Questions

If I had to write a journal entry right now, it'd probably be something along the lines of us both being in high spirits. The work that the healers had done had made a tremendous improvement upon Seren's health. Indeed, the wound in her chest was now barely noticeable and her fever was all but gone. A few days of fresh air and she'd be as right as rain.

"Drink a small amount of this once a morning after breakfast until the bottle is finished" Mura said, handing Seren a small cork stoppered vial just before we left town.
"Thank you" Seren said, accepting the vial graciously. "And what happens when I finish the liquid?"
"If your not better by then, your going to die and there's nothing I can do"
The statement caught Seren by surprise, but the truth in it was fairly logical.

We parted ways with the friendly side of the townsfolk, right before they went right back to fighting and killing each other. We were heading North. There was something I needed to know.
"I still don't get the point as to why we are going there" Seren said, leaning against a tree while I checked my map.
"Because I want answers." I said for the upteenth time. "To questions that nobody else in Tamriel can answer.
"Ha. Not even the Dunmer pantheon can help you?" Seren asked, raising an eyebrow.
"I'd hardly call those three 'gods'. They gained their power through deception, and their power can be taken away just as easily"
"Wh-"
"And before you say anything else, yes. I did ask. Before I met you. But the answer I translated from them was effectively stating 'We don't know, so go away'..."
"And these people we are going to meet can help?"
"I honestly don't know. But they have a habit of knowing many things"

Seren sighed, resigned to following me whereever I went again.
"Alright. Lets go then" Seren said, resting her hand on her hilt and walking down the road.
"Wrong way" I said, point east. Seren turned around and gave me a withering look. I smiled brightly and started to walk.

"On the plus side, I'm fairly certain there will be plenty of interesting texts to read there" I said happily.
"How long are we planning on spending here?" Seren asked.
"As long as it takes"

Splint

"The wound is considerably bad. I'm doing what I can, but I'm not convinced that this will entirely work" Mura said, moving her hand over Seren's chest. A bright yellow glow eminated from her hand as she worked.
"Is there anything I can get to assist you?" I asked, leaning against the wall on the other side of the room.

It's a bad situation. Seren is lying on a bed in a ruined house in Cheydinhal. One half of the city is occupied by Imperial Army deserters, the other half by rebels. Arguably, the rebels are in the right, attmepting to maintain control of the city and all, but I'd rather just not be here at all. After our brief stint in the Pact Army, we headed east back out into the wilderness. It was just our luck that Seren came down with an extremely bad fever leaving her almost completely unable to walk.

My immediate plan was to get her to Cheydinhal which was the nearest settlement. What I didn't know was how the town was divided. A bad ambush cut through the left side of Seren's chest badly. After carrying her into this house, the best I could do was just lean against the wall twiddling my thumbs waiting for the healer to work.

I hated that. I couldnt do anything to help. It was out of my realm of capabilities. I hate not being able to save my friends.

"Talk to Leonia downstairs and see if she still has any poultices. I've stopped the worst of the bleeding but only time will tell how well she will heal" Mura said.
Slowly, I walk down the stairs, taking care to not accidentally fall through them. The house was half destroyed but just as ironically, still the most stable structure on this side of the river. Leonia, an orange haired girl, was mixing something in a bowl and I dared not ask what. It smelt terrible.
"Any spare poultices?" I asked. "Mura needs more"
"Here, it's my last batch." Leonia said, picking up a tightly knit bundle and handing them to me without looking up. "After these, any more I make go to our own people" She finished.

Moving back upstairs, I hand the poltices to Mura. She unravells them and begins to work on Seren's wound. Ten agonizing minutes later, she finishes.
"It's all up to time now" Mura said, putting her hand on my shoulder before leaving. Now it's just Seren and I in the room. She's still unconscious.

I sit down on a chair and stare out into empty space, thinking only the gods know what. It could have been a minute or an hour later, but Seren's chest suddenly rises alot and then lowers. She's awoken.
"Not dead yet" She says, turning her head to look at me.
"How are you feeling?" I ask, standing up and walking over to her.
"Like I've been hit by a mammoth"
"Might as well be that. How's your head?"
"Still pretty bad. Where are we?"
"On the safe side of Cheydinhal. I'm going to make sure your okay before we move again."
"Pfft... Don't worry about me..." Seren says quietly.
"Your all I worry about" I say, raising an eyebrow. Seren looks at me, not entirely sure what to make of the statement.

Before I can say anything else, she's slipped back into the realm of unconsciousness.

