Chapter 8 - Family and Friendship

(In the last chapter)

*Ding* Host has....

I couldn't hear the notification at all as I fell once again and blacked out entirely without notice...

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(Hi, just wanted to say that I'll be trying to write other people's POV. If you don't like how it comes out then tell me and I'll rewrite it. That's all, hope you enjoy)

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(Abjorn's POV):

This morning I was planning suggesting Nero that we go take the test of the companions as I really wanted to redeem my image with Aela after that fuckin' slip of the tongue I had. I went down at the inn's first floor and didn't see Nero there so I just sat on a table and ordered some food for breakfast while I waited for him...the thing is that he never came and I was starting to get impatient, as the need to go to Jorrvaskr was too big, and we didn't even do anything overly taxing yesterday. Well we fought a giant, but neither me nor Nero are normal when it comes to these things. A single night of sleep it's been more than enough to recover from our fights since we met, which wasn't that long ago now that I notice. It all felt natural, adventuring with both Nero and Lokir I mean, to the point that I would forget that we were prisoners and didn't even know yet not too long ago.

Growing tired of waiting I went upstairs to go wake him up. I was standing outside of his room's door when realization hit me. There wasn't a single noise coming from his room, that could mean only one thing...he was with a woman! He must've totally spent himself last night and is now in a deep sleep. Of course god damn it, how could I not notice it? Last night he went directly to his room without notice, he must've payed one of the maids of the inn. Hehehehe Nero you sly bastard', I didn't know you would do that. Was he too stressed or something?

Shrugging my shoulders at the thought I went outside and had a normal morning in the market, which stretched into a normal afternoon still outside of the inn going around just exploring the city, which in turn extended into a rather moved noon when a couple of early drunkards came looking for a fist fight. Both sides ended pretty badly but I came victorious after 20 minutes of fighting.

Finally going back to the inn I asked the woman who was the inn keeper if she saw Nero, a young man who looked like some elven royalty coming down from the second floor, to what she answered saying that there was only one person who didn't return the room key for the day, so that must be him. I was shocked, did he really spent himself that badly? Just what the hell did he do last night? Did he fuck a troll in disguise or something? Those things are said to have massive amounts of stamina.

I got my answer after resolving myself to enter the room, after all, if there was indeed one of the maids from the inn inside his room this morning, then she must've returned to work by now. Entering the room by pushing the door I found a scene that shocked me. Nero was lying face first on the floor with a tiny puddle of dried blood that seemed to come out from all his face's orifices.His clothes were ripped here and there but no injuries were on his body. WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED! I panicked thinking that someone must have killed him, feeling anger, sadness and not knowing what to do I just did the fist thing that came to mind. Taking Nero's body over my shoulders I began running downstairs and stormed out of the inn, to the displeasure of the inn keeper, I'm sorry but we're having a lil' situation here. I kept running towards the palace of Dragonsreach, I know that it could end up even badly if I were to storm in with a dead person but Nero was still breathing, it was really faint, like a whisper you wouldn't hear even if you close in on him.

Reaching the palace's doors the guards became alerted at the sight of s running man carrying a person with a bloodied face. They wanted to stop me but time was running short, I knew that if we wasted time Nero wouldn't make it so I pushed through them like a mammoth, charging wildly into the hall and climbing the stairs that lead to the Jarl's throne where I could see several people at the tables apparently having a feast. The guards, Irileth and everyone else became alerted at the sight of us coming in and the armed ones prepared for s battle.

(Irileth): "What's the meaning of this, adventurer? You dare storm into the great hall of Dragonsreach while the Jarl is hav-"

(Abjorn): "Jarl Balgruuf, please help Nero, I think someone attacked him in his sleep, I found him laying in his room with a puddle of dried blood covering his face. His body doesn't seem to be damaged at all but his breath is becoming thinner by the second. Please help us!" I had to cut her short as we could waste no time right now. I was never one to ask for others help as I always managed somehow, but I wasn't going to put my pride above my friend's life.

