Cearbhail:

So... a little short, but I think it's a good chapter. I had to do a lot of research on this. A lot... I hope you're happy because i spent two days racking my head over this whole thing... trying to figure out when Ali-Jinasha was born, why she was exposed to Shadow... all that. Two days of splitting headaches and researching every era in time. I hope you're happy! heh... it was fun though. I've never spent so much time sitting in the woods as i contemplated every little nuance of this chapter. This is what happens when I do things on the fly... I have to spent days fixing it. Shab! I need to keep myself from doing these things. But all in all... I think I like where this is going.

=^^= Enjoy...

[Nexa]

So, last I checked, I was slowly dying in the cafeteria in Lilmoth, and then suddenly I'm standing in a dark room talking to my deceased grandmother. She tells me about how she was the original shadowwraith and how she was going to show me her story and now…I'm standing in the middle of some woods with Grandma, looking at a small preteen girl as she cried into her arms. The scene is frozen; and I'm guessing I'm not going to be watching much until Grandmother tells me about what's going on. I swear to the Hist, if she just narrates everything going on while something plays in the background, I'm going to go prepare some novapenyo sauce and chips. I'm not participating in this crap. She spent my entire childhood making snide comments about my studies and offered no emotional support at all. Why should I care about her at this point?

"So… you created Shadow?" I stared at my grandmother… someone who could not be old enough to live all the way back into the Mythic Era.

Grandmother smirked at the question. "Created is not the correct word. Perhaps, discovered is a better word. Or… re-discovered. I will go with re-discovered."

"Re-discovered?" That was probably a better thing to go with. "Ok… so you're not from the Mythic Era then, are you?"

She shook her head. "I am not." She looked over at me. "You look confused."

"So… then how did you re-discover Shadow?" She said she was the first shadowwraith, the creator of Shadow. I wonder just what that meant. "All magicka stuff was discovered by the elves in the Mythic Era."

Grandmother turned to look at me. "It was during a time of war." She looked away from me and I knew suddenly that I was about to witness my first grandparent 'back in my day' rant. "The Empire was falling apart, and the Akavir oppressors were pushing hard to reclaim Black Marsh. And when I say Akavir, I do not mean the Tsaesci or the half-breeds Ka'Po'Tun. I mean the actual Akavir humanoids… the ones that died off in the war against the Nords. They ruled over Tamriel for a long time before the Nords fought them off. We fought them too, but we had other issues at the time. We had these human cousins of the Akavir, the Kothringi. While the Akavir looked golden and lizard like us: being the offspring between humans and Argonian… yes… it happened; the Kothringi were hybrids of humans and dark elves. Yes… it happened. They had ashy gray metallic skin and glowing red eyes. They lived in Argonia with us, as well as the Lilmothiit. As with all Akavir, we were treated as slaves. We were the offspring of the Hist, but descendants of the Tsaesci. To understand what I mean… we started off as Akavir, but the sap from the Hist changed us… gave us legs… took away our venom. Gave us Shadow…"

"So…the Hist gave us Shadow?"

Grandmother nodded. "In a way, they did. Shadow is a soulic art. While the Nords were taught Shouting from their distant dragon masters, we learned Shadow from the marshlands. The Hist made us who we are, so our venom… which is attributed to the soulic art form of the Tsaesci was morphed into a more nature-connected form. Since magicka flows throughout all Tamriel, and since Tamriel was borne from Lorkhan and Sithis… the Hist were made from the energy of Sithis. Our venom transformed into a magicka-based soulic form based upon the energy of Sithis and the Void. And the energy of Sithis is the energy of the Void… of Shadow. It is an energy made up of chaos and order. Its discovery led to the Knahaten Flu."

"The Knahaten Flu?" That was the flu that killed all the humans living in Argonia, as well as a lot of Khajiits living in Senchal. "So… the discovery of Shadow caused the Knahaten Flu?"

Grandmother nodded. "It was on purpose. The Lilmothiit helped us. It helped drive away the Akaviri and their cousins… the Kothringi. You could say the Hist created the Knahaten Flu, but it was the discovery of Shadow that allowed its creation."

I started scratching at my tiny horns. "Grandmother… you're not making sense. You're saying one thing and then saying it was actually another thing."