Leadership

"Wulfharts team will move to the south, cut off access of the lumbermill and then prevent reinforcements from moving in to counter siege us along the road. Imirin's group will head north west, around the top of the keep and hit the mine. After that, she can move down to reinforce Wulfhart." Commander Hawthorn pointed to two areas on the small map we were all studying. The four of us in the tent seemed satisfied with his plan so far.

"Seren can lead her team against the farm on the eastern side. Just ahead of the main assault te-" Hawthorn continued
"I'm sorry, what?" I interjected"
"Is there a problem?" He asked, turning up to look at me.
"Yes. Since when did Seren lead teams?"
"Since I said that she was and since I promoted her to the rank of Captain as of two minutes ago. Do you have a problem with that?"
"Are you telling me that you just went and conscripted my friend?" I asked, putting my hands to my hips.
"Yes" Hawthorn said, getting impatient. The two others in the room, Wulfhart and Imirin remained silent but eyed me carefully. One didn't usually contradict the commanders plan.
"Did you ask her?" I asked.
"I'm the commander. I don't need to ask" He said.
"Try telling her that then"

Hawthorn's rage bubbled over. I'd rather not put into writing what he then said, as Imirin tried to keep him calm and Wulfhart tried not to laugh at the commander's short temper. I left the tent with his yelling behind my back and walked down the hill to where Seren's tent was, a short distance from my own.

"What's on the lunch menu today?" I asked, eyeing the pot slowly bubbling over the fire"
"Goat stew" She said, tasting her broth. I was tempted to make a sarcastic quip about her cooking skills to lighten the mood but I also didn't think that now was a good time. I sat down by the fire, overlooking the flat plain a few meters off the side of the hill where a number of soldiers were training.

"Tell me" I started. "If you were to lead a group... Any particular soldiers you'd like to lead?"
Seren stopped cooking for a moment and looked up at me with a confused look on her face. I'd never asked such a thing before.
"Well, I don't think I could ever lead you" She said.
"Eh?" I asked.
"I said I don't think I could ever lead you... You've always been the one mentoring me so it'd be too werid"
"Fair enough. What about them?" I asked, pointing to the recruits behind me.
"Torvoal is pretty good with his sword arm... though admittedly he can get a little bloodthirsty at times... and drunk" Seren said, raising an eyebrow. "How big a group are we talking here?"
"Dunno. Your choice"
"The Circine sisters from Morrowind are decent healers. I'd definately bring them along. Though as we both know, defending people is always a bit hard"
"Eh. They can take care of themselves" I said.
"That archer as well... Sinmild I think his name is? He's a fairly good shot" Seren said, returning to cooking.

"Sounds like you have a good team then" I said,
"Any particular reason why you asked?"
"Hawthorn conscripted you into the Pact Army and made you a Captain"

Seren suddenly stopped cooking and looked at me.
"Well... I suppose I'm honoured and all that... It's rea-"
"You want to punch him in the face for not asking you personally, don't you"
"Yea" Seren said flatly. "I'm not a token to be bought and sold"
"Well go on ahead. I'll finish making lunch"

Seren stood up and walked back to the command tent where I came from. Almost a minute after she entered, I heard a crash as a table was overturned. Seren came back out, a slight redness to her right hand. She sat down and I passed her a wooden bowl with her food in.

"Feel better?" I asked.
"Much better."

Scrolls and Keeps

"So, tell me again why this thing is so important?" Seren asked me. Both of us were on horseback, riding hard to the east, heading for Farragut Keep.
"I have no idea. Something about morale, destiny and innate magical properties"
The thing in question happened to be an Elder Scroll. I had never really studied up much on them as I always considered old magic to be out of my realm of knowledge, typically leaving this sort of thing to people who knew better than me.
But right now, I had one. Stolen directly from the Daggerfall Convenant and now moving very quickly east - to safety.

My biggest concern, however, was that these "Elder Scrolls" are like big freakin' beacons. Right now it's strapped to my back and apparently any senior mage is able to immediately sense it's location. Obviously, this makes me a very big target. Especially since I am out in the middle of nowhere.

"All I am concerned about is getting to Farragut. We can stop off at Chalman and Arrius. Hopefully scouts in the vicinity can tell us if there's any problems on the road ahead." I said.
"And if there is?" Seren asked - doubtful that even I had to the prowess to stand up against a small army.
"Then we'll deal with them as we get to them. Besides. Unlike the past several months, there's more than two of us this time"

And for reasons that still concerned me, this kept putting Seren at unease. I wasnt sure why but she always felt uneasy around anyone but me. Behind me were several veteran soldiers who volunteered to protect me. Mive, a considerably powerful mage who enjoyed playing with fire just a little too much; Captain Tagerie, A warrior of great renown who wielded a very powerful two handed sword. I'm fairly certain that it's infused with magicka, as I have seen several of his foes discintegrate into dust upon their untimely death.
Those are the only two that I knew by name, having stood by them in the assault on Fort Warden and then making the push through the Gate of Ni-Mohk.

