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If an injury has to be done to a man it should be so severe that his vengeance need not be feared.
Nicolo Machiavelli


Chapter 7, "Comfort is given, Justice is taken"

After spending a week in the good custody of Lloros Sarano I was back in Sarethi Manor again. Athyn, who had visited me every day while I was in the Temple, was ecstatic at having me back. I was worried about him; he had had too many traumatic things happen to him during the last six months, and now he seemed more exhausted and worn out than ever. In fact what he needed mostly now, and I too, for all that it mattered, was a vacation, a break from the normal struggle. I promised myself that when all this was over with we’d go…somewhere…that was, if I survived…

The prophecy by Sinnamu Mirpal was very clear to me, and it was also confirmed by the recent attempt on my life, because I knew very well who was responsible for that; the amulet I ripped off my would-be assassin was familiar; it belonged to the Venim family. I doubted Bolvyn himself was the one who tried to kill me, but whoever it was, it was on his orders, of that I was certain.

So all I had to do was to challenge Bolvyn Venim to a duel and then end his life, at the Arena in Vivec…?

Of course it was not that simple! I had to ponder a lot how I should let Justice be taken. I had to take active part in the government of House Redoran, to be able to get to know where the loyalties were. I had to know the standpoint of the other councilors and also raise their disposition to me.

Thorough planning was crucial here; otherwise I would be the one who would bite the dust. I also needed to train my sword-skill. I hadn’t used my Katana for a long time and I knew I had to be beyond simply good if I was to defeat a man like the Archmaster. I didn’t even consider another way of fighting him; a duel at the Arena witnessed by the Nobles of my House would be the only honorable way of dealing with this matter.

I discussed my plans with Athyn; naturally he tried to talk me out of it!

“Serene, I don’t like the thought of you being decapitated by Bolvyn Venim, In fact I don’t like the thought of you being decapitated at all. I love you and I want to spend the rest of my life with you!” he said, holding me close to him. “Why not let Sethyas do the fighting instead? He’s very skilled and…and he is a man! Besides, I know you do not like to take lives, even if taking this life would be justified.”

I took his face between my hands, kissed him deeply and sighed;

“I was convinced you would be the first one to stand behind me in this! I’ve told you about the prophecy of Sinnamu Mirpal…I’ve told you about my weird dream…and you know I am protected by Azura! You, Athyn Sarethi, the sun of my life, I love you more than you will ever know, and I beg you to support me now! The life of Bolvyn Venim will be taken by a woman, not a man, and that woman…will be me!”

Tears burned behind my eyelids as I once more kissed him. I was aware of his fear to loose someone dear to him and also the fear of acts of reprisal from the Venim family. But I couldn’t let that stop me; I had to do this once and for all or I’d never get peace at heart again.

Before he made an attempt to answer me I told him about a book Drulene Falen once showed me, “The Hope of the Redoran”. I actually never read the book but Drulene had told me what it was about.

“You for one should know that some things just have to be done,” I said, “If you hadn’t defeated your cousin back then, we wouldn’t be having this conversation at all.”

Athyn hesitated for quite some time before answering me. I could see in his face he’d given in to me, that he’d stand by my side all the way…This was of great comfort to me.

“I’ll go with you to Fort Buckmoth,” he said, sounding defeated and tired. “You will have to go through thorough training before you can even think of challenging the Archmaster, because that’s exactly what you’re going to do, right?”

I nodded and he continued;

“Since you are familiar with that confounded book, I think you know the name of the lady who used to train me when I was young? Shardie was the very best trainer to be found. She and I got on very well together and it is because of her that I have the position I have now…But you know all that.” Athyn paused, getting out a bottle of brandy and two glasses.

“We will need some fortification I think,” he said and offered me a glass. We tasted the beverage and he continued;

“Shardie has a daughter, named Shardie-Lee, who now is a master-trainer at Fort Buckmoth. She’s known as just Shardie and she is the one who I’d like to train you. Then you will have the best there is!” Athyn gently stroke my chin. “I care so much for you my love; I do not want to loose you.”

“We’ll be off to Fort Buckmoth, first thing tomorrow,” Athyn concluded. “So let’s spend this evening as nicely as we can, shall we?”

We had far too much brandy, far too much good food and maybe far too much love, but I still remember that evening as maybe the last evening that I still was somewhat innocent.

My head was aching and I could hardly stand the bright sunshine the following morning as Athyn and I were heading towards Fort Buckmoth. He, too, obviously suffered from last night’s events because he walked by my side silently with his head somewhat down. The sun was warm and I was drenched in sweat under my full Imperial Armor. Athyn had to take off his robe and carry it; the heat, or maybe last night, took its tribute out of him, and his face was a tad more grayish than usual, with beads of sweat forming on his forehead and he had to stop a few times to regain strength. I was carrying a small satchel with a few shirts and an extra pair of trousers together with my usual herbs and plants; nothing much really but it felt as heavy as if I’d had stones in it.

We found Shardie-Lee sitting in the shadows in a corner of the courtyard when we arrived, her brown skin glistened with perspiration and she was drinking from a large jug. Four young soldiers were scattered on the ground, totally exhausted, apparently from the hard training.

When Athyn presented himself and me her eyes widened; “I’ve heard about you, Serjo Sarethi, from my mother!” she exclaimed with a smile, “Nice to finally get the opportunity to meet you!”

I let Athyn do the talking, for my stomach was in uproar and I merely felt like vomiting; the heat and last night affected me severely. I sat down in the shadows, taking a sip of water, thinking ruefully that I’d have big trouble getting to my feet again…armor is just not meant to wear sitting down…

Its back! And up and running! Wonderful! And she is ready to enact her vengeance! After she recovers that is....

Ah, so she gets some training. Sweet, now we can see one of those traditional training scenes that are shown so often in those martial arts movies. Only exception is, the master is not a cranky old man who would rather look after his farm.

And I can thoroughly concur with the quote above, even though I've never been in the situation before. (And plan to keep it that way.) If you're in a life or death situation, screw honour and do whatever is necessary to finish the bad guy permanently, using every dirty trick in the book and outside the book. But that isn't the Redoran way, so it won't work here.

Excellent way to start this chapter Minque. We definitely can understand Serene's motives for doing what she must, and it's nice to see that Athyn has (relunctantly) allowed Serene to do so.

She'll definitely has her work cut out for her though, Venim is known to be an excellent and skilled swordfighter. Let's hope this Shardie will train Serene like she's never been trained before. I would suggest Serene to lay off the drinking for a little while, it'll help

Continue when you can!

Ooooooooooooooooooooo. This is ... wow ... great.

The choice of the Machiavelli quote at the beginning was most excellent. It gave me shivers. Forshadowing; your mark of quality literature.

And the use of a quote from one of the in-game Temple books as the chapter title - wow.

Yes, heavy drinking never seems to be good for you whether it be emotionally, phsyically, or psychologically.

Serene is likely to go through h*** for the next update or two.

I enjoyed the way Serene convinced Athyn to back her in her rather ambitious plan. I'm glad that he accompanied her to the fort, and I hope he'll stick around for moral support during her training. Even with the best trainer around, it is going to be hard work for Serene, and she'll need his support at the end of the day.

Another of the classic TES fanfics. So beautifully done. I really hope you regain your creative muse soon, as (selfish I know) I'd just love to read an update to this.

Serene fighting Bolvyn Venim, now that I would like to read about. Will her sword skills improve dramatically, or how can she defeat the cunning Archmaster?

I like Serene's compassion for others and her extraordinary healing skill. She is a very human heroine with strengths and weaknesses like all of us. I agree with BSD-IES, that it would be wonderful with an update.

Ok...at last! Hopefully I´m over the "WB" and will be able to keep this story running again! Now we´re getting a bit forward in this update..but we aren´t really "there" yet are we? But be patient, dear readers, especially one of you,, We´ll get down to business pretty soon...

Now here it is, enjoy!

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The following three months were an endless round of sweat, pain and above all…food! I never was a big eater, and thus I was rather slim, almost skinny according to some, like Sethyas Velas. Now Shardie-Lee was determined to make me into a bundle of muscles, to improve my chances to defeat my sworn enemy.

I had to eat at least five times a day, more if possible. All I can say is that it was an ordeal; I struggled to down the big chunks of guar-meat together with stewed ash-yam, saltrice and boiled Kwama-eggs that were put in front of me at each meal.

I did nothing but eat the first two weeks, there was no use in training muscles that were non-existent, as Shardie said. Slowly I gained weight and my strength improved. My training-program was intensified by time. An average day could be as follows:

Wake-up call at 6 am, then running a special trail that was set up for me around the Fort, for over an hour. Breakfast, lots of protein and vegetables. Athletics-training for three hours, until my arms and legs were hurting, and then lunch….lots of food of course!

In the afternoon I had swords-training, first with one of the dummies, then with Shardie herself or one of her better pupils. After dinner I had some free time, but by then I was so exhausted that I normally fell asleep. Before going to bed at 9 pm I had to take another shot on the running-trail.

Normally a program like this is too hard, but in my case it had to be done quickly. I couldn’t let the Archmaster bully my family more than necessary, so I just had to rush things.

Athyn did not visit me at all during this time. He said he wouldn’t do it, because he might try to talk me out of it, and he wouldn’t distract me. Now Sethyas, on the other hand, paid regular visits to follow up my progress. He didn’t speak much during his visits, just told me how things were going back home and watched my swords-training, a thing I really didn’t like; he made me nervous and thus caused me to make unnecessary mistakes.

One afternoon I decided I’d had enough. I simply threw my katana on the ground in the middle of a series of thrusts at the dummy and stepped right over to Sethyas where he was standing by the wall.

“Get off my back, Seth! You make me nervous watching me like this! Please do not interfere with my training anymore, I beg you!”

Sethyas looked at me with a faint smile on his face, and then he gently wiped a trickle of sweat from my cheek.

“Easy now, Renie, you’re doing well! I’m just here to see that you’re ok; Athyn worries about you and want me to watch over you.”

That condescending answer made me even angrier; I was a grown woman who had had my share of harsh life, and I did not need any kind of baby-sitter, not even one of my beloved one’s lackeys.

“Do not call me that! For you I’m Serene, nothing else!” I yelled at him, then I took a deep breath, knowing I shouldn’t really let this get to me. Although I loved Athyn, I could not allow myself to be distracted; I needed to focus on the goal of my training… There would be time for other things if I survived- if I did not… I just could not think about that.

“I’m sorry Seth, I’m just very high strung at the moment and I have to admit I’m scared to death of the forthcoming duel.”

“Excellent! Then you may even make it! If you hadn’t been scared I would have been worried, and ok, apology accepted.” Sethyas answered

He then saluted me and went away. I had problems focussing the rest of that afternoon and Shardie wasn’t satisfied at all with me.

One day, as I was slashing and thrusting with my katana at the dummy as I usually did every morning after breakfast a somewhat familiar voice spoke from behind me.

“Why not give me a match? As far as I remember you’re pretty good with that monster of a sword.”

I swirled around and found myself face to face with Telemachos, the guard who I had gotten to know really well at the Imperial Prison back in Cyrodiil. I panted, and sweat was running down my spine, but I was really glad to see him. In fact I never thought I’d ever see him again.

“Telemachos! What are you doing here?” Not the politest way to greet an old friend, but I was too astonished to find the right words.

“I could ask you the same, dear Serene,” Telemachos laughed and gave me a big hug, “That is if I didn’t know….which I do! I’m here to give you special training, sweetie.”

Telemachos gave me special training indeed, and I wouldn’t be sitting here writing this if he hadn’t shown up at Fort Buckmoth that cloudy morning.

