Part 2.
In the year 4E 178 at the age of seven Emerick began schooling.
Ysabel knowing of his gift with healing decided to ask her long time friend Orion Loran; recently
retired from the temple of Stendarr in Chorrol to be his tutor.
Orion further instilled in Emerick a deep sense of mercy and compassion and at the
same time the need for honour, loyalty and above all else justice. He was a good man and quickly took Emerick beneath his wing.
Orion furthered Emerick’s talent for healing, as well as organizing Emerick to take
weapons training with an old Crusader, Syrusias Strom.
Orion and Emerick became close friends and confidant’s
over the coming years. Orion becoming a father figure to Emerick.
But this happy partnership was not to remain.
Ysabel had been courting an Imperial Knight Commander by the name of Rimulus Wulf. A
hard, cruel man who earned his fearsome reputation and gained his position
patrolling the border between Valenwood and Cyrodil tracking down Thalmor Insurgents.
A job he became quite proficient at. Though many in the Imperial army Hierarchy
questioned his methods, none had the nerve to bring him to account.
Rimalus and Ysabel married on the 4th day of Second Seed 181. Six months
after meeting. Emerick was at the age of 10 and had only met Rimulus twice, his
mother’s wedding being the second.
Though Emerick was excited to have a new father, that enthusiasm soon evaporated
leaving behind intimidation, fear and resentment.
Rimulus was quick to flex his authority. His hard military background was enforced onto
Ysabel and Emerick.
He continuously chastised Ysabel about they way she cared for Emerick, her faith
and even the fact she talked to the “Whelps who make my dinner”. Under this constant barrage Ysabel became quiet, sickly and bitter. The once happy and strong women who raised Emerick on her own was now a shadow of her former self.
Seeing his mother wither in such a way awoke a burning fire within Emerick. Their was
no compassion, no mercy no honour in this Rimulus.
Only the stench of cruelty and injustice.
On the day of Rimulus and Ysabel’s first anniversary Emerick awoke to the sound of
his mother’s weeping. The feeling’s of anger and resentment he had become so accustomed to, washed over him with a new fire. All the teaching’s of Orion and his mother’s where
forgotten as Emerick stormed towards his parents room.
He burst in to find his mother half unclothed, red marks covered her body.
Standing above her was Rimulus a wicked grin on his face. His sword unsheathed
ready to make another blow with the flat of the blade.
Emerick’s head swirled with the scene before him, the rush of rage made his whole body
quiver and tense. Rimulus stopped short the blow and turned to Emerick “ What
are you doing in my room? When im done with teaching your mother some respect
you will be next boy. So LEAVE!”
A surge of power began to bubble within Emerick. He knew the feeling of healing
magic but this was different.
He could not control it.
Rage and hate had the better of him. He felt as though he was watching someone else
as he began to speak words he had never learnt. A bright purple flame filled
his hands. The windows began to rattle as a vortex appeared just to the left
Rimulus.
Without warning a skeleton materialized holding a sword. Emerick could feel his will
within this creature, his hate directed entirely on Rimulus.
With a quick swing the Skeleton attacked, Rimulus took the full
blow to his left forehand. Blood quickly hit the floor. In
quick succession, Rimulus countered with a flurry of hits upon the skeleton.
Cleaving off its head, it fell upon the ground and vanished.
Silence filled the room. Ysabel; no longer weeping looked upon Emerick with an
expression he had never seen before one of fear and at the same time disgust. Rimulus swallowed hard, the skeleton’s appearance had obviously caught him totally off
guard. With a mad look in his eye Rimulus spoke with quiet rage “You’ve just
made a very bad mistake.” He
approached Emerick and without hesitation brought the hilt of his sword down
upon his head.
Then there was darkness.
Emerick awoke in bed he lay there with his eyes closed tight hoping to open them and
find himself coming out of a bad dream. That Rimulus and the past dreadful year
had all been a figment of his imagination.
But he knew that wasn’t so.
“You awake?” his mother whispered sitting next to him. He opened his eyes and
noticed it was now evening. “ You look so much like your father these days.”
Ysabel paused and looked thoughtful “Though I never wanted to believe that,
you, could be anything like him. I know I’ve told you he’s dead but if the
truth be known I have no real idea. He was or is a wanted man, a,” she paused
“a necromancer.” Ysabel looked at Emerick trying to read his reaction. Maybe it was from the blow to
the head or the shock from the event’s of the morning.
But Emerick felt numb.
“He wasn’t always bad” Continued Ysabel “ He loved me once” Her voice drifted off
as she looked down at her folded hands
“He was a great magician too especially adept at conjuration. It’s really no
surprise you have the ability. But he continuously yearned for more power. It
ate him up. He not surprisingly soon turned to Necromancy to fulfil that need,
it took him and corrupted any good he had. And I fear you will have the same
strugle”
Ysabel stood up and walked towards the window her back was now turned to him.
“That is why” her voice cracked “ That is why, I, I have decided to send you to the
Imperial Knights academy. There they can teach you to harness your power as a
force for good and hopefully further instil in you the qualities I have strived
to teach you.” She turned to Emerick “ You understand im doing this for your
benefit?” her face, now so drawn and pale pleaded for him to understand her reasoning.
“yes mama” Emerick’s voice quivered as tears welled up. All the pain and hurt
from the previous year released through him like a wave.
He cried himself to sleep in his mother’s arms that night.
The next day he left for the academy. It would be many moons before he saw his
mother again.
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