Okay, so in the last chapter, Amori kills a bandit and he and Seylia run away. The place they go to is Cheydinhall. By the way, I'll probably be creating new places and new creatures, so my map of Cyrodiil will be different than in the game!

And now, we return to our feature presentation...

Ocheeva gasped as his blade plunged into her belly, FrostFire's deadly tip exiting the other side of her body, her eyes wide. Delchkahn's eyes widened in horror at the realization of what he had just done as Ocheeva coughed blood into his face. He lowered his blade in shock, and Ocheeva slid off its end, her breathing heavy and erratic, tears welling in her eyes. Delchkahn knelt by his lover's side, holding her head in his hands, tears spilling down his cheeks. He barely even noticed his vampire's instinct to feed, barely tasting Ocheeva's blood on his tongue. "Why?" she asked, tears in her eyes. "Why, Delchkahn? Why did you do it? I-I thought y-you loved me." She coughed, more blood spilling down her chin.

"I do, Ocheeva, I do!" Delchkahn cried, frantically searching his memory for a heal other spell and his pockets for any healing potions, but to no avail. "Lucien Lachance reported a traitor amongst the Brotherhood, and believed him to be in our Sanctuary. He told me I was exempt from the Tenets, and ordered me to purge the Sanctuary! He told me I would be a Speaker!" Tears streamed down his face as he watched his lover, dying in his hands, knowing that it was his fault. Ocheeva coughed, a sudden anger in her eyes, overlaid with the sadness.

"So y-you would th-throw me away for power?" she asked, shocked.

"No, no! I never meant for this to happen! I waited for you to fall asleep, and went about my work! I was going to hide you in the forest until this was all over, I'm so sorry!" Ocheeva's eyes began to glaze over, and her coughing got worse. "Ocheeva, look at me, come on, look at me! Everything's going to be alright, don't worry!" Delchkahn said, not sure if he was reassuring himself or her. As she gazed up into his eyes, she saw his tears, and the immeasurable sorrow and desperation in them. She laughed, but her musical laughter quickly degenerated into a coughing fit.

"So, you really do love me, don't you? Why, Delchkahn? Why…" She gave a final cough, and—

Delchkahn woke with a start, panting. He found himself in a bed in an inn, and across from his bed was another, Seylia sleeping peacefully in it. Delchkahn began to cry, cursing his life. "What am I doing?" he said quietly to himself. "I can't stay with her, Ocheeva, I'm becoming irrational, and she reminds me too much of you. I know now that you can never be replaced, I only wish we could have had more time together." Delchkahn got out of bed, and quickly got dressed. He walked over to the desk, pulled out a parchment and a quill, and wrote a quick note. As he finished, he gathered his supplies, and walked over to the door. As he opened it, he paused. "Goodbye, Seylia" he said, and shut the door behind him.

Rhiihaaj sat up slowly, his eyelids half closed against the sunlight. His hair was sticking every which way, and his fur was matted in his sweat. He sniffed, and found that his own scent wasn't the only one on him. He looked to the side, and saw Sehiiri sleeping beside him, a slight smile curving her lips, the white sheets, draped over her naked form. She exhaled deeply, and Rhiihaaj smiled. He slowly stood from the bed, grabbed some clothes, and made his way to the bathroom. He took the bucket of hot water the hotel staff had readied for him and Sehiiri, poured it into the bath basin, and slowly slid himself into the water, wincing as it reached the scars that criss-crossed their way across his back, a reminder of his days as a slave in Morrowind. He purred in pleasure as the warm water slid through his fur, and he sat enjoying the warmth for a few moments before grabbing the bar of soap and beginning to wash the dust and sweat from his red coat. After he was finished, he picked up a purification tablet and dropped it into the water. As the tablet dissolved, it released its magic into the water, instantly transmuting any impurities in the water into thick oils that could then be easily scooped out with a sifter. After cleaning the bathwater, he cast a fireball spell into the basin, heating the water so that it wouldn't be cold when Sehiiri woke up. He walked out of the bathroom and put on his clothes. It had been so nice of the hotel staff to offer him and his group a free stay, he thought, grinning at the memory of how he had "persuaded" the manager using all of his prowess with knives. He placed a swift kiss on Sehiiri's muzzle, and walked out of the room.

Seylia was five years old. She walked through a wrecked village, fires burning over the wreckages of the huts, the light flickering on her tattered white dress. She came to the wreckage of one particular house, the door still left standing. She pushed the door open, and stepped inside. "Mommy? Daddy?" she called, walking past bloodstained walls. As she neared the kitchen she heard sobbing. She opened the door, to see her mother crouching over the body of her father, crying. There was a large gash in his back, and blood covered the floor. A Dunmer stood over both of them, a flaming sword in his hand, grinning evilly. Her mother stood, beating her hands on his bare chest.

"How could you, you monster! How could y—urk!" Her cries were cut short as the Dunmer grabbed her throat in his left hand, lifting her, kicking, off the ground, desperately trying to pry his hand off of her neck. He grinned drawing his sword arm back, seeing the hatred in her eyes.

"And now you die, pondscum!" he spat, plunging his sword into Seylia's mother's belly, burning the flesh around it. Her eyes went wide in terror, and the Dunmer pushed her dead body off of his blade. Seylia ran to her mother's side, crying.