The Jarl seemed to hesitate for a moment before getting completely frozen where he stands. It was then that I noticed that, apart from his ripped clothes, he wasn't wearing his gauntlets, which left his right arm uncovered. I didn't know how to explain it, even I don't know what happened to Nero for him to have that arm, or what he even is for the matter. To my surprise, Jarl Balgruuf recovered from his shock and began issuing orders.

(Balgruuf): "Irileth! I need you to go and find Vilma at the temple of Kynareth, tell her that Balgruuf wants to redeem that favor. Don't let anyone else from the temple come here. As for all of you present here, I don't want a single word about what happened here to go out in the streets. You heard me?" I was shocked. Of course I felt grateful and relieved that he accepted to help, but why the hell did he do it? He didn't have any obligation to, and more so seeing Nero's arm, I doubt there are enough people to fill one hand's fingers that would help him like this.

The people inside the hall kept quiet while silently whispering between themselves. I can already imagine where this is going to end. There will probably be a lot of rumors tomorrow of a cursed young man that was tricked by Daedras to make a deal with them, only to be turned into a monster. I know that Nero wouldn't care at all and would even laugh at some of them, but the fact that it's my fault that it became known makes me feel sick...

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(Return to normal POV)

I opened my eyes and started to recall what happened. 'So I fell unconscious huh?'. Those were my thoughts before noticing where I was, a room that was decorated in a medieval Gothic style. Dark colors everywhere accentuated by some purples and whites here and there. I was sitting in a chair with a table in front of me. Facing me was, an ironically faceless...'thing'? I don't know if it has a gender but it seems to be preparing something on the table. Despite being faceless I could feel it's gaze on me when it noticed I was awake.

Suddenly all the things in the table flew across the room, leaving only a thick wooden board that was almost as wide as the table, and a deck of cards appeared on the faceless thing's side of the board. He proceeded to take the cards and place one of them facing upwards. The cards were completely white with only the picture representing it's effect having other colors. On this card there was a picture of a lady bathing on a lake. At the moment it touched the board, the card's borders began glowing a little and on the middle of the wooden board, a small body of water began forming.

"................"

'Can someone tell me wtf is happening? We're having a really awkward moment over here.' While bantering with myself, I heard a voice that startled me.

(???): "Aren't you going to make your move?" The voice was soft and had a seductive tone to it. "Oh my, don't tell me you don't even know how to play, young man." Said the voice as it left a slight chuckle come out. I didn't know what to say or even think about the current situation that was transpiring here.

(???): "Well it would be boring to explain thing to you, more so when you're ignoring me. You really don't know how to treat a lady, do you sweetie? Now go away, and don't come back here until you learn the necessary basics of the game. *sigh* Kids these days. They expect you to hand hold them forever." After hearing that I blinked out of confusion, not knowing what she meant by that, and suddenly found myself laying on a bed.

'.....Did I trip the fuck out of myself after eating something last night? No, that can't be as I went straight to my room.' Trying to find an answer to what that...'dream' was I felt something rustling against my hand, I looked at it and found a cat nudging my hand with it's nose. I thought he was cute, and also that it was weird seeing a cat having two tails, but hey! This is Skyrim so...

(???): "Oh, you woke up *clears throat* Sorry I meant... Oh, you're finally awake. You were tryinna' cross the border and walked right into that imperial ambush huh? Just like us, and that thief over there."

(Nero): "...Did you just talk? Wait! Did you just quote Ralof? WAIT! What the hell are you?" My brain was running at full speed trying to process what just happened, just to stop working the next second, then returning to full speed and so on.

(???): "Well first: Yes, i talked because I'm able to do it. Second: Yes, I quoted your friend Ralof. And third: That's rude man, how the hell did you ask your partner 'what the hell are you'.

(Nero): "Wait, wait, wait. Stop there for just a fucking second. What's that about you being my partner? I like women and you sound like a male child, not to mention that you're a cat." I felt kinda disturbed about the thought of these dude being my 'partner'.

