EliteCommander

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

"Hmm, well I suppose that is true. I mean, it would be nice to be able to study it on our own as well, but...you know what, let's get the novel. I think time spent with you would be more valuable than some extra practice. Meesei should be able to teach me well enough without it." Ahnasha said, replacing the cojuration tome on the shelf. She then went back over to the section with the novels and picked out one that had caught her eye earlier. She wasn't familiar with any of the authors, but she had an eye for a good book when she saw one. The kind of language they used, how the opening flowed together and how impactful it seemed, those were all things she could gather skimming the first few pages. With her book selected, she walked with Fendros over to the counter and started to count out the coin to cover the cost of the book.

As Ahnasha was gathering her coin, the Bosmer leaned forward on the counter and spoke with a friendly tone. "Say, why don't you get that other book you were looking at?"

"Oh, we don't have the coin for-" Ahnash began before the Bosmer held up his hand to interrupt her.

"The coin you paid for this one will be fine. Take the books, both of them. Consider it a discount. For young, romantic couples only." He said with a smile.

"Oh, I didn't expect...I mean, thank you." Ahnasha responded, honestly not expecting that sort of kindness from the locals of this area, though she supposed he wasn't a Dunmer who carried their...less desirable traditions so proudly.

"No need to thank me; it warms my heart to see open minded couples such as yourself. A rare sight around here. You remind me of my wife." The Bosmer explained.

"You married a Khajiit?" Ahnasha asked curiously.

The Bosmer chuckled slightly. "No, not a Khajiit, an Orc, not that the distinction mattered to some of this city's fine citizens. There are some around here who did not seem to have anything better to do than to pour their hate out on us." He said with a sight. "I shouldn't be too hard on them, though. Most of the folk around here are great people. Wouldn't live here if they weren't. You know what they say, though, it's always the rotten kwama egg which smells the most.

Ahnasha returned a chuckle. "Agreed. Where is your wife now?" She asked, glancing around the store.

The Bosmer's expression turned a bit more solemn, though he did not seem upset. "Orc lifespans aren't like other elves, I'm afraid. She died a long time ago."

Ahnasha's gaze moved down to her feet as she began to regret her question. "Oh...I'm sorry."

"Don't worry, I've had plenty of time to come to terms with her loss." The Bosmer responded, still keeping an upbeat and friendly tone. "She wouldn't have wanted me to spend the next few centuries mourning her. No, running her bookstore is enough to keep my days filled with joy. It has been a while since I have seen her, but Y'ffre willing, I will see her again. Come on, no need to sour your mood. Why don't you go get the other book from the shelf as well?" He said, taking the coin she had paid for the first book and storing it away behind the counter.

"Of course, thank you again, um...I don't think I caught your name." Ahnasha commented.

"Earondil. And yours?"

"Ahnasha." She answered before pausing, as Earondil had turned his attention to Fendros, looking to him expectantly.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Ahnasha nodded. "Yeah, I suppose I did say I intended to learn about it. I saw a few copies of this pass through my parents' store, but I never got around to reading it. It's by...Seif-ij Hidja." She said, reading the name off of the title page so she could mispronounce it confidently. "I remember reading a bit about him before. He was an Argonian who lived back in the Second Era, I think. He was the apprentice to the famous Morian Zenas, a master Altmer conjurer who ended up getting lost in Oblivion. I think that is what this book is about, from what I've glanced through. I think Seif-ij also wrote a few books on racial clothing styles...for some reason. I remember reading the one he wrote about Daedric styles a few years ago. That one had caught my eye, for obvious reasons."

Ahnasha closed the book, keeping it in her hands as she walked back over to the novels. "I don't know, I'm debating on which one to get. This one would definitely be useful, but I have to admit, I also like the idea of us sitting down by the fire, reading a nice story long into the night. I suppose we could also study conjuration together, if you wanted, but that would hardly be as relaxing. Hmm...I don't know, the tome, or a novel? I wish we had enough for both."

Elder Scrolls: Terror of the Padomaic

Hmm, I had hoped the interest check would garner more...interest. What is the state of everyone here? Perhaps we can go with what we have.

Blood Act I~ Ghosts of the Past

I actually just put it up.

Blood Act I~ Ghosts of the Past

Dirssi Xhotharanil

---

Dirssi had left the dining hall and was making her way back to the courtyard to wait with her guards for their room to be prepared. She had expected that they would need to stay at the college for a while, but she still hoped the situation could be resolved quickly. She had become wrapped up in her thoughts and, consequently, became lost in the unfamiliar hallways of the college.

After wandering for a time, she found herself in a short, mostly empty hallway, save for a few demons she passed by. Suddenly, the silence was broken by the unmistakable sounds of fighting echoing through the hallways. She could hear screaming coming from both in front and behind her, so this fighting was not likely spanned sparring. Turning around, she saw that the gazes of the demons she had passed were firmly on her. There were three human-sized imp-like demons, along with one that was larger and more humanoid. Most of its features were obscured by its primal-looking armor, but as it extended its longsword forward and pointed at her, its intentions were clear.

The three imp charged ahead first, but Dirssi did not make any attempt to flee. Instead, she let out a low sigh, then removed her cloak and let it drop to the ground, revealing the light armor underneath, which was made from the tough scaled hides of a large, land-based predator in the Scorched Lands. She wore two bandoliers crossed over her chest, each bearing six daggers, and had a barbed shortsword sheathed at her waist. She drew the sword and a dagger, then waited for her opponents to reach her.

