Board Thread:Roleplaying/@comment-3293219-20140708165409/@comment-3293219-20140713151022

It was midday and the sun was beating down, over County Cheydinhal, a place that she could never seem to get away from…

After being separated from the group, Agatha decided to think on what she was going to do next, what the group could do next. In truth, the Witch was troubled by recent events, finding herself somewhat at a loss. Her defeat at Aratius’ hands was a bit of an eye opener, though she’d never admit it as a ‘defeat’ and it did lead to his demise, she had lost control of the situation and nearly lost her mind, trying to kill Julie...

Right now, she couldn’t offer much and it felt like she was losing an uphill battle to recapture her glory days…

If you could even call them that…

What bothered her most was that Aratius was right, when he said that she couldn’t even protect those closest to her. It was… A fact…

Every time she intervened in the lives of others, it always lead to their downfall, even when it came to her own daughter. She thought on his words, constantly as she wandered deeper through the wilderness, letting them dwell and fester, like the Blight, until she reached the lake.

Lake Arrius, a pilgrimage that she hadn’t made in some time…

The crow population plummeted, a few years ago, due to the fact that she pulled most of them out. She kept a few around but once she had released control over the lake’s guardians, they all pretty much left, due to the fact that crows didn’t naturally dwell here…

Her grieves ‘clinked’ and ‘clunked’ as she paced through the woods, she knew of spells to silence it of course but she felt like it added to the atmosphere as she slowly paced around the outside of the lake…

She wandered the full area of the lake before coming to a stop, just short of the ‘main attraction,’ the two gravestones on the far, right hand side of the lake. She never thought that she’d find herself here but it did help her calm herself and it forced her to look one of her greatest failures directly in the face. As much as their deaths were a tragedy, they didn’t cause her much personal grief but Lilly was never the same after…

The Witch sighed, heavily and hung her head, folding her arms and looking directly at the floor as she closed her eyes, finding herself shivering a little, for the first time in a long time…

-

==Three months after the Vidron Crisis==

Winterhold, as a town, was once a calm place, a small village which featured a college, however, most saw the town as an insignificant addon to the college. Agatha remembered it being much bigger at some point, well; she’d never visited it back then. But she recalled it being a bustling city, which was at least twice as big as this, until the great collapse happened…

Most don’t even remember those times, just another story, passed on from generation to generation. Another tragedy to get worked up about and another war for their textbooks, it really didn’t take much to get the people of Skyrim worked up over anything…

The Witch stepped onto the college approach, half tempted to morph into a bird and simply fly across, to make thing easier. She was obviously stopped at the gate but they let her pass, knowing that she was the mother of one of their professors.

<p class="MsoNormal">The walkway was perilous but more annoying than anything; it had huge pieces chipped off it, though there were few if any stories that involved people falling off. Most people of the college were smart enough to not let that happen to them and to actually look where they were going. It took the Breton some time, constantly on the lookout for black ice, to avoid slipping and breaking a hip. That would be incredibly painful but more so, embarrassing…

<p class="MsoNormal">-

<p class="MsoNormal">Finally she had reached the gates of the college, holding her hand out and opening them telekinetically and longing for her youthful days were telekinetically pulling the biscuit tin off of the kitchen counter and watching it fly over to her desk, made her feel like a god. Still, there was something satisfying about making a door open for you, with a wave of your hand…

<p class="MsoNormal">She stepped into the main courtyard, glancing around the place and finding a sense of familiarity, from the last time that she was here. Nords were people of tradition and most of their towns, buildings and establishments stayed the same from one era to the next. The college was no exception.

<p class="MsoNormal">Rather than ask one of her daughter’s colleagues, Agatha decided to use a clairvoyance spell, to detect where she was. The spell revealed that she was currently residing in a room just to the left, one of many identical doors, which lead from the main gate to the Midden. The Witch turned to it and approached, wrapping herself up in her cloak to keep the cold out as she did so. She didn’t remember Skyrim being this cold, when she lived there. Though, that was probably because she spent most of her time in her cabin, to the west of Whiterun, which wasn’t the coldest part of Skyrim...

<p class="MsoNormal">The Witch held her hand out and the door opened before her, allowing her to step inside and reveal that her daughter was currently in…

<p class="MsoNormal">The dormitory…

<p class="MsoNormal">Not exactly a surprise, it’s a wonder that she didn’t check there to begin with, perhaps the nords were right, perhaps mages did overcomplicate things sometimes. Still, it mattered not as she was now in the same building as Lilly and mere feet away from her.

<p class="MsoNormal">Agatha stepped deeper inside the dormitory, glancing around at all of the rooms, she didn’t have to look far as Lilly’s was the first room on the right. She knew this, because the young Witch was sat at her desk, hunched over a book. The Breton stepped into the doorway, peering in as the orange, glowing light of Lilly’s candle illuminated her face, inside her dark hood.

<p class="MsoNormal">Her daughter was leant over the open book, unable to tear her eyes away from its texts, just like her mother…

<p class="MsoNormal">As much as the Witch wanted to linger in the shadows, she knew that it wasn’t a possibility, she’d have to talk to her eventually and she hadn’t come all this way to simply back out now. Agatha raised her hand up to the door, feeling like something was pulling it away as she found herself growing more and more uncomfortable, she knew that Lilly probably didn’t want to see her.

