The Marsh Warrior exited the Vivec docks when all the lizards were aboard and the gangway was pulled onto the ship. The captain
put his hand on the throttle and shifted it from idle to full speed ahead. It carried six argonians, three adults: an amber argonian
named Drujeeta, a dark green argonian named Juleen and a dark green argonian male named Tulen, age seven. There were two
kids, a dark green skinned argonian boy named Neesh, age six, and an amber colored argonian female named Milsha, age four.
An argonian hatchling was onboard as well, he had dark green skin and no hair or spikes on his tiny head. His name was Hasir, he
was wrapped up in a fur cocoon that hung about his mom's waist.
The second youngest Argonian asked his mom why they are going to Akavir.
"Mom, why are we going to the dragon land?" Neesh asked from his seat on the back of the boat.
Drujeeta shook her head at her daughter, causing her black leafy hair to bounce off of her bony spikes,
"No, your uncle, you, Neesh, Tulen and Milsha and I are going to a village named... well, I don't know it name is exactly but it's in
Cyrodiil." She smiled at her, "Your brother is going to Akavir alone, with Quinchal."
Drujeeta shifted in her seat to face him.
"Your brother is going there can learn to be something called a dragonknight, hist knows what that is." She said with her face
screwed up
"But, why can't we all go to the dragon land?" Neesh whined.
Drujeeta turned toward neesh and gave her a look that could freeze her solid,
"I dunno, Neesh, he as well as his brother, Tulen, are not MY children. My husband and I am just looking after them because their
real mother and father fled Blackmarsh long before the plague hit because his mother sought to make peace between our kind and
the dunmer that live in Morrowind." She turned away from her daughter and muttered to herself, "By the claws of Hircine, I hope
they found what they are looking for."
The ship bounded steadily for Cyrodiil; the ocean did not seem to put up too much of a fight as the waves were unusually quiet.
There were no disturbances in the sky either, only a few stars were visible in a jet black sky. Juleen decided he would get dinner as
all his children were hungry, he dove into the ocean with his bow and arrows slung across his back. When he was in water, he felt
more alive than he did on the boat, he was in his element. In the water, he turned into a fierce aquatic hunter. After swimming a few
meters, he saw slaughterfish. He notched an arrow into his bow and fired in the direction of the fish, he narrowly missed his target.
The slaughterfish turned and saw him preparing for another attack and swam toward him and started biting every inch of him.
He managed to get the slaughterfish off of himself and notched another arrow. This time, his shot pierced the slaughterfish's side.
Juleen ignored the slaughterfish's cries of pain. He swam up to the surface quickly, when he breached the water, he landed on the
boat right where Drujeeta was sitting. In her terror, the fur cocoon that held Hasir flew out of her arms and into the sea of ghosts.
Juleen noticed this slight error in judgement, straped the bow and arrows on his back and lept from the starboard side of the ship
into the water.
Juleen searched for Hasir for a few minutes until he could see a small shadow a few feet in front of him, he swam to it. he found
only empty furs. He feared the worst until he saw a green creature laying limp in the water. Juleen feared the hatchling was dead;
that is until he saw tiny bubbles escaped from the tiny hatchling's mouth. Juleen sighed with relief; he was happy to discover that he
was using his newly formed gills to breathe underwater. Juleen saw the slaughterfish closing in on the hatchling, spun around quickly
and swam as hard a he could toward the cluster of fish.
Juleen kicked hard against the slaughterfish's snout; Thus giving him space to reach his son. He was an inch from his son when a
shell of igneous rock encased Hasir and exploded outward hitting each slaughterfish in turn, forcing them to retreat. This left Juleen
gobsmacked; he had no idea how his nephew could have done that; he certainly didn't teach him.
How could he cast a spell like that? He did it without any training." Juleen thought, amazed. He grabbed Hasir and headed for the
ship. He came aboard portside. He saw Drujeeta, who was quite literally shaking from anger.
"Juleen, I was worried sick, where were you?" She fumed.
Juleen told her that he was getting the kids some food when slaughterfish attacked. He held some of them off, but, there were more.
He told her that Hasir grew gills and fought off the slaughterfish closing in for the kill with a spell; without any training. Drujeeta
turned her back on him with her arms folded.
"Honey, I'm sorry, I will be more careful next time." Juleen pleaded, hoping she would forgive him.
After several seconds, Drujeeta did turn around. "I would never stay mad at you, I thought you knew that." She kissed him
on the cheek. "Now, what was this news you were dying to tell me?" Juleen told her about the fish he had caught and how Hasir
cast a spell with no prior training. Drujeeta squealed with joy as she lifted Hasir up into the night sky. "My nephew has a natural
affiliation for magic just like my sister." She tickled his nose, he giggled.
Quinchal advised the passengers to take their seats as they were passing by Ebonheart because the waters were a bit rough. The
hatchlings looked up and saw a huge dragon with its tail coiled about the base. Tulen just stared at it while both Milsha and Neesh
shook with terror; avverting their eyes.
