Hello, all! Me again, and I'm back with chapter 2! If anyone notices the fancy logo, that's Robina's personal icon. Since in the next chapter I'm planning to introduce a new character and from that point it was going to zig-zag in POVs (like in the Kane Chronicles), that icon is going to be the indicator that the chapter is hers. Now that that's out of the way, it's story time!
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Chapter 2: Homecoming
I was standing in a decrepit jail cell, bound and wearing nothing but rags. Things have really taken a turn for the worse.
I don’t know how I got in here, but it looks terrible. The walls were lined with moss, the room reeked of carrion, and I could barely see a human skeleton in front of me and a shoddy bed beside me, but since the room was only lit by a single dim candle, they were almost invisible. It was exactly how my father pictured a jail cell to be like. On top of it, all, I’d completely lost my memory. Suddenly, an ethereal and feminine voiced beckoned me.
“Approach, my child. And choose where your new life shall begin.”
It appeared to come from the corner of the room, and there stood a statue of Mara. The goddess of love. At least that much I knew. As I got nearer to the divine idol, it began to glow and the binds around my wrist started to loosen until they came off. Once I stood in front of the statue, another voice, this time deeper, more masculine, spoke to me. Storm. Wreck. Coast. Three words it spoke and those words somehow reminded me of my fate.
“I was shipwrecked off the coast!” I blurted out suddenly. Did that voice just control my words? Stranger still, the statue replied.
“Even in our darkest hour, there is still hope. Don’t give up!” it spoke. The statue then lost its glow and I heard no more voices. I started to feel sleepy, and my body seemed to move itself towards the bed. Although the bed was very dirty and the pillow was hard as stone, I fell asleep instantly.
The second I woke up, I was shoulder-deep in frigid water inside a ship cabin, gasping for air. My memory suddenly returned to me. I am Robina Blackheart, Cyrodiilian Nord, 23 years old. This was the Skinny Horker. It was bound for Dawnstar, but got wrecked in a massive storm and I was in it. Through divine intervention, I survived, and I somehow knew that I am currently off the coast of Skyrim. Not wanting to spend more time in the forsaken ship, I began to swim my way out. I’ve always been a good swimmer. My father used to take me for a swim in Lake Rumare every Sundas. The waters were full of floating corpses like willow seeds in a pond. I could see the body of the little Dunmer girl from the night before, the Argonian, the Breton and other passengers and crewmen. There was a dry section and the corpse of Rabah was laying there, holding a small vial of poison. It would appear that he’d rather die while he’s able than drown helplessly.
After a while, I found a hole on the ship’s hull and I swam out through it. Strangely, the water outside feels even colder than the one inside. I swam up to the surface and climbed up the ship. It was quite easy since it was overturned. Exposure to the cold air while being drenched in equally frigid water made my body shiver wildly, but my Nord blood allowed me to press onwards. On the wooden belly of the Horker, Anthril’s body was there. A blown out torch was on his hand. When I examined his cadaver further, his hands were extremely cold and ice seemed to line his body. Hypothermia was the cause of death. As I looked to the south, the snowy coast of Syrim stretched out before me. I spotted a city in the northeast which I knew to be Dawnstar. There was no doubt now. My new life of adventure has truly begun.
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Now that I see it as it is, this one's considerably shorter than the last chapter. Anyways, hope you've enjoyed this one!