Life had been rather prosperous for him during the years since we both were at the Imperial Prison, and he told me his story that very evening;

“At the time of your mysterious release, the Emperor took a deep interest in the Prison, and especially in us guards. I think, but this is only my thoughts, that he suspected a kind of threat to his life. Anyway, I gather you know about your former fellow-prisoner Sonya? She was enrolled by the Emperor approximately at that same time…and so was I. I’ve served in the Emperor’s secret army since then, and now I was sent for to conclude your training, since it’s important that you win your forthcoming battle. The Emperor really has an interest in you, and I don’t know if that’s bad or good…for you that is! He feels he has invested too much in you to see you killed in a duel. It’s a cold-blooded sort of mathematics, but he is an Emperor, after all.”

I didn’t comment on this; I was too used to the fact that everybody else seemed to know the purpose of my missions and tasks, except me. Then again I was glad to have Telemachos around; I felt I could trust him.

I told him about my life after the release and he listened carefully. At some times during my story he nodded as if my words confirmed something he already knew, such as the Talos Cult-plot for instance.

When Telemachos took care of my training, I improved my skills enormously. After an additional month I was strong, skilled and self-confident; I would go back to Ald´ruhn and challenge Archmaster Bolvyn Venim to a duel of life and death…and I was sure to win this duel, not exclusively due to my physical strength and skills, for I got a sign, on the very day of my departure from Fort Buckmoth I got a sign…but when I stood in the archway of the Fort, my satchel on my back, looking at the grey stone walls…I was scared to death…

Woo-Hoo! She's back, she's back....! [Celebratory dance ensues].

Sorry. [Gathers remaining shreds of doggie dignity and starts over].

Glad to see that you have overcome the WB and graced us with more of your story. The reappearance of Telemachos is a nice touch- it serves to remind Serene (and us) of how far she has come- and also that those who have drawn the Emperor's eye seldom have peaceful lives.

I have treydog's exact same sentiments. I am overjoyed to see you get past the dreaded writers block. Let's hope the next update won't suffer the same delay this one did. I will stay patient as always though.

Great update!

Serene is back! YAY!

I'm so glad you posted an update! Thank you thank you thankyouthankyou!!!

Now my day is happy.

These are great news, Serene is back and preparing in earnest to meet up with the corrupt Bolvyn Venim. This will be a great fight of the underseeded versus the veteran but Venim better relish his last days before meeting a determined, though scared Serene.

Your attention to details and explanation of your characters' reasoning are drawing me in as always. Serene is under much pressure and stress which you portray really well with her anger at Sethyas and later apology, great.

Wohoo, and update again, really good minky

And Telemachos have also returned, thats nice, I really liked him, so it's good to see him back.

So poor 'Renie is going after Bolvyn is she, well if I might suggest so, she could tell Bolvyn to take his own DDK and push it up a place where the sun dont shine, and so he wont have to go through the 'humiliation' of loosing to a woman, after all, imagine it, the Redoran Archmaster, defeated by an imperial female, it would be the talk for ages

Alternatively 'Renie could also stab her sword up a place where the sun dont shine on poor Bolvyn

Nice update as always, and I'm eager for more.

Hmm, so the secret to total behind-whacking is food? I'll have to keep that in mind.

But despite all the Redoran honour and all, I still don't see why a little flick of Telekinesis would be considered cheating. Geez, it's not my fault that eyeballs and other soft bits (brains, heart, lungs, other organs) are so damn squishy.

Thank you all...for nice comments, heh..maybe I haven´t totally lost my touch then....

* Tellie: Your amusing suggestions where to push up a DDK are hilarious..I´ll keep them in mind

*Jackie: Of course the secret id FOOD! Lots of it! yayy Especially if you´re skinny, which Serene was...

*Lucidarius, Blockie, Mallie and Treydoggie: I´ll just say thank you all!

It's great to get another update to this beloved story. The emotional depth of your characters continues to make this a favorite of mine.

Amusingly (and perhaps disturbingly), may favorite scene was Serene losing her cool with Sethyas. Perhaps it was because that, more than anything else, felt real/believable.

I hope you have indeed conquered the WB so that we can enjoy more frequent updates. Thanks for continuing to share your story with us.

Well, now that i find the last installment posted, i get a cliffhanger!

As for the story, i'm really impressed. The depth of your characters is

amazing: it makes your story very believable. Keep up the good work!!!

Ok folks, so we go a bit further again...heh this part is dedicated to Black Hand for letting me take some liberties with his great charachter, Serjo Sethyas Velas, whom I'm ridiculously fond of!

Thanks Blackie!


I was scared because I couldn’t get last night’s dream out of my head. It still was so vivid; if I closed my eyes I could see it inside my head, clearly as if it was really happening right in front of me, which it wasn’t of course:

I was at Ald Daedroth, with the Ahemmusa Tribe, sitting in Sinnamu Mirpal’s yurt, by the fire, like I’d done so many times. The Wise Woman’s voice sounded low and so confident:

“It is said that prophecies foretell the return of a reincarnated Nerevar, who shall drive the foreigners from the Ashlands and who shall cast down the false gods of the Temple, and restore the true worship of the Ancestors. It is a dream that would appeal to every Ashlander, but many of us think it is a silly ancient legend, and little more.”

I sat silent, since I actually knew of this, but I was sure that she was trying to tell me something more.

“However,” she continued, “It has now come to this; we are certain that Nerevar is Reborn, in the shape of Trey of High Rock. He is the one who will defeat Dagoth Ur and so lift the curse that lies upon us. He has brought the Ahemmusa here and thus got us a safe place, he has been named as the Nerevarine by all Ashlander Tribes, he has been called Hortator of Great House Hlaalu, as well as of the Great House Telvanni….”

I smiled faintly as I heard that; so the wizards really had named him Hortator!

“…But he had to pay a high price for that,” Sinnamu concluded.

Then suddenly I was aware that it was not Sinnamu who was sitting next to me, it was my guardian angel, Azura, in her ice-blue dress.

“So there is just one Great House left, the Redoran! And that’s where you come in!” That was Sinnamu talking again, and I started to get really confused.

“Serene! Go home now and proceed with your task. Fulfill the prophecy!”Azura gently touched my chin…and disappeared in a white mist.

I woke up in my chamber at Fort Buckmoth, drenched in sweat, not really knowing if it had been a dream or if it really happened. I looked out of the small window and saw Secunda and Masser, and then I gasped for breath, for Masser did not look as it should. The moon was almost covered in red, running down its surface, it looked just like blood…

Now as I stood in the archway of Fort Buckmoth, preparing myself for the walk home to Ald’ruhn, Masser was still visible in the sky…. and it was covered in red, red as blood!

I shrugged and started walking. I wanted to get to Ald’ruhn as soon as possible; I had not been home for so long and I really needed to see Athyn again, to hug and kiss him and just lie in his arms and forget all the gruesome things that lay ahead of me. But of course that would be unthinkable, I had to focus, otherwise there would be no home for me or for Athyn. This made me concentrate and also made my legs move faster. I ran all the way to town and appeared at the gates sweating heavily in my armor, but not at all exhausted. In fact I could have run twice as long without a problem.

I realized I really was rather strong and fit, which did wonders for my self-esteem. At that moment I really believed I could defeat anyone, even the Archmaster! Now that cocky feeling was soon to be removed…

As I passed the Fighter’s guild house I heard a voice behind me,

“Renie! So you’re home at last!” I spun around and saw the grinning face of Sethyas Velas, just coming out of the guild-house.

“I…I told you not to call me that!”

“Easy now, sweetie,” Sethyas held up his hands in a gesture of repentance. “Sorry dear, I’m just glad to have you back”

I sighed and smiled at him; I couldn’t get angry with him for calling me Renie; as a matter of fact, I was happy to see him as well. I went to him and he gave me a big warm hug. It felt good to be in the arms of someone I knew cared for me, so I hugged him back.

Damn it Renie, I see you as the sister I lost, please let me in

I looked at him; confused- he hadn’t spoken a word…

“Ok, I forgive you Sethyas, you never mentioned a sis…”

He put his hand over my mouth and held me tighter to his broad chest, to silence me.

“This is not the time, nor the place,” he muttered hoarsely. “Come on. Let’s go see Athyn; he’s been miserable while you’ve been away.”

I was almost scared to meet Athyn again; I knew he had missed me and I had missed him too, but…the last three months had been so intense, I hardly had had any time to really think about him and I felt a bit alienated from him.

Nobody in Sarethi Manor knew I was coming back that day, so the house was empty as Sethyas and I entered. That was perfectly fine with me, I then had the opportunity to take a bath and change clothes. Sethyas was still around as I came out of my chambers, wearing my favorite dress, Athyn’s old red robe.

I had been thinking about what Sethyas almost “said” to me earlier…the part about a lost sister, so I really wasn’t surprised when he asked me to sit down because there was something he wished to tell me, something about his sister…

“I made my living in The Imperial City, growing up in the streets, looking out for my younger sister, Setsuna. We were outcasts, orphans. Two Dunmer youths that had nothing since birth, and we stole bread when times were tough, often ending up in the Imperial City Prison.”

Sethyas sighed, looking at me with sad dark eyes, and I knew this was going to be a long story, so I moved closer to him, taking his hand in mine.

“When times were good we could sell ourselves as guides, or perform odd jobs for merchants around the city. Perhaps it was only the fact that the good times allowed for better living conditions for my sister that prevented me from falling too deep into my secret art.”

“I never told my sister the horrible things I had done. You see, I've always had a knack for the Bow and Short Blades, getting plenty of practice while hunting out in the forests for deer, so that we could have a decent meal.”

I sat silent, wondering why Seth decided to tell me all this, and at this time, but I didn’t ask, I merely listened, glad that he confided in me. But still I wondered…

“On more than one occasion I had come across a travelling Merchant with wares and gold, a Merchant that foolishly had no escort or bodyguards. I felt remorse for firing an arrow into their backs or slitting their throats as I snuck up from behind, but I felt worse for my sister, going hungry sitting around some campfire in the cold wilderness, or begging for a coin on the streets.”

“I would never tell her where I got the gold, and she would never ask. I couldn’t tell her that I was an Assassin, even if it was what I was good at.”

“And perhaps you’re wondering, if the Dark Brotherhood ever contacted someone like me? Yes, not just once, but on several occasions.”

I looked at the hand I was holding so tight, a strong hard merciless hand, that had put an end to so many lives, and I kissed it. I knew perfectly well how the Dark Brotherhood contacted people; they had contacted me as well, but I never surrendered to them.

“It was during one of these encounters that I grew unlucky, and was torn from Setsuna. On a trail not far from Cheydinhal I spied an Orcish Female in Leather Armor, saddlebags filled to the brim with Wolf Pelts on her horse. Realizing she was a Hunter and likely on the way back to the City to sell the pelts off, I decided to take her horse and loot for myself.”

“As I ran towards the kill to claim my spoils, an Imperial Legion Forester ambushed me. I considered running, as I often had,” Sethyas smirked. “But he would have had me before I got too far.”

“Resigning myself to a long stint in Prison, I knew I could still get word to Setsuna as to what had happened. But no, I would tell her a fabricated story, I would never tell her that I ever resorted to murder.”

Sethyas was silent. He looked straight into the air, tears forming in his eyes and he held my hand to his cheek. I was shaken, not by the fact that he had a past or that he was a member of the Dark Brotherhood. Those facts I already knew! No, what shook me was the fact that he actually told me all this, and that it apparently affected him deeply. I also now understood why he was so protective of Athyn, and of me. He was that kind of man; he always protected the ones he loved.

“I need a drink…right now!” Sethyas rose abruptly from the couch and went to the cupboard where the Brandy was stored. His shoulders were shaking. I followed and put my arm around his waist in comfort.

