Disclaimer and Note: I do not own Bethesda Softworks, ANY mod I mention in the fiction, or The Elder Scrolls series. This story takes place shortly after Dagoth Ur's defeat under Red Mountain. Xenobia, the Nereverine and Incarnate, is a female White Tiger, with a very nasty attitude towards Daedra.
The Elder Scrolls: A Cry in the Night – Oblivion's Dawn
Prologue
It was a very dark, and unusually warm night on Morrowind. The Sixth House had been put down for the second time, for the last time. Dagoth Ur was nothing more then a bad memory, and the Tribunal Temple lay in ruins, it's last surviving member passing into mortality. Xenobia was now sound asleep inside her room, the sheets pulled right up to her neck to fight back the Bitter Coast chills. She had been wandering the island protecting her people from all who would do them wrong, and while she was on these adventures, she preferred to sleep in any inn that would take her. It was a moral support for the people of Vvardenfell.
Tonight, she found herself bunked up in Arrile's Tradehouse in Seyda Neen. They only had one room, and it was a very lucky break it was available. But then again, almost no one visits the Podunk little town of Seyda Neen. It held a special place in Xenobia's heart, however, being her port-of-entry on Vvardenfell. She was reliving her epic struggle under Red Mountain in her dreams. Her mind recreating every slash, every ounce of pain she had to endure to defeat the Demon of the Mountain.
She was awoken by a soft, almost scared knock at the door. Her dreams halted. She opened one eye and scanned the room. Nothing. She sat up and wiped the sweat from her brow. The knock came again. She stretched before answering.
"Yes?" She muttered softly, still dizzy from her sleep.
"Milady Nereverine? I have a visitor for you." A small voice called through the door. Xenobia sighed and cursed to herself.
"Bloody tourists. Sure, show them in." Was her reply. The door creaked open and the tall form of Arrile the Altmer entered skittishly. He kept his eyes diverted away from the woman of almost god-like reputation. "For the love of god, Arrile! Don't divert your eyes! I'm not freakin' Mehrunes Dagon here!" She barked to the Altmer. He complied and leveled his head.
"If I may..." The form of a high-stature Imperial male pushed his way past the Altmer into Xenobia's room. He held his helmet under his arm, his brown hair matted against his forehead. "Madam Xenobia, I am Clavicus Varrius, Imperial Knight Errant from the Imperial City in Cyrodiil, come bearing a message from Emperor Uriel Septim himself." He got down on one knee and presented a sealed envelope towards Xenobia, who took it without hesitation. She reached under her pillow and drew one of the two Tantos she kept there, slicing the envelope's seal open. Replacing the short dagger, she pulled the letter out and began to read.
"Nereverine Xenobia, Hortator of Great House Redoran, Hortator of Great House Telvanni, Hortator of Great House Hlaalu, Nerevar Incarnate. I, Emperor Uriel Septim VII, am forced to draw upon your skills once more. There is a great evil in Cyrodiil that I cannot grasp, and it is my personal belief that there is no greater hero capable of destroying this evil, then the one person to destroy Dagoth Ur. Caius speaks highly of you, and upon your arrival I wish to speak with you directly. Glory to the Empire, Emperor Uriel Septim VII.'" She finished, dropping her hands. She looked at Clavicus, who had not budged from the ground. "So, when do we leave?" Was her response, throwing the blankets from her body, the chill striking her bare skin. Arrile turned his head away.
"At once, Milady. There is a boat waiting at the Census and Exise office. It will take us to the mainland, and then we must make haste to catch the caravan through Morrowind and Black Marsh. We will then travel through the Blackwood on foot, arriving in the port city of Leyawiin, where we must catch the Mercenary Trains up to Bravil, and then proceeding towards the Imperial City." he replies. Xenobia let her Daedric Rune Dress drape over her, the split at the collar sitting perfectly on her chest. Despite the fact it was semi-transparent, no one said anything about it, and she didn't care either way. Her white socks blended in near-perfectly to her snow-white skin, the only proof she was wearing any footwear was the black shoes which adorned the white socks. She then hiked up her micro skirt and smiled, muttering a:
"Sweet. I get to go out the way I came in. What style." Her fangs protruding from her upper jaw. Something Vivec hated. She reached under her bed and drew Trueflame, the sword of Nerevar. The blade glowed with a beautiful flame which never burned anything Xenobia didn't want it too. She hooked Trueflame onto the little loop on her Daedric Rune Dress' waist. Again, she dug under the bed and pulled out three smaller weapons. One, an ebony kunai, she placed between her breasts. The second, a small, however lethal appearing hammer which glowed with a blue shimmer, the legendary Kagrance Tool Sunder, she put on another loop on the other side of her dress. And the third, the Dwemer Dagger, and legendary Kagrance Tool Keening, she slipped into her right sock, far enough where only the emerald-adorned handle can be seen. Reaching under the bed one last time, she slid two Daedric Katanas out, and finally dragged a large, deadly looking Daedric Claymore out. She picked up the two Katanas and slid each one through two loops sewn along the rear of her dress, the weapons pressing gently perpendicular against her lower back. The Claymore she placed between two large loops on her back, loops clearly designed for a weapon of such mass and lethality. She then stood upright, all six weapons visible to anyone close enough to look. "Oh, mister Clavicus. I'm ready for my close up." She smiled, pushing past the two and walking down the stairs, nodding to the Nord who always stood watch in the Tradehouse's second floor.
