#skyrim solitude

[scribeofskyrim]

Tirdas, 7th of Evening Star, 4E 201

It feels like we hardly did anything today, but I'm exhausted.

I mean, we did fight a dragon almost as soon as we got into the swamp, so our day didn't start great, and it ended even worse.

Apparently I killed the LEADER of the Dark Brotherhood.

I'm fucked.

Anyway…

Right now, we're at the Four Shields in Dragon Bridge, waiting for our dinner.

The others let me sleep in this morning so we didn't get out the door until almost noon. As I said, we'd hardly gotten out of sight of the manor when a dragon attacked us. It spit showers of ice at us, so we fought back with fire.

Thankfully, it wasn't very big, and we took care of it quickly.

Well, they did. I summoned an Atronach and threw what fireballs I could. I was still pretty weak, so I didn't dare try to Shout.

That swim woke me up, though! It's been so long, I'd forgotten how frigid that water is.

Oh, but the bath made up for it!

YES! I finally get to take a real bath! There's one at the Winking Skeever, now!

That was today's good news, and it almost makes up for the rest of it.

I'm so glad I let Erandur drag me in there to warm up. He insisted that I dry off by the fire and drink some tea before we go trading. Honestly I think that's what he wanted to do, but I sure as Oblivion didn't mind.

Corpulus took one look at us and said that since we were already soaking wet, why not warm up in the new bath?

Of course we all jumped at the chance, and soon Corpulus was showing off the new "Cyrodiil-style luxury" he'd had put in. It's down a trapdoor into the basement, but it's walled off from the rest of the cellar for privacy. The bath itself is a little small, but it's nice, and there's room enough for two in the tub. There's some really nice soap there to buy as well, along with benches, towels to dry off with, and baskets for our things.

Septim wasn't allowed down there, so I gave Corpulus a few coins to look after him and give him a little treat.

As soon as he was gone I started to peel off my wet clothes, but Lydia stopped me before I could strip down entirely.

Apparently you don't bathe in the nude here in Skyrim when you're in mixed company. You wrap a towel around your lower half at least.

I know, that's not how we do it back in the Capital, but I don't want to be rude.

The others soon undressed, and Lydia hopped in with me while the guys wrung out their clothes and hung them up to dry near the little fire pit.

This is only the second time any of us have seen Erandur without a shirt, and the first time without pants.

He really is covered in tattoos.

There's a snake winding around his left leg, with a shackle and chain around his right, opposite of what's on his arms. There's more Daedric script, as well, with a few more alchemical symbols, and the Destruction symbol. There's some alchemical plants around his ankles and even on his feet. They're mostly ones you find in the Pale, but there were some red flowers that I've never seen before.

We tried not to stare, but I think he could feel our eyes on him. He sighed and said that we could look all we wanted, but he would only answer "sane" questions.

Lydia and I whined at that, but he just laughed and said that he knew what we wanted to ask. Yes, he had more under his towel. No, we can't see them, and he'll tell us about his piercings if that means we'll stop staring at his chest.

Thank the Divines for that, because I had been DYING to ask him about them for AGES.

-/-/-/-/-/-

I feel a lot better, now. Dinner was a hearty stew with some fresh-baked bread. Even the cheap wine's quite nice, but with the Imperial officers stationed here I'm not surprised.

Anyway, back to Erandur's nipple rings!

(I never thought I've write those words in that order.)

While we all washed up, I asked him why he had them in the first place. The earrings weren't surprising, because I've never met a grown elf who didn't have them, but nipple rings?

Erandur explained that he gave himself the piercings while he was in the Cult. He said he wanted to have a tiny bit of control over himself, and they were the best choice.

They're small, easy to hide, and he could always take them out before "certain activities." He'd never really considered nipple rings before, but he knew he could just let them heal over if he decided that he didn't like them.

Either way, it was his decision, and that's what he really wanted.

So, he swiped some small gold hoops from the loot they took from their sacrificial victims, and snuck outside to do it. He said he was terrified that he'd be found out, but he got away with it, and he was never caught.

He realized that he liked them, and he's kept them ever since. He said they also serve as a reminder that his body is his own, to do as he wants with, and to "not ever be so blinded by faith that I can't see reason."

Lydia said that Maramal should get nipple piercings, and we all nearly died laughing!

I swear, I'll never figure out how she can't lie to save her life, but she can deadpan like she's made of stone! I love it!

We soon finished, and left to start our errands.

