Muttonhawk

The Depths of Deception

I'd be willing to wait another day for Leon. Do you have another channel of communication to him?

The Depths of Deception

Does anyone else want to act in this briefing, or should we skip forward?

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

"That will work." Fendros agreed. Looking around the poor district they had been lead into gave Fendros little comfort. The woodrot was worse here, the smell was worse here, it was all generally more squalid. For now they didn't get any more looks than they normally got when they walked down less-than-sparsely-crowded areas of the city, but the sooner they got to the inn, the better.

Janius raised one corner of his mouth in thought. He thought Kaleeth had a good point, but he wasn't sure he wanted to defend the Church of the Eight when he was never really invested in them in the first place. It took a few moments to come up with something to respond with. "That's...a fair thing to say." Janius looked to one side. He took a deep, slow breath before continuing, "Well, we do acknowledge them all as gods, we just...well, we don't revere all of them equally, or look to all of them for guidance." He looked to Kaleeth with a new thought, "Tell me, do you follow Hircine? How about Mephala, Azura, Mehrunes Dagon, or...or Sanguine? They're technically all gods. Not everyone follows them. As far as I can see, with all the trouble that was had with the Ninth Divine, I doubt that the Church of the Eight was established without any protest or bloodshed." The mention of this brought Janius' mind back to books about the great war and the wars that followed. His tone turned to being disdainful and sarcastic, "If you really want to decide what is and isn't a god in Imperial eyes, you just have to subjugate the empire and make them sign an armistice that outlaws its worship, pfeh."

Janius stopped talking to look at their surroundings more closely. Meesei was right, this place was dotted with desperate and possibly dangerous people. He leaned towards Kaleeth to speak quietly and cautiously, "The people here may not be so friendly. You had best not make eye contact."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

"Very well," Fendros replied. Hopefully in this inn that they might find, they wouldn't have to worry about burglars as well. As for making their business prompt, Fendros decided to approach Ahnasha on the matter. He spoke at a volume that would hopefully not disturb Rhazii, "So, how did you want to start after we get settled? We might be able to find a bookshop, or ask around for someone who might have advice with the rest of this afternoon." He glanced at the cub, "If you like, you, I or someone in the pack could stay behind to keep an eye on Rhazii. We can allow him to sleep rather than stay among the crowds."

Janius let out a laugh, both at how out of place Morihaus seemed in the way he mentioned the demigod, and at the fact that he hadn't really thought as deeply into it as Kaleeth was. "What you say about how the world was made is similar to what I remember the priests telling me. My best guess as to why they chose the Eight was because they were similar to both the Nord and Aldmer pantheons at the time, so it wasn't too difficult to swallow, I should think. Also, at the time, Alessia wasn't just a queen, she was a saint of sorts. The Aedra had talked to her where they would hardly talk to others, so she carried enough reverence to form the church easily. Lorkhan and Magnus...I honestly don't know. I heard their names in creation myths, and referenced in a few other stories, but they were always...not like the Eight? They were passive, they represented things that were just...there. Magic, Nirn, the moons, they are just there. The Eight, though, they are all patrons of things we value and look up to more, what we can understand more easily." Janius gestured to invisible things as he mentioned each concept, "Endurance, life, death, history, fortune, love of all kinds, loyalty...all these things. Others as well, your could have a priest chew your ear off trying to tell you everything about it. Well, I suppose your fins in your case. There's probably a lot more to it than I've made out." Janius broke into a chuckle again, "A flying cow..."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Looking down the road where Meesei described, Fendros frowned. They were less likely to be accosted in the city as such a large armed group, but the risk was still worth considering with a cub among them. They would just have to keep on their toes.

As they started to walk again, Fendros turned to Meesei. "Are you worried about crime, or wildlife?" He asked. Given how much more open Stormhold was, both were possibilities.

Janius wanted to ask Kaleeth what 'Kothringi' and 'Lilmothiit' were, but she beat him to a question first. He decided to ask later, they were probably just old Argonian tribes or something. Janius was temporarily more fascinated that Kaleeth hadn't even heard of Saint Alessia before, but then again it followed on from what she just said. The marsh was very separate. Besides, Alessia was a quintessential Imperial legend, not anything relevant to Argonian tribespeople.

