(ESO FanFic: Templar of Shezarr – Part 3)

WARNING: GRAPHIC VIOLENCE

Finding a New Light – Closed RP (Rusia Cassiana & Sindri Khan)
Locations: Port Hunding, Stros M’Kai & The Gray Legion

A pool of crimson slowly spreads out from beneath Rusia’s body, pumping sluggishly out of the thin but deadly deep wound in her side left by her mother’s assassin. Blood rising in her throat from her punctured lung chokes off her breath, plunging her oxygen starved brain into a chaotic stew of nightmares and memories.

So this is death, she thinks, as images from her past twist and intertwine with visions of lost futures in the blackness of her unconscious mind. So many faces. The ones she has loved. The ones she has lost. The ones she has sent ahead of her to early deaths by her own hands. Above them all, behind every other ghost, she sees the shadowy figure of her mother’s face. The mother she had thought was dead and burned, murdered with her father by their best friend in a shocking betrayal that had left her a penniless orphan with a minor title and no family.

Perhaps the Daedra lied, was the nebulous thought she tries to hold onto. But then how had it known her mother’s name? Caecilia. The origin of the name meant ‘blind one’, but apparently it was she who had been blind. She’d been twelve when she’d found her beloved father and wonderful, kind mother dead in their bedroom early one morning. They’d been beaten and bloodied almost beyond recognition. But her hair, I knew that hair, Rusia thought as the images in her mind began to break apart and fade away into the darkness. My hair. Those auburn red, wild strands always wanting to curl. She’d buried her small hands in her mother’s long, wavy hair, weeping frantically, curling into a ball next to her dead parents.

She hadn’t noticed for several minutes the other person in the room until he’d made a soft sighing sound that startled her out of her grief. Her mother and father’s best friend, Sergianus, standing frozen in the shadows by the east window, staring at a bloody mace held across his palms. She’d screamed and fallen backward off the bed where her parents’ bodies lie soaked in their own blood. This seemed to break through whatever had been holding Sergianus locked in place, staring at the weapon that had murdered her parents. He’d looked up sharply, meeting her eyes with a look of pure and endless rage, and taken a step toward her. She’d screamed again, and heard the distant sound of multiple pairs of footsteps running up the manor stairs in response.

Cursing softly, Sergianus had tucked the mace into his belt and put one hand up to his lips in the gesture for silence. With a swirl of his cloak, he’d turned and jumped out the window at his back. She’d run to the window as one of the maids and a member of the house guard ran into the room, but by the time she’d stretched on her toes to look down, Sergianus had vanished. Three stories off the ground and he’d just disappeared, somehow teleporting away in mid air.

Rusia tried to hold on to the memory, to her anger and need for revenge against the man who had torn her life apart. But even that was drifting away now as she plunged closer and closer to death. She had so many questions still. Why had he done it? Was it true her mother really was alive? And if so, why did she want to kill her own daughter? And why did she have a pet Daedra assassin doing her dirty work? But none of those questions mattered now as the last spark of her life dimmed. All that was left was the dying.

……………….

Sindri is walking by the side of the Screaming Mermaid tavern in Port Hunding, Stros M’Kai. Suddenly, an enormous burst of light explodes from behind the tavern like nothing he’s ever seen before. Out of the light, a strange, blue-skinned creature comes running, half on fire. The question flashes through Sindri’s mind… Is that a Daedra???

Before he can even react, the creature pops out of existence. Unable to resist his curiosity, he runs behind the tavern where the light had now faded away. Scanning the darkness, Sindri spots a young woman in tarnished armor sprawled on the ground, not moving. He can see even in the dim light of the moon she is moments from death and needs immediate, serious healing.

This day had been just like any other for the stout Nord who somehow managed to go from land to land everyday. In the moonlight Sindri’s grey metallic armor and black leather straps gave off a strange, soothing glow.

Upon noticing the female he quickly ran to her side. With deep controlled breaths he remained calm before checking her over to make sure he could move her.

” C’mon lass. It ain’t gonna end here for you. ” The stout Nord said before touching his Pendant of Ursa, a portal opening beside them to The House of Gray.

Quickly and carefully Sindri picked the woman up, attempting to not harm her even further, with a fee steps they were through the portal and the warm air of Craglorn bore down upon them as they stood outside the grey brick home.

……………….

A sharp jolt of pain flashed red through the darkness, followed by the swirling sensation of movement. Rusia had given herself to the inevitability of death, but something was keeping her on the very edge of life. A light was growing between her and the blackness beyond. Part of her resented the intrusion. She longed for peace and an escape from the horrors of her past and the tortuous questions of her present.

