Hef Verkiir

Horrid screaming, the feeling of teeth as they tore through flesh and spilled organs and blood from his abdomen wracked Kaelan while he choked on sobs and blood that started to fill his lungs. It hurt, it felt like white hot pain and daggers being pushed into his body and it made him jolt once before a strangled gasp passed his lips and -

"It's okay!" Arms wrapped around him as if in comfort before he sucked in a deep breath and threw his arms around who ever it was. It didn't matter, he was trembling and sobbing in horror with eyes blown open with fear. "I'm so sorry Kaelan, I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have done that." Gently petting his blond hair that fell losely around his shoulders not bound as it often was. 

That's right, it had been a magically induced sleep so the mage could watch his dreams, could study him and exactly what he was going through. Now he knew. Relha, a kind Breton with a knack for magic, held him gently while he sat trembling, slowly allowing himself to recover and to remember that it was not real. It had been another dream, one that she had seen, had watched in hopes of better understanding what had been going on with his mind and magic both wrapped in a turmoil that had been unseen in Skyrim and had been an enigma in their records. 

Brushing her hands over his cheeks and pressing their foreheads together so they were looking eye to eye she saw the terror that his nightmares had inflicted, she had shared in that horrible pain and woke him as soon as she could. This was her area, dreams, it was what she had been studying for years and never before had someones dreams hurt her in a way these had. They had supressed her own magics, the pain he felt she had felt and it had touched her with a fraction of the terror that Kaelan was now going through. Now she knew his pain, but she was no closer to finding a way to stop these dreams and each day she feared she was not going to be able to help him. The testing had gotten to the point that Kaelan could no longer sleep on his own and without aid, instead he would sit up for days and days until he became sick and weak from it, something that greatly concerned the mages who had taken to talking about it when lesser problems were all they were left with. 

It was at this point that the Arch-Mage, whom had met the Dragonborn and who had been informed of the single dragon who did still exist atop the throat of the world, had suggestied that they go see the Grey Beards and the leader of this group, the dragon who may be able to lift what ever curse that had befallen Kaelan. 

"It's going to take a while for us to get there, so I'm going to bring some of these potions okay? Let me know if they ever stop working." Relha was packing both horses with their things, only what they needed, and preparing for the journey to the throat of the world where they would stop at the town at the foot of the stairs to gather what they would need for the pilgramage. "We're going to help you, we're going to make this stop." At this point the College had gotten funding as the plight of this Altmer had been brought to the attention of his people who were also curious about what might plauge this mer and invested in helping him, and of course gaining the information they found as they did it for their own desires. 

Looking her over again and then the horse he was uneasy, hardly speaking anymore and looking absolutely drained of life and joy, more so than most races normally found Altmer to be, left him unwilling to speak though Kaelan felt obligated to say something to her, the woman who had been helping him for the past four months. 

"That's a long trip." Brought back to the point in time where he had nearly not gone at all and his friend who remained in Markarth, his home, his warm bed and the familiarity he longed to return to he resigned himself to this new fate and climbed onto the back of the horse that was led along by Relha. 

Still the trails were devoid of wildlife, they were even oddly unfavored by bandits or other travlers, something that had set Relha on edge. What about this Mer was so unnatural that it would chase away anything that was?