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Mirage vol II - Chapter 6

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Aleksei blocked the blows his opponent tried to strike at him with his sword. The sleeting had made his hair wet, sticking it to his face, and the snow on the battleground had turned into slush but he did not let those things disturb him; he knew he could win this duel. After the successful defensive postures, he got his opportunity to attack. He could sense that his opponent was exhausted - and now it would be his turn to be the one trying to ward off the strikes. Thus, he charged at him, and with his strong but precise blows, he managed to drop the sword from his opponent's grasp. Then he pointed at his chest with his sword, and his opponent raised his hands as the sign that he surrendered. Linnea, who had observed their battle from distance, smiled; she had been certain that Aleksei would win that duel. His friends had told her that he was an exceptionally good fighter but he rarely had to use his skills in his work, since he mostly could solve even the more complex situations by discussing.

"Congratulations, it was a tough but good duel," his opponent - one of his fellow officers - said to him, while they shook hands. "Thanks, it was a good duel, indeed," Aleksei replied, and asked: "So these duelling competitions are usually held on Turdas afternoons, then?" "Aye, the same place and time in the next week, too!" his comrade reminded him, and wondered: "Where have you learnt to fight so well?". "My father always taught me when he was at home," he said. "Your father... right...he's a general in the Lion Guard. I remember well the time when we were in the basic military training, we were both recruits back then. I've heard that his troops respect him greatly...he was a good soldier and a fair lad, when we trained together," he recalled, and wondered: "So, you haven't followed his footsteps and joined the Covenant army?" "Nope, because I like Daggerfall...I grew up in here, and decided to stay, instead of travelling around High Rock and the Covenant," he explained. "That is a very understandable reason, I like this city, too," he replied. Then he noticed Linnea, who was bringing Aleksei a piece of cloth that would serve as a towel and a cup of fresh coffee, and asked her: "Hey, do you know how to fight with a sword?" "Yep...even though spells are my weapon of choice," she answered. "Then, may I ask you to duel with me?" he proposed, and stated: "Not everyone gets the chance to fight against the Hero of Daggerfall without getting slaughtered!" "Alright, let's fight, then," she replied, and made sure she had understood it right: "No magic, only the blades?" "Aye, and the looser buys a bottle of wine to the winner," he confirmed. Thus, she took off her cloak and her scabbard and blade, picked a wooden training sword from the ground and announced: "Deal. I'm ready, let's go!"

Soon Linnea noticed that her opponent was clearly better at a plain sword fight than she was. So far, she had managed to dodge all his strikes but she would doubtlessly run out of stamina sooner than him, thus she could not keep her defences up long enough to win. She silently cursed that she had too often neglected physical training, and desperately tried to figure out how she could defeat him, despite the odds. Then she came up with an idea; when he tried to deal a stronger blow onto her sword, trying to get her drop it, she dodged it by suddenly rolling aside. Then she quickly circled behind him, drew her sheathed dagger that she always carried with her, and pointed at his back with its hilt, instead of the blade (in order to make certain that there would be no accidents caused by her unexpected maneuver), and declared smirkingly: "I won," which made Aleksei laugh amused. "But that wasn't a fair fight, you didn't even follow the rules, not to mention the duelling etiquette," her opponent corrected her. "You're right, I didn't duel fairly or honestly - and yet, if this had been a real fight, you'd be lying on the ground, bleeding to death, and I'd be still standing," she stated, and smiled deviously. "Aye...that's true! You're a smart lass," he admitted - but she continued: "However, this wasn't a real combat, and I didn't fight fairly. So, do you prefer red wine or white wine?"

"I didn't know that your father is a general in the Lion Guard," Linnea said to Aleksei, and added: "You did mention that he serves there but I didn't know that he is a high-ranked leader in those elite forces of the Covenant. So, your mother is a weapon smith, working there, too, or do I remember that right?" "Yep," he answered, and continued: "They met when they were both serving in the army. Mother raised us here in Daggerfall but when we had grown up, and my little sisters had moved away from home, she wanted to go back to her old job, and now she and my father both serve in the Lion Guard, in the same place." "And you've lived in Daggerfall all your life, then. I wonder if I'm - where I'm from. Do you think I could have also lived in this city before...the things that happened to me?" she asked him. He thought about her question for a while, and then replied: "I don't think so. At least I didn't recognise you when we met for the first time. I think I would have, if you had been living here for a longer period of time." "Oh, okay. But at least I had been here a couple of weeks earlier, before I woke up in that inn room here, after escaping Coldharbour. I don't remember that myself but the innkeeper and the Master Alchemist told me things clearly indicating to that - maybe I was visiting this city before what happened to me," she wondered aloud but then suddenly changed the subject, since she started to feel too agonised by her thoughts: "Hey, by the way, could you teach me how to fight better with a sword, dear?"

