Cearbhail:

Ok, so things to know. Um, we're back to Vatu and his squad. And they're trying to regroup with the Leo squad that raced after the Ya'Tirrje. And things happen. You'll see. Oh, and the note written to Vatu and Nisha was written right before their father left to kill the Queen of Black Marsh. You'll see.

[Vatu]

Dear Vatu and Nisha,

There are things that you are going to hear about me, the things that I have done… people I've hurt. I want you to understand who I am, who you are, and the challenges you may have to face in the future. I'm not a simple priest that you believe me to be. I was once a warrior for Elsweyr, a Leo. And I wasn't just a Leo, I was one of the strongest Sengars around. I fought a lot of people in my prime, and when I was tired of all the fighting, I moved to Cyrodiil. I met your mother and we fell in love. And then I had you two. You were the proudest moment of my life, seeing the smiles on your faces. I became a healer at the temple to make up for my sins against the Argonians, but it never felt like I was doing enough. Even though I'd made up my mind to heal people instead of hurt them, I knew in my heart that I was still a warrior at heart. And my mission was not complete. My mission to protect the ones I loved. And here's where you need to know about who I was.

I've decided to kill the Queen of Black Marsh. She has made Khajiits like us the enemy of the world. She will have her assassins hunt us down and slaughter us. So, I've decided to end what they started. I will kill the Queen of Black Marsh, and I do not expect that I will be returning after that. She is a very powerful Shadowwraith and will probably kill me the instant I kill her. So, when you find this note, I just want you to know that I am sorry, but this has to be done. If Khajiits like us are to exist, we must earn our freedom from our enemies. I know you don't understand who we are just yet, but Vatu… you will be the first to find out. You will struggle to understand what will begin to happen to you, and I fear that I will not be there to help you with your transition. But you will prevail, I know you will. And then you'll have to help your sister with her transition. She will need your guidance. I know you will take good care of her. The way you are right now, I know that nothing could ever stop you from taking good care of her. I can see it in your eyes. You are a good person, which will make your transformation that much harder. You will do things you will not be proud of… things that will make you uncertain of yourself. If I don't return, I want you to find solace in these words…

Vatu… don't be afraid to let someone be close to you. You can't face it alone, and having someone to hold you will make your transition easier. If you're too busy pushing people away, your transition will only get worse. We need people to reach out to, to keep us together while we become the Sengars. Your mother helped me contain what I was… and you will need someone too. And I know you'll find them. You should look for your uncle J'skar. He can help you with your transition. If nothing else, hold your sister close to you. Keep each other strong. I know you will. Farewell, son. If I don't return… know that I love you. And take good care of your mother for me.

Your father, J'Mhad.

…

The city was absolutely devastated. I've never seen the Elsweyr National Army before. I never knew the Mane had his own army. Khajiits dressed up in leather armor with a crescent moon patch on the chest marched through the streets of the town, swords and claws unsheathed. Now, I've not seen what this town was like before the army got here, so I can't say for certain if anyone deserved this fate. Just moments ago, there was a loud announcement that everyone in the town was subjected to death. And the National Army was not taking any hesitation with that. I watched as Khajiits busted down the doors and rushed into the buildings. I could hear screams of protest, cries of little children, and the sounds of people hitting the walls. The screams of children and adults alike came to a sudden halt. And then the Khajiits would march out of the building covered in blood, obviously not their own. Then… to make matters worse, the house to erupt into flames as Firedrakes set the building on fire. Rows and rows of buildings behind us were already burning down. Sometimes someone would rush outside to escape the fire, only to meet archers waiting for them. Those runners were shot down before they could get too far and then tossed right back into the raging infernos. It infuriated me.

