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<\/p>\nEdwyn stood in the Arcanaeum, staring at the piles of books. It was the middle of the night, Urag gro-Shub was asleep, and he had the place to himself for the moment.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
But there were so many things to research. And every time he tried to focus his mind on one thing or the next it bounced back to Volkihar Castle and the incredible cold of the icy glare Serana had given him as she\u2019d turned to walk away.<\/p>\n
I suppose I\u2019m lucky to be intact. I would assume that she couldn\u2019t best me in combat, but we never had occasion to test that. For all I know she could rip me asunder. <\/em><\/p>\n Edwyn Wickham was not an emotional man. He never had been, not even in his mortal days so long ago now that he could barely remember them. He\u2019d always been strictly businesslike. Friendships were wonderful to have, even though they rarely lasted that long; those fellow Bretons he\u2019d grown up with were long ago dust, dead and buried.\u00a0 No, it was the relationships like those he had with Harkon and Agryn Gernic that mattered, built on mutual respect and trust and free of the entanglements of too many emotions.<\/p>\n It wasn\u2019t that he didn\u2019t care for Agryn, and Vyctyna. He did. They each made him smile, and he enjoyed their company very much. He would definitely be saddened if something were to happen to either of them. He\u2019d been truly devastated to learn of Harkon\u2019s passing, because the man had filled so very many roles in his life: mentor, commander, and friend.\u00a0 Edwyn wasn\u2019t one of those vile and distressing creatures who had no human empathy.\u00a0 He just preferred more surface-level relationships.<\/p>\n Serana had been different. They had connected in ways he never had with anyone else. She wasn\u2019t a particularly vulnerable person, having survived the attentions of Molag Bal himself; but she had opened herself to Edwyn and he to her. The situation he\u2019d created by his marriage stung especially sharply because she\u2019d been out of reach for so very long and had only recently returned.\u00a0 His heart had seemed to beat a bit more quickly and with a bit more vigor.<\/p>\n He shook his head again.\u00a0 Focus, Edwyn. There are only so many hours before the mages wake.<\/em><\/p>\n First, he reviewed all of the illusion spell tomes he could find. It would be simple enough to require a thrall to perform the necessary activities with Elisif. What he was concerned about was the spells required to change the man\u2019s appearance lasting long enough for the act to be completed.<\/p>\n After a period, he threw the book in his hand against the wall in a flare of frustration.<\/p>\n \u201cDamn. I don\u2019t know if it will work. I thought it was a foolproof plan. I don\u2019t know whether I can maintain control long enough\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n He stared at the book and shook his head.\u00a0 He\u2019d managed to break its spine.\u00a0 He retrieved it and tsk\u2019d.\u00a0 A number of pages had been bent, sharply; there were creases in them that would likely never come out and which would render them subject to tearing.<\/p>\n He will utterly flay the flesh from my bones. <\/em><\/p>\n Edwyn did what he could, pushing the text block back against the spine and carefully closing the cover over the warped pages. Then he set the tome on the floor and shifted a nearby pile of books to rest atop it.\u00a0 At least the pages might be pressed flat by the weight.\u00a0 And if Urag did not know how to repair a broken book spine he wasn\u2019t worth whatever the College was paying him.<\/p>\n Well now I know where the shortcomings in my original plan lie. Perhaps it will have to be very, very dark in our room. Let us pray that Elisif is not only of childbearing age but also incredibly fertile, because the chances of this working over any extended period of time are next to nil.<\/em><\/p>\n He paced around the Arcanaeum for a few minutes, trying to calm himself and collect his thoughts.<\/p>\n That is the first issue: how to impregnate Elisif. At least I have Vyctyna working on finding a likely subject. The second problem is: where has Auriel\u2019s Bow gone?\u00a0 <\/em><\/p>\n He ran a hand lazily over some of the books on a nearby table and shook his head.