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SPOILER INFO
This fanfic novel is largely based on the events that occurred in an actual game of Skyrim I played. Therefore, it's inevitably a spoiler.
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previous day
4-202-03-06 07:47
Thoromhel's House, Sunhold, Summerset, Aldmeri Dominion
Thoromhel and I cuddle in the bed, too lazy to get up. With my face resting on his shoulder, I close my eyes and stroke his body with my left hand while his right caresses my back and buttocks. I'm not noticing how my breathing gets faster, but after some time I start turning myself slowly so he could touch my side and then my front. His hand brings delight all over my belly, yet always stops short of my breasts and pubes. Even though he's been hard all along, he doesn't seem to be in a hurry. It's not like he's waiting for my permission. He's actually teasing me! I turn my back on him, making an animalish sound which is supposed to mean I want us to be closer than this. I can't wait any longer, yet I can't ruin the mood by talking.
Thoromhel gets the hint and we make love, and now his hand is no longer just teasing.
"Can elves and humans have children with each other?" I ask afterwards, reluctant to leave. I know I can't get pregnant today and I hope Thoromhel is not taking this as some kind of a suggestion. In fact I shouldn't have asked something like that in a situation like this, but I already did.
"Yes, but there's a catch."
"A catch? What do you mean?"
"Do you know that the Dominion scientists believe a child gets genes from his mother as well?"
Um... no, I barely know the word. I haven't the foggiest idea what anybody believes about genes.
Thoromhel enlightens me while his fingers play with my left nipple: "Well, all anthropologists agree that genes are contained in the sperm and they make a baby grow in the woman's body when certain other circumstances are right, and they are the reason why newborns, even girls, tend to have faces similar to their fathers'. Now what about the fact that some newborns look like their mothers instead? Humans and Dark Elves ascribe it to the fetus growing in a woman's body. The mother is obviously where the unborn baby's body gets all its building materials from, so to speak. That explanation sounds reasonable, but our scientists consider in insufficient. They believe that a child gets genes from both the father and the mother."
"So?" I fail to understand what relevance that scientific dispute has to my question. "Can a human man make a baby grow in an elven woman's body or vice versa?"
"Yes, they can, but I haven't yet come to the point. It is known that people have characteristic traits from both parents, not just the father. Your scientists explain the child's similarity to his father with the genes, and his similarity to his mother by being grown in the mother's body and nurtured by her in childhood. Our scientists think that everything comes from the genes. The genes are not only in the sperm, a woman has them too. When a man's and a woman's genes happen to get together, they mix, whereby some genes, the so-called dominant ones, suppress the others which become latent. That is the reason why some children look nothing like their parents, but are remarkably similar to a grandparent or grand-grandparent."
This is getting interesting, although I still don't understand most of what Thoromhel is saying. I ask him to go on regardless.
"Now, what I was getting at is this: for the reasons yet unknown, male genes are usually dominant over female ones, and that is why a newborn usually looks like his father, but becomes to a greater or lesser extent similar to his mother during his childhood, thanks to spending most of his time close to the mother. However, studying the elven-human couples, the scientists have found out that human genes are usually dominant over elven genes. Tell me, Laura, haven't you noticed people who have a light brown skin, something between Nord and Redguard?"
"Certainly. In fact, I am half Nord, half Breton, and I look generally Nord-like, but I have a slightly darker skin and I've seen a number of Breton women who have features similar to mine."
"Great. And have you seen elves by the looks of whom you can't tell if they're Bosmer or Altmer?"
"Yes, now that you ask, there are quite a few in Summerset."
"Those are people of mixed ancestry. Not an everyday sight outside of bigger cities, but not too rare either. But have you ever seen people who look a little like human and a little like elf?"
"Not that I can recall at this moment. But I know lots of humans married to elves."
"Yes, we have them here as well. The thing is, children of two human parents or two elven parents tend to be a mixture of both parents. However, when an elf and a human mate, then in 90% of cases, the child looks like a human, and in 10% of the cases it looks like an elf, but never like something between them."
"Hold on for a moment. What are these genes anyway?"
