The rest of the trip from Skingrad to Kvatch remained uneventful but enjoyable. Not thirty minutes after the bandit incident, Marten had caught sight of another wayshrine out in the distance just prior to crossing a small bridge in order to advance further down The Gold Road. Rather than race off towards this one, he politely asked his mother if they could check it out. She could tell that he had learned his lesson from the first time, but the fact that he still remained excited about the wayshrines made Tala smile. She was under the assumption that Marten was only excited about the wayshrines because he thought it was important to her. If that assumption was correct, then he couldn't be further from the truth. But Tala could see how happy this was making him and how this was becoming a bonding experience for mother and son... and that was more important to her than any holy crusade.

They were pleasantly surprised to find that this new wayshrine had been dedicated to Talos, which meant Tala could cross off one more God on her pilgrimage list. As they took a moment to rest and pay their respects and seek guidance, Tala grew lost in thought as she mulled over her current concern of bringing Marten to Kvatch. In a few hours they would be arriving to the city. This was the first time she was coming back since she returned to ask Captain Matius for aid for Bruma. This was Marten's first time visiting the city in his entire life. Tala knew that a few of the survivors would remember Martin the priest... but now that several years have passed since he left, the question will be if anyone could remember his face enough to make a connection. As they mounted up in the saddles and returned to the main road, she did her best to shrug the fears aside and not get worked up about it. But it wasn't easy to do. Of all the places she had gone, this was the one place inhabited by people who could potentially see through their hard-worked lie. She knew she could pull it off if she kept her wits about her, but yet the reassurance of past success didn't seem to do much in the way of quelling her fear.

'It'll be fine. Stop getting yourself worked up. Just do what you've always done and do it quietly and no one will get any ideas...'

"Mama?" She then heard Marten say with concern.

Tala quickly snapped to attention and turned in her saddle to look back at him. "Huh? What? What's wrong?" She quickly replied.

"Nothing... I just said thank you for being ok with going to the wayshrine... and you didn't say anything. Are you still mad?"

"Oh. Sorry, sweetheart. I'm not mad anymore. Just... distracted. But you're welcome. And thank you for being a little more restrained when asking to visit the second one." She then flashed him a smile and a wink at the end.

Marten sheepishly smiled back. "Yeah... I'm sorry I did that."

"Hey, you learned your lesson and handled it better the second time. That's all that matters." She said before turning to face forward again.

They were quiet for a minute or two before Tala heard Lily's gait pick up. When she saw Marten come up beside her, she noticed him slightly fidgeting with the reins before he finally decided to look at her and speak up. "Can I ask you something?"

"Of course." Tala sweetly replied.

"Why do you feel like you don't deserve to be the Gods' worthy knight?"

Tala froze up. 'Damn. He asked about it again.' "Well... I just don't think the Nine would want me as their champion again."

Marten tilted his head a little in confusion. "Why not?"

"It's... it's complicated."

"Why is it complicated?"

Tala looked away from him as she hummed a frustrated tone in her throat. She really wasn't sure how to explain her hesitation over wanting to do this. It seemed like everyone was encouraging her to explore this venture, yet she had to remind everyone why she was reluctant to do so. 'He doesn't know why I'm avoiding it. Maybe I should tell him...'

But then, Marten asked another question, "Does it because of the Oblivion Crisis?"

Tala stiffened in her seat again. "What makes you think that?" She asked.

"Because you were a part of it."

Now he had her full attention. As she whipped her head to look at him again, she rapidly blinked in shock. "Wait... you know about that?!"

"Yeah." Martin stated matter-of-factly as he returned his focus to the road while he steered his horse. "I know that's how you got your special titles. You were named the Hero of Kvatch because you helped close the Great Gate in Kvatch that the Mythic Dawn created to destroy the town. You got the title of Champion of Cyrodiil after you helped Emperor Martin banish Dagon back to Oblivion."

The fact that he knew everything and was able to simplify it caused her jaw to drop and her eyes to widen. She simply stared at him with awe for a second before she finally said what was on her mind. "How did you learn all of that?!"