"Oh shit!" Linnea cursed, when Aleksei managed to disarm her again; first she had been able to keep up her defences but eventually she had run out of stamina, and it had been ridiculously easy for him to end the duel. "What do I do wrong? I know you're physically much stronger than me but this can't depend on that, or can it?" she asked. "Nope, not entirely. If we were fighting with battle axes or other very heavy weapons, then of course but not when we're duelling with light swords," he assumed, and advised her: "You can block and defend yourself with the blade quite well, in fact. But that's not enough in a combat - you should also create opportunities for you to attack and try to deal some damage to your enemy." "That's easier said than done," she replied, and laughed a bit. "But you're a mage, why do you want to learn to fight with the blade?" he wondered, and explained: "I think mages are very dangerous enemies. You should get near them if you want to strike them down but that's often almost impossible, because they cast dreadful spells from distance!" "That's true. But mages will eventually run out of magicka, and if that happens in the middle of a battle, it leaves them totally defenceless - unless they're able to fight with weapons. That's why I want to become better with my sword. And, besides, spells can also cause collateral damage to your friends and allies. If they're nearby, I’ll have to use my blade to defend myself and kill the enemies, while also focusing on healing us," she stated. "Oh, I understand," he replied, and then warned her with a serious tone: "And, of course the archers can easily take down a mage. That's why you would always have to beware them, if you somehow ended up attacked by your enemies, my love. Always stay on the move, then you're not so easy target for them!"

Aleksei was just about to return back to his duty, when he and Linnea saw Captain Aresin coming to them; he greeted them, saying jokingly: "Oh my, so lovely young couple - and solving their disagreement with weapons! Sorry, Linnea, it's totally my fault that he'll have to be at work all the weekend and the Heart's Day. I make the shift lists for the officers, you know," and winked at her. "Hah, he was just sparring and teaching me how to fight better. And, of course, someone has to get the weekend shift, I think we're fine with that...at least I don't care about the festivals so much myself," she replied. "And, we can always celebrate it afterwards," Aleksei added. "That's right - I only wish other officers' fiancés would be that understanding concerning the shifts on the festival days," the Captain said, and continued: "Hey, Linnea, I'd have an assignment for you, now!" "That's great! What is it about?" she asked curiously. "I'd like you to go to check that everything's alright in Deleyn's Mill. I've heard rumours that the nature surrounding that village would have, well...gone rogue. Turned against the people living there, wildlife attacking on the villagers. And that there would be some sort of dark magic involved in the matter," he explained, and having seen Aleksei's appalled expression, quickly added: "Oh, they're probably only rumours that have nothing to do with reality, that's why I haven't sent guards there yet. Sometimes wild animals do cause trouble and even attack on villagers, and that has nothing to do with dark magic. Besides, the area is officially the Covenant Guard's responsibility, not ours, even though we sometimes assist the village, when problems suddenly occur...However, I'd probably sleep better at nights, if I knew that someone capable is investigating this and taking care of it." "I'll do my best," Linnea promised, and asked: "Should I get there at once?" "I don't think this is so urgent, you'll probably just have to try to calm down the villagers, and tell them that there's nothing to worry about," he assumed, and playfully suggested: "But now you'd get something to do at the weekend, instead of spending the Heart's Day alone, while the love of your life has to be on duty!" She smiled, and promised that she would find out about the situation in Deleyn's Mill during the coming weekend, then.

"I'll have a couple days off after the weekend. If it's not an emergency there, you could as well wait until Morndas, so I could come there with you," Aleksei suggested to Linnea, when Captain Aresin had left but she objected: "No, I'll go there at the weekend. This is my assignment, and you've got more than enough work with your own responsibilities as an officer. You have free days for resting, not for more working!" "I wouldn't mind helping you there but fine then, if you don't want me to come..." he answered to her a bit offended. "I don’t want you there, silly!" she replied to him, laughing in a friendly way, and hugged him. That made him relax a bit, thus he smiled back at her, and said to her before going back to his work: "So, we planned to go to the Rosy Lion today with the guys, cos we can't do that in the weekend. Wanna join us?" "Of course, let's meet there in the evening, then!" she replied, and gave him a little kiss before he left.

