Author's Note: This is my first fanfic and I hope to grow better as I write more. Also, for Elder Scrolls fans... this isn't gonna be 1000% lore accurate as there's lore I don't know/isn't really that important, lore from ESO that can get contradictory (such as the elf age stuff), and I'll be including some of my own original lore. But for the most part this will at least be lore-friendly, especially for newcomers to the franchise.
Prologue
During the First Era, the Dwemer (or Dwarves in the common tongue) inhabited the lands of Vvardenfell (modern day Morrowind) along with the Chimer (ancestors of the Dunmer, or Dark Elves in the common tongue). The history between these two races was vile, often resulting in many wars. But one major war is of concern, the Battle of Red Mountain. The Dwemer settled in Vvardenfell at the tallest mountain in the world (which after the eruption of the fifth year of the Fourth Era, this title would later be claimed by the Throat of the World in Skyrim) which they too had named Vvardenfell, but it is commonly known as Red Mountain. Red Mountain was a rather vile volcano of a mountain, known for its destructiveness and its inhospitality. However, the Dwemer need not worry for their civilizations inhabited the undergrounds. In this First Era, the mountain had erupted, covering all of Vvardenfell in ash (which still plagues the lands to this day). This eruption of Red Mountain often coincides in stories with the Battle of Red Mountain, if not slightly preceding it. The battle concerned the Chimer and the Dwemer of the First Council at the foot of Red Mountain. Too often though, history is lost and morphed by the survivors; meaning that the exact truth of what took place is hard to tell. But what is certain is that the Dwemer had constructed the Numidium, a brass golem they intended to harness into a god by striking the Heart of Lorkhan with Keening, transferring its power to the golem. However, upon striking the heart, every single Dwarf disappeared from the realm of Nirn, leaving all of their ruins empty and desolate. Aside from hard-to-validate anecdotal accounts, the Dwemer were never seen again.
During the Second Era, another catastrophic event would take place that forever changed Nirn. During the 582nd year of the Second Era, the Daedric Prince of Domination, Molag Bal, had attempted to invade all of Nirn. He planned to merge his Daedric Realm of Oblivion, Coldharbour, with Nirn in an event known as the Planemeld. This event would've effectively turned all of Nirn into Molag Bal's Daedric Realm, a land where all things are dead or undead, a land where all things are corrupted, a land where there is no hope. This plan was halted by the Vestige, causing Molag Bal to attempt to claim Mundus while his forces invaded and corrupted the Imperial City in Cyrodiil. Eventually Molag Bal was defeated, his mortal form destroyed and the remnants of him summoned back to his realm of Oblivion. But his corruption was not forgotten, and opened cracks in the reality of Nirn, causing multiple other invasions to take place in his wake from other Daedra. Each Daedra was subsequently defeated but caused the cracks of reality to grow larger.
During the 389th year of the Third Era, the Imperial Battlemage, Jagar Tharn, imprisoned Emperor Uriel Septim VII in a realm of Oblivion. He then masqueraded around as the Emperor to rule Tamriel, using illusion magic. But the imprisonment of a living person from Nirn in an Oblivion Realm only further expanded the cracks of reality. But Jagar Tharn's plan of Tamrielic domination would be subsided by the Eternal Champion who traveled the Eight Corners of Tamriel to find and rebuild the Staff of Chaos. This ten-year heroic journey resulted in the death of Jagar Tharn and the freeing of the Emperor, a noble act, but the further continuation of travel through Oblivion increased the cracks further.
During the 405th year of the Third Era, King Lysandus was slain by a Wayrest Assassin the night before the Battle in Cryngaine Field in Hammerfell. Emperor Uriel Septim VII sent over a hero to investigate the King's disappearance and figure out why his ghost still haunted the city of Daggerfall. This resulted in the Emperor's hero helping to find the Mantella, but what followed is often referred to as the Warp in the West. This resulted in all possible endings happening at once. The Blades recreated the first Numidium, and the Orcs defeated the Bay Kings and Imperial forces. This resulted in a fracture where the country of Orsinium existed, the Bay Kings lay defeated, and the Emperor continued to rule Tamriel. However, Mannimarco used the Mantella to make himself a god while another incarnation of him becomes the leader of the Order of the Black Worm, and the Underking absorbed the Mantella's power, destroyed the Numidium, and passed into eternal slumber. This strange fracturing of events where all possible contradictory outcomes exist at once further expanded the cracks of reality.