"Jauffre told me about it during my lessons about the Aedra and Daedra." Marten replied with a bright smile. "I already knew about the Nine Divines from you teaching me, but he still had me read a couple of books that talked about them... 'The Trials of St. Alessia' and 'The Nine Commandments of the Nine Divines'. And for the Daedra, I read one that was actually called 'The Book of Daedra' and another one called 'On Oblivion'. Once I memorized the books, he taught me more about each of the sixteen Daedric Princes. Father Jauffre started with Mehrunes Dagon, since the Oblivion Crisis was a big deal and he said I needed to know about that first before we talked about the other Princes."

Tala couldn't help but continue to gawk at him in surprise. Luckily, Lavender wasn't paying attention to any cues from Tala and simply wandered down the road next to Lily, who was actually listening to Marten's subtle cues to stay on the desired path. Finally, she said, "Jauffre taught you all of that?" Marten simply nodded in response. 'Huh... so that's what Jauffre decided to start on for "Cyrodiilic history"? What else has he taught him?' Tala decided to let that last part go and asked him another question, "So how come you've never asked me about it before?"

Marten remained focused on the road for a moment before his sapphire eyes darted back to look at her. "I learned about it while you were away at the University, so I asked Dad why you never talk about it. He said sometimes soldiers don't always like to talk about what happened during wars because they saw a lot of bad things and it hurts too much to remember them, so it's why you don't like to bring it up. I also see how you look at strangers when they call you 'Hero of Kvatch' or 'Champion of Cyrodiil'. You're nice to them and all, but never seem happy about it. Dad says it's because you know they're trying to be grateful to you for saving Tamriel, so you don't want to upset them even though it upsets you. So I don't ask because I don't want to upset you."

Tala very subtly shook her head to wipe the shock on her face. So that's why Marten remained silent any time someone stopped them on the street and addressed her by her titles. He knew all along... and Guilbert found a way to keep him from pressing further. Though, in all honesty, the answer he gave Marten wasn't completely wrong either. She didn't like talking about it and it did upset her at times... just for a different reason.

"So does it have anything to do with that?" Marten reiterated.

"...Yeah." Tala replied slowly. "I already did my part to help save Tamriel. I helped close two Great Gates to Oblivion, sure. I took my oath as a Blade and the Emperor's Champion seriously, of course. But that doesn't make me qualified to be the Champion of the Nine."

"But you defeated a Daedric Prince, Mom!" Marten proudly started. "You-"

But before he could finish his sentence, his mother cut him off. "No." She firmly retorted. "I didn't. Your-" Tala quickly caught herself from letting her thoughts slip out into the open and carefully chose her next words. "You're hearing what everyone else is believing. The history books will state that, but the scholars weren't there in the Temple of the One that day. I simply watched as a better man defeated the Daedric Prince. I was just the convenient person to be named the title of Champion in his absence. And... and that's why I don't like to talk about it. That's one of the reasons why I don't think I'm worthy."

Marten's smile was completely gone and the guilt was plain in his eyes. "I'm sorry I upset you." He quietly said.

Tala shook her head as she kept her eyes on the road. "You didn't upset me. You were just trying to cheer me up, but you didn't know the truth. I'm just upset about the Champion title and what everyone thinks it means."

Marten paused to think about that for a moment before he spoke up again. "What about being the Hero of Kvatch?"

Tala's gaze returned to her son as she raised a curious eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"Did you close the Gate in Kvatch by yourself?"

"I did, actually."

His eyes brightened a little. "Was that your first time closing an Oblivion Gate?"

"It was." Tala gently replied with a smile.

"How did you know how to close it?"

Tala softly chuckled. "I didn't. I just went in there and figured it out on my own."

"Really?!" Marten exclaimed. "Why did you go in there if you didn't know how to close it?"

"Well... I was young and naïve at the time... and I didn't like being laughed at by the guards, so I wanted to one-up 'em." Tala replied with a laugh at the end. "I was only twenty-two years old at the time, looking too bright-eyed and eager, wearing cheap and beaten up pieces of Elven Armor with a pair of cheap Glass boots and a Mithril shield, just on a quest to retrieve someone in the city. So when I walked up to the guards trying to hold the daedra back and asked if they wanted my help, they didn't take me seriously. They actually laughed at me and told me if I really wanted to help, I'd watch the citizens who got out safely. When I told them that the person I was looking for was still trapped in the city, they told me I was going to die if I didn't 'let the professionals' handle this. I squared up my shoulders, marched straight passed them, and went into the portal to prove them wrong."