And that wasn't the worst of it. As my team rushed over to the harbor to regroup with the Leo squad helping us locate the temple, I came across a familiar sight. There was a young preteen Cathay standing in front of a younger girl. Two soldiers stood in front of them, their swords already gleaming with the blood of the two dead parents in front of them. The boy was pushing what looked like his younger sister behind him, trying his best to protect her while growling at the soldiers. Even though my team rushed on, I had come to a stop. Just seeing that scene reminded me of the day my own parents died. Killed by the countless Dremora rushing the Imperial City. Mehrunes Dagon. His army killed my parents. And I was forced to raise my sister by myself. And seeing this boy standing to the army of Elsweyr, I couldn't help but feel that I was standing on the wrong side of this conflict.

Looking around, looking at the all the bodies littering the streets, of all the families that lived here… Khajiits all the way to Redguards. Families just suddenly cut down by the army and tossed into the flaming buildings. Just like the Imperial City. Just like how my parents were killed. The girl hiding behind the boy cried loudly as the boy was grabbed by one of the soldiers. The boy growled in defiance as the soldier raised his sword to cut him down. I couldn't let this soldier kill him. I couldn't let this continue. I could not just stand by and watch these atrocities continue.

Unsheathing my own sword, I turned to face the soldier. "Hey!" I roared to him. That drew both of their attentions, not to mention my squad. "Let him go! Now!"

The soldier turning towards the girl turned to look at me. "Battlemage, we have our orders, just as you have yours. Do not interfere."

The soldiers turned back to continue killing the boy and girl. I stuck out my hand and before I knew it, I blasted them both with bolts of fire. The bolts of fire exploded on their backs, throwing them both off their feet and onto the ground. A nearby squad of Khajiits saw me attack their guards. Their squad leader rushed over to me, unsheathing his sword. "You! Stand down, or face the ferocity of the Elsweyr National Army."

I let my claws extend as I growled to him. "I will not let you kill all these innocent people."

"Innocent?" The squad leader asked as he looked around. "Boy, do you know where we are? This is Rimmen: the slimiest town in Elsweyr. It's controlled by the drug trade. All that illegal Skooma crap is made here and distributed to the other nations. If we end it here, we can help eliminate more than half of the supply of skooma in Tamriel. All the people that live here are druggies and drug dealers. We warned everyone that living here would lead to a war; if they continued their existence in this place that we would come in and kill them. The ones that are still here have signed their own warrants. They've openly declared war against Elsweyr. Everyone here is an enemy of the state."

I pointed down at the boy hugging his sister close to him. "And this boy and girl? Are they enemies of the state too?"

"Vatu, what's going on?" Crassi asked as she ran up beside me, unsheathing her own sword.

"Look around, Crassi. Look at the dead bodies of children. Think this is acceptable?" I could feel my blood coming to a boil. I looked down at my finger to make sure my ring was still attached. The ring was glowing pretty bright as it fought my transformation. I didn't know if the ring could be overwritten, and I didn't want to transform if I didn't need to.

Crassi looked around, looking at the small children right beside me. She finally sighed, placing a hand on my shoulder. "Vatu… I know it sucks, and really… it sucks. But… it's already too late. Everyone else is already dead."

"Exactly. We did nothing while we let these people slaughter a whole town. I will not let them kill two more." I said as I stepped in front of the two children. "You will not touch these children. And if you plan on going through me, I will let you know right now… I'm a Sengar. If you think for a second that you can march right through me, I will make certain to rip through the whole National Army if I have to."

The two soldiers I blasted down scrambled to their feet, running away from children and over to the squads of Khajiits marching up to surround me and Crassi. More members of my squad ran up to join me. Nisha and Prashin joined beside me. "Brother!" Nisha took my hand. "What's going on?"

I couldn't stop myself from growling. If it were me in this position, the entire army trying to kill me and my sister, I would just as quickly kill every single soldier. And I wouldn't be gentle about it. I would make them all know just how bad they fucked up while I shredded them. I would continue until my sister and I were safe. I know I'm being selfish but if the world tried to take us away from each other, I would kill the world. I wouldn't stop until she was safe and we were back with each other again. "They're trying to kill the brother and sister." I said to Nisha.

Nisha looked behind me to see the children. Her eyes flashed with understanding as she looked up at me. "I will help you. You're not alone."