Still, we had a good plan and I was fairly certain we'd at least get to Chalman Keep without too much difficulty.

We don't go there.

Hack and Slash. Hack and Slash. Hack and slash all day long.

With Worm Cultists oozing their way through the Skyrim countryside, Seren and I had been asked to assist in dealing with them on account of good reports from our journey in Morrowind and Shadowfens.

As such, we had spent the past several days hacking and slashing our way through them trying to find their leader with minimal success. Whenever we had a solid lead, he'd slip away to our extreme frustration.

For the moment, we are camping out in one of the eastern forests of The Rift, a small fire burning between Seren and I, it's meagre warmth more than satisfying our aching limbs.
"According to local reports, there's another sect of them holed up in an old tomb located roughly around here" Seren said, pointing to a map with her dagger. I shuffled around the fire to be beside her so that I could see.

I know the exact place that she's talking about.
"We aren't going there" I say quietly.
"Why not?" Seren asks in surprise. "It's a solid lead. Better than anything we've had for the past three days."
"And we aren't going there" I say quietly but more firmly. Seren doesn't accept my answer.
"Why?" She asks.
"Because" I say, turning my eyes to the fire. As much as I try to hide it, Seren catches my expression and she knows what I am talking about.
"It's because of her, isn't it?" She asks quietly.
"I don't want to talk about it" I say simply. Seren's rage explodes.

"My gods, you ALWAYS say that! Who is this damn woman you refuse to speak of!" She yells angrily. Several birds fly from the trees in terror. Seren is pointing her finger angrily at me. I remain as stoic as before.
"Why! Why in Oblivion do you always do this! You keep shutting up like a clam at the mention of her! You havent once said it, but I know your comparing me to her in everything I do! You constantly make me feel like I am inferior to her!" Seren yells angrily. Her finger may have lowered, but her face is pure anger mixed with a little hatred.

I shake my head silently. I guess I was going to have to tell Seren eventually.
"You remember how I told you right at the beginning to never say goodbye to me?" I ask, moving to sit against a tall tree.
"I do" Seren says, calming down. "What's the point?"
"I missed my one chance to say goodbye to her" I say quietly.
"Who? This woman I keep getting compared to?" Seren asks, her anger rising slowly.
"That woman you keep asking about. Her name is actually Serenvia" I say slowly.
A wind blows through the camp, quickly extingushing the small fire as if on cue. It seems like the powers of Aetherius itself wants this discussion to cease. Seren immediately recognises the connection between the name and her own.
"Tell me. Tell me everything. And don't lie. Because if you do, I will cut you" She says, sharpening her dagger on a stone. I sigh and shake my head.
"Telling you the whole story is pointless. I'll tell you what happened at that tomb."
"I'm listening" Seren says with an icey tone to her voice.

"The local Thane had been informed by the locals that the place had become haunted by something dangerous. More than the usual spookiness caused by myths and legends. Rather than sending a few members of the town watch, he sent us two. He asked us just to put the fears to rest. Make sure it was locked up nice and tight and to ensure the dead were resting comfortably and not up and about and walking around angrily looking for something alive to kill. Well, we got there and as it turns out, it wasnt locked and the dead were walking around."
"Oh?" Seren asked, now more interested in the tale than her previous anger.
"A necromancer had taken up residence. And a pretty powerful one at that. We had no problem despatching the dead he had risen. The biggest problem was the necromancer himself and his knowledge of the dead. Now that I look back on it, he may have even been related to the worm cult that we are tracking today." I continue, shifting my leg.

"We had a great level of difficulty in defeating him. Well, when I say that, all it took was a blade through the chest to bring him down. The hardest part was defeating the undead faster than he could raise them. Anyway, it wasnt until we were safely back outside that I discovered that my companion had been hit in the leg by an arrow. She had known about it but didn't want to make me worried."

"But you were worried, naturally" Seren said.
"Yes. I took her to the best healers I could find. But none of them could treat the poison that had entered her body through the arrow."
"What?" Seren asked.
"I did everything I could. Searched every tome in Mournhold and consulted with everyone I knew about the lesser known poisons. But as they all said, you can't cure the poison contracted by Jarrin Root. It was a miracle that she had managed to survive for five days."

"She didn't die honourably. She died in bed with her hand on her sword" I said bitterly. Seren had looked away now. In her time with me, Seren had learned what it meant to die honourably. To die in a good battle or to have died doing something right.
"I'm going to bed" I said, moving to the other side of the tree, out of sight of Seren. I still couldnt get over the fact of how they both looked so alike. And I couldnt let Seren see me cry.

