JoS/Kanna/8th Journal - Mistress Therana and the Kwama Princess
Frostfall, 4th, 3E 427
After spending a night at Castle Ebonheart, I set sail for Sadrith Mora on the other side of Vvardenfell. Getting there by boat is pretty much a must, as between the west and east coasts it's a volcanic no-man's land, and riding a Silt Strider there is impossible. I guess you could also walk, but why do that when you can enjoy the sights of this great archipelago and its hundreds, if not thousands of picturesque islands? Azura's Coast is more barren than the Ascadian Isles are though, so the landscapes turned more alien as we sailed further east. Just volcanic stone and giant mushrooms with little to no greenery.
We didn't arrive until night, and I was fast asleep by the time we got there, but since the boat wasn't leaving the port until noon of next day, I could sleep peacefully.
Sadrith Mora is a large city on an island off the eastern coasts of Vvardenfell, roughly an equal distance away from the island of Vvardenfell as it is from the shores of mainland and the Telvanni peninsula. The city itself isn't doesn't look as large as some of the big cities on I've visited, but it's very well spread out, with settlements even on the smaller islands towards Vvardenfell.
It's quite a different city from Balmora, which in turn is quite different to any town I've ever been to in Cyrodiil. Its name literally translates to "Mushroom Forest", and that's exactly what it is! Just imagine if this was the first place you landed in after traveling here from Cyrodiil and saw all those buildings made out of mushrooms… No wait, the other way around, as they ARE giant mushrooms that are made into buildings! Talk about a culture shock.
Getting to the city from the harbor was surprisingly easy, when you consider how the city has been divided. It's been segregated into two parts, with the non-Telvanni really only being welcomed freely in the Imperial fortress of Wolverine Hall south of the city, while around the Telvanni council as well as the tower of Tel Naga in the middle of the city, people won't welcome you as freely. As I said, if you're with Telvanni though, you won't have problems. If you're not, you'll probably be fine if you don't attract too much attention. Someone also talked to me about some "Hospitality papers" when I was entering the city, but I never even found a vendor who was selling such papers, so I didn't care. It was probably a scam anyway.
You can also sail straight to the mainland without Imperials trying to tell you the island is sealed off. Sea routes only lead to Firewatch and some small nearby settlements like Marog, located just a three hour trip away from here. There's also a sea route to Port Telvannis from Firewatch, but the trip is long and expensive, and with winter fast approaching, closed for few months. Regardless, all this information is good to know.
Since this is Telvanni territory, you also tend to come across slaves, as this is one of the only places in all of Tamriel where it's still tolerated as lawful practice. The Redoran doesn't condone slavery on this island, and Hlaalu likes to pretend they don't condone it. Sadrith Mora itself is a prominent harbor for slave trade in this region, located smack bang in the middle of the Inner Sea. Like seriously, when I was visiting the marketplace, they were selling slaves out there in the open! They're mostly used for labor and household work, but there were some scantly-clad ladies wrapped in chains as well, out there in the open. Owning sexslaves here is as socially acceptable as owning a dildo.
Elves have often considered themselves superior to others, especially the beastly Khajiit and Argonians, so they're seen in slavery most often. I've even heard rumors about Argonian leather and Khajiit fur being used for trade, just reinforcing the idea of some Dunmer treating them as animals. Humans being enslaved is a little rarer, considering that the Empire still rules over this province, even though the locals here like to act as if they don't. Same can be said about fellow elves, although it's probably not completely out of question either. I'm sure you can find even their fellow Dunmer being sold in chains in some markets, especially Ashlanders. On the point of sex slavery, you can imagine humans and fellow elves being more popular in that regard, also I'm sure that you can buy furry and scaly ladies to serve as sex toys as well. Or men. Of course, male sex slaves exist as well.
In addition, since some people are considered as property, the people who oppose slavery and want to take the slaves away from their masters are considered thieves. Oh, but you just wait, as that's not even the craziest part I heard today about this anarcho-capitalist "everything goes" society. More shockers about Telvanni law and customs were thrown my way when I finally got across applying to their House as a retainer.
I wasn't initially let inside the council house, which was the first time I had been denied entry to anywhere on this island, but after confirming with them that I'm only looking to join, they let me in. I approached the "Mouths", who determined whether I would be an acceptable addition to their society or not. Mouths are, well, some kind of servants for their patrons, who in turn are the "council", who are highest-ranking members of this House? I'm not sure, the politics of this House is complicated. To be a Mouth means to be quite a high ranking member of the House in its own right. I met five of them, and they all serve a different patron. They were happy with someone expressing interest in joining, especially someone as young as myself.
Here's the problem though: me being an outlander. While they don't mind me joining, joining them is a life-long commitment in a sense that once I join with them, I cannot join any other Great House. This applies to all outlanders, regardless of which House you're joining. That's fine by me, so thus we were able to continue.
Next, they explained me their laws and rules… And by Mephala's saggy tits, are their rules quite different from what they have in any other guild I've ever heard of!