I wanted to get the trading out of the way, so we headed over to Bits N pieces to see what we could get for the book haul and a few other small things.

As Sayma looked over the goods, she picked out a gold ring and said that she couldn't take it. There were words on it in Daedric script that she couldn't read, and she didn't want to sell anything that might be cursed or something!

I honestly hadn't noticed. We get a lot of rings, and at first glance it was just another engraved gold band. I took it back, and handed it over to Erandur and Valdimar to inspect. They said it wasn't cursed, but that I might want to have a closer look at it outside where the light was better.

I knew from their tone that was code for "take the gold and let's get out of here."

I said goodbye to Sayma, and followed the others out.

As soon as we were out of the shop, Erandur grabbed my shoulder with that iron grip of his and asked, in that tone he uses when he's trying very, very hard to keep calm, why I had a ring that says "Hail Sithis" on it.

I had no idea where that ring came from, but Lydia said that she'd taken it off the assassin the other day. She didn't really pay any attention to it when she took it.

Valdimar pointed out that there were names inscribed inside the band. "Astrid & Arnbjorn".

Yes, it was a wedding ring, and now that I know who Arnbjorn is…

But more on him, later.

Since we were done with our trading, we headed for the Blue Palace. I wasn't sure who to talk to, so I told Falk Firebeard what happened, and showed him the ring.

He went pale when he read the names on the inside, and asked if I really had killed her. I said I did. He wanted to know how, and I said it wasn't easy, but magic and a lot of potions helped!

Firebeard pulled us aside, and told us that we had to go to Dragon Bridge and speak with Commander Maro at the Penitus Oculatus outpost. He'd explain everything once we showed him the ring, but we had to hurry. He thanked me for coming to him first, and wished me luck.

Divines, if I knew then what I know now… I'm going to need all the luck I can get!

We got out of Solitude quickly, but stopped just outside the gate when we spotted Ma'dran and his caravan. He and Valdimar chatted while I looked through his wares. I picked up a few empty soul gems and some moon sugar for potions, then went on our way.

The trip to Dragon Bridge was quick and thankfully quiet. We got to the outpost, and found Commander Maro having dinner with one of his officers.

I handed him the ring and explained what happened. He was thrilled to learn that Astrid was dead! He explained who she was, but before I could react, he cursed and said that I had terrible timing. He and his men had been tracking her for months, but with the war, he couldn't spare anyone or even himself to go and "finish the job."

I'm sure you know what came next: I did something Stupid.

I mean, I honestly didn't have much of a choice, did I? If I didn't agree to destroy the Dark Brotherhood for Commander Maro, they'd probably come after me like a pack of hounds once they got their act together!

Well, I'm sure one of them would, at least, quite literally.

The Commander said that his spies had confirmed a few rumors about Arnbjorn, Astrid's husband.

Not only had he been kicked out of the Companions in Whiterun, but he's a werewolf, too!

I'm so dead.

I think I was looking a little pale at that, because Septim started to whine and lick at my hand. Commander Maro didn't notice; he was too happy to hear that we'd take care of the Dark Brotherhood for him.

But the others did notice, and Valdimar said we'd better go. We'd need plenty of rest if we were going to fight a whole gang of assassins!

He agreed, and wished us luck.

We left the outpost and stared to cross the street to the tavern when the Commander called me back. He'd marked the location of the Dark Brotherhood's Sanctuary on my map (it's near Falkreath) but forgot to tell me the secret password to get in.

It's "Silence, my brother."

I said goodbye, again, and as I turned to join the others there was shouting from the soldiers. They'd sighted a dragon nearby and everyone, us included, got our weapons out.

Lucky for us, it kept going and didn't bother anyone, so we went into the tavern, got ourselves rooms for the night, and ordered dinner.

Right now I'm just trying not to pay too much attention to the whispering I'm hearing around me.

Word's already got out that Astrid's dead, but from what I can tell, no one knows who.

They know it's one of us, though.

There's a group of guards betting on which one of us did it, and none of them think it's me. I don't know if I should be glad or insulted!

Anyway, Valdimar's right. We really should get to bed soon. Erandur's a bit annoyed that we have to delay Mara's quest for a while, but he agrees that getting this taken care of as fast as possible is the best plan. We don't want the Dark Brotherhood to hear about it before we get there!

Here's hoping we get to Falkreath without any trouble.

