after thousands of years, deep in an old unknown cave, a stasis spell breaks, and two surviving snow elves awaken in the fourth era.
a reflection on an estranged uncle and nephew realizing they truly are a family, and only have each other.
[cw for description of a cough heavy illness, references to the snow elf genocide]
@tes-summer-fest
"...ene! Rhene, can you hear me?"
Rhene forced his eyes open as he trembled violently. He felt like he was freezing! What happened? Where was he? His eyes were so heavy, he was so tired. How long did he oversleep for?
"...aelin? Uncle Gaelin?" Rhene rasped out, brows furrowing as his eyes focused on the wavering image of his uncle hovering over him. A cough suddenly wracked his body and he felt himself be gathered up into his uncle's arms, hands soothing over his back. A motion that reminded Rhene of his mother. Gaelin must have learned it from their mother.
"Ga-aelin? What happ-pened?" Rhene stuttered out. "I don't remember, it--it's all fuzzy."
"We're in the Hidden Cavern, remember? Lisanna found that old spell in the ruins of the palace, the stasis one? We tried it with everyone in the group. The spell, it broke." Gaelin reminded him, slowly releasing his hold on Rhene. Rhene looked around the cavern, brows furrowing. He saw hollow spots where Gaelin and himself had fallen. There were a few other hollows, but no people in sight. Living ones, atleast. There was an old skeleton collapsed beneath one. There were more people still in stasis, wrapped in a magically enhanced mix of ice and stahlrim.
"W-Why are we the only ones awake? Where are they?" Rhene shakily pointed at the empty spaces. "That's... That's where Sephrainia was... But... that person's dead."
"I don't know, Rhene, truly. Lisanna said it was experimental, that it might not work at all. We're lucky to be alive."
"I don't feel lucky." Rhene suddenly coughed again, and kept coughing. Wet heaving hacks that kept him from catching his breath. He took a desperate breath, only for it to result in another fit of coughs. Something wet splattered against Rhene's hands with his last cough and he leaned into Gaelin weakly. He went to wipe his hands on his pants but Gaelin grabbed his wrists.
"We need get you help. There's blood in that." Gaelin said, panic just barely hidden in his voice. He was a solider who knew how to keep his cool in the face of danger, but something like this he didn't know what to do with.
"Oh... okay..." Rhene murmured, feeling his eyes grow heavy again. He let himself drift off.
.
"Please! You must see he's ill, I don't know how to help him!" Rhene stirred at the desperate sound of Gaelin's voice. He felt hot. So, so hot. But he was surrounded by freezing cold. He felt arms under his knees and around his shoulders, Gaelin must be carrying him.
"Please! I-I don't know what you're speaking, please, just help him!" Gaelin's arms shook holding Rhene.
"I... My Nordic... No good! Help. Sick. My sister-son!" Gaelin struggled out, and Rhene's face scrunched up at the gutteral syllables of Nordic that passed his lips. This attempt seemed to have finally wrought some understanding with whomever Gaelin was pleading with, as they responded in similar Nordic. It was different, and Rhene didn't catch many words. Must have changed.
They were moving again, and the environment around Rhene changed, from wet cold surrounding him and sunlight painting his vision red through his eyelids, to stifling dry warm with dim light. The sudden change triggered coughs, and Rhene belatedly felt something wet drip down his lips. His chest hurt.
Rhene was set down onto something soft, and as Gaelin's arms retreated he weakly sought him out again. Chilled hands enclosed his shaking ones, and a half cough sob forced it's way past Rhene's lips.
"Scared..." Rhene whimpered
He would never admit to wanting the comfort of his uncle, if he survived this. They'd never been close. He met him twice before his parents died, when he was suddenly dumped in Gaelin's arms when he was thirteen. Rhene always fought his authority. He wouldn't let this stranger claim control over him. But the proceeding years as the Nords continued attacking Falmer settlements, running for their lives with the remaining members of their village, Rhene had come to atleast trust him.
And right now? Rhene had no one to trust. Surrounded by strangers; who knows how many years has passed since they went to sleep? So he just wanted a little bit of comfort. Something from the last of his family.
"You'll be okay, Rhene. This nice lady said she can help you, she's a healer." Gaelin said soothingly, running his hand over Rhene's brow and brushing his curls back.
"N-Nord?" Rhene choked out, fear clear in his voice.
"Yes, but no one here was hostile to us. They just looked confused." Gaelin paused and Rhene heard more chatter in Nordic, Gaelin clearly struggling to phrase things. An unfamiliar hand rested on his forehead and Rhene whimpered.