During the 427th year of the Third Era, the prophesied return to Morrowind of Nerevar came true. During this time, Dagoth Ur used the Heart of Lorkhan to effectively make himself immortal against the wishes of the Tribunal, three God-like beings ruling over Morrowind. Dagoth Ur had constructed Akulakhan, a giant golem being powered by Lorkhan's Heart, to drive away the imperial forces of Morrowind. However, Dagoth Ur would eventually be defeated by the Nerevarine; and in the wake of his defeat, Deadric Prince of the Hunt, Hircine, would begin his Great Hunt and the Tribunal would fall. With the continued use of the Heart of Lorkhan, the Daedric invasion of Hircine, and the fall of three God-like beings, the cracks would expand.
During the 433rd year of the Third Era in Cyrodiil, Emperor Uriel Septim VII foresaw his own death and entrusted a mysterious prisoner he saw in his own dreams to seek out his secret heir and give him the Amulet of Kings. The Emperor was slaughtered by the Cult of the Mythic Dawn, who worshiped the Daedric Prince of Destruction, Mehrunes Dagon. The prisoner delivered the Amulet to the heir and helped in the ensuing Oblivion Crisis brought on by Mehrunes Dagon and his Cult. After much turmoil, the Daedric Prince was defeated by an avatar of the God of Time, Akatosh. It is said that they had closed the Oblivion Gates permanently. Due to the prisoner's bravery in the ordeal, they were granted the title of the Champion of Cyrodiil, but by now the cracks of reality more or less turned into shattering. This could be seen by the attempted return of a long dead Ayleid King and the ensuing Greymarch in the Daedric Realm of the Shivering Isles.
Not long after the Oblivion Crisis, The Altmer (or High Elves in the common tongue) of the Summerset Isles, feeling weakened and threatened by the invasion, unified the Thalmor of the Aldmeri Dominion. This Dominion in the coming years grew bloodthirsty, overzealous, and imperialistic. In the 171st year of the Fourth Era, the Aldmeri Dominion went to war with the Empire over concerns of the worship of the God Talos, said to have slaughtered thousands of elves as he made his way into Skyrim. These concerns were most likely dubious, and only used to justify the Aldmeri Dominion's reign over Tamriel. This resulted in a five year long great war that ended in the signing of the White-Gold Concordat, banning the worship of Talos in the Empire. However, there were major concerns during this war that the Thalmor summoned hordes of Daedra, these concerns can probably be backed up with the shattering of reality expanding further after the war.
In Skyrim during the 201st year of the fourth era, High King Torygg was slaughtered in the city of Solitude by the Jarl of Windhelm, Ulfric Stormcloak. Caused by Ulfric's disdain of the Empire for allowing the banning of Talos worship, the Jarl caused a civil war in the land of Skyrim, temporarily weakening the country. The Stormcloaks and the Imperial Army fought and desecrated the land, leaving blood and death in their wake. However, Jarl Ulfric Stormcloak would be defeated at the hands of General Tullius, beheading him and leaving the land to be ruled by the Jarl of Solitude, Torygg's wife Elisif the Fair. The turmoil shattered all that remained in Skyrim of reality, as these events happened alongside the return of Alduin, the World-Eater.