<p class="MsoNormal">She clenched a fist and struck her knuckles against the chipped, wooden door, three times, getting the Imperial’s attention. Lilly turned around, expecting to see another one of her colleagues, coming to check up on her. She had been incredibly quiet since she had returned from Cyrodiil, even by her standards…

<p class="MsoNormal">To her surprise, it was the one person that she didn’t expect to see, her own mother. She sat in stunned silence, not liking surprises. It often put her off, when something unexpected happened, she founder herself put out and retreating to nothing but a mumble or a stammer if someone said something unexpected, she was terrible, when she was younger. Buying a loaf of bread was fine, she could do that but if someone asked her about the weather or even asked her if she wanted a paper bag or anything to carry it in, she’d just freeze.

<p class="MsoNormal">   It wasn’t as big a problem these days, she had, had more experience with dealing with other people, thanks to Minity, Kingsley and Nish but still, things like this left her speechless.

<p class="MsoNormal">“I came as quick as I heard…” The Breton informed her, solemnly as she invited herself in, closing the door behind her, it clicked as it closed. The Old Witch slowly paced herself across the room, sitting on Lilly’s bed and looking to her, still managing to keep up her cold, emotionless exterior.

<p class="MsoNormal">Lilly glanced away, looking rather resentful, it was obvious that she was thinking ‘not quick enough’ but still, Lilly was a logical person and tried not to let her anger get in the way of the positives. Her mother was here now; ready to comfort her during this difficult time.

<p class="MsoNormal">The Imperial stood up, her arm shaking as she did so before she began to take a step or two closer to her mother, looking down on her.

<p class="MsoNormal">“How long’s it been?”

<p class="MsoNormal">Lilly glanced away, awkwardly, her eyes began to shimmer, it was made obvious that she was about to cry, due to the candle light in the far corner of the room. She turned to the bookshelf and grabbed hold of one of the books…

<p class="MsoNormal">My life chronicled: Volume MD 

<p class="MsoNormal">She slid it off of the shelf and held it out to her mother, blinking rapidly as the tears rolled down her cheeks, rolling over the small pebbles on her skin, from where it had been neglected over the years. It was obvious from the beat up condition of her eyes that she had been crying a lot lately.

<p class="MsoNormal">“Since Heathfire… S-So three months…”

<p class="MsoNormal">Agatha gently took the book and slowly opened its pages, scanning its texts with her eyes. There was no reference to it in here but it was unlikely that it could have been anyone else, as far as either of them were aware, nobody had really looked at her that way before.

<p class="MsoNormal">   “Lilly… I’m so sorry…”

<p class="MsoNormal">Lilly hung her head, glancing away in disgust at the only nice gesture that her own mother had done for her since she left her and the rest of her friends to grieve after she took them away, she was too upset to get mad about it though.

<p class="MsoNormal">“Lilly…” The Old witch whispered, as she got up, she saw how chapped her lips were, raw, like the skin on her fingers. She only did that when she was either incredibly bored or incredibly stressed and Lilly had a lot of reasons to be the latter…

<p class="MsoNormal">“You weren’t s-sorry enough to come and save me from him…” The Imperial pointed out, her voice trembling as she became overwhelmed with sadness. Her eyes met her Mother’s, the two red irises met, though Lilly had her mother’s eyes, she could never capture the steely look that her mother’s had.

<p class="MsoNormal">“I didn’t have access to Nirn at the time; I couldn’t have helped you at the time…”

<p class="MsoNormal">Obviously, Lilly wasn’t satisfied with this answer, she began to walk over to her bookshelf, taking the book from her mother’s hand and slotting it into its place.

<p class="MsoNormal">“I’m not trying to hide my own failures here Lilly but it is because of what I did in Coldharbour that our family is finally safe.”

<p class="MsoNormal">The young Imperial turned around, looking somewhat confused at the mention of the name ‘Coldharbour.’ She was fully aware of her family’s history of Molag Bal, going right back to the Second Era, her ancestor, Verran was one of many, who suffered at the hands of the Daedric prince of submission. The more powerful members of the Tira family secretly feared his return, even Agatha did…

<p class="MsoNormal">“So… All this happened, so that you could save yourself?”Lilly asked, surprisingly bitter as she glared at her mother, frowning and showing some signs of anger.

<p class="MsoNormal">“No… I went there for the both of us but mostly for you, to free us both from the clutches of Molag Bal, so that you could live a life without fear.”

<p class="MsoNormal">“Everything that’s happened, l-losing my friends… one of them going mad… me getting kidnapped and impregnated…” She ended on a faint whisper as her head fell forward and her voice broke even more as she glanced back to her ‘Mother.’ Finding herself unable to call herself that now.

<p class="MsoNormal">“D-Don’t lie… You did that for yourself… It didn’t matter if I got hurt or… or if they got k-k-killed…”

<p class="MsoNormal">“Lilly!” Agatha snapped, stepping in front of her and placing her cold, pale, bony hands on her shoulders.