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[lavendarr00]

Skyrim Scenery - Haafingar's Frozen Marsh

[azures-grace]

look, 2 altmer walking around Skyrim aren't gonna make it without big freaking coats

and so they get big freaking coats.

[stormkind]

Skyrim Solitude

Modded Solitude with custom texture mix-and-match.

[darling-leech]

TESFEST Prompt: ghost or hungry

@tes-summer-fest.

[nemhaine42]

okay firstly, and for multiple reasons, fuck hjaalmarch. it turned out okay but curves, man.

secondly, fuck whiterun because horses are assassin level difficulty to recreate at the best of times, never mind when made of a limited number of tiny little squares. wtf even is that squashed lion looking cunt.

thirdly, fuck me for wanting to use up materials that i already had and not go out and buy more because that yellow was way too fucking light so you couldn't see the white at all and i had to then go back in with that sharny gold colour for an outline i fucking hate it but sure as shit i'm not unpicking it all now.

[my-screenshot-dump]

[wispstalk]

all my skyrim faction characters (so far...)

Top row: Seadnha and Mr. CFG

Middle row: Sanshen-ko and Ransi Ralaal

Bottom row: Gil and Abi

info about them below the cut

Seadnha - thieves' guild

17 years old - displaced child of the Reach

Raised an injured crow while making her way south; by the time she is in Riften she has a small flock trained to bring her things. Mostly other people's things.

Looks small, is small!

Mr. CFG - dark brotherhood

51 years old - fugitive Colovian

Insurgent priest of Talos who fled Cyrodiil for Stormcloak territory

have yet to give him a real name. CFG stands for "completely fucked guy"

Sanshen-ko - dawnguard

38 years old - formerly of Elsweyr's High Savannah

Found a new lease on life as a barber-surgeon traveling with Akhari's caravan

Sees crossbow; covets crossbow

Ransi Ralaal - bards college

20 years old- mixed dunmeri/bosmeri heritage, from Windhelm

Scavenges Dwemer ruins for stuff to build weird homebrew synthesizers

Mysterious patron pays his tuition

Gil - arcane university

63 years old - failson of Dominion diplomats in the Imperial City

Rich layabout packed off to study at the frozen ass-end of the world to reduce familial embarrassment

Friendly, likeable, and death-obsessed

Abi - ms dragonborn herself

31 - raised near Leyawiin by parents from Hammerfell

Journeyman blacksmith on her way to Solitude to work for her second cousin's husband

Women want her, slaughterfish fear her

[frdouchevahkiin]

Il était une fois un petit chat…

In English : @thedouchevahkiin

Disponible sur WEBTOON (Le Douchevahkiin)

--

Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet c'ets la fin de la partie "Fin d'Oblivion" du passé d'Ell N'uriht ! La dernière partie sera sa seconde vie, lisible bientôt!

[firefly-factory]

"A Restless Night in Solitude"

or, "It's cold out here"

I realized I finished this a few days ago and never shared!

This is actually part of the story WIP that I posted several weeks ago, and I loved the idea of having Astra and Ondolemar spending some time outside in Solitude (in part to get away from the omnipresent perfume of the Thalmor Headquarters). Now this piece is extra special because I actually got to see the aurora!

Thank you @changelingsandothernonsense for suggesting I add some pink into the sky <3 I had been toying with the idea but wasn't sure if it would work, and your advice pushed me to try it (and I'm so happy with how it turned out).

A little bit of fluff and story for context under the cut <3

~

She was grateful for his company, but even more thankful for his silence, as they sat on the stoop of the Thalmor Headquarters. The air was frigid, and blessedly fresh, carrying the scent of settling frost. Flickering green aurora danced in the sky above, casting the night-lit city in vibrant color. Astra breathed deeply, enjoying the way the icy air burned her sinuses and chilled her lungs. It was grounding, comforting despite the cold. If she squinted, she could pretend she was back in Winterhold, or Windhelm at the very least.

She leaned back against the wall. Her fingertips and toes were starting to go numb, but it didn’t bother her very much. She’d been in Skyrim her entire life, and although she was no ice-blooded Nord, she tolerated the cold far better than most Altmer. Which reminded her . . .

She looked away from the aurora for a moment, glancing at Ondolemar. The poor mer looked miserable, though he was doing his best to hide it. He had his hands stuffed under his armpits and had tucked his feet underneath him and although she suddenly felt very badly for him, she couldn’t help the giggle that escaped her. She’d never seen him so entirely out of his element, so undignified. The laughter bubbled out of her like a kettle letting off steam, releasing the tension that had gripped her.