<\/p>\n There isn\u2019t anything here that is going to help me solve that issue. The one person who knew definitively is dead. \u2018In a jar somewhere,\u2019 as Serana put it. He cannot help me, and neither can she. If there are other vampires who might know of the Bow\u2019s whereabouts, they are unknown to me. The only other person who might have any idea where it went is also the person who perplexes me most. He was reportedly a very powerful vampire in his own right; and yet when I met him in Riften he was quite clearly human. There is no help for it. I simply need to travel to Riften once more and confront him; he is the only other connection to the man called Andante that I am aware of. <\/em><\/p>\n It is a shame that I didn\u2019t ask Serana how her father came to be killed <\/em>before I told her about Elisif. I might have learned something valuable. Such is the disarray of my mind whenever I am near her.<\/em><\/p>\n There was another issue that Edwyn needed to research, and it was the one that had left him so disappointed with the holdings at the Bard\u2019s College. He needed to know more about the history of the early Emperors.<\/p>\n He went behind Urag\u2019s desk to find the key to the bookcases. The place where Urag stored his spare key was a very closely-held secret, but as Archmage he\u2019d been taken aside by the archivist and given the information he needed.\u00a0 Edwyn grinned as he took the key.<\/p>\n Of course, Urag assured me that if anything were to go missing he would have no qualms about setting an angry atronach on me, Archmage or no.<\/em><\/p>\n He proceeded to search out the very oldest of the materials on Tamrielic history. He knew all the common tales about the ancient line of Emperors. He\u2019d been alive for the coronation of several of them himself. None of them had made an especially large impression on him \u2013 with the exception, perhaps, of the bastard son, Martin Septim, and then only because of the nasty business of Oblivion gates appearing all over the countryside in Cyrodiil while he was busy creating more Volkihar vampires and helping them infiltrate all of the local courts.<\/p>\n I never really paid that much attention to all of the trappings of Imperial lines. That was Harkon\u2019s job. He was going to be the Emperor when the day came, not I. \u00a0I know there was an amulet of some kind that was passed down from one to the next. The Amulet of Kings. A badge of office, so to speak. Many organizations have such a bauble.<\/em><\/p>\n Much of what Edwyn read clarified and reinforced the rather fuzzy understanding he\u2019d had of the history. Saint Alessia in the First Era had established the official pantheon of gods for the Empire when she supposedly entered into a covenant with none other than Akatosh himself.\u00a0 Thus, as he understood it, she and her heirs became known as \u201cDragonborn Emperors.\u201d As far as Edwyn could determine, that was a largely symbolic epithet based on the supposed covenant; and it wasn\u2019t clear to him whether the title was something specific to the person of the Emperor or, as other sources claimed, a \u201cdivine mandate.\u201d<\/p>\n Teasing out the truth in any religion\u2019s claims is always a slippery matter, particularly when its origins lie so long in the past that most people were illiterate at its founding. Any given piece of writing might be a literal account, or simply symbolic. <\/em><\/p>\n The Amulet had been somehow involved with the transfer of power; but it wasn\u2019t clear to Edwyn based on the conflicting accounts whether it had contained actual blood, as some sources held, or souls, as another claimed. It made some sense that the Amulet might have been some variety of soul gem at its heart, as they could be very powerful stones indeed.<\/p>\n Edwyn sighed and rubbed his forehead.\u00a0 \u201cIt would have been so much easier if Harkon had simply told me what he knew of this matter, and what he intended,\u201d he murmured.\u00a0 But no. Even as close as we were, Harkon maintained his power by always keeping his plans and knowledge close to the vest, revealing only that which was needed at any given time.<\/em><\/p>\n As he worked his way through the oldest of the materials in the College\u2019s holdings, Edwyn had confirmation of part of his ideas. The Amulet of Kings had in fact had a red diamond at its center, an Ayleid soul gem called Chim-el Adabal.