Leaving the ruins of the basement behind and deciding that we had well and truly overstayed our welcome, Viconia and I moved on from the cesspit that was Bravil. With barely a backwards glance or even bidding any farewells, we acquired our equipment and faded into the streets like wraiths in the afternoon shadows. Neither of us wanted to remain in the stinking city for any longer, and the expressions of anger, annoyance and pity that were in the eyes of the other Fighters only confirmed our decision.

  That night we slept together, curling up under our cloaks and clothing off the side of the road and passing out in each other's arms. Too tired, cold and emotionally drained; neither of us could do much else but make ourselves comfortable in a mostly dry patch of ground, surrounded by the burbling of the marshland and the croaking of frogs. Using her hood as a pillow Viconia rested with her head on my chest, both of us choosing to sleep fully clothed in our armours. There was something extremely comforting resting with her weight pressed into my side and my arm wrapped around her shoulders.

  I woke with the morning sun as it began spearing through the mangroves, feeling strangely relaxed despite the obvious tightness of my shoulders and neck from sleeping in one position for the entire evening. Viconia continued sleeping for some time after myself, her face calm and peaceful and bereft of the scowls that twisted the flesh. For what felt like hours I simply lay there, smiling to myself and running the tips of my fingers through her hair lightly as so not to disturb her.

  After some time, she rolled lightly, eyes cracking open and while lined with veins there was a much softer light to them that morning. Blinking she looked up and gave me a faint smile, lifting herself up so I could roll and stretch out the creases in my spine from the evening with a series of pops.

  "Well, this is unexpectedly pleasant." She said, looking over me as I sat up and cracked my neck with my hands.

  "Except for the twinges that was the best sleep I have had in years." I replied, stretching my again back with another series of pops.

  There was a nervous energy about her as she sat, flexing her hands and looking at me with slight apprehension. With a nod of thanks, she took a hunk of hardtack and one of the waterskins as I handed them over to her.

  "What?" I asked, looking over to her and grinding away at piece of my own hardtack that had a consistency comparable to a wooden shield.

  There was a moment of hesitation, eyes looking about before finally settling on her hands. "Yesterday... You said that you loved me."

  I paused in mid-bite, meeting her gaze and carefully chewing as I thought. "I did."

  "Why?"

  Rolling the thoughts through my mind like I would roll stones in the palm of my hand, I thought long and hard. The growing feelings that I had for her since we had first met had been growing stronger with every passing day. While I knew that there was a considerable amount of lust as a foundation it wasn't just a physical attraction. I would do anything for her, and I also knew that there would be nothing in my power that I would not undertake to ensure that she remained safe. Even for something as simple as a smile I would throw myself into the depths of Oblivion unarmed.

  "Because I care about you. Even before what happened with the Mythic Dawn I would have died before letting you come to harm."

  "You need to work on your effectiveness then." She said half-jokingly, unconsciously pressing her fingers into her armour where the crossbow bolts had lodged. "but why didn't you claim me last night?"

  "Claim you?" The confusion only lasted for a moment until the realisation flashed into my mind. My eys widened as I looked at her. "Oh..."

  With both eyes burning into me she watched me carefully, studying every inch of my expression.

  I felt incredibly nervous under her gaze and my mouth was suddenly dry and not just form the hunk of wood masquerading as bread after being baked far too many times. "Look, I'm not good with women. Never have been and probably never will be. After yesterday I didn't think that it would have been a good idea to rush things, especially how we have only kissed twice and all that."

  She leant over, pressing her lips against mine and for a moment we lost ourselves in the feeling. Reaching up, I ran my fingers through her hair as her hand pressed into my jaw. "Thrice now." She said huskily as she pulled away, the words rising from deep within her chest and almost sounding like a purr.

  "I really do think that I love you."

  The hunger in her eyes dimmed slightly and she looked at me with slight hints of confusion. "As you keep saying. But, other than the substandard examples I have seen during my time on the surface that word holds no meaning."

  "And I'm not sure if I can describe it either." I replied honestly. "The best I think that I'll be able to do is show you, as I know the Drow don't have a word for Love."

