EliteCommander

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

"Well I do want to grant myself an extended lifespan while I am as young as possible." Ahnasha answered, though she paused to give a moment of thought to how to explain why that was the case. "This magic can both stall aging and reverse its effects, yes, but not without limitation. If I am too old when I start the process, then I won't be able to make myself as comparatively young, if that makes sense. Technically, life extension does not have an upper limit as far as how long one can extend the bounds of their life, but it does start effecting you eventually. My body will still start showing signs of age after enough centuries have passed. Keep myself alive long enough, and insanity might take hold. Of course, if I can start this process soon, then that won't happen until after your natural lifespan ends. And after you pass on, well, there will be no reason for me to continue extending my life."

Ahnasha slowly pulled her arms around Fendros. "Basically, you don't have to worry about that. We just need to get the souls I need. If it makes sense to try to capture a grand soul, I'll do it, but that shouldn't stop me from getting the easier black souls. Just promise me you're not going to put yourself in danger over all of this, alright? No secret Falmer hunts in the middle of the night."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Ever skeptical, Ahnasha narrowed her eyes as she swam closer to Fendros. "And if that warlord is indoors? In one of the smaller caves or Dwemer buildings, like they usually are? Ever since the Falmer became too nervous to raid us, they've been very closed into their homes. Even before that, the warlords were not usually out in the open. They're smarter than the rest of their kind."

Reaching out her hand, Ahnasha placed it on Fendros' shoulder. "If we happen to have an opportunity to collect a grand soul, then of course I will help trap it right there and then. It would be stupid not to. It's not as if I have a problem with using white souls. What I have a problem with is putting you or me in so much unnecessary danger without any good reason. We need to hunt down Vile's agents and kill them as a part of this war, but we don't need to go hunting powerful Falmer or other monsters. That's the difference. A risk we don't have to take, compared to a risk we have no choice but to take. I understand that you're not entirely comfortable with necromancy, but can't you see how much good it will do for us?"

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Ahnasha was far from confident in Fendros' plan, partially because of some legitimate hurdles they would need to overcome, and partially because she knew his proposed methods would take much longer. "Fendros, it isn't that easy. Sure, if I could easily fill a grand soul gem, I would do it in a heartbeat. But...well I know you don't know that much about enchanting, but a grand soul gem is a very valuable thing. Losing one of those would be like, I don't know. losing a suit of plate armor. It's a major resource and not something that someone just forgets about. Sure, we get plenty of soul gems down here, but I just don't think the enchanters are going to be okay with losing track of their most valuable assets." She argued. Although, she was not actually completely confident that Fendros wasn't correct. They did have more grand soul gems than they could fill.

"I'm lucky the enchanters have enough taboos with necromancy that they don't keep close track of the black soul gems we obtain, especially considering they trap grand souls as well..." She continued, immediately regretting her words. A black soul gem could technically be used in all the same capacity as a white soul gem. The difficulty in obtaining gems was not her primary concern with pursuing white souls instead of black souls. In an attempt to recover, she continued her argument quickly. "Look, the gems aren't even the biggest problem. How would we ever have both the manpower and opportunity to capture the soul of one of these beings? Most of them are rare, and even if you do find them, that is a very dangerous fight. Mammoths are always found with giants, usually multiple of them. Minotaurs don't even live in Skyrim, and the Falmer warlords in this cavern are always protected by a village worth of weaker Falmer. And I wouldn't even begin to know how to find a wraith or a xivilai. People are just much more common, much easier targets."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Ahnasha shook her head and spoke a bit dismissively to Fendros' fears. "I think you're too worried. Have I ever done anything that would make you think I would murder someone like that? And it's not like we only kill one person at a time. We trap all the souls in one bandit camp, and I'll be prepared for over a decade, once I just need to maintain. The biggest obstacle is getting everything started."

Fendros' question about the white souls almost made Ahnasha regret mentioning it. Now that he knew an alternative existed, she could guess that he was going to try to convince her to pursue it, regardless of how impractical it would be. "Powerful things. Large, strong, and dangerous creatures or Daedra. It can be hard to know, but things like mammoths, strong minotaurs, xivilai, and other beings can have a soul to match the strength of a black soul. Provided we could find, soul trap, and kill any of those things, there is also the fact that a Dwarven centurion requires a grand soul to work. Our hunters have been tasked with obtaining them in the past. If we do manage to fill a grand white soul gem, you just know that it is going to go making one of those machines instead of what I need it for."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Ahnasha crossed her arms defensively, though quickly realized that she probably should be getting undressed if she wanted to sell the illusion that she actually wanted to swim. "It's not murder if they attack me. Besides, if we do survive this war, we kill people all the time. It's just a part of our lifestyle. The world will never run out of bandits, highwaymen, or other scum, and it won't be hard to find them if we ever go back to living in the wilds."

Once undressed, Ahnasha turned and took a few steps into the water. It was certainly cool, but not unbearable. "And, well, white souls can...technically work. It just takes a lot more of them, unless they are grand white souls, but those are even harder to come by than black souls."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Ahnasha hesitated as she looked around at the people around them, many of whom were not part of their pack. "We should go for a swim I think, dear. Is sounds fun; relaxing." She said at a more average conversational volume. Seeing as no one was finished with their meals, Ahnasha suspected that no one would be joining them for at least a short time.