Eastmarch

Eastmarch

A region almost consistently dominated by snow year round which recedes only as far as the river on the good years. On the bad years, the snow can pile up so high in one night that it blocks the main gate into the city of Windhelm.

After our recent victory in Shadowfens, Serena and I were asked to guard a special package on it's way to Windhelm by ship. The cruise itself was rather satisfying for me as we plowed through the waves. For Seren... not so much. She immediately took a distaste for being on a ship with the constant sway. After her stomach eventually settled at the end of the first day, I proceeded to sit her down in the least swaying part of the ship and pull out several books that the captain had in his cabin that related to the country Skyrim, advanced techniques on blacksmithing and local nord customs.

Seren was an avid reader, but found it extremely difficult to focus with the rocking and the unstable condition of her stomach.

Having finally arrived at the docks of Windhelm, Seren was the first off the ship, now finding that her slow acclimation to the ship made her even more unsteady on land. Most of the ships crew laughed but I held myself back, full in the knowledge that over the past few months, Seren had developed quite a deathly pale glare that sent most grown men and woman running. Walking past her, I saw her turn back towards the ship where the crew were still laughing. I didn't need to turn around to see the looks on their faces. Their silence told me everything.

"You should lighten up. We won't be going back on any ships for a while" I said after she eventually caught up to me.
"And you should have warned me about all that swaying" She said bitterly.
"I didn't know you hadnt ever been on a ship. And now that we are back on dry land, your smithing training can resume." I replied firmly. Seren groaned.
"This armor does me fine!" She whimpered. "It worked very well back in Shadowfens!"
"Yes. Now it's battered, bruised, slashed and that's just the metal itself. The leather underneath the metal is strained to it's limits and is probably worn down to the point of tearing itself to pieces." I said, pulling on a loose string on her armplates which came away freely, causing her right pauldron to almost completely fall off. The only thing keeping it on was a small sliver of broken leather.

Seren rolled her eyes.
"Besides. I know you like being around the forge. And the nords have the best forges in the world" I said in a more uplifting tone. I could see a small spark in Seren's eyes. She truly was at her best when wielding a hammer.
"Just what sort of quality are we talking about here?" Seren asked.
"We both know from experience what sort of armor the Nords like wearing" I said. "If it's big, looks strong and is made of metal, they'll buy it. I'll find you some buyers if you get straight into it. We'll be here a while"

Seren's mood had been sour for the past week and a half. It was good to see it now so much brighter. It was always good to see her in a good mood.
She was turning out to be so much like someone I used to know, it was actually beginning to frighten me a little.

Adventure Time!

When saga's and stories are told about adventures, they are usually about some brave, heroic hero doing battle with great enemies, nemesis's, giant demons or ant infested garbage cans. The brave hero is travelling across vast mountains and great plains, through beautiful forests and doing... well... great things worthy of saga's and stories.

What history tends to forget is the less interesting ones... mostly because they are more realistic. Like the one where the hero is travelling through a sunsheltered swamp, trying their best to keep their feet dry and fend off rabid attacks by oversized insects.
Seren is a few meters behind me. Her once beautiful brand new armor is now dirtied by mud that refuses to come off and soaked in sweat and swamp water. Fortunately, there's a person back in Stormhold who has the right reagents to clean it. Only problem is that Stormhold also happens to be about two days in the opposite direction.

I don't like to classify myself as a sellsword. A sellsword is usually either a mercenary or hired thug and I'm definately neither of these two. I've been fighting for the pact for the past two years and they pay well. But if the Dominion or the Covenant decided to try and invest in my services, I'd most likely say no. Someone offers work, I take it if I like it... And sometimes if I dont.

Either way, I was extremely skeptical about coming down in Deshaan on this so called roadtrip. Behind me, it's extremely clear that Seren isnt enjoying it either. The expression on her face with every step shows it. But she's a smart woman who's above idle moaning. Besides, I'd like to think that this could be a good experience for her. Learn the bad things so you can cherish the good things even more.

Either way, the pay for this job is actually going to be tremendous. Not only has our... err... 'contractor' firmly stated a good completion pay, but we are entitled to the salvaging anything useful in the current possession of the target location or person. Of course, anyone who works in my profession immediately knows that salvaging is a nice word for repossessing gold, jewellery, useful herbs and anything else that has a good sell price. Even medical supplies are in high demand in this disgusting swamp.
Officially on this job, Seren and I are acting as scouts. Our contractor is wanting us to find where the listed person is hiding with their ill gotten gains and unfriendly comrades. Apparently they stole something very important to the local people of the area any the locals need it back. I listened with interest but the realms of magicka are not something that I am very good with. Suffice to say, the job is to find the target, alert the nearby forces and steal anything of value after eliminating said target. Pretty good deal to me.