  "We do." The scowl returned with customary force. "Ssinssrigg. But it doesn't hold the same meaning as what you put into yours. I would use it to describe how I feel about my sword, or my armour, not an individual."

  "What would you call a lover or partner?"

  "Mrannd'ssinss."

  Rolling the word around my tongue I tried to remember what little she had taught me about her native tongue. "Which means I would call you mrind'sins."

  There was darkness in her eyes for a second as I butchered the word. "Mrimmd'ssinss." She pronounced very carefully. "And don't. The intent and meaning of those words don't translate into common the way you are intending. The closest meaning to Mrannd'ssinss that I can comfortably translate is 'male-who's-life-and-seed-you-possess'. As I possess neither and this is not a relationship within the Underdark then it is inaccurate."

  "In case you haven't noticed, on the surface it's not the words but the meaning and emotion you put into them." Carefully I rose to my feet, offering her a hand to help her rise. "I take it that we are something more than just travelling companions now?"

  Her laugh was musical. "Not yet we aren't." There was a wicked gleam in her eyes as she moved closer and ran her fingers up my breastplate. "You lost your opportunity last night, but who knows what the future holds?"

  "Hopefully a decent bed and a bath that doesn't have mud mixing through the water."

  "Shar's sacred blessings I hope so." She moved closer and we kissed again, our arms wrapping around each other and I felt the solid thump of our armours coming together.

  "Until then you'll just have to behave yourself..." The sultry grin of pleasure and amusement creased her expression into one that nearly made my heart miss a beat. "Mrannd'ssinss..."

  It was a lengthy journey to Leyawiin in the deep south of Cyrodiil, and every kilometre seemed to increase the temperature and humidity until we were riding in our tunics and daedroth scales. All my metal armour plates had been stuffed into various saddlebags, and I left my minotaur leather cloak and hood wrapped around me only to keep the sun's burning gaze from turning my skin red and raw. Viconia, despite her the deep ebony colouring of her skin had similar issues as the sun beat down mercilessly and complained bitterly about the sun's savage bite. After two days the evening were broken with storms that had begun regularly every day. These storms and the rain would leave us drenched at each tavern or coaching inn we stayed the night at but at least managed to go some way at washing away the filth of Bravil from our flesh and belongings.

  No longer did we stay in separate rooms or sleeping on the bed and floor respectively. Each night we retired to our room resulted in sleeping in each other's arms and by the third morning we rose exhausted after having very little sleep the night before. There had been times that I was thankful for my vampiric curse, and it was on that morning that I rose sore and bearing more than just a handful of bite marks and scratches that I was grateful for the increased stamina. Like a river bursting its banks, our emotions and mutual lust had finally found a release and it was closer to midday when the two of us managed to resaddle our mounts and continue with our journey. What began as soft and gentle caresses had quickly changed to a rough and passionate hunger that we satisfied with each other's flesh, leaving both of us with a handful of sore muscles, various aches and some difficulty walking for both of us.

  If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

  Each night afterwards, and on one occasion while we stopped for lunch we relieved all the sexual tension that had been building for the past four months. Viconia especially was positively glowing as we finally came within sight of the towered walls of Leyawiin

  Built into the outcroppings of stone and foothills at the mouth and estuaries of the lower Niben; Leyawiin was a majestic sight. As the stronghold that not only provided a safe port for the ships and fleets in the southern Empire, but also secured the only sea trading routes to the Imperial city it was heavily fortified. Unlike Bravil there was no decay or lingering sense of long lost glories but the feeling of progress and security. Thousands of acres around the city, almost for as far as the eye could see had been cleared of mangroves and rainforests and instead turned into enormous collections of rice paddies. Tiered into every rising slope and supplied from an enormous series of aqueducts from as far away as the rivers and streams in the mountain ranges separating Elswyr and Cyrodiil to the west.