<p class="MsoNormal">“What happened was an unforeseen consequence… I had no idea that it was going to happen and by the time that it did happen, it was already too late to intervene. I did what I could for you…”

<p class="MsoNormal">“No!” The Young Professor cried, pulling herself out of her Mother’s grip and falling against her desk.

<p class="MsoNormal">“You did that for yourself! S-So that you could be free! I lost my friends; m-m-my life’s ruined, so that you could be free!”

<p class="MsoNormal">“Lilly, get a hold of yourself, you know that, that’s not true…”

<p class="MsoNormal">Lilly wasn’t even listening, building up years of pent up anger as she curled her hand up, growing more and more enraged by the second, she was the Red Mountain, ready to explode.

<p class="MsoNormal">“I hate you!”

<p class="MsoNormal">That statement hung in the air, echoing throughout the dormitory, reaching the ear of every scholar and student, lingering in the atmosphere long after the echo had dispersed and inside Agatha’s own subconscious for many years to come…

<p class="MsoNormal">“Lilly…”

<p class="MsoNormal">“You were never there! When you were there you just… ruined everything!” She shrieked in the Old Witch’s face, the Breton curled her fist, finding it harder and harder to keep control over her emotions, something that she hadn’t had a problem with for thirty three years. It wasn’t the fact that her daughter hated her that was destroying her, it was the fact that she hated her for the right reasons, she was right to hate her and nothing that she could do would fix that.

<p class="MsoNormal">Nothing…

<p class="MsoNormal">Just like what Aratius said, she was a failure, when it came to protecting those closest to her. She carried that heavy burden with her, wherever she went but it had never felt so heavy as it did now. Maybe the fact that the end always justified the means gave her some comfort. Sure, damage was done to Falkreath but the world had been saved, sure two young lovers died but two of the greatest threats that Tamriel had ever faced were also eradicated.

<p class="MsoNormal">But with Aratius, he won and got away, though he died later, her intervention made lives worse and in a number of ways benefitted him. It was something that she found difficult to cope with…

<p class="MsoNormal">“Why are you here!? Why now? Why not during the funeral or a month ago, when I found out!?”

<p class="MsoNormal">“I had to… Tend to some things…”

<p class="MsoNormal">“Things’ that were more important than me…” Lilly mumbled, looking to the floor as she slowly shuffled over to her bed and took a seat, finding herself exhausted by her emotional outburst.

<p class="MsoNormal">Agatha just watched as her daughter moved further and further away from her and not just literally. She had always given Lilly a great deal of space, allowing her to keep to her books and studies, trying not to influence her too much as she wanted her to find her own way through life, like she had to.

<p class="MsoNormal">“Lilly, I want you to know that nothing is more important to me than you are, you’re the greatest thing that has ever happened to me…”

<p class="MsoNormal">The Imperial wasn’t even listening at this point, she just lay down, on her side, her head slumped into her pillow as her tears began to fall horizontally, instead of vertically.

<p class="MsoNormal">“Just… L-Leave me alone…”

<p class="MsoNormal">Agatha didn’t know what to do here, she and her daughter were always so… distant… they rarely conversed, even when they lived together and many would describe them as being more like niece and aunt, than mother and daughter or maybe a very distant grandmother. Lilly was right, she had failed her, she’d failed her friends, causing her grief, she failed to take personal responsibility and now she was carrying some madman’s child.

<p class="MsoNormal">All of it could have been prevented by her…

<p class="MsoNormal">All of it happened anyway…

<p class="MsoNormal">“I… I’m sorry Lilly, I…” “Go…”

<p class="MsoNormal">The Old Witch’s head shot up, somewhat exasperated by Lilly’s reaction, not even letting her finish…

<p class="MsoNormal">The Breton nodded, slowly turning away as Lilly pulled the covers over herself and turned her back against her mother as she faced the wall. The walk was less than a foot or two but still, it felt like a mile and every footstep seemed to echo and go more and more hollow as she got closer to the door, like she was walking down an endless corridor.

<p class="MsoNormal">Agatha sighed as she stepped out, into the hallway; she came to a stop as she stepped outside and saw that everyone was staring at her, her power had been whittled away and she was exposed as… well, nothing.

<p class="MsoNormal">There was nothing, once you took away the power and the control, just a frail old woman, whose daughter hated her and the only friend that she had hadn’t been seen for 220 years. The Witch continued to walk the walk of shame, sighing heavily as the people of the college turned away and went back into their dormitories. No one came to help her, or offer her a room; they simply let her go…

<p class="MsoNormal">She didn’t care though as she wouldn’t let them, Lilly had only ever requested one thing of her, a reasonable request, one that Agatha could easily fulfil…

<p class="MsoNormal">The Witch stepped out, onto the courtyard and slowly began to transform, into a crow. She shrank and morphed into the black feathered bird, which immediately took off and flew away, into the grey skies above.

<p class="MsoNormal">-

<p class="MsoNormal">Agatha lingered over the two graves before her, hanging her head as a tear built up in her eye, the sound of song birds just seemed to be irritating her at this point. She folded her arms and pressed them against her stomach before leaving the site, hoping to get back to the others…