Path of the Aprax (ToC)

• Posted by The Long-Chapper July 11, 2018 - Filed in TSC: ToC - #Straag Rod  #Lissette  #Path of the Aprax  - 2,216 views

  

  

  "There is an after. One story tells of this. I will spare you the details, though I know it by memory. Every Altmer does. I will only say this. It took him thirty years to rebuild his, piece by piece, thousands of them, but he eventually did and he was accepted again.  Let us all rejoice and bring out the Orange cake!

   

  Can you feel my smirk? I am getting much better at this sarcasm, yes?

   

  If only it were that simple...

    

  But life isn't that simple, is it?  What happens when you do not receive the shattered pieces that belonged to you? What happens when you are deinied the chance to rebuild for your sins? What happens when you learn the brittle truth that Acceptance was never something your people ever wanted you to truly have?  Despite all that I have done, despite my love for my Homeland.

   

  Well, in the beginning, and perhaps because I tend to be overly dramatic, I thought I would die, so deep was the pain of Apraxis, of the shattering of acceptance; like the shattering of your very heart, the very soul of who you are.  it is said that most take their lives within a year of suffering such a fate. And even though friends thought that my life was worth saving, I had wanted to die. Believe me, I tried, Auri-El knows I tried. In my burning home. In my burning City by the Sea. When I was held captive, on the ship bearing me to Anvil, and finally in the bloody Arenas of the Imperial City. I tried to die. See? Dramatics... But something in the mountains under the moonless skies told me to endure. Something told me to fight on even when the Thalmor had caught me and I could have let them kill me.  A promise of something hidden within the star-fire of Poem's Song. And on that cold night, gazing upon a Dancing Serpent, I vowed that my life was worth living though the Thalmor did not believe it. I believed, and through my spared life,  Auri-El above believed. And that is enough for me..."

   

  -  Äelberon of Dusk

  ***

  This is a collection of shorter stories - not totally short, but shortER - that bridge the gap from Äelberon of Dusk's Exile from Alinor in 4e 98 to the events of Straag Rod. It represents a much darker period in his life, though it is not totally devoid of humor and farce. A period where he cannot fall back on the privilege of the family he once served nor has he yet found his new family in Skyrim. I enjoy writing Straag, I really do, and I enjoy my collaborations with the Shadow Host (Karver, but he's Shadow Host, now, okay?), but sometimes I just want to break away and offer something fresh. Something without dragons, prophesies, or extreme metaphysics, just stories about a Mer, who after losing everything he's ever known, has to put his life back together again. So be prepared for anything. Perhaps a game of Shells and Stones with a Tum-Taleel?  Or a Lucky Lady falling down? Or dodging daggers? Or finding meaning after the Great War? Or maybe even a stroll through the House of Orsimer Glories. Who knows? But I promise, no dragons. Goblins probably, but definitely no dragons. 

  

  

  Chapter 1: Captain Cup Bearer & the Popinjay

  Chapter 2: The Cost of Grapes

  Chapter 3: An Extra Splash of Bloodwine

  Wait for it... 

   

  ***

  Part of the expanded Straag Rod Universe

  Tales for the Hearthfire

  Cursed Tribe

  Straag Rod

  Chasing Death

  Ledger Codex

  Chasing Aetherius

  Practice of Magic