So here we are. Trudging through a green swamp looking for our target. Seren and I keep switching places as to whos in front. When I have to push a large branch out of the way, I let her go through first. She does the same for me when she's in front. If anything, I'm glad about the increase in her skills, both combat and herbalism. If for some reason I have to dissappear, I'd prefer that she could look after herself. Also, I'd like to point out that she makes a great goat stew. Seriously.

There's a rise in front of us, out of the swamp. My guess is our friend is just on the other side of it, judging by the obvious cloud of smoke pushing its way through the tops of the trees and laughter coming over the hill.

As it turns out, I was right. Our target is in the middle of the camp beside the campfire, a large number of thugs alongside him. Looks like we are getting paid for this. I like that.

I like that alot.

A Hot Forge

A fresh layer of coal is shovelled onto the fire, the flames eagerly licking at it's new fuel source. I'm sitting at the edge of the building, leaning back on a chair against the wall. It's a bad habit of mine, sometimes the chair collapses and I end up on the floor and having to pay for a broken chair.

Thankfully, today isnt one of those days.

It's late at night and the only light is coming from the forge itself. Between the fire and me is an anvil as well as a young woman working on it.
Since breaking Seren out of prison, she's taken it in her stride to do as much good as she can in this world. Most of her memories from before being taken prisoner are still locked away, unnaccesable in her mind. Only her name and a few others have arisen. Every so often at night she'll wake up sweating profusely and incredibly scared. But from what she doesn't know, or at least certainly doesn't remember.

Thankfully, tonight isn't one of those nights either.

Seren picks up a hammer beside the anvil and starts hitting the metal on it, shaping it into the form that she needs. She experimentally tests the strength of the piece. Before I can see from my side of the room what is about to happen, I can see the look on her face as the metal piece cracks and seperates. Sadly, this now makes the steel useless and she'll need more ingots in order to make anything. It's the second time that it's happened tonight and I'm concerned that Seren is about to get upset and give up.

I sit forward in my chair, letting all four feet rest on the ground. There's a stack of ingots down beside me so I kick one across the floor to her and then fold my arms. Seren looks over to me as the ingot stops half a meter from her foot. The expression on my face is one of daring - one of those "I know you can do it so don't give up yet" looks. Seren picks up the ingot, flips it in her hand and starts working the fire again, smelting the ingot into the shape she needs. I return to leaning back on my chair and I close my eyes, the sound of the hammer working away into the night. Unexpectedly, I fall asleep.

-----

There's the constant beat of the hammer going in the back of my mind. Not an annoying beat, mind you. One of those nice soothing ones. But then something changes. The sound contorts, changes it's feeling and suddenly it's not a hammer beating anymore. It's me getting poked in the shoulder at the same regular intervals.

I wake with a start and immediately fall out of my chair, breaking it.
"Dammit" I say quietly. Tending to the bruise on my arm. Looking up, I see that Seren appears to have taken a step back before I fell out of the chair. I can imagine the local blacksmith isn't going to be happy about that.
"What time is it?" I asked Seren.
"Early morning" She said. "Suns just peaking over the horizon now"
"Did I fall asleep or something?" I ask with a start, jumping up. Seren smiles nervously and shrugs her shoulders.
"Is it done?" I ask, tilting my head slightly and looking at her in the eyes. Seren chews her lips and points to the other side of the forge. There's a set of armor over there that certainly wasnt there last night. The nervousness on Seren's face increases. I can see that she's been up for the whole night, working away very hard on it. Ever since we escaped from the prison, I've taught her the fundamentals of blacksmithing and how to work with metal. Last night Seren wanted to make something by herself and I was fairly convinced that she was more than capable.

"Did you get any sleep at all?" I ask. Seren shakes her head and looks down. I can tell she's still scared of the nightmares. I walk over to the set of armor that Seren has made and briefly look it over. It appears fairly impressive, but when it comes to blacksmithing, there is an extremely strong difference between armor that looks good and armor that can actually withstand the bite of a blade or the crushing blow of a mace. Out of the peripherals of my eyes, I can see Seren's nervousness climaxing and I walk back over to her.

Putting a reassuring hand on her shoulder, I look her in the eyes as I say my next statement.
"Go back to the inn, get something to eat and then get some rest. I'll have a look at what you've made."
Seren nods slowly, smiles at me and then leaves. I can tell she already knows that I am impressed. If I wasnt, I wouldnt have told her to leave. I'd have gone over every single crack and error on the piece and had her fix it. You can't learn blacksmithing if you can get away with major imperfections.

