Thanks for over one hundred reviews. I can now die somewhat happy knowing I accomplished something. I'm still quite keen on living, of course.
I'm still trying to figure out currency issue (some suggestions in the reviews are interesting), so I'll focus on other issues for now: namely the issue of Elves and then religion. And also a bit on Siesta's training.
Also, people seem to want Kirche and Tabitha to join the College as well. And while I can think of a reason for Tabitha to be there, I'm struggling to think of one for Kirche. Any suggestions will be appreciated. I'm don't think I will put Jessica in though, might change my mind later.
Anyone ever wonder why paint brushes could defy gravity and thus float in Oblivion? Or why the developers never fixed it?
(Edit: I should really remember to put in line breakers)
Siesta left the head maid's office. Her contract had been returned to her to burn or resell at her discretion. There was a noticeable spring to her step as she joyfully returned to her room to pack her things.
She didn't have much to pack and she wasn't travelling far anyway. As per the Archmage's instructions: she only had to relocate herself to the same quarters the Academy gave to them. It was also the first time in a long time that she wore her own clothes.
The plain brown dress was one of the few outfits she had with her at the Academy. The only other belongings were rather simple with the exception of a steel comb that all her family chipped in to send as a birthday gift. Placing them all within a small but sturdy leather bag, she strapped it tight and left her room.
She hurriedly made her way to where Archmage Motabe had told her to be; without her maid uniform, she might get in trouble for running around. Rounding a corner she unexpectedly ran into someone with muffled blond hair.
Both she and Guiche fell to the grown, rubbing their now sore heads. "Ow! Why don't yo-" Guiche froze mid-speech, his jaw gaping. Siesta just stared back in fright, already anticipating the scolding she would receive.
Guiche's face turned pale as he quickly turned to check the otherwise empty corridors. Seeing that the man of a monster wasn't present, he hurriedly brushed himself off, mumbled a quick apology and rushed away.
Siesta just sat there, confused. Picking herself she shrugged off the incident and resumed her journey; her quick steps echoing across the empty stone corridor.
The large dormitory requisitioned by the Princess was where the Jarl and his party temporarily resided. Two intimidating heavy guards stood watch out the front door. Idle chatter was heard from them, though neither let their eyes stray.
Nervously Siesta walked towards them, upon seeing her; the two Nord guards stopped talking. "Halt! What business do you have here?" one of them demanded. His partner's hand unconsciously slipped to his blade's hilt out of habit.
This did not go unnoticed by Siesta, who paled at the sight. "Um…a…" she swallowed. Mustering up her courage she gave her reason. "The Archmage told me to come here."
The guards visibly relaxed, the threatening one's hand left his sword. "Aye and you must be Siesta of Tarbes then?" Siesta nodded quickly in response.
The first guard opened the door and gestured for her to enter. "The Archmage is waiting for you. He's on the second floor, just up the stairs, the first door to the left." He instructed. "Don't keep him waiting, Apprentice." advised the second guard.
Heeding his advice she hurried in. The corridor was mostly empty with the exception of a trio of soldiers having their own conversation. Ignoring them, she stepped up the wooden stairs.
She must have made a lot of noise or the Archmage had some means of detecting people as before she could even knock, she was told to enter. Opening the door, she stepped into a rather mundane room.
It was of the usual Tristainian design, with only the barest of furniture. She could not help but feel disappointed. Perhaps it was the feat of magic she witnessed yesterday which made her expect the room to feel more… magical; perhaps some extra-dimensional portal back to his magic tower? Shaking her head she got rid of that image from her head. Who knows what kind of demons could come out?
The Archmage was sitting on a small wooden desk reading a white book, his hood down to reveal his Elven heritage. Beside the desk was a large chest, kept shut by some strange metal lock. He closed the book and got up with her entry. "Good morning Siesta." he greeted kindly.
She bowed deeply, her head drawing level with her chest. The Elf before her deserved only the most respect she could give. "Good morning Archmage."