"Nobody knows. The correct scientific term is actually "inheritable material". "Genes" is a popular word. Don't ask me where it comes from. It's considered proven that inheritable material is contained in the sperm, because there's never been a case of a woman having a child without sperm getting into her body. But what exactly inheritable material is is unknown. And as I told you, it's disputed whether all inheritable material is transmitted by the man to the woman during copulation, or women have inheritable material of their own as well. The belief in Aldmeri Dominion is that the fact that the child of a human man and an elven woman can be an elf proves that your scientists' theory is wrong – it's not just childhood influence that makes children adopt traits from their mothers, they actually get genes from their mothers as well."
Yeah, I don't care much one way or another. Science is way over my head. But one question occurs to me. "Then if humans and elves mated on a massive scale, elves would go extinct?"
"Many elves indeed fear that, but the scientists are not sure, because the elven genes aren't destroyed by the dominant human genes. They merely become latent. This means that the human child of one elf parent and one human parent will have human children, those will most likely have have human children as well, but a few generations later, an apparently pure-blood human parent can have a child with another human and the child will look like an elf. And everyone is baffled, not realizing that one of the parents has an elf among his ancestors. The dormant elven genes have somehow become dominant for one generation. And the child of that elf may again be a perfectly normal human."
"Wow. I can see how this can create awkward questions."
"Indeed that's the reason behind the humans' hatred of elves."
"What are you talking about?"
"When a Nord man marries a Nord woman and they get an elven child, what will he think?"
Oh my... He's right! "That she's cheated on him!"
"Exactly. Did you really think Nords hate elves just because the elves destroyed Saarthal many thousands of years ago?"
"No, I didn't. I mean, I haven't thought about it. I thought they hate elves because of the Great War and the thalmor terror after it."
"But why do they hate Dark Elves a lot more than they hate High Elves or Wood Elves?"
Good gracious! I had never realized that. People hate thalmors, but High Elves who are not thalmors live among humans and no one bothers them. Yet the Dark Elves are really hated in the eastern Skyrim, the area closest to Morrowind... and they weren't even our enemies in the Great War.
Thoromhel goes on: "For all those millennia during which Nords and Dark Elves have lived side by side, an occasional Nord man has had to observe with dismay how his wife gives birth to an elven child. He is furious that the woman whom he has loved and trusted and assumed she loved him as well has in fact spread her legs for another man, and of another race at that. Nobody has explained him anything about latent genes, therefore he has no idea the child is an elf because his wife – or possibly he himself! – has an elf among their ancestors. That's what's been creating bad blood between Nords and Dunmers and still is."
I find this hard to believe, but I can't find any flaw in Thoromhel's reasoning.
"That's the reason, Laura, why there's no such hatred against Dunmers among Imperials, Bretons and Redguards, nor among Nords against the Altmers and the Bosmers – because there haven't been such a large-scale interaction and so much intermarriage. Although, of course, a part of the humans can't tell the three elven races apart and so hate all of them."
Wow. I'm not at all sure if what Thoromhel told me is true, but it's obvious he believes it. I'll have to find an expert on... what was it, anthology? Anthopology? In the immediate future, though, it seems we'll have to do something about Thoromhel's penis which I've been fingering absent-mindedly while we talked. I look at him questioningly.
"Are you not too busy?" he asks. "I mean, it'll get soft again, obviously, but heaven knows when we'll have an opportunity to meet again..."
"Not too busy, no." I lie back, spread my legs and raise my arms above my head. Thoromhel gets on top of me. I feel like telling him he doesn't have to mind me, he can do it as quickly as he wants to. But I'm not saying anything. He's a man, let him make his own decision.
He does it quicker this time indeed. I'm happy regardless. He's given me so much to think about. Maybe even more importantly, it's been such a delight to idle a couple of morning hours away lying in bed.
As we start putting our clothes on, I remember something. "Are there men in Valenwood who fancy men rather than women?" I ask cautiously.
"Heard it in Morrowind, didn't you?"
"No, in Skyrim, actually. But from a Dark Elf."
He nods. "Such men usually leave Valenwood. That's probably the reason why we have a bad reputation. Not that Dark Elves need a reason to besmirch us."
"What are those men like?"
Thoromhel grabs my still bare breasts with both hands and pushes me onto my back. "Would you believe if I told you I don't know and don't care?"
I have to smile. "Yes, I would."
He kisses me, forcing his tongue into my mouth, and then lets me get up.
I won't stay for breakfast. I really must show myself to my followers, lest they become worried. Well, not really. I'm just not hungry and so full of energy I feel if I jumped up I would actually fly.
