Ahnasha was not one to refuse to defend herself, even in this situation. Although, whereas she would usually be much more hostile, she could temper her response in this situation. She had prepared herself for this kind of a response. "And do you believe you can truly make those judgments without really knowing me? We did just meet, after all. I was born in Leyawiin; my parents were modest traders, and, unfortunately for me, devout followers of the Eight. I reluctantly went to chapel with them every week, and grew more and more disillusioned with it all. I had a hard time bringing myself to revere the Aedra in any real sense, though I think even worse was the self-righteousness of some of their followers. Being a follower of the Reclamations in a Cyrodilic city, I am sure you can sympathize. How they will subtly chastise you with a smile on their face for not revering their gods, how they like to work mentions of it into every conversation. It was little wonder that I found Hircine to be more worthy of reverence than them." Ahnasha began, carefully tailoring her words to her audience. Calia, like most Dunmer, was a Daedra worshiper, following the Reclamations. Given how prevalent the worship of the Eight was in Imperial culture, Daedra worshipers tended to feel marginalized. They were often agitated by, or even angered with followers of the Aedra. It was another potential shared experience between herself and Calia. "Hircine, however...I found his sphere to be both powerful, and honorable. He encourages strength among his followers, without disrupting the natural order of Tamriel. Indeed, his influence follows the natural order of predator and prey. I was granted an audience with an aspect of Hircine himself after I hunted and killed a powerful minotaur." Ahnasha explained. Fortunately for her, there was no particular distaste for Hircine among the Temple of the Reclamations. He was, of course, not worshiped by them, but unlike some other Daedra, he was not considered to be an enemy of Azura, Boethia, or Mephala. he was simply another Daedra, so respect for Hircine and his sphere was not mutually exclusive with the worship of the Reclamations. "Hircine led me to my current pack, just as he led us to Fendros after he was attacked by the feral werewolf, so it was more than simple luck that allowed us to protect you from Fendros' beast spirit after he was attacked. I believe fate may have more for us than simple survival; we are doing good work across Tamriel. Hence how much we have traveled." Ahnasha elected not to become any more specific immediately, and instead glanced to Fendros. She gave him a look to suggest that they might elaborate on that topic. The fact was that Fendros was not [i]just[/i] a lycan. He was a lycan in the pack of Hircine's Champion. For one familiar with the Daedra, like Calia, she would know what that meant. She would know that the leader of their pack had been judged to be the most powerful of Hircine's followers. They had personally had contact with multiple Daedric Princes, including the Reclamation Mephala. Knowing that one of her gods found Ahnasha worthy to speak to directly at one of her shrines could potentially shift Calia's opinion on her. As well, Ahnasha was thinking of a way to frame her pursuit for life extension in a way that would not connect her to necromancy. --- Upon Harriet's request, Meesei's expression become somehow even more serious. "It is within my capability to remove that ring, yes, but you are not asking for something simple, I hope you understand. The ring was not meant to exist within a living person for so long, so it does not surprise me that you have begun to feel it. However, to remove it requires cutting you open once more, which means I will need another healer to keep you stable while I work. And, even though I am the only that created it, there is still some risk to remove it. I do believe with reasonable confidence that I can extract it without triggering the enchantment, but there is still a small possibility of failure. It was, after all, specifically designed not to be removed. So yes, I can take it back, but do not think it to be a trivial matter." --- Lorag kept looking away. He was angry, but at this point, there was no specific reason to believe that he was angry with Janius. However, his response was less than polite. "What's goin' through my head? All the different reasons why that traitor is lying to us. We need to just go in there and put a sword in her gut. No way that child's mine. What does the kid even matter anyway? She killed Jerrick, so she needs to get what she deserves."