Chronicles of Marius Iustitia

Book One

5th of Rain's Hand, Year 337 of the Third Era

Bogwater Prison, The fief of Leyawiin

In the humid rain forests of Cyrodiil, a prison lies miles away from the city of Leyawiin. This prison is considered the worse one to be sent to in Cyrodiil, the heart of the Empire of Tameriel. The absolute worst came to this prison: Legion deserters, dissidents and rebels, serial killers and much more would end up in this infernal prison. However, the prison is also deeply corrupt, so people who wronged someone important could end up here as well.

It was one of these souls that ended up here.

In one of the cells of the prison, a male Imperial lay. He is of average height and his build is scrawny, due to the lack of food. He has shoulder length black hair and a short but unkempt beard growing on his chin. He is wearing a rough spun tunic and pants along with foot wraps, the standard outfit for all prisoners in Bogwater.

For Marius Iustitia, Bogwater Prison had been his home for the past five years. He was neither a deserter, a rebel or even a killer. No, he had simply been seen as a nuisance to a very powerful person who wanted him to go away. Instead of giving him money to go away or simply killing him, he had him thrown in this prison. Marius had been the son of a minor noble family in the Fief of Sutch.

As he lay on his bedroll, Marius tossed in turned in his sleep. It was almost morning, meaning he would be awakened to do whatever labor the warden and the guards wanted him to do. He is having vivid dreams, he saw war and death, fire and blood. However, a voice called out to him, a soothing voice.

"Fear not child, for soon you will be free and you will be key to the events that shall follow. You will be my avatar on Nirn and bring justice to these lands, one small step at a time. So says Stendarr, the God of Mercy, Charity, Well-Earned Luck and Justice."

Marius bolted upright from his bedroll, covered in a cold sweat. His icy blue eyes looked around his cell, only seeing the rays of the morning sun. He began to think to himself, in his five years in the prison, he had seen many a man, mer or beastfolk go insane. Maybe hearing the voice of a god of the Nine was the first hint that he was going mad himself.

As he leaned against the cold stone wall of the cell, he heard the distinct sound of armored boots coming towards his cell. The guards were coming, likely to get everyone up for work. Soon he saw figures at his barred door. Marius heard the sounds of a key being inserted and the door being unlocked. The bar door opened up and soon, a large Orsimer man came walking in. His green skin was pot marked with scars, one of his tusks were broken off. His dark eyes always had a look of hatred in them. He is wearing Chainmail armor with cloth that had the emblem of Bogwater Prison on it. At his side is a war axe of Orcish make.

This is Khuchirk gro-Daichin, the head guard of the prison. If he is here, it means something big is about to happen.

Marius knew his time would come eventually, maybe the person who sent him here stop paying, or maybe they just wanted to make more space for a new, healthier prisoner. Regardless of what it was, Marius accepted his death years ago.

But today was not what Marius was expecting it to be, when the Orc opened his mouth, the words that came out wasn't what he was expecting.

"Congratulations maggot, your free man now."

It took a few seconds for those words to sink in. Marius simply looked up at the Orc and stared at him in disbelief.

"What?" Marius said flatly.

"You heard me right," Khuchirk said, "Someone paid the warden your weight in gold to spring you, now get up and lets get this over with."

Before he could say anything, the huge Orc grabbed him by the arm and thrust Marius on his feet. Khuchirk soon pushed him out of the cell and standing their was two other guards, a Dunmer man and an Imperial woman. The female took the keys off her belt and grabbed his wrists, taking off his wrist irons used to restrain prisoners.

"This way," The Dunmer man said as he grabbed his arm roughly and led him away.

As they walked away, Marius' mind raced on the sudden turn of events. Soon his mind turned to the dream he had awakened from, could it be true that Stendarr had some kind of destiny for him?

Soon they made it outside the prison gates, where he was roughly shoved out the gates.

"Hope who ever spent that gold on you got what they wanted," Khuchirk said to him before he and the other two walked back into the prison, the gate shutting behind them.

Marius just stood there, looking at the gate in confusion. Just yesterday, he was resigned to the fact that he was going to die in that prison. Now he was a free man, but who paid for his release. As he stood there, he didn't realize a carriage was behind him. Soon the soft steps of someone coming up from behind him.

He turned around to see a Breton woman approaching him. She was in her late 50's, graying brown hair in a bun and warm brown eyes. She is wearing a simple black dress with blue trim and black shoes. Once she saw who she was looking at, she gasped in horror at the sight of Marius, not of disgust but of sadness.

"Marius?" The Breton woman said, "By the Nine, you look so horrible."

Marius simply looked at her for a minute, it had been such a long time since he talked to anybody that wasn't an inmate or guard that it affected his memory. The Breton woman for her part, seen the confusion in his eyes.

"It's me Marius, Isabella."

It took Marius a minute before it dawn on him who she was, she is the lady in waiting for Lux Pulchra, daughter of Lord Severus Pulchra of Sutch. He was the reason Marius was in Bogwater Prison. Despite his family loyalty to the fief and to Pulchra family, Marius' family was punished for a transgression that seemed minor. His daughter Lux had fallen in love with him but her father wanted her to marry the Lord of Kvatch's soon to solidify an alliance with them. Apparently Severus didn't want his daughter in a relationship with just a minor noble, so not only was he thrown in prison but his families land and titles were stripped, all because he wanted to use his daughter as a bargaining chip.

But soon, Marius was brought back to reality when Isabella put a hand on his shoulder.

"Do not worry, I can understand the confusion of what is going on after all you have been through," Isabella said softly, "Just know that Lady Pulchra paid for your release."

The words "Lady Pulchra" surprised Marius, Lux was the youngest child of two, her brother should be the heir. There was also the fact her mother had dies when she was young.

"What do you mean Lady?" Marius question.

"Lord Severus is dead of old age," Isabella answered, "And Commodus died in a fight with another noble in the Imperial City."

Marius took in the information, with the father and son dead, that made Lux the new ruler of the Sutch.

"I guess that means her marriage to the Lord of Kvatch is off," Marius said.

"Yes but we will speak of that later," Isabella said, "First we shall head to Leyawiin, get you some real food, new clothes and a warm bed for the night before we head back to Sutch."

All of those thing sounded great to Marius and smiled at what she said, the first time he smiled in five whole years. She motioned for him to follow her to the carriage and he did. Now as a free man, he was looking forward to the future.

But his destiny was much more than what he even expected.