Pulling open his chest, he lifted out a set of robes. "This is the standard apprentice robes for the College. You don't have to wear it all the time, but it is expected for you to be wearing it whenever you're either studying at the College or on official occasions." he explained.
Siesta accepted the clothes from him. It was of simple design with a navy blue silk shirt and brown trousers. With it was a brown shawl and another blue clock reaching down to her knees but leaving her right shoulder uncovered. A hood was tucked behind it.
"You'll stay with us for the time being. As such, I'll be the one teaching you for now, until we return to the College." he then took out several more books of the trunk. "I'm afraid that you'll have to make do with books for the time being. I'm required to be with the Jarl to meet with the Princess."
Out of the seemingly small trunk came more books, parchment, an ink well and a quill and a large wooden staff that couldn't possibly have fit in there. "If you need help you can ask one of the Jarl's battlemages. I've spoken to them and they don't mind giving you advice."
Placing all of the items onto Siesta's outstretched hands; he hurried them out of the room. Leading her to an empty nearby room, he told her this is where she would stay for now. "I'm sorry that I can't stay, but I really need to go." said the Archmage; as he helped her lay down all the items.
Hurrying out of the room, he left Siesta confused once again alone in the room. Sighing, she decided to do as the Archmage instructed and opened one of the books. While she wasn't excellent at her literacy, the Academy ensured that their all servants were at least capable of reading.
This meant naught however as she found that whatever language these books were written in were not hers. It looks like she would have to ask for help.
Motabe arrived later than the rest of his group. Arlerus and the Jarl were already seated inside the spacious pavilion that the Princess had set up. The Princess and Cardinal were seated opposite them, with the Griffin Knight Captain stiff still behind the leaders of Tristain.
Separating them was a large ornate table; on it were several plates of fruit and cold pure water. Idly the Archmage wondered how much trouble it must have been to relocate a table of that size outside.
Upon his entry, Arlerus and Henrietta stopped their conversation about the differences in weather. The Jarl lost the look of boredom on his face and the Cardinal and Wardes both turned to look at him.
"My apologies for my lateness, but I was caught up in personal business." Motabe apologized. He slowly walked towards the free chair to the left of the Jarl.
"It's no problem at all." reassured Henrietta. She offered a warm smile as he took a seat next to the Jarl. Settling himself in and making sure the entry flap was closed he pulled off his hood. Wardes visably flinched at the sight of his ears but made no other move in response.
The Princess and the Cardinal were much more guarded in their responses upon seeing the trademark pointed ears of the Elves. The Cardinal's eyes hardened slightly, not surprising considering his position within the Church. Henrietta moved in her chair, her gown's shifted cloth creases being the only indication of this.
"So is your new apprentice settled in?" asked the Jarl softly. Motabe nodded slightly in response. The Jarl gave a grunt of approval as he turned his attention back to the Tristainians.
"Now I believe we were discussing the issue of Elves." started Arlerus. Motabe nodded grimly; the rest of yesterday's discussions had reached no conclusion as they argued about what to do about the Elves of Winterhold.
While Orcs and the beastfolk would be alright, Elves were ruled out. Tristain was apparently unwilling to accommodate their age old enemies, even if said Elves had never heard of them.
The rest of the room grimaced. Yesterday had escalated badly; with the Jarl and the Cardinal having an extremely loud shouting match, while the rest of them tried to get them to calm down.
It was the entrance of a guard that informed them than dinner was ready which ceased the argument. Wisely, it was decided to continue talks in the morning, when people's heads have cooled down.
"Yes. We were." affirmed the Princess; her welcoming smile gone now and replaced with a frown as she recalled the past day.
"So then, do you have any new proposals on how to get over this?" asked Arlerus; his head coming to rest on his hands.
The Princess glanced to Cardinal Mazarin. Mazarin nodded and got ready to speak on her behalf. "We have no desire to have hostilities with the Elves of Winterhold, but neither can we accept them roaming freely across Tristain and the whole of Halkengenia. It would be best if they told to remain within the borders of Winterhold."