She nodded. "I was born in the Second Era 547." Oh boy… more exposition. "I am roughly 788 years-old. You may thank the Hist for my long life… drinking their eternal sap… and becoming the first what was called at the time Hist-kissed. I was the one forced to discover Shadow… as it would be called by our enemies. It was the Hist that knew of the energy, but I was the one forced to re-discover our connection to it. I was the one chosen to end the Kothringi… and I was the one that became the first Wraith… the first Master of Shadow, later crowned for my honor and sacrifice by becoming the Queen of Shadows. Bear in mind, granddaughter… I was thirteen at the time."

"Ok… so…" She looked like a middle-aged woman. She's been alive for almost 800 years? And she became the first wraith when she was 13… so… how come she aged, or stopped aging then? "Did this eternal sap delay your lifespan?"

She smiled. "You are very perceptive. I don't look like a thirteen year-old girl, do I? No… I aged normally. Once I hit my limit… the point in my life where your body starts to decay, the sap given to me halted my body from progressing further. I hit that limit when I turned 32. While under the influence of the sap, I was not allowed to reproduce. To do so would mean to pass the sap onto someone else. Of course, that sap effects would have gone to your father… and then to you once he gave birth to you. You now bear the sap, my daughter. If you never have children of your own… you will never die of old age. Only from excruciating battle wounds. And even then, the only way you would die is connected to most vampires and zombies: cutting off the head or destroying the brain. Or even cutting out the heart. Shadow is strongest in you because you have the sap within you. So, to answer your question from before… you are not dying. Because you cannot die from such a minor wound." A severed arm is a minor wound? Got it. 'Tis but a flesh wound, it is… "You think it strange you suffer 2 weeks in a prison with no sleep, no water, no food? You think your communion with Sithis that came so natural was a side-effect of being a Shadowblade? No. It was the sap."

I found myself nodding. "Um… ok. So… because I'm a virgin… I'm immortal?"

She shrugged. "More or less."

"I'm fucked then." Spend one night with some random shadowscale you had a crush on on his fourteenth birthday and he pretty much kills me. Figures.

She tilted her head to the side. "Do you have any children?" I shook my head. She waved it off. "Your sap can only be passed onto your child, not your lover. Your father may still hold onto a tiny bit since he did not birth his own child… not in the way a mother would, but you retain a lot of the sap within you. You retain enough of the sap that you will not die from this fight. What happens from here is your decision. You may wish to become the Queen of Shadows… the rightful ageless ruler of Argonia… or you may wish to have a family as I did when I met my husband."

I stood there for a second. "Ok… so… I'm immortal?" She nodded. I found myself nodding too. "Ok, so… this history lesson. What did you want to show me?"

Queen waved to the scene of the girl in the woods. She was hurled up in a ball, crying as she leaned against a tree. "In the final hours before my ceremony, the 13th year of my birth upon me… the Star Readers, the old age Atronach Sign shaman, were told by the Hist to bring a daughter of the Mage Sign, an Argonian born with an innate connection to nature, to the shrine in Stormhold. I was to travel to Stormhold under the shadow of night during the new moons. It was that night that I was forced to drink the eternal sap of the Hist, an act that forced me to see inside myself and unlock the energy that dwelled within me. That night… the Knahaten Flu was born. That night… I destroyed all the Kothringi within Stormhold. Now… watch, Nexa, and understand how Shadow began."

…

[Ali-Jinasha, age one day before 13] 2e 560, 18th First Seed

I couldn't believe this day had finally come. I dreaded the day the Star Readers would come find me, take me away from my home, and bring me to Stormhold. My parents always told me that I was destined to become something special. Argonians can't perform magic. Only the elves can do such things. Everyone else relies on shamanism to get stuff done. Our Star Readers look upon the stars and divine things, the Hist create herbs and sap that we can use to help heal our sick and dying. Our White Sashes study various herbs for the same purpose. And now… I'm the chosen girl to become the shining example for the Argonian's rise to magicka? That's a little much. I've spent years looking at recorded texts about elves and humans using various magicks… even the other beastfolk… or what some elves have dubbed Betmer… using variations of magicks.

