Azura is the only Daedra Princess I have ever worshipped who seems to care about her followers. Molag Bal wanted my mind, Boethiah wanted my arms, and Nocturnal perhaps my curiosity. Azura wants all of that, and our love above all. Not our abject slavering, but our honest and genuine caring in all its forms. It is important to her that our emotions be engaged in her worship. And our love must also be directed inward. If we love her and hate ourselves, she feels our pain. I will, for all time, have no other mistress.
-Sagillah Parate
Vanya closed the book, leaning her head back against the stone wall of the alcove that housed Azura's shrine in the temple. She had taken Teldryn's advice and spoken with Elder Othreloth and after he'd thoroughly confused her trying to explain the Daedra, she had asked him if there were books she could read. He had gathered a few books for her and since he would not let her take them from the temple, she visited on breaks from the Netch to read through a few pages at a time. She was glad that it gave her something to do since her visits with Bralsa had been greatly reduced now that the mine was reopened. If the Dragonborn was not a hero to the people of Raven Rock before, he certainly was now as somehow he'd discovered a massive ebony deposit during his delve into the mine. Geldis was practically beside himself with glee as he brewed like a madman in anticipation for all the miners that would be flooding in soon.
Vanya turned the book over in her hands, tracing her fingers down the intricate design on the cover. Reading had been slow going over the last few days as the religious texts were exhausting, though thankfully not extremely long. She'd read Aedra and Daedra, The Book of Daedra, Boethiah's Proving, and finally her favorite so far, Invocation of Azura. The three shrines in the temple were dedicated to the two Daedra she'd read about and a third, Mephala. Elder Othreloth claimed he had lost his book on Mephala, though Vanya wasn't sure she believed that with how strict he was about books not leaving the premises. Though perhaps that was why he was so strict in the first place.
The Elder's apprentice, Galdrus, passed by her and she pulled herself further into the shadow of the alcove. He was horrible to her and had nearly scared her from the temple the first time she'd entered, scolding her that outsiders weren't welcome. Thankfully, his master had been nearby and had shooed him away, assuring her that she was free to enter. Still, Galdrus scowled and complained loudly about N'wahs every time he saw her reading, so she tried her best to keep out of his sight.
"Galdrus!" Elder Othreloth called. "It's nearly mid-day, time for your lessons."
"Very well," the apprentice sighed as he followed him down the stairwell into the underground portion of the temple. She was glad to be fully alone to muse on what she'd just read.
Boethiah seemed a little scary. She ruled over things like battle and treason. Who would want to worship that? Despite not having a book to read on Mephala, the priest had given her a brief explanation and she had liked her even less. Lies and murder were her domain, and she was apparently strongly associated with spiders. Vanya shuddered at the thought. Azura, on the other hand, she could understand why so many called upon her. The Mother of the Night Sky, the ruler of dusk and dawn, she required only love and dedication from her followers. No murder, no plots, no spiders. Teldryn had mentioned that Azura was not his patron and after all she had learned, she was curious who was.
She was pulled from her thoughts by footsteps in the main hall. She waited to see if it was Galdrus but the movement soon stopped and she had seen no one. She almost chalked it up to her imagination when she heard the whisper of a woman's voice. "Mephala, Queen of the... " Vanya could barely make out any words. "the time draws near...of the sinful...We have heard your whispers...daggers sing...blood of the..." Vanya's heart was racing as she strained to hear, the voice growing quieter still. "...soul for a soul...Hlaalu."
Vanya pressed herself harder against the stone wall as the footsteps of this mysterious woman began to cross the main hall once again. She squeezed her eyes shut, in her heart beseeching Azura. Don't let me be seen. She heard the doors creak and opened her eyes, seeing a sliver of light for a moment before the door was pulled shut. She stayed still, then slowly peeked around the corner of the alcove. She was alone.