But she had always been a fighter. She didn’t have it in her to stop now. She gripped onto the light and refused to let go.

Time was meaningless in the between place her mind lingered in. But slowly, she began to feel new sensations from her torn and abused body. A clean, soothing, wave of tingling warmth spread out over her, followed by the rush of sweet, cool air into her lungs. The sharp, overwhelming pain in her side diminished to a dull ache.

Rusia moaned softly and tried to open her eyes but the effort seemed impossible. The soft murmuring of voices floated by her. One in particular cut through the dimness.

“You’ll be alright lass,” the voice said gently. “You can rest now. Best thing for you. Get some sleep, it’ll help the healin’.”

The voice calmed her restless attempt to wake, and Rusia allowed herself to ease her grip on the light that now surrounded her, keeping the darkness back down in its place. With a quiet sigh, she drifted down into the gray cloud of comforting, safe sleep. Thankfully, without dreams.

A soft glow woke Rusia from a long, untroubled sleep. She still felt a bit drained, but otherwise well. A slightly odd tingling lingered just under her skin, which she recognized as a unique reaction to the aftereffects of healing magic. The pain in her side was gone.

Cracking open her eyes, Rusia found herself tucked into a comfortable bed, with the soft light of morning streaming in through a nearby window. She wasn’t sure if it was the morning after she had been attacked or days later. There was no way to tell the passage of time. Lifting off the blanket covering her, she sat up slowly, pivoting her legs over to rest her feet on the ground. Someone had removed her armor while was unconscious and stacked it nearby, clean and polished.

More than one night then probably, Rusia thought. If someone had time to go to the trouble of cleaning and fixing up my armor. This didn’t surprise her. She’d had powerful healing spells and potions on the field of battle that granted almost immediate recovery. But she’d never been this close to death before, and likely whomever had healed her hadn’t felt she needed to be on her feet immediately after.

Glancing down at herself, Russia found her body had been similarly scrubbed and dressed in a long, cozy nightgown. A little feminine for her taste, but she appreciated that at least they hadn’t left her in a strange place stark naked. Reaching one hand under the gown, she felt her left side where the dagger had pierced through almost to her heart. Nothing remained of the wound except a small, thin scar. Feeling it made her head spin with all the questions she now had battering away in her mind about what had happened, and why. Later, she thought, later I will have to think about my own mother allegedly trying to assassinate me, but not right now.

Her stomach suddenly reminding her loudly she probably had not eaten in quite some time, Rusia looked around for her clothes but didn’t see any sign of them. Considering the state she’d been in even before the attack, she wouldn’t be shocked if her rescuers had just decided to burn the whole lot. She thought briefly of just grabbing her armor and teleporting back home right then and there, but that would be incredibly rude to the person or persons who had no doubt saved her life.

Rusia decided since her rescuers had already seen her naked when they cleaned her up, they wouldn’t be too dismayed by her trying to find the kitchen of wherever she was in sleeping clothes. Just as she was about to rise and go on a quest to find something to fill her rioting stomach, she heard the door slowly start to creak open. Instinctively, she reached for the dagger usually hanging from her side, only to realize she had no idea where her weapons even were.

Standing quickly, Rusia put her hand on a pitcher of water resting next to the bed, the only thing within reach that might be used as a weapon. She didn’t think it probable that those who had saved her from death would try to kill her, but she’d just learned a very valuable lesson in being far more careful around strangers. Not that a water pitcher would likely be very helpful, but she had once killed a bandit with a large salmon after being caught skinny dipping in a stream.

I’m just constantly begging to get myself killed aren’t I, Rusia thought as she tightened her grip on the water pitcher. The door swung fully open to reveal a stalwart Nord man, built like a stone fort, and holding an incredibly welcome plate of bread, cheese, and fruit. Rusia couldn’t help it. She grinned, loosed the water pitcher, and sat back down on the bed as the man stepped forward and introduced himself.

……………….

” Hey lass, good to see you’re already up and ready to kick someone’s ass. ” The man said placing the platter beside the bed on the table.

” You’ve been out for a few days. Heard the floor boards Creek so I figured you woke up, you must be hungry. You had a pretty nasty wound. I took the liberty of cleaning your armor and weapons, repairing what I could, as for your clothing. The damned things were covered in so much blood I just threw em out, but don’t worry. I took measurements and went to town, I have some new clothes all fresh n’ ready for you from the tailor. ” Sindri said giving a kind smile.

For such a large imposing Nord he certainly was kind and very generous. His years of battle within the war had left their marks on his weathered face.

” Now I know what you might be wondering, who am I, why did I bring you here and what not. My name is Sindri Khan, and you were closer to death than an eighty year old guar. ”

……………….

