Chapter Seven

I woke up days later with the use of all of my limbs. I worked on gaining my strength back just strong enough for the change to a wolf that would bring on a small amount of curative properties. It was easier and faster to regain strength when I was a wolf. Bishop went to gather supplies while Casavir help me prepare for the change.

"My Lady…" Casavir began but then broke off. I turned to him from my perch on the rock next to the river. I had just finished bathing and was wearing a thin dress tunic with a cord around the waist. The top cut down between my breast that had leather ties that weren't completely tied together. I stood to hobble over to him, he jerked to reach for me but I waved him off. He was only a few steps away and slowly my weak legs almost made it to him before they gave out just in front of him. He caught me and brought me into his lap. I lifted my lashes to look up at him, he smiled down at me.

"Casavir, I wanted to thank you. You have done so much for me, and I am not sure how I could ever repay you," I proclaimed, reaching up to place my hand on his clean shaven face.

"There is no need, to thank, or repay me. I'd do anything for you, anything…" he began to confessed but before he could continue I pulled him closer to me and kissed his lips. It was a quick kiss because he pulled away. He quickly place kisses on my eyelids and forehead. A change began to take hold of us and we both felt it.

"Are you sure you are up to this?" Bishop asked returning. "Because we can always postpone it a day or two more," he continued.

"No! I am ready, when I change it bring on a small surge of healing and I will gain my strength back sooner, which is why I changed after I was ran through with the sword retrieving the ebony armor." I explained. With no one around I brought the change forth, they both stared at me.

What? I barked. They were both stunned with witnessing the change. It is a bit strange to witness if you are not a changeling yourself. I barked again and walked around showing them I could move around well.

"You are something else, Princess" bishop beamed. The journey to the Twilight Sepulcher was uneventful, which was a relief. I bounced around tugging at Karnwyr trying to get him to play. Bishop laughed at us. I huffed at him then trot around him and nip at his fleshy backside, not enough to break skin just get a good pinch. He yelped and I bounded off, Casavir couldn't help but chuckle. It would have taken just a day to travel to Twilight Sepulcher, but we took it slow and camped on the banks of Lake Klinalth.

"I'm gonna go catch us something fresh," Bishop said grabbing his bow. "You feel up to hunting?" He asked looking at me. I sat on my haunches and looked at him, my head tilted to the side.

"I shouldn't push myself too hard. I will rest," I said to him. It was instant and strange. We all of a sudden had a link, a connection that allowed me to communicate with him like I had with other wolves.

"Princess?" Bishop questioned. "Did I just hear your thoughts?" He asked in his own thoughts inside his head.

"Yes, it seems we have bonded, normally I can only do that with other wolves," I explained.

"You mean you can speak with Karnwyr?" He asked.

"Yes, through our bond. He's told me stories, some of you, some of hunts." I continued with a laugh.

"You will have to indulge me to these stories when I return," Bishop said then explained to Casavir that I was going to rest with him while he went off to catch something for dinner. I turned to him, he had a look of awe and shock on his face. I went and sat next to him and tilted my head at him in question.

"Breanna…" he began looking into my eyes. "You were talking to him like you do with the wolves?" He asked but it was more of a statement then a question. I nodded my head. I was never able to do that with Casavir ever, for as long as I traveled with him. Perhaps it was because he was more of a man then animal and Bishop was the opposite. I tilted my head at him again when he shuffled nervously.

"I want to thank you for helping me, I am a better person. It's hard to see the good in people but, I now have a faith I never had. I love you Breanna, despite your darker tendencies. We are not fated to be lovers as I had hoped, as I had yearned for. Weather you see it yourself or not your heart leads you to the Ranger, he is your mate." Casavir confessed tightening his fist, I made a whining sound and tilted my head.

"The old me would have crushed him in a jealous rage, a crime of passion. If I have learned anything from my past this is it. I must have the grace and dignity to let you go. I see now that no one can change the light burning bright within you. You will shine bright for all of the world to see. After I help you with this task, I wish to relinquish my services to you. Know that I will always return if you ever need me, for anything. I can only pray that he doesn't kill you in my absence." He finished with a small smile. I lowered my head and laid down at his feet and he scuffed the fur on my head.

Bishop returned the rest of the day and evening went quietly. Bishop was fond and quite excited about our new ability. It was an interesting development but I had a lot on my mind and told him we would speak tomorrow. The fire died down and I slinked over to Casavir's bedroll. He was just wearing regular clothes. His sleeping face looked so sweet and I licked it. Eyes still closed he smiled and I joined him as he opened his arms. I shed my wolf form and we just held each other like we always had.