The armor itself though, appears flawless. The entire piece has been cleaned with dwarven oil to help clear out the nasty imperfections and fix them. Looking carefully at the chestplate, I can see traces of leftover grain solvent which Seren has almost perfectly integrated with the metal itself. There's always a few loose grains left over from the process so I wipe them away with a clean rag that is hanging near a barrel of water. The leggings also appear to be infused with grain solvent, but I can't find any trace of it on any other piece.
"Just what have you made..." I ask myself quietly.
Seren's armor is truly a masterpiece. I'm so stunned with the quality of this work as I had no idea she had this much skill so quickly after a few weeks, but she's picked up the trade with ease.

If I had to point out one slight flaw in the design, it's that the leather holding the pieces of the chestplate together could have been made stronger. It looks like it may need to be replaced in the future. But I can't really put that down to fault in Seren as I haven't yet covered leatherworking with her yet.

I can hear footsteps behind me. Turning around, it's the blacksmith. He looks over at the armor now behind me and raises an eyebrow, looking mildly impressed.
"How much for the ingots?" I ask, pulling out my small bag of coins.
"One hundred and fifty" He says, extending his hand to take them.
"And the broken chair?" I ask, pointing to it across the room. He hadn't noticed it yet. He raises his eyebrow again and looks surprised.
"One hundred and ninety" He chuckled. "You and your friend got a bit violent?"
"No, I fell off" I laugh. The gold in the bag comes to a total of two hundred and I'm not overly fussed about the extra ten that I am losing out on. His need would be greater than mine.

The blacksmith happily takes the coins and goes over to inspect all his tools. I can safely leave the armor here for now as he won't let anyone else take it. Leaving the forge, I head back to the inn to tell Seren the good news.

Starting Anew.

I'm crouched in the frames that support the ceiling in this massive room. Whoever designed it clearly had no intention of doing anything for the sake of asthetics, thinking it would be more useful to go entirely into the realm of usefulness. As such, the supports up here form a terrible criss crossing lattice to support the roof. Not that it even does a very good job. I can see the stonework slowly beginning to crumble over the years due to age.

Except I'm not here to study architecture. If I was, i'd be dead. Which interestingly enough, would be even more ironic in the enviroment that I happen to be in. This clearly isnt the planet which I grew up on. But what do I know? Ever since I got here, I havent even seen a window. I could be high in the air or beneath the ground.

Feels more like I'm underground.

What was I talking about? Oh, right. The reason why I am here.

Beneath me is a column of guards and prisoners... A rough estimate says there are two guards for every ten prisoners. Normally you'd think that's pretty low, but since the prisoners are shackled at the feet and to each other AND can't run, it's not really that big of a deal for the guards.
Not that the prisoners would ever try and escape. They know where they are. This isnt an ordinary prison. This is basically what happens when a demi-god takes an ordinary prison, rips out all of the nice things and fills it with horrific things. Then he takes out all the bad things and replaces it with hallucinations of your worst nightmare.

Prisoners here are subject to more evil side of their imagination. It's like someone being on LSD except that there's no real drug itself and there's no detoxing. Just pure insanity. Prisoners usually have two paths here. A select few go morbidly insane to the point where you can't even understand their mutterings. The rest lose their mind - literally - and do what they are told, eat what they are told, walk to what they are told to walk to and generally stand about doing nothing else.

It's a sad sight to see. Most of these prisoners have been here for years... A large number of them for hundreds of years. How? No idea! I just know. I seem to know alot of unusual things.

The column finally dissappears into a doorway. I haven't quite worked out the rotation of the guard here yet but it seems that guards don't really 'guard'. They just appear when something needs to be done.

The room is silent. I wait another minute incase something else happens. All is quiet. Though, in the distance I think I can hear what sounds like metal hitting metal. No idea what it is though and it's probably not important so I brush the thought from my mind.

The support beam I'm crouching on isn't very high up off the ground, so I carefully lean into position and then jump down, bending my legs as I go to help reduce the pain of the landing. Since nothing is broken, I quickly stand up and head through the doorway.
The corridor that I have entered is long and featureless. There's a few other doorways on the left and right as I pass down, but I know for a fact that the group of prisoners that I am following havent gone inside. It'd be too small to get through easily and I would have caught up to them much faster.

After rounding a bend, I see the doorway that I am actually looking for. The room is considerably large, but much smaller than the one that I was hiding in the ceiling of before. There's a large number of prison cells in here and if I had to guess, there was probably about twenty? I might be inaccurate but I'm not interested in the number.