Reaching greedily for a hunk of bread from the platter brought in by the Nord, Rusia let herself relax as much as she possibly could in the company of a stranger. This was certainly the most welcoming anyone had been to her in a very long time. The bread was fresh, soft on the inside, with just the right slightly crispy outside texture. She almost moaned aloud at how good it was. If she had a terrible weakness, it was well made fresh bread.

A polite cough interrupted her bread-induced revery and she swung her attention back to the battleworn Nord. “Thank you, ah, Sindri. I am honestly shocked to be alive. You have my abject gratitude for saving my life.”

Rusia tried not to blush over devouring the bread like an animal in front of her rescuer. “Uh, and thank you very kindly for the food. Obviously, I am indeed famished.” She eyed the rest of the food on the platter longingly but getting the answers to a few questions would be more fulfilling at the moment than putting more food in her grumpy belly.

Glancing over at her neatly stacked armor, Rusia smiled shyly at the Nord. “I also owe you a thanks for taking care of my things. I’m afraid I’ve been, um, how do you say… Out of sorts lately and a bit of a mess..” Her smile faded and a dark shadow passed over her face. “Which is partly why I ended up nearly bleeding out behind a tavern I guess.”

Shaking her head to put the assassination attempt out of her head for the moment, Rusia looked the Nord steadily in the eyes to emphasize her next words. “As I said, I’m eternally grateful for the rescue, and I firmly believe in repaying my debts. In this case, that’s a life debt. So you can consider my sword yours to command as you might need sir. Although yes, I would be quite curious who exactly I’d be giving that pledge to, and yes, where exactly we might be.”

……………….

” Aye lass, eat all you want. We have enough food. ” Sindri said to her, giving a kind smile. His eyes focused on her own.

Slowly he sat down on a chair across from her. He stroked his beard slowly before speaking.

” Currently you’re in The Gray House. The main base of The Gray Legion, we work to aid the refugees of this futile war. I was a soldier within The Pact, I’ve sent the bloody sides of it all. And I just want to help those who cannot help themselves. “

Sindri spoke as if The Gray Legion was his pride and joy. His eyes sparkling with excitement at the mention of it.

” But you do not owe me anything, I do not hold things against people. You are free to leave or to stay. It is purely your choice. ”

……………….

“… And that’s how I ended up joining this Gray Legion,” Rusia told her steward. “I swear, Lagrobt, I can’t even keep track of all the madness that’s happened in the last week. “First the attack, then being rescued by this Sindri person, joining the Gray Legion, then joining these Mistvel Mercenaries, and then that debacle at the House of R? Bard’s College last night.”

Leaning back in her chair, Rusia inhaled the deep, rich scent of a coming storm through the open sides of her manor’s main watchtower. She loved to be up here whenever she could. It was just so open, and so quiet, but still protected from the worst of the weather even when it did get nasty. She’d stay here all night if she could, but there was just so much to do. She sighed deeply, dropping her head into her hands.

“Sounds like you are in need of something stronger than that tea you’re drinking honey,” Lagrobt said, rising to grab a bottle of fine brandy sitting on a sideboard near the table. He poured a generous portion into her half empty mug and sat the bottle down next to her. Taking his seat again across from her at the table, he pushed a plate of ginger cookies, Rusia’s favorite, closer to nervously restless hands.

“Stop fretting and eat, you’re too skinny.” He frowned at her, wiggling his eyebrows and making his classic ‘terrible orc face’ until she finally picked up a cookie. He kept making it until she ate half of it and finally cracked a small grin around the rest of the treat in her mouth.

“Lagrobt gro-Nolob you are going to make me choke doing that!” Rusia said after she swallowed the last sweet bite. Waving her crumb covered finger at his face, she downed a large gulp of brandy and leftover tea to clear her throat. “Anyway, sorry I haven’t been around very much! Hope all has been well on the home front.”

“So you told me all about this terrible attack — I can’t really believe you dead mother is involved! — and being rescued by this Sindri from The Gray Legion, but you also joined a new merc guild and for some reason tortured yourself by going to a Bard’s College for… you don’t even know why?” Lagrobt paused dramatically and leaned toward Rusia across the table. “And you say someone followed you back here and breached your wards and invaded our house all uninvited?”

Rusia grabbed another ginger cookie and slowly nibbled on it, making Lagrobt wrinkle his prominent nose at her to continue. He never could resist a story and he hated to wait, so she delayed as long as possible in contuining until he looked just about ready to murder her.

“Well,” she said with another grin. “That’s just a whole other story now isn’t it?”

MY FATHER’S HANDS