Elder Scroll series 1. Chapter 1

The Black Fang

General Connors sitting in his tent. The sun was setting and cast a orange and read light all across the forest and illuminated the ridge were the camp was located. The sunset gave the inside of the tent a warm feeling. He normally would be done with his work by know but had spent quite a bit of extra buying elk hide from the huntress who came to visit his tent some afternoons. He took a liking to her since he did not get to see women often. He had made may attempts to impress her but they had all failed. Connors was an old man and he knew it. Despite being a worrier since the day he had been born he had lost most of his energy and become a shadow of himself. When he was young, he loved a good fight and would always be on the front lines. Now he was stuck with a shoddy half sick camp of untrained soldiers.

They were practicing marching outside and the shadows would constantly pass across the front of his tent. It had developed into a fixation of his. They would march around the camp and the sound would get softer then louder, softer then louder on and on in a never-ending cycle. He was a man whose head was always swirling with ideas and it was very hard for him to concentrate if there was even the slightest sound. He was going insane with stress and was so looking forward to the incoming transport of "free workers". They are slaves really, they are forced to work for almost no money. They do make labor quite easy though. He heard the back of the tent open letting a cool breeze in he turned around to tell the person he was working. When he got a good look at the man who had entered his tent he was about to call for help, but the cords in his neck that would have created it were cut by the black cleaver now buried in his neck. The man watched and the life drained from Connors and the crimson blood dripped down onto his uniform.

Niabi was walking along through the forest throwing the gold coins up in the air as she walked. She had stolen 20 coins off the general today. She loved to sweet talk him into paying more then what was owed and would sometimes take the money herself. She was by no means a thief, she just liked to have some extra money. She had long black hair with soft curls that glowed in the sunset. Her face was thin and elegant from a life as a hunter. It gave her a foreign quality that an elf might posses. Her eyes were large and green and added to this foreign quality, but she was no elf. She was covered in hides that kept her warm from the cold nights. She kept her bow around her at all times for anything could happen. The came to a rocky ledge and decided to watch the sun set. She found some berries nearby and brought them to the ledge. She sat and watched the sun cast bright orange shadows across the plains. She had lived in Skyrim her whole life but its beauty still captivated her. She sat for an hour and aimed her bow at birds that passed by but never shot, then continued on her way home. The practice was good although she would never waste an arrow. The crickets began to chirp and she heard the wolves howl to the moon. The moon was always a fascination to her for its luminance bout also for its mysteries. To her left were more berries but she knew they were poisonous. She was careful not to eat anything birds didn't eat. In her life nothing was more deadly than not being able to hunt. Suddenly, out of the brush came crashing a soldier. "Over here" he shouted within seconds 2 more guards came from within the trees and bushes the moonlight reflecting off of their armor. Her look of perplexity turned to fear as they drew their sword. He spoke as if he were on a horse several feet above everyone else "You will pay for your crime." She panicked, "There must be some mistake…" she said as she backed away. She waited a moment threw the sack of gold at them and then ran as fast as she could.

"Don't let her get away, they'll have our heads if she esc…" she turned around just in time to see the third guard's scream exit his throat before the black cleaver entered cutting him off. The man tried to scream again but only blood came out. The man slumped forward and then Niabi looked harder. A man in a black hood stood over the three dead men. His armor appeared to be made of leather with green beads that glowed ominously. The rest of his armor seemed to be made of ebony mail and hide. His blades were rectangular shaped with a saw on the back end and the handles came to sharp metal points. He seemed to almost to be made of shadows combining and ever changing. He turned towards her and in the moonlight she couldn't see his face but even in the darkness saw his eyes, the eyes that a mountain lion has when it looks at a deer. Niabi, out of fear for her own life raised her bow and fired.

The arrow flew threw the air like a bird flying to the call of its chicks. She was sure her mark would hit, after years of practice she was always sure. As a hunter all her life, it was hard for her to miss. The arrow hit, but not a man. No… a shadow. But where is he? She panicked only when she turned around again did she see his eyes, red and 3 inches away. She shuddered as he leaned in even closer "I killed someone..." He said. His voice was calm and gentle. Niabi's mind was a jumble of fear and energy. " and they think you did it" at first she didn't understand then her mind started to work and a new terror emerged inside her. What will they do? "They will hunt me down!"

"If you want to live, you listen to me very carefully. Do you have a house?" he said. She nodded. "I will go with you and you will grab everything you need, we don't have a lot of time before they tack us." "Ok...Its this way" she darted off into the brush and The man followed her.


	2. Chapter 2

As Nero followed her he went through all the ways he could convince her. He knew he couldn't mess this up. He had to ask her to join just right or she might never agree. He followed her down a steep cliff to a river and across from them stood a small shack. It was very plain, about the size of a normal room and outside it hung many skins and horns. They darted across the river and she sprinted in the door. The inside was just as simple, a fire pit, a bed, a table with cabinets, and a single window. Off in the distance, voices of their peruses were hot at the top of the cliff. Nero waited patiently for Heka to grab everything she needed. Minutes later and their peruses were almost on the other side of the river.

Niabi had grabbed everything and they ran out the back door. Nero ran with Niabi to hide behind a rock nearby. They ducked behind every bush or hill they came across. Niabi watched her cottage be searched eagerly waiting to go back and get the rest of her less necessary possessions. Then one guard came with a torch and lit the bear head outside her door. She wanted to scream and run to put out the flames, but Nero quickly put his hand over her mouth to stop the sound. At first she struggled violently then her struggling subsided into sobs. He felt her tears run over his hand as and spoke in a soothing voice "its ok, everything will be fine." As she watched every-thing she owned go up in flames.

