Meet Zaraliana

With a sigh of disappointment the girl covered in blood leant back in her chair.
Not a single book so far had contained the knowledge she had wanted to gain.
If she had ever known that getting out of what seemed to be the bargain of a lifetime would
be this tedious, she would have never agreed.
She would have rather taken yet another beating or worse.
Back then, all that mattered was to get out of the bad situation she was in.
Little did she know that in escaping the frying pan she would eventually land in the fire.
Delayed fire, but fire nonetheless.

She picked up her armor, put the helm back on and left the dungeon.
Her Allies had long gone. They were not friends to her, but mere strangers with the same
Destination. A means to an end to Zaraliana.
Their only interest laid in the Treasures: Coins, Gems, rare Weapons and rarer Armor still.
Zaraliana appreciated the fact those items were necessary to survive. They would pay for
her food and lodging. Some items would even make for a nice display in the Museum she
nurtured. A good passive generation of funds for her – excursions.
But she held no love for them, no desire.
Her desires laid in Books. Rare Books and Scrolls. For Books and Scrolls held the most
valuable currency of all: Knowledge.

If you had told her long ago, back in the Orphanage in Riften how obsessed she was going
to be with Books, she would have laughed in your face, questioned your sanity.
A rowdy little girl with a talent to get in trouble, none of her own making of course.
She was always built a bit more boy-ish than she would have preferred herself.
Unfortunately children can be cruel. Not thinking of how much their words might hurt.
Not realizing how much damage could not be undone when there is no one to soothe the
pain.

To my benefit Zaraliana was smart enough to seek out help. Getting denied in that
endeavour by the one and only Figure of authority she knew played right into my cards.
Following that I may have ordered one of my henchmen to lose a page or two on a
frequently utilized path of hers.
A page about my powers.
A page of my teachings.
Most importantly, a page of how to form a bargain with me.

A delicate matter indeed to find just the perfect time and manner in which to approach a
potential asset. With all my power still, I can not influence the decisions of mortals.
I can only just create a path appealing enough, so that they may be willing to take it.

And so she did. She used her new found powers wisely.
I had foreseen a most likely path of violence in her future, a path of slaughter without end.
Particularly of those who had harmed her. To my surprise she chose kindness.
Truly intriguing I might add is the fact she didn’t retaliate, she just left.
Even those who had caused her immeasurable pain and distress were left behind without a
scratch.

It was later in life, when she came to realize what the full extent of the bargain she had
struck was that I saw my suspicion realized: This girl did not take the most likely path in life.
She evolved with every encounter and ever since realizing her inevitable fate tended to go
for the most difficult path to find. There was more to her than the mask she chose to show
the world.
She was disobedient, strong willed, incredibly smart and infuriatingly determined.
Pair that with the resourcefulness of any Nord orphan and presto:
The most annoying inconvenience imaginable.
She had made it her mission to find a way out of the bargain struck with me.
I would long be surprised if she wanted to give up her powers.
On the other hand, nothing is preventing her from living her life to the fullest, taking
advantage of all I enabled her to do and when it comes time to pay up – slip away.

On this crusade she has been of some use I suppose.
The rare books and scrolls she had found are of phenomenal value to my collection.
The foes she stood up against shall protect my Archives infinitely.
The people she has fought alongside – their magic, their practices forever added to my pool
of knowledge.

Without even knowing it, this disobedient child turned out to be my most invaluable asset.
In her efforts to relieve herself of an enslaved death she has been more successful at
gathering knowledge than any of the academics I coerced before her and the ones ever
since. Marvelous indeed.

It is fascinating that with all that knowledge, accumulated and carefully curated over the past
several years of her life, she has not yet chosen the path of comradery.
Fascinating that the path she has chosen to avoid so far is the only path leading her towards
freedom. As she grows older that path grows slimmer and slimmer until it will disappear
inevitably. She has chosen a solitary existence.

If she is talking to someone it is for a specific Reason. A Quest to explore dungeons, to go
up against the biggest foes in trials of the mind and body or just help a scholar collect
samples for a price. Ever so often she will help with a reappearing nuisance in my Archives.
She thinks she can sneak a peek into my own Library unnoticed.
But never once has she opened up to anyone. Never once shared an ale with anyone.
Never once asked anyone to share their life, their story or their thoughts with her.

I can appreciate that behaviour. Seeing as in my own experience interacting with mortals or
even just studying them since the beginning of time: all you gain over time from interacting
with feeble beings is pain and suffering.
Happiness, if there is any, generally speaking does not last nearly long enough nor appears
often enough to be worth the effort of conversations had, favors done, wounds obtained and
scars carried as a reminder.
From an efficiency standpoint mortal relations hold you back in life entirely.
I should know, I have watched enough of them.
Friendships betrayed or unraveled by time, Hearts broken, Comradery extinguished for a
better pay and wars fought over trivial things more often than substantial meanings.

To the untrained eye relations equate to weakness. Zaraliana is young yet, her eyes
untrained.
Eventually she will see, the more books she reads, the more people she meets.
One single thing all relationships have in common that cannot be denied and is observed
across all is the growth of a person.
Regardless of whether it stands up against the test of time, the foe of personal shortcomings
or not. During the time spent with others one grows, learns and spreads knowledge.
One gains strength in overcoming failures and one loses childlike, naive beliefs through pain.
One becomes more aware of dangers and more alert to the beauty of seemingly desolate
places.

Concerning Zaraliana, she might become aware of the fact that out of all the knowledge
accumulated; the one thing she is missing is the ability to put it all together.
The ability only meaningful interactions with people can train: detect patterns, connect dots.

I am almost tempted to nudge her onto the right path.
Almost…
‘Hermaeus Mora’