Abandoned Oblivion Fanfic
The inky blackness of the night blanketed the land for miles and miles, bringing with it the end to another long day. The insects played their symphonies into the cool night air as the moons watched over them, ever-present witnesses to their songs. Birds slept in their nests, wings folded protectively around their young. Wolves nestled into their dens with their cubs and prepared for a good night sleep. Even the mighty Minotaur took shelter to rest for the next day. Except for the insects, the land was silent; a sleeping world. Only the light of a small campfire broke the sheet of darkness that had descended over the land. In front of the fire sat a young argonian, his dirty, orange-red scales dully reflecting the orange of the fire. Under his eyes were two small patches of green. A crown of short brown spines grew out of his head with two large spines curving back about a foot behind his head. A single small spine sat on the tip of his nose. He wore nothing but a tattered loincloth. His features were drawn tightly in thought, clawed hand balled up under his jaw. He sat there motionless, lost in thought, the crackle of the fire and song of the insects the only audible sounds. Soon the light of the fire started to fade. Only now did the young argonian stir. He awkwardly haled himself to his feet, revealing a large gash on his calf.
He hobbled over to his small pile of wood and tossed a few pieces into the fire. He made a slight adjustment to the burning wood and returned to his earlier position. Before sitting down though, he lifted a fur blanket that concealed a large lump next to him. Pulling back the corner of the blanket he revealed the face of a beautiful female argonian. She was of the same orange-red coloration as him, with a ring of white decorated spikes crowning her head. His face darkened, a look of worry spreading across his features.
Her condition worries me. She has been this way ever since I rescued her from those marauders three days ago. Only last night her fever broke, but she has not awoken to eat or drink. I fear that if she does not wake soon, she may perish. I only hope that when she does wake that she may perhaps be able to heal my wound. It has become infected and is starting to smell.
He ran his scaly hand down her right cheek, savoring the touch.
Ah, good. Her scales are warm. That means her fever has not come back. If she is to awake soon, it may very well be to-
His thoughts were suddenly interrupted by a sudden sharp gasp from the female argonian. She grabbed his hand and jolted upright, gasping for breath. She sat there for a second, eyes wide, nostrils flared, and breathing heavily. She turned and faced him. He saw fear in her eyes; a hopeless, desperate fear. Suddenly, she collapsed against his chest, sobbing. He held her close as she cried, hugging her and giving her what comfort he could. Soon her sobbing faded into the night and she looked up at him.
"It's alright, everything is fine now. The marauders are dead. I killed them and rescued you. You should eat now though. You've been asleep for 3 days, did you know that?"
She shook her head, and he smiled. He reached over to a small sack that was next to him and pulled out a large piece of dried venison.
"Here, eat this. You will need your strength tomorrow."
Without hesitation she took the meat and began to hungrily devour it. He watched her as she ate, astounded at her physical shape. He slid his hand down her side as she ate, feeling the strong muscles underneath. Each one was clearly defined, though she was not overly muscular; the perfect body in his opinion. He stopped his hand on her right buttock, leaving it there to rest. Though she noticed, she did not seem to care.
"I have more if you want it. We'll need to find you some clothes tomorrow as well. I tried to retrieve your clothes, but as you see, I already had enough trouble trying to rescue you in the first place."
He exposed the back of his calf, revealing a white, oozing gash. When she saw this, she put down her meat.
"Do you have a cloth?" the female asked, slightly raspy.
Glaedr's eyes widened at the sound of her voice. Though injured as it was from her screaming, it was still, in his opinion, quite beautiful. He yearned to hear it when she recovered.
"As a matter of fact, I do." The male replied after a moment's hesitation. He reached into his pocket, pulled out a stained grey cloth, and handed it to her.
"I need something to wash out the wound with. Do you have any water?" He reached into his bag and pulled out a small wineskin.
"This is all I have --here." He handed her the wineskin.
"That will work. Actually, it is preferred. Alcohol has some disinfecting properties."