(???): "Yo' what the hell are you talking about!? I meant partners as in adventuring partners, or something like a friend. Ugh, just the thought about it makes me shudder dude." Did this fucking cat child just say that I give him the creeps!? "Why don't you ask that 'system' thingy of yours to explain what happened to us?" That single sentence made my mind go totally blank. Just how the hell did he know about that? And what else does he know?

*Ding* Host allow me to explain the situation as it's rather complicated. 'yeah no shit Sherlock'.

First of all, that being over there is now bonded to you as what you know as a 'familiar'. He made a connection with your soul and is now something akin to a sibling of yours.

Second, the deck of magic cards turned into a special item that's also bounded to you because it was the former recipient of your new sibling. The moment he bounded with you, so did the cards.

Third, and most important...Host should just check his status, there's only that much I can explain as Host's system.

I did what it told me to do, it being the only option to know what the hell is going on was reason enough to convince me.

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Name: Nero (Host)

Race: Devil/Human

Level: 3

Experience: 35/400

Upgrade points: 4

Health: 100/100

Mana: 100/100

Stamina: 100/100

Devil Essence: 100/100

(Perks): Devil's Blood (infant - Requires lvl 10 to upgrade)

(Status Effects): -Devil's Awakening (impure state)

(Fighting Styles): Unique move sets that allow a specific approach while engaging enemies.

-Trickster lvl 1: Centered on dodging and adopting a mocking style to taunt the enemy.

Moveset: Dash lvl-1 (allows a single burst of speed that covers a maximum of 3 meters and gives versatility to the user's fighting style. Costs 50 Devil Essence).

Wall Hike lvl-1 (acrobatic maneuver that allows the user to run,be it vertically or horizontally, on a wall for 2 seconds and use it to move around the battlefield. Costs 50 Devil Essence).

(Abilities): Devil Bringer (demonic strength and durability - Requires ??? to upgrade).

(Unique items/weapons/armor): Deck of magic cards (no current name. Capable of storing desired spells chosen by the user. Directly bonded with Host's soul, allowing him to summon/unsummon said cards).

(Summons): (none)

(Quests/Objectives): (none)

(Followers/Companions/Party): Abjorn/??? (Bonded. Please select a part of Host's body to input the mark of your bond).

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(Nero): "...Alright, I can more or less understand what happened. Yet, I don't get how you know about Ralof's quote. Are able to read my mind or see my memories?"

(???): "Well, yes and no. It's not that I'm able to see your memories, it's just that we now share the same memories, experiences and the like, product of our bond of course. We can't hide anything from each other, that includes your past life memories. Don't worry tough, it's not like reincarnation' is something unheard of. Or is it that you didn't notice that god's nonchalant attitude about you reincarnating? You should know that you're not someone special or a chosen one like most think. You were just lucky enough to be given a second chance, that's all there is to it."

(Nero): "...Alright, I understand that, I never thought myself to be special though. I know better than anyone that I don't have any striking talents, features or anything like that." As I said before, I was just a normal young boy bored with life, nothing special about staying at home right?

(???): "Well, it's not like that cannot change. After all you could change your fate if you work hard enough, but I guess that doesn't sit well with you. Anyway, now that that's out of the way, you need to give me a name and select the place where you want my mark engraved. I advice you to pick something normal, I'm not down to any suggestive stuff lik-"

(Nero): "Shut it. I already told you I like women. also, the place for the mark will be on the back of my left hand. Naming sense isn't my forte so I'll just say some and you choose the one you like the most." We spent around a minute going between names until we found the one.

(Gwydion): "Gwydion...I like it. A male wizard from Welsh mythology who also had a reputation as a trickster. You may call me that from now on." He seemed to be genuinely pleased with his new name. I could also feel his happiness at being given a name, is this also a product of our bond? It feels rather natural to talk to him after all.

The mark that we were talking about earlier made itself appear on the selected place. That way, the face of a purple cat with a mischievous smile appeared on the back of my left hand.