He started, eyes going wide for a moment before crinkling at the corners as he smiled. “Thank the Divines. I was half-worried you’d never speak to me again.”

[scribeofskyrim]

Fredas, 8th of Frostfall, 4E 201

We're at the Winking Skeever, trying to get the chill out of our bones.

I wish I was just talking about the weather.

So, we got up earlier than we usually do so we could have a nice hot breakfast before trudging back up the mountain. It was bitterly cold, and a heavy snow started to fall as we made our way up a path we hadn't tried before.

We ran into an "old" Orc at the top of the hill, surrounded by dead sabercats.

He said that he was old, and that Malacath had given him a vision of a glorious death, so long as he waits right there. He wanted to know if I could give him one.

Yes, he was asking me to kill him. I tried to convince him that he wasn't that old (seriously, he didn't look old at all) and had no reason to die. He was still clearly a strong fighter, and could do a lot more if he wanted to. He explained that Orc men don't like to stick around too far past their prime, for fear of becoming "useless."

He then told us to leave unless we were there to give him the death he wanted.

I wished him luck, and started to walk away when Erandur stopped me, then asked the others to huddle in for a talk.

He begged me to reconsider!

I was shocked that a priest of Mara would ask me to kill someone, but he explained that leaving the Orc here to wait for his death isn't an act of kindness or love at all. It's cruelty. This is his last wish. I granted one to Nurelion; why not him?

I cussed in as many languages as I could, but he was right. There was a problem, though - I'm me, and the Orc was a huge warrior twice my size who clearly had no problem taking out multiple sabercats all at once!

Valdimar argued that maybe the Orc's god was right. He was to wait there, and who should show up but the Dragonborn? Being slain by the Dragonborn would surely be a noble death, right?

I know having some great "Destiny" sounds fun and exciting, but in reality it's short for "Work You Never Asked For And Can't Get Out Of Because The Divines Said So."

Lydia sighed and said that she'd step in if I needed her to.

So, I went back and challenged the Orc to a fight.

He gave me a once over, saw the mage robes, almost complete lack of armor (I have boots), and that I was more than a head shorter than him, and asked if I was sure about that?

I told him to prepare to die in as fierce a voice I could muster (I know it's not very intimidating. I heard Valdimar and Lydia wheezing, then Erandur try to shush them while also holding back a laugh.) and then we fought. I made sure to use a Shout on him so he and his god would know who he was fighting!

Lydia did have to jump in, but honestly I think that made it better for him, if you think about it. The Dragonborn challenged him, and she needed backup! That should sound good in the afterlife, right?

Erandur did a bit of Healing for me, then he and Valdimar set the body aside as respectfully as they could. He said a prayer thanking Mara for the opportunity to share Her Warmth and Benevolence in a such a cold place.

Lydia whispered she always thought all priests were a bit strange in the head, but he was the strangest.

She doesn't know the half of it.

The funny thing is, that felt Real to me. Thinking back to when we met him in Dawnstar, when he was trying his best to calm the townsfolk and everything, it felt a bit… I don't know, kind of like a show? I mean, his care and everything IS real, but how he was doing it felt "off" to me. I could tell he was lying right from the start.

I think I picked up that some of it was fake, like his accent. Went about as well as the time the little theatre troupe that likes to set up in Tiber Square hired a swordsman to play a swordsman. It sounded like a good idea at the time, but in the end it was awful because the swordsman was a swordsman, and not an actor.

Seeing Erandur standing by the dead Orc, in all that wind and ice, saying a prayer while Valdimar stood quietly next to him with his helmet in his hand… That was Real. He was the only warm thing there, like back in Shroud Hearth Barrow.

We were back on the road after that, looking for the bandit's hideout.

It wasn't far, actually, and we found out that Falk Firebeard and the people of Dragon Bridge were wrong about the place. Wolfskull Cave was NOT full of bandits. It was full of Necromancers and the undead!

Also an ancient evil, but I'll get to that.

Out first hints were the skeletons guarding the place. I actually checked the map again, just to be sure. There's a lot of caves up here, but it looked like where the steward marked, so in we went.

It was fairly standard as far as caves go as we went down. It looked like some mining had been going on at some point, and there were a lot of empty wine bottles around. We mostly fought draugr as we went, along with some more skeletons, but soon we ran into a necromancer. Shortly after that we came to a small but high chamber, and a handful more burst out from behind a doorway set into the stone wall, along with their undead minions.

