How Teldryn met Mahlaan
I have been on Skyrim brainrot for the last week and recently hired Teldryn Sero on this play through- absolutely love this Dunmer!
So I offer a short story of the two under the cut, enjoy!!
Teldryn can still remember the first time he met Mahlaan, the time the whole of Raven Rock did honestly.
The exact date may be a little hazy as it had been some years since then, but he will never forget the day.
Itâs not often you see a Nord bare as the day he was born sprinting through the fields just on the outskirts of the town, Ashspawn trailing after him.
-oOo-
It had been one of the few times that Teldryn had made the conscious effort to leave the Retching Netch to stretch his legs for a while; it was highly unlikely that a new Patron would arrive on Gjourlandâs ship to hire his expertise, so a walk would have to suffice lest he let his age finally start to catch up to him.
He wasnât even a foot away from the doors before guards had rushed past him, swords and bows drawn, telling the townsfolk to stay near their homes.
What in the-
âTeldryn! Ashspawn spotted at the gates!â Glover yelled across the square towards him, the manâs sword drawn and ready in case they blasted things managed to get through their defences. A small part of the Mer was extremely tempted to just turn right back around and go drink a fair amount of Summaja, however a much bigger part of him lets a small sigh and he starts towards the gate, his own sword being drawn from its scabbard. He may not like living in Raven Rock much or Solstheim for that matter, but he does owe one to Geldis for helping him when he first came to this place, helping to convince the guards that he wasnât a threat, lending him a room in the Netch despite not being able to currently pay for it⊠and he will hesitantly admit that he does like the other Mer and would consider him a close acquaintance. Resigned, he started jogging to get to the gate quicker, summoning his Atronach from their little plane of Oblivion; sensing the urgency, the Imp all but trilled towards him before floating off towards the guards to help start tearing down the Ashspawn.
As he finally reached the bottom near the Bulwark, Teldryn could hear a fair few swords clashing and shouts for someone to come over to them.
Who was foolish enough to break formation and fight off the Ashspawn by themselves?!
Reaching the frontlines, Teldryn all but stumbled at the sight that laid before him. There, running around with nothing but a simple loin cloth to cover his groin, was a Nord running in between friends swords and enemies grabs and fire.
âSomeone grab that fool!â
âHey, get back here!â
âWatch out!â
To this day, Teldryn will not be able to say what compelled him to do his next action, rightfully he shouldâve let Mahlaan take the hit, but the face of fear and confusion that was on his face pulled at something deep inside him that had him running into the throes of danger.
Jumping a crumbling Ashspawn, Teldryn placed himself in between the fool and an oncoming sweep of fire, he threw up a ward and turned to cover the Nord, hoping that both the ward and his armour would keep the flames off bare skin below him. Feeling the heat disperse finally, Teldryn whirled around with sword in hand and severed the neck of the incoming Ashspawn, quickly ending the foul beings existence.
Teldryn let out two short, sharp whistles and beckoned for the Flame Atronach to come over to the pair.
âGuard him, donât let the Spawn touch him.â The Imp purred and nodded before carefully circling around the shaking man, chirping and clicking in its own form of comfort. With that issue sorted, Teldryn turned back to the bigger problem at hand and helped the rest of the Redoran Guards dispatch the remaining Ashspawn that was surrounding the gate.
Why were there so many of the damned things?
And where did this naked man come from?
He looked nothing like the Skaal that inhabited the north of the island and he doesnât remember any visitors coming from the Mainland either.
A shout broke his train of thought and looking over towards the commotion, he saw that the man had backed himself against one of the natural walls of the island, snarling and curling in on himself as the guards started to surround him. His Atronach was nowhere to be seen, so they must have dispersed once the danger had gone.
âLet the man breathe. At ease boys.â Captain Veloth called out, getting the closest guards to back down and lower their weapons. At some point, someone had grabbed some furs and had passed it over to the Captain, who was now carefully approaching the confused Nord.
âHere lad, cover yourself. Can you tell me your name?â The man made no move to take the offered furs, but did open his mouth to talk to them, a step in the right direction⊠whatever the man just said, Teldryn did not understand a single word and judging from Velothâs matching confusion, neither did he. So maybe not a step in the right direction after all. The man was still shaking, whether from fear or the cold, Teldryn was impressed by the fact that the Nord was still baring his teeth to show that he wouldnât back down. Ballsy in the face of a handful of swords.
The man looked haggard, maybe he was on Skooma? Maybe even Moon Sugar? Could explain the lack of clothes and the stupidity to take on an army of Ashspawn by oneself. Striking blue eyes landed on his own and Teldryn couldâve sworn it felt like the man was staring right through his armour and at him.
âTuz ou Saviik.â
What?
âQahnarain, ou.â
Right, the Nord was definitely talking to him, so that is a start, however it was in a language that it seemed no one present knew. He could feel the guards eyes on him, and he was never more glad to have his armour on, the stares making him shiver. The Nord pointed at him and kept repeating those same four words over and over again, trying to seemingly get him to understand but growing more and more frustrated the less Teldryn seemed to understand.
Hesitantly, Teldryn took a step forward in case the man suddenly sprung at him and the man calmed slightly.
Okay, he can work with that. For some reason the Nord wanted him.
Okay.