That night it rained and although Nero had been awake for three days on his mission he let Heka sleep soundly while he kept watch. Heka awoke with a start an hour or so after the sun had risen over the mountains. A cool mist was coming from the river and gave the whole area a damp feeling that made it a bit hard to see. The mist was swirled up by the morning wind and flew into the sky. "What is your name?" Nero said. Niabi turned to him "Why do you care?" "Well I saved your life if that means anything to you." She stood up without a word he waited there a moment relaxing in the morning sun and watched as a new wave of mist came from the river to yet again cover the fields. He then rose and walked over to her and put his elbow on her shoulder. "Beautiful day, isn't it?" "What do you want?" she said shrugging his arm off. "I'd like to have a pet otter, but I'll settle for your name." Niabi stepped back and crossed her arms "I could just leave and give you neither. You've brought me nothing but trouble."

"If I could take it back I would, but I need you." "Who does?" Niabi asked. The reached town his shirt and pulled out a black tooth with green gems placed on the side. "The Black Fang needs you." "Who is that?" "I'll explain everything on the way." He said. "I still don't have to go with you she said turning around." "Maybe its slipped your mind that you are wanted by the imperial legion!" There was a moment of silence. Niabi turned to her burnt home and sighed. She picked up her sack and slung it over her shoulder.

"My name is Niabi." She said. They had been walking in silence for an hour and the sun was not showing its face from behind any clouds. "The name is Nero" he said.

"Mine is so much better."

A smile crossed his lips "Why don't we take a break here" he said sitting down on a log, Niabi sat next to him. They sat down letting out a sigh. He removed his belt of weapons and draped it over the log. "Wait here he said as he went into the forest." Niabi sat on the moss-covered log and thought back to how she ended up here, homeless with this strange killer she knew nothing about. She almost came to the decision to grab everything and run as fast as he could, but something stopped her. Something about him brought her comfort she could not remember feeling in a long time. The ground was still wet and she could hear him coming back with the wood. When he arrived, he dropped the wood in a neat pile and reached into his pocket. He withdrew some fire salts witch he sprinkled onto the damp wood. It burst into flames despite being soaked. He sat down next to Niabi.

He lifted a small razor out of a sheath over his heart and played with it in his hands. He flipped it open revealing the frosted glass blade. It was swirled with patterns of feathers and snowflakes, the handle was made of polished marble was so white it almost had a luminance. Niabi was fascinated as he twirled it in his hands flipping it in the air and it landed closed in his hand.

"What is it?"

"An angle razor, a blade made by me."

"Angle?"

"It has a holy soul trapped inside it, it cuts into the souls of unholy beings like me… and you." Her eyes light up, she looks at him puzzled.

"You make it so obvious, you're a serpent. I could smell it from a mile away. The green eyes and black hair were a given too." "But I'm not!"

"You didn't know? How is that possible? You must be!" "I don't know what you are talking about." She said getting to her feet and leaning against a nearby tree. There was a long pause. Finally Niabi rose and turned to the forest, "You want something to eat?" she said as she pulled out her bow. Nero raised an eyebrow "yah, why?" She she drew an arrow from her quiver made of fox hide. "I want to show you something." She said as she darted off. He snuffed the fire and ran after her.

Nero followed the sound of Niabi's footsteps until he found her crouched behind a rock silent. The ground was moist with the dew of the morning that still hung to the moss and grass. He crouched next to her and whispered in her ear mockingly "See anything huntress?" "Yes". She stuck her head just over the top of the rock. Nero slowly did the same. Niabi notched and arrow and aimed at a dear that was eating in a clearing nearby. The beast was magnificent with antlers and a white hide with brown spots. It was covered in rain droplets that reflected the light of he sun and almost made him glow. Niabi aimed strait but as she let the arrow fly she turned the bow just a hair to the left. The arrow flew at a diagonal strait towards the animal. "Better luck next…." Nero was astonished as the arrow perfectly slit the animal's throat. "It doesn't get luckier than that!" she said.


	3. Chapter 3

They walked over to the tree were her arrow had landed. "So I'm a Serpent?" Niabi said pulling the arrow out with a quick jerk. "No human could make that shot, if you were human you would be the best in Skyrim and even beyond. People that have hunted for their entire life couldn't do that!". Niabi slowly walked over to the deer that now lay still and pulled out her knife. She butchered it and put all of the meat in her pack and slowly rose. "I guess I could go with you since I have no were else to go." Nero didn't smile, but he was dancing around in his head.

They walked back to camp treading lightly incase there was any prey along the route. Their caution was well placed; on their way back they bagged 2 rabbits. They finally got back to camp and the fire was still going. Nero threw some sticks onto it to it and sat down next to Niabi. She bent down and reached into the sack to pull out the trimmings from the elk and then gathered some sticks. And began to whittle them so that they would have points. "So if I'm a serpent, what in the world are you?" she said. Nero leaned forward and stuck his hands out onto the fire. "I'm a vampire" he said. "So generic" she said with a smile "I thought you were a demon or something." Nero removed his hood revealing his brown hair. "I'm not just any vampire you know, there are many types. Some burn in the sun, others are simply weakened. Some vampires flourish in the shadows more than others. "So what type are you?" "I'm a shadow vampire, I can do a lot of things in the shadows." "The ladies must love you." She said mockingly. Se turned back to the fire and out of the corner of her eye she saw him get up and disappear into a cloud of smoke. She jerked her head to look but he was gone. Niabi looked around but there was no one to be seen. "Very funny" she said almost scared. "You know…" Nero said. Niabi spun around to find him on the opposite side of the flames. "You've been asking a lot of questions, but I don't know a lot about you." "So you want to know about me?" she says. She walks around the fire towards him. "Truth is I don't remember much, no one showed me any kindness when I was little. I had to run from the guards of cities when I would steal food to get by. I had to make my life for myself." Nero approached her and put his hand on her shoulder smiling. "If you come with me you wont have to run anymore."

