The Fall of Lord Kelvyn
By Commentaholic
A/N: Well, Oblivion readers, here I am again, back from my short jaunt in the Bioshock fanfiction index. It is a journey that I will continue later. First, though, I must continue the story that is already somewhat coming along. We are now returning to the point at which Velvet has recently left Rhesus, and Rhesus has just had his revelation as to who Velvet really is. Now I will cover the story from that point, then I will return to the present, where Velvet and Kelvyn are still standing around waiting for me to get back to them. This next part is Chapter 10, which might come as quite a relief after the five-part Chapter 9. I hope you enjoy this chapter, and I hope I will write something that you enjoy.
Read and Review!
Chapter 10: Bonds: Both Sundered and Forged, Part 1.
A week had passed since Velvet had departed to search for Rhesus's wife: Tierra, and the Redguard was getting restless. He had been slowly regaining his former skill with training dummy in the basement, and was now confident that he'd be able to hold his own with Velvet, if only for a few minutes. But now he was bored after reading every book in the library, practicing with his blade until it dulled, and even trying to write his own book: The Chronicles of a Dead Man. That idea died quickly, because Rhesus realized that most of his activities following his death in the Arena would likely be either frowned upon or desired to be kept secret by the Mages' Guild and the Dark Brotherhood.
It was another boring day, which Rhesus was spending sharpening his blade on the porch of the small cottage, when he spotted a dark shape down the hill. Finally! Rhesus thought, putting the longsword down on the table next to him. He rose and stretched the stiffness from his limbs, cracked his back, then went inside to get a drink for Velvet, who would no doubt be thirsty after her journey.
It took Velvet a few minutes to reach the peak, and Rhesus opened the door when she arrived. Velvet was still wearing her dark cloak over her tight, black leather armor, despite the sunny day. Velvet started to speak, but Rhesus hushed her, handing her the cup of cool water he had poured for her.
"Have a drink first. I may want to find my wife, but I'm not a slave driver," he said.
Velvet accepted the cup with a nod of thanks and downed it in three gulps. She wiped the watery remnants from her lips with her sleeve, placed the cup on the table, and then began to speak. "Rhesus, I found her in Kvatch, as you said I would, but there have been… complications since you left. The city was attacked during the Oblivion Crisis, and many died. Thankfully, Tierra wasn't among them, as she chose to team up with the Hero of Cyrodiil, who managed to drive off the daedra and liberate the ruins."
"Oh thank the Nine," Rhesus said, collapsing into a chair, "I can't tell you how happy I am to hear that she survived that hellhole. When I heard that Kvatch had fallen, I couldn't sleep for a week, and Celedaen was worried for me."
At this, Velvet rolled her eyes in annoyance. People were always overly dramatic when it came to family. This exact reason had been why she had refused to get close to people apart from Helen, until Lucien, of course. Her mind drifted, picturing the handsome Imperial hacking and slashing through a crowd of faceless civilians. Velvet sighed, then snapped herself back into reality, now was not the time to be daydreaming. She looked back at Rhesus, who seemed to have been rambling on while she had had her head in the clouds.
Velvet raised a hand to halt Rhesus's stream of nonsense, "Rhesus, if we're going to meet your wife, I'd rather get this over with quickly. That way, we can get back to dealing with Sundercliff Watch."
"Of course," said Rhesus, "we should leave immediately. Uh, this might be a foolish question but… How are we going to get there? Even if you have a horse, that still leaves me without a ride, and I refuse to steal one."
Velvet sighed again, rubbing her brow in frustration, "My horse is more than strong enough, just follow me." She whirled about and headed out the door again. Rhesus followed after closing the door to the cottage and locking it. No need to give looters an open door.
The pair made their way down the hill and through the small patch of forest near the bottom of the hill. Upon reaching the side of the road, Velvet put out an arm to halt Rhesus in his tracks, then pulled out a small ivory whistle with a skull carved on it. She blew into it, the high pitch irritating Rhesus's ears. Nothing happened.
"What was that all about?" Rhesus asked.
"Just wait a moment. Shadowmere should be here momentarily." Velvet replied.
Rhesus stared at her in confusion for a few moments until he heard a string of rapid thumps upon the ground. The Redguard looked up the road to see a black shape cresting the hill about half a mile away. Before he knew it, the same black shape blurred into his vision and a very solid form struck him, knocking him down to the ground in a heap.