I walk around in the town until I see the girls. They tell me the folks from Holly Falls are here. They live in a tent camp outside the southern gate. It would appear that Lord Ish was able to spare some guards and send them to Holly Falls to protect them on their way to Sunhold.
We walk over to say hello. That is, I say hello. My girls have already done it.
It's rather cramped here, but at least they have a lot of fresh air and a really beautiful view of the ocean. I mean, I'm just being witty. I still can't understand why they are not allowed to use the Vacant Houses. Jenassa says that maybe they have become averse to closed spaces, having lived underground, constantly afraid of the monsters invading from the surface. Yeah, maybe. Or Lord Ish is stingyish.
Khal, that strong and handsome Orc turns up and eyes me up and down. Well, sorry, pal, I say to him in my thoughts, I already have a boyfriend in this town. You should have grabbed the opportunity when you had one.
Pretending not to notice Khal, I motion to the girls that we're leaving. We head for the courthouse to see if the ruler has already gotten out of bed. He is and he says that, having done such a great job helping the good people of Holly Falls, me and my followers have earned the honor of accompanying him on a hunting trip. I'm not exactly over the moon, but it would be rude to decline, and who knows, it might even turn out interesting.
Ardhil comes with us, too. Lord Ish seems to like her.
We travel eastwards and encounter a legendary hulking troll . We let Ish have some fun fighting the beast and then we put some arrows into it as well. Ish is happy and looking forward to meeting us again. Well, thanks. We can use every influencial friend we can have in this technically hostile country.
We now head north with Ardhil to hopefully find that elusive cave. I wouldn't be too surprised if it existed only in her imagination, and I wonder how long it'll take her to realize she'd better give it up and how long are we going to play along with her game. I'm enjoying the sightseeing, though, and I'm still highly energized from Thoromhel, and Ardhil's presence prevents the girls from pestering me with their questions, so all in all I don't mind this wild goose chase.
We travel quite far, to a place east-northeast of Holly Falls. We're attacked by a pack of swamphounds along the way. That's quite entertaining, and in case you didn't know, their meat tastes pretty good roasted, too.
Well, surprise – here, not too far from the southwestern end of that big lake west of Shimmerene, Ardhil is finally satisfied that this is the place she's been looking for. She even gives me a reward.
Lord Ish was right. She has beautiful eyes.
Well, you're welcome. With such nice weather, I don't care much where I am.
By the way, girls, don't you think that section of that rocky hillside over there seems strangely smooth?
We step closer to that place that looks more like a stone plate than natural rock. Indeed it can be moved and reveals a tunnel into the mountain. Very carefully, we turn around a corner and see a man standing in front of a small campfire. I feel he's hostile and, remembering my very painful past experiences in Summerset, I shoot him dead rather than step closer and find out for sure.
We sneak forward along the passage and end up in a hall with some wooden platforms, walkways and furniture. A furious magic battle is in progress. It's quite a sight.
One side is clearly hostile to us, so we start shooting at them. Then the other side attacks us and we kill them too. It was mages against bandits.
Further passages take us to a smaller cave where a smaller battle is going on. We let them fight it out and then shoot the last survivor.
There are beds, shelves and barrels with various items in them. The place is called Lnibali. Come to think of it, it wasn't strictly necessary to kill all those people. It's just that I dislike mages. They're frightening and unpredictable.
We have gathered so much loot by now that I want to do a crafting session. The nearest place with all the necessary facilities is Cloudrest. I felt all along I'd like to pay a visit to Corgrad anyway, to take a look at our friends the cute goats. Now I have a valid reason, Corgrad being about halfway between here and Cloudrest.
We run past a small seemingly abandoned graveyard in the middle of a forest
I've been thinking: if we run through here many times, then maybe the locals will get used to us and become friendlier? I so wish they would. It's such a nice village.
On our way to the northwest, we admire some adorable elks
Smithing and enchanting lasts past 3 in the night. I completely lose track of time and forget about my followers waiting up, but they don't mind.
I think we'll spend the night in the nearby royal palace which should be empty on account of the king residing temporarily in Shimmerene as a dog.
Well, not quite. Sylwia is there. She stammers something about happening to be in Cloudrest on some business and just having decided to take a look at the palace for no special reason. I'd very much like to know what she's been looking for, but I'm too tired to bother. We just go to sleep, me and my followers.
next awakening
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