They peered through their fingers at the dragon, which was hewn from black rock that was plentiful around the region,
"Mom, d-do dragons eat Argonians?" They asked, glancing up at their mother for reassurance
Drujeeta look down and them and smiled sweetly,
"No, No, of course not." She said, waved the thought away as it was nothing. "why would you think that?" she asked as she caressed
their upturned faces
Milsha and Neesh told her about the tale they heard while they were still in Blackmarsh,
"Our grandfather, Vistha-Kai told us long ago that the ancient Argonians offered unhatched hatchlings to dragons as an attempt to
appease Sithis. Since then we have been terrified of dragons."
Drujeeta roared with laughter causing the hatchlings to glower at her,
"Mom, that is not funny." Milsha said, folding her arms across her chest. Drujeeta, seeing their expressions, stopped laughing
The Marsh Warrior passed by the castle and soon the dragon was out of sight and so were Neesh's and Milsha's terror. Waves
banged into the sides of the ship. The waves bombarded the ship as if they were barbarians trying to lay siege to the boat. The ship
maneuvered smoothly trough the episode of ocean turbulence and was in calm seas once more.
Glim poked his head out of the captian's cabin,
"Six hours until we reach Cyrodiil."
The family sat in their seats and enjoyed the journey without anyone complaining. Hasir slept in his fur cocoon sucking
his tail contently. The ship stopped unexpectedly at an island in the Topal Bay, just south of their destination, well, the uncle, aunt
and their children's destnation anyway.
"We should set up set up camp here for the the night," Mere-Glim said, Then we will shove off when the last of the stars gets
swallowed up by the great black dragon."
The party did as he requested. Poles, cloth and firewood were carried off the ship along with five blood potions and the fish that
Juleen caught. A storm was brewing overhead and the Argonians ran towards the big tent that was set up at the far end of the
island.
The six argonians ran for the tent as it started to rain. Juleen cut the slaughterfish he had caught the night before and split them
into six equal portions. After the argonians ate, they laid down to sleep, Drujeeta brought a basket for Hasir to sleep in. Juleen
and Tulen did not sleep, instead he taught Tulen all he knew about hunting and using a bow.
Juleen leaned close to his son and whispered in respect of the sleeping Argonians, "Son, we argonians are fair hunters on land, but,
when we are in our element, that is where we truly shine." Let's start you off with something small." He pointed to a mudcrab at the
other end of the island, "There, see if you can kill that mudcrab from here." Juleen suggested. He took out his ebony bow and
arrows, gave them to his son and told him to try them out. He also told him to aim a few inches above his target. Tulen pulled back
the string, notched an arrow and let it fly. The arrow flew through the black sky in an arc and landed with a thud into a 'mudcrab.'
Juleen laughed, causing Tulen to glower at him,
"Erm... Neesh, that..was a rock...next time, try aiming a bit further to the right."
He moved Tulen's arm up and to the right. He then told him to loose the arrow, the small lizard did and the arrow arced gracefully
through the air and landed with a dull thud, penetrating the shell and piercing the soft underbelly of the mudcrab. The young
Argonian screamed and punched the air with his fists. He turned to his dad and smiled broadly; something that made Juleen very
proud.
"Wow, what a nice shot! You're a natural born hunter." He exclaimed. They went over to the crab, extracted the arrow, cleaned it off
in the water, cooked the meat, savored every last bit of it and went back to the tent and fell asleep. A sound like a snake hissing
woked Drujeeta and Juleen up. They screamed as they heard it,
"Relax, lizards, my name is Quinchal, I have come on instruction from my master to bring your young hatchling to my homeland to
train him in the way of the Akavirian warrior.
Juleen jumped up and jabbed the golden-skinned foreigner in his chest with a claw,
"Who are you calling 'lizard' Ojel? Just who are you?" He asked, his nostrils and eyes flaring
The 'outsider' said his name was Quinchal and he said he was from the land of dragons known as Akavir and said, yet again, that he
was tasked with procuring the hatchling and training him to be an Akavirian warrior, a dragonknight.
Drujeeta woke up and asked Juleen what he was yelling about. He said it was nothing for her to be concerned with; she glared at
him, she had always known when he was lying. Again, he told her, more forcibly this time, that she ought to go to bed. She nodded
sleepily and went back to sleep. Juleen turned to Quinchal and asked what a dragonknight was. The outsider did not expand on this
but smiled and took the hatchling to the docks by his ship.
The night passed and Drujeeta got up and panicked; looking everywhere for the hatchling. She grew angry when she thought of the
outsider stealing her nephew from her. She strode to where the ships stood and saw Hasir held in Quinchal's arms. Drujeeta went
ballistic and slapped Juleen on the shoulder and asked if he knew about this; he said he did. Drujeeta went limp and accepted that
this was something Quinchal had to do; whether for religious or personal gain, he did not know. Drujeeta, Juleen, and their children
stayed behind and waved goodbye to Hasir and the golden skinned tsaesci as they strode away to the Marsh Warrior, the boat
moored close to the Crimson Scar, Quinchal's ship. Juleen passed out five blood potions to Drujeeta, Tulen, Milsha, Neesh. He
also gave himself one. They drank, resetting their blood levels.
"Ready to shove off for Akavir?" Quinchal asked the tiny hatchling held tightly in his arms; the hatchling gave a squeal that Quinchal
took as assent. When both he and Hasir were aboard, he brought the gangway onto the ship and triumphantly announced "Next
stop, Akavir, home of the dragons."