Ahnasha left Fendros little room for argument when she grabbed his hand and stood up to guide him away, towards the nearest river. She kept her eyes straight forward, facing away from the group behind them. "I don't need any more research. Marcaille said I know everything I need to know; I can extend my life. I know the process inside and out, and I have practiced it on some short-lived creatures. The concept is no different for a person. All I need now is the resources to accomplish it. Unfortunately, it requires a...hefty investment at first. A few dozen black souls. That's what I need. With that kind of soul energy, I can initiate the process. There may be more efficient methods out there, but I don't know them. I'll also need a fresh black soul occasionally to maintain the...I guess you'd call it an enchantment. Fortunately, I'll only need one every few years once it is started. I know that doesn't sound like too many souls, but I'll need a few dozen black soul gems to begin with, which is a pain in and of itself. Then I'll need people to fill them, but I can't just take someone's soul in front of any random warrior from the clan. I need to be able to do it discretely. It could take a long time, and..."

Breathing out a sigh, Ahnasha stopped once they reached the river and took Fendros' hands in hers. "I'm almost in my thirties, Fendros. I know it might be hard for you to really get a sense of my timeframes, but...Dunmer live for over a thousand years on the high end, right? That means I would be, what? Almost in my three hundreds? Strictly speaking, you are older than me, yes. But, in terms of my body, you can basically consider yourself married to a three hundred year old woman. Every year that I don't perform the ritual is like losing ten years with you."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

"Huh, oh, no." Ahnasha responded in confusion, as she had not actually intended to speak to Fendros. She was more exclaiming her frustrations to herself. Regardless, it was a topic she had been meaning to talk to him about, though not necessarily in a public setting. "I was just noticing how much Rhazii has grown, and...I really feel that I need to bring my, uh, research project to completion. I'm not getting any younger; if I don't dedicate myself more to it soon, there won't be any more time to wait. I need..." She began, pausing as she brought her voice down to a whisper. "Souls. Many of them."

---

Ri'vashi did not have much of a response for Gallus. He was not wrong, and she knew consciously that she would have as much support as she needed from all of those close to her, but the sting of her loss was still too fresh for it to go away. Slowly, she lifted herself up, using the glowing muchroom's stalk as a support while she brought herself to her feet. "Ri'vashi thinks she needs to rest. Just lay down for a while."

Ri'vashi took only a few steps towards the city before looking back towards Gallus. "But...thank you, Gallus."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Ahnasha was, naturally, sitting with Fendros, just across from Janius and Kaleeth. Rhazii was with Kaj-Julan and the other children having their meals, though they would probably be running around playing just as soon as they were finished. They were in a safe enough area, so Ahnasha felt no need to keep a particularly close eye on him. He was getting old enough that she could trust him to be at least a bit more independent. Certainly, if he was going to learn, she would have to give him the freedom to make a few mistakes.

Although, as Ahnasha's mind went to Rhazii's growing maturing, the matter of aging once again found its way into the forefront of her mind. Leaning back onto her hands, she closed her eyes and let out a sigh. "I really need to hurry." She muttered, though Fendros was perfectly within earshot.

---

Ri'vashi stared straight ahead. At this point, her voice was wavering as she spoke, making her seem chocked up. "We are always fighting. We'll always be fighting. There's nothing else to do but fight."

Tilting her head down, Ri'vashi let out a long, soft, shuddering breath. "Maybe one day we'll accomplish something with it." She added before leaning herself up against Gallus, as he was doing to her. For the moment, she just wanted to rest in silence and try not to think too much about the future.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Yeah, the next thing I have in mind before the final act takes place after a few more years. It's a sort of small-medium sized event, but I'm putting together a lot of the things I wanted to accomplish into it for the sake of time. It's your call for what you wanted to do with your background thing. Without knowing what it is, I...really don't know.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Ahnasha was close by, so Rhazii did not have to go far to present his question to his mother. Ahnasha was generally strict and disciplined with him, but she was also fair. She stuck to the rules she created, but this would not be the first time she made a specific exception for him. "Well, seeing as this is a celebration, little one, you have my permission to eat what you like. But, don't go expecting this to change any rules. This is for special occasions only."

Julan grabbed up his sweetcake the moment it was cut for him, to the envy of those friends whose parents were not quite as generous. Regardless, their regular dinner contained some treats of its own. Chaurus meat and eggs were staples of the clan, since they were convenient to raise underground. So, meats like mutton and beef were more of a rarity, seeing as there was little reason to raise other livestock. Aside from the psychological factor of eating giant insects, there had been few complaints about the taste of the chaurus meat, but the steaks and lamb chops they had brought with them today provided some welcome variety in their diet.

Julan gave some curious looks to his friends. "Is anyone else getting a new name, or is it just me?"

An Argonian girl, the daughter of the only other Argonian parent among the group, raised up her hand. She was about a year younger than Julan, but unlike him, her more traditional parents had not given her any nickname to go by during her early years. Still, her friends found other ways to refer to her. "I'm getting a name next year. I guess I'll have a big celebration too."

---

Ri'vashi looked away. "You don't know what Ri'vashi could have done." She responded, though she did not have the energy to continue to put into arguing against Gallus' points. Questioning her about her father did cause her to at least stop and think about him, but at least at first, it was difficult to tell if that would actually have a positive effect on her.

"He might not be ashamed. Maybe. But that still doesn't change that Ri'vashi lost everything he built. She inherited his greatest work and let it be...smashed into nothing. All the people Ri'vashi grew up with, she has no idea which of them are even still alive. If any. Even if coming up here wasn't a mistake, Ri'ashi still could have helped. She could have gave them more forces, or told Saras to dedicate more gold to their spies. We knew the enemy had been operating in Elsweyr, we knew they would be searching for them. There was certainly something we could have done." Ri'vashi reached up her hands and ran them down the front of her face. "What does Ri'vashi have to do to stop this enemy?"