"Get lost in your reading?" Geldis inquired as Vanya rushed into the kitchen. She nodded, quickly throwing on her apron and setting herself to work. In truth, she had waited a while to leave the temple as she wanted to be sure that whoever had been praying was gone and would not see her leaving so soon after them. She worked the afternoon in near silence, ignoring Geldis' curious looks. What was she going to do about what she'd heard? Her mind sifted through the women in town, wondering which one she had unwittingly eavesdropped. She nearly felt sick by the time lunch was finished. She was scrubbing a plate while staring at a cobweb in the corner of the room when Geldis walked up beside her.
"Vanya, are you alright? You've been acting strangely."
She slid her eyes to his concerned face, then toward the main hall. "Are we alone?"
"Yes, for the moment. What is it?"
"Can we speak in your room?"
He nodded, his look of concern deepening. She hurried toward his room and he followed, shutting the door behind them.
"Tell me what's going on," he demanded.
"I...I heard someone, a woman, praying a strange prayer in the temple. She didn't know I was there. She mentioned Hlaalu." She knew that was a name of a political house in Morrowind, having read mention of the Great Houses in one of her books.
Geldis approached her, staring hard into her eyes. "Tell me what you heard. Every word."
She repeated everything she had been able to hear and when she finished, Geldis looked like he'd seen a ghost. "We must go to Councilor Morvayn at once. You must tell him what you've just told me."
She had planned to visit Milore and Niyya today but she knew by Geldis' reaction that this took precedence. Besides, Niyya's condition had only mildly improved, she did not expect any sudden breakthroughs. "Okay."
Vanya sat at a table in a small, sparsely furnished room in Morvayn Manor. First Councilor Lleril Morvayn and Captain Veleth sat across from her. Behind them, Second Councilor Adril Arano paced. She had just finished going through her story and the three men had the same stunned look as Geldis when he heard it.
"The treachery of Vilur Ulen still haunts us," Adril spat.
Councilor Morvayn addressed her. "You did not see who was at the shrine?"
Vanya shook her head.
Then Captain Veleth spoke. "And you are positive you heard Hlaalu?"
She nodded.
"What are we going to do? The Morag Tong may strike any day!" Adril asked the captain.
The captain stroked his chin for a few moments before responding. "We will tighten security of the manor. Lleril, you are not be alone at any time. In the meantime, I need to investigate."
"We must secure the perimeter of the town as well!"
"I don't have enough men for that, Adril." Captain Veleth shook his head. "We must focus our security on the First Coucilor. Besides..." He looked at Vanya, who was simply watching in perplexed silence. "if what she says is true, agents of the Morag Tong are already here."
He then addressed her. "You have done very well to bring us this information, Vanya. You can go and I hope it does not need to be said that you are not to breathe a word of this outside this room."
"I won't," she assured. She wanted to ask what was happening but reasoned that it was better she knew as little as possible. She stood up and Captain Veleth got up with her, opening the door to let her out into the hall.
When she got outside she looked up at the position of the sun and figured she still had a little time before she needed to be back to work. She could still go see Milore and Niyya or...she looked up at the temple in front of her. Would it work? If she prayed, would Azura hear her?
Do I need to bring an offering?
She thought for a moment at what she had of value to give. She knew that many left ash yams, a handful of septims, or sometimes even gems. She wanted to give something personal, something precious...then a realization hit her and she started toward the Netch. She'd purchased a small bar of fragrant soap from Fethis a few weeks ago that he claimed came from a place called Cyrodiil. It had cost her nine septims but it had been worth it to have a reprieve from the harsh ash lye. She was loath to lose it but it was the only thing she owned that she thought would be worthy of garnering a god's attention.
Vanya was kneeling at the shrine of Azura looking down at her little bar of soap wrapped in wax paper. She gently pried the wrapping open, realizing that she had not even used it enough times to wear off the delicate floral design molded on the top. She gazed up at the carved stone of the shrine as she set her offering on the altar. This is it.
She closed her eyes, clasped her hands and prayed the only way she knew how.