Your story is safe with me; you know that…

He turned to me, looking me straight in the eyes and nodded slowly.

“ I know Serene, I know”

A sudden commotion in the hallway interrupted our conversation and the room filled with people; Athyn, Varvur and Vendrela, Mistress Brara Morvayn and a very dusty Salyn Sarethi.

So I finally met Athyn again after more than three months. It wasn’t exactly in the most dignified way; I, dressed in Athyn’s old worn robe, my hair dishevelled but clean, holding hands with Sethyas Velas, who had just downed a mug of Athyn’s finest Cyrodiilic Brandy, his eyes more red than usual.

Athyn apparently did not see anything peculiar in this; he just took me in his arms, wiped my hair from my face and kissed me…

I was home!

Thanks for another intriguing update. I particularly enjoyed the interactions between Serene and Sethyas; I'm glad they are becoming better friends. I also liked the dream, apparently from Azura; it makes me look forward to the upcoming duel even more.

Cool! It's back! I've just read this through three times, and you know what? You still have that gift for making characters seem real and sympathetic. You've got me caring about Serene and now Sethyas Velas as well. I'm going to have to re-read Black Hand's story now as well. I'm so delighted it's back, and let's hope that the cursed writer's block stays far, far away from your door.


MORE PLEASE!!!!

Hmm, Sethyas' words look a tad bit familiar to me! Great Update Minky, **Thumbs up smilie**

What I like is that you so perfectly portray the characters as 3-dimensional- OK, so Seth is a cold-blooded assassin... but (as Black Hand himself has shown us), there is a reason he got that way. And he does have a heart- one that sometimes feels too much rather than too little. And you give life to the characters mostly through dialogue (showing rather than telling)- one of the hardest things for a writer to do.

The only critique I have is that there isn't enough of this great story- true to my always hungry hound-like nature, I want MORE!

Ok folks! Because you've waited patiently, I hereby give you a somewhat longer update. Even this one I will dedicate to Black Hand.....guess why?? . Also I'd like to thank my sweet editor for helping me as usual despite the fact that he might have better things to do!

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Being home again was nice. The ones that cared had missed me for me and that made me feel good. Athyn looked happy and content even though I could spot some worry in his eyes; something bothered him but he did not tell me what it was. I on my part hoped it didn’t have anything to do with the fact that Seth and I had become so close.

What worried my beloved one turned out to be something complete different…

One morning, about two weeks after my returning home, Athyn took my hand as we were having our breakfast together;

“Serene, things are getting nasty within the Redoran community here in Ald’ruhn; the Archmaster is acting way over his limits, and he doesn’t even try to be discreet with his love-affairs, his daughter has abandoned Venim manor and has been staying with Varvur in Ebonheart. Fathasa Llethri was forced to leave home, because Garisa couldn’t stand the sight of her…”

Athyn sighed and looked sadly at me. He gently touched my chin and then kissed me.

“I will call for a formal council-meeting within the coming week, but the day after tomorrow the councilors, except the Archmaster, will come here for a preparatory pre-meeting. We have to discuss how to handle the situation. The Redoran honor is at stake, and I can’t just leave it as it is. I…I am sure you know what I’m talking about.”

I knew. That was the reason I spent those months at Fort Buckmoth, and I was indeed prepared, but scared to death.

“Do you want me to attend to that meeting in two days?” I had a slight hope Athyn would say no, but he just nodded.

“Yes you need to be there, as does Sethyas. We need to make sure everything will turn out as we wish.”

I spent a great deal of time readying myself the morning of the day of the preparatory meeting. Normally I did not pay much attention to clothing, but this morning I chose carefully. Skirt and blouse had to be in the right Redoran-coloring, as did the robe. I combed my hair and tied it back from my face with a broad red silk scarf. I was prepared- outwardly at least. My inner state did not bear thinking about.

“I bid you welcome, fellow councilors.” Athyn’s voice was low but crystal clear. He stood at the end of our big dinner table, one hand lightly touching its surface. We all sat quiet for a while, the assembled Redoran councilors; Miner Arobar, grumpy as always; Hlaren Ramoran, looking fairly happy, as if he had found some unexpected treasure; Garisa Llethri, like a broken man staring down at his hands; and Mistress Brara Morvayn, with a sardonic smile, on Athyn’s left side. Then there were Sethyas and myself. I could feel him pressing his knee against mine under the table; it felt good, a physical reminder that he was with me, no matter what might happen.

When it appeared that no one had anything to say, Athyn started again: “So Sethyas, I…”

Miner Arobar interrupted:
“Since when is Velas one of the Redoran Council? “ he muttered sourly.

“Do not worry about that,” Sethyas replied in a sharp tone, “We have more important things on the agenda today.”

“Sethyas is my personal assistant and thus an honorary member of the Redoran Council.” Athyn started to sound irritated.

What is this all about?

I was uneasy now; the only thing that was to be decided was how to deal with Archmaster Venim and I knew what that action would be, knowledge, which made me feel nauseous.

“We know that two of the Great Houses of Vvardenfell now have named Trey of High Rock as Hortator, that is Great House Telvanni and Great House Hlaalu. Trey has been visiting the Redoran Councilors and also gotten their support, save one!” Sethyas stopped talking and looked at each of us.

“This can’t go on any longer; we need a Hortator who will unite the Great Houses, and we can’t let one man and his petty pride stand against it,” Brara Morvayn sounded clear and determined.

“It is just the tip of the ice berg; he’s been doing unspeakable things for a long time and it’s getting worse all the time,” Sethyas looked at me.

“We need to take out the Archmaster, and we need to do it the hard way because he won’t step down voluntarily.”

Athyn cleared his voice and said:

“Serene Catraso, you shall challenge Archmaster Bolvyn Venim to a duel to the death, to take place at Vivec Arena when Masser and Secunda are in the third quarter.”

There was silence, complete silence around the table.

I shivered, sweat running down my back; I knew this was my task but still it scared me terribly. My mouth was dry; I couldn’t speak so I just bowed my head in acceptance.

Renie, I know you are scared, but you also know you can and will do this.

I looked up and met the dark red eyes of Sethyas Velas. I nodded, for I knew far too well what had been prophesized.

“For Nirn’s sake, Athyn! You can’t be serious? Letting a young woman do your fighting for you! What kind of coward are you?” Garisa Llethri spat, rising from the table to grab Athyn by his collar. Seth immediately stepped between them, putting his hand on Garisa’s chest.

“Calm down! This is how it’s going to be. Serene has been away for three months, preparing for this, it is prophesized by The Divines,” Sethyas gently made Garisa Llethri sit down again.

“We need to come to consensus in this matter; we have to agree that we need to take these actions in order to put things right in our House and also make sure we name our Hortator, Trey of High Rock. So are you with me?” Athyn looked at each of the councilors while uttering these words.

“Why of course Athyn, dear,” Brara Morvayn said in an almost amused voice. “I’ve wanted to teach that mer a lesson for a long time.”

“I’m with you; I’m just worried about who you chose to duel Venim,” Miner Arobar shook his head. “A woman, a skinny weak woman, dueling the Archmaster, that’s preposterous.”

“A woman challenging Venim might just do the trick,” smiled Hlaren Ramoran. “He’d never ever expect that, it’d probably stun him to lose. So of course Athyn, I’m all with you.”

“What about you, Garisa?” Athyn looked sadly at his old friend. “I’d expect you to be the one who really wants him…gone.”

“I will, I assure you, but I didn’t expect you to sacrifice your beloved one,” Garisa replied.

“Enough of this ranting! Serene is more than capable of taking Venim down, and so she will!”

Sethyas banged his fist on the table. “The conclusion is clear; we will proceed as said. Serene will challenge Bolvyn Venim to a duel to the death at the council meeting on Loredas. End of discussion!”

The following three days before the regular council meeting should take place were not very pleasant for me. My family did all they could to distract me from thinking of the coming ordeal but that did no good. On the contrary, it made me even more aware of all I stood to lose. I had lost one family already; I could face death more easily than the prospect of losing another. They, for their part did not want to think about it, but for me it would have been preferable…maybe.

Athyn and I tried to get some quality-time together, but that didn’t turn out well, due to his feeling so miserable. He actually felt sick and I was afraid he really would be taken seriously ill. But of course it was all in his mind. The evening before the council meeting he was very worried and his stomach was in uproar. I gave him a sedative potion, knowing he needed to get some sleep; it was vital that he was fit and sharp the following day. It was vital for me!

Since I could not sleep during the night before the meeting I spent some time with Sethyas; he was strong and secure and was one who really understood what I wanted. So we sat in my chambers, talking. I told him about my background, about Cyrodiil, about the prison and how I ended up in Vvardenfell. I told him about the Blades, the Emperor’s peculiar interest in me and about my time with the Ahemmusa. I also told him about Sedrane…

He told me that he also had been transferred from the Imperial Prison in Cyrodiil to Vvardenfell, he also had met Caius Cosades, he also had to do some killings…. but then again, he was an assassin.

“What I’ve told you so far is no secret; Athyn knows, and so do others, but what I will tell you now, Serene, is something that will have to stay between you and me. You remember I told you about Setsuna? My sister. I lost her, I lost her in a most gruesome way, and meeting you somehow made me pretend I got her back…or at least the incarnation of her, but you’ll understand…”

I got us a bottle of brandy; this was going to be a long night, I could tell by the looks of Seth, as he sat beside me on my bed, took a deep breath and started talking;

“I am a member of the Morag Tong as you know and once I got a writ to assassinate Durus Marius, a leader in the Dark Brotherhood. Morag Tong was at war with the Brotherhood at that time. I naturally did not hesitate to take the mission. To make a very long story short, I shot him with a poisoned arrow, but before he died he told me this story:

“Ah yes, I know your name; we’ve been watching you since you were a bandit in Cyrodiil, quite a shame too. You could have been quite an asset to our organization. Still, it looks like we got the better half though! Hahaha! That’s right! Setsuna is a Dark Sister now! Not only that, when we told her that you’d been lying to her all these years, she broke down! She hates you Sethyas! She’s renounced the blood you two share, and even now she has come to Vvardenfell to prove her loyalty to Sithis by killing you! It’s almost…poetic, and most certainly ironic. Had you simply told her your true nature you might have saved her from her dark destiny! And you will die Sethyas. I have not seen an Assassin with her talent in many years, as much as you may think yourself good, she is better. And once the Morag Tong’s golden boy is dead, we can finish our mission here, and eliminate the servants of Mephala in Sithis’ name.”

Sethyas squeezed my hand for a while before he continued;

“I am not sadistic, so I will not describe how I finished Durus Marius. Indeed there are things worse than death, and I made certain that he suffered as many of them as I could think of before he finally begged me for death. The world has become a cruel place indeed. Am I contributing to it? Or am I taking it away piece by piece? The hardest part by then was not knowing of Setsuna´s choices. Could I forgive her for joining the Dark Brotherhood?”

“I suppose you could Seth, if you had wanted to,” I said silently

“Ald Sotha, a Daedric shrine to the northwest of Vivec, has been the base of operations for the Night Mother herself.” Seth continued. “I was to kill Severia Magia, leader of the force that had plagued us for all those weeks. I was also told it was possible that Setsuna herself might even be there. This target was the most important of all my Writs and special duties. This was the Night Mother of the Dark Brotherhood.”

Sethyas shook his head as if the memory was too painful to even think about. I stroked his hair gently and waited for him to continue.

“I fired several shots at her, some arrows hitting their mark, others she dodged effortlessly. She then reached out a leather-gauntleted hand and grabbed me by the throat and with her other hand twisted my wrist, my glass blade falling out of my hand.