We took care of them, though it was a hard fight. My exploding fire familiar came in handy!

We took a moment to heal up and have some food before continuing through the doorway. Erandur said he could feel an Evil here, and the others nodded. Maybe I felt it, too, but it might have been just because the place was a little creepy.

It got a lot creepier after we went through the door.

We could hear chanting, and a whooshing sound like a strong wind as we went further down. It sort of reminded me of the sound I hear when I learn a word from a Dragon Wall. Before long, the passageway opened up to reveal a massive cavern! There was a huge keep with a big tower built right in the center of it!

Shreds of white -blue light were coming out from cracks in the cave walls, in a series of streams. They came together on top of the tower, and were semi-formed into a glowing feminine figure that floated above the building. It was quite pretty, actually, and I said as much.

Lydia smacked the back of my head, and Valdimar tried to suppress a laugh. Erandur sighed heavily, and I know he had his face in his hand.

The lights were pretty! I mean, if you ignored the fact that we could understand the chanting now, and could tell that the necromancers on top of the tower were trying to summon Potema, the Wolf Queen, it was actually very pretty in that ethereal way, even with the whole "manifestation of evil" thing. It just wasn't a good thing!

On a practical note, we could see several mages performing their ritual on top of the tower, one wandering below us, and a handful of various types of draugr wandering in various levels of the keep. I gestured everyone in for a talk, and said that our usual tactic of going in swinging was probably NOT the best idea, here.

I had a good bead on several of the draugr, so I suggested a combination of stealth and full-on battle. They agreed that was a good strategy, and took up positions on the earthen ramp that led up to our little landing from the main area. I took out as many as I could with my bow (not the best, but good enough) and then we pressed forward, going as quietly as we could.

I just want to say that Septim's such a good boy! He earned himself a mammoth steak tonight! He was very quiet and hardly barked the whole time. He's such a good boy!

Anyway, we went down the ramp and circled through a small tunnel before getting to the keep itself. I hadn't gotten all the draugr, but I had thinned them out enough that we were able to handle them singly, until we ran into several Necromancers on a bridge above us.

Normally that wouldn't be great for us, but I summoned a fire atronach right up next to them! It kept them occupied while Erandur, Valdimar and I hit them with magic. Those two took a while because they kept bringing back the draugr we'd killed, but I'd looted the draugr already, so they weren't able to do much. Septim and Lydia were behind us, literally keeping the undead off our backs.

We made our way quietly up to the top of the tower, but the spirit of Potema sensed us coming. She warned the summoners we were there, so we rushed up the steps. By that time there were only a handful of mages left, and like most mages, they were terrible at fighting up close. Septim attacked the main conjurer, and made her stop the ritual while I got out my axe. The other necromancers tried to block me, but I pushed past and let the others take care of them.

After we killed the main summoner, the ghostly white light - Potema's spirit - rushed out through a hole in the ceiling. I had the distinct feeling it was running away.

With her gone and the ritual interrupted, we took a moment to look over the tower. There was a large circular altar-type slab that took up most of the space. It was covered in a huge sigil written in blood. Valdimar muttered something under his breath and spat when he saw it. Erandur, like at the Butcher's, gave the markings a close examination with his hand over his heart.

Dark Magic, obviously. He whispered to me that he'd seen some of the worst of it during his time with Vaermina, and this… This was Bad. He said we had to get back here, to Solitude, as quickly as possible.

There was a drawbridge that led to a small ledge that took us back near where we had first come in. I hadn't seen it at all when we'd walked past it, but I suppose that's the point. Very handy if you need to escape the cavern in a hurry!

It wasn't that late when we emerged, and I decided to head towards Solitude to see if there was a more direct route down the hill. There's a stone arch on top of some steps leading down not far from the cave, so I went down.

I could see some sort of ruin through the mist and the trees, and when we got closer, I froze in my tracks as a voice suddenly filled my head. It was Meridia!

As before, back when I'd found the Beacon, the others said my eyes glowed white and I spoke in a voice that wasn't entirely my own. Meridia complained about how her temple lay in ruin, and she wanted me to put her Beacon back in its place to claim my destiny!

When I came back to myself I turned right around and went back up the steps.

I've had enough of "Destiny" for one day, thank you very much.

As we went back the way we came (forget looking for another way down, I didn't care) I explained to a very confused Erandur what that was all about. I showed him the Beacon, and he couldn't believe that I had been hauling around a Daedric artifact this entire time.

