Board Thread:Off Topic/@comment-14011542-20131009214425/@comment-90.206.164.65-20131025114114

My name is Elyssa Quinn. Two hundred years ago, I was Mannimarco's last apprentice, and the only one to escape death at the hands of the Mages' Guild and the Hero of Kvatch. As the child of two of Mannimarco's followers, I was raised in Echo Cave so I never knew any other lifestyle or philosophy. On my seventeenth birthday, when the Hero of Kvatch came for Mannimarco, my master cast a spell of Water Breathing on me, then threw me into the river that ran through the cave.

I wandered about that for a long time, but finally understood that as the sole survivor of the Order of the Black Worm, albeit only half-educated, I was my master's last hope of cheating death. Despite his wicked reputation, Mannimarco was good to me, almost a second father, and I resolved that, if it were at all possible, I would find a way to resurrect him.

But that was not a good time to practise necromancy. After a few near-disastrous incidents, I realized that the magic which I had studied almost my entire life was not welcome in the outside world. For a while, I went underground - quite literally, skulking in ancient tombs and practising my skills on the bones of the forgotten dead.

But the Hero of Kvatch had inspired a generation of glory-seekers. All across Cyrodiil, young men and women took up arms to pursue a life of adventure, forcing me to flee my hideout. Desperate, homeless and alone, I had few options. But as young as I was, my mind was keen and well-trained, and I soon arrived at a solution. If I couldn't escape my pursuers, I would instead bide my time and wait until I and my master were long-since forgotten.

As a student of undeath, I knew what to look for. Within days, I had tracked a vampire to his lair in the heart of the Imperial City. I entered his home by night while he was out stalking his prey, and confronted him when he returned. Calmly, I informed him that if I did not return within three hours, my companions would burn his house while he slept through the day.

The lie paid off. Under threat of such dire consequences, he gave me his cursed blood and his immortality. When I awoke, I slipped out of the house and immediately alerted the City Guard to his true nature.

Three days later, I was reborn - and wasted no time. My master had taught me many things, among them the nature of vampirism, and I knew with certainty that this was not a fate I wished to endure for eternity. Fortunately, I also knew that I didn't have to. It took several days to gather what I needed, hampered as I was by the inability to travel by daylight, but at last I was ready.

The potion was surprisingly simple, and in a few short hours it was ready - I hoped, though of course I couldn't risk testing it. With no further delay, clutching the potion tightly to my breast, I buried myself in the earth, there to sleep the years away...

I awoke to the sounds of battle and the smell of blood and fear. Crawling from my crude tomb, I looked around - and was astonished by what I saw. All around my, throughout Green Emperor Way, the men of the Imperial Guard were in furious combat with a host of tall, golden-armoured Elven warriors. The smell of blood almost drove me mad then, but I forced myself to remain focused. Clearly this was no place for a teenaged girl, immortal or otherwise...

In the chaos, I was able to slip away and out of the city. Only once was I challenged, and fortunately succeeded in passing myself off as an innocent civilian caught up in the fighting. My keen undead senses made it easy to avoid the scattered regions of violent conflict, and with no further difficulty I made my escape.

I soon felt the red thirst rising, but I fought for all I was worth. As I had learned so long ago, the particular potion which I had brewed suffered from a major limitation. It would cure vampirism, but only if the sufferer had not yet tasted blood for the first time. And, with the Empire (as I learned) under attack, it seemed likely that I might yet have need for my as-yet untried vampiric powers.

It almost drove me insane, but I struggled daily against the thirst for many years, never once succumbing while I waited for the political situation to stabilize. All the while I studied my art, seeking always the means by which my master's soul might be recalled to Mundus. But I came no closer to my goal.

At last, the Empire seemed peaceful enough to consider restoring my mortality. Besides this, I had heard tales of a college of magic, far to the north, where necromancy was openly taught and practised. There, I hoped, I might find the answers I sought - but it was too dangerous to attempt such a journey in my undead condition, being forced to cower in the shadows and sleep through the daylight.

Thus, at last, I judged that the time was right to consume the potion I had prepared so long ago. But disaster struck...

Two centuries had curdled the brew. Though my vampirism was cured, the tainted potion blasted my mind, scouring away much of the knowledge I had once possessed. But there was nothing to be done. A mortal girl again, possessed of but a fraction of the power I had once wielded, I gathered the few resources I possessed, and made my way north.

Almost the next thing I knew, I found myself bound and gagged between a traitor and a horse-thief, being carried to my death...