During the same year, the town of Helgen in Skyrim was destroyed by the return of the World-Eater, signaling the return of the dragons and the end of all things. However, with the dragon Alduin came the Last Dragonborn, prophesied to delay the end of the world and prevent Alduin from destroying anything until the proper time. With the body of a mortal but soul of a dragon, the Last Dragonborn learned the way of the Thu'um (the Dragon Tongue) and found the Elder Scroll that told of how to delay Alduin. With these two things as well as the help of the Greybeards, their dragon leader Paarthurnax, and the heroes of old who once stopped Alduin, the Last Dragonborn delayed the premature end of everything. However, the dragons still brought back by Alduin, as well as Alduin's sudden appearance in tandem with the civil war, shattered all reality within Skyrim. This allowed for the rise of the Vampire Lord Harkon who planned to sacrifice his daughter to curse arrows with her blood, which he would shoot with Auriel's Bow into the sun to blot it out, bringing on the reign of vampires. He was defeated by the Last Dragonborn and his own daughter Serana before his plan could commence, but he still brought about a strong vampire menace to stalk the lands of Skyrim. Though it doesn't end here, Alduin's defeat heralded the return of the First Dragonborn, Miraak, who gathered a cult with the Daedric Prince of Knowledge, Hermaeus Mora's help. But after hearing about Mirrak's betrayal and learning of his attempt to subjugate the world, Hermaeus Mora gathered the help of the Last Dragonborn to defeat him. While Alduin (and his two substitutes) were defeated, their shattering cannot be undone.
And it is said that after these destined Nine Pillars happen upon Nirn, the Tenth Pillar would commence. The hands of Fate would descend upon Nirn, Oblivion, and everything ever known, twisting and shaping Time until nothing was left.
Chapter 1 And Suddenly… Dwarf
'When the Red Mountain erupts and the Deep Folk fade
When Domination reigns over Tamriel and Corruption roams free
When misrule takes its place at the eight corners of the world
When the Brass Tower walks and Time is reshaped
When the thrice-blessed fail and the Red Tower trembles
When the Dragonborn Ruler loses his throne, and the White Tower falls
When the race of Altmer rise up, and stain the world red
When the snow tower lies sundered, kingless, bleeding
When the World-Eater wakes, and the Wheel turns upon the Last Dragonborn
The hands of Fate entwine Time until it is nevermore'
~ The Prophecy of All Things
Deep in the forests of Valenwood, there was a dark prison. Inside, four prisoners inhabited their own cells while a Wood Elf guard stood watching. The prison was damp and laden with stone. The concrete architecture creaked and moaned as water dripped from the ceiling. The iron bars encasing the cells were molded with rust that shone an orangish-red in the torchlight.
'Hey, you, you're finally awake!' called a Khajiit, his black fur camouflaging him into the shadows of his cell.
Standing up in the cell opposite on the left side to the Khajiit's was a High Elf rubbing the drowsiness from his sharp eyes.
'I'm surprised I even got any sleep.' yawned the High Elf as his gaze fixated on the High Elven woman in the cell directly in front of his. The woman was huddled, grasping onto the bars of her jail whispering numbers to herself.
A stretch of silence passed over the prisoners while the torches crackled near the prison's door. The silence was only interrupted by a grave 'Six Minutes.'
The strange woman started to slightly rock back and forth while holding the prison bars, causing them to creak louder.
'Does she ever shut up?' complained the Khajiit, clasping his claws around his bars. 'It's beyond annoying, how can one count down that long without losing their voice?'
'Five Minutes.' the strange elven woman said to herself in the dark. Her eyes seemed to widen in fear, causing a strange tension in the prison.
'We wouldn't be in this situation if Mr. Ash'Nerahvii, the "Greatest Thief Alive", hadn't gotten us caught.' said a Wood Elf, lounging on her bed in the cell directly opposite to the offended cat's. 'Well maybe if Valdalf over here had actually gotten the scroll on time, I wouldn't have been spotted.' Ash'Nerahvii hissed.
Valdalf scoffed at Ash'Nerahvii's remark but looked down at the floor with a solemn face. 'Eralin, that was my only chance to find her… and I failed.' Valdalf said. But the Wood Elf stood up from her bed and walked to the front of her cell. 'Listen Valdalf, I loved your mother dearly too. But there are other ways to find her. The Elder Scroll was only one way, and a rather difficult one at that. I mean, who was even gonna read it? It's not like the three of us are moth priests or anything.' Valdalf looked in Eralin's direction with disappointment, but he couldn't help himself but agree with her.
Silence persisted in the prison for a few seconds, before the elven woman's strange voice whispered again, 'Four Minutes.'