Making a motion for Veloth to pass the furs, Teldryn slowly crouched to the manâs level and placed the furs around his around shoulders, mimicking the motion of wrapping it around his shoulders before removing it and passing it the Nord; who at first seemed confused at the offered item, but then gingerly took the offered item and copying what Teldryn had demonstrated, smiling when Teldryn nodded at his actions.
âSeems that you have made a new friend, Sera.â Veloth had stepped closer and placed a hand on his shoulder, looking down at the Nord who now seemed interested in the texture of the furs wrapped around him. At least he stopped shaking now and seemed to have relaxed a little.
âWhat do we do with him? Canât leave him here.â Teldryn tilted his head down at him, who was now staring at the two Dunmerâs in front of him, head tilted to the side in a mimicry of confusion. It was true though, they couldnât just leave him here looking like some beggar at the town gates, and as it stood currently, there were no available rooms at the Netch as Geldis had turned them into storage after the Mine shut.
âLetâs just get everyone back within the walls and check for injuries. We can arrange for sleeping quarters once weâve all calmed down.â Veloth dropped his hand and turned back to his men, ordering them to return and help those that have been injured over to Milore for potions and medical aid. With that under way, Teldryn looked back at the Nord and waited till he was fully focused on him.
âFollow me.â Teldryn was unsure if the man knew any common, so he kept his words simple and slow, while motioning for the Nord to stand up. It took the Nord a moment to understand what was asked of him, but once he figured it out, he started to stand up- Azura this man was huge. He easily towered over Teldryn by at least a foot and he himself was just over six foot tall, how tall was this person?! Teldryn had to take a step back to get a better look at the man, now noticing either blood and ash smeared on his face or a series of war paint. The Nords hair was as equally or even dirtier, to the point Teldryn couldnât actually make out the original colour.
Stepping back, Teldryn made sure the man was following him before making his way back into Raven Rock.
Maybe Geldis knew something? The Mer always seemed to have the latest gossip in town. Casting a quick glance over his shoulder to make sure his new charge was still following, he made a beeline for the Retching Netch- he can take the Nord to Milore after he gets him cleaned up. Walking through the doors, Teldryn made a point to ignore Slitter and Mogrul and slinked down the stairs towards his room.
âGeldis, a word please.â Teldryn uttered as he passed by, motioning towards his room without really looking back. Once all three of them were in the room, Teldryn made sure to close the door to stop curious passerbys.
âAnd who do we have here?â Geldis probed, looking the Nord up and down, walking around him and taking in as much as he could. The man was also looking at Geldis, following his movements with curiosity. Teldryn let out a sigh, the goes his one lead he thought he had.
âI was hoping you would know. Fool here was surrounded by the Ashspawn and was running round like a headless chicken.â
âI havenât heard of any new visitors from the Mainland. Does he have a name?â Teldryn was about to respond before stopping and tilting his head. The Nord may have earlier, but being clueless about the language he was speaking, Teldryn had no actual idea if any of those words were his name.
âHe doesnât know any Common.â
âWhat? I thought all Nordâs knew Common?â
âEvidently not this one. I canât understand his language, itâs one I have not heard of before.â
Both Merâs turned to look at the Nord who was now looking around curiously at the meager room.
âHey, Nord.â Geldis whistled, gaining the mans attention.
âWhats your name? Iâm Geldis,â he stated, placing a hand on his chest before turning and pointing at Teldryn, âthatâs Teldryn, and you?â He turned and pointed at the Nord. They were both met with a blank look as the Nord looked between the pair, this was going to be a long journey.
âGeldis, can you fetch a pail of water? Want to get him cleaned before heading to Milore.â
âAye, back in a moment.â Geldis nodded before leaving, making sure the door shut behind him to keep others out. Teldryn let out another sigh (how many times had he sighed now? He had lost count around the eighth or ninth one) before trying again.
âTeldryn.â He pointed at himself again.
âSaviik.â The Nord smiled and nodded, seemingly pleased with the word he had used.
âNo, Teldryn.â Teldryn tried again, slower and slightly louder in case his helmet had muffled his voice.
âSaviik⊠DrynâŠâ The Nord was careful with his words, looking like the words tasted wrong on his tongue and looked heavy to say.
âAlmost, Tel-dryn.â
âTelllâŠdrynnnnâŠâ
âClose, Teldryn.â
âTeldryn⊠Dryn Saviik.â Teldryn let a small, hidden smile appear on his face, glad that his helmet was once again on his head.
Progress.
He still didnât know what the last word meant, yet the Nord seemed to have grasped his name, so now they could try his again. Once again pointing to his own chest, Teldryn repeated his name then pointed towards the Nord.
âSizaan, Mahlaan Nikriin.â Okay, one of those words had to be a name. Teldryn tilted his head and pointed towards the Nord again.
âMahlaan.â
âMahlaan?â The Nord, no, Mahlaan, smiled and nodded.
Okay, they had a name now.
-oOo-
Blinking, Teldryn looked over the land that was Tel Mythrin, staring up at Nelothâs tower as the Televanni Wizard and Mahlaan stood talking at the bottom of the walk way.
âDryn! Neloth has been able to locate another Black Book!â
Rolling his eyes, Teldryn jogged over to the pair.
He wouldnât change this for anything.
Translations:
Tuz ou Saviik- Blade, trust, saviour
Qahnarain, ou- Vanquisher, trust
Sizaan, Mahlaan Nikriin- Lost, Mahlaan, coward
Mahlaan- Fallen