I'm more interested in the far cell right down the end. One of the guards has dragged a young girl by her shackles and tossed her into the cell. The girl didn't give any resistance. Though I am slightly curious as to why she was singled out to have her own cell. All the other prisoners appear to be sharing cells with at least two or three other prisoners.

The guards appear to be satisfied with their work and they head for the doorway. Right in my direction. Luckily, I'm already behind a pillar. I'd be quite surprised if they see me. They don't expect an intruder to be in here so naturally, they won't see one. I suppose it also helps that I am wearing almost fully black in a darkened room. The only thing that would give my position away would be the light reflecting off the steel sword at my belt.

Satisfied that the guards have moved away a sufficient distance so as to not hear me in here, I move cautiously to the far cell that contains the lone girl. I made a promise to a friend of mine and this young lady won't be staying here. The lock is quite easy to pick. Again, the guards aren't expecting an intruder in what might as well be the most overclocked high security prison. There's a sense of irony in that statement.

The door is old and creaks loudly as it opens. I look behind me to see if anyone has come back. Nobody. I move inside and close the door.

She's sitting in the corner of the room, huddled up with her face in her hands.
"Hello?" I ask from the other side. I'm slightly concerned that she might lash out. She doesn't respond. Moving carefully, I make my way over to her and kneel down. With a finger, I push her hair out of her face and raise her head so that she can look at me.

The young woman before me is clearly in her early twenties. Hell, for all I know she might be as young as nineteen. Either way, she's far too young to be stuck in a place like this. Her hair is a solid black and her eyes are beautiful shade of ice blue. I can imagine them sparkling during a sunrise but in here they are dull. Dull with defeat.

"Who are you?" She asks. Dammit, even her voice is beautiful. How did she end up here?
"Philip. I've come to break you out of here"
"Do... Do I know you?" She asks. I can see that the effect of this prison has already tormented her mind and I have no idea what the damage is.
"No. I'm fairly certain that you have never seen me before" I say, taking my hand away from her head. She continues to look at me but can't seem to tell if I am even real.

"Where am I?" She asks. I had predicted this question to be the third one. It's the exact same question from when I helped another friend escape from here.
"In a place that's probably worse than Hell itself. Come on, I'm breaking you out"
"Uhh... Okay...?" She says, completely unsure of herself.
"Do you know your name?" I ask. She shakes her head and buries her face in her hands. I can see the damage that this prison has already done on her mind. She might be alive, but her mind must have suppressed nearly, if not all, of her memories just maintain some state of sanity. Not that there is any in here.

I take her hand and force her to rise to her feet. The guards hands are always deathly cold and I'm hoping that the natural heat from my hand might nudge something in the recesses of her mind. I can see the light slowly returning to her eyes as she composes herself slowly.

Finally, in order to force her to think for herself, I give her the sword I had strapped to her belt. Hopefully the shape of it will trigger something.
Luckily, it does. It's not much but it works. I can sense recognition in her eyes. Recognising that I am human, like her. Unlike these guards, the race of which I can only guess.

"So where are we going?" She asks.
"On an adventure" I smile, and lead the way out.

Before an friend of mine left forever, I made a promise that I would get this young girl out. I don't know what the future holds, but I know that it is bright.

Also, this girl lost her soul - literally - which is kinda awkward but I figure that it can be dealt with later on. Escaping this place will be hard enough.

There are no words.

I'm standing in a moonlit glade. There's a lake to my left and high rocks surrounding me. It appears that I can't get out of here, but that's not what's important. What's important is why I am here.

I don't actually know why I am here. I feel like this place is familiar. A sort of tranquil place only seen in dreams. Except I know this isnt a dream. The grass beneath my feet feels too real, as well as the gentle breeze coming in from over the lake.

Suddenly, there's a sixth sense in the back of my mind. Telling me to turn around and face something. I turn slowly.

She wasnt there before, but a young woman is leaning against a tall tree now. She's clad in metal armour which looks vaguely roman. The chestplate has a yellow tinge to it and the helmet reveals her face - beautiful... and sad. Red hair falls from underneath the helmet down her head, stopping just below her neck. I know this woman. How I have come to be standing in front of her is beyond me, but I know her very well.

"Serenvia?" I ask.
"Hello" She says simply.

There's a light smile on her face, as if greeting an old friend that she hasn't seen in years and expecting them to be surprised that she's there. But her eyes betray her. In her eyes, I see overwhelming sadness. It's haunting. I attempt a smile in return. I'm not entirely sure that it's convincing. Serenvia is a smart woman, too smart for me to fool.