Holding me secure with brute strength, she stabbed my thigh, and I fell still, unable to move.”

“She ripped off the dark mask and started to taunt me. What she didn’t expect was my urge to stay alive; I managed to get one hand free and that was all I needed. I stabbed her left arm with my Jinkblade, the razor sharp glass edge easily bit through her leather armor, and the enchantment paralyzed her. Then I unsheathed my Daedric katana, and brought it down in a ferocious swing to her neck.

So now I would be free to find Setsuna, and reunite with her at last.”

Seth buried his face in his hands, took a sip of brandy and continued;

“Right before I reached out to open the door to leave Ald Sotha, a shadow extended from my left with a speed that did not leave me time to react. A sharp pain filled my gut, and I fell to my knees once more, but this time in weakness, in pain. The already dark shrine became darker, as I felt the sharp pain leave my stomach. I looked up into a pair of beautiful red eyes that I had not seen in many months. ’I love you, Setsuna.’ I said weakly as the world faded away around me…”

I gasped for breath; I did not see that coming, not at all. I embraced him, kissed him and held him tight. Tears flowed down my face; there was no way I could stop them.

“You know Renie, being dead is strange; you can still feel the pillow underneath your head, likely in your coffin. And you can feel the dressing on your wound. And the dull aches in your body from a potent poison from a hateful sister, who turns out to be a better assassin than you,” Sethyas mumbled with his face deep in my hair.

I wasn’t sure I wanted to hear more, but then again I needed to know the rest of the story.

“Apparently I was watched all the time,” Seth’s voice was hoarse and sad. “The Blades were following my actions the whole time as it turned out. Caius Cosades and Nine-Toes spotted Setsuna but couldn’t stop her from stabbing me…But right afterwards they caught her, and…and prevented her from finishing her work”

“They…they killed her?” I whispered, still clinging tight to his chest.

Sethyas nodded; sadness overwhelmed him and he could say no more. As I sat there with him so close to me, a strange heat came over me, I felt his heart beat faster and his breath became heavier. I lifted my head and looked straight into his eyes and everything around me faded away.

What is happening to me…to us?

I …I don’t know, but please stay…please Renie!

I don’t remember how long this tense moment lasted but it seemed like an eternity to me before he finally spoke ant the world came back again;

“It was Nine-Toes that killed her; he had to, it was either her or me and they wanted me alive. I immediately tried to attack Caius; I thought he’d betrayed me and at that moment I wanted him dead. Of course I had no strength to accomplish that…then. I merely screamed at Caius, screamed out that he had promised me to spare her. But then an hour later, when I had regained my senses, I understood that it was my fault. She became what she was because of me. Because I lied.”

After he finished we sat silent for a while. The Manor was quiet, and everybody was asleep, some with and some without my help.

Then something happened…that wasn’t supposed to happen; it was not planned but it happened anyway, for better and for worse…

**********************************************************************

I put down the quill again. My back aches; I still feel bad remembering that night. I do not know if there were any consequences; I really can’t tell, but I’ll always wonder…Anyway, it will remain a secret, my secret, until now perhaps.

I walk through the silent rooms, unable to find peace. So many nights I have spent writing my story without hesitation, but tonight I just feel unable to continue, I have to ponder about this memory, I have to try and seek answers that may never be found.

Serene has a secret. Indeed.

To quote the wonderful songwriter Damien Rice, from his great song Volcano:


Damien's Lyrics:
Don't hold yourself like that
cause You'll hurt your knees
well I kissed your mouth, and back
But that's all I need
Don't build your world around
Volcanoes melt you down

And What I am to you is not real
What I am to you, you do not need
What I am to you is not what you mean to me
You give me miles and miles of mountains
And I'll ask for the sea

Lisa Hannigan's Lyrics:
Don't throw yourself like that
In front of me
I kissed your mouth, your back
Is that all you need?
Don't drag my love around
Volcanoes melt me down

What I am to you is not real
What I am to you, you do not need
What I am to you is not what you mean to me
You give me miles and miles of mountains
And I'll ask
What I give to you is just what I'm going through
This is nothing new, no, no just another phase of finding
what I really need is what makes me bleed
But like a new disease, Lord, she's still too young to treat
Volcanoes melt you down
She's still too young +what iam to you+you do not need+is not real
I kissed your mouth
You do not need me

So sad and beautiful! And somewhat true... Still, they have something, otherwise things that happened shouldn't have happened. And they do need each other...in a strange way they do, believe me!:mellow:

It is awesome to see you continue this lovely story, minque. I even came out of my hibernation to comment on it

Once again, the emotions conveyed by your characters are extremely heart-felt and a simple joy to read. The connection between Sethyas and Serene is so powerful. Great update and I can't wait to read more.

At dawn I took a bath, a long hot bath to regain focus and concentration on that fateful day. It was the day I, Serene Catraso, would make a statement that would change the lives of many, especially my own. It also was the day I would challenge a man to a duel for the death. I had taken men’s lives before, but not in this way, not by my own will and decision. But then I thought about what Sinnamu Mirpal told me when I spent time with the Ahemmusa, after my cowardly escape from Domesea’s funeral;

“You are a healer, my child, and you know that sometimes, when you perform a healing, you must cut away a diseased part so that the body as a whole can heal and become strong again. If the diseased limb or organ is not removed, the corruption will spread and kill the patient.”
She looked at me closely to see if I was following her. Seeing my frown of concentration, she continued,

“You will have to perform- a healing, an amputation…so that the body can become strong again.”

Yes I was a healer, and I had to commence the healing today! It would start with me challenging Archmaster Venim.

After the bath I rubbed my entire body with an ointment scented with Gold Kanet and Heather, and I even went outside Under Skar for a while to let my long hair dry in the chilly morning breeze. Refreshed but not entirely in the best mood I went back. I tiptoed into the grand bedroom only to see my beloved Athyn sleeping deeply on his side of the magnificent bed we had installed recently. I sneaked into bed and gently kissed him. He didn’t awake but was immediately aware of me being there, for he turned around and put his arms tightly around me. I cuddled up close to him, felt his breath on my neck. I closed my eyes, just for a minute…

“Hey my love, wake up, will you? Don’t cry, I’m here; I’ll be by your side, don’t worry,” Athyn’s soft voice murmured in my ear, and I tried to look at him but my eyes were wet and swollen; they simply did not open.

Had I been crying in my sleep or what?

“Leave it be, you don’t have to see me to realize what I’m going to do with you now,” Athyn laughed.

No, that was true, I didn’t have to see to experience the following half hour…

After another bath, not so long and not so hot, I felt better and headed for the kitchen. Athyn was preparing one of those hearty breakfasts he had usually prepared ever since I moved in with him. He had developed an urge to feed me, thinking I was far too skinny and needed excess nourishment, at least three or four times a day. The smell from the kitchen was tempting, kwama-egg omelet, fresh bread, vegetables, and a stew containing I don’t know what but it looked good! Unfortunately my appetite was very poor that strange morning.

I tried the best I could to eat, but from the look on Athyn’s face it was far too little.

“Serene, please eat some more! You’ll develop a terrible fatigue during the meeting if you don’t eat, you might faint when you…. when you have to…do that. …Thing.”

I nodded; I wasn’t in the mood for any sort of argument, and so I just smiled and took another piece of bread.

The council meeting was to be held at the great Council-hall in the centre of Under Skar. I wanted to look as impressive as I could, mostly to improve my self-esteem but also to show off a little bit.

The house was rather quiet; I remember seeing Salyn, and Varvur. Also Vendrela was present, since she came into my chambers just as I was pondering how to arrange my hair.

“Here, let me help you,” she said. And in a few minutes she created an impressive construction with it on top of my head. I looked in the mirror, and what I saw scared me;
A tall skinny woman in a complicated dress, deadly pale and with dark shadows under her eyes, eyes still a bit swollen. I turned away in dismay. Was this the Hope of the Redoran?

Just before we left for the meeting, Athyn came up to me. He had something in his hand…

“I want you to have this now,” he said, putting a necklace around my pale neck. It was a magnificent piece of handicraft, a thin golden chain with a huge red stone in a complicated mounting. There was something inscribed at its backside…but I couldn’t read it just then. It was purely beautiful and I couldn’t utter a word; there was this heavy lump in my throat.

“Actually I meant to give it to you on our wedding day, but I think you need it now!” Athyn stroked my chin. “It belonged to my mother. She was a mage, so it has some magical properties, which can be useful for you.”

The red stone glistened in the flickering lights from the lanterns in the hallway as we left Sarethi Manor. I shivered, not from cold, but from the tension inside me.

“I do hope Seth will make it in time,” Athyn sighed as we walked. I was a bit startled when he mentioned Sethyas and I hoped it didn’t show.

“He went to Vivec this morning, to see Ilmeni,” he said. “Naturally he needed her; they haven’t seen each other for quite some time now.”

“So they are engaged, are they?” I asked, feeling a bit awkward.

“Oh yes! They are soon to get married after what Seth said last week. He really deserves a good wife and Ilmeni really is a nice woman. She’s the daughter of Duke Dren by the way; did you know that?”

I smiled in return and nodded.

As we entered the Council Hall, Neminda bade us welcome. She squeezed my hand very hard, whispering encouraging words in my ears. Apparently almost everybody knew of the importance of this meeting. I could only hope the Archmaster didn’t.

A minor commotion occurred and the cause was the arrival of Sethyas Velas and Ilmeni Dren. Seth pulled back his hood and caught my gaze; immediately I blushed.

Damn it Renie, focus! What happened last night is something we have to deal with at another time. I’m here by your side, and so are all the Redoran Councilors. Show us what you’re made of, and save us all!

Suddenly I was completely calm. There were other thoughts from Sethyas Velas that I read at that time…. And the sum of it was the total calmness and concentration I felt then.

Neminda looked at us and bid us enter the hall where the meeting was to be. The other councilors were already there except for the Archmaster. All of them seemed uneasy save Mistress Brara Morvayn. She gave us a hearty smile and blinked conspiratorially at me. When she spotted my necklace her eyes widened but she said nothing. I was seated between Athyn and Sethyas. I should have felt secure, but the truth was I was terrified.

The entrance of Archmaster Bolvyn Venim was as spectacular as the mer himself. He banged the doors open and in he came flanked by at least four women clinging to his arms like grapes. One of them was Fathasa Llethri!

I gave Garisa a quick glance; he didn’t look up but his clenched fists turned white. I took a deep breath…

Don’t! It’s not time yet!

I looked at Seth, whose voice was in my mind. He did not look back. Just watched the scene with empty gaze.

“Ahhhh fellow councilors!” Bellowed Venim with a laugh. “You’re already assembled, but why so grumpy? It’s a lovely day and I have some new ideas which I’ll take the opportunity to discuss with you, since you saw fit to call for this extra meeting.” The last words were for Athyn.

As he turned to sneer at my beloved, his gaze froze; he had spotted me and he looked sternly at me somewhere beneath my chin. Then he turned to his accompanying ladies with some effort;

“Ladies! Leave us, this is nothing for women, go away and I’ll get back to you all later.” He waved his hands at the women as if he couldn’t get rid of them fast enough.

“Athyn Sarethi! You deliberately brought that Outlander here! At our council meeting? That’s preposterous, get her out immediately! “ He shouted peevishly.

“She stays!! And so do I,” Sethyas rose from his chair. My heart beat faster; I touched my Ahemmusa sacred tattoo and felt the heat of it. Then I let go of the necklace Athyn had given me and that I’d been holding in my hand until now. The magnificent stone glistened in the light and Bolvyn Venim gave out a new cry of anger.