I forgot to describe the little guy. He has dark purple fur covering the entirety of his body coupled with some gray fur at his stomach and neck. He has long ears with pointy ends and black irises surrounded by 2 blue circles over his dark sclera. This little fucker is handsome! I can already feel the drama in the air, like if a thousand female cats were having a nosebleed for no apparent reason.

(interesting fact. Did you know that all of Tamriel's felines are thought to be some species of Khajiits? Doesn't matter their size, color, shape, etc. all of them are part of the Khajiit race, but their species vary depending on the phase of the moon at the time they're born. That way you could get a normal house cat as your son, or a tiger the size of an elephant as your daughter. Interesting, isn't it? Well then, until we meet again!)

(Nero): "Well, partner. How about we go find out where we are? Seeing that my arm is covered in bandages I assume whoever is the owner of this place already knows we're not normal, so we should be prepared for defending ourselves." I can feel his giddiness at being called partner, which I think is a cute reaction, coming from this little fucker at least.

(Gwydion): "You shan't worry, my partner, I will mope the floor with whoever stands in our way. Let them know the mightiness of our awesome duo." He said while proudly pushing off his cat's body chest.

(Nero): "Hahaha, you're right. Let's go already." We were getting up from the bed we were laying on when the door was kicked open by the always pissed dark elf I recognized as Irileth.

(Irileth): "...So, you're awake. Where did that cat come fro-? You know what, I don't even care at this point. The Jarl wants to meet you. Privately. Follow me so I can take you there." As blunt and irritating as ever I see, dear Irileth.

(Nero): "Lead the way then." I had several questions about my current situation, but I figured that I could as well ask them to the Jarl himself.

Gwydion jumped from the bed and rested himself over my head (Kiba and Akamaru style) as we coursed through the hallways of what I assumed to be Dragonsreach. When we reached the hall we used the stairs to go up at the second floor where I saw Balgruuf waiting. Noticing Irileth standing besides him I questioned her.

(Nero): "I thought you said that this was a private meeting."

(Irileth): "If you expect me to leave my Jarl with someone like you, who has treats with daedras, then you're enormously wrong!"

(Gwydion): 'She has a point there, y'know' I heard his voice like if they were my own thoughts which surprised me a little. 'I'm talking inside of your head so we can communicate without them knowing I can talk. I don't want to be experimented on by that arrogant wizard called Farengar.' I mentally nodded at this, noticing that if I was still intact then it must've been Balgruuf keeping that bastard away from me.

(Balgruuf): "Calm down, Irileth. I don't think that he's got anything to do with any Daedra, contrary to what others may think."

(Nero): "Oh? And why is that if I may inquire?" I was genuinely curious as to why he thought like that The only logical explanation I could think of if I was originally from Tamriel is that the Daedras did this to me.

(Balgruuf): "...It's not something that I'm proud to admit, but my ancestors had their fair share of deals and doings with Daedras and other beings. I know what their presence feels like, if you'd been cursed by them then your arm should be oozing negative emotions to the point that someone experienced might be able to notice them. But I can't feel those emotions coming from you, so I guess that's not an explanation to the state of your arm."

(Nero): "........" 'I don't like where this is going. Will he sell me off to some group like the Thalmor or the Vigilants of Stendarr. If he does, they will either kill me, dissect me or torture me for answers to what I am.'

(Gwydion): 'You're right. If worst come to be though, we can just kill these two and escape from here. I'm 40% sure we can kill them without sustaining any life threatening injuries. It's bad that you don't have a weapon right now, it would make things easier.'

To our shock, Balgruuf kept talking and said something we weren't expecting at all.

(Balgruuf): "Look, I'll keep it simple. I like to stay neutral in most of Skyrim's affairs. I'm not sided with anyone in the war, and let's hope it stays like that, but I'm still on the side of Whiterun. I can't allow any threat to roam within the city's walls. And so I ask you. Are you a threat, adventurer Nero?"