From what I've studied, the elves had the greatest grasp on elemental magicka. They can pretty much create what they need when they need it. Humans, specifically the Nords seemed more adept at… and I'm not kidding, "Shouting" magicka through their mouth like dragons. I thought of all species the Akavir would be all over that, but the Akavir seem more focused on their combat skills and less on magicka. They have some amount of personal honor and swordplay, kind of like the Nords. The legends of fish-elves or Lammer speak of water-based magicka, and crab elves using electricity. Stories of Khajiits having eyes turn red and then becoming nearly invincible have also surfaced from time to time. Every species has a connection to some innate magicka… except Argonians. But… that all changed tonight. And I'm going to be the one to achieve it. At least… that's what I'm told.

So, why am I hiding from the escort? Why am I crying and curled up into a ball? Because I'm scared! They say I'm going to drink some sort of sap from the Hist… and become immortal like the Aldmer of old. That I will travel within myself and discover what it is that Argonians have that makes us special. And then… as prophesized by the Hist... I will free Argonia from the human settlers. We will claim our home. And I will become the Queen of Argonia. That's why I'm hiding. I just want to be a normal kid. I don't want this. I just want to be me. And I've never been treated as such. My entire life I've been either praised or hunted. Pampered or attacked. I just want to experience what being normal is like. And I can't have that as long as this prophecy hangs over me. And tonight is the night… the night of my 13th birthday. The minute it strikes midnight and I turn 13… I will become an agent of death. An agent of Sithis, I guess. If I just hide out until my birthday is over, I won't have to become it.

"Ali-Jinasha!" One of the Star Readers cried out. Shab… he sounded close. I uncurled myself as I looked around for a place to hide. I quickly decided that climbing the tree was a bad idea. They'd look for me there. "Ali-Jinasha? Can you hear me?" He sounded even closer. I frantically looked around for a place to bury my head. I could see some mud but there was no way it was deep enough to throw myself under. But I could use it to cover my scent and hide along the tree trunks. That would buy me enough time to escape.

"The daughter of the Mage is here." A voice of the Hist whispered through me. I could tell it carried over to my escort because not even a second later, he came bursting through the bushes with a lantern filled with sparkflies. As soon as he saw me, his worried expression softened. "There you are, Ali-Jinasha. I finally found you."

I looked away. "Yup. You sure did."

"That was a fun game of hide-and-seek, and to reward you for keeping hidden for nearly 10 hours, we're going to celebrate your victory with a sundae in Stormhold." Stormhold? Jeez, that was a subtle way of saying 'we need to go.'

I tried my best to smile. "Just one more round? I promise to hide so well that you'll never find me before the setting of the sun tomorrow evening." By the Hist, I really wanted to play that second round.

My escort tried to laugh it off as he walked over to me. "I wish we had time, I really do, but we only have three hours to get you to Stormhold and set up for the ritual. I see you've destroyed your ritualistic dress." Looking down at the shredded dress that was once decorated with all sorts of magick runes and whatnot… yeah, I say I did a good job rolling around in the thorn bush.

"I fell." I replied dumbly.

He nodded, crossing his arms. "Well, luckily, we have six more just like it in the caravan, all in perfect condition." And I will do my best to make sure they never make it to Stormhold.

My escort continued to stand there, looking down at me. He finally dropped the smile and uncrossed his arms. He sighed as he placed the lantern down. "Are you scared then?"

I looked up at him. I finally nodded. "The Hist say I'm going to kill a lot of people." I curled up into a ball again, hugging my legs close to me. "I don't want to kill anyone."

My escort nodded, walking over to me and groaning as he sat down beside me. "I've been there. My days of fighting in the Akaviri army against the Reachmen taught me a lot about what people are capable of. But even so… even after seeing the crimes of the Reachmen against their Breton brothers… I still had trouble keeping my spear aimed at one charging me. And it didn't get easier once I got past the first few Reachmen… it didn't get easier when I was stabbed. But…" He looked down at me. "it was necessary."

I looked up at him. "Aren't you a Star Reader?" Why was he fighting in a war if he wasn't even trained as a warrior?

He nodded. "I wasn't over there as a combatant, but as a Star Reader. I read the signs of the stars and the runes to determine our best course of action. But, you'll learn that no one cares if you plan on fighting or not. If you're on the wrong side… you're just as guilty in their eyes. And I was with the army, wearing their uniform. I was an enemy, and they treated me as such."

I wonder if he was trying to tell me something. "Are you telling me it's ok to kill people?"