<\/p>\n The Amulet must have been magnificent, he thought as he read its description: the enormous red diamond held in a setting surrounded by eight other gems representing the Eight Divines. It was an important part of the coronation ceremony, used in some way to light the Dragonfires.<\/p>\n Dragonfires, indeed. A grandiose name for the method by which the planes of Oblivion were prevented from mingling with those of Nirn. And this has never been clear to me. Each Emperor, it is written, needed to rekindle the Dragonfires, using the Amulet, upon his ascension.\u00a0 Does that mean the fires actually went out when the previous emperor was deposed or died? And why, if that is the case, did we not experience incursions of Oblivion every few decades as short-lived mortal Emperors passed their rule to the next?<\/em><\/p>\n But Martin Septim used its power, whatever that might have been, in order to defeat Mehrunes Dagon in the Imperial City. That was when the gates vanished, along with the Amulet. He was the last of his line. It has been claimed that we have had no real Emperor since him, since none could light the Dragonfires.<\/em><\/p>\n And this is the piece I am missing.\u00a0 WHY could the next Emperors not light the fires \u2013 and why have there been no incursions of Oblivion since then? There is at least one existing portal \u2013 the one in Volkihar Castle that leads to the Soul Cairn \u2013 and yet we do not have Daedric invasions and have not had for at least two hundred years.<\/em><\/p>\n Edwyn rubbed his forehead in frustration.<\/p>\n I am far too preoccupied with the business at hand either to determine what is important about this issue, or why I am not putting all the pieces together successfully.\u00a0 It is clear that Harkon wanted to use to his advantage the people\u2019s feeling that there had been no \u201clegitimate\u201d Emperor since Martin. But how? He could no more recreate a destroyed artifact than I can father a child.<\/em><\/p>\n He carefully replaced the books he\u2019d been looking at and returned the key to its usual place.\u00a0 He was going to have to let all of it \u2013 the issue of the illusion spells and the Amulet of Kings \u2013 simmer in the background in his brain. He needed some rest.<\/p>\n And then I am going to Riften.\u00a0 I am determined that I am going to find out from that Brynjolf character who this \u2018Andante\u2019 was, why he was able to exterminate one of the most ancient and powerful vampires in Tamriel, and how it is that even after having done so he is now deceased. <\/em><\/p>\n And I want that Bow, if only to keep it out of the wrong hands.<\/em><\/p>\n __<\/p>\n He stopped in Windhelm, riding Arvak down the river and under the long bridge leading into the city.\u00a0 It was a bit of a calculated risk given the current state of unease between its Jarl and Elisif. On the other hand, he was curious to see whether or not he might overhear something while he was there that could be of value to Elisif.<\/p>\n His first stop was at Candlehearth Hall. He wanted a drink and a warm-up by the fireplace before continuing his journey to Riften. The serving girl made eyes at him as she came with his drink; he smiled back at her but waved his hand in the air so that she could clearly see his wedding band. She sighed, but smiled at him and nodded before leaving.<\/p>\n He started picking up a theme. \u201cWife.\u201d \u201cQueen.\u201d Those words kept recurring in people\u2019s conversations, along with Ulfric\u2019s name and one he didn\u2019t recognize. He frowned. It wouldn\u2019t have surprised him to hear people gossiping about his marriage to Elisif, even if they didn\u2019t know who he was. But this didn\u2019t seem to be about Elisif.<\/p>\n When he was finished with his drink he went downstairs to leave, rather than taking the nearer side door out from the upper level.\u00a0 One person in any city who was bound to know all the gossip was the innkeeper or its bartender, and he determined to find out what he could.<\/p>\n \u201cHeard any rumors lately?\u201d he asked the woman, slipping several coins across the counter for her to scoop up eagerly.<\/p>\n \u201cWell, yes. I\u2019ve heard a rumor that there\u2019s a person down in Riften who can \u2013 get this \u2013 change your face. Make you look completely different! Can you believe that?\u201d<\/p>\n Edwyn blinked.\u00a0 That wasn\u2019t at all what he\u2019d expected to hear, but it started alarm bells clanging in his head.\u00a0 This is important. I\u2019ll have to think about it on my trip south.