Motabe narrowed his eyes at the Cardinal. "And if we Elves choose to leave the boundaries of Winterhold?" he inquired; already expecting the answer he would receive.
"Then they will have to be forced to return." answered the Cardinal. The leaders of Winterhold reacted negatively to this. They conferred together slightly before the Jarl spoke for them.
"We cannot accept such an obviously racist proposition." declared the Jarl. Beside him Arlerus and Motabe nodded their agreement.
This was a heavily contentious one. While the Princess personally had no real animosity towards Elves, the same could not be said for all her subjects however. And she was well aware of that fact.
"It may be racist but it is necessary. If Elves from Winterhold were to freely travel Tristain, then there is no guarantee of their safety." she beseeched. The Elves couldn't be allowed to leave Winterhold, even if they were different to the ones they know; their pointed ears would cause fear and panic wherever they go.
There was also no telling of how Romalia and the church would react to this. With the Reconquista threat looming in Albion, and the military build-up of both Gallia and Germania in response to this; civil insecurity and fear among the populace was hardly what Tristain needed right now.
"So you would ask us to imprison thousands of my people?" demanded the Jarl, his face red with indignation.
To Henrietta's credit, she was unflinching as she faced a man who could probably kill her with his bare hands. "Only from leaving the boundaries of the lands of Winterhold." she stated calmly.
Motabe seethed. While he could see the logic behind her proposal, it did not make it any less immoral. Doing this would make them almost like the Thalmor.
"This will not do. Even if you have something against Elves, it is immoral and impractical for us to restrict all Elves within our hold." interjected Arlerus. He folded his arms as he stared hard at the Princess. "And if you fear that Elves walking in Tristain would cause panic; what is stopping a panic from happening if Tristainians enter Winterhold? Would it not be the same?" he pointed out.
"We will make an official proclamation declaring the 'risks' of entering Winterhold. So any travelling there will at least have some idea of what to expect." said the Cardinal.
"By 'risks', are you suggesting that us Elves would be as savage to attack peaceful travellers?" accused Motabe. His leaned forward on his chair, his posture aggressive, as he almost dared the Cardinal to insult him.
"We hardly have any proof as to how 'peaceful' your people are." responded the Cardinal coolly, his eyes ice cold. Despite his age, you could almost feel the aura of authority he held around him.
The tension in the air was overbearing. It was like a cup of water threatening to spill. Ever the peace bringer, Henrietta once again tried to regain so peace in the room. Unfortunately the issue of Elves was too big of an issue to ignore, especially to a Cardinal of the Church.
"Only yesterday we received a report of nearly three dozen dead commoners on the roads. The same roads that you were reported to travel along… I wonder what could have happened?" said the Cardinal in a sarcastic tone.
The Jarl snorted in dismissal. "We were defending ourselves against hostile Tristainians" he told them. "Perhaps you should take better care of your people and then they wouldn't need to go criminal on you." he suggested dryly, as an insult more than genuine advice.
"I'm sure your 'hold' is a perfect place with no strife. But we Tristainians have real issues to handle." responded the Cardinal; fighting fire with fire.
"Yes, maybe like that burglar I keep hearing about that has been robbing everyone lately. He's got you all riled up hasn't he." The Jarl gave the Cardinal a large smile, though it was anything but friendly. "Once again; the same advice goes."
Before the Cardinal could respond with a rejoinder, Henrietta slammed her palms on the smooth wood table. "We are not here to trade insults but to discuss the issue of Elves. Now both of you quiet down so we can get back to topic." She loudly commanded, as she ignored the pain from her hands.
The Cardinal obeyed reluctantly while the Jarl looked ready to continue if not for Motabe placing a restraining hand on his shoulder. It would have looked like a show of support; if not for the fact the hand was obviously straining to keep the Jarl in his chair.
"Now: you don't want to limit your people." she said to the Jarl. "While I admit the terms are harsh, I will not shift from them. This is for the best for both mine and your citizens." The Jarl looked ready to argue before he was cut down by the Princess. "This change is too great to rush things. Perhaps when people are more tolerant of your Elves, then we will consider changing the terms. Until then they are not to leave Winterhold." She said, trying to not shout out.
