Tirdas, 19th of Last Seed, 4E 201

Castras lay awake in bed, clutching his sword that was placed between his legs. He was listening hard for the creaking sound of footsteps outside of his door. A few times during the night, he'd heard some but it was just drunken patrons turning in for the night.

Around midnight, the creaking finally came. He'd made sure to get the room with the loose floorboard in front of the door for exactly this reason. Then, bit by bit, the door slowly opened. A shadowy figure, barely illuminated by the light from outside, poked their head in to see if he was asleep. Apparently satisfied that he was, the shadowy figure continued to make their way into his room. They slowly tiptoed over to his bed and stood there, looking down upon his prone form. Castras opened his eyes just enough to where he could see what they were doing, but not enough to where they could see he was awake and watching.

The trespasser moved their hand into a pocket inside their coat and that's when Castras pounced. He managed to tackle them, taking them surprise but this person was not going to give up that easy. They fought upon the floor, wrestling to get on top. At one point Castras did and was about to put his sword to their throat then the intruder punched him under the ribs, knocking the breath out of him, making him drop his sword, and allowing them to switch the positions. Castras quickly regained his breath and fought as hard as he could but he could feel himself tiring. He was a spell-sword, used to swords and magic, not hand-to-hand fighting. He really should have learned that beforehand.

Finally, the attacker restrained his hands above his head and that's when he could feel the metal of their armor. He was extremely glad that the fools of this land loved metal armor. It made his job as a lighting-type mage so much easier. He grabbed the attacker's wrists and sent a bolt of electricity through their body. The smell of burnt flesh filled the air and the attacker fell to the floor, either unconscious or dead. The bolt hadn't been particularly strong nor had it been weak.

Castras let out a deep breath. Azura damn him, the fight left him weak in the knee and he struggled to stand, having to use the dresser as support. Who the fuck wanted him dead so badly?

After a few minutes, he was feeling stronger and the attacker was still on the floor. Castras cast a quick Detect Life spell and saw that the attacker was, in fact, still breathing. They were close to death but still alive as it was. He brought a fire to his hands andpicked up the lantern on the nightstand and lit it, revealing the face of his attacker.

This time it was not a Nord, but rather one pretty female Dunmer wearing common clothes. He searched her body and found a note in her front pocket.

Ilasari, you are to eliminate the mage Castras Telvanni. He is staying at the Bannered Mare in Whiterun, according to our recent reports. Kill him in any way you see fit, but you must bring back his Telvanni robes as proof. The contact said that the Telvanni hate departing from their beloved robes and the only way she will believe he is dead is if we present the robes. I figure they just want the robes for themselves but who am I to question a contract. Money is money. You'll be paid 1,000 septims for this; he's wronged the woman in some way and wants him dead as soon as possible. This is your initiation kill; do this and you're officially in the Dark Brotherhood. Kill him quickly and return to me at the Shrine of Talos in Markarth.

-Astrid

Castras reeled back. The fucking Dark Brotherhood was after him? He hadn't wronged anyone! Even on Solstheim he had barely seen anyone except Teldryn Saro, his uncle's steward, his cook, the alchemist, his uncle's apprentice, and, of course, his uncle. On his trek here, he'd stopped at multiple taverns and inns, but never visited with anyone but the person behind the bar. That was it. He'd traveled with a Khajiit caravan on its way south but talked to anyone except the leaders, Ri'Saad. He'd spoken to Ri'Saad a lot because he was curious about the beast race; they never came to Solstheim, too much ash in their fur. He'd learned a lot about them from the old cat. He simply loved their accents, culture, just everything about them. They'd parted, them going to find a friend in the Imperial City jails after a bit of gambling and drinking, him going back north to Skyrim. There were those Nord fellows he'd knocked out shortly before Helgen but he doubted he'd call on the Dark Brotherhood, he was too proud, he'd rather send his own men-who couldn't get through the front gate- or do it himself.

He'd harmed no one who hadn't attacked him first, he hadn't… hadn't… His thoughts trailed off as a realization came to him. Hehad harmed someone, but it was years and years ago, when he was just a boy. He could feel himself slipping into a flashback. He and another boy, Dunar, a brown-haired Imperial boy who was about his age and lived in Raven Rock, had often played together; he and his uncle had often traveled there for supplies before his uncle had secured a regular drop-off with a merchant in town. He had often played with Dunar, but one time, Castras had suggested that they go explore the closed mine. Dunar had been reluctant but Castras wore him down and convinced him to explore. They'd gone quite a ways inside before they found this giant room with a huge door. The way back was blocked so they had had no choice but to go forward. They found a large sword, made of an indescribable material, etched with makings that glowed crimson and when you swung it, it sent out a ray of red energy. They racked their brains and, after finding no switch/lever to open the door, figured the sword opened the door with the blasts of energy. A little ways from the sword, they found a skeleton with a journal that belonged to one of Dunar's relatives that'd gone missing a few decades ago

They used the sword to open the door and they'd continued on, taking the sword with them. They found a giant chamber, the floor filled with water, although it wasn't that deep, it barely came to their ankles. At the end of the room was a coffin and a giant wall that whispered to Castras. Dunar warned him not to go near it, but Castras had ignored him. Soon he was standing in front of the wall and could read the ancient language that looked like it was scratched onto it. He instinctively knew it was Dovah, the language of the dragons. His uncle had told him that there were multiple Word Walls scattered throughout the world, but no one knew how to decipher them so they just stood there, without a purpose. The scratching on the Wall roughly translated into: Pah Werid Morokei Miraak Zok Suleykaar Do Pah Sonaak Wen MUL Bolaav Naal Fahluaan Do Jul.

