(Formatting this later, I'm on mobile)
What is this?
Where am I?
An endless surge of feelings and emotions is sweeping and churning my sides...
Am I dead? Alive? Neither?
What happened?
...Who am I? I remember...a ship...pirates...
~~~
Pyandonea was a land of isolation. Few of her denizens, the Maormer ever ventured beyond the Veil of Mist, to gamble their fate in the mainland of Tamriel. At the docks of a harbor settlement, a youngling and his mother were arguing. It was obvious that the former was one of the adventurous few.
"Mother, please! There's no life for me here!" the young Maormer exclaimed to his mother, exasperatedly motioning towards the open misty seas and a resolute ship harbored at the docks, dubbed the Dragon's Tail.
"Jyndoraen, dear, do you not think of your own mother? What will happen to me when the last of my children leaves me? My time in this world is short, child, and I want you to be the last thing I see," the elderly sea elf reasoned, her feeble voice rife with desperation and pleading.
With a heavy heart, the one called Jyndoraen replied with a melancholy sigh. "I am sorry, but I have made my decision. I will leave for the mainland aboard that ship." The elder looked ready to break down in tears, but she remained strong and smiled sadly at her child. "Then so be it. But know that I will always be here, waiting for your return." The two shared what might well be their last embrace. "Now go, my son. Go before I change my mind." Jyndoraen, whose eyes are already flooded with tears gave her mother a final bow and headed for the ship. His mother for his future. He prayed to whatever being listening to him that this would not be a decision he would come to regret.
~~~
"So you're the new kid, eh?" a short bald and stocky man asked the much taller Sea Elf before him. Young Jyndoraen, or Jyn as he began to be called, was now out in the open seas with a motley crew of sailors who dubbed themselves the Dragontails. He had absolutely no idea what trials would be in front him and that's half of the thrill. A life like this would've never came to him if he just remained idle in Pyandonea.
Yes, sir," he answered. "My name is Jyndoraen, though some call me Jyn."
The dwarflike man nodded. "I see. The name's Vander, I'm the quartermaster of the Dragontails. Welcome aboard," the two shared a handshake that was a little too rough for Jyn. "Tell me, what're ye good at, lad? Magic, I presume?"
"Actually, I am more of a swordsman. My father was a soldier and he passed his skills on to me. My magic is mediocre at best."
Vander was visibly surprised. "A warrior elf! Now I've seen everything. You'll fit right in, lad!" he patted Jyn's back hard, causing him to grimace and almost topple over.
"Yeah...thanks. Anything I should know about life here?"
"Hmm....well, dinner's at sundown, it's a real good chance to introduce yerself to the others. For the most part, you can do as you please here, so long as you listen to yer superior's orders, especially Captain Zephyr's. She don't get out much, but to cross her is to speed yer way to a watery coffin." Jyn didn't need to be reminded of that. The Altmer captain of the ship was a beautifully stern and imposing woman, who made it clear that she would not tolerate insubordination in her ship. That was the first thing she said to him upon officially joining the crew. In fact, that was the only thing she said to him then.
"I see, then. Well, I shall make sure to stay out of trouble in my time here."
"You do that, lad, but I'm assuming you came to for a weapon?" Jyn blushed in embarrasment, he had completely forgotten the reason he approached the quartermaster in the first place. Face still red, he silently nodded.
"Alrighty, then. Follow me. And mind where you step, loose boards're all over the place."
~~~
Everything had been going so well. He had companions and adventure. Now he was sailing in a sea of blood and fire with little hope of floating to safety. The ship had run into another crew of sailors, more bloodthirsty and remorselesa than his own. They were truly pirates. Without much preemptive, a clash ensued and the fate of the Dragontails looked grim. Jyn and his companions fought with great ferocity, but it wasn't enough. He saw many fall to the enemy's hands. Even Vander and the Captain, figures he thought invicible, were cornered like a rat, bearing the visage of someone accepting death with open arms. Jyn contemplated on doing the same, but as he did, he thought of his mother. Yes, only now did he regret his choice. He longed to be back behind the Veil of Mist with her. And now it seemed that he will return only in soul.
In his moment of hesitation, his foe managed to disarm him. Gazing at the other warrior in terror, he braced himself for the worst, but it never came. Instead, a large explosion erupted from within the deck of the Dragon's Tail. The Maormer was launched into the air and crashed into the cold waters, his world fading from red to blue...to black.
~~~
Jyn awoke to a start, holding on for dear life to a wooden keg and gasping for air. As his eyes opened, he saw the sun and the ocean, an endless expanse of glimmering water. There was no sign of the fateful battle. Even though it was mid day, the cold soon seeped in. His blue body shivered madly from the chill and prayed for death or salvation to come. Whichever first was inconsequential to him. Then, he heard the familiar loud creak of a ship across water and the image of a Nordic Longboat. Salvation had come at last! The elf screamed for help, hoping whoever was on the ship could hear him. Scream after scream escaped his throat, till he couldn't scream anymore and succumbed to his own exhaustion.
~~~
"Hey, what's all this racket about?" the captain questioned his clamoring crew, who were circled around the mast of his proud fishing boat. He could see a wooden keg filled with most likely mead, but if his men weren't interested in the drink...well, something big must be grabbing their attention.
One of the crew was smart enough to notice him. "Look here, sir," the young one beckoned to the captain. "We've fished up a monster!"
"A monster? Nonsense, let me have a look at this monster of yours!" he ordered the men to part a way for him. Knowing them, it's probably just a bundle of seaweed, but what he saw surprised him. There chained to his ship's mast was a pale blue-skinned being, with wet navy blue hair and a toned masculine physique. The poor thing looked malnourished, too.
"This is no monster, you fools! 'Tis a Sea Elf and you're doing the damn Gods' work in fishing him up. Quick, someone get the poor lad something to eat!" at his words, a crewman instantly scurried below deck. He guessed the stowaway had his men to thank for accidentally saving his life.
"Listen up, lads! You done good today, being lifesavers and whatnot, but this man is far from healthy. We're going to dock in the nearest city to get him healed, but since we don't know who he is or who he's connected to, the safest course of action will be to leave him there and be on our way. Less strings attached, am I right?" murmured 'ayes' came from the group and at the same time, the deckhand brought with him food, dried bread and some roast beef.
"Good. Leave the food next to the man in case he wakes up. For now, back to work!" a resounding 'yes, sir' was their reply and they all returned to their respective duties. Meanwhile, the captain had to have a word with the navigator.
"Navigator, what's the nearest port from our position?" he asked the prodigious Nord girl in charge of his ship's direction. She was only 14, but she was better at the craft than any of his men. Such skill warranted respect from even the hardiest of seadogs.
"Archfall, sir. In fact, if we go along this path, we'll pass what was once the Solitude Arch."
The weathered captain nodded approvingly. "Good. Get us there safely. We have a passenger to drop off."