"Shadowmere! That wasn't nice!" he heard Velvet exclaim. Rhesus looked up to see a jet-black horse standing next to Velvet, a barely visible cloud of steam rising from its dark skin. On the ground behind it, two small patches of flame smoldered in the shape of horseshoes. Looking farther up the road from his position on the ground, Rhesus could see more of the flaming hoof-prints dotting the cobblestones in various states of charring. Velvet walked up to the demon-horse's side and gave it a small pat on the side of its neck. The horse neighed and nuzzled her hand.
"What….is that?" Rhesus asked between gasps.
"This is Shadowmere, my horse. He is what will get us to Kvatch in record time." Velvet responded with a laugh, "I suggest you treat him with respect, or he's liable to take a bite out of your arm."
Rhesus caught a glimpse of razor-sharp teeth filling the horse's mouth as Velvet said this, as well as what could be called evil glint in the horse's ruby eyes. Rhesus rose and headed back over to Velvet, taking care to stay as far away from the demon steed's mouth as possible.
Velvet hopped up onto the horse's black saddle without a hint of fear, then extended her hand to Rhesus to help him up. Rhesus grasped her arm and was pulled easily up into the saddle, where he brushed up against the Elven claymore that was strapped to her back.
"Hey, what happened to your claymore?" Rhesus asked, wondering where she'd put his old weapon.
"What are you talking about? It's right here! I didn't forget this one inside, too, did I?" Velvet said, feeling behind her back for the blade's handle.
"No, no, you still have your Elven one," Rhesus said, "But where's the steel one?"
"Oh, THAT claymore. I use that one for ceremonial occasion. You know, special targets," she said with a wink, "Also for when I don't expect any serious fighting. Darkrend here is much more reliable. I have an… errand to do in Skingrad while you get caught up with your spouse, if you don't mind me leaving you alone for a couple hours."
"Skingrad…a couple of hours?" Rhesus gawked until he remembered the speed at which this horse was capable of going. "No, no problem, I'll be fine."
"Good, because I simply must get there, I hear that it's going to be a fun…errand." Velvet said, a wicked grin accompanying her last words.
Rhesus gave a slight shudder. It was hard enough living with the fact that he'd be helping a Dark Brotherhood member. But did she really have to rub in the fact that she was killing people with such a relaxed attitude about it?
Velvet looked at him again, grin still on her face, "You'd better hang on. Shadowmere here's been known to throw someone off so fast that they scraped half their face off before sliding to a stop."
Rhesus grabbed his arms tightly around Velvet's waist, much to Velvet's discomfort. Well, she thought, if he's going to stay on the horse, there's no other way…
Velvet shook the reigns once and shouted to her horse, "To Kvatch, Shadowmere! With haste!"
All was still in the world for a brief shining moment before all the colors blurred together in a maelstrom of hues. Rhesus's clothes whipped about him as the horse flew over the countryside as if Mehrunes Dagon himself was behind them. Velvet whooped in excitement, earning another stare from Rhesus's eyes, which were watering from the air blasting into his face.
After what seemed like minutes, the whirlwind of colors around them blurred to a stop, and Rhesus could make out a small statue outside the walls of the city that he could only assume was Kvatch. The white marble statue was of a robed man holding an amulet out before him, the shape of a dragon spewing forth from its surface.
"Who's that?" Rhesus asked, pointing at the statue.
"You really didn't get out much when you were with Celedaen, did you?" asked Velvet. Rhesus shook his head. Velvet sighed again, as she often did with Rhesus around, and started explaining, "That's Martin Septim, bastard son of Uriel Septim: Would-be Emperor of Cyrodiil, casting Mehrunes Dagon back into Oblivion and sealing up the gates behind him with the help of the Hero of Cyrodiil. It would have been the perfect end to a heroic tale if the dragon Martin had turned into hadn't turned to stone after banishing the Daedric Prince."
"You don't seem very respectful of the man who saved the province." Rhesus noted.
Velvet looked at him with a smirk on her face, "Why? He was one of my next missions! Apparently he got too grabby with the Count's daughter in the confession booth. Also, the Mythic Dawn cult was going to pay a lot of Septims for us to bump him off, too. He was lucky that he became a statue, because he wouldn't have lasted long afterwards. I was waiting behind the pillar across the room, waiting for the opening that would come when the 'Hero' wasn't looking. When he "died by turning into that blasted statue, I lost my paycheck. We don't get paid unless we kill them ourselves, you see..."
Rhesus gave her another shocked look and slid from the horse.
Velvet turned Shadowmere around and then looked down at Rhesus, "Your wife lives on the west side of town, two houses down from the new Arena. I'll be back in a few hours, meet me in the Antus Pinder Inn down the street, and then we'll be on our way."
