Sevria's Travels: Warmth In The Cold

• Posted by MarkusMasterThief July 4, 2015 - 879 views

  

  Sevria's shivering body clung tightly to the floating log that carried her down the White River. Was she being taken out to sea? Was she to be lost in the open ocean, never to be seen again? Was this the fate that the men of Skyrim wanted for her? What had she even done to find herself in this situation? What had she done wrong...? Fear and worry clouded her senses. Thoughts floated aimlessly through her mind like the waves that surrounded her, present one moment then gone the next. The world around her had become cold, and clammy... her limbs were rendered nearly immobile by the freezing temperature, and no matter where she looked she could see no sign of others who could rescue her from her impending fate... but then again, who would save her now? The men that enforced the law in this hold wanted her dead!

  Seconds became minutes, minutes became hours... as time rolled onward, Sevria could feel the cold water taking its toll upon her... energy was leaving her body... she dared even close her eyes for a moment, as fear and anxiety were soon replaced by a strange sense of calm... the air was quiet and serene, and though the water was bitterly cold, it seemed almost to welcome her in its icy embrace. She'd stopped shivering now, and let go of the hollow vessel that had carried her all this way... she was now engulfed in the peacefulness of the land, no longer fearing the perils of the open ocean or the beasts that lived in the depths afar. It wasn't likely she would even live long enough to feel their jaws against her body anyway. She was at the mercy of the river now, and the spirits who guided its benevolence.

  As Sevria finally closed her eyes and surrendered to unconsciousness, she decided that this was perhaps the most peaceful death she could have asked for: surrounded by water, being silently carried off to her final resting place. No doubt it was more beautiful than what the white men of Windhelm would have granted her, with their garish prisons and barbaric executions... there could be no escaping it: this was her time. She had lived a good and long life, staying true to her spirit and honoring her ancestors with every breath she took. She'd even managed to make peace with her chief, and now... here, at the end of all things... she would finally rejoin her people in the spirit world. The cold of the water soon felt warm against her skin... the world around her faded into darkness, and Sevria's limp body vanished peacefully beneath the surface of the water...

  Then, there came an unexpected surprise that woke her from the brink of death: the unmistakable feeling of air entering her lungs. Sevria coughed violently -- her lungs were filled with water, but not as much as they should have been. She could breathe again... she could feel that she was wrapped in a warm fur pelt and was sitting on solid land again, but her pitch-black eyes were foggy and she could hardly see where she was. She gasped and coughed again, falling forward on her hands and hacking up what remained of the irritation. A warm and heavy arm rested on her shoulders. An encouraging voice spoke behind her.

  "Cough it all out -- 'atta girl -- get that gunk out'a your system -- there y' go."

  Sevria gasped hoarsely and set loose a coughing flurry once more, spitting up water, saliva, and even bile from her body as she finally understood what had happened: right when everything had seemed hopeless, someone had rescued her. Whoever was comforting her in this moment... he was the one that had saved her life. She identified his shape and hugged him tightly, still coughing uncontrollably against him. He hugged back, still motivating her.

  "Take it easy now... don't want to cough your lungs out. Start taking slow breaths... let your body settle down. That's it... nice and easy..."

  Sevria did just this, as she sobbed quietly in the comfort of the man's arms. Now brought back to her senses, she was scared stiff by how close she'd really come to dying in the cold embrace of the White River, when she still had so much life ahead of her. And there was joy in her heart as well, that mingled with the tears running down her face as she clung tightly to the man's comforting warmth, as if it were the only semblance of security she had in this moment. She did not know this man's name, nor did she care; he had saved her life, and for the time being, that was good enough for her.

  "Shh... shh..." He said with a gentle tone in his voice, "It's alright now. You're safe."

  She shook her head. "No... no, I'm not. Though I wish I was." She said shakily, inches away from bursting into a frightened mess of tears and anguish. "They want to kill me... I- I- I don't even know what I've done wrong... I didn't mean to...!!"

  "Shh, calm down... I know. I know what happened. I was there. I saw everything."

  "You--"

  "You did nothing wrong. Do you understand? You gave Rolff plenty of chances to turn back and walk away, but he gave you no choice when he pulled his knife. You did what anybody would do to defend yourself, and nothing that Ulfric's guards say will ever change that. Do you understand?"

  "You... you will not turn me in?"

  "They won't be looking for you anytime soon. Far as the guards are concerned, you've been counted among the dead; call it Nord arrogance, but they came to the conclusion that you'd surely perish in the water."

  "And they were right... I was nearing the border between life and death when you found me. ... How did you save me?"

  "I'd followed the river after the guards gave up on the chase. I caught up just in time to see you go under the water, which prompted me to dive right in after you."

  "You risked the cold of the water... just to save me?"

  "Risked the cold? Oh, I see; you really are new to Skyrim, aren't you? We Nords have no problem dealing with the cold; it's in our blood. Diving in after you and bringing you back to shore? It wasn't hard... though I was deeply concerned that you wouldn't make it. Had to work fast to get you out of your armor before you caught hypothermia, and to cover you with a warm bear pelt I'd cut up just an hour ago. C'mon, let's get you seated by the fire; I lit it up right as you came around."

