She had arrived in the dead of night, and had nearly been shot by the guards before she called up her identity. She had returned and brought with her something that would cause a lot of strife between Cyrodiil and the Elsweyr Confederacy. She had brought her son. Jauffre had immediately given her asylum, expecting the Dark Brotherhood or some other assassin to be hot on their heels.
Another Blade came in and whispered something in Jauffre's ear. He looked troubled.
"What is it?" M'rassi asked, clutching her child close.
"There is someone coming up the mountain path." Jauffre said, rising.
M'rassi remained seated and Jauffre left.
He went outside and out to the watch towers. He spied the rider. It was obvious that this was no Dark Brotherhood assassin. Nor any assassin at all. The rider was none other than High Chancellor Ocato.
"Open the Gates!" Jauffre called. Ha dashed down to greet Ocato, who was leading his horse up the stairs by the time he got there.
"High Chancellor Ocato, what brings this honour?" Jauffre bowed.
"You know what brings this visit, Jauffre. Is she inside?" Ocato nodded to the Great Hall.
"Yes." Jauffre nodded and went back inside, Ocato in tow.
M'rassi stood when she saw Ocato enter the room. She curtsied as well as she could, juggling her son in one arm.
"Your house has been searched by a large armoured Khajiit. I think he is looking for you, and the baby. This is the child?" Ocato asked her politely.
"Yes, Chancellor. Once again, I thank you for placing the shew stone in my ceiling." M'rassi held the infant out to him.
Ocato took the child and studied him, from his tiny ears, to his tiny toes. He looked mostly Khajiit, as hypothesized by a book he'd once read. He had tiny pointed and furry Khajiit ears and a stumpy tail with a well defined tuft at the end, characteristic of the Mane. He had a reduced muzzle, though this was likely due to his human blood, and instead of the Khajiiti retractable claws, he had proper fingernails and toenails. The infant also had blue eyes, rare in Khajiit, and definitely a trait inherited from his father. He also had a fine ruff of fur around his neck, which was also characteristic of the Mane. Apart from these subtle differences the child could have been almost any breed of Khajiit. The baby wailed at being away from his mother, but Ocato cradled him gently and cooed an Altmer lullaby. M'rassi smiled at the sight of the High Chancellor cradling her son.
Jauffre just stared.
"He looks very healthy. May I enquire as to the identity of the father?" Ocato asked.
"You know who he was." M'rassi said. "Martin…"
"I'd thought as much. You are the Hero of Kvatch, and spent a lot of time with him before he… You were lovers, and it was only natural that this could happen. I just wanted official confirmation." Ocato handed the infant back to M'rassi.
"Yes, but I had no idea that he would be a Mane." M'rassi cuddled the baby close.
"Yes, it does present some unique problems. What do you think the current Mane would do if he found out about this?" Ocato asked.
"He would naturally seek to kill his rival." Jauffre answered.
"That's correct." M'rassi concluded.
"Once he learns of the boy's parentage he wouldn't dare touch him. Would he?" Ocato asked worriedly.
"I don't know." M'rassi said.
"He better not, because as it stands this boy…" All three looked down at the infant. "Is the only heir to the Dragon Throne. If the new Amulet of Kings accepts him…" Jauffre trailed off.
"How goes the forge?" Ocato asked.
"Well enough, but no one here is an experienced goldsmith." Jauffre produced the Amulet so far from his monk's robes.
The diamond shone in the firelight, a gold rim outlining the teardrop shape. A simple leather cord was laced through the top. It was beautiful, but it was obvious they wanted the goldsmith to forge the chain.
Ocato took his own gold chain from around his neck, and handed it to Jauffre "Here."
Jauffre removed the leather strap, and threaded the chain through the Amulet.
"Perfect." Jauffre said, and he glanced at M'rassi.
M'rassi passed the infant to Ocato again. Jauffre carefully placed the Amulet around the child's neck, watching for any sign of something wrong. If the Amulet did not accept the lad as the heir, then the Amulet would likely kill him, so Jauffre was ready the whisk the Amulet off the boy just in case. Instead, the Amulet glowed with a pale red light, emanating from the core of the stone.
Jauffre grinned at the baby.