Castras was suddenly filled with power; raw power coming from the Wall and the whispers from the wall told him what the Wall said: All praise glorious Miraak, most powerful servant of all Dragon Priests, whose strength was granted by the gardener of mankind. One word in particular stood out to him and seemed to… to glow. The Word Mul (strength) glowed brighter and brighter, and seemed to reach out to him with tendrils of power, filling his body. The whispering turned into chanting in an ancient language; the chanting was so loud and so fast, he couldn't understand what it was saying. He pressed his hands to his head and fell to his knees but the chanting just got louder and louder, meanwhile he was feeling more power. Finally, the chanting stopped… But the power was still there. Dunar walked over to him and was about to touch him when he stopped. Castras looked up at him and Dunar backed away in horror, stating that there was something different about him, that there was something powerful in his eyes that he was afraid of. Castras pushed the power down inside of him, harnessing it instinctively inside his core. He let out a breath and looked back up at Dunar but the damage was done, the boy was afraid of him. They were leaving and almost out through agate, when the coffin's lid flew off, revealing a floating, evil-looking monstrosity. It was carrying a staff that it pointed at them, they started to run toward the raised gate. They could lock it on the other side. It had started floating toward them, shooting bursts of lighting at them. Castras managed to get behind the gate first and was holding onto the chain to pull so Dunar and he could be safe when Dunar was struck in the back with a Bolt. Castras cried out and dropped the red sword behind the gate, running toward his friend. He pulled him onto his back and carried him behind the gate and pulled the chain, locking the monster inside the chamber. It roared in frustration and shot a few bolts at them before realizing it couldn't hit them anymore. That's when Castras noticed that it didn't have a face. It was wearing some sort of weird mask that glowed, showing Castras that it was enchanted.

He put the monster out of his mind; it couldn't hurt them anymore and turned his attention to Dunar. Neloth had taught him a few powerful healing spells but he hadn't been very focused on them, considering them not very useful. He remembered what he'd said to Neloth that'd earned him a beating, "If I'm so powerful, then I can just destroy an enemy before it attacks me and therefore, I won't be injured so all of this is worthless." He remembered the incantation for one and began it, and a golden glow started flowing from his fingers and over onto the injured boy. His chest was rising and falling so he was still alive, and it seemed to get stronger the more he chanted. Eventually he feel his magicka running out so he had to stop but he thought it was sufficient enough to sustain the boy until he could get him to the local alchemist, or better, Neloth. They'd been down there for quite a while; they surely must've noticed them gone.

That's when he saw the Book on a pedestal . It was black, old, and very thick. On the front cover, it had a diagram of a writhing mass of tentacles that seemed to actually move. A dark aura poured from it; he made note to tell Uncle Neloth about this place so he could remove the monster and the book.

He pulled the boy onto his back again and picked up the sword. He'd left the place behind and had made it into a series of towers where the worse thing could've been waiting for them, was: a very worried and a very, very pissed off Uncle Neloth, tapping his foot, and looking as if he wanted to strike Castras down right then and there, but he was too focused on Dunar.

He listened patiently through Castras' story of the monster and their exploration of the mine while tending to Dunar, only stopping to comment every now and then how stupid he was for going down there without him. When he was done tending to the boy and done listening through Castras' story, he asked to see the blade they'd found. Castras handed it over to him and he examined it closely, swinging it a few times to see the energy. He told him to wait right there with Dunar and went inside the mine, back to the monster.

He emerged an hour later, holding the mask Castras had seen on the monster and the Black Book he'd seen inside. He told Castras to never again speak of the book, the blade, and the mask to anyone but himself. They could do nothing more for the boy and returned him to his mother. When Neloth handed the boy over, his mother accused him of hurting her precious little boy, an accusation that he quickly denied. She refused to believe him and even had the nerve to send the guards after him. They brought him to the current Guard Captain and they went into a private area and had a discussion that ended with Neloth walking out a free elf. Most of the people in town had already thought he was crazy but now they refused to do business with him, due to Dunar's mom spreading lies about him throughout town. But thankfully, one merchant knew Neloth well enough and set up the drop-off in secret and when he died, his daughter continued to do it.

Castras brought himself to the present, in his room with the near-dead assassin, and came to terms that there was only one person who would've set that hit on him: Dunar's mother, Sharil Maren.

To Be Continued…

A/N: Alright, now this time I have a good excuse. I have no Wi-Fi nor cable. I'm only able to post the few I have since I'm not at home currently. I don't know how long it will be till I get it back, but know that I'm sorry and still trying to think of a way to post chapters. So, until then, enjoy what I've already posted over and over and over 'til it makes you puke!