They sat down next to the fire and there was a long silence. "Let's wait till nightfall and camp here." Nero said tilting his head back to look up at the sky. He closed his eyes and fell a sleep. He awoke an hour later and Niabi was nowhere to be seen. He looked around for the satchel of food and found it missing. He cursed to himself, she had to be somewhere nearby. He clearly saw the path she had taken, south east and fast at that. He used the shadows the sun was casting from the canopy to move fast and silently. He saw her after about thirty seconds in a treetop with a notched arrow. He moved up to her. "Thought you'd left" "SSHHHHHH" she hissed. He put his head next to hers to look from her perspective. "We have enough meat." She let the arrow fly. It flew for the neck and as soon as it hit the beast fell down.

Niabi jumped out of the tree and landed silently string her bow over her shoulder. She looked up at Nero and waved for him to come down. He jumped down and landed next to her. "That was unnecessary." "We might mass through a town and I'd LIKE to have some things to sell since I don't have much at the moment!" clenching her fist in rage she regained her composure. "Look if you want to blame me fine, but if I hadn't been there you would have been gutted by those guards." "Well it's your fault that everyone thinks I'm a murderer."


	4. Chapter 4

Nero was just about fed up with her. He had never expected her to be an annoyance. They leisurely walked over to the elk and she over to skin it. "Hey you!" from the bushes as three hunters emerged. "Thats ours!" the tallest one said. He had orange hair and was covered in hides, he was the fittest of the three and the tallest. "Says who?" Nero said putting himself between Niabi and the hunters. "Says us." the men said as he motioned the others to advance. "Oh I see," Nero said putting his hands on his hips "go ahead" he said. The red haired one skinned the dear while the others waited for him to finish. "Her to" he said grabbing Niabi by the arm. She started to scream and franticly tried to get his arm off of her. Nero drew one of his knives and in one swift motion grabbed the man by the forearm and embedded the knife in his wrist and gave it a slow twist. "She stays and so does the hide." "You Bastard" The man released his grip on Niabi. Nero twisted the man's arm a half turn breaking it at the elbow. "And the Hide" The other hunter were frozen in fear despite their friends cry for help. "Take them" Nero said. She drew her bow and hit both of them in the leg in less then a second. He gripped the man by the neck and drew him close. "I hope you use what is left of your arm to do things other than rob people." He withdrew the knife and threw the man to the ground. "How far is it till we get there." "6 miles." They walked south away from the moans of the hunters. Just as they were out of site Niabi hugged him. "Thank you." "What happened to me ruining my life?" "Oh I'm still mad as a crab, I'm just glad you saved me."

They waked a bit farter and came to a rocky face of a mountain. They were surrounded by tall boulders on 3 sides. There was nothing around, a tree and a small pond were the only thing other than rocks. The sky had turned to a gray cloudy darkness and it was hard to see very far in the mist that had settled in... how may seconds? She could not see the tree or the pond that had been less than ten feet from her. "Nero?" she said as she turned around to find no one. She heard laughter from behind her, a woman's laughter. She turned again to find no one. "What in Oblivion..." a hand went around her throat and she saw a woman with blond hair tied in a bun. She narrowed her eyes. She was beautiful. She had a long face with the eyes of an elf but the complexion of a human, but her eyes were like nothing else. They were a sea of purple and yellow that seemed to dance around. She was strong for her figure. Her armor was skin tight leather with metal beads around the forearms and shins. A smile crossed her lips as she squeezed tighter. "What a pretty little flower, it would be a shame for it to go to waste." Her lungs were screaming for air but she could not speak. She opened her mouth and tried to make sound and the woman's smile widened. She cursed herself for being so gullible, he had tricked her. Niabi squirmed to get away but the woman's grip only tightened. "Stop scaring the recruit Sasha." Her smile turned into a look of disgust. "A RECRUIT... HER?" "yes" She released Niabi who fell to her knees. "Yes, her" he said calmly. "pff, whatever I have a contract. I'll be back in a few hours." "Who?" "Harvend Wolverth, a pub owner has known associates within the Arc." "Bring him here, you cant risk it in public." "Will do!" She turned to Niabi "I guess our fun will have to continue later" she said winking and with that two flaps on the back of her leather suit opened to reveal batwings. Almost instantly she was gone soaring upwards. As the sound of her wingbeats disappeared, Nero walked over to Niabi and helped her to her feet. She shoved him off "SHE ALMOST KILLED ME!" She screamed. "She would never kill you." "Who was she anyway?" "Sasha, she is a Succubus. She is also our interrogator." Nero walked over to the rock face and waved his hand over the rock. The whole thing became covered in black symbols and then dissolved into dust which settled on the ground. They walked through the newly formed door into a dark hall. "Good to be home" He said stretching. They walked slowly down the hall to a large room several stories tall and had a main table in the center. There were a dozen people sitting at the table arguing loudly. "Fork," Nero yelled. "New recruit!" a man stood up and motion for them to come over. "Welcome serpent" He said. Fork was a tall and large man with wide set eyes and a large nose. Everything about him seemed wide but he was not fat. He had black curly hair and a very large beard that went all around his face and down his neck. Niabi smiled at him. "You got her to come!" "Wasn't easy" "I'll bet, but were busy right now. He put his massive hands on both their shoulders. "Get some rest, we'll discuss her role in the morning" without a word Nero grabbed Niabi by the wrist. "This way, I'll show you around."

