Where it all begins…

Somewhere in Hammerfell

 3E 423

A young Cathay-raht Khajiit stood below a tree. He carefully scanned the horizon for any signs of sandstorms or bandits. He held his bow in his left hand, a silver arrow in his right, ready to shoot at anyone who dared to raid his family caravan. 

“There’s nothing but sand and occasional nomadic Redguard bands, young one. Relax and come eat with your family,” said one of the caravan guards, a Tojay-raht, as he approached. 

“Alright, Uncle Domakhesh. I better join in before mom and dad come out looking for me,” the young Khajiit walked on, slinging his bow and putting his arrow into its quiver. He entered the tent, stored his weapons and joined his family for breakfast. 

“Here's our guardsmen. Anything to report?” Dokharesh the Cathay-raht smiled as his firstborn son sat next to him. 

“Nothing in sight, chief. No raiders or bandits. “No sandstorm either, but it is still early so it is hard to tell.” Jadezzar pried a rib from a roasted meat he was eating. 

“Chief? More like commander or boss,” Dranareshi, his mother, rolled her eyes. 

“Come on, dear. No need to call me commander anymore. Our last contract together had been, what, fifteen years ago?” Dokharesh grinned as he wrapped his arm around the Cathay shoulder. 

“When I’m a scout and you’re one of the commanders of Lord Dobarakshi’s forces as he raids his way to control Alabaster? Few times we met, you would always be atop a Senche, leading warriors against warriors.” Dranareshi leaned her head on Dokharesh’s shoulder. 

“And I would never forget a pretty scout who’s always managed to slip around and knows a lot of things,” Dokharesh kissed his wife. 

“Excuse me, but this one was watching.” Jadezzar grunted. 

“Oh, right. Just remembered something I wanted to say, dear. I saw you wake up earlier. Don’t overwork yourself, Jad. We are traders and life could be quite harsh, but one should not forget to enjoy it” Dranareshi stared at Jadezzar.

“Your mother is right, Jad. We appreciate that you helped and volunteered a lot for us, but don’t be too hard on yourself. You’re still quite young, too.” Dokharesh patted Jadezzar on the back. 

“Fine. It’s just that I don’t feel right to sit around doing nothing,” Jadezzar stared into the flames. 

“Morning everyone,” Mtizsha, a Cathay and Jad’s sister crawled outside her tent. She looked around and stretched her back before entering her tent again, and pinched an Ohmes awake, then ran outside again. Ma'kisha grunted and walked outside. 

“By the gods, did anyone feel something... strange?” She struggled to tear a rib off the meat.
 
“Like what?” Mtizsha looked at her.
 
“Like something just pinched my nose,” Ma'kisha rubbed her nose. Unlike her parents and siblings, she could be easily mistaken as a human or Bosmer from a distance. 

“Come on you two. Don’t start to fight this early,” Jadezzar stared at his sisters as he ripped a chunk of meat. “After this I’m going to help mom and dad set up the caravan. Would be nice if you two woulc help out,” he continued as he drank a bottle of water. 

A white creature walked outside the Dokharesh tent. “Hello, little one. Here, sit on my lap,” Dokharesh motioned at the young Tojay-raht. 

“Daddy. Hug!” Matabi snuggled at his father. “Okay, little one” Dokharesh patted his youngest child’s head.
 

A few hours later, after a few Redguard nomadic bands, some traders and a few buyers went by, Jadezzar was going for a walk, when he spotted an Ohmes-raht and a Cathay approaching the caravan. He frowned as he realized that they were the first Khajiits he and his family had seen in the last couple of days. The Ohmes-raht, whom he presumed was the Cathay’s mother, looked at him and spoke in Ta’agra.

“If I may ask, young one, have you any goods from Cyrodiil or Elsewyr? I have met few other traders and merchants who passed by our farm, but none have what I seek.” She motioned at the farmhouse in the distance.
 
“Ma’am, we might have what you need. Speak to my mother over there. She’s that Cathay wearing brown lamellar armor over there” Jadezzar pointed at the tents.
 
“Thank you, young one,” she replied, then turned to her daughter. “Now, wait here. I’ll talk with his mother about some goods we need. You can play, but not too far from here.” 

She nodded, holding her guar doll in one hand and sat down. Jadezzar looked at her, thinking that she looked rather adorable with her braids and yellow eyes, before speaking to her. 

“You know, I have sisters. If you want to, they might want to play with you,” Jadezzar smiled at her. 

She returned a shy smile, looked at her mother and spoke. “Thanks, but I don’t think mother would be happy if I go away.” She stared at the ground. 

“Nah, don’t worry too much. She said not too far, rig…huft!” Jadezzar got cut off by Mtizsha and Ma'kisha, who ran into him. 

“Look who’s talking,” Ma'kisha grinned, followed by Mtizsha.

 “Oh come on, you two,” Jadezzar grunted as he stood, the Cathay laughing at him. 

