5th TRIAL: ERABENIMSUN CAMP
PART 2

Having taken care of the ashkhan and his bodyguard, I moved to the next yurt, the one belonging to Ashu-Ahhe.

 

Ashu-Ahhe attacked as soon as he saw me enter. "You have killed a member of my tribe!" he shouted, "Therefore, you must die!"

He cast a shield around himself, and attacked me with a sword.

I countered with Medusa's Gaze, followed by my summoning a few creatures for him to play with.

 

The battle didn't last long. A storm Antioch, greater bonewalker and a daedroth finished him Ashu-Ahhe in no time.

 

Finally, the yurt of Ranabi.

This one, according to the wise woman, depending more on enchanted items and spells. 

 

Ranabi saw me come in, stood up, looked me over, and spat on the ground.

"Mage, huh?" he said, with a very sarcastic tone. "You have killed people of my tribe, and for that, you must pay with your life."

 

Well, he provided a few summoned creatures of his own.

Aryon's Helper (an enchanted glove I had received from Master Aryon), brought forth my own crew, and my own Ring of Weapons helped take care of the bony guy with the sword. My daedroth helped me out by distracting Mr Bones long enough for me to charge up and fire off a poison bloom at Ranabi.

I managed to defeat Mr Bones quite easily, and my other two summoned creatures managed to finish off Ranabi in short order.

Yeah, Ranabi. In your face.

 

Laurenna came running over to Ranabi's yurt just as I was coming out.

"Are you ok?" she asked. "You seem to have a number of cuts and bruises there. Perhaps you'd better use one of your healing spells."

She was right, I had received a number of wounds in the last two yurts, but hadn't noticed them until now.

I performed a healing spell on myself, and then we headed over to the yurt of the wise woman.

 

We reported our progress to Manirai.

Her counsel now recommended that we talk with Han-Ammu and convince him to become the ashkhan of this tribe.

She did warn me that it would not be an easy task, as he was not certain he'd want the position.

She said that his birth gave him a strong claim to lead the tribe, but that he lacked strength, courage, and wisdom.

Oh, yes, this'll be easy.

 

We made our way to Han-Ammu's yurt.

I looked at Laurenna. She just rolled her eyes to the sky, put her hand on my shoulder, and said "Let's get this over with."

With a light pressure, she pushed me into Ulath-Pal's yurt to complete this final task.

 

Han-Ammu was there with a friend of his.

Han-Ammu didn't react at first, but his friend seemed to recognize me instantly.   

 

"You are the outlander," said Yantus, "Eldorf the Wise, the one who claims to be the Nerevarine?"

"I am." I replied. I showed him the Moon-and-Star ring. He was dumfounded.

"Such a thing." he said, "And to see this in one's lifetime!"

"So you know of my exploits?" I asked.

"Ghosts and Ancestors!" he said. "We have hard how you went to Kogoruhn, and what you found there. It is terrible. And we have heard of Azura's cave, and the great ring. Truly, it is a marvel."

He turned to his friend. "Han-Ammu, you must see this. Listen to him, please!"    

 

Manirai was right about his one being difficult.

"No matter what Manirai says, I'm not interested. I don't want to be ashkhan."

"Now, why is that?" I asked, taking on a fatherly role.

"Everyone despises me." he replied, looking down at the floor, avoiding looking me in the eye. "I am a weakling, a coward, and a fool. I hate it, but it's true. I just want to be left alone."

 

I showed him the robe that Ranabi wore. "Do you know this?" I asked him.

"Yes." he replied. "I recognize it. Ranabi wore that robe, the Robe of Erur-Dan the Wise. It was handed down to Ranabi through his family. But what has that to do with my wanting to be ashkhan?"

"Look," I said, "You are in a unique situation now, just like I am."

"I am?" he asked.