They walked to the far end of the room to two massive black doors. They opened to reveal a path of stones through an area covered in water. The air was warm and there was steam coming off of the water. The air smelled of flowers and was very relaxing. Niabi felt light headed as they continued towards an island covered in boulders. To the right of the path a dark elf came out of the water. "Recruit?" "Niabi this is Mari, she is a mermaid and the hand to hand instructor. You'll be with her tomorrow" "Oh lovely" "I'm looking forward to it" Mari said and submerged her head back down under the water. "Lets get to the sleeping area, I'm sure you have questions. I know i would."


	5. Chapter 5

They continued walking for about ten more feet and Niabi stared to feel sick. She was sweating and the steam was making it impossible to think strait. They walked a few more feet and the steam and dizziness stopped abruptly startling her. "Here are the hot springs. If you are injured during a mission you go into one." She completely ignored him. She had a look around and to her left she saw a very large area of rotting scaffolding covered in vines and other strange plants with flowers. The whole place shimmered as if it were a mirage. She saw people in black armor jumping around on it. Swinging their swords and throwing their knifes and axes in random directions. She smiled "What are those people doing, they look mad." It's the training area. See those necklaces? With the blue stones on them?" "Yes" "Those necklaces make spectral enemies for them to fight. If they get stabbed by a specter, they are brought back to the outside of the training area unharmed. Experience is the best teacher... after Mari of coarse." "Well, whats that over there?" Niabi said gesturing to a lake to their right full of boulders and tiny trees. "Agility training area, lets you jump from rock to rock." The area was beautiful with lots of moss and lilly pads all over. They walked across the island to another path of stones across water and then she saw it. An unassuming rundown old stone building. It looked dark and musky. The roof was made of wood and it had cracked and splintered and looked rotten. There seemed to be no life inside. The door creaked on its hinges. Niabi was stunned at what was inside. A bed with green silk sheets with four bedposts shaped like snakeheads. There was a fireplace that was decorated so that in resembled an openmouthed snake. The torches on the walls were snakes and the whole place seemed eerily familiar. "We haven't had a serpent here for two hundred years. So it hasn't been kept as tidy as you might like, still Its pretty damn nice." "This is mine..." "Get dressed in whatever robe there is in the closet and meet me at the hot springs." "I'm not hurt I'm fine." "Your arm..." He rolled up her sleeve to reveal a bruise were the man had grabbed her. "So I'll see you there in one hour." "Ya" He gave her a pat on the back. "I'm sorry... don't have to do this if you don't want to." "No, revenge is always nice."

Nero smiled and strolled away and out the door. Niabi collapsed onto the bed. Strange forces had lead her here to this place. Nero seemed like a nice guy buy his brutality was a menacing characteristic. She had defended herself from vampires before but they were usually people who had caught the disease, nothing like him. She wasn't afraid of him, he seemed to care about her but why? Why her? She decided to get changed. She had so many questions. She went over them in her head over and over as she got dressed. Niabi felt uneasy about this whole situation. I mean he came out of the blue and gave her an offer she couldn't turn down because there was no better option. Had she been too quick to judge him as trustworthy? She thought so. She decided to be extra cautious during their next encounter. Not knowing what to expect. He was so charismatic, but then again vampires were known for being likable. Trust your instincts and you'll be fine. Niabi put on the robe and slowly walked across the room looking at the beauty of all the individual pieces of furniture and fabrics, all having a slight resemblance in some way to a snake. The bedposts were curled and bared a snake head at the top. She had never seen such a room in here life. It made sense that here room was themed as a snake. After all they said she was a serpent. Really? A serpent? She had never considered herself anything other than a nord. She didn't feel any different or look any different. Niabi decided it was best to ask Nero for some reason, but how could she trust him? He could just be lying to her to get her to stay. The sooner she talked to him, the sooner things would be cleared up.