"Behold! The next Dragon born!"
J'manna rode up to the bridge crossing Lake Rumare to the Imperial City. There were two guards on either side of the arch. They stepped out and crossed their spears.
"You must leave your mount here at the stable." One of them announced.
"Are you sure?" J'manna asked.
"We cannot allow such a large beast into the City."
"Fine, but if he eats every horse in the stable it's your fault, and not mine. Clear?" J'manna stated.
"You are not in the position to be threatening me." The guard said.
"I should think I am. I am riding a Senche, and you are not." J'manna taunted.
The large cat snorted, and snarled to complement J'manna's taunt. The guards looked startled.
"He will not attack men until I say so, but as for horses…they are his favourite meal." J'manna chuckled.
The guards hesitated, glanced at each other and stood aside.
"Very well. But if there is any commotion in the City, it's your fault and not ours."
J'manna growled at the guards as he rode past. Half-way across the bridge, he slowed his mount to a slow walk.
"Easy lad, we don't want them to think we are attacking anyone." He patted his mount on the shoulders.
The Senche gave an obliging grunt, and slowed his pace. J'manna passed through the main gates into the Imperial City. He followed the road straight, and came to the palace gates. Two more guards, more richly armoured than the ones guarding the bridge, barred his way.
"We cannot allow you into the Council Chambers armed so." The guard stated.
J'manna placed his ceremonial scimitar at the guard's feet and pushed past them into the building. Inside was cool and semi-dark, there was another door, wide open, where a huge round table stood, with numerous seats. Most of these were full.
J'manna strode purposely into the room.
"Excuse me!" A Dark Elf in rich garb declared. "The Council is in session, please leave."
"I need to speak to High Chancellor Ocato concerning am urgent matter." J'manna bowed before the council.
A Khajiit councilor stood. "You come from the Mane of Elsewyr. Presumably this is about the Mane's new rival?"
"Naturally, the Mane seeks an audience with the Mother of the child. I presumed Ocato would know where to find her." J'manna explained.
"That's High Chancellor Ocato to you. The Mane seeks to kill the child." The Khajiit councilor stated. "He does not want a rival to his power. Unfortunately for him, the Mane was born outside of Elsweyr."
"You know this, how?" J'manna laid his ears back.
"If the child was born in Elsweyr, the Mane would not have sent you. And the child would already be dead." The Khajiit man answered.
"Good point." J'manna's tail began to flick back and forth.
"Anyway, if you think we'd know where the child, or even the mother, is then you are sadly mistaken. The province is so large we cannot even keep track of all births and deaths. The child would not exist officially until the next census. But even then, the child might slip through our fingers." An Altmer interjected.
"Another good point." J'manna was getting tired of this.
"Besides, even if Chancellor Ocato were here," The khajiit said, pointing to an empty chair. "He would already have thrown you out for interrupting council."
"Where is he then?"
"Visiting an old friend is all he told us. Now leave." The Dunmer told him firmly.
J'manna scowled and stalked out.
He led his Senche through the City, and asked the locals where Chancellor Ocato's house was. He didn't plan to break in. He let the Senche sniff Ocato's scent off the front door. He was going to do this the old-fashioned way.
M'rassi slept peacefully in the Emperor's suite in Cloud Ruler Temple. Her baby lay in the bed beside her, also sleeping peacefully. The guard outside the door was also sleeping peacefully, but for another reason. He'd been drugged, with some ether on a rag. The shadow gently lowered the guard to the floor, so as not to wake the people sleeping in the adjacent rooms. He carefully slid the door across, and went over the threshold. He slid it shut behind him. He tiptoed as quietly as he could over to the bed, and drew out his long curved blade. He brought it down, and found it blocked by a short glass dagger, which the sleeping mother had hidden under a pillow. The shadow's metal boots on the floor had woken her, and she reached under her pillow, and saved her skin by her lightning fast reflexes. She leapt out of the bed, and cried out, as she lunged at her attacker. Jauffre and Ocato charged in, barely dressed, but both with swords in their hands. They grabbed M'rassi's attacker, and dragged him to the floor. Jauffre held his blade to the attacker's throat. He was a large well-built Cathay-Raht, like M'rassi, and he was dressed in ornate armour.
