A/n: A bit of a different perspective for this chapter and the next, felt like taking a break from the usual cast for a bit. For those who do not enjoy side stories, do not worry, the main story continues after the next chapter.
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On a cold Rain's Hand morning, the eerily calm sea of ghosts was disturbed by a small warship cutting through its waves and batting away the thin sheaths of ice formed due to the near-constant frost.
The fog parted to reveal the wide war galley that bore the flag of the Jarldom of Winterhold hurtling with utmost speed toward the west, its crew as silent as the sea they sailed. A tense atmosphere gripped the unit of heavily armed guards as the ship's sailors went about their business, making sure they didn't get stuck in the ice or Divines forbid ram into a whale.
Near the armored prow of the vessel and next to one of the two imposing mounted scorpions sat a short blond Nord, he hummed a soft tune as he stressfully sharpened his steel broadsword, an already sharpened dagger sitting in his lap.
"Yer' gonna blunt the damn sword at this point Thorfinn" A thickly built Nord warrior wearing steel lamellar and holding an officer's helmet in the crook of his arm addressed the youth "Take a deep breath now lad, there is no guarantee we will even catch the bastard even if he were to be at Kirkheim."
Thorfinn glanced at his current commander Garm Clear-tide, sometimes jokingly called Garm of the sock by his fellow guards, and frowned in frustration "I have waited for this moment for years now Garm, do you truly expect me to be calm when the man that murdered my father continues to breathe and even worse, still spread his evil?"
"Aye, I do" The older Nord stated gruffly "Even if we did catch the Blood Horkers, there is no proof that the bastard Haldyn will be among them."
"He will, I am certain of it." Thorfinn interrupted stiffly.
Deciding to humor him Garm crossed his arms and sighed "How can you be so sure lad?"
"The Mystic Shalazar said that I would either lose my chains on this voyage or drown under their weight, there would be no in-between, I would either sink or I would swim he said" The young man answered, obviously unsatisfied with the cryptic message yet still putting his faith in it.
Garm blinked, completely stunned for a second, and then guffawed incredulously "You think the mad lizard can see the future now, do you?" He shook his head "Kids will believe anything these days."
Instead of reacting to the obvious provocation in the Commander's words Thorfinn merely scoffed "If the Archmage himself goes to Shalazar for advice then there is obviously some truth to his words, I do not for a second believe Savos Aren is a person who would do that just to make an elaborate prank."
Garm grunts in annoyance and scratches his beard "Aye, alright I get yer point, I will make sure the lads are nice and ready for a battlemage." As he walks off he mutters "Not like I expected to have a nice fishing trip anyway."
Soon the sound of stone on metal starts anew, as Thorfinn attempts to distract himself from the upcoming fight.
"Would you kindly stop that?" An enchanting, yet highly annoyed voice enters his ears from across the prow. Without stopping his work he merely shrugs "If you are so bothered by my preparations there is an entire ship for you to sit at, oh great senior." as the mocking words leave his mouth he raises his head and meets his eyes with the stunning white haired Dunmer woman sitting across him.
Edrassa Moabain was sitting in a comfortable chair she summoned and sipping on a drink that Thorfinn couldn't quite place, her robes easily identified her as someone with a connection to the Telvanni of Morrowind. In her lap was spread a book that the young Nord recognized from all those months ago when they took it from the insane Falmer King.
She raised an eyebrow at the young man's tone, a hint of surprise in her voice as she spoke "You are awfully talkative today kid."
Her dismissive tone, and the fact that she called him a kid, deeply annoyed Thorfinn and he scowled in response "We are about to go into battle and you are spending the time drinking and reading, how am I the child here?" He knew his answer was childish, but he just couldn't take being looked down on easily.
She scoffs "What I do before or after a fight is none of your concern kid" She once again stresses the 'kid' "Just because you aren't good enough to enjoy yourself even on a trip like this doesn't mean I am going to wallow with the rest of you." she makes a show of savoring the foreign drink.
Realizing that he had very little to refute the beautiful elf's words Thorfinn could only sulk and go back to his sword, now at least making an attempt at being quiet. She was not wrong in saying that he lacked skill, even with his dedication focusing on both martial and magical pursuits meant at least one of those was going to suffer in the short term.
He had become very skilled with his weapons of choice, focusing on agility and precision instead of strength when it came to fighting while his magic power was reserved for strengthening and healing him, his skills in destruction were nothing to scoff at either but he was not yet able to be called a proper battlemage and would likely take another year to reach such a vaunted level of magical prowess.