She walked out to the warm air. How peculiar, the air outside of this place had been chilly but this lake surrounded by cliffs was warm. The night sky was dark over her head but the water was a soft blue in the moonlight. The light seemed to be coming from underneath the water. She walked cautiously along the stone path looking to either side to make sure that there were no creatures that could bite at her heals. The steam coming off the hot springs was off in the distance. There was still fog around the training area but the rest had cleared. She could see a network of pathways to 20 or so houses just like her's only better looking. Many different paths leading from the buildings to the training areas to the hot springs and the building they had entered from. She came to the island with the hot springs. Nero was already there in a similar robe relaxing, she noticed cuts on his chest and arms. "Were did you get those?" "I had to dispatch a squad on lookout before I entered on the camp." She slid into the water and realized it was hot... as in HOOOOOOOOOT! "Milk drinker" said under his breath. "Blood drinker" she said mockingly. Nero pretended to cry. "I assume you want some answers?" "Yes," "Well lets not waste any time." "First question, what is the black fang." He arched his back and stretched. "Well, that depends who you ask. I say that we're swords for hire, we have an agent for any job. We work in pairs to minimize the number of casualties if a mission goes out of control. The Black Fang has been around for a long time. Since the outcast races banded together 600 years ago. That was a different time, a time were we could show our faces and simply be ridiculed with racist remarks. Now they'l lop your head off, or burn you. If I get caught, it's a one way trip to the pier. You on the other hand, you could pass for a human any day. With that thin figure and those eyes could tempt any guard to let you off." "Well, why don't you tell me about yourself." "Not much to tell, grew up on the streets as a thief. I was with the thieves guild for a while until I was on my way back from Markarth to Riften when I got bit out of nowhere by this cloud of shadows. I collapsed, when I woke up it was raining and my neck was bleeding. I stumbled back to riften and managed to get into the hideout unnoticed. When I got there everyone was looking at me weird. I didn't know that my face was as white as death. They fed me and kept me next to the fire but my skin didn't changed color, they said I had been gone for five days. They knew that I was a vampire, but it wasn't until they stabbed me in the back did I realize that they were afraid of me. I ran as fast as I could. I ran and ran till I came here, Sasha welcomed me. She was the first person I met here. That was 86 years ago." "How old are you?" "One hundred and eight, but I froze at 27. All monsters stop growing at some point during they're early years. How old are you?" "I believe I'm the one asking questions." "But I want to know as muck about my partner as possible." "PARTER?"


	6. Chapter 6

"Ya, I told you we work in pairs." "You are totally crazy if you think I'm working with you." "Why, I knew you had it in you from the moment I saw you." "I don't know if this could work." "You just need some training before we go after the Meridians. They serve Meridia as you may have guessed. Bunch of righteous idiots following a coward. Conners was in league with an informant of theirs and that is why I killed him. To cut them from the Empire, but tell me about you." "Not much to tell, bin a hunter all my life. Truth is I don't have many memories of my childhood. I do remember watching my family die at the hands of an invading force. I lived in a nice house with my mother and father and three brothers in Servelea. I know the city deserted know and no one knows were it is."

"I remember the day very well. My mother Oska had taken me and Leaso my youngest brother to Michel's candy store for long taffy treats. "Don't eat it all in one sitting." She would say in her kind voice. The smiles on our faces couldn't cheer her up. My brother had gone to war and was not writing you see, she feared the worst. I knew this because my brother Verto had explained it to me on his day of departure. We walked home on the way looking at the shops and trees and people that inhabited the city that was my home. The sun was shining an orange red in the afternoon and there were clouds off in the distance. The City was made of white stone and green copper roofs. There were plants and vines all over every house with some curling across balconies and some even made it to the roofs covering the house and making it look like a jungle of sorts. The summer air was hot making each breath heavy. The humidity did not seem to bother many people though, it was usual weather. We walked slowly taking in the sites and smells. Suddenly a group of soldiers ran past them, "They must not get past us." They formed a line crossing the street and from between the armor clad men she saw eight worriers in feather and gold covered armor. The guards dropped like flies at the hands of these fighters. "Run! Leaso, Niabi, RUN!" I did, I ran as fast as I could down the street. I turned just in time to see her mother Stabbed through the heart. I began to panic. "Ow, you're hurting me!" Leaso said. I looked and realized I was holding on to his wrist with white knuckles. "I'm sorry but I need to stay close to me." "What are we going to do?" He said beginning to cry. "It will be ok." We ran left down an ally. We ducked across streets and behind buildings until we were at the edge of the city. We bolted for the trees and kept on running until we came to the top of a hill and turned to see the city on fire. "Leaso and I continued to walk for three or four days but he died of illness while we were on our way. I'll never forget those men, what they looked like, what they sounded like." There was a long pause. "I built my shack next to where I buried him." "I'm sorry to hear this. Those were probably the Meridians if they looked like that." "I don't know about this whole mercenary business, it seems wrong killing for money." "The way I see it, we are just getting paid to show the same kindness that they would show us. They want to destroy us and all the other creatures that Nords disapprove of. I just want to live my life you know...not run for it. I want to step into a village and not be stabbed through the heart with a pike. This is why I fight, so that they know that they don't get to decide who is better than who just because of what they say or do... or eat. Who made them decide, their stupid god. That bitch Meridia is a poor excuse for a daedra." "You shouldn't say that," She said cautiously. "Why? What are you going to do about it?" He said looking up at the sky, There was no response. "I want you to know that they will never accept you. As far as they know, you murdered all those people, you killed the general. They know your face if they were prompt about putting out wanted posters. They will hunt you because they don't know that I did it. Niabi, you are a girl with nothing to lose," "Well if I'm going to be trained I had best get to bed." "Ya, its' best if you rest up." "See you tomorrow...partner." She got out of the spring to find the air about the same temperature. "It does sound stupid when you say it like that." She walked back to the building taking in all the information. She decided that she trusted him, he was her only friend here and she needed to stick close to him. She walked back to find the door... slightly open?

