He squeezed her hand back and took another swig of the wine.
“One day, we will have our freedom,” he said quietly. “One day, I will see them pay, the bastards who killed my family, threw me in here, ravaged my land... Thonar, Thongvor, Ulfric, I'll see the Void take them all. All things must die.”
She didn't know Thongvor at all, but as far as Thonar and Ulfric went, she was quite happy to see them bludgeoned.
“I'll give Ulfric a stab from you,” she promised. “Thonar too. If you get me out of here.”
Madanach finally looked up, actually smiling, sly grin that might have unnerved her once but now actually gave her hope.
“Yes, you and I have business to discuss, don't we. Jarl Elisif, known as the Fair, and recently Dragonborn. The Fair suits you. I'm not sure about the dragon, not unless you've got scales somewhere.”
Elisif took her hand from his, and shoved him in the side, but in all honesty, she didn't feel terribly offended and nor was he, just laughing and lounging back against the headboard.
“I don't have scales! Or a tail, before you ask. I just... can take a dragon's soul when it dies. Stop it coming back.”
“Like you did at Karthspire,” Madanach said, nodding in understanding. “That's how I knew it was you, by the way, I'd been wondering why the Empire's choice for Queen of the Nords could go from helpless figurehead to being idolised just by adopting a warrior name like Dragonborn. So it does actually mean something. A useful talent to have now they've come back.”
“I could wish they'd picked someone else,” Elisif sighed. “But they chose me so I guess I have to do this.”
“And what do you do with the souls once you have them?” Madanach asked, actually looking fascinated. “Can you enchant things with them?”
“I've... never tried,” said Elisif, thinking of the two inside her right now and starting to wonder if she could actually enchant things with them. An interesting possibility, but she really needed to hang on to them in case she found another Word Wall. “I use them to learn how to Shout – once I've learnt a Word of Power, I can use the soul to learn how to use it.”
“Voice magic,” Madanach breathed. “You can Shout. Like Ulfric.”
“Better than Ulfric,” Elisif said proudly. “It took him years to learn the few he does know. Me, I can learn words in seconds, I just need to see them written down. And then I just use a dragon soul and I can shout it. Of course, I have to kill the dragon first but even that's getting easier, and now I've got the Blades with me, I've got help! That's who they are, they're the guards of the Dragonborn, they're an order of dragonslayers. They served Reman Cyrodiil, but if they'd already made arrangements with you, that was why they stopped his Empire wiping you out. But when Talos arrived, a full Dragonborn again... if the arrangement had weakened or broken down, they'd have had to obey him.”
Madanach nodded, eyes flashing angrily again. “I see. And the current full-blooded Dragonborn, where does she stand on the Reach?”
A difficult one to answer. On the one hand, the Forsworn had killed an awful lot of people. But on the other, they'd been effectively Thonar's puppets for years, their king trapped in a daedra's bargain and too grief-stricken to care about anything else... or at least he had been. The man in front of her didn't look heartbroken at all, in fact he seemed cheerful. Pleased. A certain vibrant energy radiating out of him.
“Torygg hated you all,” she said quietly. “Thought you were all murderers. Animals. Traitors. But he also admired Ulfric and look where that got him.” Elisif considered her opinion on the Forsworn. Murderers, perhaps, so they'd have to stop that. Traitors? Well, insurrectionists yes, but given what currently passed for the government of the Reach, she found herself no longer blaming them. And as for animals... when you started treating any sentient being as less than a person, that was usually when the trouble started.
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timeasmymeasure
Re: The Wolf Queen Awakens 13.10
Date: 2013-11-11 08:58 pm (UTC)“One day, we will have our freedom,” he said quietly. “One day, I will see them pay, the bastards who killed my family, threw me in here, ravaged my land... Thonar, Thongvor, Ulfric, I'll see the Void take them all. All things must die.”
She didn't know Thongvor at all, but as far as Thonar and Ulfric went, she was quite happy to see them bludgeoned.
“I'll give Ulfric a stab from you,” she promised. “Thonar too. If you get me out of here.”
Madanach finally looked up, actually smiling, sly grin that might have unnerved her once but now actually gave her hope.
“Yes, you and I have business to discuss, don't we. Jarl Elisif, known as the Fair, and recently Dragonborn. The Fair suits you. I'm not sure about the dragon, not unless you've got scales somewhere.”
Elisif took her hand from his, and shoved him in the side, but in all honesty, she didn't feel terribly offended and nor was he, just laughing and lounging back against the headboard.
“I don't have scales! Or a tail, before you ask. I just... can take a dragon's soul when it dies. Stop it coming back.”
“Like you did at Karthspire,” Madanach said, nodding in understanding. “That's how I knew it was you, by the way, I'd been wondering why the Empire's choice for Queen of the Nords could go from helpless figurehead to being idolised just by adopting a warrior name like Dragonborn. So it does actually mean something. A useful talent to have now they've come back.”
“I could wish they'd picked someone else,” Elisif sighed. “But they chose me so I guess I have to do this.”
“And what do you do with the souls once you have them?” Madanach asked, actually looking fascinated. “Can you enchant things with them?”
“I've... never tried,” said Elisif, thinking of the two inside her right now and starting to wonder if she could actually enchant things with them. An interesting possibility, but she really needed to hang on to them in case she found another Word Wall. “I use them to learn how to Shout – once I've learnt a Word of Power, I can use the soul to learn how to use it.”
“Voice magic,” Madanach breathed. “You can Shout. Like Ulfric.”
“Better than Ulfric,” Elisif said proudly. “It took him years to learn the few he does know. Me, I can learn words in seconds, I just need to see them written down. And then I just use a dragon soul and I can shout it. Of course, I have to kill the dragon first but even that's getting easier, and now I've got the Blades with me, I've got help! That's who they are, they're the guards of the Dragonborn, they're an order of dragonslayers. They served Reman Cyrodiil, but if they'd already made arrangements with you, that was why they stopped his Empire wiping you out. But when Talos arrived, a full Dragonborn again... if the arrangement had weakened or broken down, they'd have had to obey him.”
Madanach nodded, eyes flashing angrily again. “I see. And the current full-blooded Dragonborn, where does she stand on the Reach?”
A difficult one to answer. On the one hand, the Forsworn had killed an awful lot of people. But on the other, they'd been effectively Thonar's puppets for years, their king trapped in a daedra's bargain and too grief-stricken to care about anything else... or at least he had been. The man in front of her didn't look heartbroken at all, in fact he seemed cheerful. Pleased. A certain vibrant energy radiating out of him.
“Torygg hated you all,” she said quietly. “Thought you were all murderers. Animals. Traitors. But he also admired Ulfric and look where that got him.” Elisif considered her opinion on the Forsworn. Murderers, perhaps, so they'd have to stop that. Traitors? Well, insurrectionists yes, but given what currently passed for the government of the Reach, she found herself no longer blaming them. And as for animals... when you started treating any sentient being as less than a person, that was usually when the trouble started.