  Sevria nodded and sat shivering by the camp fire that the man had built. She wrapped the bear pelt tightly around her body, as she gradually began to warm up and breathe easier. Now she could get a better look at her rescuer; he was an older man with a large grey beard, a balding head, and wearing scaly armor on his body. She could see there was kindness in his eyes, but also weariness... the same weariness she'd seen in her chief's brother Rudinor: the kind that was brought about by war.

  "What is your name?" Sevria asked the man.

  "Brunwulf Free-Winter." He responded, "A humble veteran who served under the Imperial banner during the Great War."

  "You are a veteran? That explains the weariness in your eyes..."

  "And what about you, eh? I see plenty in your eyes too... there's a great softness to them, and a gentle spirit in your face. What's your name, Bosmer?"

  "Sevria... I am not a warrior hero such as you, Free-Winter--"

  "Please, call me Brunwulf. No need for formalities."

  "Brunwulf... I am a native Bosmer of Valenwood, descended from the Silvenar people... you of the Empire know us as the Apache."

  "Truly? I've read about the history of your people... they say your ancestors were wanderers and hunter-gatherers, born of Valenwood but wandering the continent wherever you pleased. They also tell of your legendary skills in combat... no wonder Rolff was so outmatched."

  Sevria nodded sadly. "I did not want to fight him... truly I did not... I only wanted for him to go away and leave the Dunmer alone. He was saying such cruel things to them..."

  "Hey now... don't fret over it. You told 'im to go home, and he didn't listen... the fault's on his shoulders."

  "Why... why did the guards not understand?"

  "They understood, Sevria. Perfectly. They just didn't want to believe it."

  "What? Why didn't they?"

  "Because in their eyes, the eyes of the Stormcloaks, all elvenkind are evil and ought to be purged from this land... whoever they might be."

  "Then why do you not think as they do?"

  "Because the Stormcloaks don't speak for most Nords of Skyrim. Don't let Ulfric or his short-sighted followers get you down; most of us are happy to welcome newcomers."

  "It's been hard to believe that lately... I've met so much bitterness from the people of this land."

  "Well for what it's worth, you don't be getting any bitterness from me."

  Sevria rose to her feet. "Thank you, Brunwulf... for everything. You have saved my life -- how can I repay you?"

  "No need to. Although, it wouldn't do to just send you back out into Skyrim wearing nothing but a bear skin. Here." Brunwulf handed her a set of new, dry clothes for her to wear. "It ain't armor, but it's something."

  Sevria accepted, still clutching the pelt tightly around her body. "You act so calmly, looking at me like this... it doesn't make sense to me."

  "Why not?"

  "This is not the first time a Nord has taken my clothes from me... some time ago a friend and I were captured by bandits, who laid both of us bare and defenseless. The things that their Nord friend said about me were--"

  "Hey." Brunwulf said with a stern tone, "This ain't about that. I did what I had to in order to keep you from freezing to death, not to ogle your naked form. Do you understand?"

  Sevria nodded with an embarrassed look on her face. "I'm sorry... it's just been such an experience, living in Skyrim. The world seems to be spiraling out of control every other day now... sometimes I wind up saying silly things like that."

  Brunwulf visibly lightened up. "No, it wasn't silly... I can tell you've had a rough time of it. Tell you what, I'll look away while you change, if it's all the same to you."

  True to his word, Brunwulf turned his back to Sevria as she dropped the pelt from her body and changed into the clean and dry clothes he'd brought her. Sevria cautiously kept her eyes on him, still remembering her experience with the bandits, but not once did he peek back at her. Finally she was clothed again, wearing a simple white shirt, dark brown trousers, and fur shoes.

  "How's it fit?" Brunwulf asked, still looking away.

  "It fits perfectly... thank you again."

  Brunwulf turned and handed her the rest of her things. "You're most certainly welcome... now, you feelin' up to getting back out there?"

  "I am, all thanks to you." Sevria hugged him one more time to express her gratitude. "You are a good man, Brunwulf... it should be you, sitting on the throne of Windhelm."

  "If the gods will it, then so it shall be. But I don't see that responsibility coming my way anytime soon; more than likely Ulfric will reign for the next several years, or the Legion will find a suitable replacement if they win the war. But perhaps one day... ... now, you'd best be off. Don't want the guards realizing that you're alive."

  "I will head south." Sevria broke the hug, "To see the city of Riften."

  "Riften...?" Brunwulf's expression became cautious. "Sevria, if you visit that city..."

  "What? What's the matter?"

  "They call it the City of Thieves for a reason. I can't stop you from going where you please, nor would I want to, but be careful. It's home to... the Guild, after all."

  "The 'Guild'...? What Guild?"

  Before Brunwulf could answer the question, both he and Sevria beheld the sight of guard torches approaching the windows just above them. If they didn't act fast, Sevria would be caught and convicted for murder.

  "No time to explain. You'd better get a move on." Brunwulf said in a hushed tone. "Jump across the ice here and don't stop running 'till you reach the trees, understand? Now move!"

  Sevria nodded hastily and leaped across the solid patches of ice that dotted the river, successfully reaching the other side before finally vanishing into the wilderness. Brunwulf looked on with a solemn look on his face.

  "Riften..." He said quietly, "What madness drives her there?"