  Trapped in between two provinces with less than a week's travel separating them, the city had to be strong not just for the Empire's interests but also for its very survival. Well experienced fighting against Khajiit raiders and Argonian insurgents, the militia was almost a private army comparable to the legions, but Leyawiin had more than just guards to protect her.

  Viconia and I rode steadily down the highway towards the towering walls of the city. Gently swaying in the saddle as our horses trotted along, it was considerably more pleasant now that we found ourselves surrounded by the sea of rice paddies and the sun was playing hide and seek with the clouds. A cool breeze flowed from the south and Topal Bay, allowing the dozens of enormous ships sailing in the wide river mouth to make their way steadily towards the north and the Imperial City. Some of the gigantic vessels slid south, relying on a complex series of sails that allowed them to crawl bow first into the wind and for the moment Viconia and I were content in taking in our new surroundings.

  Viconia was hooded, covering her skin from the light of the sun as best she could but already I could tell that there was a newer, healthier shine from the days of travel. I was wrapped slightly in my own hood and cloak, leaving little more than my forearms out as they began to go a burned pink from the hours of exposure.

  "Do your people have a rite of Passage into adulthood?" she asked as we travelled along the highway and steered our mounts through the increasing press of travellers and merchants. "I'm curious."

  I glanced over to her, while keeping an eye on the dozens of people making their way throughout the area. For over a kilometre around the city the ground was solid and sparsely constructed. Unlike the other cities in the Empire, Leyawiin was constantly on a war-footing and only the bare minimum buildings were allowed outside its walls. "Nothing formal really. Some cultures have a few different traditions but even then, it differs from place to place."

  The word of a recent attack on the city had reached us on the second night on the road south and around us there was the general bustle of military might that followed all engagements. Another Oblivion gate had opened but this time it had been a resounding victory against the Deedra. The details had been sparse, but the word had been that the battle had been over in less than two hours with only a few dozen casualties. "I know that a few of the Nords usually go on some hunt with the elders, and some of the Dumner tribes in northern Morrowind have a trial where they have to enter the Ashlands and survive for a period of days."

  Her grin was savage, and I knew that she was enjoying herself even if somewhat at my expense. "The Drow have a formal ritual, although it does vary from place to place. What we call 'the Blooding' must be performed by both sexes upon reaching the age of maturity."

  "It sounds as suitably dark and violent as what I could expect from the Drow." I chucked lightly. "What exactly is it?"

  "It's quite simple." She replied, closing her eyes and skin tingling as the wind from outside the small cave we were resting flowed across her naked body. "The young must hunt down and kill an intelligent being. Usually one of the adventurers cloth."

  "So one such as myself? That definitely sounds right for a warrior race."

  "You would've made a fitting trophy," It was her time to laugh quietly, and looked at me with her wolf-yellow eyes. "if for a simple youngling barely reaching puberty. My house insisted for the head of a holy warrior, and so I brought my Matron the head of a Akhulging Sigorduba - a Priest of some Cult in a neighbouring city."

  The sudden tenseness that ran through her body was detectable even from the distance between us. Carefully I steered my horse around a wagon filled with bags containing what appeared to be a significant amount of amber. "What happened?"

  "He took me for a beggar seeking guidance. He was far more learned than what I would've guessed, as he quickly managed to see through my deception. It still didn't stop me from using his own holy mace to cave in his skull."

  "Your Mother must have been pleased."

  There was an audible sigh and she looked around momentarily as we moved closer to an enormous building a few hundred metres from the walls. Over a kilometre away we could both see the broken spears of obsidian where an Oblivion gate had once stood only days previously. "It brought me respect in a society ruled by cruelty and ambition. These acts please Lloth."

  "Pleasing the Spider Queen was out of ethos and on mantra, girding ourselves to conquer other races." She continued, even as we both looked up over the structure. It was a combination of fortress and cathedral, reaching into the sky with a spire of locally hewn masonry and surrounded by a two-story wall topped with crenulations. Unlike the other buildings outside of the city this enormous castle-monastery was somewhat new, as the walls were still mostly free of creepers and moss despite the humid conditions. "The velmer wish to rule, as do the Duergar, the Kuo-toa and even the haszak, but our feet are clay. We distrust ourselves almost more than other races, and where I once thought of this as strength I now know that it is nothing more than weakness."