"Mommy? Mommy?! Please wake up!" The Dunmer laughed, drew back his sword arm, and—

Seylia sat bolt upright in bed, eyes wide in terror, screaming "NOOOO!" Almost immediately there was a knock on the door.

"Yew awlright, miss?" came a voice. It was the innkeeper, a kindly old Imperial who had taken an Anvil accent from living in the southern region for so long before coming to Cheydinhall.

"I-I'm f-fine," she stuttered in response, shaking with fear. "J-just a b-bad dream."

"Well, if ye need anything, jest let me know," came a wary response from outside the door. Seylia heard footsteps growing quieter as they left from outside her door. She shuddered at the dream that was a memory from her past, a memory that had spawned an immense phobia of Dunmer in her. She looked around, and noticed that Amori's bed was empty, and seemed to have been so for a long time. She looked to the desk, and saw a folded piece of paper. She unfolded the paper, and found a dagger. She set the dagger, which was of Deadric make, aside, and read the note. It said:

Dear Soul-Swimmer,

I did not use your real name in this note because I do not feel that I am worthy of using it. I'm sorry, but I had to leave. You know nothing about me; I would only bring you trouble. From the moment I met you, I knew that you were curious about why I was such a haunted individual. Well, here goes nothing. Know that I have never told anyone else of the events you are about to read about. If you ever regarded me as a friend, you will keep my secret.

It was just a couple months before you had joined the guild. I was in love with Ocheeva, a young Shadowscale, and ironically, the very person who had given me contracts when I first joined the guild. I worked directly for Lucien Lachance, a Speaker of the Black Hand. One day, he called me to his castle stronghold to receive a special contract. To my surprise, he was ordering me to kill every Brother and Sister residing in the Cheydinhall Sanctuary in an attempt to eradicate a traitor who had been killing members of our dark "family". My heart froze in fear; Cheydinhall was where Ocheeva lived, and the location of the Sanctuary I called my home. He told me to go, and I quickly formulated a plan: I would wait until Ocheeva was asleep, then kill off the rest of the Brotherhood members, sparing Teinaava, Ocheeva's twin brother if possible. After I had finished my work, I would wake Ocheeva, and take her to a discreet hiding place in the forest; a small mine I had rid of monsters. It seemed foolproof to me, but alas, I was wrong. The night before my act, Ocheeva and I shared a bed. I woke early in the morning, and fought my dark "brothers" and "sisters". If only I knew the commotion had woken my love! She crept up behind me, not having dressed yet, and attacked me. As I was a vampire at the time, I sensed a person in the air behind me, a knife in their hands. I spun around, blade leading, only to realize, too late, that it was Ocheeva. I tried to lower my blade, but I was too late. Ocheeva was impaled on my own sword, its wicked tip plunging into her belly and out her back. She gasped as my blade plunged into her flesh. Shocked, I lowered my sword, and she slid off of my blade. I held her in my arms as she died. The last thing she said to me was a single word: "Why?" I still ask myself this question today, and every time, I come up with the same answer: power. Lachance had told me that I would be made a Speaker on the Black Hand, an offer I could not refuse. Because of this, my hunger for power, I accepted the contract. The woman I love is dead, because of me.

Soul-Swimmer, I am leaving because you remind me too much of Ocheeva, and because people around me die. I believe that the only reason I stayed with you all the way back to Cheydinhall was that I was subconsciously trying to replace her. I realize now that I can never do that. I led you back to Cheydinhall because it is so close to the Sanctuary that you ran from that the Dark Brotherhood would never suspect you of hiding there. The dagger you found in this note is called Death's Kiss, a blade I fashioned as a replica of the legendary Mehrunes Razor. While not containing the same demonic power as the Razor, it still has the ability to kill with a single blow. This is my parting gift to you, and possibly my parting gift to anyone in this world. I wouldn't be surprised if my body was found in the graveyard over Ocheeva's grave, a grave I commissioned myself, with the true Mehrunes Razor in my chest. If you get there before the guards do, you can have that as well as my other weapons. And, now, I say adieu.

Goodbye, Soul-Swimmer.

Goodbye.

Seylia trembled as she read those last words, dropping the parchment in shock. "Great Hist," she thought to herself, "what he's been through…" Tears began to stream down her face. Everyone she had known had either died or cast her aside, and now, her latest and only true friend, had left her behind for her own safety and because she reminded him of the woman he loved, the woman he killed four months ago. She regained her composure quickly, and realized something. Amori had used her true name; the little girl Seylia had died along with her parents all those years ago. Now, Soul-Swimmer, the hardened, independent, young woman remained. She gathered her things and made her way out of the room, her eyes filled with determination, determination that she would not die by the Brotherhood's hand. She placed the money on the innkeeper's desk, and strode out into the daylight. As she walked out the front door, however, she felt something prick her back, and heard a soft, purring voice behind her.

"Well then, my precious Swamp Flower, we meet again!" it purred deviously. Soul-Swimmer's eyes widened in fear as she realized who it was.

"Rhiihaaj!" she gasped before she felt a sharp blow to the back of her neck. The last thing she heard was a malicious chuckle, and her world went black.

Oh no! Soul-Swimmer has been captured by Rhiihaaj, and Amori is contemplating suicide! What will happen next? Only time may tell...

The winds of time blow on, shifting the sands of reality into ever changing patterns.

-Baeowulf