House Dres Prequel - Brother's Bond

Brother's Bond

This is a prequel short story for "House Dres - Underhanded Slavery", a free, unofficial mod for the Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (http://www.nexusmods.com/skyrimspecialedition/mods/7323).  

Solstheim is a beautiful place. An island of ash and snow, of purity and mortality, where the harsh wilds of Skyrim meet the exotic dreamscape of Morrowind, mingling in the smoking shadow of Red Mountain.

J'zigri had read this in a book, given to him by a merchant from Cyrodiil when he was little more than a kitten. He had thought it sounded magical, a mysterious island far, far from his home in Elsweyr, where all his problems would be miles away. In his dreams, he had visited it and walked upon its ashen shores, though he knew it existed only in his imagination. The real Solstheim would be different, very different, but all the same he had always craved to see it with his own eyes. But he never had.

So naturally, after the Thalmor drove him and his family from their home in Tenmar Forest, and the Skooma caravan they had fallen in with had at last made its way to Skyrim, J'zigri's heart had leapt at the opportunity to finally visit the island he had dreamed so much about. It was only a short journey from their camp to Whiterun, and from there one could hire a carriage to Windhelm, and ships went from Windhelm to Solstheim all the time!

All right, it was perhaps not the most straightforward of journeys, as his brother J'kidar had pointed out. Windhelm and Solstheim were also likely to be very cold indeed, especially for Khajiit used to the tropical climate of Tenmar. But J'zigri was not to be dissuaded. He was going to see Solstheim, and that was that.

Ever the protective older brother, J'kidar came with him. "You know what you're like," the slightly older Khajiit (though they were often mistaken for identical twins) had said. "Five minutes out of this one's sight and you'll be up to your whiskers in Mammoth dung about to be eaten by a Giant." Glad of the company, J'zigri had quickly agreed, and the two of them had set off from the camp in search of adventure.

They certainly found it.

"By Riddle'Thar's sugar-coated whiskers," J'zigri breathed as they stood at the foot of Tel Mithryn. "That is the biggest mushroom this one has ever seen."

And it was. As tall as many of the towers they had passed in Cyrodiil, the giant mushroom of Tel Mithryn stretched up high into the sky, its twisting trunk reaching for the heavens as the wizard inside reached for magical perfection.

"Personally, this one prefers trees," J'kidar replied. "They are far sturdier. A Khajiit knows where he stands with a tree."

"But have you ever seen anything like this?"

"Not in this life, brother. But now we have seen it, we must head back. It is already well past noon, and we will be hard-pressed to make it back to Raven Rock before nightfall."

J'zigri tried to argue that they stay longer, but the ever-logical J'kidar would not be dissuaded, and so it was not long before they turned and began the long trek across the ash wastes in search of food and a warm bed.

The ash storm came up out of nowhere. It was almost dusk, and the brothers suddenly found themselves utterly blinded, unable to move faster than a slow stagger as the whole world howled with grey and white.

"Just keep... walking straight..." J'zigri panted. "We'll get out of this... eventually..."

J'kidar didn't reply, focusing on simply putting one paw in front of the other. Until, out of the storm, his sharp eyes began to notice a vague, dark shape forming not far ahead.

"It looks like some kind of building!" J'kidar cried to his brother.

"It will be shelter!" J'zigri cried back. "We must get out of this storm before it gets any worse!"