JoS/Kanna/14th Journal - Threads of the Webspinner

Morning Star, 1st, 3E 428

Happy new year to us! As others would probably take days off now, we're been doing that in the past week or so, so it's time to return to work.

In addition to taking it easy and doing household duties, I've been training on summoning Staada, which is actually not as easy as you might think it is, even though she's bound to my will. Let's not forget that she's not just some random daedra, but rather an Aureal, or a Golden Saint, as us residents of Tamriel refer to them as. They're sentient, intelligent beings just as we mortals are, not just some brainless beasts. The first time I tried to summon her, it cost me all of my Magicka, and the spell even backfired. She did not respond to my summon, no way she could've. I then tried to develop a potion to temporarily boost my Magicka supply to even hope to summon her. For your information, I mixed Ash Yam with Bloat, both of which are uncommon, yet relatively inexpensive ingredients. Only Ash Yam grows on Vvardenfell though; Bloat might be cheaper on the mainland where it's more prevalent.

When I finally succeeded, Staada mocked me for my supposed weakness. She did encourage me to try harder though, and even tapped me on my shoulder saying that I'll get better. That's so very kind of her.

I also asked her if she's mad at me, or us. Surprisingly, she said no. She just absolutely hates losing, especially to men, especially mortal men. It's not that she hates men either, or so she at least claimed. It's just that in Aureal culture men are seen as inferior or something. Their culture is extremely matriarchal, if that's the correct word. They also see themselves superior to mortals, which makes unproven mortals only worthy of their scorn. Me? Well, I supposedly have proved myself to her enough for her to give me a chance.

Besides, she admitted that adventure on my side sounds exciting. Why? She said she actually likes me, saying there's something about how I carry myself she likes or something, she had no real reason. As for Aliya and my big bro? Well, she didn't outright say that she dislikes them, but said she feels like she should be wary around them. In Aliya's case, she says that her gut tells her to distrust anyone who serves Azura, but I'm sure she'll warm up to her. The reason she distrusts my brother is a little more self-explanatory. I mean, she doesn't like men, or at least so it seems, and Karim also banged her. It may not have been entirely consensual intercourse either, so… Yeah… I feel bad now, because Staada seems like a good girl…

Anyway, tomorrow we're traveling to east coast for an assassination job. In addition to the job I've already had for some months already, I also have one new target in the same area, which is great. Severa Magia is expecting a report from me, she sent me a letter stating so, saying I've been too quiet. I hope she'll accept my apology when I say I've been helping a close friend of mine. Severa also hinted that she might have another special gig for me, one that could benefit from my Morag Tong connections. I wonder what she means? Anyway, assassinations come first. Best of luck to me, I guess.

It sucks that Karim can't come, but he has some actually important work now. The Legion is working alongside House Redoran to weed out Sixth House cultists or something. They found another base and are planning to raid it. I hope he'll be safe…

Morning Star, 4th, 3E 428

Two of my targets lie dead at my hand. Didn't even need help, nothing exciting to write about them. Both of them were Ashlander Bandits; Sarays lived in a cave, while the other one lived in a tent. The other one's name? Odai-something, too complicated. I can barely handle some Imperial names; Dunmer with their long and complicated names just give me a headache.

After that, I traveled to Ald Sotha with Aliya. Surprisingly, before I could even walk inside, Severa approached me outside instead. She didn't seem to even mind Aliya's presence. She just said that we're going on a little walk and that we can chat on the way. As such, I delivered my report to her verbally.

She was very understanding when I said that not only have I been extremely busy, but that I've also had to be very careful with how I approach my work, as well as when I feel ready to do them. She reassured me that she's not mad at all, and that there's no rush at all when it comes to this line of work. "Planning and preparation are the key, no matter how long it takes", she said. She also guessed correctly that it's Aliya that I've been helping. She didn't ask why, nor did she seem distrusting of my friend. In fact, she said that right now she may even trust her, a complete stranger more than those people who've been safeguarding her and her allies in Ald Sotha.

Dark Brotherhood and the Dagonists may be allies right now, but that's been in the past thanks to shared values and missions. These days though, it feels like the goals of our "allies" are straying further from what the Brotherhood wants, and maybe sometimes even being in pure opposition. I mean, yeah, they worship to entirely separate entities to begin with. Dark Brotherhood worships Sithis, while Dagonists are devout followers of Mehrunes Dagon. I always thought it was strange that they've been allies in the past, but whatever.

Severa handed me a strange little glove, a real pretty one at that. It didn't look like much, but she assured to me that it is indeed a daedric artifact. Yeah, seriously. What I held in my hands was the Glove of the Sanguine Swiftblade. It's part of a larger set consisting of twenty-seven pieces of clothing and jewelry, a priceless collection created by Sanguine to honor Mephala's most devout followers. This set is invaluable to the Morag Tong, and they did in fact have it in their collection up until some five years ago, when the Dagonists stole them.

"And now, I recently learned that this little thievery has been pinned on me", Severa said with a mocking tone. "If I didn't know them any better, they're looking for a convenient excuse to get rid of us and start drama with us. Our alliance to them may have been meaningful in the past, but it doesn't seem like they want us anymore."

I wasn't sure of her reasoning her or why she believed this was the case, so I asked her about it. She just said that they have some big plans for themselves, plans that they've rather secretive about, plans that do not involve the Brotherhood. They've even been recruiting a lot, gaining in numbers. There's even talk of the local Dagonists working with another cult dedicated to Mehrunes Dagon's service called Mythic Dawn. They could also be one and the same, Severa doesn't know, but Mythic Dawn is apparently more prominent in Cyrodiil. All she knows is that for the Brotherhood's survival's sake, something has to be done about this.

"Take this glove to Eno Hlaalu", Severa said. "Say you heard of how it was stolen from Morag Tong, tell him that you looted it from the corpse of a Dagonist. Don't say a word to him about the Dark Brotherhood, even if he asks about them or mentions them. Just play dumb if you do. It should be able to divert his attention from us towards the thieving Dagonists."

This is not at all the kind of mission I was expecting from Severa, not really a job that sounds like your typical Dark Brotherhood contract, but okay! This may mean that we're effectively returning the piece back to Morag Tong, but that's fine, at least according to Severa. Tomorrow, I'll go visit Eno Hlaalu. I hope he eats every lie I'm about to feed him.

End of current content.