He didn't know what that meant, but he figured it was a good thing. He watched as she unstopped the wineskin and poured some of its amber liquid into his gash. He jerked slightly as he felt the sting. He saw her smirk as she continued her work. Before long she had the wound cleaned. She lay her hands over the gash and spoke a few soft words. The young male watched in amazement as his scales flowed back together right before his eyes.
"How did...?"
His voice trailed off, still in wonder at how she was able to achieve such an amazing feet.
"I was trained in the art of restoration magic. I can do no more than heal the surface though, nothing below. I was out in the wilderness with my teacher learning about the art when we were ambushed by marauders. They brutally killed my mentor, cleaving his head from his neck. I ran screaming into the night, but they easily caught up with me. They took me back to an old fort somewhere. I don't know where though, because they knocked me out so I wouldn't struggle. When I awoke they showed no mercy. They raped me and attempted to take my virginity away from me. I kicked and screamed and fought back as best I could. One hit me hard, and that's where my memory fails me. I don't remember anything else, though I cannot help but notice how familiar your face is. I feel like I have seen you, but I don't know where from. "
The young male looked away, ashamed to let her know the truth. When he looked back at her, she saw a great sadness in his eyes.
"You recognize me, because I was one of those marauders, though I did not participate in that raid that night. I was one of those left at the fort to guard it. When my fellow marauders came back with a limp argonian female, I was applauded. Never before had they kidnapped someone. Before that night it was strictly raiding and killing the occasional Imperial Forrester to avoid our discovery. When I protested to this kidnapping and how it was against the code they threatened me and pushed me aside. Of course I had no doubt that I could take one, maybe two of them at once, but I knew that I would not be able to take all six of them, so I kept quiet and bided my time. I stood there and watched what they attempted to do to you, and must confess that I was rather amused by your attempts to resist. Finally, when the orc hit you, I lost it. I drew my sword and cut two of them down where they stood. Pulling my sword out of one, I quickly cut down another as he was drawing his axe. The three remaining drew their weapons and began to encircle me. A khajiit on my right, a dunmer on my left, and that orc in front of me. Fortunately, I knew how they fought, as I had seen them many times in practice. Even though we traveled in groups when raiding and attacking, we never attacked in unison. It was always one at a time. Each was a good fighter, but attacking by themselves would be their downfall.
"First to lunge was the khajiit. He was a quick fellow, as most khajiit are, but he attacked with a shortsword. Great for ambush, but not prolonged attack. I easily knocked it out of his hands and severed his head. Almost as if on cue the dunmer lunged with his longsword. I parried the blow and laid my blade to rest in his heart. I stuck my foot on his chest and pushed, yanking my sword out of his body. I had just barely enough time to block the claymore that the orc was now swinging at my head. We locked swords, and stared each other in the face.
'You will pay for your treachery lizard. We rescued you, fed you, and took you in. We gave you a place to live when you had none, and this is how you repay us?'
'Your care for me stopped when you broke our code and raped another of my kind. '
"With that we pushed away, preparing for another assault. The orc lunged, bringing his sword down from above with such tremendous force that my arms trembled from blocking the blow.
I always knew orcs were strong, but his strength is amazing, even for an orc. If I want to survive this fight I would do well to end it quickly. I thought to myself, after receiving his blow.
"Forcing his blade to my left, I began to swing my sword towards his head, but he ducked it and grabbed me, flinging me to the ground.
'I have you now lizard. You'll make a fine pair of boots.'
'That's what you think... HAAAA!!!'
"I thrust out my arm towards him and lightning appeared from my finger tips, striking the orc in the chest. Though not a powerful spell, it was enough to knock him onto his back, dazed. I stood over him with my sword point over his heart.
'Now, it is you who will die... old friend. '
'Please.... no!' he whimpered faintly.
"With that final plea, I looked away, and slid my sword between his ribs and into his heart. He looked at me, and on his dying breath muttered:
'I'm sorry...'
'As am I...'