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cVery interesting. I was wondering about things going on in Windhelm, actually. I don\u2019t travel to this part of Skyrim often.\u201d<\/p>\n The woman snorted. \u201cWell it\u2019s hardly a rumor. <\/em>Except for winning the war, the biggest thing to happen in Windhelm in years was the wedding.\u201d\u00a0 She leaned over the counter and whispered. \u201cAll so hush-hush. Apparently they slipped down there at night and got married with only a few people watching. It\u2019s too bad, too. It would have been good for business if we\u2019d had a big royal wedding with all the trimmings, a pretty bride, the war hero husband. Disappointing, if you ask me.\u201d<\/p>\n Royal\u2026 wedding?<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cWhat wedding is that?\u201d<\/p>\n She straightened up and laughed. \u201cWhere have you been, in a barrow? There\u2019s only one person in this place important enough to be called royalty. Never thought I\u2019d see the day, honestly, Windhelm with a queen.\u201d\u00a0 She laughed at herself. \u201cWell, not officially, of course. But some day.\u201d<\/p>\n She grinned widely and looked at him with what he could only interpret as an expectant look.<\/p>\n Edwyn felt frozen \u2013 or at least colder than he usually felt.\u00a0 There was<\/em> only one person she could be speaking about and that was Jarl Ulfric Stormcloak.\u00a0 He reached into his coin purse and pulled out several more coins, placing them directly into her hands.<\/p>\n \u201cThank you. You\u2019ve been most helpful.\u201d<\/p>\n There was no help for it, now. He absolutely had to go to the palace to see what she was talking about.\u00a0 He made his way to the doors of the palace and decided that his best course of action would be to make use of an ability he rarely used.\u00a0 As a vampire, Edwyn could bend light around his form, becoming effectively invisible.\u00a0 He would be able to creep closer to the front of the great hall that way, and perhaps overhear things that would not otherwise be said in front of him.<\/p>\n He did so, and pushed his way through the great doors and into Ulfric\u2019s keep. The man himself was seated in his uncomfortable-looking throne, as expected.\u00a0 He exchanged words with his steward, also as expected.\u00a0 Edwyn carefully moved as close as he could.<\/p>\n \u201cShe wants us to start planning for improvements to the city, my lord,\u201d the steward said.<\/p>\n Ulfric sighed, but smiled. \u201cOf course she does, and what improvements would those be?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe steps outside, sir. Some of them have been broken and sitting at an angle as long as I can remember. She thinks we should straighten them out and replace those that cannot be repaired.\u201d<\/p>\n Ulfric laughed, a big, booming sound.<\/p>\n Edwyn blinked. Ulfric Stormcloak, laughing? That is unexpected. Everything I remember of him and everything I have heard about him would lead me to believe that he has always been a rather sour man.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cOf course my wife would want something like that,\u201d he said, his voice carrying hints of warmth and affection.<\/p>\n So it\u2019s true. He has taken a wife.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cOf course I would, Ulfric,\u201d a female voice responded.\u00a0 From the room to Edwyn\u2019s left a woman in a flaming red dress emerged.\u00a0 She approached the throne to stand before it for a moment. She looked back down the hall quickly and grinned, then stepped up to the throne and leaned over Ulfric to kiss him.\u00a0 The Jarl\u2019s hand rose to her waist and briefly slid down what Edwyn had no choice other than to recognize as a very shapely bottom. She swatted his hand and straightened up.<\/p>\n \u201cReally, Ulfric. In front of everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cEveryone being Jorlief? He has seen worse behavior from me,\u201d Ulfric said, the smile on his face and the mischief in his eyes telling Edwyn everything he needed to know. The man was married. He gave every impression of being in love with his wife.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s true, my lady,\u201d the man Ulfric had called Jorlief said. \u201cBegging your pardon, my lord.\u201d<\/p>\n Ulfric laughed again. Edwyn marveled at it, and admired the man\u2019s wife.