JoS/Henriette/36th Journal - Boat to Solstheim

Midyear, 25th, 4E 203

Isran is a boneheaded prick. Excepting a rational discussion from him was a mistake on my part, but at least I tried, and at least we made it out unharmed.

When I approached one of the guards, he didn't recognize me. Wondering why I had come to this castle when they aren't actively recruiting anymore, only accepting new members by invitation, I told him my story. I warned him not to freak out, insisted that I only came here in peace, and said that I just want to talk to Isran, and then I told him that me and the friends I brought along are vampires. He was hesitant, asked why should he listen to what we wanted? Well, that's when Serana introduced herself and explained just who she is, and we told him about Harkon. Besides, if we did come here to cause trouble, we would've killed him already. He finally budged, and said that he'd go get Isran. You know, because we weren't gonna let ourselves walk into their castle to be ambushed.

Isran recognized me immediately, and he was beside himself. A certain woman working with the Dawnguard, a woman we spared once to deliver a message to Isran was there as well to confirm that I was indeed the one who I claimed to be. There was nobody else present though, I made sure of it. We could proceed with our discussion.

He chastised me, saying that I make him sick. I approached him once in a past, and he's disgusted with the fact that he let a damn Vampire slip through his fingers back then, saying that he'd want nothing more than to just kill me because ain't no way he'd let the same vampire slip through his fingers twice. However, he also recognized what we had done. He knows of Harkon's demise too. He may be blindly committed to ridding the world of vampires, but that doesn't change the fact I - and my friends - did a great favor to him and all of mortalkind.

So, that's why, instead of blindly attacking us, he decided to hear me out.

"I'm looking for a certain vampire clan based in High Rock."

"Why?"

"They… They're the ones that turned me into a vampire to begin with. They prey on children. My own mother is part of them, and raised me for the whole purpose of being a slave. I learned this recently, and I want answers, maybe even revenge. That's why I need to find them."

"I've never heard of such clan", he admitted. "Not that it matters to me. We don't discriminate based on the motivations of our targets."

"Even though our interest could align?" I asked him.

"No, not even then", he said firmly. "Your petty clan feuds and politics are irrelevant to me. All vampires are my enemies on principle, and you're all equally scum."

"This isn't a feud, and it isn't about politics. We're talking about a clan that preys on little children to turn them into slaves, Isran. Do you seriously think that all vampires are equal? Do you think that I, a girl who was turned into a vampire against her own will to serve as a slave is equal to those who force innocent children to become like me against their own will?"

He rubbed his beard for a moment with narrow eyes and an expression as serious as he's ever had. It's almost as if he didn't want to admit I was right, while simultaneously not wanting to shoot me down either, because it would've reflected badly on his moral character. "You may be right", he finally admitted, "but you had your chance for redemption, and it's already long past that. I cannot ignore your crimes against humanity, even if you may have originally been a victim."

He's right about that. I have a long list of victims I've killed, many of which were completely innocent and undeserving. My list of sins is too great for him to just forgive, especially when you consider that I'm the kind of creature he's sworn to destroy. "I just did what I had to survive", I tried to reason. "I, no… We have a right to exist in this world as well."

"That right shouldn't come at the expense of innocent people", he said. "Is that all? Is that why you came here, to seek help from your enemy?"

"Yeah, that's right. It was stupid of me to try."

He surprised me one final time, as he turned his back to me. "Stupid, yes, but also ballsy. I respect that, and I do hope you succeed in finding that clan."

Like, he seriously wasn't gonna attack us. Even the two of his allies told him that we're vampires, and that more innocent people are just gonna keep on dying, but Isran had already made his mind and decided to walk away. He had one final message for me. "You warned us to not interfere when you were feuding with Harkon, but as far as I see, that time is over. Next time we meet will be a fight to the death."

Sofia tried to mock him by calling him scary, and probably a lot more, but me and Serana both managed to shut her up before she got around saying something she would regret. We were allowed to walk out without a fight, so there's no need for us to get bloody. Not today. We should be happy with that even if we didn't get what we wanted.

So, that's that. Now, I really have two possibilities here: I can either continue to search for my mother without clues, or I can wait until someone at Castle Volkihar finds out about them. I think I'll go with latter, as there's the need for me to visit Solsteim as well. Besides, I can also get help from my other friends, and it might also be that they might be coming for me in retaliation to what me and my friends did to Movarth and his allies in their little hideout.

I think it's time to start packing and travel to Morrowind. This time, I don't have to travel alone.

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