As winter approached, an almost permanent fog once more settled onto the narrow and dreary streets of Windhelm's Grey Quarter, plummeting the mood of the residents even further and then shooting it in the head.
This was not helped by the fact that if a day was warm, the ice in the upper city would melt, sending water and sometimes waste flowing down into the lower city, and with the lack of maintenance imposed by the paranoid hatred of a vast number of the local Nords, the place sometimes ended up stinking worse than Malakath's home.
And yet the people forced to live in this place, if it could even be called such, could do nothing but wait and pray to the Good Daedra for salvation, for any sign of dissent was met with extreme prejudice by the self-proclaimed King of Skyrim.
A small Dunmer child clad in an oversized, and likely stolen, robes which hung over her actual clothes slunk down the mostly empty streets, the residents long since having learned to not show themselves during nighttime as to avoid the overly eager guards sometimes 'patrolling' the place.
Even if some patrols tended to 'disappear' when they took things too far, causing all kinds of rumors about the shadowy protectors of the people and something about a three eyed beetle seeing all.
Irenni was a relatively normal sight in the quarter, not that she was seen often but the number of children forced to steal to get by was unfortunately high, even with the downright suspicious amount of help the adults were able to provide them from time to time.
The only part of her that made her different from the others was her pair of bright purple eyes and her uncanny ability to sense danger. This had earned her something of a reputation as overly cautious but she had learned years ago that it wasn't paranoia if they were actually out to get you.
Following behind the kind Mer who offered help without question into the depths of the quarter had been an enlightening experience for her, widening her perception of the world and giving her perspective on what really mattered.
Power. It was always about power.
If they were powerful enough to hit back then the Nords would not be able to step on them as they liked, and the true power she was shown on that day was magic, which then quickly turned into an obsession.
Each day she was not forced to work for survival she spent seeking ways to strengthen herself and unlock the powers of magic. At first, she failed at finding a teacher, her intuition screaming at her not to attempt doing anything by herself, and with great reluctance, she listened to it.
Instead, she spent her evenings talking to the adults and asking for tips about anything that she could use. The adults eagerly told her tales and showed her tricks, and she absorbed it all like a sponge, learning how to sneak around and throw knives with enough precision for her lack of strength to not matter.
Slowly her reputation turned from being overly cautious to being a natural at anything she put her mind to. Numerous times she snuck into the upper city and came back with enough supplies for more than she needed, earning her both praise and envy from her fellow children and a modicum of respect from the adults.
And then one day she found herself floundering. She attempted to once again sneak into the upper city but whoever the old man guarding the passage was noticed her immediately, inadvertently drawing the attention of his hateful comrade.
She almost ended up getting beaten up that day, she held no doubts she would have been thrown back into the quarter with broken bones, and she would have if not for a Nord Stormcloak recruit of all people defending her and even giving her food.
She ran away then, lost and confused as to what to think. Her perception was always that the Nords hated them universally but the actions of that young man shattered it completely and utterly.
She concluded then that neither helped her because she was Dunmer, they helped her because she needed help. Utterly ridiculous, she thought at first, but the more she thought about it the more she liked the idea of people not being forced to behave a certain way just because of their heritage.
This newfound desire to know more led her to the only place in the quarter that outsiders still visited with peaceful intentions, the New Gnisis Cornerclub. She was welcomed with open arms and started spending her time talking with anyone who would deign to speak to her.
She spoke with Argonian dockworkers, those who were canny enough to sneak through the gates at least, and even an aged Nord going by Brunwulf Free-Winter, a retired soldier who openly spoke of his dreams of peaceful coexistence between their peoples, much to the wrath of his fellow Nords.
Yet they did nothing, simply because the man was able to crush their heads with his bare hands.
Once again she found her perspective expanding, learning about the outside world which until then had been nothing but a distant myth to her, and more importantly to her, reaffirming her understanding that power was truly the start of everything.
And then she met the person who truly changed her life. She went by Beetle and never went anywhere without a veil covering her face. The woman was often referred to as a massive 'cocktease' by the tavern goers, whatever that meant.
At first, Beetle seemed amused by Irenni's attempts to get her to teach her anything and everything, she outright giggled at how cute the child looked when she told her she knew basic fire and illusion magic.
She regretted that when Irenni started pestering her almost every single day, begging, bribing, and threatening, anything in the book for just a single chance of learning under her.
There was only so much puppy dog eyes one could take and thus Beetle found herself with something of an apprentice, even if she knew damn well that she was nowhere near qualified to be anything beyond an apprentice herself.
