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skyrimkinkmeme) wrote2011-10-29 12:36 pm
skyrimkinkmeme) wrote2011-10-29 12:36 pm
Meme Announcements!
ANNOUNCEMENTS: UPDATED 12/16/2017
Happy Holidays, fellow Kinkmemers! I have returned and have no reasonable excuse for my absence except LIFE. I will be working on updating the archives. If anyone sees anything amiss, please let me know.
I am also hoping to find another Mod and an Archivist.
The more dedicated people we have in this Meme the less chance of it dying. I admit that being the sole keeper of the Meme is not great for the fandom. If something were to happen to me, for good, this place would go the way of the Fallout Kink Meme. Let's not let that happen! If anyone would be interested in Modding/Archiving, please drop me a line. Thanks! <3
Re: The Witch of Jorrvaskr 5.3 (formerly Blood Magic's Honour)
(Anonymous) 2014-05-24 02:01 pm (UTC)(link)“It's me,” Liriel laughed, reaching out to hug Shevawna. “Good gods, I didn't think I'd see you again, especially not here!”
“It's a long story,” Shevawna laughed. “Are you joining?”
“Me? Oh good gods no, they don't let mages in apparently.” Liriel raised an eyebrow at Vilkas but didn't give him time to respond before she was introducing Shevawna to her little girl, Sissel.
“You've got a kid?” Shevawna asked, confused. “Since when?”
“Three weeks ago!” Sissel announced cheerfully. “My papa died and I was all alone in an orphanage in Riften, with my sister who was mean to me, but then Liriel turned up and adopted me and now I live here with my new sister Lucia who is much nicer and with Lydia who looks after us, and Liriel's my mama now.”
“I couldn't help myself,” Liriel admitted. “Lucia was living rough in this city and I'd just bought a house and I ended up taking her in. Then I went to get her a new brother or sister and found this one at Honorhall Orphanage. A pity I couldn't take her sister as well, but Sissel says they used to fight, so I suppose it's for the best. Anyway, I'm here to hire a mercenary. I need to take something off a Hagraven and didn't fancy going alone. Your, er, colleague here was going to come with me.”
Shevawna's eyes turned to him, ice blue eyes turning positively glacial.
“You were, were you. To fight a Hagraven.”
“I'm a Companion,” Vilkas growled. “It's what I do. What we all do, in case you'd forgotten.” He glanced up at Eorlund, now hammering away at the forge and pointedly ignoring them all.
“Over my dead body,” Shevawna said softly. “Which Matriarch and what are you after?”
“The one at Orphan Rock,” Liriel said, glancing between them uncomfortably. “I don't care if she lives or dies, I just want her dagger. It's called Nettlebane.”
“I'll get it for you,” Shevawna promised. “Leave it to me, I can do this without bloodshed – hopefully.”
“You can't trust her near a Hagraven!” Vilkas cried. Also damned if his five hundred septims was wandering off like that.
“I could say the same about you!” Shevawna snapped back, and hands were going to hilts until Liriel intervened.
“That's enough!” Liriel shouted, raising her voice, and was it Vilkas's imagination or did the ground seem to shake?
“All right,” Liriel snapped, glaring at them both. “I'll hire you both, and that's five hundred septims between you, not each. That way Shevawna can do her thing the stealthy way but I have you to help out if it all goes to the Void. Meet me at Honningbr- sorry, Black-Briar West Meadery tomorrow morning and we'll get going, hmm?”
There was something about Liriel's voice that quietened them both down, and Vilkas began to realise that this Altmer was not as helpless as most clients, in fact she was in all likelihood a match for any Hagraven in Skyrim. But if she was paying, far be it from Vilkas to argue.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Silence. Long, awkward silence. Here they were, sitting in the forest, just an elf and a Nord warrior who'd made no secret of the fact he hated witches. Or maybe it was just Shevawna he didn't like.
Liriel didn't know but at least he wasn't making any remarks to her face. So just the long awkward silence here by the side of the road while they waited for Shevawna to return with that dagger.
They didn't have to wait long.
“RUN!”