Me, neither! I can't seem to get it out of my pack!

I mean, I want the space back, so I'll have to do it eventually, and he was reassured that we'd be cleansing the place of evil, so… It can't be that bad, right?

But I'll do that later. By the time we got here it was too late to go see Firebeard, so we're calling it a night.

---

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[nerevar-quote-and-star]

Hadvar: If you sneeze and I say "Divines bless you," the only thing you should say is THANK YOU!

Hadvar: I don't need to hear all of this "how did you get into my quarters? Why is my window broken? I'm calling the guard" stuff.

General Tullius: FOR THE LAST TIME, HADVAR, IT'S THREE IN THE DAMN MORNING! GET THE HELL OUT!

[eghostsofdeadchildren]

Solitude.

[skyrim-forever]

Day 4: Enamoured

A/N: Day 4 is here, and I happen to have completed entries for days 5&6 as well :) Dare I say we are so back??? Probs not gonna get writer's block after this istg ANYWHO this one features Ondolemar wondering why he hasn't heard from Theodora in a bit and getting an answer in the last place he'd ever want to... tagging @tes-summer-fest

The briefing with Elenwen was wrapping up and soon he’d be able to leave Solitude. It was difficult being there, reminding him of her. It had only been a few weeks since he’d seen Theodora but he was getting worried. It wasn’t like her to at least not write and unfortunately as she was never in one place for long, he couldn’t write to her. Being enamoured with her had its downsides, the longing in between seeing each other, having to hide due to their respective factions; but the benefits were far greater. There was a reason the poets wrote of love, sung its praises so highly, loving her made him better. Theodora showed him a world outside of the rigid hierarchy of the Dominion, a life where he did not need to wrestle with his own inferiority and the weight father’s actions. 

“Ondolemar” The Ambassador's voice snaps him back to the present moment. 

“My apologies Ambassador.”

“You are distracted.” She coughs. “Correction, you have been distracted.” a small tightness begins forming in his chest. 

“I’m afraid I don’t know what you mean Ambassador.”

“Do not play dumb with your superior. You think I do not know what you have been doing.” His face remains calm but his chest grows tighter, heartbeat racing. “Normally I would not care where you throw yourself, if you are interested in being a disgrace to our race that is fine.” Elenwen throws the stack of papers she had been holding on the table. “But with a high ranking Imperial soldier? The Empire’s most formidable weapon. Are you daft?” She knew his ears ring with her words, cutting through him. The inevitable was finally here, crashing in around him. 

“I’m sorry.”

“Your words mean nothing to me. I have seen how you act. But it is no matter now, the Dragonborn listened to reason, I made her an offer she could not refuse and now your little plaything will not be distracting you anymore.” 

“What did you do?” The question comes out louder and more forceful than he was expecting. Relax, don’t give her anything to work with.

“Your concern would be admirable, if it was not so disgusting. Do not worry no harm has befallen her, I am not idiotic. Your little trist is not worth an early war. I promised to play nice and avoid war with the Empire in exchange for no longer seeing you.” 

He would look back on this moment and wonder how he could have been so blind. The Dominion was cruel, he himself had done unspeakable things in the name of their cause. But in that moment, the full weight of their cruelty had come crashing over him. Despite his wretched father and disgraced family upbringing, he rose to be a mer of important prominence within the Thalmor. He did everything they wanted and yet he still had not been good enough to get a respectable posting. They sent him to Skyrim, to the Dwemer City of stone and lies. It was one thing to know he’d never be enough in their eyes but now his superior has taken his love from him. His love, the one who had shown him that the lines between mer and man were more muddled, both deeply flawed as they were mortal. If his faith in his nation was not already completely crumbled, it was now. Now is not time for a crisis of faith he decided I need an escape plan. Escape and find her. 

“I understand” the words hurt to say, a punch to the gut. All he needed to do was act a little longer. 

“Excellent. I knew you would, despite your upbringing you are a fine soldier, this is just a small lapse in judgement. You are dismissed, I will see you next month, new orders have arrived from the Isle.”

“Understood. Good day Ambassador.”

The trip back to Markarth was spent entirely scheming. Outright defecting would just cause them to hunt him down. No one left the Thalmor alive. Alive, that was the answer. They’d have to think he was dead.

[mazurga]

Strolling through Solitude

[leolovesthings]

Solitude at night.