From under the torchlight, the Wood Elf guard emerged from the doorway. His Bosmer armor clanged together as he strode past the jail cells and sat down at the end table at the end of the hall. All the while, the strange High Elf woman continued rocking in her jail cell. Valdalf began examining the strange woman, studying the wrinkles wrought by age covering her cheeks and forehead. 'How long has she been here?' Valdalf called towards the guard, now reading an old and dusty book bound in leather. The guard looked up at him and then at the woman, still clinging onto the bars of her cell with a wild but vacant look melted onto her face. 'Pretty much for as long as I've been here.' the guard slowly uttered. Before Valdalf could even ask, the guard reprised 'Five years, and yes, she's counted down every single year, month, day, hour, and minute.'
'Three Minutes.' the woman said, but again in a tone that indicated fear. The guard looked up at Valdalf, Eralin, and Ash'Nerahvii with a smirk, almost as if to say, 'I told you so.'
Valdalf's mouth began to gape, but Eralin interjected before he could say anything else. 'Do you know why?' her gaze now landing on the strange old woman. 'Not a clue.' the guard said with suspicion in his voice. Ash'Nerahvii began to pace back and forth in his cell impatiently. 'I am not going to last the whole month here with her.' he mumbled under his breath. 'I just had to get caught, didn't I?' the Khajiit said to himself with a disgruntled look now fading onto his face.
'Two Minutes.'
The guard began to chuckle to himself; but as the three conversational prisoners began to look at him, his chuckle evolved into a hardy laugh. 'I wouldn't be so down on yourselves! You're only in here for a month. And from what I've heard, you ought to be proud of yourselves. No other thieving attempt of the Elder Scroll resulted in the priests having to upgrade the defense system with explosion spells.' the guard blurted out with excitement.
The guard began to ask Valdalf and Ash'Nerahvii how they slipped into the main chamber containing the Elder Scroll unnoticed. Seeing as they had nothing better to do, Ash'Nerahvii gave a detailed explanation of the inner workings of the old, unused crawl spaces. Outside the main temple housing the Valenwood Moth Priests and the scroll, was a small ventilation system that was rarely checked. After unhinging the grate, Ash figured out that the unmaintained ventilation system connected to a series of small unused crawl spaces for Goblin travel back when the Wood Elves still enslaved the small creatures. These unmaintained pathways in the walls led to everywhere in the temple, allowing the three thieves to enter the room containing the Elder Scroll of Lost Fates.
'One Minute.'
Valdalf happily explained the inner mechanism of the device containing the scroll and how it seemed to resemble Dwarven make; and due to his experience with Dwarven Ruins, Valdalf was easily able to open the primary device containing the scroll but had trouble with the secondary Bosmer lock. Eralin perked up and subtly explained her way of getting information from the priests through conversation without their noticing; and explained that while Valdalf opened the device, her and Ash kept watch which was their downfall when Ash's tail was spotted by a guard. 'Sorry if my excitement is a bit odd for someone who's supposed to uphold the law.' the guard laughed. 'It's just that I used to run with a group of thieves before becoming a guard. And I'm honestly thinking about rejoining them, they definitely paid better than this.'
Eralin suddenly stopped smiling, her ears began to strain as she tried to listen to something over the talk of the others. Valdalf continued on about the best way to utilize a lock pick, having noticed the slight clicking sound his lockpicks made when in the correct position. The guard put his book down next to the dim candle on the table and started telling of his old days as a thief. 'I remember one time' he chuckled to himself, 'going into Elsweyr, land of the cat people.' Ash'Nerahvii's ears perked up at the mention of his homeland, eager to hear of this tale. 'I had snuck into the Temple of the Two Moons Path and plucked gold straight off of the Mane himself.' the guard laughed. 'That was you?' Ash'Nerahvii asked with amazement, 'He gathered the whole city of Dune to help find his missing gold when I was just a cub.' he laughed with a nostalgic look in his eyes.