Shevawna was sprinting through the trees, some strange magical shield around her and her mage armour on, clutching a dagger to her chest, shrieking and weaving to avoid the fireballs being hurled at her by the Hag, and the lightning the witches were flinging at her.
Liriel cast her own armour and took aim at the Hag, just barely visible on top of the Rock, and having to dodge Liriel's fireballs did take the pressure off Shevawna, who sprinted past without stopping.
Re: The Witch of Jorrvaskr 5.4 (formerly Blood Magic's Honour)
(Anonymous) 2014-05-24 02:03 pm (UTC)(link)“Vilkas, come on!” Liriel shouted as she conjured an Atronach to cover the retreat and prepared to run after Shevawna. “We got what we wanted, let's move!”
Vilkas growled but did eventually follow, a little singed but none the worse for the battle. Then the Companion, Dragonborn and Forsworn were fleeing away to the east, off to the next destination.
~~~~~~~~~~
The Eldergleam Sanctuary turned out not to be too hard to find, even if it was some distance away. Shevawna couldn't stop staring at it as they ventured into the cave.
“It's huge!” she whispered. “And so beautiful, look at it, Liriel!”
“It's gorgeous,” Liriel had to agree. “An entire tree in here, and it's the oldest living thing in Skyrim, can you imagine?”
“They told me tales as a girl of the Elder Tree,” Shevawna whispered. “That it grew from a seedling that the Great Raven dropped while she was flying over Tamriel. She'd stolen it from the garden of Dibella, thinking it wrong that the gods should know such beauty and mortals know nothing. But Dibella cried to her kin and sent dragons after the Raven, causing her to drop the seedling, and so it grew in secret and none could find it. But it was still here and thanks to the Elder Tree, it was possible for beauty to exist on our world too, not just in the Aedra's gardens.”
“That's not the story the Nords tell,” Vilkas snorted. “The Eldergleam was a gift from Kyne, a work of divine craftsmanship to show her glory to humankind.”
Shevawna rolled her eyes. “How boring. I prefer our version. Much more likely too, if the tree was planted by Kyne the Sky Goddess, why's it in a cave, hmm?”
“Who's the Great Raven?” Liriel asked, deciding to distract the two before they start arguing... again. Shevawna coughed and looked a little embarrassed.
“One of the old gods. The Lady of Darkness, the Carrion Crow, She who Embraces the Dead for her own. She's the ugliness from which beauty is born.”
“That makes no sense,” Vilkas growled. Shevawna just glared.
“You ask any farmer how she gets the crops to really grow,” Shevawna snapped. “Or go witness a childbirth, see how pretty that is.”
Liriel had a horrible feeling she knew who the Great Raven was, and fingered the twisted ring in her pocket. Probably best if she kept quiet about her own encounter with said Great Raven, in Shevawna's homeland no less, at the enticement of someone who was probably an ex-Forsworn herself. No, they had a job to do.
“The tree,” Liriel said firmly. “Let's get this over with. Watch my back, last thing I need is one of the pilgrims screaming desecration at us.”
As it turned out, the pilgrims were the least of their troubles. Liriel made her way to the tree, slashed the trunk open, and that was when the Spriggans attacked.
~~~~~~~~~~
Back in Whiterun and the Gildergreen was already starting to blossom again, Shevawna and Vilkas were paid off and Vilkas had gone to tell the story, already embellishing the details to Ria and Farkas who were lapping up every word.
Shevawna was sitting up by the Skyforge, bottle of wine in hand and pouring a drink for Liriel, who'd joined her for the evening.
“Thank you for helping,” Liriel said, sipping her wine. “I don't think I'd have managed the Hag on my own.”
“Ach, no trouble,” Shevawna said, stretching her legs out. “We're the ones who have to look at that tree every day, after all. It'll look lovely.”
“It will,” Liriel said with a smile. “Lucia's been saying for weeks how sad the tree looked. She'll be pleased to know it's going to be all right.” She paused and then turned to look at Shevawna, looking a bit uncertain.
“So I was in the Reach a few weeks back. I had to go out there to meet a, er, client.”