<\/p>\n Attractive. Young. A bit too<\/em> \u2026 Nord \u2026 for my taste but I suppose. Now what is her name?<\/em><\/p>\n Ulfric grinned at Jorlief and then returned his attention to his bride. \u201cSo, Stormblade, you believe we should expend valuable time and effort on repairing things that have been as they are now for hundreds of years?\u201d<\/p>\n Stormblade. That\u2019s a battle-title, not a name.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cYes, I do. Have you ever thought about the people who want to come see you? Those steps are not only unattractive and very off-putting, they\u2019re a hazard. Anyone even the least bit infirm could hurt themselves trying to get up here.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cDid it ever occur to my beautiful bride that discouraging the masses from visiting our court might have been intentional?\u201d<\/p>\n The young woman tsk\u2019d and shook her head, sending her ponytail bobbing. Edwyn couldn\u2019t help but watch appreciatively. She was, if nothing else, attractive.<\/p>\n \u201cChange your intention, Ulfric,\u201d she said flatly. \u201cIf you\u2019re going to be king of the whole land you need to be able to welcome people from the whole land, not just a few of us hand-picked Nords.\u00a0 You know I\u2019m right. Don\u2019t give me a hard time about this.\u201d<\/p>\n Ulfric chuckled again. \u201cYes, yes. I should know by now to heed my wife\u2019s wise counsel.\u201d\u00a0 He turned to his steward and said \u201cSpeak to Frina and see what she wants done, Jorlief. And begin planning to have it happen.\u00a0 Now, if you\u2019ll both excuse me, I have work that needs my attention.\u201d\u00a0 He rose from his throne and left the room. His wife turned to gaze down the hall with a self-satisfied smile before turning to Jorlief.<\/p>\n \u201cMy lady Frina,\u201d the man said. \u201cWhere shall we begin?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOutside, Jorlief,\u201d Frina said. \u201cLet me change into something a little less exposed and I\u2019ll be right back.\u201d\u00a0 She left the throne room, Jorlief sighed heavily, and Edwyn took advantage of that moment to slink back out of the palace.<\/p>\n His trip to Riften seemed to take no time at all, as occupied as his mind was. Ulfric married to a much younger and presumably fertile young woman lent a whole new dimension of urgency to the already tense situation with Elisif.\u00a0 Ulfric was no fool. Undoubtedly his marriage, no matter his warm feelings toward the girl, had been largely a tactical move to further his elevation to High King.<\/p>\n For what does a court love more than a royal couple with a royal heir? Exactly as Elisif said.<\/em><\/p>\n The other piece of information he had picked up from Windhelm, though, made him feel a bit more confident about his situation.\u00a0 As soon as he arrived in Riften he made it a point to speak to one of the guards near the north gate.<\/p>\n \u201cI understand there is someone known as a face-changer here. Where might I find this person?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOh, don\u2019t listen to those rumors,\u201d the man said. \u201cFace-butcher, is more like it.\u201d<\/p>\n Edwyn pulled a small sack of coin out of a pocket and dangled it in front of the guard\u2019s nose. \u201cAnd if I were to want my face butchered, where would I go to have it done by an expert?\u201d<\/p>\n The guard grinned and grabbed the sack. \u201cA tavern called the Ragged Flagon. In the Ratway. But you didn\u2019t hear it from me.\u201d<\/p>\n Edwyn smiled. \u201cNever heard a word, my good man.\u201d\u00a0 Good. I know where to go. And if I am very lucky I may be able to take care of two issues at the same time.<\/em><\/p>\n —<\/em><\/p>\n Perhaps an hour later, Edwyn found himself standing on the back deck of one of the lakefront properties in Riften.<\/p>\n He had indeed located the face-changer, a Bosmer woman who looked up at him from under a hood as he approached and shook her head. \u201cIt is true that I have the skill. But I only work on the living.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe client will in fact be among the living, if in fact you are capable.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI am,\u201d she told him quietly. \u201cBut I must warn you, my services do not come cheaply.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cPrice is not a concern. I will return with the client when the time is right.