"Rhene, open your eyes, she needs to see them." Gaelin requested. Rhene hesitantly obeyed and met the inquisitive eyes of a Nord woman. She had a kindly look to her. She snapped and a small candlelight spell appeared on the tip of her finger, and Rhene winced away from the flash of light. She went through the motions of checking how his pupils reacted to the light, lips pursed.
"I'm not quite sure, truly. It almost reminds me of the Crimson Plague, but he doesn't have the rash. It's too far gone to be Winter Worn, I've never seen it this bad." The Nord woman ducked her head and pressed her ear against Rhene's chest, listening to his weak, wet breaths. He hardly understood her words, but Gaelin seemed to be understanding them easily enough.
"Consumption, perhaps? I've heard it's becoming a problem in High Rock, but it's not so sudden as this. It builds up over months. How did he fall ill?"
Gaelin stumbled over his words, trying to make a response that didn't sound insane, or give too many details about the stasis they had been in. Eventually the woman was satisfied, and began gathering up various potions.
"With his condition, tonight could be a matter of life and death. We can try these, but truly I do not know if they will work." Gaelin helped Rhene sit up as the Nord woman guided him to drink doses of various potions.
"It will be a rough night. This potion will make you cough more, but it is to draw the fluid from your lungs. Don't swallow anything that comes up, okay? Spit it out." She set a bucket beside the bed as Gaelin translated for Rhene. Rhene nodded weakly as he drank the last potion dose.
.
Rhene felt exhausted. Sweat soaked his hair, his lungs ached, his throat burned from the sheer force of his coughs. He'd hardly gotten any sleep during the night, but neither did Gaelin nor Adal -- the Nord woman helping them. Everytime be coughed he spit out a mouthful of mucous, leaving his mouth tasting like he sucked on a coin from the blood mixed in.
Every hour or so, Adal would rest her hands over his ribs and allow healing light to envelope her hands, explaining it was to heal damage the excessive cough could inflict upon his lungs. Rhene had come to memorize every detail and divot in her amulet as it hung over his face while she healed him. He thinks it's for Kyne.
It had been fifteen sleepless hours now, sunrise peeking through the windows, and Rhene was tired, but had not coughed in a whole hour, and stopped seeing blood in his spit four hours ago. Adal claimed it miraculous he was recovering so quickly. Gaelin shrugged and mumbled about the magical nature of the illness' inducement.
Gaelin was at Rhene's bedside all fifteen hours. He rubbed his back with every cough, wiped the blood, sweat and tears from his face, gave him water after bad coughing fits. He never left his side.
"U-Uncle?" Rhene turned his head to look over at Gaelin, who had been stirring the broth Adal prepared while waiting for it to cool.
"Yes, my sister-son?" Gaelin looked at him with a small smile.
"Thank you... For caring for me. Never giving up on me. I-I know I was difficult to be around... I always fought you. I was rude. And disrespectful--" Rhene stopped when Gaelin shook his head and set aside the bowl to take Rhene's hands.
"Your behavior was a struggle at first, until I understood its source. I was a stranger claiming to be family, trying to replace the one you had just lost. We never mourned them properly. You acted out, and I held it all in. I was a horrible guardian, I admit. I knew nothing about raising a teenager, much less one who had lost so much. But I kept going, kept trying, because I would never give up on you. We're family, Rhene, and I love you, truly." As Gaelin spoke his expression relaxed and he became less the stoic guardian Rhene was so used to seeing. His eyes glinted with tears threatening to form.
"Y-You do?" Rhene asked breathlessly, feeling his own tears beginning to well in his eyes. "I feared... that you only cared for me out of obligation to my mother, that you never... I see now, that your heart is with me. No one else would still be here if they only had obligation holding them. They would have let me die. Th-Thank you, Uncle." Rhene weakly pushed himself into a sitting position and hugged Gaelin, burying his face in the crook of his neck. Gaelin cradled him in his arms, gently running his hand over his head and down his back.
"I would have never let you die. You are all I have left, nephew. We only have each other. I fear our people are gone, or far into hiding. We're alone in this world, we must stay strong together." Rhene nodded against him and pulled away, rubbing at his eyes.
"I know I screamed the contrary at you a thousand times, but... I do love you, Gaelin." Rhene slumped back in bed and gave his uncle a determined smile. "Just the two of us against the world. We can do it."
"There's the Rhene I know," Gaelin grinned and picked up the bowl of broth, passing it to Rhene. "Drink, and heal. Soon we can leave, and learn of this new world we've found ourselves in." Rhene nodded and sipped from the bowl.
He missed his family. His friends, the members of his village. His culture, his people. The Nords must have destroyed it. But he'll be damned if he lets that destroy his spirit. If it's the last thing he does, Rhene wants to find survivors. There must have been others. There had to be. He needed to rebuild his Family.