“Whaaaa!!!! It’s The Red Star!!!! On an Outlander! You can’t be serious, old man, it’s…it’s…”

“A sacred Redoran treasure, I know! But it’s also a Sarethi Family Heirloom; it belonged to my mother and is inherited by the leading lady in the family, which Serene is going to be,” Athyn said dryly.

“I absolutely forbid that. If you do this it will be your fall, Athyn Sarethi! I will kill you with my bare hands.”

I made to rise, but Sethyas grabbed my arm and held me back.

No!! Stay calm. Not yet, for Nirn’s sake.

“Gentlemer, please! We shall not argue about some fancy jewelry here, we have more important matters to attend to, such as the future of The Redoran Community,” Sethyas said loudly.

“Ah yes! I visited Suran last week and they have a really enchanting business there, which I think would be very nice to have here in Ald’ruhn,” Venim sounded almost cheerful.

“I was not referring to some Suran-business, I was referring to the state of our Great House and its lack of proper leadership, and also the Naming of Trey of High Rock as our Hortator,” Sethyas turned to the other councilors who nodded in approval.

“You already have a sort of that business going on in your very house,” Garisa Llethri muttered quietly.

Bolvyn Venim turned dark red with blistering anger; he rose to his feet slowly, looking at one and each of us sitting around the table.

“It’s completely out of the question!” he bellowed. “That Breton is NOT going to be our Hortator, as long as I’m the true leader of House Redoran and I decide that he shall not be Hortator.”

NOW!

I still don’t remember whether Seth actually said the word or merely thought it, but a strange cold calmness filled me and I in my turn rose to my feet, and touching my tattoo and the red stone between my breasts I slowly approached the Archmaster. I heard a faint whimper, maybe from Athyn, but I just proceeded until I stood face to face with him.

“Then there’s no choice,” my voice was crystal clear. “I hereby challenge you, Bolvyn Venim to a duel to the death. Meet me at the Arena in Vivec, when Masser and Secunda are in the third quarter.” As a confirmation of my challenge I took off one of my gloves and slapped him in the face.

The silence after my declaration was complete.

I really did it. Oh yes I did it, and may Azura protect me.

I hope that slap stung Venim for the next hour. Kick his boat Serene! You're doing everyone a huge favor. *Over-enthusiastic perhaps* I hope Serene keeps a clean conscience after the duel.

I actually found myself holding my breath for that council meeting. Venim's overbearing personality filled the room, but the tension created by what everyone else knew was equally powerful. His entrance was magnificent; I am constantly amused by the things that the supposed "Redoran honor" will allow people to put up with. I certainly can't imagine that it is honorable to let the archmaster galavant around with one's wife, but perhaps, in their view, it would be a greater dishonor to do something about it. It was great to see Serene summon the courage to not only challenge Venim, but also to give him that wonderful slap in the face. I only hope it stung more than Venim's likely shock at actually being challenged.

I am a little worried about how the previous installments encounter between Serene and Sethyas will affect things in the future. I hope that it doesn't become too big a problem.

I was thinking the same thing. We know that Serene has a tendency to worry perhaps more than she should, and if she's feeling plagued with guilt... However she seems to be coming to terms with other elements she's shied away from in the past. The analogy of killing as being a form of healing was a particularly good example of that. Maybe she's finally realising that any event is tempered by our interpretation of it, and every event can have multiple interpretations. That might be a good way of keeping the guilt from the door.

On a more technical note, I was particularly impressed with the way you utilised pace throughout. The slow build, the tension starting to mount then finally kicking off towards the end. You really managed to build the tension beautifully there. It should mean that we have a very exciting duel ahead of us. I can't wait!

The Archmaster looked at me, and I never had seen so much hate in one man’s eyes before; I was sure that if he could he would have killed me right there, on the spot.

“Very well, outlander, I will accept your challenge and I must say I’m looking so much forward to wetting the dust in the Arena pit with your blood” With those words he turned away from me and headed for the door. But just before exiting he once more turned to us;

“You are all doomed. When I’ve finished this woman I’ll come back to you all, and I will show no mercy. So enjoy the last days of your miserable lives!”

Nobody answered or moved; they all sat completely still but I could sense the anger and hate emanating from the councilors. Seth’s hand on my shoulder tightened its grip and I knew instinctively what he was thinking, without using telepathy.

When the door closed everybody started talking again.

“I’m impressed; didn’t think you’d have the courage to do it,” Miner Arobar gave me something that might have resembled a smile.

“I knew she’d do it; she’s tough, really tough,” Hlaren Ramoran blinked at me. Garisa Llethri just shook his head; he looked sad and worried.

“Now shall we finish of this farce of a meeting and get ourselves a drink?” Brara Morvayn chuckled.

Sethyas and Athyn looked at me; I nodded, a drink was exactly what I needed. I still couldn’t really grasp that I actually had challenged Bolvyn Venim that I was prepared to kill him in cold blood.

The short walk to The Rat in the Pot did me good. For once the weather was nice; it usually is not in Ald’ruhn, but this afternoon the sun was warm and the faint breeze did not contain any red ash. I walked beside Athyn; Sethyas had disappeared just before we were off.

“I suppose he’s gone to get Ilmeni,” Brara Morvayn concluded.

It wasn’t too crowded at The Pot so we could actually sit down and have our drinks. I love Cyrodiilic Brandy, maybe a bit too much in fact. After two mugs of Brandy I felt strong and very confident I’d wipe the Arena floor with Bolvyn Venim. My complicated hairdo was falling apart, strands of damp hair hanging down around my face, and I felt invincible. But when I was about to order my third Brandy….

I wouldn’t go any harder on that stuff if I were you…

I spun around, and stood face to face with Sethyas, and beside him stood a Dunmer Lady, smiling at me in a friendly fashion. Yes a lady, nothing else would be appropriate to describe Ilmeni Dren, the daughter of Duke Dren and Sethyas’ fiancée.

“Renie, meet Ilmeni Dren, my wife to be,” Sethyas said with a faint smile.

“Ilmeni, meet my dearest sister Serene,” he continued.
Ilmeni told me later that she never met a more beautiful woman than me at that moment, something I at first found very hard to believe.

“Greetings, Sera,” Ilmeni’s voice was just like herself, calm and warm. “I’m so pleased to finally meet you, Seth has told me so much about you, and he thinks the world of you, which I really can understand.”

I took a deep breath and bowed my head; Ilmeni Dren was after all the Duke’s daughter;

“Greetings to you Sera…ehh Duchess,” I stuttered, “It’s an honor to meet you.” I blushed; I didn’t know how to continue, and then I glanced at Seth…the darn mer was laughing at my embarrassment!

“Ah, come on, let’s move over to another table; I’ve been so eager to get to know you, Serene.” Ilmeni took my arm and led me to a more secluded table.

I don’t remember everything we talked about, but what I do remember very well was the warm fuzzy feeling I had by just being in her company. She was an excellent listener, she was curious about me in a subtle way which made me open up to her quite a bit.

“Seth is a wonderful man,” I exclaimed. “But you know that already of course.”

“Yes…yes he is,” she responded thoughtfully. “Now he’s also quite special; you can’t tie him down; you have to allow him his freedom, or you’ll loose him. I never ask him what’s he’s been up to when he returns to me. He wouldn’t answer anyway,” Ilmeni smiled.

I felt a pang of remorse when I heard her, but tried to suppress it. Sethyas was my brother and that’s all there was to it…or?

A loud burst of laughter interrupted our conversation; the men at the counter had started to get drunk, really drunk. Garisa slept with his head on the counter; Miner and Hlaren were arguing about something, but the laughter was Sethyas doing. He threw his head backwards and laughed loud at something Athyn said. Or maybe how he said it, the fact was that my beloved one was beastly drunk; he had severe problems just to stand upright. I made a move to approach him but Seth stopped me.

“Nooooooooooo nooooo ladies! Let me handle this. Athyn and I are going home now, they won’t serve us anymore at these premishes, so we’ll just head…*hiccup* head home to get…”

“Oh dear, there will be some men with severe headache tomorrow,” Ilmeni laughed. “Shall we follow then to see that they don’t get themselves into any trouble?”

We followed our men from a distance; we wouldn’t disturb them, besides we still had a lot to talk about.

There were quite certainly at least two Redoran councilors who suffered from headaches the next morning. One of them didn’t show up at all; the other did stumble out into the kitchen as Ilmeni and were having morning-tea. Sethyas looked just terrible; his red eyes were even redder, his face was dirt-grey and he smelled like a dead guar. Besides that, he was in a terrible mood, grumpy and sour.

“Don’t…say…anything!” he muttered as he downed a big mug of water. I had not the heart to tell him that I didn’t have to say anything; I knew perfectly well how he felt and what he was thinking about. I just smiled at him.

I decided to see how Athyn was doing and leave Ilmeni and Sethyas some space. My love was sleeping heavily; he even snored, which he normally doesn’t do. I lay down beside him and must have fallen asleep because the next thing I was aware of was that some kind of beast was trying to kiss me, I turned my face away, and the smell was terrible. Then of course I realized it was Athyn, and started laughing.

“Oh I’m sorry,” he said. “I smell awful, don’t I?”

“That’s the least one can say, but ok I can take it,” I said and kissed him hard. That caused us to remain in the bedroom for another hour.

Masser and Secunda would enter their third quarters within a week, so there was still some time for me to prepare myself for the duel. Or perhaps time to get even more scared! I was thankful for Ilmeni being around, she had a deeper understanding for how I felt and did her best to distract me from thinking too much about the forthcoming event. That was the best that could happen to me as it turned out.

“We are getting married soon, Seth and I, which is a miracle in itself! I never thought he would propose to me,” Ilmeni told me. “He doesn’t seem to be the marrying type of person.”

“He loves you, Ilmeni, and he needs you. He’s become a better person after meeting you, I can see that now.”

Our conversation resulted in the two of us going to Balmora three days later to visit Milie Hastien, the fine clothier. We were looking for a wedding gown for Ilmeni. It’s always a pleasure to visit Milie; she’s also very good at fixing hair, so both Ilmeni and I let her do ours. It was a wonderful day and I cherished it immensely because I’d noticed that Secunda and Masser now were not far from entering their third quarters.

We decided to let Milie manufacture a wedding gown for Ilmeni. I wanted her to look her very best when she was to marry my dearest brother and friend. It was a sheer joy to choose fabric and design and I was totally distracted from what lay ahead of me.

That following night I slept poorly. I encountered some undefined worry; it was like some diminutive scribs were crawling all over me. Not even lying in Athyn’s arms made my soul calm down.

Serene! Be prepared, the time has come. Today at noon you must be in the Arena Pit to face your destiny.

Azura’s message was clear, as she came to me just before dawn. Today was the day, maybe the last day of my life.

I could not eat any breakfast. I felt sick. My family gathered around me, fussing about, wondering how I felt, when all I wanted was to be left alone. Then again I could understand their worry and a trickle of joy went through me, I was loved; people cared for me- wanted me to make it through this.

I was sitting on Athyn’s lap holding him tight when Ilmeni and Seth arrived. Ilmeni embraced me, saying nothing, but I could feel her tears wet my cheek. Seth said nothing; he just sat down looking straight at me.

No, I will never reveal what I read from Sethyas’ mind that morning, but it affected me deeply.

First, I put on the sacred vest Sinnamu Mirpal gave me the last time I met her; while doing that I gently touched my tattoo. It began immediately to burn like fire. Then I chose to wear the guar skin trousers and matching tunic I got from the Ahemmusa tribe. If I was going to die I’d like to pass away as an Ahemmusa warrior.

I then said goodbye to my family. They were probably going to be at the Arena to watch the duel, at least it was expected from Athyn, but I could see how it tormented him.