\u201d<\/p>\n He\u2019d turned to leave the Ragged Flagon only to see a familiar face staring at him from over the top of a flagon. Lady Luck seems to be with me this day; for there he is, just as though he knew I\u2019d be looking for him.<\/em><\/p>\n He had approached the table and smiled. \u201cBrynjolf. You are just the man I was hoping to find.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIs that so. What can I do for you today, Lord Wickham?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI need to speak to you at some length regarding a former associate of yours and an object of some importance that he possessed.\u201d<\/p>\n Brynjolf nodded. \u201cMmm. I wondered when you\u2019d be back. Not here. Let\u2019s go someplace more private.\u201d He pushed back his chair and led Edwyn toward the door. They\u2019d left the tavern area, and passed by the shopkeepers that circled the area outside it, before the large redhead said anything else.<\/p>\n \u201cSo how is life in Solitude these days, Edwyn?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n \u201cBusy,\u201d Edwyn said.<\/p>\n \u201cI understand there are congratulations to be given.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes. Thank you very much. I\u2019m a very happy man.\u201d<\/p>\n Brynjolf looked at him sideways and smirked. \u201cI\u2019m sure you are. And Lady Elisif must be very excited. I know she was just gutted when Torygg died, and them without children.\u201d<\/p>\n They pushed through the Ratway and toward the steps leading to Riften\u2019s lower level. \u201cI can tell you, it\u2019s quite an experience. I have only the one at the moment, but we\u2019re expecting another in not too long a time. Never would have believed it possible for an old dog like me.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes, I can imagine,\u201d Edwyn murmured.\u00a0 You were supposed to have been a vampire. I would have found it astonishing indeed to learn that you were a father, or even capable of becoming one. And you know it. That is why you are talking about it. Trying to see whether you can get me to react.<\/em><\/p>\n Brynjolf led him up the steps to Riften\u2019s marketplace and then across it, to a modest home on its opposite side.\u00a0 He opened the door and waved Edwyn inside. The place was very quiet, Edwyn thought; almost too quiet.\u00a0 Brynjolf\u2019s child didn\u2019t live here, that was certain. But it was definitely his home.<\/p>\n \u201cHoneyside,\u201d Brynjolf said. \u201cLet\u2019s go out onto the back deck. It\u2019s been a nice afternoon.\u201d<\/p>\n They settled themselves onto the deck. Brynjolf reached into what was obviously a mead barrel and pulled out two bottles, offering one to Edwyn.<\/p>\n I don\u2019t usually indulge, but on this occasion I\u2019ll make an exception.<\/em> To his surprise, the mead tasted wonderful to him. He raised his eyebrows in surprise and looked at the label. Black-Briar Reserve. Mead was such a commoner\u2019s drink, to his mind, but he was pleased to have made the acquaintance of this brew.<\/p>\n \u201cSo, Edwyn,\u201d Brynjolf said. \u201cThis is the second time you\u2019ve come to find me in the Flagon. You accused me of theft the last time you were here. I can\u2019t imagine why you\u2019re here this time.\u201d He smiled at Edwyn; a pleasant enough smile, but the eyes above it were cold as the snows of Pale Pass.<\/p>\n Edwyn stared back at him. I suppose there is no good reason to dissemble. Neither of us trusts or even particularly likes the other and no amount of surface nicety is going to change that.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cLet me be blunt, in that case. I am here because I do not understand what happened at Castle Volkihar before my arrival, and I have it on the highest possible authority that you were there, Brynjolf.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIs that so.\u201d It wasn\u2019t a question. Brynjolf didn\u2019t look at him; rather, he stared out over the lake with the smallest of smiles playing at the corner of his mouth.<\/p>\n \u201cYou know the authorities to whom I refer.\u00a0 Vingalmo. Garan Marethi. Orthjolf. Serana.\u201d<\/p>\n Brynjolf nodded while studying the quietly lapping waves.<\/p>\n \u201cYes, I know all of those people.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIf that is the case then you know that mortals do not simply visit Castle Volkihar.