"I will help too." Lilly said as she walked up, her eyes glowing. "If you insist on killing these children, I will do my part to help my friend. You will not live to tell the tale."

"Dammit." Crassi said as she brought her sword up. "Vatu, I love you like a brother and all but… you're going too far with this. Even so, I cannot just let them do this either."

Prashin looked at all of us. "Wait… what's the concern here?"

I looked down at the boy. "Look around. Are you blind? Look at all the families killed… all the bodies burning inside the buildings. An entire town of people just slaughtered. And why? For a few gangs of people selling drugs? Not everyone in this town was bad. There were plenty of good people living here. Children, parents… good people."

He finally looked around the town, as if seeing it for the first time. His eyes flashed with understanding as his face hardened. He snapped his head around, looking at the squad of Khajiits. "You!" He yelled with an authority I had never heard before. His voice seemed to push through me, like he could tell me to jump off a cliff and I would feel compelled to do it or something. The soldier seemed to feel the way I did because he jumped at Prashin's command voice. "Who is in control of your unit? Who gave you orders to kill everyone in Rimmen?"

The soldier resisted Prashin's voice as he struggled to fight him. "And why should I listen to a child like you?"

Prashin growled. "YOU DARE DEFY YOUR MANE?" He roared with a voice so heavenly that it pulsed through my whole body. "YOU WILL ANSWER MY QUESTION OR YOU WILL LIVE THE FATE OF THOSE YOU KILLED."

The soldiers were quick to fall to their knees, placing their fists on the crest of the crescent moon. The squad leader bowed his head in respect. "Mane, I did not realize it was you."

"You can't tell a blue-furred Khajiit apart from a normal Cathay?" He asked in wonder as he walked up to the soldier. "You will tell your superior that this atrocity will come to an end. The Mane commands it."

"Yes, sir."

"And send the unit commander to me right away. I will deal with him myself." Prashin looked away from the soldier as he started calling in to the unit commander, telling all soldiers that the battle has come to a stop, under orders of the Mane. Then he told Commander Do'Qra to report to the Mane immediately.

Prashin looked over at me, nodding his thanks. "Thank you for reminding me of the situation at hand." He looked down at the other children, smiling. "I know nothing I say can ever make up for what has happened here, but if I were to invite you to live in Torval as royal guests, would you be open for that?"

The boy looked down at his sister. She looked up at him, nodding. "Brother…"

The boy growled as he looked back at Prashin. They were both around the same age. Heck, the boy might actually be older than Prashin, who was 12, I guess. "Are you really the Mane?"

Prashin nodded. "I really am. And I'm inviting you to live in Torval, capital of Elsweyr, in royal quarters… as a new royal clan. It's the only thing I can offer after what has happened here. Seeing you stand your ground against the entire Elsweyr army, to protect your younger sister… I can't think anyone I'd rather have living in my house."

The boy stood there for a second before lessening his stance. He stuck out his hand for Prashin to shake. "You better not be lying about this."

Prashin smiled as he took the boy's hand. "I'm a Mane of my word, you'll see."

The boy started to laugh but stopped when he looked down at his dead parents. "What about my parents?"

"I will have their bodies transported to Torval to be buried in the royal graveyard. I am sorry for your loss, but find solace in the fact that I will punish the man responsible for their deaths." Prashin said as he turned away. When Prashin's eyes found who he was looking for, I had to look too. An older Khajiit wearing the same leather armor as everyone else but with locks of hair wrapped around the shoulder plate ran up to meet us.

The older Khajiit came to a stop as he met up with the squad leader. "You called me here?"

The squad leader nodded, pointing to Prashin. "The Mane ordered me to."

"The Mane?" He looked over to Prashin. When he saw Prashin, he started to laugh. "You mean that little boy is the Mane?"

Prashin turned to face the older Khajiit. "Yeah. You got a problem with that?" I felt that pressure coming off of Prashin again and I felt like I needed to take a knee before that pressure killed me. Everyone around me that was a Khajiit started to feel the same, apparently.