The room was silent from her outburst. "Your Highness, we-"Henrietta interrupted Arlerus before he could finish. "This is non-negotiable. If you refuse to enforce this then we will rescind the protection of Tristain. Do you understand." she said harshly.
The Imperial Thane grimaced before nodding. "I will ensure there will be no acts of violence from Tristain's side. If there are; then you are free to deal with them however you see fit, whether they be noble or commoner." she added, softening her tone.
The Jarl merely grunted in response. The concession to allow them to execute any troublemakers was something at least.
Motabe was still angry but kept his boiling anger inside. He had spent a large portion of his life being discriminate against for being an Elf and mage in Skyrim. If he could endure that, then he could endure this humiliation.
"And what of our religion then? Will you try to make us forsake our faith in the Nine as well?" the Jarl questioned.
The Princess hesitated at that. Steeling herself she shook her head. "We will not do such a thing. There will likely be issues with the Church in Romalia at a later time but we have no wish to impose our own faith in you as long as you share the same courtesy." she answered honestly.
If the Romalian Church had issue with this then they can pursue it on their own. With the ban of Elves from Tristain, they would hardly accept any more radical restrictions. And that was likely already pushing the limits of what they were willing to accept.
Likewise Winterhold couldn't leave their protector status only a day after they accepted it without massive repercussions from Tristain. Annexation would likely be a more acceptable alternative to what would happen in Tristain invaded with their soldiers reeling from injured national pride.
Once again, the bothersome servant interrupted them for lunch. Revising yesterday's routine, they chose to have lunch within the pavilion. The Archmage pulled back on his hood; as Arlerus instructed the guards to roll up one of the sides of the large blue pavilion to allow in some air.
A ring of guards formed up around the pavilion. Their presence kept onlookers from getting too close to the pavilion. And there were a lot of people outside wanting to get a look at what was happening.
The arrival of strange men and the Princess meeting with the foreigners for extended amounts of time draws a lot of attention. They knew something of grand importance was taking place within the pavilion; and more than a few were willing to risk sneaking closer to catch some news. And not all of them were innocent students looking for excitement.
Gah-Ei sat on the grass as he ate out of a plate. The loud noises and chaos that was the Alviss Hall was long behind him.
He was here with the only a few other familiars in a solitary courtyard. Everyone else had apparently decided to relocate to a position where they could see the Princess. Taking advantage of this; Gah-Ei had decided to move here to eat and thus avoid all the stares he had been receiving.
Unfortunately he had attracted the attention of a blue dragon. It looked nothing like the ones he had ever seen. Its arms were separate with its wings; and its hide seemed more smooth and soft compared to the jagged skin of the dragons he usually encountered.
Seeing that it was staring at his last piece of meat, he had held it out to let him take a bite. The dragon then chomped down on it and snatched the entire piece of cooked steak out of his hand.
Gah-Ei took a moment to stare at his now empty hand; he lifted his head back up to the dragon just in time to see it devour the rest of his meat. The dragon then turned back to him with pleading eyes, no doubt wanting more.
"Drehni kun pah do nii. (Don't take all of it)" He reprimanded. Since this was obviously not one of the dragons of Tamriel, he didn't expect an answer really. But the boom of his voice should be enough to show his dissatisfaction with it.
The dragon's head perked up in surprise. "Hi tinvaak voth razaan? (You speak with the Rhyme?)" it asked in barely supressed excitement. Its wings flapped repeatedly in quick succession as it quivered in joy.
Gah-Ei widened his eye. Was the Dovahzul universal for all dragons? And what was the Rhyme? "Fos los razaan? (What is the Rhyme)" he asked in interest,
He received no answer as it then released a shrill of happiness. Its legs crouched down slightly as if t- the dragon then pounced on him. He collapse under the weight that was the blue dragon as it began licking his face. "Nii fraan ful pruzah wah tinvaak ko razaan einzuk. Saak briinah said ni wah tinvaak nuz nii los ful unos wah ni tinvaak. (It feels so good to talk in rhythm again. Big sister said not to talk but it is so boring to not speak.)