He shook his head. "No, it's not. And you're not the one killing the people. The prophecy stated that 'in the Second Era, in the 560th year, the Daughter of the Mage who shares her 13th year of birth on the night of the silenced moons in the month of planting seeds before the hand of rain will bring new magicka to those who have none.' We are the only race to not have our own magicka… and you are the only girl born under the Mage Sign with a birthday on the only night of the new moons. The prophecy continues by stating that 'the coming of this new magicka will bring the coming of a disease that will wipe away the men of silver skin.' These humans are the Kothringi. They are not hostile any more than other humans. To be honest, they are quite civil." He shrugged. "But they have been behaving differently. Once quiet villages are making spears and are hunting our kind. I think they are becoming violent. Perhaps the gods wish to end their race before they become a global problem."

Hearing that did not make me feel better about becoming a herald of death. "So… this ritual. Will it hurt?"

My escort sighed as he started to stand up. "We should go now, little one. We have only so many hours of no moonlight to travel by." He took my hand and started pulling me to my feet. "You will bring to the Argonians our own form of magicka. You should feel proud." I also bring death to an entire race. Should I really feel proud about this?

…

So, we got back to the caravan with no further escape attempts. I climbed back into my own little traveling hut while a wamasu, which was a giant riding iguana we used to get around on, pulled my hut along the uneven trails the Hist designed for us. I tried my best to stand still as the White Sashes prepared my body for the ritual. They began by taking off the dress I destroyed. Then they soaked my body in prepared oils given to us by the Hist. When my body was clean, they dressed me in an even sillier looking dress, this one made out of some silk that glowed like mithril. The golden runes seemed to glow blue, reminding me of the tales of the Aedra that ravaged our world long ago. And after my feathers were tied back and my forehead exposed for the runes that would be written up, I was finally ready to step out of the caravan.

I sat there in silence as the White Sashes finished writing the runes of my forehead, arms, legs, and tail. The runes were drawn in a form of syrup that contained the magicka of the Hist. The runes looked Daedric in principle.

I looked at my arms at the symbols drawn. "I will give anyone who trades places with me 100 seashells."

The White Sashes all laughed at what they thought was a joke. One of them actually answered me though. "I would take you up on that offer, but the prophecy will only accept a daughter of the Mage coming onto her 13th birthday in this month. And that's you, not any of us. You…" She hovered her hand over my delicate dress's shoulder. "are the only one that can bring magicka to the Argonian race. If you do not… we may never get this chance again. And the other races may see that as weakness and think to enslave us." Oh, right… like that wasn't going to happen anyway.

I finally sighed one last time as I looked down at what could be a pretty dress if it wasn't so delicate. "Let's just get this over with." I looked up at the White Sashes. "What do I need to do?"

"You will be guided to the Hist of Stormhold. He is the keeper of the eternal sap. You will kneel and drink from his vine."

"That sounds perverted."

The White Sash continued like I said nothing. "The sap will flow down to your soul and combine with it, fusing with it. You will be forced to go into a spirit dream and discover the destiny of the Argonian race. Upon waking, you will become our eternal example of what the Argonians can become. And through you, all Argonians will become magicka-potent. It is said that this will happen through a cloud of shadow. It will envelope us and give us our magicka."

I sat there and thought about that while we sat in silence. The caravan rocked back and forth as we rolled over uneven trails and through holes. I didn't want to talk, not really. The White Sashes preferred to stay silent as well, letting us quietly travel to Stormhold. We arrived a few minutes later. As soon as the caravan came to a jolting stop, I felt a rock form in my stomach. My legs and arms suddenly felt weak. My head spun as I tried to keep myself calm. What was going to happen to me?

I heard footsteps approaching my door, and I tried my best to keep myself calm. The White Sashes were putting on bright smiles for me; trying their best to show me just how ok this very thing was. They weren't allowed to touch me after they finished their little ritual on me. If they smudged even one little thing on my skin or my dress… the whole thing might be ruined. They let me sit as long as I sat a special way. After all, since the road was bumpy, they didn't want to risk me standing up and falling down. They would have to redo the whole ritual then. And I really didn't want to be bathed a third time today. At least not until this day was over and I could go back to being a little girl. Oh… who am I kidding? I'm never going to be normal after today starts. My 13th birthday will be the death of me. The real me.

Cearbhail:

So... Ali-Jinasha has accepted her role as the Chosen One. The one that will bring balance to the Force.. I mean to the Argonians. Yeah...