"And with that his soul faded into oblivion. As much of a friend as he had been to me, I could not forgive what he did to you. I sheathed my sword and began to look for your clothing. I grabbed a sack and stuffed a few food items into it as well as that wineskin, and began to search for your stuff, but I heard the pounding of footsteps and decided that it was time to get you out of there. I picked you up, sack in hand, and began to leave just as a guard came in. Seeing his dead companions and me standing in the middle of the room with you in hand, he drew his sword and charged, a wild battle cry emerging from his lips. Rather than fight him, I turned tail, so to speak, and ran for the entrance. He swung his sword at me, and nicked my calf, giving me the gash you just healed. When he cut me, I stumbled and fell, dropping you. Right before he managed to get me again I pulled a dagger off my thigh and threw it at him, hitting him squarely in the throat. He crashed to the ground right next to me. I took my dagger back from his windpipe, cleaning it on his tunic, and sheathed it. Leaving him there to die, I picked you back up and got as far away from that place as I could. That is how we ended up here. I've been here for three days now, looking after you and keeping you safe. Thankfully, only a wolf passed in that time, and seemed uninterested in both of us. I was worried about you the whole time. The last thing I wanted was for one of my own to die, for any reason. I am truly sorry for what I have done, and allowed. I do not blame you if you wish to leave, and I will do nothing to stop you if that be your choice."
With that the young argonian ended his tale and bowed his head in shame. The female sat there for several moments, deep in thought. The only sounds were the crickets chirping and the occasional wolf howling. Finally, she looked up at the young male and spoke.
"I cannot stay with a marauder. They are a vile and wicked people, to say the least."
"I understand. I - "
She interrupted him, raising a clawed finger.
"But, you are not a marauder, not anymore. You could have gone along with those beasts and I would probably not be here still; but no, you risked your life to save me, though you could have easily lost your own. I cannot stay with a marauder, but I can stay with the man that saved my life."
The young male was caught off guard, not expecting such an answer.
"By the way, my name's Lilith, and you are?"
"My name is Glaedr."
"Glaedr... it sounds, powerful. You have a very unique name, though it is not traditional, is it?"
"If by traditional you mean my hist name, then no, it is not. That was the name given to me back when I lived in Argonia. As you may have noticed, I am not a typical argonian." He reached back and grabbed one of his wings, fingering the thin membrane. He could feel the veins in his wings pulse under his fingertips. "I am in fact from of the Sarpa tribe. The name Glaedr was given to me by my chieftain, Reel-Kaniur. He said it means. 'Fierce'. He was describing my fighting style. He was also the one who taught me my swordplay, and for that I am eternally grateful. Though he was old and wise, that did not diminish his strength in any way. He was graceful, yet deadly with a blade, and just about any other weapon, including his fists. It is said that he defeated a slode all by himself. That in itself is the stuff that makes legends, or dead men, usually the latter."
"Your chieftain sounds like a very brave man. He turned out a good student that he did. If you do not mind, would you teach me some of your swordplay? If I am to travel with you, then I will need to know how to defend myself. In return, I can teach you what little I know of the Restoration school of magic."
In his mind, Glaedr was ecstatic about Lilith joining him. He liked her, and not just for her looks. She had a friendly personality; one that he was not used to, but welcomed it. He did his best to try to keep his excitement out of his voice. "I suppose you may join me, though I may regret it. I trust that you will not be a burden to me?" Glaedr raised what would be an eyebrow, if he had any. He crossed his arms and waited for Lilith's answer. He couldn't help but smirk as he noticed Lilith running her eyes over his features.
He's very well fit, if perhaps a bit underfed. His tone and definition are amazing for his age. His color is good, which means he is healthy. I like him already. He just needs a good wash-up and he'll be perfect.
Lilith rocked onto her knees and started to crawl over to Glaedr. Glaedr's eyes widened as Lilith approached him. Unsure of what to do towards such advances, he remained still. Lilith chuckled audibly at his ignorance. This had obviously never happened to him before, though why she could not imagine.