\u201d<\/p>\n Brynjolf nodded. \u201cVery true. I would expect to be at the top of the menu if I went there.\u201d<\/p>\n Yes, you obnoxious man. <\/em>Edwyn was getting hungry, but even so he couldn\u2019t imagine himself tasting Brynjolf\u2019s blood.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd you knew the former Lord of the castle, an individual calling himself \u2018Andante.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cTold you before, lad. I knew him very well indeed.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2018Lad.\u2019 Does he use that to be purposefully annoying?<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cI want to know how an upstart from nobody knows where was able to infiltrate the clan and destroy Lord Harkon, one of the strongest and most ancient vampires ever to inhabit Tamriel \u2013 and then die<\/em>. I have been assured that my predecessor at Volkihar had a partner, a very substantial vampire in his own right, and yet it is obvious to me that you are not a vampire. Now how can that be?\u201d<\/p>\n Brynjolf chuckled. \u201cCurious, isn\u2019t it. You\u2019re correct, of course, I\u2019m not a vampire.\u201d He stretched his arms out before him and yawned, then rubbed his face. Finally he looked up at Edwyn and smiled. \u201cSo you want to know about Andante.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAlright, I\u2019ll tell you about Andante. He was from Bravil. He worked with me here for some time before the Dawnguard sent him to find \u2018a vampire artifact.\u2019 That was Serana. Harkon gave him the Gift after he returned Serana to the castle.\u201d His voice dropped. \u201cHe was very, very powerful. He didn\u2019t show it often, because it was terrifying. Part of why he was so good at what he did was his charm, and as you know a vampire lord is anything but. His methods were something like yours, in that respect. Of course, he didn\u2019t have to work at being charming. It was his natural state.\u201d<\/p>\n He smiled. Edwyn felt the heat of anger rising in him and fought to keep it down. Work at being charming, do I? After hundreds of years there\u2019s nothing about it that even begins to resemble work. <\/em><\/p>\n \u201cI didn\u2019t quite understand it until much later but he was one of the most naturally evil men ever to come out of Cyrodiil. Second only to his father, really. Now, it happens that I\u2019ve done my research, Archmage, and I know you were busy in Cyrodiil for many years. You likely heard of him at one time or another.\u201d<\/p>\n Edwyn frowned.\u00a0 \u201cI don\u2019t understand.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou probably would have known him better by his real name, Vitus Perdeti.\u201d<\/p>\n Edwyn hissed.\u00a0 Perdeti?<\/em> That man? I heard that name more than once over the years. And his father was one of the vilest of the skooma thugs in Bravil. For someone in that particular profession to be known at all was quite a feat, and the elder Perdeti was both known and hated, far and wide. The younger \u2013 Vitus \u2013 I never saw him but I certainly knew of him as a dangerous assassin. He was the one who killed Harkon?<\/em><\/p>\n Brynjolf chuckled again. \u201cYes. I see you were familiar with him. He was something that only comes along once in a lifetime, Edwyn, and lucky for us that\u2019s the case. He was determined to retrieve Auriel\u2019s Bow and to have that castle for himself, and there was really nothing that could have stopped him. He was capable of both the most loyal service and the most perfectly disturbing acts.\u201d\u00a0 His smile broadened, and he looked up at Edwyn. \u201cAnd you know, in my line of work I\u2019ve seen some pretty disturbing things and done some of them myself. He could make me look like a priest.\u201d<\/p>\n Brynjolf smiled out over the water and breathed a sigh of contentment.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd he was mine.\u201d<\/p>\n Edwyn shook his head. \u201cYou\u2019re\u2026 a married man, Brynjolf.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes I am, and very happy. My wife is \u2013 well, without going into details I\u2019ll just say that she is in also in a category of her own and I am very fortunate. Nonetheless. You might have expected to hear that I was his<\/em>. But it was never like that. He was mine, and all mine.\u201d His voice dropped, quiet and sad. \u201cI miss him. I expect that I always will.