Linnea stood on a cliff that was in front of the castle of Daggerfall. She had just returned from a walk around the city, and now she was admiring the beautiful view; the sun was setting, and the snow-covered landscape glowed in the evening light. She went closer to the edge. From there, she could better see the docks below - and the sea where ships sailed away from the city, towards their exotic destinations in Hammerfell. She looked down and felt nervous because of the altitude. She was afraid of high places, indeed - and yet, at the same time, she was morbidly attracted to them. Not only the thought of somehow accidentally falling scared her but she was also afraid that she would suddenly lose control and jump down herself. She knew, though, that she would not do so, even though the obsessive thoughts she had about it, when standing there, felt frightening. She looked down, and imagined the incomprehensibly intense pain and agony she would feel, if she crushed against the stones below, and the shivers went down her spine, because of the terrible thought. Moreover, she realised that it was also possible to die because of someone else pushing her down - and then she suddenly noticed that someone actually was standing there, behind her! "I won't be killed that easily," she thought frantically, and quickly figured what she would do, if the person was there to eliminate her. For now, she would pretend that she had not noticed them, and when they would try to push her, she would suddenly move aside, and push them down, instead. Thus, she was preparing for the assassination attempt that she anticipated to take place soon - but then she heard the person behind her saying her quietly: "It's a long way down, Lin," and realised that he was Anton, her and Aleksei's friend.

She caught her breath and replied to him: "It is, indeed. But the view is stunning." "And the fall is nasty," he said and started to get desperate. He had seen her standing there alone for quite a while; the way she had been looking down from there, terrified him greatly. Then he blurted her: "For heaven's sake, Lin, come away from there! You're freaking me out!" She turned around, and put her hands to her pockets, so that he would not see them shaking, and tried her best to hide her astonishment while saying: "Very well, but I think you're the one that scared me, sneaking behind me like that! I thought you were my one of my enemies and would try to get rid of me by pushing me down. What in Oblivion where you thinking?" "Well...I kinda thought that you were...oh, never mind," he awkwardly tried to explain, and then quickly changed the subject: "Come on, let's go to the inn, I think Alex and the others are already waiting for us there!" "Oh, right. I didn't realise it's that late already," she answered, and smiled at him to show him that everything was fine.

They entered the inn, ordered two glasses of spiced wine, and sat at the corner table; Aleksei had come there earlier and he had been already waiting for them there. "So, the others haven't come yet, either," Linnea stated, and stole a bite from the Hunter's Pie Aleksei had ordered for himself. "Nope, they're late like always," he replied, and started to discuss about some work-related events with Anton. Linnea did not even try to look as if she was following their conversation but let her thoughts wander, instead. In the inn, it was warm and cosy - and more importantly, since it was Turdas evening, the place was not crowded. She listened to the bard, who was singing something about swaying and kissing; maybe he was practising for the coming Heart's Day, when it would doubtlessly be the most popular song of that evening. Linnea recognised that song - it apparently told about two lovers - she remembered that she had always liked its melody.

Soon she noticed that the rest of their friends had finally come to the inn, too. "Hey Alex, I think you've made some kinda mistake with the shift lists," Olivier stated, and continued: "You've put me guarding this city on the Heart's Day!" "Aye, an officer's friends shouldn't get crappy shifts," William explained playfully. "Hah, I'm not giving you slackers any special treatment," he replied them amused, and added: "Besides, I'll spend the whole weekend on duty, myself." "Yeah but you wouldn't have to drag us with you to that misery," Anton jokingly scolded him. "You'll thank me later, on Sundas, when you wake up in your own bed, not having a terrible headache and a hagraven laying there next to you!" he replied to him and smiled wickedly. "Hey! She wasn't a hagraven...yet!" he cried out. "A hagraven?" Linnea asked. "Yeah, they're those horrible beasts, half birds and half women. After a night of heavy drinking, he woke up with a witch, who then revealed that she was going to become one of those creatures!" Aleksei explained her. "I ran all the way back to the city when I found out about that. I've never ran so fast in my life, I guess, despite the horrible hangover I had!" Anton recalled what had happened that morning. "Hah, maybe it's for the best then, that you can't get drunk in the Heart's Day!" Linnea said laughingly, and then apologized: "Sorry but I think we'll have to leave already. At least I'll have to wake up early tomorrow. I've gotta help Master Telleno, and make some preparations for my assignment." "Wow, what kinda mercenary work did you get, Lin?" he asked her surprised. "Well, it's nearby and I think I won't get to do anything so exciting but it's nice change for my alchemy work, at least," she explained while dressing her winter cloak and leaving some tip.

Linnea lay close to Aleksei on their bed, and leaned her head against his chest. She listened to his heart beating; his pulse was already calm again, like it usually was, whereas her own heart was still beating fast. She felt so safe and happy in his arms - almost too happy. It suddenly felt difficult for her to breathe, when the agonising thought hit her like a blizzard - something terrible could happen to him, and she could not bear the thought of that! At any time, her happiness could shatter into pieces, and her life would fall apart again. She kept staring at the wall and the fire place on the other side of their room but in her thoughts, she was in another time and place.