"I think it's time I let you go. And that's so hard to do because a part of me will always be in love with you. So smile one last time for me, because I believe that we'll meet again. Until then, I'll miss you.." Casavir whispered holding me tight as I nodded. Tears slipped from my eyes and smiled up at him. He whipped away my tears and kissed my cheeks. He was right. I wasn't ready to admit it to myself but I knew in my heart I was starting to fall for Bishop. Casavir must have seen some change in Bishop to even began to conceive the ideal of leaving my side. It's not that I didn't love Casavir because I did, I just couldn't be what he wanted me to be. I think I knew that from the beginning, but emotions are fickle things.

Just before morning I kissed Casaivr's cheek and whispered my goodbye to him I made the change back to a wolf while still in his arms. I creeped out and went hunting for breakfast , Karnwyr joined me and we shared a small goat. By noon we were at the entrance, I moved to the cover of the trees to change and don my armor. The traditional black with the nightingale insignia on it, Bishop crept up behind me, I could feel him move inside my mind as well. He placed his hand at my hip, his thoughts were relentless.

"Do you need help?" He asked.

"Putting my armor on? No, but perhaps, later taking it off…" I teased while checking over my gear before stepping away and slinging my bow and quiver over my shoulder.

"Mmm, you minx" he mused, with a cocky and confident smile. He pulled me into a tight embrace. My heartbeat quickens at the feel of his muscled chest. His golden eyes find mine and his mouth parts slightly before kissing me with seductive roughness. I pull away and I walked over to Casavir and embrace him. It was comforting to know that these arms would always welcome me. I hoped that one day he would find the woman he deserved to have.

"My lady…" Casavir blushed. "I shall wait till you safely make it out befor I take my leave," he continued pulling out the skeleton key and handing it to me so that I could return it. I nodded my head and kissed his cheek.

"You will always have a special place in my heart, always" I said, then turned and walked to the entrance of the Twilight Sepulcher. Only nightingales could enter the Sepulcher, so I would face the trials on my own.

I entered alone. The cavern was dimly lit and I was soon greeted by a ghostly Nightingale.

"I don't recognize you, but I sense that you're one of us. Who are you?" A ghostly figure asked.

"I'd ask the same question of you." I said crossing my arms.

"The last of the Nightingale Sentinels, I'm afraid. I've defended the Sepulcher alone for what seems like an eternity." It replied crossing its ghostly arms.

"The last? What happened to the rest?" I inquired.

"We were betrayed by one of our own kind. In fact, I'm to blame for what's happened here." It admitted.

"How are you to blame?" I pressed, needing more information. The trials would not be easy and I need every bit of information I needed.

"I was blinded. Blinded by dark treachery masquerading as friendship. Perhaps if I had been more vigilant, than Mercer Frey wouldn't have lured me to my fate and stolen the Skeleton Key" It continued.

"Wait a moment… You're Gallus!" I exclaimed.

"I haven't heard that name in a long time. How do you know of me?" He inquired.

"I have the Key." I responded.

"The Key! You have the Skeleton Key! I never thought I'd see it again. And Mercer Frey?" he asked.

"Dead." I revealed.

"Then… it's over and my death wasn't in vain. I owe you a great deal, Nightingale." He thanked me.

"I did this for Nocturnal." I responded.

"That's quite a noble sentiment for someone in our… well, in your line of work. My only regret is that you had to undertake this task alone." Gallas acknowledged.

"Karliah helped me." I admitted.

"Karliah… She's still alive?" He asked, emotion stirring in his ghostly eyes. "I feared she'd befallen the same fate, ending up a victim of Mercer's betrayal."

"Then take the Key and right all the wrongs." I insisted holding it out to him.

"Nothing would bring me more pride than to return the Key, but I'm afraid it's impossible. From the moment I arrived here, I've felt myself… well… dying." he admitted.

"How can a spirit die?" I asked.

"The Sepulcher isn't merely a temple or a vault to house the Key. Within these walls is the Ebonmere… a conduit to Nocturnal's realm of Evergloom. When Mercer stole the Key, that conduit closed, severely limiting our ties to her." He continued, this however I had already known.

"Then I'll have to proceed alone." I observed.

"I'm afraid so. I'm weakening, and I can feel myself slipping away. The years without restoration of my power have taken their toll. Whatever damage has been caused can only be corrected by following the Pilgrim's Path to the Ebonmere and replacing the Key," he pointed out.

"What will I face in the Pilgrim's Path?" I asked.

"I wish I could help you, but I've been a prisoner in this very chamber for the last quarter century. The only possible help I've come across are the remains of some poor fellow who was trying to follow in your footsteps. Perhaps his journal can help?"He instructed.

"What's wrong with the other Nightingale Sentinels? I asked beginning to look around for the poor fellows remains.