(Nero): "I'm not. Sincerely speaking, even I don't fully know what I am. I can tell you that my arm holds great power, and that it will likely keep on growing stronger in the future. But, just like you, I'm not interested in great conflicts like the civil war, as I like to keep to myself my own opinions so to stay away from troublesome situations and troublesome people. I will still use this power to protect those who are close to me without a doubt, but if someone doesn't do anything of the sort then they've got nothing to fear of me."

You may be asking yourself 'why the hell would you tell someone that you'll surely get stronger in the future, they could use this chance to kill you now that you're still weak'. Well that's because Balgruuf is known to be a noble and peaceful man. The true embodiment of a nord, some say. He's so liked and respected among his peers that, in the game when he was forced to side with the imperials, a great number of nords, stormcloaks and many other races and factions began to think that the empire might be the true solution to Skyrim's problems. And after meeting him in person I confirmed this thought. With no hesitation did he send those guards to Riverwood, even when he could keep them here to protect himself. With no hesitation did he express his thanks and rewarded us for our help, even tough he is a Jarl and we unknown adventurers. And he never showed sign of thinking of himself as someone of greater standing than us, after all, he asked us himself for our help in Farengar's matter. If you can't trust these man, then you may as well distrust every living being in the world.

(Balgruuf): "That puts me at ease I must say. You won't be asked to explain your situation, as I know everyone's got a secret or two. Though I'm afraid that there will be rumors in the city about you being someone stupid enough to make a deal with Daedras. Sorry for not being able to help with that." He said the first half with a smile while being slightly conflicted about him not being able to help. This made me feel great about my decision even more.

(Nero): "You don't need to worry about that. I'm used to people pointing fingers at me, not like I ever cared anyway, and I won't start doing it now. I know how to value a friend when I see one." A broad smile appeared on both of our faces.

(Balgruuf): "HAHAHA. If there were more youngsters like you Whiterun would be the most prosperous and interesting place of tamriel."

(Gwydion): "Of course it would. I noticed that my partner deemed you great enough to earn our trust, so I'll allow you to know that this great duo is goi- *ughighgh*" He was cut short by me grabbing him by the neck and choking him.

(Nero): "This little fucker is called Gwydion, my partner. Feel free to ignore his rantings and monologues as I know they can be annoying."

(Balgruuf): "Hahaha, alright Nero, you're both an interesting duo I admit. Anyway, I should let you know first that you were out cold for 2 and a half days, and during that time a lot of things happened." These shocked me as I didn't expect that so many time had passed since I fell unconscious.

Balgruuf began to narrate the events of the past few days. Abjorn had to fight a dragon that attacked the eastern watch tower outside of Whiterun, and after killing it, he was discovered to be the dragonborn when he absorbed the dragon's soul and only bones were left. Some men in heavy armor calling themselves the Dawnguard came here scouting for new members who wanted to fight against a lurking threat of powerful vampires. Dragon sightings began to become a rather common thing in places that were in the vicinity of mountains and the like. And lastly, Abjorn managed to become part of the companions after barely passing Aela's test and being beaten up like a ragdoll. Balgruuf spent some time narrating the last event while laughing and noting some funny things that happened during that 'test' which seemed more like a lesson or a punishment from how things played out.

After he finished recounting all of these events I had to go and he needed to return to his tasks as the Jarl, even if he seemed to be dying inside because of the stupid requests some people made, like 'please I implore you to place taxes for grass height on house's yards and make me the one in charge of it". Seriously what the hell is wrong with people. be it this world or my previous one, there are still so many people who don't seem to be very proficient at using their reasoning capacity.

I went out of Dragonsreach and found myself going down the stairs while keeping an eye out to see people reactions when seeing me, I was only wearing a bandage to cover my arm, which pretty much gave out my identity as the 'cursed young man'. Like that Me and Gwydion made our way towards Jorrvaskr to find Abjorn and also take the test...

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Chapter word count:4375