The last person I encountered, just before leaving, was Seth. He took me in his arms, saying nothing. There was no need. I knew!

I promise I will! Just be there for me.

I was convinced he could read me….


***************************************************************************

Just as I put down the quill for a second, the door was flung open. I looked up, annoyed; everybody knew that I was not to be disturbed when I was sitting in my private chambers, not at this time of the day anyway.

“Are you back???” This was the only person, except for my husband, that always had access to my privacy. I embraced him, only too happy to see him safe and sound.

There was no more writing that night though…

It's good to see Ilmeni and Serene getting along so well; it certainly bodes well for the future. I'm glad that Serene found someone to help her prepare for her upcoming duel, even if only by being an emotional support and presence during her wait.

This installment didn't quite have the intensity of the previous one, but perhaps that's good; I do like to breathe occasionally. I did notice a couple spelling/word choice issues that escaped your careful proofreading gaze, but they didn't significantly detract from my enjoyment.

I especially appreciated Serene's choice of clothing for her duel. It seems highly appropriate to duel the pompous head of Redoran wearing Ashlander clothing; it should put him in his place even before the fight begins. I am looking forward to the actual duel; I know that writing combat scenes isn't your favorite thing to do, or perhaps even your greatest skill, but I anticipate that the glimpses we'll get into Serene's thoughts during the duel will be as spectactular as your introspective writing always is.

Nice to see Serene and Ilmeni getting along. As planty puts it, its nice to breathe once in a while. Especially if the action is about to come. Is there a person still helping you out with that?

Dang I haven't had time to read in a while. Heh, time to catch up.

Yes, Blackie, someone's helping me..

So therefore I dedicate this and the two following installments to

The Metal Mallet

who is my honored guest-writer, since you all know, fighting scenes isn't my cup 'o tea

********************************************************************************
*****
My armor and sword had already been brought to the Arena by two of our servants. I just had to bring myself there. The silt strider driver did not speak to me during the trip, so I took the opportunity to close my eyes and get some rest.

It was a bright sunny day when I landed at Vivec Strider port.

A wonderful day to die…

I had to stop those thoughts; I wasn’t supposed to die, and I had promised to stay alive! I enjoyed the gondola-trip between the Vivec Foreign quarter and Vivec Arena. Vivec really is a peculiar town; it consists of different so-called Cantons, built right out in the sea, Each canton is a huge building with different levels and a lot of corridors and rooms. You certainly need a map to find your way around. You can travel between the cantons by gondolas, a rather pleasant means of transport. From the water, you can see the majesty of the city rising from the sea, as well as the sun reflecting from the waves.

At the Arena I was shown into a small room, with a narrow bed, a chair and a large cupboard, where I had a chance to prepare myself. My armor and weapon were placed there already. I lay down on the bed, totally exhausted after last night’s lack of sleep.

The muffled roar of the spectators of the Arena woke me from the small nap I was taking. It seemed as if they thought the fight taking place at the moment was an exciting one. Well, I intended to show them what a spectacle truly was!

Now that I was awake, I decided that it would be a good time to begin final preparations for my duel. I picked up my Daedric dai-katana from the rack at the side of the cupboard and placed it upon my lap.

Daedric weaponry was widely known for being quite weighty, but fortunately the weapon was balanced so perfectly that the weight didn’t pose a problem. I brushed my hand against the flat of the blade, observing the light-absorbing blackness of the metal. Brilliant flashes of crimson seared the edges of the blade, giving it a very intimidating appearance. I deemed the blade unscarred after my inspection. It would hopefully tear right through whatever armor Venim decided to wear.

I almost found it odd how much I was looking forward to battling Venim to the death. Almost. Any other time than this I would’ve despised the notion of killing someone. But this, this had to be done for the benefit of my House. The Redorans would eventually crumble under the oppressive nature of Bolvyn Venim. I couldn’t let that happen!

The next thing I did was don my Imperial armor. While putting on the heavy armor I couldn’t help but think about how long it had been since I had done my service with the Imperial Legion. It felt like ages ago; so much had changed.

Yet, some things had stayed the same as well. I felt like I was the same person as I was back then. Sure, the events I had experienced had revealed new things about me, but I felt that those things that made me truly Serene were still intact. I also knew there were people who had confidence in me, people who expected me to manage this. That scared me terribly.

After putting on my armor, excluding the helm for comfort reasons, I wrapped a simple red robe around myself. It wasn’t so bulky that it would inhibit my movements, but it did what I wanted it to do: hide my armor. My plan was to make Venim overconfident, then use that overconfidence to defeat him. Believing I was unprepared, Venim would be more reckless, thus allowing me to use precision and accuracy to my advantage. I knew that he would seek to do more than win- he would try to humiliate me.

The preliminary battle still raged, so I sat quietly on my bench and attempted to visualize the fight I would shortly begin. It was during this time that a knock on the door caught my attention.

The door opened and Athyn walked in, his hands folded together and his expression a mix of worry, concern, and hope. He slowly walked towards me, bent down to one knee and took my hands into his. He looked up to me, his eyes blank with emotion.

“Serene, my dear, I know this must be done, but why can’t someone else do it? Surely there must be someone else willing to defeat Bolvyn. I could ask Sethyas, he is strong and fit! I couldn’t bear to see you fall!” he said softly, kissing my hand affectionately.

I gently pulled Athyn up, so that we could make eye contact. “Athyn, as you said, this must be done. It was I who made the challenge, therefore it must be me who duels him. You know this better than anyone else. You only say such things because you worry for me. Besides, Sethyas has his own demons to fight; this is not his battle.” I kissed his brow, “But do not fear. I shall be victorious.”

My courage must somehow have rubbed off a bit on Athyn, as the worry on his face appeared to fade away. Determination now replaced it.

“Make sure you come back to me,” he said with conviction.

I nodded. “Go now, be strong for the others,” I said before he walked out of the room.

The next knocking on my door was a guard informing me that it was time to go. I grabbed my dai-katana and sheathed it on my back before following the guard to the Arena fighting grounds.

As I exited the room, a stretcher containing one of the previous combatants was being rushed past me. The combatant was an Imperial, covered in blood. Grievous wounds covered his body and the warrior openly cried out in pain from them. Even when he had been carried out of sight, I could still hear his wails.

I shuddered involuntarily. That could happen to me. Even worse, I could be killed… No! I had to maintain confidence. I couldn’t let such sights sway the outcome of my duel.

As I walked through the doorway into the fighting pit, the crowd greeted my entrance warmly with a few cheers and scattered applause. Outside of House Redoran, I wasn’t widely known. I knew this crowd was as large as it was because a virtual stranger was challenging the Arch Master of House Redoran for the position. Bolvyn Venim was widely considered a great sword master and this crowd was eager to see a slaughter. Well, I would give them one! Just one that they weren’t expecting.

When Venim stepped out onto the grounds, the audience surged, their cheers sounding like thunder. Venim waved appreciatively to the crowds, drinking in their praise. I silently cursed when I noticed that Venim also had a Daedric dai-katana strapped to his back. He also wore expensive ebony armor, which I knew was exceptionally strong. I was certain it would take more than one blow with my katana to tear into that stuff. My Imperial armor wouldn’t protect me nearly as well.

Off to one side of the spectators’ seating section was a raised platform. Upon it stood a large Nord in full armor.

“Silence!” the Nord’s booming voice bellowed. The crowd quickly followed his order.

“Before us stand two warriors. One wishes to be called House Redoran Arch Master, the other wishes to keep such title. This is a serious matter, and I must ask- Arch Master Venim, Lady Serene, will you not be reconciled?”

This was a formality; a chance for combatants to reconsider after the heat of a challenge had faded. Venim sneered and raised an arrogant eyebrow at me, as if offering me a chance. When I silently shook my head, he shrugged as if to say that what was to come was not his doing. The Nord stared hard at me and then bellowed:

“Ladies, Gentlemen, and Gentlemer, I present to you a duel to the death!”

The crowd surged once more, screaming their approval. The Nord raised his hands and the crowd grew silent once more. “To my left stands the challenger. Behold! Serene Catraso!”

My announcement received a mixture of applause, cheers, and even some boos. I waved slightly to the crowd, but my eyes were fixed on my opponent the entire time.

“And to my right,” the Nord continued, “Is the current Arch Master of House Redoran. The great Bolvyn Venim!”

After the crowd finished shouting their praise for the despicable Mer, the Nord continued, “I shall now dictate the terms of this duel. This will be to the death; no mercy shall be given. It has been decided between the opponents that no magic shall be used during the battle. Should any magic appear, the duel with stop and the caster will be arrested and executed shortly thereafter,” he paused to emphasize the point.

“Now, combatants…. BEGIN!”

Hehe, I'm sure some people are going to pick up on one inconsistency with this update: Serene's armour. Back when I wrote this, I didn't know everything leading up to this point in the story. I can't recall if minque told me to use Serene's old Imperial armour or not, at the time I wrote this it made sense to me.

I hope everyone will enjoy the duel and I'd like to thank minque for giving me a chance to contribute to this amazing story. Heck, even I'm excited to see how this duel goes; this was written so long ago that I can't fully remember and the file that I wrote this on is on a previous computer!

Sweet! I know this fight is going to be good than, man Mallie, you just LOOooOOve offing the Archmaster, no?

Well Mallie, even if she wears Ahemmusa clothing she could wear imperial armor..or? Gah, I could need some help sorting that out!

And aye stay tuned, the duel will begin....soon

What can I say? The guy keeps asking for it no matter who ends up challenging him. This version of Venim in particular certainly deserves it.

Next one, and it's dedicated to Mallie! Thank you so much!

Venim calmly pulled out his katana and strutted towards me. My own sword came easily to my hands, and I waited for him, poised on the balls of my feet, watching the point of his sword and his hateful eyes.

“Well, Serene, at least you have good taste in weaponry,” he said with an air of superiority, “I can’t say the same about your armor though.”

I began to circle my opponent.

“I don’t require ‘superior’ armor to hide behind. Unlike a coward like you,” I shot back, fixing him with a wry smirk.

The obvious insult enraged the Archmaster, and his ashen face furrowed into a distorted anger. Bellowing a war cry, Venim charged at me, his dai-katana pulled back to his side in preparation to land a vicious blow upon me. I stood absolutely still, my expression placid as I watched the towering Dunmer rapidly close the distance. It seemed that Venim was too enraged to realize that my behavior was odd. Rather than consider the fact that I merely waited, sword held in a guard position, he shouted another cry and swung the heavy Daedric blade towards me.

The force of the swing caused the air around the blade to sing in a high whisper, sounding like a demonic creature that desperately sought to spill my life force. It wasn’t until the last minute that I crouched to the ground and nimbly rolled away from the horizontal attack. Rising to my feet, I was surprised to find another sword swipe heading my way. He was faster than I had imagined! Still, I managed to get my own dai-katana up in time to stop the attack, pushing Venim back.

I backed away from the Archmaster, the crowd a distant buzzing in my ears. His speed with the sword was mind boggling considering how heavy it was. I now knew what the public said about Venim was true; he was an excellent swordsman.

Venim paused from the offensive briefly to gloat once more.

“It is not wise to make me mad, outlander scum,” he muttered darkly as he slowly circled me, “But since I don’t feel like practicing my technique today I’ll give you a choice. Throw down your sword now and I promise I’ll give you a painless death.”

I didn’t give his offer any consideration. I had decided to live as long as possible a long time ago. So, instead of giving him an answer, I launched an attack of my own. My move took the Archmaster by surprise, but he still managed to deflect my blade. What would have been a killing blow crashed against his pauldron, knocking him backwards.