That got her attention. Shevawna sat up, eager to know what her friend had thought of the place.
“What were you doing out there?” Shevawna asked, curious. “Did you like the place?”
“Yes and no,” Liriel said uneasily. “It's a beautiful country, don't get me wrong... but Shevawna, the people are insane.”
This again. Shevawna rolled her eyes.
Re: The Witch of Jorrvaskr 5.5 (formerly Blood Magic's Honour)
(Anonymous) 2014-05-24 02:04 pm (UTC)(link)“Different!” Liriel laughed harshly. “I got sent to one of your redoubts to retrieve a missing girl, and it was led by a man with his heart removed and some plant sewn in his chest. And in Markarth itself, first thing I see on arrival is a woman stabbed to death by someone claiming to be one of your lot. Then there's what I found in the Hall of the Dead – actually, no, I don't want to talk about that. Let's just say I've not been in a city so messed up in a long time.”
Shevawna would have been insulted, but it was hardly the Forsworns' fault Markarth was the way it was, was it?
“Nord injustice,” Shevawna sniffed. “What did you expect? She probably had it coming.”
“Indeed,” Liriel said, raising an eyebrow. “What I can't figure out is why the Forsworn executed her when she was actually poking her nose into the Silver-Blood family's affairs. I wouldn't have thought the Forsworn would care if the richest Nord family in Markarth who also support Ulfric Stormcloak ran into trouble. In fact, I'd have thought they'd be pleased.”
“We would,” Shevawna growled, recognising the name Silver-Blood all too well. “She probably had other enemies. Or was an easy target. She was an outsider, I expect. They're all targets. You should take care, Liriel. The Forsworn will target you if you go back, and I can't protect you.”
“I know,” Liriel said quietly. “Don't worry, I don't fear the Forsworn. I'm stronger than I look. Even if the Forsworn are running an assassination ring in Markarth. Listen, Shevawna, if you want this leader of yours, Nepos, to survive, you might want to get word to him somehow, tell him to stay off my back...”
“Nepos isn't our leader, and how in the Void did you find out about him??” Shevawna hissed. “No, don't tell me, I don't want to know.”
“Not the leader then,” Liriel said knowingly. “But high up. Why don't you tell me about him, Shevawna? It might just save his life. Save me investigating anyway.”
Shevawna sighed. She didn't exactly know a lot, but everyone knew the history. Everyone knew Nepos, by name if not by sight. Maybe it'd persuade the stubborn elf to leave well alone. Shevawna hoped so. She liked Liriel.
“He's the steward, or was,” Shevawna said. “Back in the old kingdom, when we captured the Reach during the Empire's war with your people, we had our country as ours for two whole years.”
“And Nepos was running it?” Liriel said, frowning. “Or, no, you said he was steward, so he was helping someone else...”
“Madanach,” Shevawna breathed, feeling the familiar feeling of sadness, awe and adoration as she said his name. “Y Althir Y Rhan – the High Lord of the Reach. Or more often, the Rhan-Brenin, the Reach-King. We were nothing before him, we were just hill tribes, bickering, warring peasants. We barely even remembered our own tongue. Then Caradach the Scholar came, and he brought tales and stories, went to each tribe and recorded their lore, and would take it to other tribes, and that's how we remembered we'd been a united people once, and many of us talked of how we wished it could be like that again. Then Caradach went away, and he died in Markarth. The Nords killed him. But his children escaped, and his son, Madanach, he became chief of Karthspire then went on to take over all the other camps as well. He united us at last and then he took the city from the Nords. Until they came back and dethroned him. He ended up in Cidhna Mine, the prison. He's still there now. But the orders still come, and we're still a united people. Thanks to him.”
“You have a king,” Liriel said in wonder. “And... he's still alive?? They didn't execute him? That doesn't sound like the Nords I know.”
“No,” Shevawna said quietly, brooding. “But he's still alive in there. Somehow. And he's still our king. We'd all follow him to the Void itself. If he ordered me to kill you right now, I'd do it.”