"Yes." I said. "You see, I didn't ask for this responsibility to be placed on my shoulders, but it's there, none-the-less. Each of us must rise to the occasion to the best of our ability, even if we'd rather turn tail and run away. You are the son of an ashkhan. The war-loving leaders of your tribe have been vanquished, and the opportunity now exists for you to lead your people peacefully."

"But, I don't know what to do!" he protested.

"You have a great friend here." I replied. "And you have many members of your tribe you can ask for advice from. You also have Manirai, your wise woman. She has given good counsel up to now. Every tribe I have visited has one, and they always seem to know the answer you seek."

"But the items of leadership," he said, "things like the Robe of Erur-Dan the Wise. Things like this, I do not have."

"Han-Ammu," I said, gently, "Do I have such a thing? Am I not wise anyway? Things like this are just 'things'. Yes, it is the robe that gives wisdom in counsel, and it is the idea of the robe that gives confidence to the tribe, but at the end of the day, it is the ashkhan who wears the robe, the ashkhan who accepts responsibility for the safety of the tribe, and the ashkhan who holds the fate of the tribe in his hands. This destiny has fallen upon you, Han-Ammu. You have the chance to be the leader of this tribe, to care for them, and see to their safety. And don't forget, you have the wisdom of your friends and wise woman to assist you in times of need."

"These are dangerous times." I continued, "In the same way that destiny has fallen upon me, it has fallen upon you as well. Accept your destiny, and help your tribe in their time of need."

"Yes, I see what you mean." he said. "Now, with Ulath-Pal dead, I hold the fate of the tribe in my hands, and I must accept that responsibility. Thank you for your lesson. I shall be Ashkhan of the Erabenimsun, and I shall name you Nerevarine."

"I believe you will do well here." I said, relieved. Laurenna came over and gave him a hug, telling him that she was proud of him taking on this huge responsibility. He couldn't help but smile, the first time I'd seen anyone of this tribe smile at all since I arrived here.

"Thank you, Eldorf the Wise." he said. "I promise that as ashkhan, I shall do my best to amend the dark reputation of the Erabenimsun. And as my first action as chief, I now name you Erabenimsun Nerevarine, Champion of the Erabenimsun, and Protector of the People. Go to the wise woman, Manirai, and receive from her the Seizing of the Erabenimsun. It is an enchanted heirloom of the tribe, which shall be a sign to all Dunmer that the Erabenimsun have named you Nerevarine."

 

Laurenna and I headed directly to Manirai's yurt to report our good news.

"So, Eldorf Dragonmeal, also Eldorf the Wise, you are now called Nerevarine, and Han-Ammu is now our ashkhan. Many changes. You have persuaded him to accept his responsibilities. Now we will see if he grows in wisdom, and becomes a good and wise chief like his father."

"I am certain he will," I replied, "provided he receives the council only a good people and a good wise woman can provide. I feel your people will be in good hands."

Manirai walked over to a large urn in the back of her yurt and searched through it. A short time later, she brought over an enchanted belt. "I must give you the Seizing of the Erabenimsun." she said. "It is a tribal heirloom that ought to be held by our chosen champion as a token that we have named you Nerevarine."

I graciously accepted the token and put it on.

"I have no further counsel for you, Nerevarine." she said. "We are both traveling in the dark."

"I will see what I can do to fix that for all of us." I promised.     

 

Laurenna gave Manirai a great big hug, which brought a smile to her face. It was nice to see a smile in this tribe, something I felt was sadly lacking before. There was a promise of new hope, a new beginning, of a time less-troubling, and Manirai could feel it.

Taking our leave of the wise woman's yurt, we filled our waterskins and headed out to the trail that would take us to the nearest Dunmer stronghold. I would use the propylon chamber to teleport back to the northern parts of Vvardenfell and let Nibani Maesa know that I had finally completed the Fifth Trial.

 

Just in case anyone was wondering, that blasted ashstorm was still going just as strong as ever, with no let-up in sight.

 

 

 

 

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