As the guard, Ash'Nerahvii, and Valdalf began more exciting tales of thievery, Eralin grew a strange realization. 'Hey, guys!' Eralin cried, but no one else seemed to notice. Valdalf continued on about the first time he and Eralin plundered an old ruin, going on about skeletons and ghosts inhabiting the old place. But Eralin cried out again, 'Hey, guys!'. Valdalf and the guard continued talking but Ash'Nerahvii took notice of her plea. Finally, Eralin yelled as loud as she possibly could. 'What?!' Valdalf and the guard both asked, startled. 'Listen.' Eralin whispered with concern.
All of them began to adjust their ears, listening out for something. Valdalf looked around, but all he could manage to pick up was the slight dripping of water and the crackling of the torches. Ash'Nerahvii could now finally understand what concerned Eralin but before he could speak, the guard spoke up with annoyance, 'I don't hear anything.' Valdalf stopped listening intently and looked at Eralin with confusion.
'Exactly!' she whispered with concern.
Valdalf stood confused for a few more seconds as the guard shrugged his shoulders. But as they both looked at the jail cell in front of them, they both finally understood. As Valdalf looked up at the guard, he saw the sudden confusion grow on his face. 'She stopped counting down.' the guard said, coming to terms with his realization. 'Why?' Valdalf asked Eralin.
She didn't answer his question, stupefied by the abject horror now radiating from the High Elf's face. The woman unclenched her hands from the bars and crawled backwards across the dirty stone floor until her back hit the corner of her cell. Everyone stood silent in confusion as tension flooded the air. Each drip of water falling from the crack in the roof sounded like thunder and the creaking of the architecture sliced through the air like a banshee's scream. Eralin felt chills run all the way up her spine and into her scalp, as the woman, huddled in her dark corner, finally shuttered grimly from her mouth. 'It has begun… the end is nigh…'
Ash'Nerahvii softly creaked 'What do you mean?' The woman's eyes widened in the dark corner of her cell, reflecting light like terrified lanterns as she rocked back and forth. 'The age of the Daedra is upon us', she said with panic flowing into the air. Just as the others began to speak, a sudden shift in the atmosphere silenced everyone. The air shifted from cold to humid, damp to murky, and from silent to a quiet but ever-increasing hiss. The guard clutched his sword and Eralin began to cringe at the sudden stickiness of the air. The old woman began to scream for the Divines to spare her, but her pleas fell on deaf ears.
The air began to move, swirling around in the now damp and humid dungeon. The jail bars creaked with every swirl of the air; and one by one, the wind blew each torch and candle out, leaving all of them in the murky, smoky darkness. The High Elf prayed to herself, invoking the Nine Divines to stop whatever she thought was coming. As the wind in the dungeon grew stronger and swirled in the middle of the hallway, a dim light began to fade into view. The light grew blue in the center of the hallway and only increased in size into the vague shape of a person as the wind kicked up, nearly suffocating everyone in the small prison. Valdalf struggled for air as dirt began to scratch at his face while small pebbles clanged against his head and body. Eralin only viewed on in horror as the air was sucked out of her lungs and as her long hair was whisked away by the wind, knocking her down.
As Ash'Nerahvii clung to his jail bars so as to not fall down, the prison lit up with a blinding blue light that smothered everyone's faces in radiant heat. But just as it ballooned in size, it suddenly shrunk into nothingness. Believing whatever it was to be gone, the guard began to stand up again after being knocked down by the sudden wind. Yet as he stood up and smiled at Valdalf, a sudden deafening explosion flowered from the center of the prison. The guard crashed through the main door, as the explosion destroyed the structure of the prison, launching Iron bars across the room and shattering the walls revealing the beautiful sunlight and forests.
Minutes must've passed before Valdalf finally awoke, concussed from the blast. He groggily tried to stand, but the sudden rush of pain into his left leg revealed multiple small lacerations to him. Nevertheless, he hobbled out of what was once his cell and looked up. In awe, he stood there realizing there was no more ceiling, the concrete now replaced by trees so tall and large, they've been called the Second Sky. He looked away from the Middle-Green and towards where Eralin now laid motionless in a pile of rock and iron. 'No! No!' Valdalf cried as he hobbled over to her. He held her in his arms and checked her slowing pulse. 'Please! Please don't die.' he whimpered, 'I can't lose another mom.' Tears rolled down his yellow, Aldmeri cheeks as his face cringed at his thoughts. The blush flooding his face seceded as soon as he heard a gasp and cough coming from his arms. Eralin rasped out from his arms 'Please don't get us arrested again.' and smiled as she began to stand.