Raised eyebrow from Liriel. “You would find that a tougher prospect than you imagine. But if there's Forsworn killing people in Markarth, I take it he knows about it, even if he didn't authorise it.”
Re: The Witch of Jorrvaskr 5.6 (formerly Blood Magic's Honour)
(Anonymous) 2014-05-24 02:06 pm (UTC)(link)“Interesting,” Liriel murmured. “So Madanach sends kill orders to Nepos somehow – well, that's not a surprise. What is a surprise is that he's having people who've annoyed the Silver-Bloods killed – well, it was just one person, maybe it was a coincidence. Still, thank you, Shevawna. You've saved me the bother of talking to Nepos. Thonar Silver-Blood now, he's worth talking to. I'll have to visit him next time I'm in Markarth. I have to help their court mage's love life out anyway, I'll talk to Thonar while I'm there.”
“Liriel, let it go,” Shevawna said, feeling a sense of foreboding sweep over her. “You don't want to – look, just stay out of it! You'll get yourself killed! You've got children, they need you.”
“The world needs me,” Liriel said softly, glancing up at the Throat of the World, High Hrothgar Monastery visible on its western shoulder. “I promise I'll be careful. I'm not an easy woman to kill.”
Many had said that. The Reach had claimed them all. Shevawna said a quiet prayer to Sithis not to claim Liriel just yet.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
It was a week or so later when the news came in. Jorrvaskr became aware of it when the hammering on the door echoed all around.
“Gods damn it, who in Oblivion's that?” Athis muttered, wrenching the door open, prepared to give whoever it was a piece of his mind. At least until he saw two human children staring up at him, tears rolling down their faces.
“Are you one of the Companions?” the little girl with ash-coloured hair whispered.
“You have to help us!” the little blonde one cried. “Our Mama's in trouble! She needs rescuing!”
Skjor had arrived by this point, waving Athis away and kneeling in front of them.
“Well, we do rescue people when they're kidnapped,” Skjor said thoughtfully. “But we need coin for that.”
“I've got thirty septims left from my last allowance!” the little Nord piped up, her sister nodding as well.
“And I've got twenty,” the little Imperial who Skjor could have sworn he'd seen begging near the Gildergreen a few months ago said. She was looking a lot healthier now, clean and well-fed, but clearly distressed, no doubt thanks to this mother they'd mentioned. Adoptive presumably.
“It'll take a bit more than fifty septims to hire one of us,” Skjor said, although if they could scrounge that up between them, said mother was clearly not short of cash. “Does your father have any coin?”
Both girls hesitated, looking a bit embarrassed and Skjor realised perhaps that had been a bit insensitive.
“We don't have one, it's just Mama,” said the taller one quietly. “And Lydia, but she's a housecarl not a parent.”
“But Mama's got money!” her sister chirped up. “She'd pay you lots if you rescued her! And if you rescued her, she might be so grateful, she'd marry you!”
Dear sweet Mara, these children were prepared to offer their mother's hand in marriage as part of the price. Skjor had never heard of it happening that way round before.
“Well, we might be able to come to some sort of arrangement. What's her name and who took her? Did they leave a ransom note?”
“Her name's Liriel,” the little Nord said confidently. “She's an elf and she does magic and she lives in Breezehome, and she's really pretty. She can't cook very well, but Lydia says when a woman's really pretty, that doesn't matter.”
Skjor wondered if this Lydia was the best person to have in charge of the children, although far be it from him to tell the newest Thane of Whiterun how to raise her kids.
“So where is she then?” he asked.
“Markarth!” the older one gasped. “She went to Markarth to help their mage get a girlfriend, but she got captured!”
Re: The Witch of Jorrvaskr 5.7 (formerly Blood Magic's Honour)
(Anonymous) 2014-05-24 02:07 pm (UTC)(link)“She's in a place called Cidhna Mine!” the older one cried. “Ri'saad the Khajiit said she got arrested for killing someone, but they can't do that! She didn't do it, she'd never kill anyone who didn't deserve it, you have to help!”
