Silverserri

Beginnings And Endings The clearing was decked in summer flowers; yellow dragon’s tongue, purple, blue, and red mountain flowers, and sprays of lavender added to the sweet perfume of nature’s beauty. Benches were arrayed in neat rows for our guests, and at the head was a podium where Priestess Arie would stand. Set on a small dais before the podium was an altar of Mara. The intricate knot symbol was made of stone, but polished so well that it gleamed softly in the morning light. Serana and I stood side by side at the back of the clearing, wearing our wedding dresses. It had been a long time since I had worn something so feminine, and Taarie had nearly gone wild with joy when we had returned to Solitude to commission them. Serana looked stunning in a glacier blue dress, and even I admitted that I loved the shimmering emerald green of my own. Looking at the love of my life, I smiled softly at her, “You know, I spent all of last night trying to imagine how you’d look for our

Home Rejoining with Serana, we discussed our day over dinner in a quiet nook in the Winking Skeever. Our time in the city passed peacefully that week. The gold and emerald ring was enchanted, and the faint pale blue glow swirled gently over the surface. Serana sent it off, along with a letter for Falion, in the hands of a reputable courier. Fihada’s arrows were completed a day later, and each arrow was a masterwork; well worth the coin spent. We returned to the Radiant Raiment frequently for fittings. It quickly became clear we would need a chest for Serana’s clothes and a carriage to take them with us. Which, of course, brought up a whole other conundrum for us; what were we going to do with it all? Serana and I discussed places where we could make a home. We hadn’t stopped to discuss the result of this shopping spree, and we were on the opposite end of Skyrim from Fort Dawnguard. Serana was reluctantly willing to continue her association with the Dawnguard. But even now

Shopping For Something Special The next day had me in Fletchers, a well-stocked shop with bows and displays of arrows of every type. “Hello and welcome, my friend. How may I help you on this fine day?” A friendly-looking Redguard smiled at me from behind the counter. I smiled at his words and returned with a traditional Redguard greeting. “Under the sun and sky, I welcome you and yours. I’m Lasirah.” The man’s face lit up, “Under the sun and sky, warm greetings to you too! I’m Fihada. Tell me, traveler, from where do you hale?” I approached the counter and leaned against it companionably. “My village was on the edge of the Alik’r desert, right around the foothills of the Dragontail Mountains.” “Ahh,” he nodded. “Excellent hunters and farmers there on the border. As I recall, that area is famous for the sugarcane harvested for Stros M'Kai Rum. The mountain water made the harvests particularly sweet and clean tasting.” “You know of it!” I pushed down a small pang of sorrow.

Being Human As the initial wonder of taking her first breath as a human was just beginning to wear off, a warm golden light suddenly spilled over the marsh. I raised a hand to the sun so I could watch my girlfriend’s reaction to the first light of day. Some of the perpetual fog burned off, becoming an enhancer for the sunlight to turn the hazy landscape into an almost surreal place of life and light. A heron cried in the distance, its harsh squawk soon answered by the smoother hooting of the tundra swans we had passed. Serana turned her face into the sunshine, closing her eyes blissfully. “It’s warm,” she breathed, almost to herself. Then, more excitedly, “It doesn’t hurt anymore!” Serana reached up and slid her hood back, letting the sunlight turn her brunette hair into strands of polished bronze. She held still for just a moment longer, then with a cry of joy ripped the hood off and threw it off into the mists. I heard the sound of the heavy fabric landing with a splat

Breathing Again Morthal was slowly improving as a town. It was still small, and isolated, but there were signs of it becoming more prosperous. A wreath of vines and snowberry leaves decorated a door here. New clothing on the townsfolk there. Some of the wooden walkways had either been fixed, or were in the process. But I think the greatest sign of the town’s healing from the tragedy and dangers of its past... was the skeleton of Hroggar’s new house. Jorgen, owner of the town’s mill, Hroggar, and Thonnir were cursing good-naturedly at one another as they wrestled a support beam into position. I had to stop and smile warmly at the sight. If that wasn’t a sign of something positive, then I’d eat one of my dragonbone arrows; ebony shaft and all. I turned back to the Moorside Inn, leaving the fog-shrouded sunlight for the dim interior. The Inn wasn’t exactly roaring with guests, but Jonna was bustling well enough taking care of a traveling merchant and a few other travelers. We

A Soul for A Soul Yngvild turned out to be a buried, icy burial barrow for ancient Nordic battle maidens; all the draugr that we encountered were female. The entrance had been excavated from beneath ice and snow semi-recently. We encountered two draugr patrolling just outside the entrance and had to put them down. Following the tunnel, we came to the first chamber. It was deserted, though an empty sarcophagus sat neglected at the bottom of the path that wound down to the bottom. A partially buried wooden ramp brought us to the ground floor and pointed in the direction of another tunnel. I crept down first, whispering for Serana to stand back a little so she could have a good view of the floor of the cavern if things got exciting. As I peered down this dim tunnel I saw movement; a humanoid figure was partially obscured by icy fog at the far end. I looked back and gave her a short nod. Serana acknowledged this with a grim expression and kindled a fire spell in one hand and

Discussing The Cure Solitude was its usual, bustling self, and The Winking Skeever was practically hopping at that time of evening. I managed to get some hot stew, some steaming, soft bread, and a bottle of spiced wine that was touted by the innkeeper as the best beverage Solitude had to offer. Leaving the city, I walked down the darkened road to our camp, set carefully away from the city itself. We made sure to keep near enough to the road to ensure a guard patrolled past us now and again. I had gotten back before Serana, so I was the one to light our campfire and set the food near the flames to keep it warm. She rejoined me a little later and dug into the stew with a sigh of relief. “I’ll admit, this is a far cry above the taste of blood,” she admitted, after savoring the taste of warm buttered bread, dipped in the stew. I blinked in surprise, “You’re… not a fan of it?” Serana lifted a shoulder in a shrug, “It satisfies my needs as a vampire, slakes the constant

Wrapping Up A Promise or Two I entered the cathedral alone; my body was washed, my armor was clean, and I was carrying a bucket, a small broom, and a flat scraping blade. The place had been mostly cleaned out; the bones of thralls and the rubble had been cleared away. There was no sign of the remains of Molag Bal’s fountain, or most of the enchanted blood that had gotten everywhere when it had shattered. The floor had been cleaned, except for one area, where a pile of blood-red ashes sat. The base of the pile was clumped and frosty with frozen, coagulated blood. I stared down at the ash pile in silence for a long moment, before using the broom to gather the dry ashes into the bottom of the bucket. Then I used the flat scraping blade to get the bloody ash off the floor. I couldn’t get all the ashes up, but I could get enough up to serve my purposes. I was just leaving the castle’s privy, empty-handed when Isran found me. He did not comment on what I had just done, merely

Unbound; Mind, Body and Soul The thrall dungeon was well removed from the rest of the castle’s social rooms; through a blood-smeared kitchen filled with kegs of human blood. No one seemed to be near enough to bother me for now. I paced in the cage like a trapped wolf. My begging, my protests, my pleas for her forgiveness, none of them had prevented my mistress from locking me away. I ignored the increasing weariness in my legs to spin and pace agitatedly in the other direction. My mistress, my goddess, had left me here, where I could not protect her, and had gone away with those… hunters. Those... murderers! They could be torturing her right now, and I wouldn’t know until her life was extinguished! I spun around and stormed in the other direction. I could hear other thralls in cages nearby: sobbing, wailing for their slain masters. There were a lot of thralls in here. They were packed, several to a cage, trapped in filthy conditions. I was the only one to have my own