Dirssi was taller than the imps, so the first one to reach her jumped at her as it tried for her throat, however; at the perfect moment, she dashed to the side to allow the imp to fall past her, then drove her sword into its spine. Knowing that the other demons were only fractions of a second behind, she spun around and slashed with her dagger, nearly severing the hand over the second imp. In one motion, she pulled her sword from the first imp's back, then embedded it into the second's neck. At the same time, she flipped around the dagger in her off-hand and threw it into the last imp's skull as soon as she had a clear shot.

All three imps were dead, but the last demon, the armored humanoid, was now upon her. Its longsword was already in full swing, bound for her throat. She did not have time to block with her blade, so she raised up her empty hand as if she were going to catch the sword. Just as it seemed she was going to lose her hand, her decay magic turned half of the blade to dust before her. Dirssi's response was immediate. Since her blade could not pierce its armor, she simply drove her hand into its chest. The armor disintegrated on contact, and its flesh did not fair any better. As she did not know exactly where the demon's heart would be, she spread her magic throughout its chest cavity, rotting away its flesh from the inside out. Its helmet obscured its face, but she could hear it cough up blood before its lifeless body fell to the ground.

Once she had recovered her dagger, Dirssi moved on, attempting to find someone of authority in the college. Even after moving just one hallway, she confirmed that her attack was no isolated incident. She saw a student get cut down before her, and from the sounds echoing through the halls, such chaos was occurring everywhere in the area, perhaps the entire college. Perhaps she had been to quick to become optimistic about her chances of finding the person she was after. With demons now ravaging the college, it could be that he would die before proper justice could be done. She killed a few more lesser demons while moving through the halls, trying to find her way around, until eventually she came across something larger and more threatening. It was tall, bulky, and seemed to have a dozen faces scattered across its imposing torso, and, by the number of bodies scattered around, it was deadly. With her abilities, it would have been easy enough for her to escape, but this demon was a danger someone would have to deal with eventually, so that someone might as well be her. If she was ever going to locate Ssarak, this threat to the college would need to be ended.

One of the beast's many faces spotted Dirssi, causing it to turn its attention immediately to her. It advanced forward, destroying anything in its path, but the Esyire warrior showed no signs of fear, no hesitation, or even a hint that she was going to flee. Instead, she only grasped her weapons, stared it down, and waited.

Blood Act I~ Ghosts of the Past

I remember reading a study once that selfish behavior is evolutionarily unfavorable in the long run, so that is an argument which has merit.

Although, the psychopath thing isn't quite spot on. Rather, increased wealth has a tendency to lead to decreased empathy. People tend to compare themselves to their peers, and since the peers of the wealthy are often other wealthy people, their perspective shifts into a small bubble of society that they have a hard time seeing out of.

Blood Act I~ Ghosts of the Past

I'm in the middle of writing that post for Dirssi, but it is late, so I will need to finish it tomorrow. Also, Tyrael and Satori are still in the dining hall, right? Or at least nearby. I was thinking of having Ssarak, Meirin and the rest of that group end up in a fight nearby. They may require assistance, if the teachers, or perhaps some others, could lend it.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Ahnasha did not like that the encounter with Mephala had soured their day together. If nothing else, Mephala could claim that manipulation as a victory .Still, they were making the best of the time they had. The had managed to find an enchanter from which to purchase some soul gems. Unfortunately, that purchase consumed most of their gold, though their was enough left for at least one more thing. Fendros suggested a bookshop, which caused Ahnasha to smile. "Always thinking about me, aren't you? We'll probably only have enough for one book, so we should be sure to make it a good one."

Stepping inside, they were greeted by the owner, a Bosmer man, before they began to browse. The store had a decent stock; it wasn't the most impressive bookstore she had ever seen, but given how far Vos was from pretty much anything, that could be forgiven. Her eyes wandered across the selections, first focusing on the history books and tomes about various cities and races. Finding little of interest, she moved on to novels, works of fiction. She had little to go on for which book to choose other than the titles and what she glimpsed through in the first few pages. There were books about adventure, horror, romance, and all of the above combined. There were stories she could see herself becoming immersed in, perhaps something she could read with Fendros. Before making any decision, however, she moved on to the spell tomes. They were more expensive, but they had enough to afford one. She had a bit of naive hope flow through her when she reached the section about conjuration, but sadly, there were no tomes of the nature she sought. Why would there be? Given the Dunmer's views on necromancy, any merchant who carried such wares would be driven out of town. Still, there were books on conjuration, ones that could be helpful for someone of her skill level, and conjuration and necromancy were closely related...

"Hmm, what do you think, Fendros? Anything catch your eye?" She asked.

Blood Act I~ Ghosts of the Past

Freeshooter92 said
The problem is not that we fail to bring about such a perfect world, the problem is that because of the prologue, we . I hate more than anything being flat out told 'fuck you, you lose.' as opposed to 'in all probability you will fucking lose.' Because a tiny, tiny smidgen of hope would be appreciated. I guess my only comparison is dungeons and dragons. No matter how difficult the roll, no matter the stakes, a 20 is always a hit, always a success. Sure, 1/20 odds is godawful and I will probably lose, but that tiny little chance drives me forward, rather than making me give up because of the sheer futility. I won't mind that doesn't work out, but just pre-determining things leaves a lot of efforts pointless. Hell, I'd at least appreciate the illusion of chance.

One might extrapolate a lot of things from the prologue, but there is not a lot you could say with certainty. It could be happening 5,000 years in the future for all we know (unless there are familiar characters, I don't exactly remember). The only thing you can really know is that the world hasn't been destroyed up to that point.

Blood Act I~ Ghosts of the Past

Elder Scrolls is my absolute favorite series. Halo used to be a contender, but then 343 got involved and now it has fallen significantly down in rank.

Also, I believe I will bring Dirssi over to the area where Liam is...where is that again?