Cidhna Mine. Highest security prison in Tamriel. The one no one escaped from. Skjor sat back, seeing two scared little faces and wishing he could help, but the truth was, if she'd ended up there... He'd heard stories of that prison. Men came out of there shadows of their former selves. Shevawna had spoken of it too, her voice low and haunted as she talked of nightmares and Skooma addiction and fear of the open air and slow descents into madness.
“Kids, I'm sorry but we don't do jailbr-”
“SHEVAWNA!” the little Nord cried, as Jorrvaskr's resident Forsworn emerged from the quarters.
“Sissel?” Shevawna said, confused, kneeling to cuddle the girl as she ran over to her, her sister following. “What's the matter?”
“Mama's gone!” Sissel wailed. “Ri'saad the Khajiit said she'd been captured in Markarth and sent to Cidhna Mine and she was never coming home!”
“What?” Shevawna gasped, going pale. “Oh no. No, she didn't. I told her! I told her not to go poking around there, the stupid...!” Skjor didn't understand the stream of words that followed but could guess they weren't complimentary.
“Listen,” Shevawna said quietly, comforting the two girls as best she could. “You need to go home, and stay there and take care of each other as best you can. Lydia will take care of you, and I swear if I have to save every septim I earn here, you will not starve.”
“But Mama's in trouble,” Sissel whispered, clinging on to Shevawna's fur armour. “Please, please help!”
Shevawna hesitated, then nodded. “All right. I – I don't know if I can get her out of there, but I know people. I know someone who might be able to help. She can get word into the prison, make sure your mama's looked after. And then... well, she might be able to do more than that. Maybe. I need to ask her though, and that means I'm going to be gone for a few days. Will you be all right in the mean time?”
Tearful nodding and more cuddling, and Shevawna patted them on the back and sent them home. The gentle smile faded to a look of horror as soon as the door closed.
“Stupid, stupid ortallan, a dragon won't save you this time!” Shevawna whispered.
Dragon? Skjor had no idea what that meant but he could guess one thing. Shevawna was going back to her people.
“You think you can get her out of Cidhna Mine?” Skjor asked shrewdly. “No one's ever broken out of there before.”
“I have to try,” Shevawna said, before racing back to the quarters. Skjor wished her luck, for those little girls' sakes... but her chances were not good.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Shevawna had fled out of Whiterun within the hour, sprinting for Deepwood Redoubt. She was exhausted by the time she got there, having travelled all night.
Amazingly Keirine was actually up and Shevawna was shown straight into her quarters.
It was a strange thing indeed to see a Hagraven sitting quietly at a table drinking tea, but there Keirine was, looking not at all like a mighty sorceress who could command the elements, but more like a harmless old woman taking her morning tea. If you overlooked the feathers growing out of her limbs and back, of course.
“Shevawna. This is unexpected. Have you brought something for me?” Hope and expectation in Keirine's eyes and Shevawna cursed her stupidity. She should at least have brought a gift.
Re: The Witch of Jorrvaskr 5.8 (formerly Blood Magic's Honour)
(Anonymous) 2014-05-24 02:09 pm (UTC)(link)“Good,” Keirine smirked. “That'll teach him. If he weren't dead, of course. You know I treated him for an arrow wound once – did he not realise I'd taken a blood sample? Fool.” She looked up at Shevawna, lips pursed.
“You didn't come all this way just to tell me Belethor's kin need the news breaking to them, did you?”
Shevawna shook her head slowly. “No, Matriarch,” she whispered. “Matriarch, I need help. Or... or my friend does. She saved me from a dragon once, helped me kill a whole bunch of Stormcloaks. Then she went to Markarth and I told her not to, I told her not to interfere, but she did and now she's in Cidhna Mine – Matriarch, please, she's got two little girls waiting for her, she's been framed, you have to get her out of there, you have to...” Shevawna's voice trailed off as Keirine slowly got to her feet, grandmotherly facade vanishing as the room got noticeably darker, some of the shadows seeming to hiss as they moved.
By Sithis, this had been a terrible idea, and if Shevawna ever saw Liriel again and didn't end up soul trapped, she was telling the elf in no uncertain terms that next time she went poking around in the affairs of the Forsworn, she was on her own.