“Hey, that’s a nice doll. Can we see it? We’ll show you our toys,” Mtizsha spoke to the Cathay. 

“Well, okay. Rather do that than just standing around,” said the Cathay, then followed Mtizsha and Ma'kisha. 

“Girls,” Jadezzar muttered while smiling before he walked into his tent.

It felt like just a few minutes as two hours passed, but the screaming of a girl woke Jadezzar up. He promptly donned his pectoral cuirass and grabbed his twin sword as he stormed outside his tent. He ran at the source of the scream, when he noticed his sisters and the young Cathay were looking worriedly at something below the sand dunes.
 
“My doll, it's in there! My guar doll!” The Cathay cried.

Jadezzar immediately ran toward the doll, while ignoring Mtizsha and Ma'kisha screaming at him. He grabbed the doll just in time as he spotted a Duneripper leaping at him. He ducked, rolled and tucked the doll into his waistband. 

“Mtizsha! Ma'kisha! Warn the others and help me, if possible. And you, young one! Follow them and stick with your mother,” Jadezzar roared, leaping as the duneripper lunged at his leg.
 
He stabs into it as it swings its tail at him, wounding his left leg and ego.He jumped a few feet backward, as another Duneripper lunged at him. Facing three big and fierce Dunerippers, he knew he had to fight carefully, picking the right moment to strike and run. The biggest one suddenly charged at him, roaring and grunting. Jadezzar leaped above it and stabbed his swords at its flanks. Landing on one of his legs, he spun himself in place, ducked as the Duneripper leaped at his head, and slashed and stabbed at its vulnerable underside. Wounded and enraged, the Duneripper jumped and lunged at his neck, missing by mere inches as Jadezzar back-stepped and tore open the Duneripper’s belly. It fell over, its heavy body pinning him to the ground. He tried to escape as the other two Duneripper launched themselves at him, only to be rained upon by barrages of fire, lightning and arrows as the caravan guards approached. Ma'kisha finished one Duneripper with an arrow that struck into its throat through the mouth, and Mtizsha’s fireball cooked the other alive as it exploded under its stomach. Jadezzar, still stuck under the dead Duneripper, motioned for help. It took three caravan guard and Mtizsha to roll over the dead Duneripper, and she helped her brother up, his right leg hurt by one of the Dunerippers strikes. 

“Well, we got some Duneripper plates now!” Jadezzar grinned, “And the Cathay doll is still in one piece.” He looked at the doll. 

“Your leg was wounded and yet your first thought is about the Duneripper plates? You are one crazy guy, brother” Mtizsha rolled her eyes.

 “I’ll return the doll first. Then you can help me take care of my leg,” Jadezzar continued, staring at the camp.

The Cathay child cried and whimpered near some crates. Her mother and Dranarethi tried to calm her down. “But he could have been killed. All because I dropped my doll,” she cried louder.
 
“Hey, hey, calm down little one. Here’s Mr. Guar, in one piece and unharmed. See?” Jadezzar assured her, standing on his unhurt leg and passing the doll to her.


 
“Mr Guar! But, your leg. It’s wounded. Shouldn’t you be worried?” the Cathay stared at Jadezzar’s left leg, deeply grazed by the duneripper’s tail.

 “Nah, it could be worse. Some potions, some healing spells and rest, and I could run like it never happened. Besides, we killed three Dunerippers. Could garner some profit, right mom?” He grinned at his mother. 

“Yeah, but as this little one said, you could have died. Please, next time, don’t risk yourself like that. Alright?” She worriedly hugged her son.

 “On the one hand, Jad, you should’ve run. Dunerippers are dangerous,” Dokharesh scolded his son. He then smiled, “However, you killed one on your own. That merits something.” He put his hand on Jadezzar’s shoulder. “I promise you, son, one day you’ll get a nice suit of armor and weapons of your choice.” 

“And we’ll teach you additional fighting and trading tricks,” Dranareshi added as she gently stroked Jadezzar’s forehead. 

“Uh, this one would go back to her farm with her daughter,” The Ohmes-raht bowed slightly. “Thank you for what you’ve done. If only we could do something to repay,” she said, bowing at Jadezzar. 

“Well, we’re going to throw a little celebration, ma’am. You, your husband, and your lovely daughter would be welcome to join in,” Dranareshi smiled at the Cathay child.

 “Oh, fine! Young one, let’s go back home and prepare for the feast, okay?” The Ohmes-raht tugged at her daughter. “Thank you. Oh wait! I forgot! What’s your name?” The child asked Jadezzar, who promptly turned and flashed her a smile. 

“Jadezzar, young one. Jadezzar. Or you can call me Jad. Just a young khajiit who likes to fight.”

CREDITS:
Knight of hell/Jaddezzar: Director, creator and writer
OgTariq/Tariq Imad:  Idea giver, bb coder, editor and co partener 
Bluedraggy: proofreader, editor, co partner
Earl of pudding: proofreader,editor
Lapma: idea giver
KuroNeko: artist