Valdalf wiped the tears from his face and hugged her. The two then began to rummage through the rubble in search of Ash'Nerahvii and the High Elf. 'That's my tail you're yanking!' Ash'Nerahvii yowled as Valdalf pulled him from the rubble. 'If small cats don't like it, us cat people REALLY don't appreciate it.' he said as he swiped dust and rock from his dark fur. 'Sorry, that's all I could see of you.' Valdalf smugly remarked, fully knowing Ash's hands were above the concrete. As Ash'Nerahvii jovially punched him in the shoulder and thanked him, they both heard Eralin gasp. 'She didn't make it, the rubble crushed her!' Eralin remarked as she removed chunks of rock from the High Elf's body. 'She needs a proper burial.' said Valdalf as they removed her body and carried it to the stairs.
'I'll get my guys to take care of that.' said a voice from under the remnants of a door. The guard pushed the door off of him and tried standing up, but he winced as pressure was applied to his legs. Crumpling back down to the ground, the guard clutched his bleeding calf. Eralin quickly knelt down, face-to-face with the guard and tore some cloth from her sleeve. 'It's not much for now but trust me' she said as she wrapped the cloth around his leg to stop his bleeding, 'we'll get you a healer.' The guard winced even more, but eventually thanked her.
'Check the rest of what's left of the building, there's bound to be more injured… and, uh… leave her with me. I'll make sure she gets a proper sendoff.' Eralin nodded at the guard and with Valdalf and Ash, lowered the High Elf's body in front of him. He stared at the woman; her face now forever petrified with unrelenting fear. As the three prisoners began to walk off in search of other people, the guard shouted after them 'Be careful!'
Valdalf turned around, his gaze catching the guard's terrified eyes. 'It was an elf!' Confused by the guard's remark, the three continued up the small flight of stairs.
Ash'Nerahvii hurried through the remnants of the prison while Eralin helped clear some rubble with Valdalf. After entering what was once a medic room, Ash'Nerahvii helped some healers to their feet and gathered supplies. Valdalf helped remove guard after guard from the rubble with Eralin, some dead but thankfully most still breathing. Eralin helped make temporary beds of cloth and animal hide for the injured. The healthy men and women immediately sprang to action and helped gather healing supplies with the three prisoners and helped tend to the injured guards.
'I'm surprised you guys haven't run off already.' shouted a voice from one of the make-shift beds. Ash'Nerahvii and Valdalf turned around while Eralin helped a nurse bring supplies to the guard they left behind in the stairway. 'Most prisoners would've escaped by now without a second thought.' the woman on the bed continued. 'But there's something different about you guys.' she said with a weak smile.
'We may be thieves, but it doesn't mean we're inherently bad people.' Valdalf said, with a slight smile forming. 'May I ask who you are?' he continued. The Bosmer woman sat up in her bed, clutching her gashed elbow, 'Anuriel! Anuriel Nightthorn! The captain of this prison. But to be frank, I never got to meet you three. Who are you?'
Valdalf grabbed a bottle of Healing Ointment and strutted towards Anuriel. He bent down and began applying the ointment to her wound gently with two fingers. Anuriel felt a sigh of relief as the ointment stopped her bleeding and looked to Valdalf for his answer. His auburn eyes met her chestnut brown as he closed the bottle and gently placed it next to her bed. 'The name's Valdalf Lorebinder. And the Khajiit over there' he pointed to the black cat person now helping wounded guards 'is Ash'Nerahvii, a childhood friend of mine.'
Valdalf opened a stamina potion and helped Anuriel drink it to recover her strength. 'And the Wood Elf?' she asked.
'That is Eralin Birdsong, the greatest bowman in Valenwood. And the greatest adoptive mother one could ask for, if I do say so myself.' He turned back to Anuriel curiously and asked her about why she wanted to know. She tucked a strand of dust-ridden brown and white hair behind her long ear. 'I don't know if you've noticed, but most of the guards aren't in good shape. How long was your sentence?'