Rhesus nodded and turned toward the gate, adjusting his vest. He heard a "whoosh" of wind behind him and turned around to see a black blur heading west along the Gold Road, a trail of flaming hoof-prints flaring in its wake.
Rhesus shook his head in disbelief, that girl was just insane. He turned and headed toward the gate again. The guard nodded his helmeted head in greeting as Rhesus passed the heavy oak doors into the city. He gaped at the rebuilt city.
The new buildings glistened in the afternoon sun, which cast an orange hue on the grey-stoned structures that lined the main avenue. In the plaza just inside the gate, another statue stood, this time of a dragon, wings outstretched and maw open, spewing granite flames into the air. Rhesus inhaled, breathing in the familiar aroma of the forge across the plaza, as well as the scent of fresh bread from the Antus Pinder Inn's open door. Rhesus heard the clash of metal on metal, as well as a roaring crowd, and headed towards the noise. The new Arena was no less impressive than the main avenue of the city. Towering walls of smooth travertine limestone dominated the cityscape, casting half of the town in its shadow. An aged Breton manned the table where bets were made on combatants, drumming lazily on the table with long, knobby fingers.
Rhesus walked up to the old man, who immediately sat up straight with a smile on his face. "Welcome to the Kvatch Arena, care to make a wager on a combatant? Or perhaps you're more of the gladiator type yourself, eh?" He gave Rhesus a sly wink.
Rhesus shook his head, "No, sorry, I was just wondering if you knew which one of these houses the Redguard Tierra lived in."
"Oh," the Breton said, slumping back into his tired posture, "it's over there, second house down." The man pointed at a house that had plants hanging from each window, giving it the appearance of a building in the Imperial Elven Gardens District.
Rhesus thanked the man for confirming the location of Tierra's house. It wasn't that he didn't trust Velvet, but it never hurt to be sure of where you were going.
Rhesus walked over to the house, up the stairs, and stopped at the door. Rhesus raised a fist to knock, then hesitated. What if she didn't recognize him after the months they'd been separated? What if she hated him for not returning the moment he was alive again? What if she fainted at the sight of her dead husband? Uncertainties coursed through his brain, then were swept aside by his desire to see his darling wife again. He squeezed his fist tighter after feeling his newfound resolve, then knocked on the door.
Noises were heard from within, footsteps headed towards the door. The door creaked open halfway, and Tierra stood in the doorway, holding a jug of water. She looked at Rhesus and he looked at her, drinking her appearance in like a man who had never seen any being with beauty so fine. Her eyes looked him over, then rose to his face. Her eyes widened in surprise.
"R-Rhesus?" she asked, voice quivering.
"Aye, Tierra, it is me." Rhesus answered.
The jug of water slipped from her fingers, shattering in a cacophony of noise as it hit the ground. Tierra's quivering arms reached forward to touch Rhesus's face, her soft skin brushing against his scarred features.
"Tierra?" A man's voice came from within the home, "What's wrong? I heard something shatter...?"
The door opened fully, revealing a male Redguard wearing half of a suit of battered iron armor. Obviously caught in the middle of taking his armor off, the man still wore a mace at his hip and had a small knife handle sticking out of his iron boots. His black hair was tinged with grey as it curved over the top of his head to end in braids at the back of his neck. Rhesus gaped at the man's face, for it was one that he would never forget. Eyes showing the wisdom of a warrior looked back at him, wrinkles around the edges from years of battle-weariness and stress. A scar crossed his face from his right temple to the left side of his chin.
It was the face of Owyn, his old Blademaster and friend from the Imperial City Arena.
A/N: Whoaa! What a twist, eh? Rhesus returns from his absence only to find his old friend with his wife? I hope that no one's reading this part before the story, or else I just spoiled the whole chapter.
Before I go, I'd like to ask people who are reading this to: (1) Read and Review, and (2) Vote in the poll on my profile. The choices are rather obvious.
A few thanks for ideas: Leonette for the ivory whistle and the admonishing of Shadowmere. Thanks to my dad for the whole "Tierra moving on" idea.
Apologies in advance (or is it hindsight?) to all the Martin Septim fangirls for portraying him as a philandering priest. Please don't blow me up with your many, many flames about it.
Anyway, Chapter 10 will most likely only have one more part, concluding in the next TFoLK submission. After which, I will most likely return to "present day", where… well, I believe I've already described what it's going to be in the first Author's note. I hope you guys decide to read and review!