The night was coming to a close. The sun could be seen peaking up from the east, just beside Red Mountain. She guessed the time was somewhere around four or four thirty. Clavicus and Arrile exited behind her.
"Do you always walk around loaded for bear?" Clavicus questioned, stopping behind her. Xenobia chuckled and nodded.
"All the time, my good man. All the time." She inhaled the dawn air and strode to the Census and Excise office, muttering greetings to several denizens of Seyda Neen. She passed the Templar who had finalized her release papers and had provided her first eighty seven gold, which was to foundation of her fortune.
The boat which was docked on the edge now was far nicer then the one that dropped her off initially. It was a wood-and-metal ship with gold inlays. The oars were constructed from solid mahogony, and the mast was pure Netch Leather. The side of the hull read "INS Mehrunes Dagon". A docking ramp had been lowered to the dock complete with two guards standing at attention at it's base.
"Stand aside. I arrive in the company of the Nereverine, Xenobia." Clavicus declared to the guards, who stepped aside. He motioned Xenobia on board. From the corner of her eye, she noticed a figure she recognized from the start of it all. A thin Dunmer man with a multitude of nose rings.
"Jiub? Gee beasties! What happened to you!" She shouted his way.
"Xenobia! I thought that was you! You look stunning! A lot better then I remember you looking, all scraggily walking off that boat in a daze. So, Nereverine and Great House Hortator. Who'd a thunk it?" He growled in his deep voice.
"And you! Look at YOU. All decked out in Imperial Steel. How'd that happen?" She muttered.
"Well, after you left, we made for Black Marsh to pick up another prisoner who was in transit to Skyrim for trial. Bloody Argonian attacked the ship guards. Killed two of them and mamed the other. I snuck up behind the fetcher and snapped his neck. Never saw it coming. They rewarded me with a position in the Imperial Legion. I wasn't one to refuse. So here I am. Knight in the Legion." He sighed. "But enough about me! Tell me how you got to be the Nereverine!"
"Now, THAT's a funny story if ever there was one. I was just minding my own business when..." Xenobia was cut off by Arrile charging up the gangplank waving something in his hand.
"Xenobia! Milady Xenobia! You forgot your glove and rings!" He shouted waving a heavy dwarven gauntlet around.
"Ho, snap. Don't want to forget these babies. Thank you." She replied taking the gauntlet and three rings from the Altmer's hand. The first ring, an ivory band decorated with a interlocking moon and star, was Moon-and-Star, the ring of Lord Nerevar. It symbolized her as Nerevar Reborn, the Nereverine. The Incarnate. The second ring was a midnight black decorated with red bands. The ring no one on Vvardenfell, not to mention Morrowind would recognize. It was Barilzar's Mazed Band, a ring which could summon and bind a Fabricant, a powerful and deadly creature, to it's wearer. She had pried it off Almalexia's dead finger after gutting her like a fish. The third and final ring was a most interesting piece of jewelry. No matter who she took it to, no one could tell her what it was, the nature of it, or, for that matter, what it did. But she liked it's look, and kept it all the same, not having the heart to sell it, despite the erroniously high prices most jewelers were offering for it.
After slipping Moon-and-Star onto her left ring finger, Barilzar's Mazed Band onto her left middle finger, and the strange, unknown ring onto her left index finger, she turned her attention to the Dwemer glove. The third, and final Kagrance Tool, Wraithguard. After the Heart of Lorkhan's destruction, Sunder and Keening had been drained of all their lethal enchantments, allowing any average Joe or Jane to wield the tools. She just thought that Wraithguard made a nice addition to her outfit, and decided to keep it on. She flexed her hand inside Wraithguard, just to see if it still fit perfectly. As it should, the gauntlet fit her just like it was made for her very hand. She sighed happily.
"I love this thing." She muttered. "Oh, right, how I became the Nereverine, right. Well, it all started when I got off the boat. I was given a package to deliver to a man in Balmora..." She began as the boat started to pull away from Seyda Neen. As she spoke, Xenobia thought to herself:
"Good-bye, Vvardenfell. Why do I have a feeling I'm never going to see you again..."
