A Bosmer and Falmer

I

I was never ruthless, not before I came to Skyrim. Of course I'd have to hunt for my family in Valenwood, we all had, but something changed after the dragon attack and I was thrown into the chaos that unfolded. First, the graybeards. Then the dark brotherhood and the thieves guild and even Miraak in Solstheim. The brief time at the college of winterhold- not to mention Daedric Princes like Sanguine who fought tooth and nail to have me as their champion-

Now, vampires. I hadn't been shocked at the thought of them existing, not when I became friendly with a pack of werewolves. I had even seen some werebears in Solstheim. But, even so, the old ones were ones that I'd never thought I'd meet. People like Serana and her father, who felt as old as the dirt we walked on. They felt as old as the air that we breathed, the stones under our feet, the packed snow in the mountains under layers and layers.

And yet, when her father offered me vampirism, I hadn't the heart to decline. To be offered immortality in a castle fit for kings, anyone would be swayed by that temptation. I accepted and a thirst like I had never known surrounded me, engulfed me like a tidal wave from the sea.

Serana had helped me transition, helped ease the process, but it was still hard. Especially in battle, where blood sprayed onto everyone. I had often almost shifted to the ominous bat form that he had gifted me each time I went into battle, and that wasn't a good sign.

And although her father was kind enough to bestow upon me this gift, we still needed to find information on the prophecy. That led us to the snow elves.

I had always heard stories about the snow elves and how they were driven underground. The Nords found the artifact that now lay dormant in the college of winterhold, while the snow elves claimed it as theirs and lay siege to the village that held it. Then, they were driven underground. I had met my fair share of falmer and charus around Skyrim, even in unsuspecting places like a decrepit lighthouse, but never a snow elf that could hold conversation. Never a Falmer who could tell me the history of his people, the culture of his people.

I had always been interested in ancient civilizations, so perhaps that's why I had always been interested in Dwemer ruins. But the Dwemer had vanished, and all that were left were the remnants of a corrupted society underground. Perhaps Serana would have had some information in her castle about it, but the more I lingered the more I realized what a castle of that size was lacking. It lacked a library. It lacked cleanliness. It lacked what any normalcy of a human castle would have. It had piles of bones and blood everywhere. Human cattle were kept in the bowels of the castle. Some parts of the castle were left in such a disarray that the ceiling was crumbling in and nobody had the time of day to try to fix it. So, to my dismay, there wasn't much information at all to be gleaned from that castle, save for Serena's mother and the whole soul gem fiasco.

~~

Me and Serana had set up camp nearby, after we had completed the initiate trials and unlocked the inner sanctum, where we had met the snow elf in preparation for what he asked of us. He had asked us to kill his brother for being corrupted by the Falmer. Luckily, we had packed plenty of blood potions. We were near enough that I could ask questions to Gelebor. And each time I had asked a question, his eyes would light up like he had never known someone to be so interested. He began telling me about his history and about the stuff I already knew about the snow elf situation, but then he said something unexpected.

"There are probably pockets of snow elves like me spread around Skyrim. Or perhaps some of them mingled with society, hiding or masquerading as bosmer or altmer."

"What will you do once this is over and once your brother is gone?"

"I'll stay here tending the wayshrines. There are so many that need more tending, so many decrepit and broken that need to be fixed-" I placed my hands at my sides on the cold stone floor from which I was sitting next to Gelebor.

"Are you sure that's all you want to do? You could find the elves that may be still alive and revive your culture."

"Tending the wayshrines is a revival of my culture-"

"Yes, but-" He then glanced down at where I was sitting. He was much taller than me, by more than a few inches. He was as tall as an Altmer, and I was as tall as the shortest Bosmer around.

"Don't you wish to leave? You've been down here for so long. I could show you around Skyrim. I could show you around my home in Valenwood even."

"My duty is with Auri-el-"

"I'm sure he would be able to forgive leaving after so long."

"I'll think on it."