After a couple of minutes of tense silence, Edrassa sighed and closed the massive tome she was reading. Curious, Thorfinn once more looked up to see the Dunmer lady looking dead tired before she composed herself.
"Are you... alright?" He asked tentatively, hoping to all the gods he didn't annoy the Dunmer further.
She blinked a couple of times and realizing he noticed her state, sighed once again and frustratedly explained "I have been trying to decipher this damn thing for nearly a year, and yet all I learned was how to heal people faster and de-age them slightly with constant use."
Thorfinn blinked rapidly "That sounds like an amazing discovery" Realizing that her mood did not improve he tilted his head "Why do you sound so disappointed with so much?"
Edrassa looked at the misty sea for a while, her voice was filled with frustration as she finally spoke "My Lord has commanded me to decipher the entire tome and make sure it is usable to him as soon as possible, I am not at liberty to deny him." the more she spoke the more her voice turned bitter.
Thorfinn gave her a confused look "Can he really make such demands?"
After a moment of tense silence, Edrassa let out a bitter laugh "That is how Morrowind nobility works, if I were to deny my Lord his reasonable demand he would be well within his rights to punish me, and we both know he doesn't do things in half measures against those that displease him."
"Why not just leave his service?" The young Nord asked tentatively. He was quite certain that he could easily guess the manner in which Edrassa entered Reyvin's service, after all his vicious friend and training partner did for all intents and purposes murder the young woman's father in broad daylight, but he just couldn't understand why she didn't simply leave his service now after the coast was clear.
She immediately rolls her eyes at the question "Leaving a house like his is not that simple" She shakes her head "He already has well over a hundred Mer under his employ and over a dozen private soldiers, all armed and trained in basic magic." She once again laughs bitterly "Not to mention he is a Royal Court Mage and a Royal Thane now..."
Thorfinn suppresses a shiver at Reyin's ridiculous rise to power, it took him less than a year in Solitude to establish himself as someone just below a Jarl's level of authority, sometimes his friend really scared him "And what do you mean by a house like his?" He asks, really hoping he wasn't about to hear something outrageous.
Edrassa looks around, making sure that no one was listening to them and turns back to Thorfinn "You will not spread this outside of the college, or the both of us are so fucked, Faralda's lessons will seem like a vacation."
The Nord nods seriously, mentally preparing for more of Reyvin's ridiculousness.
The Dunmer lady takes a deep breath and says "Reyvin is a Great Lord of Morrowind."
Thorfinn blinks rapidly, completely stunned by this new information "He- he is a Jarl!?" he hisses.
"Quiet" Edrassa interrupts sternly and after Thorfinn calms down she nods "Yes, he is the lord of a great house, though our particular house is reviled the title is still very much valid." He can barely hear her grumble "Why the great Hortator felt they needed to be remembered I will never understand..."
Thorfinn is deep in thought for a while, it takes him nearly a minute to gather his thoughts before he looks up at Edrassa once again "So I am guessing that leaving a great house has equally great consequences?"
She simply nods "Even if I was capable of leaving the house I would be an utter fool to leave someone who is rising with such speed." she shakes her head resolutely "No, even if the work is hard, the future results will no doubt be worth it under the leadership of someone of his blood."
"Oh" The Nord mutters "I see..." he did not in fact see.
They returned to their previous silence, each thinking about different things. An hour of silent sailing later they noticed a plume of smoke rising in the distance, as the ship approached its destination Thorfinn managed to spy three smaller ships forcefully docked at a fortified settlement within the borders of Winterhold's domain.
The three dozen Winterhold guards immediately gathered at the center of the boat, soon joined by the two mages.
Garm stood before his men, his face marred with a grim expression "Men, the filthy Blood Horkers think they can raid and pillage our brothers and sisters as they please." His stoic look turns into a snarl "I say we show them what happens with any fool that fucks with Winterhold and its people!"
A series of 'ayes' and unintelligible roars of fury resounds from the ranks of guardsmen.
Edrassa looks deathly bored as her comfortable robes are suddenly covered in moonstone armor that glowed with arcane power.
Thorfinn grasped his twin weapons so hard his hands turned white from the pressure, his skin slowly hardening as he started working his magic.
It was finally time for him to avenge his father.
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Maybe some stones might help Edrassa's research? Just a thought.
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