"Hmm, yes, she led a rebellion against the Ayleids in the first era, but that was just one of the things. She's a very important figure in Imperial history, but it was so long ago that most of it is legend." Janius said thoughtfully, trying to recall his old books and lessons. The story was told at least once a year at the temple of the Eight Divines, but even then, those versions weren't complete and Janius hadn't heard or read it properly in a while. "From what I remember, she was raised as a slave under the Ayleids, but the Eight Divines gave her visions when she prayed to them to liberate her people. They gave her the will and strength to raise a revolt. She was joined by Morihaus, a winged bull man, and Pelinal Whitestrake, a champion of the Eight, and together they raised an army made from slaves, Nords, Bretons, apparently even some Ayleids who turned on their kingdom. She was able to beseige what is now the Imperial City, Pelinal slew the Ayleid king and sacrificed himself in the process, then she declared herself the first empress. She did so by making a blood pact with the Dragon God, Akatosh, to rule over men while Akatosh ruled over spirits. That isn't all, though. Until then, Imperials, or just heartland men, I suppose you would call them then, followed the Aldmer gods and worshiped them. Unfortunately, Queen Alessia's allies in the Nords hated all elves, so she went as far as making a new religion using gods from the Aldmer and the Nords to make the Church of the Eight. It eventually became the Nine Divines, and then the Eight again, but that's another couple of stories, both of which I don't remember quite as well. Anyway, Imperials still follow that religion to this day. Even I did, even though I wasn't very religious. I can't say I've even been in a Temple of the Eight for a while now."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

"Well, my home in Bravil had stone walls that were built later out of different materials, but you're right, they are very strong and often quite fortified. As for the Ayleids, every Imperial knows at least a little about them, because...well, the empire of Cyrodiil was initially built by men led by Queen Alessia in that slave revolt you're probably thinking of. That was thousands of years ago. At least, that's what my teachers told me. Most people are convinced that Ayleids are extinct by now." What Kaleeth mentioned about the ruins being in other places in the swamp caused Janius to scratch his head, "I didn't know that Ayleids would have built structures so far into the swamp, though. I thought they were just in Cyrodiil. Were you taught anything else about Ayleids? Did Argonians encounter them back when they built their settlements here?"

Fendros stepped close to Ahnasha as Rhazii cried. He wished he knew what exactly to do to help Rhazii calm down, but he didn't really know where to start. Their best bet was to find an inn, as Meesei was doing. "Maybe he's also tired. Has he been sleeping much while we've been travelling?"

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

The hodgepodge of different architectures that were on display in Stormhold caused a variety of reactions within the pack. Sabine had probably the least reaction, staying quiet and focussing mostly on keeping everyone in sight through the more crowded moments. When Fendros entered the city, he looked curiously over the huts and houses. Being very different from Thorn, this place seemed like it was worse off, though that may have been simply because the swamp affected it more heavily here. Finally, Janius had a feeling he didn't expect, and that was nostalgia. It must have been the Ayleid walls and arches. He noticed that Kaleeth was looking quite amazed just trying to take it all in, and he didn't blame her. Seeing a city for the first time after spending your life in the marsh probably would have had Janius open-mouthed and looking at everything as well.

"You see those walls there?" Janius pointed Kaleeth to the Ayleid structures. He grinned, thinking a bit of exaggeration might make for some fun, "The Imperial City walls are made from stone like that, but less mossy, and about ten times bigger. If you're at their base, you'll strain your neck to see the top of them. And that's not mentioning the tower in the middle."

When Ahnasha mentioned finding a place to calm Rhazii, Fendros agreed. The poor child must be overwhelmed. Fendros looked to Meesei and chimed in, "I think that's a good idea. Maybe we could ask directions."

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

Cool beans. Is Stormhold here going to be similar to the one in ESO? I don't have the game but I can look it up.

Also, I've got work in a few minutes, so, G'night!

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

And with that, I can't think of any more immediate interaction for today.

What are Kaleeth's and Lorag's reaction to all the happenings, by the way? They've been rather silent.

Call of the Hunt [EliteCommander and Muttonhawk]

As Rhazii started to squirm in Fendros' arms, he hoped that he had not made a mistake. He held Rhazii close to his body and supported his head, but eventually his squirms became little high grunts that indicated discomfort. Out of either instinct or far flung memory, Fendros began to try and rock Rhazii gently. "There there, little one," he whispered. Rhazii settled somewhat, at least. "It's...calming. Holding him." Fendros said. Unfortunately, Fendros' voice was either too close or too loud and Rhazii began to tense his facial features in preparation for crying. Fendros blinked and his expression became concerned again. Before there was too much cause for Rhazii to cry out, Fendros slowly began to pass him back to Ahnasha. "I don't think he's used to me yet," Fendros admitted. As much as Fendros enjoyed holding his son, he figured it would probably be best to be in his mother's arms for the first day at least.