Marten let a giggle escape between his teeth as he bared her a wide grin. "So how did you find out how to close the Great Gate?" He jocundly inquired.

"Through dumb luck." Tala meekly admitted. "It... took me several long hours, but I eventually worked my way up the biggest tower in the realm. In the final room I saw this magic sphere... the Sigil Stone, it was called..." Tala then held out her hands as if she were holding the Sigil Stone itself, remembering what that had been like to gaze upon it for the first time before she continued. "I had felt the magicka radiating from it, so I reached out and yanked it clean from the makeshift base that held it in place. In doing so, I closed the Gate. Looking back at that moment, I was lucky that it wasn't a trap and that touching it didn't kill me. But I was young, dumb, and lucky... and I swear, protected by the Nine on my quest that day... and many days after that."

"Wow..." Marten breathlessly commented. "I bet the guards weren't laughing after that."

"No, they certainly weren't." Tala boastfully said. "The guard Captain even asked me to help retake Castle Kvatch shortly after before I went back to my original intention for being there. And from then on, everyone started calling me the Hero of Kvatch."

"Well I think that's pretty cool, Mom." Marten gleefully said. "You really earned that Hero title! I bet the Gods saw it too. So you never know, maybe they could see you as a worthy knight because of that!"

Tala's smile slightly faltered as she watched her son focus back on the road with a big, warm smile on his face. The outside perspective he showed was helpful; it took work for her to remember that she had other accomplishments to be proud of. Hero of Kvatch. Savior of Bruma. Master Wizard. She had other titles beyond the Champion of Cyrodiil; and while people tend to focus on the title she hated the most, it was nice to feel good about a past accomplishment. And she had her son to thank for that.

"By the way, Mom." Marten started. "Why did you go to Kvatch that day anyway?"

"Father Jauffre told me where to find Emperor Uriel's last heir. He was a priest in the Chapel of Akatosh there."

The boy looked back at his mother with excitement. "Emperor Martin was there?"

Tala nodded. "I'm sure you figured out by now that your Dad and I named you after Emperor Martin, right?"

Marten nodded. "I asked Dad about that a few years ago when I heard someone mention his name and I realized my name, 'Mar-ten' sounded a lot like 'Mart-in'. He told me I was named after him and that my name sounds different so that if I ever hear someone say "Martin", that I don't think they're trying to talk to me."

"That's right." Tala affirmed. "Martin and I became good friends after I came to get him from Kvatch. And without his sacrifice, you wouldn't have been born. And you were also born the day after his birthday. So we decided to name you in honor of him."

Marten then turned to look at his mother with surprise. "Wait, my birthday's right after his?" When Tala nodded again, his surprised expression remained in his eyes as his smile grew wide once more. "That's neat! I didn't know that!"

"I thought I told you that when you were young." Tala replied with a chuckle. "I guess you must've forgotten."

"I think I would have remembered that! ...Or... maybe I did forget. If I was really young, I don't think I would have remembered. But I do now!"

Tala warmly chuckled and shook her head in amusement. She watched him happily wiggle in his saddle for a moment as he continued to process all the new information he was getting before her eyes eventually wandered back to the road. She then tried to reach for her amulet; though it was nestled underneath her cuirass, she could still feel it pressed against her chest.

'How I hope you're seeing this, Martin.' She thought to herself.

After a moment, she adjusted her reins a little to make sure Lavender was paying attention to Tala's cues before she asked the grey mare to increase her stride, to which Marten did the same with Lily.

It would be another hour or two before they reached Kvatch, and she hoped to be there before the start of the afternoon. But for now, she was enjoying the conversations with her son.

.

.

.

A/N 5-1-22: I know it's a short chapter this time, but it went how I wanted it to go. And I'm happy that I got it done just in time for a first day of May release! Hope everyone enjoyed this simple talk-filled chapter!