NUGUARI

Dear travelers, scholars and hunters,
Let me tell you a tale about love and lust and sorrow, passions, grief and salvation. This tale revolves around a young woman named Nuguari.
Her lot in life is not an easy one to follow, so I hope you brought your thinking caps.

There once was a small Inn near the town of Hallin’s Stand in Bangkorai. It could only host one guest, but what it lacked in space it made up for in company. As a young Breton maid cleaned and cooked and fulfilled a customer’s every wish—such as the Altmer merchant that came to stay—may have.
Over the course of his stay the Altmer merchant and the Breton maid had come to enjoy each other’s company and not too long before he had to return to Alinor the maid decided to go against her better judgement and share a bed with the merchant.

The Innkeeper who had heard about the indecent affair and found out about the child that sprung from their love burst out in rage and presented her with a choice. For he owned her and her child.
He offered her to leave, never to return—thought himself clever as there was nowhere a woman with child and without help could go and stay alive.
Or to give up the child, never to be seen again.
The young mother-to-be did not hesitate to make a choice. She would take her chance and leap for freedom as she was sure the merchant would catch her.
She gathered her sparse possessions and marched on towards her happy ending.
Or so she thought.

Months had passed and weak from traveling, carrying two people with her own two fragile feet she neared the town of Shimmerene and collapsed. Just in that moment an old mage, educated in the art of restorative magic by the Psijic Order, passed her by on the way home from gathering herbs.
She took in the weak woman and cared for her until an enchanting young girl was born, with hair as white as snow and eyes as bright and blue as the winter’s sky.
“Nuguari” her mother named the little thing.
Still sick from a journey that would have almost robbed her of her life, the mother stayed in bed for months to regain her strength.
And when she finally had rested enough she wanted to learn the Healer’s trade as she thought it might be useful to her in the future and grant her better standing.
Since merchants are well respected and she had nothing to give, no pedigree, no trade, no riches this was an important step to take in order to ensure the rest of their lives would be carefree.

As the years went by Nuguari grew into a kind, bright and warm-hearted girl whom, like her mother, had an affinity for the arcane arts.
Five years it took the mage to teach all that she knew and when the day came to part ways there were no tears, only joy—for the maid has become a capable healer, worthy of an Altmer’s hand.

But when she finally arrived at the house the merchant called his own, she saw him with the wife he had taken and a child not much younger than her own.
Seeing as he found happiness without her so soon, forgot her so soon, she turned away and left.
The realization that he hadn’t even attempted to find her or wait until his half-yearly visit to Bangkorai before replacing her made the mother bitter and unkind, her heart had become one of ice that even a smile of her adorable child could not melt.

And so Nuguari, just a child, tried to lift her mother’s spirits with a little magic to no end.
As the mother’s mind was poisoned by a beast no one could slay.

Still Nuguari, small as she was, kept trying untiringly. Never losing hope, always attentive.
Over the months she performed her little tricks, not just for her mother but also for the people passing them by on the streets of Alinor.
She didn’t ask for money, only food and if they were so kind, a spell.
And as she got older and stronger she gathered all her courage and went to her father’s house, for she thought that only he could heal the mother’s sorrows.
All of her Enchantments and all of her spells could not shield her from the harsh words she was about to hear.

“You are no daughter of mine.” the Altmer said with a hardened heart and unyielding eyes.
“I saw you in the street performing little tricks. No one would ever think that blood of mine would ever do such lowly things.”

As much as she pleaded and begged and cried, his mind was set in stone.
Discouraged by this encounter she returned to the place she had left her mother only to find her gone.
Filled with grief she searched for her as long as her tired feet would carry her but as by the second month there was no sign of her, she thought that healing others in a world so cold, where gold counts more than love and appearance matters more than family was never going to be enough to live on.

And with this grim look in her eyes she took on a destructive path.
Killed monsters, raided deep caves and mines, collected bounties and never let herself be fooled into such fickle things like friendship or love.

Until she finally had saved up enough gold to buy herself a townhouse.
The townhouse, in fact, which her father had to sell. His trades went bad several times over since Maomer had attacked his shipments and he had spent too much in taverns to afford a mercenary’s protection.
As she filled out the bill of property and spent time with the Altmer, in his house, she grinned at him maliciously.

“You do not remember me, that much I can see. I will let you know who I am for my own satisfactory purposes. You shut your door on the woman you claimed to love long ago. The woman you seduced in Bangkorai long ago and the daughter that sprung from one night. You feared the consequences of admitting your mistakes and granting us refuge. You chose once again your own comfort over the life of another person. So it is just that now you should experience loss. It is just, that the person to take your things from you and lead a life better than yours would be me. That ‘mistake’ you would not own up to.”

He tried to not show a reaction and a face withered by age and travel and too much wine helped him so. But in his eyes Nuguari saw a glimpse of pain. And that was enough for her.

The recently acquired house she filled up with beautiful furniture, wonderful things.
Things she had found or was paid for whilst working as a mercenary.
Things she was rewarded for by the house of rulers and merchants and guilds alike.
Food and drink, as much food as she could eat and more.

Yet as she sat alone on one of her tuffets, that blood had paid for, she realized that all the treasure in the world, the trophies mounted on the walls and all the wine of Summerset, delicious as it may be, will never be as warm as another’s touch, a kiss, a laugh or just a conversation.

In that moment—as she started to regret the choices she had made, replaying the horrible things she had done and the unkind words she had spoken—a traveler knocked at her door and asked to tell a tale.

It was a Necromancer. Necromancy was a forbidden art, particularly since it involved—you know—messing with dead things.
Nuguari opened her home anyhow and listened with intent to the young girl’s story. Not quite sure as to what the girl wanted. Was it just to tell a story, to be heard? Was it to ask for gold or shelter? Did she hope to use her magic on Nuguari and enslave her?

None of the above it seemed. She wanted a companion. Someone to walk through life with and since her profession was frowned upon and her—interests uncommon—she would go from door to door. Hoping to find the puzzle piece missing in the masterpiece one calls life. Her name was very odd to have for a high elf. But Nuguari paid it no matter, because alas it was uncommon for an impure Altmer to own such a large Villa in the middle of the city of Alinor.

There was something about “Battles with Death” that was oddly calming, settling, yet exciting at the same time.
And so a story became a conversation.
A conversation a friendship.
A friendship a want and before long, a want became—love.

And what a true love it was, for they had both known pain, deceit and the value of one person’s honesty and another person’s acceptance.