Venim stumbled to a stop. He glanced at his pauldron and a shocked expression crossed his face. The ebony pauldron was cracked clear through, like a brittle pane of glass struck by a rock. The crowd roared their approval of the clash; they did not seem to care who won, only that blood be spilled. Venim´s eyes swept across the stadium, flaring in anger. It seemed he didn’t enjoy being embarrassed in front of hundreds of people. He pointed his sword at me.

“No more games. I gave you a chance for an easy death, but now…” he trailed off. I could literally see him shake with rage! “Now, I’m going to make you suffer and beg me to take your life!”

With that, Venim heaved his dai-katana above his head and charged. I followed suit, driving straight at him. It was a dangerous move, making a direct challenge to his greater strength. I wanted to fight with a cool head, not with my heart on my sleeve. We brought our blades down at the same moment, and they crashed against each other with such force that it sent both of us recoiling across the sand. I recovered first and with a battle cry I swung my blade diagonally. The Archmaster intercepted this strike and knocked my sword aside. He then went for a horizontal slash, which I narrowly dodged by sucking my middle in. The effort of the swing caused Venim to lose his balance, which I took advantage of, scoring a glancing blow against his broken pauldron.

Shards of ebony sprayed across the sand. One shard caused me to gasp as it brushed against my cheek, instantly cutting it. Ignoring the thin stream of blood running down my face, I leapt upon my fallen opponent, seeking to cleave him in half with a downward strike. Venim expertly rolled away and rose to his feet quickly as he brushed away the few remaining chunks of his pauldron. The crowd again roared its approval.

Angry that I had missed my chance to finish the fight, I charged once more. Unfortunately, Venim was prepared and swung past my attack, smashing his sword into my back. The force of the blow was astounding, causing me to crumple to my knees. I desperately tried to catch my breath as I struggled to regain my footing. I did not stay standing long, as an armored boot crashed into my back, sending me face first into the sand. A plume of the stuff rose into the air, only to be carried away by the wind. I began to cough violently to clear my throat. I rolled to my back, thinking that Venim surely was planning to finish me off. Instead I saw him playing to the crowd.

“Is this truly the best my fellow House members can throw at me? It looks like I’ll have to run an intensive training camp once I finish dealing with this bit--” he ranted before I swept his legs out from under him with a kick of my own.

Laughter rang throughout the Arena we rose to our feet. Venim reddened in embarrassment and anger, his head swinging in my direction, his red eyes smoldering. Growling in rage, he rushed at me.

I had learnt my lesson after my thorough beating just moments ago. I needed to fight with a clear head in order to beat this mer. I patiently waited to see what form Venim’s attack would take. Once I knew it was going to be a simple overhead chop, I brought my sword up to block the strike. Our swords clashed, and the force sent painful waves through my arms and into my body. Venim grunted in exertion as he tried to use brute force to batter down my defenses. I held our blades locked and used my greater flexibility to kick him away, then attempted a counter-attack. He neatly smacked my sword away and caught me with an upward strike, which sliced through my Imperial armor as if was paper and cut my shoulder.

Crying out in pain, I backed away from Venim. Sensing that I was in trouble, the Archmaster charged in with a heavy flurry of thrusts and slashes. The attacks were sloppy enough that I was able to either avoid them or block them, but each parry or block left my shoulder burning in agony. I clenched my teeth, seeking to fight past the pain in order to win this fight. I dodged another chop by Venim, and the momentum of his blade spun him away from the engagement, giving me time to breathe.

My rest was brief, for Venim whirled around, his chest heaving. He seemed more tired than I was! Perhaps I could defeat him in battle of stamina. I had just spent the last weeks in intensive training, including twice-daily runs in full armor. He, on the other hand, had been drinking Cyrodiilic brandy and carousing for years. His fearsome reputation had kept him from being seriously challenged and his skills had withered just as his endurance had lessened.

I decided it was time to test that theory as I plunged back into battle, pushing a swift pace with a flurry of thrusts and slashes. Venim tried to smack my blade away, seeking to counterattack, but I kept my grip and control. Even as he gasped, I could feel my breath coming easily and my legs felt fresh and strong.

I hadn’t managed to break through his defenses, but Venim was fighting a completely defensive battle now rather than initiating any offense whatsoever. I abruptly switched my attack to a chop and our blades locked against each other once again. This was a battle of strength, which I seemed to be losing. I had to stop trying to match his strength and rely on my speed and stamina!

And stop I did, as I abruptly broke the lock and slammed my katana hilt right into his hated face. Venim staggered back, blood pouring out of his broken nose. Spitting out the blood that ran into his mouth, he cursed loudly. I guess he wasn’t happy with me ruining his “rugged” face. He was so busy snarling curses that he didn’t paying attention to my next attack. With all my might I swung my dai-katana and it landed flush upon Venim´s cuirass.

The blow sounded like a hammer striking a pane of glass, and Venim´s ebony cuirass shattered in much the same way. The force of the blow launched Venim off of his feet, his eyes a mirror of pain and surprise. A plume of sand erupted off of the ground as the Archmaster crashed to earth, briefly hiding him from me.

The crowd was completely mute, eyes trained on the cloud of sand, waiting to see the state of Bolvyn Venim. The first sign I noticed was a dry, raspy snicker. At least it started like that; it quickly developed into full-blown laughter. It was then that the dust finally settled and I saw Venim standing there, a gaping hole in his cuirass, his shoulders shuddering in mirth. The crowd clapped politely. I guess I was beginning to win some over.

Venim´s eyes glinted dangerously. “That’ll be the last strike you make,” he informed me as he readied his dai-katana once more.

I raised my sword into a guard position and closed the distance between us. I barely noticed that now encouragements were being shouted to both of us, rather than just him. My shoulder was a dull throbbing lump, and the arm felt like a dead weight. My cheek stung as blood and sweat mixed together.

Despite all that, I still felt I had the upper hand. I had just broken Venim´s protection. He had to feel vulnerable now. But he also seemed more determined than ever. No matter; it was time to end this.

I engaged Venim once more, unleashing a relentless attack of thrusts and slashes. Venim calmly defended himself before pushing me away. As I backed up, I stumbled. With my balance lost, Venim went back on offense. His attacks were many, and hard. Each blow sent waves of pain down my arms, but still I defended against them. Yet, my strength was waning, the battle and blood loss finally taking their toll upon me. My defense felt feeble before Venim´s strength. I saw victory slipping through my hands.

I was failing…

Sorry for not commenting before, the uniqueness of the awesome battling actually made me go back and reread the one Mallet did for me!

So here is your ego-feeding comment that is actually genuine to boot:
Keep up the good work! S>G>M>!!!!!

"I was failing..."

That can't be right, at least not in a permanent sense. Or perhaps I simply hope it isn't right. It does seem that she needs a change in strategy, as Venim does seem to have superior strength, and perhaps experience as well. Perhaps he was holding back, to give her an opportunity to reveal her strategy and style. I don't know if such a thing exists, but it would be very dramatic if she could suddenly recall something taught to her by the Ashlanders (or even the Legion) that would help her defeat him. Somehow, it would seem only fitting, giving his intense hatred of her just for being an "outlander."

The dedication of this goes, a third time to Mallie for his invaluable help, but also to Blackie for letting me use his great Sethyas Velas, which I really have done in this..


No! I couldn’t let that happen! Too many things depended on my victory! I held my sword vertically and stopped the blade that rushed towards my head. I kicked Venim in his exposed chest, knocking the air out of him. With a yell I swung my sword at him. He managed to block it but the force of the swing caused him to stumble backwards.

“I thought I wasn’t supposed to touch you again!” I shouted at him.

Venim glowered. “You will not mock me anymore!” With that he lowered his sword and charged.

This was it. The moment I sought. I lowered my sword into a low guard position and matched his charge. All I had to do was dodge his sword and pierce his heart. I knew I could do that. It would be simp-

Cold, Daedric metal pierced my body. I screamed in pain and surprise. I had never felt such physical pain as this. It was only then that I noticed that mine wasn’t the only voice that cried in pain. I opened my eyes and saw that my sword had driven itself into Venim as well. His eyes bulged, and blood trickled from the corners of his mouth.

Froth bubbled from Venim´s lips as he spoke. “Beaten… by an… an…. Outlander!” he said in an incredulous whisper before his eyes closed.

Wincing in agony, I withdrew my sword and then cried out in fresh pain as Bolvyn Venim collapsed to the ground and his sword pulled free. I slumped to my knees, unable to keep my feet. The crowd, silent before, erupted into cheers. The noise was deafening.

It was only then that I looked to the stands. I saw Sethyas Velas nodding his head in approval, a small smile on his lips,

I knew you’d make it, I never doubted it.

I saw Baladas clapping happily; his eyes glistening with unshed tears. And then I saw Athyn. His eyes were closed, tears streaming down his cheeks, and his face was the image of relief.

It was only then that I cried in earnest. I had won; the prophecy had come true.

What happened next I remember like a kaleidoscope of scattered pictures and voices; I was so tired…

Click: Athyn’s face close to mine, kissing my sore lips, holding me tight to his chest.

Click: My blood, continuously running from the wound, soaking his robe

Click: She’s dying! Someone get a healer! Ilmeni Dren’s crying voice

Click: Let me through, damn it! I’ll take care of her! I must have smiled, that voice I’d recognize anywhere

I was scooped from the ground; unable to move I just lay in strong arms and was carried out from the Arena Pit.

No stretcher?

This is faster, now don’t you dare die on me, do you hear? Athyn will not survive if you do!

I’m just so tired…

Being dead really is strange. But not entirely unpleasant, so quiet and calm. I just wanted to lie down and rest and that would have been possible if it wasn’t for that disturbing light…And the voices, the voices that urged me to go towards that irritating light. I wanted to close my ears, I did not want to listen, why couldn’t they leave me alone? I was fine, I just wanted to stay where I was, in that dark quiet nothing….

Two voices were stuck in my head, one younger and one older. The younger one cursed me, yelled at me, pushed me to move on, I flinched, tried to get away….

I can’t, I’m too tired, leave me alone, I want to go to sleep

Damn it, you pigheaded, crazy stubborn devil of a woman!! You will not go to sleep, you will come back here, and you will do it NOW!!

Someone hauled me forward, dragged me violently by my arms, I tried resistance but it was futile. I found myself nearer the light, the sharp tormenting light…

Serene, my dearest, come back to me, please my precious…come back!

A gentle voice, a familiar voice, but so faint, so faint…

I broke through! Into a white blurry world of pain and noise, where shadows slowly turned into faces;

“Renie, my love, say nothing. You came back to me; I love you,” Athyn’s voice broke and he kissed me.

My hands were stuck somehow. Athyn held one of them but the other I couldn’t get loose, I tried and when I moved my head a little bit to the right I saw Sethyas holding it tight to his face. His shoulders were shaking.

“If you pull that stunt on me one more time, I assure you I’ll kill you with my bare hands,” he muttered, not looking at me, just squeezing my hand.

“Now, now, no more talk about killing. We’ve had just about enough of that I think.” The nasal voice of Baladas Demnevanni caught my attention. “Here Serene, let me give you this to drink; I’m sure you’ll feel better.”

One of his famous purple vials came in sight and I downed the potion willingly, as the pain now had become overwhelming. My entire body was on fire, I didn’t understand, I remembered the final stroke from Bolvyn Venim, I remembered the feeling of cold steel piercing me somewhere above my left breast, but after that…blackness. So did I kill him? I think I must have…

But why wasn’t I healed? Baladas was there and he was the best healer in Tamriel…

“You were dead, my dear! Nobody can perform healing on a dead person, unless they know how to resuscitate, and I do not have that knowledge,” Baladas smiled. “The katana went right through your body, cut quite a few blood vessels on its way in and out, so we had to stop the bleeding the normal non-magic way,” he continued. “Then you faded away from us, but you came back again…”

Athyn looked at me, gently stroking my hair, the look in his face pure love. He had cried but did not try to hide it, Words were unnecessary. Sethyas still held on to my right hand. I knew he had shed tears as well, but did not want to show it. Not yet.