She slowly peeked inside and saw someone sitting by the fireplace. "I didn't know this was a common room," she said with a smirk. "It's not" she turned around and stood up. Niabi had a bad feeling about this one. "You might think you are safe here but you're not. Your too cute to be here. You think you can just kill people and it wont matter to you? These are people you won't know anything about except they have a hit on their head" She turned back to the fire and warmed the back of her hands. Niabi went to sit down next to her. "I'm not even sure if I can go through with this, killing seems wrong." "If you want to be happy in life you have to love what you do don't you? You don't belong here," she licking her lips. "The fist kill is always the hardest, but after that it's not so bad. It will be easier for you killing with a bow that with a knife." "How do you know I use a bow?" "You look like a hunter, and its right over there," she said pointing to the mammoth tusk bow Niabi had left out on the dresser. "Nero told you I'm a succubus right?" She nodded. "Did he tell you we would be sharing rooms?" "Over my dead body!" "I'd like that very much, we would have so much fun!" she said with a smile narrowing her eyes. "Just kidding!" It wasn't very convincing. "Weren't you going on mission?" "Of corse I was, you were there." She shifted the logs on the fire with the poker and sat back on the cold marble floor. "You know that guy Forks," Niabi said. "He is so uptight, he did use to be in the Stormcloaks though. Then he became a wolf-born. Was hairy enough already I say." "Looks like he impaled two small black animals to the side of his face," Niabi said. They both laughed. "Were are you going to be for the night?" "Other room." Gesturing to a door she had not noticed in the time she had come in. "So, what did you talk about with Nero?" "He talked about how the Black Fang has been around and what they are trying to accomplish. Apparently the Maridians leveled Servelea but I'm not so sure. I mean why do they hate monsters so much?" "Because we kill them Niabi, we kill them and eat them. Their leader Maridia also hates monsters and we hate her to," she got up and yawned. "I have to go and get some rest, I have to leave bring some stupid twat back here before he gets to Winterhold with some unsettling information. You on the other hand have to get ready for you're training tomorrow and learn to not suck at fighting if you want to get past one assignment." "I am going to stay, what other option do I have?" Sasha closed the door and Niabi sat next to the fire alone and wondered about her decisions. Her anger at the Meridians was matched with her uncertainty about this whole place. She tended the fire for and hour or so listening to the crackle of the flames and their mesmerizing shimmer. She trusted Nero, he seemed like a noble soul. Though he had an anger in him, she admired that side of him. She decided to follow Sasha's advice and head to bead. She put a few more logs on the fire and rolled into her new bead. The sheets were cold but the mattress was so soft, it was like nothing she had ever slept in before. "If this isn't reason enough to stay, I don't know what is," she said to herself as he dozed off into slumber.

Niabi awoke refreshed and groggy. She lay in bed for a few seconds trying to remember how she got here. Her memories came back to her and she slowly got out of bed and got dressed. She looked for her clothes on the floor and found that they were folded neatly on the dresser. Next to them was a note addressed to her from Nero. "You will meet Mari at the agility training area that I showed you last night. She should give you some insight about the business you will be partaking in. Good luck!" This Mari character, who was she? The hand to hand instructor! Niabi had never had to learn how to fight with her fists, why much a rabbit when you can shoot it. She wasn't confrontational either so it served her no purpose learning how to fight. The floor was so cold, she walked over to the dresser to get her cloths and put them on. The fox hide was warm and soft and the belts of wolf leather hugged her perfectly making it very easy to move in. She had used these cloths as long as she had been on her own and she had worked hard making them. She trudged across the room and over to the door and stepped out into the humid air. the stones across the water were dry and warm compared to the floor of her room. She turned back at the dirty old shack and gave it a good look. There was no second floor as far as she could see, and there was only one door. The window was covered with broken shutters and the walls were made of wood and stone. The roof was rotting wood and it looked like it would cave in. The other half of the building was in surprisingly good condition. There were stained glass windows with pictures of people dancing and there was a nice front door with ornate silver around the frame. She turned to continue on her walk to the training ground. Niabi used one of the many stone paths across the water to get to the scaffolding she had seen the night before. The scaffolding was made of thick pieces of wood about a foot thick. It did not appear to be an unfinished project, in fact, the scaffolding itself seemed to be the original design. It was very elegant in that there were many wooden arches suspended 20 feet off the ground with little free running paths and platforms galore. It was completely overrun by foliage. "What the fuck are you looking at?" Niabi turned sharply towards the deep female voice. There was a dark elf standing about thirty yards away but there was something off about her. She had braided black hair that went all the way down to her lower back and her arms were crossed across her chest. She was wearing a dress and that made a sharp upside down v shape up the front, with a grey lining against the otherwise black armor. There were belts and buckles around her waist and she saw two strait swords that curved into hooked ends on her back. "Just come over here, Oh take your time Im in no rush." Her voice was deep but had a very sarcastic tone to everything she said. She walked over to this women and as she got closer she noticed that her hands ,and fee were webbed and that her collar was open enough to show part of tiny pair slits on either side of her neck. She stood in front of Mari and waited. "I'm Mari and I will be teaching you how to not die." "I'm pretty good at that, I'm here aren't I," Niabi said. "Are you quite done?" There was silence between them. "What type of knife do you know how to use best?" "Type of knife?" "Yea," she said mockingly. "A hunting knife?" Mari rolled her eyes "Well, since a hunting knife is not a type, why don't I just take you down to the armory." She turned on her heels and started walking towards a small building that looked something like a mausoleum. She opened the large iron door and it was dark inside and it took her a moment for her eyes to adjust to the darkness. What she saw inside was a single podium. They both stepped inside and she closed the door. The room was lit by a single lantern hanging above the pillar. There was an indent at the top of the podium shaped like a bowl with a single hole in the center. The hole was blocked with a blade hilt sticking out. "That's a tiny armory you got their," she said with a smirk. "We must know your most inner thoughts to give you the perfect weapon. Take the blade and cut your palm, or would you like me to do it?" Niabi snatched the blade up as quickly as she could. She looked at the blade to find it looked nice and sturdy, the blade was sharp with dried blood on the edge. The handle was wrapped in leather with red and white feathers at the hilt. She raised the blade to her palm and stared at it for a moment. Inflicting harm to yourself is not as easy as doing so to others. The challenge is the fear of the amount of pain. "FOR GOD SAKES, NOT YOUR RIGHT HAND YOU BUMBLING TWIT," Mari screamed and ran over to her snatching the blade from her hands. "Why?" "How am I supposed to train you with a busted hand?" She flipped the dagger so that she was holding it by the blade. "Do it to your left," she said giving the dagger back to Niabi. Niabi positioned the blade on her palm. Her heart raced as she thought about it. It would hurt, there was no way around that. She went for it, dragging the blade across her palm. She didn't even break the skin. Mari burst out laughing. "Quiet!" Niabi said determined to regain her bravery. She pressed the edge against her hand as hard as she could and with a quick swipe blood fell.

