Board Thread:Roleplaying/@comment-29461586-20150301192956/@comment-5583506-20150303174557

"Matriarch?"

"Hm?" Valkyrie woke up.

She had fallen asleep on her throne. Her tears had all dried up and made her eyes feel all stingy.

Lovis, the breton Tutor, stood by her side with her common warming smile. "It appears you have visitors from afar."

Valkyrie adjusted her cloak and rubbed her sellion. "Who... is it?"

"A couple of Argonians from the east, Matriarch. From Clan Bone Obelisk, if I am not mistaken."

"Bone Obelisk, huh?" groaned Valkyrie. "Who are they now again?"

So many clans to keep track of...

"The descendants of Fury-in-the-Snow? The inhabitants of the Velothi Mountain range?" said Lovis.

"Yeah, I remember. Show them in."

It took a while before the guards escorted seven Argonians into hall. It was a rare sight. The Ghost-Wolves had nothing against other races, but even so there were few Argonians within their service. Khajiits were the majority of the beastfolk serving under the banners of Clan Ghost-Wolf.

"My lady Valkyrie", said a middle-aged Argonian with black scales and green slit eyes. He wore heavy armor and a long black cloak. "The rumors of your beauty does not disappoint me."

"Flatterer", shrugged Valkyrie and tried hard to keep her mood in check to disguise the fact that she was severely depressed and wanted nothing more than to go away somewhere and weep buckets over her dead little brother. "You must be Patriarch Hist-of-his-Kin, if I remember correctly?"

"Aye, that I am", said the Argonian. "This here", he said and brought forth the Argonian woman by his side. "This is Xaleel, the love of my life." He then pointed to the remaining Argonians. "This is her father He-Cuts-Deeper and her esteemed mother Beesha Mereeseus." He then sighed. "And this is..."

"Only-She-Knows!" hissed the elderly Argonian woman at the Patriarch.

"... my mother", he ended and gave the old woman an annihilating stare. "We have traveled far in order to pursue an audience with you."

"What would that be about then, Patriarch? As you can see Clan Ghost-Wolf has seen better days."

"Aye, I heard." He took a step forward. "Your brother. Such a pity. I had heard stories of his elder brothers and his father. I am sure that if he would have lived, he would have become a fine man and made an excellent warrior."

Valkyrie lowered her head and struggled to breathe in order to contain her sobs. She couldn't burst out crying again, not in front of other clanleaders. "I... I appreciate the concern, Patriarch. If he had been alive, you could have expected a different kind of welcome instead of this gloomy sight."

"Gloomy? Yes, perhaps a bit. But this place certainly is a lot more colourful than the Chamber of Bones back home. But I did not come here to seek out some royal welcome, Matriarch. I came here to offer an alliance."

"Alliance?" Valkyrie raised her eyebrows, slightly confused.

Seldom had the clans of the west had anything to do with the clans of the east, particularly those with different interests. While Clan Ghost-Wolf sought to help the innocent, no matter what race they belonged to, Clan Bone Obelisk was on a constant crusade against injustice dealt towards Argonians alone. This had lead them into a never-ending battle with Clan Jackal, a clan consisting of Dunmer who sought to bring back the slavery of the beastfolk into the modern age.

"What would be the purpose of this alliance?" asked Valkyrie suspiciously. "Why would the Argonians of the mountains care about what happens in central Skyrim?"

"Matriarch", shrugged Hist-of-his-Kin. "You are insulting me. You make it sound as if I came here to extort you. The truth is that you need us." He then sighed. "And the truth is that we need you."

"Then why? What do you need us for? What do we need you for? Care to elaborate, Patriarch?"

The Argonian threw out his arms. "Have you not noticed, lady Ghost-Wolf? I took you for a wise young woman? All of a sudden ancient Dragon Cults have started to rise up again? That is something which require dire attention, in my opinion. And you know as well as I, that when dead men who worshiped dragons thousands of years ago, starts worshiping them again, something must have gone terribly wrong..."

"I have noticed", growled Valkyrie who didn't like being ridiculed under her own own roof. "My clan is living under the shadow of one of the cults leaders as we speak, Patriarch."

He smiled. "You see? You need us. Your clan is in dire need of new blood. Almost all of your kin's blood is spent. You are nearing your thirties, you are unmarried, you have no children and have no contemporary plans to have any, no?"

She didn't smile. He was telling her the truth, but the way he said it sounded as if he was mocking her. "And what would you be gaining from this alliance? If you provide support to my clan with troopers, what would be the price Clan Ghost-Wolf has to pay in return for this... generosity?"

His smile widened. "Ah, I knew you were a reasonable woman. A marriage perhaps?"

Valkyrie cocked her head. "Marriage?"

"Aye, you and one of my best men and advisors. He is a strong and handsome lizard. And many fair Argonian maidens can testify about his fertility, of that I can assure you!"

There were moments when Valkyrie actually had her doubts about equality among the races. This was one of those moments. Her married to an Argonian? It wasn't exactly her wedding dream coming true, but then again she hadn't exactly had any dreams about her wedding. She had never expected that the role of carrying on the legacy would fall upon her. It was usually expected of the Heir, which had been Varg. But Varg was gone... as was the rest of them.

"No, my love! That's cruel!" squeaked Xaleel all of a sudden and saved Valkyrie from giving an utmost embarrassing answer.

"Huh?" mumbled Hist-of-his-Kin.

"You can't force a woman into marriage! You said that you didn't come here to extort her, but you are!"

"Hush, stupid girl!" snarled Only-She-Knows. "My son knows what is best for all of us!"

"Mother, be quiet", said the Patriarch and turned the attention to his beloved wife. "What is it that you are saying, dearest?"

"The heart must be free to choose its own path!" preached Xaleel. "Matriarch Valkyrie wouldn't have any choice but to accept your offer. That's cruel of you!"

Valkyrie just wanted to wrap her arms around the Argonian woman and kiss her as thanks for getting her out of this mess. Perhaps things didn't look as grim after all, if she could avoid a cross-marriage with another clan... and with an Argonian...

Hist-of-his-Kin was like wax in the hands of his younger wife. He took her hands and kissed them passionately. "You know just what to say in order to soften my decisions, my love."

He then turned to Valkyrie. "Apologies, Matriarch. But I cannot agree to such an alliance by marriage. It wouldn't be right... especially to you."

"Oh, no!" said Valkyrie and feigned her disappointment.

"Yes, I know it must be hard for you to remain alone a while longer. But sooner or later it will happen to you as well. It happened to me. I was blessed with the most loving bride the Velothi Mountain range had to offer."

Xaleel curtsied rather clumsy. Valkyrie couldn't help but notice the woman's wide hips.

I can tell that she will have no trouble having children, but that doesn't explain why they aren't having any as of now?

"What would you propose instead then, Patriarch?" asked Valkyrie with a newfound interest. "If not a marriage, what could our clan offer yours in return for supporting troops?"

He smiled again. "The assassination of Clan Jackal's Matriarch..."