"Who are you?" M'rassi hissed at him, cradling her baby in her arms.
"I am no one." He man stated.
"Yeah, I don't think you are no one." M'rassi paced up and down the room.
"I am Ri'sallidad." He told her.
"Nah-uh I don't think so." And she delivered a swift kick to the Khajiit's groin.
Jauffre and Ocato both winced at the mans pain, but said nothing.
"I don't think you are dead. You look very much alive to me." M'rassi said.
"I-I work for the Mane!" the Khajiit protested.
"No kidding. I could tell that from your armour." M'rassi stopped in front of him, readying another kick.
"My name is J'manna!" The Khajiit admitted hurriedly, sparing his groin from another assault.
"That's better isn't it, J'manna?" M'rassi narrowed her eyes.
The Khajiit nodded slowly, avoiding the sharp blade at his throat.
"Good, now why did you try to kill me?" M'rassi asked acidly, her tail lashing the air in rage.
"Not you, the child." J'manna croaked.
Jauffre jerked a little at the confession, the katana drawing a small line of blood on the captives exposed neck. "The killing of an innocent child is a crime!" he spat.
"The Mane of Elsewyr has been doing it for centuries. That is how he remains in power when new rivals are born. He only lets one live if he is old, and must train his replacement." J'manna explained.
"Brutal, but not unheard of." Ocato said.
Jauffre and M'rassi stared at the Elf.
"Killing rivals for power is surprisingly common place. How else to you think King Llethan of Mournhold was replaced by Helseth. However, Llethan was not a child." Ocato frowned.
"Still, my son is outside of Elsweyr, and of no threat to the Mane!" M'rassi declared.
"The last one. He was born in Skyrim! The Mane's reach is great, but eventually a rival will learn of his status and seek the Mane." J'manna defended.
"How did you fin us here? This place is supposed to be hidden!" M'rassi said.
"I learned the child was born Border Watch, after which I went to pay a visit to Ocato," The High Chancellor winced at this. "But he was already gone from the Imperial City. My Senche tracked him north to here. It was remarkably easy to get in. This fortress is not protected from the rear." The prisoner declared.
"Where is the Senche?" M'rassi asked, fearful for the guards outside.
"He is on the roof." J'manna stated simply.
Jauffre removed his blade from underneath the captive's chin, and left the room. Ocato shifted, and continued to hold the large Khajiit.
"I tell you what." M'rassi said, flicking her tail. "We will let you go. You will deliver a message to the Mane. Tell him he can not have this child. My son is the only heir to the throne of Tamriel. As such, he must survive."
J'manna thought for a moment, mulling the revelation over. "Very well." He eventually said.
He visibly deflated, and relaxed all his muscles. M'rassi nodded to the High Chancellor, who removed his sword from J'manna's neck. J'manna didn't move.
"May I see the child please?" J'manna sighed.
"Drop all of your weapons, even the concealed dagger, and perhaps she will allow it." Ocato said.
J'manna did as he was told. After learning the lad was heir to the Dragon Throne, he knew that killing the child was out of the question. He wanted to examine the child, before reporting back to Nhad-hatta. His boss would not be pleased, but perhaps there was something to be gained here. M'rassi glared at Ocato, and gave the infant to J'manna. J'manna studied the child for a few moments, and when the baby stirred he hummed a Khajiiti lullaby, and gave him back to his mother.
"What is the child's name?" J'manna asked politely.
"His name is Ja-Kha'jay, for he truly is a fated child. The Moon-strings dictated his birth, and so Moon-String shall be his name." M'rassi told him.
Ocato nodded approval, and J'manna nodded in solemn acceptance. M'rassi noticed her scant clothing, and noted Ocato was also poorly dressed, and quickly snatched a blouse from a nearby drawer.
"Ocato, can you show our guest the way out. But he will leave his Senche. Let him walk on his own two feet." M'rassi said quickly.
Ocato nodded, and escorted J'manna from the room.
M'rassi sighed and looked at her son. Ja-Kha'jay lay on the bed, sleeping quietly. She climbed back into bed, and held the infant close.
"Sweet dreams, my son."