After she accepted though, Beetle decided to do nothing by half measures, ensuring that the girl was suddenly offered a job at the Cornerclub so as to keep an eye on her at all times and even telling the other guildsmen to keep an eye on her, much to Lord Davos' amusement.
This level of attention proved rather fruitful when the child managed to summon a flame after only a day of preparatory learning. Irenni's expression when she did so was a memory every single patron of the club burned into their minds.
Things even turned peaceful for a time, the patrols were not even bothering with spending more time in the quarter than absolutely necessary and a silent agreement was evident that if the Dunmer did not rebel the 'King' would just leave them to their own devices and even provide some food from time to time.
That all changed when rumors of a massive defeat suffered by the Stormcloaks reached the hold and thus the quarter.
Apparently, the self proclaimed King blamed some Dunmer from Winterhold for handling his elite forces pretty much on his own and then the retaliations started. The patrols increased and the guards took every excuse to extract 'justice' on the residents of the quarter.
They rarely ended up killing anyone as those who did tended to disappear after the first few days but tensions were rising constantly and there was something of a silent war between the mysterious 'three eyed beetle' and the Jarl, leading to the further destitution of many Dunmer and the death of dozens of Stormcloaks.
She tried questioning the adults about it but none were willing to speak about it. She had suspicions about Beetle being the mysterious defender but when she outright asked the woman actually laughed at her and told her not to worry her pretty little head about it.
She was outright forbidden from being present during certain times in the dead of night.
And so, since no one was willing to tell her, she decided to do things her way once again. When her shift was over she snuck into a hidden alcove in the cornerclub and used her minor illusion magic to reduce her presence and hide. She waited for hours as day turned to night and the time came for whatever the adults did.
A group of Dunmer entered the club, going completely ignored by the other patrons even if a number of them wore the best light armor she had ever laid her eyes on, she also felt that the odd piece of purple cloth hanging from their belts was important for some reason.
They took their seats in one of the corners, the crowd seemingly growing louder as if by silent command, and they began talking to each other quietly.
Thankfully the alcove she was hidden in was close enough for her to make out what they were talking about, she pressed herself against the board as much as she could without making them squeak and started listening.
"So, what happened Hlaalu?" Rendar asked the seated Dunmer with a worried frown.
Belyn Hlaalu, a distant member of the defunct Great House, took a long gulp of his drink and slammed it against the table, earning a light glare from the owner "Sorry about that" He winces as the aftertaste hits him "Bloody Stormcloaks just marched up to my farm and demanded I leave. Said they were 'confiscating it for suspicions of espionage' and just pushed me out into the dirt without even bothering to wait."
He stops himself from slamming the table again "That bitch Adsila did not even bother speaking up when they did it and just accepted the ownership of the farm with a smile."
"That is..." Rendar trails off with genuine disappointment in his voice.
"I worked for years to earn these people's respect, you know." Hlalu's shoulders sag in defeat "And just like that, all of it is gone because they blame all of us for being beaten by a Dunmer on the other side of the province."
Beetle, who had appeared without anyone even noticing giggles at that "Ah yes, the lord can be rather... attention-grabbing, when he wants to."
Hlaalu gives her a look of bafflement and a small bit of anger "You are telling me that this mysterious 'Lord Dagoth' you serve is the reason I got my farm taken?"
'Lord Dagoth?' Irenni's mind whirled at those words. She had heard enough stories about that house from the numerous drunkards but she focused on what truly mattered here and that was the fact that the 'three eyed beetle' was far more powerful than she originally thought.
"Peace Belyn" Rendar pats his shoulder "Your farm was taken because Ulfric is a bigot, he just used his defeat as an excuse."
"Yeah, yeah" Hlaalu sighs "I am sorry, I am just not..." He shakes his head and turns silent.
Rendar leaves him to his grieving and turns to the equally distraught fisherwoman "What about your end of things, Imren?"
"It is terrible." She weeps while grabbing fistfuls of her hair "They won't even let us into our boats anymore. They are killing us Ambarys, slowly but they are doing it! You must believe me!"
"I do, Imren. Calm yourself, please." Rendar tells her calmly, leading to her just resuming her quiet sobbing.
A couple more of the attacked Dunmer air out their grievances but none are quite as bad as the first two, still they are given the time to speak and suggestions are shared over drinks for a while.
Close to an hour later, the owner of the cornerclub and unofficial Major of the quarter shares a look with Beetle, to which she nods after a full minute. He turns back to the duo "New positions have been opened up outside the city, I want you to gather everyone who won't be too missed and bring them to The Pit."
"So we are just to leave?" Hlaalu asks, a bit offended but mostly just done with life.