\u201d\u00a0 He stood and turned to face the Archmage.<\/p>\n \u201cIt seems to me that you are also a very powerful vampire. And yet, believe me when I say that you should be happy never to have crossed paths with him.\u201d<\/p>\n He paused and looked Edwyn over.<\/p>\n \u201cI am confident that you would have lost.\u201d<\/p>\n Edwyn\u2019s vision went red with rage for just a moment. How dare the man? I\u2019m the Lord of Volkihar. I\u2019m the Archmage of Winterhold. I could kill him in an instant simply by using my teeth, or I could stretch the killing out with spells. How dare he?<\/em><\/p>\n He fought his anger back again. He needed to understand, and pointless arguments and personal attacks were not going to get him anywhere.<\/p>\n \u201cBecause he had the Bow, correct?\u201d<\/p>\n Brynjolf nodded. \u201cHe did have the Bow, for certain. That\u2019s one of the reasons Harkon went down as easily as he did; a sun-hallowed arrow from that Bow and\u2026\u201d\u00a0 Brynjolf shuddered. \u201cJust like being cast into the sun itself. The other reason was that there were three fighting against him and his conjurations. I\u2019m convinced, though, that Andante \u2013 Vitus \u2013 could have taken him on alone and won. I\u2019ve never witnessed anything quite as vicious as what I saw in his final days, when he didn\u2019t bother trying to hide it from me. There was little that could stand against him.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAnd yet he died.\u201d<\/p>\n Brynjolf smirked. \u201cIt would be more accurate to say that he allowed the sun to take him.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cEnough of that. Strong though he may have been, he is dead now and I am the Lord of Volkihar Castle. There\u2019s no use pretending otherwise. Where is the Bow now, Brynjolf?\u201d<\/p>\n Brynjolf shrugged. \u201cI honestly don\u2019t know. He got rid of it just before the end. I know he intended to keep it out of our hands for our own safety. I don\u2019t know where it ended up.\u201d<\/p>\n Edwyn stared at him, evaluating.\u00a0 He was telling the truth. Whatever else about his speeches might have been skillful dodging, this was the bald truth. He sighed.<\/p>\n \u201cI appreciate your honesty. As you might imagine, I do have a vested interest in recovering that Bow.\u00a0 Unlike my late master, I have no intention of using its \u2026 darker powers. One of our few disagreements in hundreds of years was over that very point. It is in nobody\u2019s best interests to darken the sun.\u201d<\/p>\n Brynjolf shook his head. \u201cNow, Lord Wickham, I\u2019m afraid I need to excuse myself. I have people waiting. One of them can make my life very unpleasant if she\u2019s crossed.\u201d\u00a0 He grinned. \u201cBest of luck to you in your new married life, Edwyn. I\u2019m sure we\u2019re going to have a coronation coming soon, so maybe we\u2019ll meet again then. I make it a point never to miss a big event if I can help it. So many pockets heavy with wealth, you know how it is.\u201d<\/p>\n Brynjolf grinned again and descended the deck steps, disappearing to the right up the hill near the city stables. \u00a0Edwyn stared at the water for a few moments, breathing slowly, deeply annoyed that a common thief could have irritated him so badly.<\/p>\n All that and I\u2019m still not certain that I know any more now than I did when I arrived. At least, I learned nothing that is of immediate use aside from having a confirmation that Brynjolf is a thief. And an obnoxious one, at that.<\/em><\/p>\n He descended the steps to the water\u2019s edge and summoned Arvak. Agryn and Vyctyna\u2019s home was straight across the water from here, and he was a very hungry vampire. There were two human cattle there that would do nicely, and a rest in the master coffin would do his unsettled nerves a world of good.<\/p>\n Edwyn stood in the Arcanaeum, staring at the piles of books. It was the middle of the night, Urag gro-Shub was asleep, and he had the place to himself for the moment. But there were so many things to research. And every time he tried to focus his mind on one thing or the next … <\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/baakay.com\/FanFic\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/5-1-9-2.png\")
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<\/p>\nPart I: Modulation<\/a><\/div>\nPrevious<\/a> \/ Next<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"