“Have to?” Keirine said, her voice low and dangerous.
“I mean, you don't have to,” Shevawna babbled. “Of course you don't, you're First Matriarch, you can do what you like, oh Sithis, please don't kill me.”
Keirine kept advancing, claws flexed and teeth bared.
“You want me to get your idiot little friend out of Cidhna Mine,” Keirine growled. “As if I can rend the very earth apart to break it open. Do you not think if I had that sort of power, I'd have retrieved my idiot of a twin years ago??”
That was a very good point and now that Shevawna thought about it, if Madanach was still in there, the place really must be unbreakable. Except Sissel and Lucia's terrified faces kept swimming before her eyes, and she knew that even if Keirine killed her now, she had to at least have tried.
“She's got children, they're only little,” Shevawna whispered, and something in Keirine's face did soften just slightly.
“So did he once,” Keirine said quietly. “And I could do nothing for any of them because that bitch Mireen had her claws in them.” She lowered her hands, walking back to the table to sit down again, her own claws raking through her hair.
“Go back to those children,” Keirine said quietly. “Take care of them as best you can. I will send word to my brother to ensure she's not harmed down there. What's her name?”
“Liriel,” Shevawna whispered. “She's an Altmer. Red hair. Yellow eyes. She's really smart and a really powerful mage, she could be useful...”
Keirine had gone still, before turning to face her, surprised. “An elf. A High Elf. Your friend's a High Elf mage? Did you say she'd saved you from a dragon?”
Shevawna nodded, wondering what difference this made, but she didn't get a chance to find out. The outer door flung open and Kaie came running in, eyes wild. She didn't look like she'd slept either.
“Auntie!” Kaie cried. “Auntie, where are you?? You need to come quick!”
“Y ap Davrha tolas,” Keirine whispered. The dragon's child's come? That made no sense at all to Shevawna, but Keirine was getting up and making her way over to Kaie.
Re: The Witch of Jorrvaskr 5.9 (formerly Blood Magic's Honour)
(Anonymous) 2014-05-24 02:10 pm (UTC)(link)“He did it,” Kaie whispered, sounding like she was about to burst into tears. “He brought the plans forward. He broke out, Auntie. My da's out of prison at last. He's free!”
Shevawna sank into a chair as she realised what had just happened. The prison no one escaped from had just been broken out of... and the King in Rags was free. Madanach was free. The man who'd united the Forsworn and taken Markarth all those years ago was finally free. And if he'd got out...
Keirine had let out a choked sob and embraced Kaie, and Shevawna realised with some embarrassment that Keirine was actually crying. She'd not even realised Hags still could.
“He's free,” Keirine rasped. “He's really...” Kaie nodded, face flushed but joy all over her face.
“How is he?” Keirine whispered, joy subsiding as she asked the question asked of all ex-Cidhna Mine prisoners. Is he sane? Is he coping? Have the shakes started yet? Shevawna had wondered but no one ever dared ask – not of Madanach. Not of the Rhan-Brenin himself.
“He's fine,” Kaie laughed, seeming barely able to believe it herself. “He's OK, Auntie! He's sane – mostly, and he seems healthy and... I've got my father back!”
“I've got my brother back,” Keirine gasped, voice trembling. “By the old gods, I have my brother back. Sithis, I need to see him, where is he? Druadach, is it?”
Kaie nodded, and Keirine wiped the tears off her cheeks, pulling herself together.
“Right. Go tell Morchain I'm travelling for a week, he's in charge until I get back. Then wait for me outside, I need to pack. Potions, I need the potions, here's hoping they actually work...”
“Wait,” Shevawna said, shock making her brave, and Kaie and Keirine would be in too good a mood to kill her, right?
Both women turned to face her, Kaie's eyes narrowing a little, and Shevawna revised that opinion. But it was too late now.
“Was there a woman in Cidhna Mine?” Shevawna asked. “An elf called Liriel? What happened to her?”
To her surprise, Kaie's eyebrows flicked up. Evidently Kaie had indeed seen Liriel.