"Yes." Beetle confirms mercilessly "Bring as many as you can, and as many children as well. Lord Dagoth has managed to acquire a vast tract of land and is willing to offer employment to any who are willing to swear allegiance."
"Of course it comes with strings attached." Hlaalu grouses, mostly for the sake of complaining, he wasn't an idiot.
Rendar simply shrugs at that "He is completely willing to send us as much help as can be smuggled but he has no reason to give us anything for free in the first place."
"Fine." The farmer accepts his fate all too quickly "I will be there with whoever wants to come. But I am warning you Rendar, this will draw attention."
Almost as if summoned by his words the doors of the cornerclub are slammed open as a group of armored Nords walk in as if they owned the place. This was a common occurrence however, so Rendar simply welcomed with a smile and started dancing around them with words.
Irenni did not wait any longer and left as soon as she got the chance.
And that is how she found herself sneaking through the foggy streets late at night, her thoughts awhirl with the information she had gained. This Lord Dagoth was apparently offering a brighter future and more importantly a way out into the outside world, and her teacher was in his service too!
She did not need to think long before she decided to find where this 'Pit' was located.
Yet for all her efforts she failed completely and utterly, finding herself on one of the main roads, and as if her disappointment was not enough, she felt her instincts flaring up as she moved to the side just in time to avoid a shove from the guards returning from the cornerclub.
The one who tried to shove her whirled on her for the sheer audacity of dodging him and stilled as he looked at her face.
She also managed to get a look in turn and stilled as she realized something. The guard before her was the same one who got his teeth slapped out of him for attacking her months earlier.
She did not even wait for the cunt to threaten her and was already running away, as fast as her little legs could take her. She managed to make it down three alleyways before she found herself cornered and out of breath.
Her meandering and knowledge of the quarter's layout meant she managed to lose a good half of the Nords, but even one was more than enough to threaten her.
The toothless fuck sneered at her as she backed up against a rotten crate, his eyes glinting with malice "Well, well, well, look what we have here lads."
Irenni was too terrified to think as the other two Nords joined their friend in his mockery, so she fell back to her core belief.
Drawing as much of her meager power as she could she pointed her hand at the suddenly tense Nord and loosed a gout of flame right at his face, causing him to scream and run into a nearby wall in an attempt to escape the pain.
She did not even manage to turn to the other guards before one of them drew a short axe and struck her right in the chest. Pain assaulted her senses as she fell back, her fate as certain as the glee she felt for fighting back at least once in her life.
The last thing she saw was the Nords falling down dead as crossbow bolts slammed into them and the familiar veiled visage of Beetle leaning over her with a glass bottle in her hand.
---
Irenni found herself thoroughly surprised when she woke up an undetermined amount of time later. The first thing she noticed was a complete lack of pain in her chest. The second was the clear chilly air coming in from a nearby window while a light fire burned nearby.
She forced her eyes open only to find herself lying in a comfortable bed in a small room built from white stone. Her eyes widened as a sudden panic assaulted her, and she immediately asked herself if she was in the afterlife.
Moments later she realized that that would have been ridiculous, one did not get tired in the afterlife after all, and she felt half dead at the moment.
Not willing to keep herself ignorant she grabbed a pile of clean clothes folded nearby and quickly dressed, finding the clothes to be far more comfortable than anything she ever wore she smiled and stepped out of the room.
A wall of noise assaulted her immediately as she did so, finding herself in a wide courtyard made of the same white stone as the small house she just left. She blinked as she realized the place was practically filled with similarly sized houses but before she could observe any longer she noticed someone looking at her.
A tall Mer wearing dark armor with his face hidden by a carved mask bearing the visage of saint Nerevar was pointing at her, the moment she gave him her attention he pointed toward an exit that led toward a nearby cliff face.
Not prepared to risk the wrath of her new hosts she followed the implied order and soon found herself looking over some kind of canyon leading into a vast valley with multiple walls and fortifications under construction going on at the same time.
Numerous Dunmer were milling about joined by some very pale looking elves she could not identify. With each moment this place grew more mysterious and Irenni did not know whether she should be excited or terrified.
Once again her attention was drawn to a nearby figure, their eyes met as soon as she thought about it and she realized she recognized the Mer standing in front of her.
"Well now, I did think you would go far, but even I did not expect to hear of such a young mage outright killing a guard from my agents." The same Dunmer who inspired her years ago smiled down at her "Welcome to your new home, kid. If you would have it, that is."
A thousand emotions assaulted her when she heard that, so instead of embarrassing herself she simply remained silent and nodded, maybe, just maybe, the days of squalor were finally at an end.
-----------------
The time cometh to give what is owed to me
And thus I summon forth your powerstones three!
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