“Can I go home?” My voice was merely a whisper; the effort of just uttering those few words was almost too much. I did want to get home desperately; I wasn’t sure exactly where I was right now but I could sense the sour smell from old sweaty blankets so I was probably still somewhere at the Vivec Arena.

Then there was a discussion of whether it was possible to move me just yet or if my wound would start bleeding again and so on.

The matter was solved by a sharp knock on the door and a guard entering the small room;

“You still here, folks? She survived. Well, that means you Redorans’ got yourself a new Archmaster! Congratulations lil’ lady; I was almost certain you wouldn’t make it. But now I must ask you to leave; we need this room.”

I froze; I knew I was the Archmaster but somehow I’d suppressed it; I didn’t want to think about it, it scared me.

“Wrap an extra robe around her chest, and someone just carry her, that’ll do it,” Baladas stated.

“I’ll take her,” Sethyas let my right hand loose and stood up. His eyes were redder than usual, but he finally looked at me;

You nearly broke your promise, damn you

I bit my lip; I knew what he meant and my eyes filled with tears.

Ilmeni took off her thin delicate robe and wrapped it around me. Athyn helped out by lifting me up a bit. The slight movement made me scream from pain; it was like a sword of fire went through me. I had to rest a few minutes so the pain would diminish. Baladas knelt by my side offering one of his colorful vials, this time a red one.

“Painkiller, my dear, or you will perish when our strong grumpy hero here scoops you up in his arms.”

It may have been some mysterious mixture in that vial or just Brandy, but it made me feel very warm and relaxed, almost a bit absent. And it did its work because when Sethyas actually did lift me in his arms I felt drowsy and almost happy.
I only remember fragments of our journey back to Ald’ruhn. I was lying in Sethyas’ arms, he held me so tightly to his chest that I could hardly breathe.

“Be easy on her Seth; you’ll suffocate her,” Ilmeni said when I gasped for breath when we entered the gondola from Vivec Arena to Vivec Foreign Quarters. He just snarled in answer.

I leaned my head on his shoulder and whispered;

“Please don’t be angry with me. I did not let you down.”

“Too close it was, far too close! I don’t like to be frightened like that. I don’t like to once again nearly lose a woman that is close to me; it tears me apart.”

I had no answer to that, so I closed my eyes and allowed myself to drift away.

It was late night when we arrived in Ald’ruhn, no people in the streets, just a few guards patrolling. I had slept during the rest of the journey and felt remarkably better. I could almost see the comic aspect of the situation; the new Redoran Archmaster returned to her realm, hurt, bleeding, almost unconscious in the arms of a Dunmer Assassin, and with her court stumbling beside her. I noticed Athyn leaning on Ilmeni Dren, Varvur leading a half asleep Vendrela and at the end of the procession Salyn and Baladas…

It felt good to be home and be the one everybody fussed about. My wound was thoroughly attended to by Baladas and Ilmeni. They even closed the cuts by stitching them together with cord or something. That was a new treatment and it seemed to speed up the healing process. Ilmeni had read about that somewhere and decided together with Baladas to try it out.

Three days I lay in bed recovering. Then it was time for me to claim my realm. I called for a council meeting.

As I entered the council hall, Athyn by my side, I felt proud and expectant. They were present, all of them; Brara Morvayn, with her hearty smile; Miner Arobar, looking content; Hlaren Ramoran, just his normal happy self; Garisa Llethri, shaking his head in disbelief; and Sethyas…my brother, my friend, whom I owed my life. He merely sat there, no expression whatsoever on his dark face. And I knew that if he hadn’t cursed me and yelled at me to come back when I was dying in that small room at the Arena, I would have given in to the ease of death.

“I greet you all, Redoran Councilors. Welcome to this meeting.” My voice was clear and steady…

The first day of the rest of my life had begun!

Awesome. Just Awesome.

Very nice. I will admit that I can't make up my mind about whether or not I like the way the killing blow happened. On the one hand, it seems appropriate that, since she was feeling somewhat outclassed, her victory would be a near thing. On the other hand, it was so sudden; I had to read it several times before it sunk in that something had happened.

I must say that my favorite part was, in fact, the discussion of the look on people's faces at the end of the battle. Minque emotion-writing at its finest.

So after the battle there will be some normal life, it's inevitable. Now fear not dear readers, there will be more thunderstorms coming up, just not quite yet!

***************************************************************
“First I’d like to inform you about some news regarding the form of our meetings.” As I said that the door opened silently and Vendrela Aravel entered the hall, carrying a roll of parchment and a quill and ink. She sank down in the free chair on my right side.

“I intend to document our meetings from now on. We need to have written proof of our discussions and decisions. Vendrela has agreed to act as our scribe. I want one of you councilors to review the protocol afterwards.”

“Odd, letting the former Archmaster’s own daughter to attend to our meeting,” Miner Arobar muttered, shaking his head

I was about to burst out with some sharp answer but noticed Athyn slowly shake his head; he was right, no need to start out with an unnecessary argument.

“I think it’s a good idea to write a protocol, then there might be some order to these gatherings!” Brara Morvayn said dryly

I nodded and held my hand up.

“So I hereby declare this meeting open. We have only two items on our agenda today; one is to declare Trey of High Rock as Redoran Hortator, the other to decide which areas of improvement we shall concentrate on to make Great House Redoran the most prosperous of the great Houses of Vvardenfell.”

I felt almost out of breath after that sentence, and now I waited for the councilors to react.

“Let’s just make the decision here and now,” Athyn said. “All the Redoran councilors have already agreed on making Trey our Hortator, save the Archmaster, and since you have that position now, dear Serene, let’s hear your vote!” Athyn sounded almost playful and a faint smile quirked his lips.

I cleared my throat.

Damn it why am I so nervous?

No need to be, Renie, but understandable, we’re a bunch of old stubborn beggars…now speak it out, just like that!

Seth? My lips formed the word but no sound emerged. Sethyas just looked straight ahead, not moving a muscle.

“I hereby declare Trey of High Rock Redoran Hortator!” My voice was weak and not at all as powerful as I’d wished. I felt simply ridiculous.

A murmur of approval followed. I noticed Vendrela printing ferociously. Good. That was the first item on the agenda. I took a deep breath; sweat was running down my back; this meeting did take its tribute out of me.

The following discussions about how we could improve the prosperity of House Redoran were long and somewhat boring for me, not knowing so much about it. Still, I felt it had to be discussed and we needed to make some decisions for the sake of our House. We had to settle things in Caldera; the Ebony trade was ours and we intended to keep it that way. We had to stand up against Great House Hlaalu by all means. There were other things, but I don’t remember them all.

As I was about to close the meeting, Athyn rose to his feet saying;

“We have forgotten the most important thing, we need to acknowledge Serene in her rank as Archmaster of Great House Redoran.”

Everybody stood up, then bowed to me saying; “Hail our Archmaster, Serene Catraso!”

What prevented me from just bursting into tears was a firm grip on my neck; I don’t know who did it; Athyn and Sethyas were both standing close to me; it could have been either of them, and I still don’t know. But what I know was that these actions made me feel strong and invincible. I thanked my council and declared the meeting over.

I was Archmaster of Great House Redoran now, something I really had not wanted to be. That was not the main reason that I had challenged Bolvyn Venim’s and taken his life, it was just something that came with it. What I really wanted was to make sure Trey of High Rock was Hortator and to restore the honor of House Redoran.

I asked Miner Arobar to review the protocol; amusingly enough he seemed to be honored by it!

Being Archmaster was not easy; being a woman didn’t make it any easier, and finally being an Outlander made it almost unbearable. But somehow I endured my first month as Redoran Archmaster.

There was a never-ending row of people coming to visit me; either they had an actual errand or just showed up out of curiosity. Whispers and rumors spread throughout Ald’ruhn, Maar Gan and Gnisis; “She stuck him down, with one blow!” “ A woman you know…. incredible!”

I decided not to pay attention to all that. What was expected from me now was to learn as much as I could about my Great House and its history in order to be a good leader, because that was the main goal for me now. I spent hours in the Redoran Council Library, situated in the right wing of the Council Hall, reading ancient and recent books; The Red Book of 3E 426 and Great Houses of Morrowind were the most important to learn from. But I also took the opportunity to read about other things, such as the Morag Tong, the faction Sethyas belonged to. A book called The Black Glove was a fascinating read. Then of course there was the book written by my beloved one; The true Noble’s Code. Reading the last paragraph made me ponder about what I had got myself into; Whether born to the blood of House

“Redoran, or adopted into service of House Redoran by oath, those who seek to advance in the ranks of House Redoran must demonstrate their virtues by service and obedience. And only when one has mastered all the skills and virtues can one truly call himself a noble of the Great House Redoran.”

I wasn’t sure I had mastered all the required skills and virtues…especially not the virtues!

One afternoon as I as usual sat in the Library, my nose deep in a book about Queen Barenziah, I had visitors. It was Neminda, companying her was another dark-skinned woman, who I almost immediately recognized; Elone! The woman in Seyda Neen who was Neminda’s sister. Elone knelt in front of me;

“Sera Archmaster! I’ve come to express my gratitude to you for reuniting me with my dear sister. I’m so happy about it and I wish to thank you very much.”

The woman stayed on her knees, not looking up, which made me feel uneasy.

“Elone, please get up, you do not need to kneel in front of me,” I said, somewhat embarrassed.

“Oh yes, she does,” Neminda said dryly, also kneeling. “It’s custom to fall to your knees to the Archmaster, so I’m afraid you have to get used to it, Serene.”

“Maybe that used to be the tradition, but from now on it is not necessary. I won’t have it,” I replied, taking them both by their hands and making them rise to their feet.

I asked Neminda to bring us some hackle-lo tea and the three of us had a nice afternoon together, except for one thing; the gruesome story Elone told me regarding my old friend Thavere Vedrano, the lighthouse keeper.

“About two and a half months ago, Processus Vitellius, the tax-collector, was found dead not far from the city. It turned out he was murdered, but the case remains unsolved. Everybody is covering up for each other, and nobody says anything,” Elone sighed.

I had just met the man once and he did not make a very friendly impression on me, but Thavere! She took me in when I arrived at Seyda Neen, alone, homeless and poor. She was the fiancée of Processus and surely did not deserve to be left alone.

“She is taking it very hard,” Elone answered my question. “She has aged ten years the past year and never ever leaves the Lighthouse. Eldafire brings her food and other necessities; she won’t speak to anybody else.”

I felt sad for Thavere and decided to go and see her at first possibility. I had some odd feelings that I might be of help in this case. A vague memory swirled through my mind but I couldn’t grasp it. There was something…someone.

That night I made a list, a list of places to go because I realized I had to travel around a bit to visit the main Redoran cities. Then I could also take the opportunity to visit old friends from the past.

It sounded like a good idea at the time…

Ahh, Serenes getting some of her own time back, mopping up Venim's mess, and still feels nervous running a Dunmer Great House as an Outlander. She'll be fine!

Well, whether or not she wished to be Archmaster, she now is, and I'm glad to see that she is taking her new responsibilities seriously. It seems that she has the support of everyone on the council, which is very good considering the violent manner in which she took over the reins. It's also good to see that her emotions are as close to the surface as ever, and that her humility has not been reduced by her new lofty position. I'm looking forward to seeing how she resolves the situation in Seyda Neen; Serene is absolutely correct that Thavere, at least, deserves better.