Character Backstory: Elara's Journeys in Skyrim, the land of her father, Chapter 4--Good-byes

  •                Elara unbuckled her armor and began to clean it.  She had just finished her report on Dawnstar’s disturbances to the Arch-Mage, who was pleased and intrigued with the resolution.  She also requested a leave of absence from the College.  Savos Aren reassured her that she was not going to be dismissed.  “You are a talented mage, and I would hate to see you halt your training,” he had said.

                  “By the will of the Divines, I shall return, but I have some family business that I need to attend to,” she had replied.   Vaermina had tested her skills, and she had prevailed.  Elara needed to return to the search for her father.

                    She planned on returning to Windhelm, then Whiterun, then Riverwood.  She had loose ends to tie up, and promises that she made to help others that she would not let go.  She could not leave one stone unturned in the hopes that someone knew her father and who might have a clue where he was taken.   Elara had to build up trust, and that took time.

                    The sound of voices and boots echoed through the hall.  The three mages walked passed her room and stopped.

                    “You’re back!” Brelyna’s red eyes warmed to the sight of her friend.  “Come eat with us!  We were in Saarthal all day and are starving.  But no throwing food this time,” Brelyna smiled slyly.

                    “Yes, Brelyna found her sense of humor while you were away.  But we are anxious to hear what you found in Dawnstar,” Onmund smiled, then glanced at the armor on Elara’s bed “Or perhaps the question is what found you?”

                    The mages enjoyed a good dinner of warm food and cool mead.  Brelyna was particularly interested in Elara’s dealings with Vaermina. 

                    “Has this helped banish your dragon dreams?” Onmund inquired, in a low voice so that only Elara could hear.  When she shook her head, he gave her a sympathetic smile. 

                    “I am leaving tomorrow.  Family obligations,” Elara said awkwardly.  “I plan on coming back to finish my studies,” she added, trying to break the uncomfortable silence.

                    Brelyna swallowed the bite of apple she was in the middle of munching when Elara made her announcement.  “Best wishes to you, then.”  She pushed away from the table, and left.

                    J’zargo looked her steadily in the eye, and followed Brelyna.

                    Onmund felt as disappointed as the other two, but he did not want to add to Elara’s discomfort.  He placed his hand on her shoulder and said, “It will be all right.”  But as he said it, he did not know if it was for her benefit or his.

                    Elara stared at the dirty dishes and remnants of her welcome home dinner.  Home.  That was what this was all about.  She had to leave the only place she felt comfortable so that she could find the man that symbolized home to her, her father.

                    After cleaning up, Elara poked her head in the rooms of her classmates, but the only one awake was Onmund, staring into a tankard of ale.

                    “I did not mean to ruin dinner,” she began slowly, while Onmund looked up at her.    

                    “I guess none of us have ghosts from our past to chase like you do,” he replied, but instantly regretted his sharp words when he saw the stricken look on her face.

                    “I am sorry.  Don’t mind my sour mood.  I made a mistake in selling a family amulet to Enthir and now he will not let me buy it back.  I received a letter from my brother while you were gone and I just became so angry that I wanted to get rid of anything that reminded me of my family.”  Onmund stared morosely back into his tankard.

                    “I wish there was something that I could do to help,” she said sincerely, afraid to lose one of the few friendships she had ever made. 

                    Onmund just nodded his head and Elara stood up to leave.  Their eyes met and Elara felt that he wanted to say something.  She waited, but the moment passed and she went to bed.

     

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                    Elara opened her eyes, only to see J’zargo sitting in the chair next to her bed, munching a sweet roll.

                    “J’zargo likes to meditate in the morning while watching Elara sleep so peacefully.”

                    Elara sat up and said, “Likes?  You mean you do this often?”

                    “Aaah, J’zargo is an early riser and Elara is not.  So I never expected to be observed.”  The Khajiit looked at her keenly.  “J’zargo would like Elara to do a favor for him, if it is not too much trouble.  Studying here is too important and J’zargo does not have time for adventuring like Bretons who take their magical abilities for granted.”

                    Elara planned on leaving early anyway, so she packed while J’zargo handed over ten of his fire cloak scrolls and gave her precise instructions on how to use them.  “J’zargo looks forward to hearing the results,” he purred and left.

                    She had one last thing to do so she tiptoed upstairs to speak with Enthir about Onmund’s amulet.

                    “Now to what do I owe the pleasure?” Enthir’s gravelly voice intoned with delight.  She rolled her eyes, and after much debate, finally got Enthir to agree to give the amulet to her if she would fetch something for him.  She had expected as much from the dodgy Bosmer, and after he marked it on her map, she was ready to leave.

                    Elara took one last look around the Hall of Attainment, and hoped that the next time she returned she would have her father in tow. 

                    As the heavy door closed behind her, Onmund sat up in bed and stared at Elara’s empty room.  He was angry at her leaving, but he was angrier at himself for not being able to ask her if he could go with her.  And he realized that he felt lonelier than he had in quite some time.

Comments

8 Comments
  • Soneca the Exiled
    Soneca the Exiled   ·  May 21, 2014
    Ha! Damm that J'zargo, I just pictured that scene in my head and thought how it would make a great meme "J'zargo likes to watch you sleep" while zooming in on his face. XD
  • Kynareth
    Kynareth   ·  June 1, 2013
    Vazgen, the College was one of my favorite places, too, along with Winterhold.  Lots of mystery there, but also the purity and beauty of the snow seemed to be more of a blanket of peace to me, also.  Ha, glad to hear J'zargo does that to other people too....  more
  • Vazgen
    Vazgen   ·  May 26, 2013
    I really like how you presented the college. It was really the place where I somehow felt at peace, not feeling the need to explore and adventure. It's one of my most favorite places in Skyrim and I can certainly see how it became home to Elara. And I fin...  more
  • Kynareth
    Kynareth   ·  June 30, 2012
    Hey Evil, thanks for reading something so old!  Hmmm, I am not sure how to answer your question.  I actually started writing this in November and sat on it for quite a while before I found the courage to post it.  So I revised this quite a bit, picking at...  more
  • Eviltrain
    Eviltrain   ·  June 22, 2012
    Am I'm going to respond to a very old blog post. Good story so far Kynareth. You ever look back on your work?
  • Guy Corbett
    Guy Corbett   ·  January 29, 2012
    Aww I wanted her to hook up with Onmund  Has the moment passed? I really like the personalities you have added her like Vix I sort of flashed through the Mages guild its nice to read a bit more about them. Looks like Elara has become quite the object of d...  more
  • Kynareth
    Kynareth   ·  January 29, 2012
    @ Bilal...you are right about Enthir...the last time I checked UESP it seemed he was Dunmer...the same thing happened to me with Faralda...I wrote this a month ago or so, just been picking at it!
    @Vix, it was disconcerting for my character to wake u...  more
  • Ponty
    Ponty   ·  January 28, 2012
    Brillaint work once again Kynareth! Looking forward to what happens next!