"It's good to see you again" I say. I don't know why, but it feels like I havent seen her in an eternity.
"And the same to you. Shall we take a walk?" She asks, pointing along the coast beside her.
"I think I'd like that"

Serenvia and I start walking along the edge of the lake. While moments ago I thought that there was a large barrier of rocks in front of me, the lake's edge seems to stretch for miles now. Under normal circumstances, I'd question my sanity. But tonight something more important is going to be discussed, and I fear I know what it is.

"You remember that time you woke me up in that prison and told me that we were escaping?" Serenvia asks me, looking off into the distance.
"I remember. You were barely lucid, unable to stand without help" I say, laughing.
"Indeed. I'm still very happy that you saved me regardless" Serenvia replies, this time a geniune smile on her face.
"I needed your help. You needed mine."
"Yes. But even after we escaped, you chose to stay with me. We went on so many adventures together."

Our conversation continued on long through the night. I don't know if we spent minutes or hours talking, but it felt like years and it felt good. We discussed everything, every adventure we had been on, the good times and the not so fortunate times. I didn't want something good like this to ever end. Serenvia was like a font of happiness, always finding something amusing in any situation, even more so in the serious ones.

"Your strong now. Much stronger than you were when we broke you out of that cell" I say, looking at her.
"I had you to guide me" She says.
"I'm glad I could help."

Serenvia turns to look out across the lake. I walk over to stand beside her and we stand in silence for a few minutes. Finally, I can stand it no longer.
"So where are we anyway?" I ask, looking around. The problem has been on my mind for a while now and I'd really like to know.
"A nice place. Free from war, poverty and sickness. Free from any earthly problems really." Serenvia says.
"Eh... Really? Must be something interesting here then" I say, walking away from the lakeside.
"There is one thing-" Serenvia says, cutting herself off.
"Yes?" I ask, turning back to face her.

"This place. It's our last adventure together" Serenvia says, finally composing herself and looking at me dead in the eyes.
"Last adventure? Why?" I ask, surprised. I shouldnt be though. I don't know why, I just knew this was going to happen.
"My time has come to join with the others. I know we've been through alot, but our world is changing. And I, like so many I know, no longer fit in it. I was born in a time that I can no longer be a part of." She says, struggling to find the right words.
"But... After everything that we did!" I say loudly. My emotions are mixed up like broth in a cauldron. I'm feeling angry and sad and confused. Why did this have to happen?
"I know" Serenvia says. She walks over to me and wipes one of the tears that had fallen from my eyes. Strange. I don't normally cry for anything. I never liked crying, it made me feel weak. Yet I can't help myself this time. I feel so overwhelmed by what is happening.

"There'll be another time" Serenvia says.
"Will there?" I ask, looking up at her. She was a considerable few inches taller than me. I feel tiny in comparison. She looks away from the question, back out across the water.
"Please don't go" I say. She's too important to me. I don't want her to go!
"It's already done" She says, shaking her head.
"Most of me is already up there" She continues, looking up into the stary sky. "I'm just an echo of myself now. I only held enough back to have a moment with you."

I can't control myself now. Normally I'm so composed, able to take stock of anything seriously and not let my emotions cloud my judgement. But tears are falling from my eyes like miniature waterfalls. And there's nothing I can do to stop it. I'm just so upset.

"So what do I do?" I ask.
"You keep going. There's someone else out there that needs you now." She says solemly.
"But it won't be YOU! You know that, right?" I say quietly.
Serenvia nods slowly.

"Serenvia. Please" I say, holding out my hand. But it's too late. She's beginning to fade and my time with her has come to and end.
"Welcome home Philip" She says finally, just before she disappears.

----------

I just stood there as she dissappeared into nothingness. When I finally make a movement, I sit down on a large rock and just stare out across the lake, thinking nothing. There are no words to express how I feel.

It must be hours before I do anything. The sun has begun to peak over the horizon, casting it's rays through the tree leaves. A ray hits me in the face, suddenly pulling my mind back into reality.
There's someone else out there who needs my help. A young person, imprisoned wrongfully in another realm. I need to save her and I need to train her. She won't be Serenvia, but nobody could replace her.

It's time to do something right again. It's time to restart the fight.

----------

 

R.I.P

Serenvia

You were a good fighter and an honest person.

The memory of you shall never fail

Valentines day - Doing something for that special someone...

So recently, I discovered that Valentines day was quite literally just around the corner. I have been thinking about what to do about it and I'm not entirely sure what consitutes a valid Valentines day present.

Obviously, the flowers, chocolates and card is on the list. But then you need to take into account the amount of flowers, chocolates and card sizes that should be delivered. As well as how expensive they are.

So, rather than dealing with all that, I decided to go with something unique, something that I don't do very often...

Anyone want to join me for a dungeon raid?

I need to make a blog post but I don't know what to write...

Oh wait...