There was a slight stinging sensation and drops of blood were pooling in the dish. Niabi clutched her hand and squeezed hard, trying to distract herself from the real pain. "Ah, would you look at that," Mari pointed to the bowl which had blood coming out of the hole in the center. The level continued to rise until it was filled to the brim. "Go on then," Mari said. Niabi stepped back, perplexed at the turn of events. "Do what?" "Reach in and grab your blade you twit." Niabi reached in eagerly she felt the tick warm liquid roll up her arm as he reached in deeper and deeper. The bottom seemed to have disappeared she reached in a few more inches and felt something hard. She felt around it, it must have been the pommel. She reached down a bit further and grabbed the handle. She slowly pulled the knife to the surface. When the weapon came out from the blood she saw what it was. It was a blade the same size as a butchers knife. The blade stared at about three inches across which gracefully tapered to a point. There were holes in the blade that were created by and intricate carving of snakes in a nest. The handle was slightly curved with a sort of rough rapping of snake skin. The pommel was a snake head with ruby eyes. She stared at it for a while marveling in its beauty, the silver having a dark orange look in the torch light. "Its serpentine all right." "A clip point butchers knife, an oddity." "Where did it come from?" "We have an infinite supply of weapons, putting you blood in just help us find the right weapons for you. But you're not done yet there is more in there I'd bet." "More?" Niabi was eager to find out what else they had for her. She reached in quickly searching for something, a bow, anything. She felt something, it was soft and squishy. It grabbed her, hard, it was a hand! She writhed and pulled as hard as she could but the hand yanked her under. She dared not open her eyes. She felt Mari's hands on her shoulders tugging vigorously. "It's been a long time since we have seen your kind serpent." There was muffled shouting from above the surface. Her heart was racing and she tugged harder, these voices seemed to be so close it was horrible. "A gift from your people." She felt a hard object curl around her wrist again and again. It was not tight like the hands grip but light. She could feel it going all the way up her arm. There was another set of muffled yells and then she felt another set of hands on her shoulders. Then the hand released its grip and she was yanked immediately from the bloody murk. She looked at her wrist and screamed. There were silver snakes curled all around her arm. She shook her arm violently but they did not budge. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Nero, his lips moved but she couldn't hear anything over the hissing. "Do not be alarmed mistresssss, we will not hurt you." She stopped shaking her arm and just looked at them, they were not moving but their heads were all looking at her. "You can talk?" "We are here to serve you." Nero and Mari looked at each other with the same expression.