  The haunting call of a battle horn sounded, and the highway cleared with an indecent haste. Wagons and carts were rolled over to the edges, those on foot stepping into the gutters and softer soil bordering the well-worn cobblestones. Within seconds the sounds of hooves began to reverberate through the air, thudding their way into our bellies. Viconia and I too steered our horses to the sides and out of the way as the ten-metre-wide road was left clear for the approaching group of riders exiting the city.

  There was over forty of them, riding in a column four wide and at least ten long and cut a sight that I had never seen outside of wood carvings or in my imagination. Resplendent in their burnished steel plates and chainmail polished to an absolute shine, the entire group were fully plated for war. From their sallet and great helms, to their plate mailed toes they were dressed in dozens of kilograms of perfectly forged armour, white surcoats and pennants fluttering in the breeze. Even their horses; a collection of massive thoroughbreds with the smallest being no less than sixteen hands high were also heavily armoured in layers of leather and plate barding. These knights were the men and mer who had lowered lances and charged into the throat of oblivion, annihilating the daedra and crushing them under steel-shod hooves. Each knight and his steed were over a tonne of armour and flesh; capable of riding through a storm of arrows and smash entire formations to splinters with sword, lance, mace and hammer.

  As they cantered through the press they barely provided a sideways glance to those suddenly bowing or saluting their respect to the armoured knights. I watched, tapping my fist against my chest as the troop passed by us, towering over Viconia and I in their armoured might. A handful turned and looked at us as they rode onto the massive structure that was their fortress-monastery, appearing to have as much emotion as dwemer automatons than flesh-and blood beings in their faceless helms. One of the riders snapped his visor open to allow him to see better than through the series of pinholes and the horizontal slit in the visor. White faced and sweating in the layers of armour, the Imperial grinned at the two of us and briefly raised his lance to return my salute.

  All of them were sporting obvious signs of battle. Shields had been buckled or rent, armour sporting new dents and metallic gashes where blades and other weapons had tried and failed to breach the impressive plate. Tabards and surcoats were scorched or still held the fading bloodstains of their foes that failed to hide the horse and sword iconography of their order. These men were the Knights of the White Stallion; one of the few Knightly Orders based within Cyrodiil itself.

  As they rode their massive warhorses through the opened gates of their monastery Viconia and I turned and steered our horses back into the road as the other travellers were already doing. Viconia especially seemed almost struck dumb by the sight of the Knights, looking back towards their fortress in an attempt to catch a further glimpse.

  "By Shar, I never imagined that such beings could exist!" There was a strangely dreamy quality to her gaze as she thought of what she had witnessed. "And such beasts! Those minotaurs we killed could not have been any more than half their weight!"

  "I never thought that I would see a Knight in the flesh." I couldn't help but shudder slightly. The size of the armoured warriors and their horses left me feeling as though I was riding nothing more than a child's rocking horse instead of our pack animals. "Most of the Knightly orders are far away in Hammerfell and High Rock."

  "They look effective." She admitted as we rode closer to the city. The closer we got to the walls and the broken remains of the Oblivion Portal the more I began to notice the way that the ground had been churned up.

  "There's no doubt about that." With an arm I gestured to the soil around the walls before the portal and the road, pointing out what I could see with my forester's experience. "They met the daedra coming out of the portal head on."

  The ground was churned into a mire of clods of earth and mud created from daedra blood. It almost appeared as though a Sheogorath worshipper had tried his hand ploughing a field and I could see the trailing lines where two or three ranks of mounted soldiers had charged the portal across an area just over a hundred metres wide. From the size of the warhorses we had just witnessed, I quickly guessed that there would have been two or three hundred Knights in the charge that tore the ground into a muddy wound and crushed a daedric assault into paste. The stories of how only a dozen or so had lost their lives in the attack no longer seemed to be wishful thinking or propaganda. If anything, it had been an overestimation of the number who had died.