He could not even get a word out as the dragon shifted its weight and pushed the breath out of him. "Saak briinah said ni wah tinvaak ko jul nuz Zu'u los tinvaakvon ko razaan ful rek fen ni gaav hren. (Big sister said not to speak in human but I'm speaking in rhythm so she won't get mad.)"
It then tilted its head in thought. "Nuz rek said ni wah tinvaak wah naangein nuz ek rem. (But she also said not to speak to anyone but her too.)" the dragon eye's then widened in fright. "Oo nid, nid, nid. Zu'u broke saak briinah mu'ul. (Oh no, no, no. I broke Big Sister's rules.)
"Gaav vau do zey… zu'u vis sum. (Get off of me… I can't breathe)" Gah-Ei croaked out. Judging by how the dragon kept fretting and was now scratching its head for excuses, it likely didn't hear his pleas. The growing strain on his chest did not help his situation.
As Gah-Ei struggled to keep breathing, the blue dragon suddenly tilted its head as if it was listening to something. Without further warning it kicked off the ground and took off towards one of the Academy's towers.
Gah-Ei skidded along the ground as he was pushed away from where the dragon took off. Eventually breaking his painful journey on a tree, he moaned in pain. The other familiars who had been watching now lost interest as the dragon flew away. They returned to their meals and tuned out the painful moans of the Argonian.
A petite blue haired girl was sitting on the edge of the wall; as she observed the Tristainian Royal Party having a meal with the men from Winterhold. Her staff was clutched close to her chest with one hand as she pretended to read a book with the other.
They were a strange people. Like them and yet so different. The difference was subtle but to a keen observer it was there. The way the moved, that they kept looking around warily at random intervals, and the speed at which they reacted to possible threats; this seemed to suggest that danger was constant where they came from.
"Sylphid" she acknowledged as her familiar as the young Rhyme dragon landed near her. "Kyuuuiii!" the dragon responded. Without reason, the dragon then scratched her underbelly.
Recognising the prearranged signal, Tabitha muttered a short spell. Immediately the noise around them was cut off. Nodding her permission to speak, Sylphid mellowed out.
"Irukuku is sorry Big Sister. Irukuku didn't mean to break your rules. Irukuku is sorry." she spewed out.
Tabitha froze. Irukuku was one of the now supposedly extinct Rhyme Dragons that had been hunted to extinction for body parts to use as reagents. The knowledge that there was one left would attract all kinds of bad attention. It didn't help that Irukuku was just so… innocent to the way the world works. So to protect her identity as one, she had ordered her not to talk to anyone aside from herself.
"Who?" Tabitha asked the crestfallen dragon. Irukuku looked up. "Irukuku no know big lizard man's name. Irukuku is sorry." She repeated again.
A big lizard man that could talk? That was almost certainly going to be the one that came with the foreigners from Winterhold.
"Why?" she asked. While childish and clumsy, she didn't think Irukuku would purposefully speak to another person.
Irukuku's eyes lit back up. "Ah! The big lizard man could speak with the rhyme. Irukuku thought he was scary at first but then he gave Irukuku some tasty meat. Then he spoke with the rhyme."
"Rhyme?" Tabitha asked, confused about what her familiar was talking about.
"Rhyme is rhyme. But lizard man doesn't speak like other rhyme dragons. Irukuku speaks like whoosh like the wind but big lizard man spoke like thunder." Irukuku elaborated.
Closing her book, Tabitha got up and mounted Irukuku. "Go to big lizard man." She commanded. Noticing that the spell hiding their conversation was gone Irukuku only kyuuuuid in response.
For all those interested there is a community-driven lexicon for the dragon language in Skyrim. Since I don't think I'm allowed to post links to websites; just google 'thuum' and it should be the first search.