“You know Liriel,” Kaie said in wonder. “Now there's a thing. Yes, she was there. Beautiful, wealthy elf ends up in Cidhna Mine, you can be sure we start taking an interest. She's impressed Da at any rate. He's given her Ma's old armour and invited her to come visit him at Druadach. I hope she's single, because I think he fancies her.”
“I don't think there's anyone,” Shevawna said, wondering whether to mention the children then deciding against it. “So she got out? She escaped?”
“Probably on her way home now with all the obscure Daedric artefacts and fancy weapons and armour she was carrying,” Kaie said, massaging her shoulder. “Yes, she's fine. Surprised you know her though. How'd you meet?”
“We got arrested at the same time. Then a dragon attacked and we escaped together. I heard she'd been arrested again in Markarth...” Shevawna's voice trailed off but there was only sympathy in Kaie's eyes.
“She did indeed, but she appears to have luck on her side,” Kaie said kindly. “She's a free woman again, and no one's going to believe all the deaths were her now Da and his friends have rampaged through the streets slaughtering half the guard.”
It was all Shevawna needed to hear. A whispered thank you and then Kaie was gone and Keirine was returning from gathering her things.
“Well now, did that satisfy you, girl?” Keirine asked, looking more like her usual self at least. “Your friend's free and hopefully cured of poking into things that don't concern her, was there anything else you needed?”
“I don't think so, Matriarch,” Shevawna said, shaking her head. “But if Madanach's free, what happens now?”
Re: The Witch of Jorrvaskr 5.10 (formerly Blood Magic's Honour)
(Anonymous) 2014-05-24 02:11 pm (UTC)(link)“You want me to spy on Liriel as well?” Shevawna asked, conscience prickling. Liriel was her friend after all... but you didn't say no to a Hag.
“Feeling guilty?” Keirine smirked. “Don't. I think none of us have seen the last of her. I think she will be back, and I think she'll be a great asset to our cause. I'm not asking you to betray her confidence or anything, but I want to know more about her. If my brother is interested, it's only right I know just who might be marrying into the family, hmm? So find out more about her, listen out for gossip or stories about her, and let me know. All I know for sure right now is she's a High Elf who's good at magic, no great rarity there, and is not married but does have two young children, which surprises me a little. High Elves don't breed that often, do they?”
“They're adopted,” Shevawna admitted. “They're two little girls – human little girls. About eight, I think. One's a Nord, one's an Imperial. I've met them, they're lovely.”
Keirine's eyebrows shot up as her mouth opened a little.
“She adopted two human children? That's... rather sweet. My brother likes children, always was good with them. He'll not mind she's got some of her own. But enough of that. Get back to Whiterun, and be prepared for a somewhat hostile reception. Anyone who knows of your Forsworn allegiance will likely think you were involved in the jailbreak when the news arrives. You need to convincingly deny you knew nothing until after the event. But to Kodlak, you tell the truth. And tell him I will write and tell him more, but I don't know what will happen, not exactly. Only that I don't plan to cut ties with your Harbinger and will contact him as soon as I can. Go on, go. Rest here for a few hours then leave. As for me, I've got to check on my brother. I have a feeling they'll need healers.”
Shevawna nodded as Keirine bustled out. Madanach free, dear gods, Madanach free! This was beyond exciting. This was something else. This was... Shevawna hadn't ever thought it would actually happen. It was a legend, a story, of the king who'd won their kingdom and then been locked away but would one day return in glory to reclaim the kingdom they'd lost. It had been a tale like Red Eagle's – Madanach had been gone so long, no one had ever really thought he'd return. And after twenty years, there were few out there who remembered the old kingdom. To Shevawna, it had always felt more like a dream than something that really happened. But it was true. It was real, all real – and now Madanach really had returned. Shevawna itched to go after Keirine, see him for herself, see what this mysterious king looked like, see the Rhan-Brenin for herself.
But she had orders. And so she rested, ate, bathed and slept, and headed back to Whiterun.
Re: The Witch of Jorrvaskr 5.10 (formerly Blood Magic's Honour)
(Anonymous) 2014-05-30 10:32 am (UTC)(link)