"With the Ebonmere closed, and their sudden severance from the realm of Evergloom, I fear they've undergone a drastic change. They're shadow of their former selves. They no longer remember their true purpose or their original identities. My spirit didn't manifest itself in the Sepulcher immediately, so fortunately I wasn't present when the Ebonmere was sealed. However, ever since that day, I've felt my power waning… slowly draining away." Gallus explained.

"The Ebonmere is a conduit through which Nocturnal influences our world. Not through magic or blessings, but purely through luck." I said reciting the passage from a tomb I had acquired. "But luck is meaningless what we do involves skill." I continued.

"Yes, absolutely. Your skill is your own… don't let anyone ever tell you otherwise. But Nocturnal, she influences our luck; nearly imperceptible assistance we get when we ply or trade." He continued on.

"How's that changing the way things are?" I asked.

"Think about the Guild… about the state it was in when you began. Think about all the little things you might have heard. A pick breaking when it shouldn't have, the clouds in the nighttime sky clearing at the wrong time. Our access to those bits of luck are what separates us from common bandits." He drawled on.

"So with the Ebonmere closed, our luck's run dry." I stated.

"Precisely. There are a few who still call Nocturnal 'Lady Luck' and for good reason." He said, as I found the skeleton of a long dead man and next to it an old journal. As I walked up the path the stone door opened, I flipped the journal open and read the first inscription.

"Shadows of their former selves,sentinels of the dark. They wander ever more and deal swift death to defilers." There were a handful of Sentinels that I easily bright down with my bow and moved passed to the second test.

"Above all they stand, vigilance everlasting. Beholden to the murk yet contentious of the glow" it read. It was dark in this room and the light was strange as I got closer to it, it began to burn my skin. I dropped back to the shadows and it stopped. Ok I must avoid the light and stick to the shadows, I thought. Vigilance was key because along the shadows there were several traps I had to disarm before finally reaching the next test.

Entering the next room sat a statue of my lady. At her feet offerings of wealth and a dead Dunmer and two large braziers burned brightly. I opened the journal and read. "Offer what She desires most, but reject the material. For her greatest want is that which cannot be seen, felt, or carried." Huh... what does my lady desire most that cannot be see or carried… Nocturnal is the prince of darkness, luck, and night. We get our luck from her, perhaps she wants darkness? Darkness cannot be seen, felt or carried. I examined the brazier it was being fueled by a source not in this room but there was a leaver. I gambled at the fact that i would shut it off so I pulled it and it went out. I did the same with the other brazer and it went out as well. When both brazers were out I heard the rock door slide aside to reveal the exit to the next part of the test.

The next corridor had two paths one that was straight and lead right to the next door but in the hallway razor sharp pendulum trap swung. I didn't need to read the next part of the journal to know that the straight path was full of traps. That path was for the fools who were impatient. I took the indirect path into the next room where two more sentinels guarded this area. I took them down with a shot from my bow. I picked up quite a few goodies then continued. I opened the door to a long corridor that just ends in a circular pit no way out. I thumb through the journal to the last entry.

"The journey is complete, the Empress's embrace awaits the fallen. Hesitate not if you wish to gift her your eternal devotion," I read the entry. I mustn't hesitate and I stepped off the ledge to the pit below. I landed with a thud and found a corpse. I examined the body seemed to be dead a long time. There was nothing in here. I searched but found nothing and there was no way for me to reach the way I had come. I was trapped! I felt my chest tighten at the prospect of share the same fate as the skeleton at my feet. I reached into my satchel and pulled out the key when the floor descended to reveal a room with three closed doors and a lock on the floor in the center of a large circle. I examined the lock. This must be where the skeleton key belongs I reach down and placed the key in the lock and the floor in the circle began to move. I stepped back and a flock of ravens burst forth revealing my mistress Nocturnal.

"My, my. What do we have here? It's been a number of years since I've set foot on your world. Or perhaps it's been moments. One tends to lose track. So… once again the Key has been stolen and a "champion" returns it to the Sepulcher. Now that Ebonmere has been restored, you stand before me awaiting your accolades; a pat on your head… a kiss on your cheek. What you fail to realize is your actions where expected and represents nothing more than the fulfillment of your agreement. Dont mistake my tone for displeasure, after all, you've obediently performed your duties to the letter. But we both know this has little to do with honor and oaths and loyalty. It's about the reward; the prize. Fear not. You'll have your trinkets, your desire for power, your hunger for wealth. I bid you drink deeply from the Ebonmere, mortal. For this is where the Agent of Nocturnal is born. The Oath has been struck, the die has been cast and your fate awaits you in the Evergloam. Farewell, Nightingale. See to it the Key stays this time, won't you?" Nocturnal finished and vanished back into Ebonmere as I followed her into the portal my vision blurred then went black.