"Who are you talking to?" Nero looked concerned but she didn't respond. Niabi's face was covered in blood and she had to wipe her eyes to see more clearly. Around her forearm were 7 metal snakes. They were very short and thin and were about as big as a normal bracelet. She studied them and found them all identical. "What are you?" "We are a gift, from your people. We are here to serve and protect you." "What happened to you?" Mari walked over to her and crouched down. "There was a hand, I heard voices." "Thats typical, everyone's experience is different. The armory is a strange thing." Nero came over to her and pulled her up "It's ok Niabi your fine," he said. "Look, the blood hasn't gone down yet. That means there is more gear for you." Niabi's hands were shaking. "I wish I were something other than a serpent." "Niabi, you must confront what you are and accept it. No matter how strange in may seem to you at first. You are a serpent, you were born one and you will die one, there is no way around that." He patted her back "Come on, Mari and I are going to be right here if anything happens." "Ok... ok I'll do it." "There are more of us waiting in there," the snakes said. She shushed them and walked back over to the pedestal. The last thing she wanted was for everyone to think she was crazy and talking to herself. People had thought she was strange before, a girl living out in the woods all by herself. They would stare at here when ever she went into town. The whispers or insults, she looked nothing like anyone else with her black hair and green eyes. The warm sensation once again traveled up her arm. It reminded her so much of when she would skin and gut animals. Looking for that special cut of meat or a certain organ. She felt another hard metal object and quickly yanked it before it yanked her. It was a single silver snake like the others that ate its own tail to create a never ending loop. It was a necklace. Oh great another piece of jewelry, she thought as she inspected it. It didn't appear to have any unusual characteristics, she ran her hand all the way around the loop and came back to the head to the end and noticed that the snakes tong was sticking out. It looked unusual so she pushed it in. The secret lever gave and she pushed it until the tail shot out of the mouth connected by a string. It turned into a bow. "Ingenious!" Nero said. Niabi smiled as the blood drained from the fountain. "I like them, they suit you," he said smiling. The string was held through the mouth of the snake and a notch in the tail. She gabbed it by the two ends and pushed the tail back into the mouth. The string was pulled back into the mouth as she pushed. She finally put the tail back in and it locked with a satisfying click. "The blood has been drained, it is time to start you're training." Mari said as she turned to open the door. "You'll do great." Nero said giving her a pat on the back. They followed Mari back to the training area. They found a stone floored circle in the center of the scaffolding. Mari turned and drew one of the hooked swords from her back and turned towards Niabi with the sword pointing to the ground. "First you must find a stance that is to your liking." Niabi put one leg back, she gripped her knife in her right hand and held her left slightly forward. "Are you to block an attack with your non dominant, unarmed, and damaged left hand?" "It won't be damaged forever." "Very good!" Mari said exuding sarcasm. Nero snickered standing off to the side. Mari shuffled forward and upswung at Niabi. She tilted back to avoid the swing, the hook of the blade missing her chin by a hair. Mari went at her again from the side and Niabi managed to deflect her subsequent blows with her blade. "Deflect the force of my attacks away from you instead of taking the force. You will become less tired." Niabi tried tilting her blade at an angle and found that Mari's sword glanced off with little effort. "Your enemy may try to disarm or destabilize you before you have a chance to notice what they were doing." Mari said as she continued to hammer away at Niabi. Niabi dodged one attack and decided to take a stab at Mari but she simply ducked under it, Niabi felt the hook of Mari's blade on her shin moments before falling on her face. "And you were doing so well." She said helping her up. "You've got instinct and you're not a bad at defense, but your attacks are telegraphed and sloppy." "What are you teaching me?" "Experience is the best teacher not me. I teach you by allowing you to teach yourself in a safe environment." What is the point of teaching someone if you do nothing? She is strange but Nero learned from her and he is very good at it. While she and Mari fought she noticed that Forks came over and spoke to Nero, she didn't know what they were saying, but while he was around she tried extra hard. She did not want to look weak in the eyes of the leader. She didn't notice an upward swipe from Mari's hooks until the last second. She had just enough time to get out of the way. The near missing edge grazed agains her bicep giving her a slight cut. "You see, I don't have to tell you to focus on me. The cut on your arm does it for me." Niabi was determined to cut Mari now. She went on the attack, dodging instead of blocking, stabbing at her. Mari deflected all her blows with ease, and also managed ti trip her. "Finished." She said, putting the curve against her throat. Niabi cursed. "You have a lot to learn. You sacrifice balance for an opening to attack. You ignore what your opponent is doing. What they are doing is just as important as what you are doing. It would be easier to train a fish." "We will help you master!" The snakes said. What could the possibly do? She thought. "Just give us a chance!" They all said in unison. She decided to take them for a test run. She got up into her fighting stance. "I wouldn't be so shure… fish." She said mockingly. Mari smiled "Iv'e herd better insults from a toddler." They both started fighting again. Mari went in with a jab and with her other sword went for Niabi's leg. Niabi dodged to the left and Mari went at her again with and overhead strike and again going for her leg with the other. Niabi jumped back and Mari did the same thing, but this time Niabi saw it coming. She stomped on the strait part of her blade pulling it out of Mari's hand and onto the ground and then kicked it behind her before Mari could get it back. "Very good!" Mari said, slashing it her. Niabi decided it was time to use the snakes. She jumped back and put her dagger in her mouth. She then grabbed the bracelets and shoved them off her wrists and they went flying through the air. They straitened out and opened their mouths in mid air. They latched onto Mari, some on her wrist and the others on her chest. She tried to sweep them off but Niabi dove at her and pushed her down onto the ground. She touched the point of her dagger to the bridge of Mari's nose. "Finished."

She heard clapping, from Nero. "If it worked on her it will work on anybody." She smiled and helped Mari to her feet. "I was not expecting that." "That I defeated you on my first day?" "Shut up." "Good show!" Forks said. It was hard to imagine that there was a man behind that beard, but his eyes were so soft, a hazel color. He stood tall, taller that most men. He was very strong, but his hairiness was the strange part about him. It came out of everywhere, his nose, his ears, his beard grew from almost the base of his neck and it was thick and curly. It looked like the kind of hair you would find on a bear or a wolf. Niabi thought of many ways she could turn him into a rug and didn't hear him until he asked for a second time. "I think she passes," Nero said, cocking his eyebrow at Mari. "For now, I have nothing to teach her. But if you feel she needs more training I would be… Happy to oblige." "Well I'll see you to at dinner." Forks waddled off in a cheerful manner. Mari gave Niabi the faintest death glare as she turned to collect her hooks and leave. Niabi looked around, she hadn't noticed all the members watching. Some were vampires, others were part sprigand, and others were strange nightmarish creatures. One had a row of razor sharp tusks coming out of his mouth and another was missing her jaw entirely. "Lets walk a bit," Nero said. They went away from the crowd and walked along the path back to Niabi's cabin. "I don't think Mari likes me that much." "Really? She doesn't like anyone. A real bitch to, you'd think she was joking but she never is. She just doesn't know how to sound as mad as she is." "I knew someone like that in Whiterun, she sold food in the town square. Never gave me a fair trade, and always glared at me when I took my business to the next stall." "Did I tell you about Forks?" "I don't remember, last night is kind of a blur." "I love the hairy bastard, he's a good leader to. But my god he smells." "I noticed." "I've been given an assignment, protection detail. Standard, I was just wondering if you would care to gain some experience in the field. This kind of mission would be an easy way to start off." "Sure, but I'd like to get some fuel first." "Well, dinner starts In about 30 minutes. Go back to your room and get packed and meet me in the dining hall.


End file.