"Oh, damn it's so hot! Luckily I have a holiday and don't have to wear that thick armour for a while!" he said. "Yep. Fortunately, it's the end of summer, so this heatwave won't probably last long, anymore. Besides, I can sense that the weather's gonna change soon, I can feel that the air's thick with energy of a coming thunder storm," she replied to him. Then she got up, and told him: "So I'll go gathering those alchemical ingredients now, before the storm and rain come." "Okay, I'll make the dinner ready, while you're out. Don't stray too far, in case the storm really hits soon," he replied. She kissed him, and assured him: "Don't worry, darling, I'm gonna be back soon." She dressed her newly washed white apron on, took her basket and knife, and went out.

The chamomiles in the meadow and in her basked had such a strong scent, and then that smell mixed with the odour of the sulphur and brimstone...

The next scene that rushed into her mind was her standing in a field that was very familiar to her, and yet it looked so different from what it used to; there was nothing growing there, except for the few weeds that thrived, despite the foulness of the soil. Everything around her had been destroyed; the farm was in ruins and everyone she knew, was gone. The only voice that broke the silence, was the wind blowing from the sea nearby; it made a windchime that was still hanging on a branch of a charred and dead apple tree play its haunting melody.

"Help me, Dorian!"
she screamed from the bottom of her lungs. Aleksei quickly got up, and asked her terrified: "Oh, Gods, what came to you, dear? Did I... hurt you in some way?" When she grasped his arm, and desperately asked him: "Please, don't go! You can't leave me here alone! This can't be true, you can't have gone away and left me alone," he realised that her reaction had nothing to do with the present. She did not appear to be aware of who he was or of her surroundings; it seemed that she was experiencing a flashback from her past. "Wake up, Linnea, come back to me. You're safe now, you're with me, everything is alright, I'm here and I'm not going to leave you, dear," he pacified her, and slowly, she started to return to present. She felt extremely confused; Aleksei explained her what had happened but she did not remember anything from her flashback, besides the smell of chamomiles and brimstone, and the sound of the windchime. He got her a cup of tea; she felt ashamed and apologized him for her behaviour several times, even though he tried to convince her that there was nothing to be sorry about.

"Oh, I almost forgot that I've got something for you," Aleksei said before they were going to bed, and went to take it from his dresser. He gave Linnea a beautiful silver medallion that had a blue gem in the middle of it, and said: "I was going to give this to you after the Heart's Day but I wanna give it to you now, it might be useful for you to have it already in the coming weekend. "Oh, it's so pretty, thank you so much, dear!" she exclaimed happily. When she pressed it against her chest, she immediately noticed that it was somehow resonating with her own energy and asked: "Wow, is this an enchanted piece of jewellery?" "So, it actually works, then? Yes, I took it to Master Telleno, and he promised to enchant it so that it would strengthen the magicka of its user." he replied. Then she got an idea, and told him to put it on himself. He first wondered why but then did as she wanted to. "Don't you feel anything?" she asked. "Not much, really. Maybe, if I focus on thinking about that but I dunno," he answered. "Well, do you actually know how to cast some spells? The simple fire one that I taught you back then?" "My father tried to teach me the basic spells he knows but I never learnt any of them properly...unlike my sisters, they learnt those very fast but I think they have always had much stronger affinity to magicka than I have," he assumed, and then answered to her question: "I did try to learn that spell you taught me but the sparkles I can create aren't so great that they could lit up any fire." "Well, try them now onto that piece of paper on the table," she suggested.

"Oh, by Akatosh, I did it," he shouted extremely pleased when the paper burnt brightly and turned into a pile of ash. "I knew you could do it, dear! With a bit assistance to your magicka reserve, you can cast minor spells, isn't that wonderful?" she rejoiced with him. "Yeah, it's cool, indeed! Though I think I'll settle with tinders and such also from now on, and get you the enchanted stuff, cos you need them more than I do," he thought, and gently put the necklace on her. "Hey, I've got something for you, too," Linnea remembered, and fetched many tiny bottles from her bag. She gave them to him, saying: "These are quite potent health-restoring potions, I want you to have them. If you for some reason would ever...get injured, drink them and pour some of that liquid also directly into the wounds. I want you to always carry health-restoring potions with you, they're not too large for that." He was delighted to get them but wondered: "Thank you, love...but I've always thought that this kind of stuff would be extremely expensive." She smiled at him, and replied: "Not if you're an alchemist. Especially if you gather all the ingredients for them yourself." Before they went to bed, she made him put some of them into the pockets of his armour, and also into the pockets his of civil clothes.

"So it's going to be a bit different weekend for both of us this time," Linnea stated when they lay on the bed and had extinguished the candles on their nightstands. "Aye, it is. Good night, my love," he said. She gave him a kiss, and replied "Wake me up, when you get up yourself. Good night, dear."

This is The Elder Scrolls Online fan art written by me. Linnea, Aleksei and Anton are my OCs. My friend who used to help me out with the language itself said that my chapters don't need grammar check and such anymore, so I started to post them straight here. Is my English bearable to read or should the chapters get checked in the future, too?
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