The older commander seemed to feel the pressure too. He took a knee, bowing before the Mane. "Sir! I'm sorry; I didn't realize it was you."

"This is the first time we've met, so I will allow forgiveness this one time. However, I've seen your cruelty firsthand. Explain your actions." Prashin crossed his arms, his tail flicking with agitation.

The commander looked up at Prashin. "Sir, the situation was dire. The Winddrakes felt your life pass away. Our Mane had been murdered. The town was taken over by the Crushers, a known militia organization planning on going to war against Elsweyr. I was called in to avenge the Mane's death. Not knowing who was or was not part of the Crushers, I elected on killing everyone to make certain your death was avenged."

"And yet… I live. And your men, under your orders, have killed children as well as innocent families. While I understand your sentiment and commend such loyalty to your Mane, I cannot allow such war crimes go unpunished. Tell me, do you have family?"

"A wife and two sons." He responded.

"Then you are dismissed from duty. Turn in your armor and badge before the end of the day. And tell your family to pack their bags. You are banished from Elsweyr." Prashin stated. "And be glad that you did have a family. If you had been on your own, I would have your head roll off a block."

The commander bowed deeper. "Thank you, Mane. For not letting my sons grow up without their father."

"Then be glad I'm dismissing you. You will have more time to spend with your children. As long as you spend time with them outside of Elsweyr. Now, your family is not banished. If they decide not to go with you, they will remain in whatever town they live in. When your children grow up and decide to come home, they may do so. But you may never touch Elsweyr sand or soil ever again." Prashin stated with finality as he turned to face me. "Will that do, Vatu?"

I found myself nodding. "Thanks, Mane."

He smiled as he looked at me. "My name is Prashin, I expect my friends to use it." He turned from me over to the boy and girl. "Now, I want you to follow us. I will present you to my personal carriage driver, and he will give you and your sister a ride to Torval." Prashin reached into a back pouch and pulled out a small piece of paper and a quill. He started scribbling a note and passed it to the boy. "Present this note to the carriage driver and he'll get you started on your new home."

The boy took the note, nodding to Prashin. "Thanks, Mane."

Prashin smiled at the boy. "Now, what did I just say about my friends calling me by my name?"

The boy looked flustered. "Um… ok, Prashin. My name is Zhar. And this is my sister Immia."

Prashin nodded to them both. "I look forward to seeing you both at home. It will be nice to have some friends to play with." He turned away from them both to look over at me and then Crassi. "So, we have something we're supposed to be doing, right?"

I nodded. "Um, yeah. We need to regroup with your Leo squad, right?"

Prashin nodded. "Let us not waste any more time. We have a reason we're regrouping with them, right?"

Lilly nodded. "Yes. All of us are going to the ancient temple that houses the Black Soul Gem Capacitor. Once we get ourselves set up inside the temple and make sure the portal device still works, we're going to use it to safely drop the Silence bubble surrounding our world, making sure we absorb all the released energy with the portal device. Of course, since everything's hit the shit storm since Nrillia decided to go bat shit crazy on us, now we have to wait until Erandur finds a way to get to the moon base and shut down the portal. Oh… and we have a scheduled game for tomorrow evening. So, there's that too." She looked at Prashin. "I guess we'll have to make you a character."

"Game? Character? What game?" Prashin's eyes shined as he looked up at Lilly.

"Oh, you know… just a large campaign of Ruins and Dwarves. It's really fun though." The way Lilly said it, you'd think that we were just playing with a cardboard game instead of a giant mental projection that actually turned us into our game characters.

Prashin nodded enthusiastically. "Sounds like fun. I love Ruins and Dwarves."

Crassi rushed up to him, passing him a character sheet and a quill. "Well, before we meet up with your Leos, let's go ahead and plan your character. I can help you, if you want."

Prashin was beaming. "Thanks!"

Cearbhail:

Wow, who would have guessed that Prashin could be such a badass? Well, he's still pretty young, but he knows how to lead when he needs to. And since he is the Mane, i guess it's only natural that he has a natural leader's aura. Well, as long as it's with his own race, it makes sense I guess.