'Only a month, you'd think they'd sentence harsher for attempted robbery of an Elder Scroll.' the High Elf said with a subtle laugh, his unusual black hair falling to the side of his face. Anuriel looked into his eyes now full of regret. 'I know I shouldn't pry, but there's only one reason that comes to mind for an orphan to take the Elder Scroll of Lost Fates. I don't think bad of you or your family, we all have our reasons to do the things we do.'
Valdalf stood up, unable to conceal the pinching in his heart no matter how much he smiled. 'You speak a little too much with your eyes, Sir Lorebinder.' she said comfortingly. 'But while an old elf like me can't just give you that scroll; what if I told you I could shorten your sentencing drastically?' Anuriel coughed up a cloud of dust after she spoke.
'And what do you mean by that?' Valdalf asked while kneeling down to her eye level. Eralin walked over, helping the guard to a bed right next to Anuriel.
'Well, you see,' Anuriel started, 'after the explosion destroyed the prison, I came to, only to hear someone walking across the rubble. But when I looked, I saw someone… in strange armor. I couldn't make out whether it was a man or a woman, but they were for sure an elf by the shape of their ears. The thing is though, I've never seen an elf of its kind before. Its hair was a shaggy grayish black, but its skin looked like it was a light blue.'
Eralin looked down at Anuriel in recognition of the impossible description. 'Hurry Valdalf, she's concussed!'
'No, I am not! My head is perfectly fine.' cried the old captain. Valdalf looked at Eralin, him too recognizing the description of the impossible elf. 'Oh, I get it. You're yanking my chain.' said Valdalf with a disappointed smile.
'I promise I am not!' cried the old elf in frustration. 'But if you want your sentence shortened, you better fix yourself to listen. Clearly most of my guards aren't in shape as of the moment and the ones who are are needed to help the injured. So, I have a task for you three. If you can manage, I ask of you to make way to Elden Root.
'If you go to my office, or at least where it once was, find some paper. I'll write a note excusing you three of your sentences under the condition that you work as Elden Guardians for the month of your sentencing. You are to bring this note to Captain Aerethor Bluesky, and he will pardon you of your crimes and induct you into the league, but you must ask for him to send help my way.
'From there, I cannot promise anything else. But if you want work, seek me out,' Anuriel gazed across the room, 'because I intend to find the elf who did this.'
Eralin walked over to Ash'Nerahvii and began to explain their new ordeal, and after hearing the description of Anuriel's "elf", he laughed it off as a concussed old woman. Nevertheless, he still agreed to go along with them, anything to not be cooped up in a jail cell for a month.
The three left the room, if you can call it that, of the injured and navigated through the rest of the prison or what was left of it. Turning a corner just before the exit, Valdalf saw a door lying flat on the ground. Plastered across the top in bold letters was 'Captain Anuriel Nightthorn'. After entering the office, the three rummaged through the remains of a desk and found the least damaged paper and envelope they could find.
Returning to the room of injured guards, Eralin handed Anuriel the paper and envelope as Valdalf and Ash sat beside her bed. Finishing off the paper with her signature, Anuriel folded the pardon into the envelope and sealed it with a wax summoned from her fingerprint. 'Remember, you three are to take this to Captain Aerethor Bluesky in Elden Root, his eyes only.'
'I cannot thank you enough Captain Nightthorn, you really didn't have to do this for us.' Valdalf solemnly thanked. 'And you didn't have to help my men, but you did anyway. You three could've run for the hills, but you didn't.' Anuriel said. She then looked Valdalf in the eye with a thankful smile, 'You may be thieves, but that doesn't make you inherently bad people.
'Now get going you three, this old woman can't wait for eternity! I expect healers at my side by nightfall!'
Ash'Nerahvii and Valdalf both stood up and followed Eralin to the remnants of a front door. As they all stepped out into the vast, luscious forest, they couldn't help but remember what the High Elf said… "It has begun… the end is nigh… the age of the Daedra is upon us."
And with hesitation, the three stepped out into the vast Middle-Green, a sense of adventure permeating all three of their minds.