For starters, everyone is expected to trust their own judgment. Stealing from others is allowed, as long as you manage to succeed. Yeah, seriously. If you successfully steal from the member of the House and live to tell the tale, you obviously deserve whatever it is that you took. I do notice a funny contradiction here though: if I were to steal a slave and lived to tell a tale, would I deserve it as my own? Would I not then be allowed to free that said slave if I so pleased, as he or she was now my own rightful property? Would that not make me a lawful abolitionist? I didn't ask any of the Mouths this… Just a funny little thought experiment I thought of while writing this…
Killing other members of the House is also tolerated to an extent. Nobody will bat an eye if you kill someone trying to steal from you, which is not unheard of but still extreme by Imperial standards, but to top it off, killing and murder are also considered an acceptable means of advancing in ranks to assume your superior's position. "Murdering your opposition by magic is a traditional way of settling disputes", I was told. "If you successfully murder your opponent, your argument by definition has more merit than theirs". What kind of tradition is that? These traditions aren't that often practiced though, as trying to murder your superior could very well be a damn suicide, considering how mighty some of them are. Telvanni masters are only second to the mages of Artaeum, and even then I'm sure you can find those equal to the mightiest of Altmer living in these towers. Besides, hierarchy is highly respected here.
Seriously, this society is more complicated than I thought… Either way, I joined. As an institution, it's far "freer" than the Mage's Guild and in the end. Then again, it's only really "free" to those in control, as you can't really call those hired and even enslaved by the Telvanni "free". Might makes right here, I suppose.
In the end, despite everything I told, all these rules and customs simply exist to make the study and advancement of magic as free and open as possible. That is what's most important to me, and the reason for why I came here in the end.
As for me being part of both Telvanni and the Mages Guild… They're at odds with one another a lot, so even though I can technically be considered a member in both, I can't imagine this lasting forever. Telvanni wouldn't exile me for it, but they would be wary. Meanwhile, the Mages Guild would be PISSED. Without a doubt, there will one day become a time when I will have to choose my allegiance once and for all. Hopefully not, as I just want to learn about magic, not get into politics of these rivaling establishments.
Regardless, I'm gonna be staying here for a while now. I'm in no rush to return to west coast quite yet. Hopefully it'll be fun!
Frostfall, 12th, 3E 427
For the past week or so I've been busy doing work for the Telvanni, mostly just small errands and chores around the city and surrounding islands. Both the towers of Tel Fyr and Tel Aruhn are built on small islands just a short boat ride away from Sadrith Mora, but I only got to visit the latter. Tel Aruhn is where the Archmagister lives, and they offer quite a lot of services for the Telvanni members as well. No outsiders allowed inside though. Tel Fyr is owned by a guy named Divayth Fyr, who prefers to stay away from politics supposedly. There's no work to be found there either, and no boat stops by, so no point in visiting.
I've also noticed that these people are really friendly to their fellow retainers, and you can enjoy a lot of great services. Like, there's just something so comforting about how those guards with their weird cephalopod helmets greeting you warmly and even referring to you as "Muthsera". It's something the locals say to those they respect greatly, kind of like "Sera" but even more respectful, but I'm not sure what the direct translation is.
What else? Well, the pay is amazing, as the Telvanni are very rich, and the work doesn't take too much of my time either. I've gotten myself time to spend at the local taverns too, like Fara's Hole in the Wall. I ended up getting hit on, and having sex with some young Redguard by the name of Rinina, an accomplished Spellwright in the service to the Archmagister. Not sure what he was doing there in Sadrith Mora, but it was the first and only time I've gotten laid during this little trip.
It's also a little weird that nobody really bats an eye at children engaging in courtship either. Go hit on a little girl on the streets of Skingrad where I grew up and the guards will take you away in chains, lock you in jail for being a pedophile and throw away the key. Romance between adults and children has to be so very hush-hush in a normal, "polite" society, but not here.
Telvanni Retainers in a Telvanni society - no matter how young they are - have the same rights as any legal adult would. That includes the ability to consent to sex. Likewise, a child in slavery is consider the same as an adult in slavery, as property. Nobody's gonna jail you for owning an underage slave, or for engaging in consensual sex with a minor. I mean, I've always thought of myself as mature-minded enough to consent to sex despite being just ten, but you know, some adults can be annoying moral busybodies… I guess that's just their way of caring about children, who they want to protect from all the horrible evil that adults want to do to us or something…
All in all, even with all the free-time and studying, and now writing and procrastinating, I've got quite a lot of drakes in my purse right now, more than I made in Balmora in a month.
Despite my extensive knowledge, there are some basics that Telvanni require from their members before they can be truly considered true mages. One of these basics is "Levitation" magic, which was outlawed by the Empire some years ago. Yeah, illegal in most places, but considered "basics" here. It sounds scary and intimidating as a subject, and while it's way more difficult than you average Alteration spells are, it's not a spell out of reach for those with even an average understanding of that school of magic. You just need to consider safety; knowing spells like Feather and Slowfall is essential. Makes sense, as you really don't want to fall down and break your legs.
As for Levitation itself, the main driving factor behind success is focus above everything else. Don't even think about being able to succeed if you're out of breath; you're not going to be able to do it midair on in the middle of combat unless you're really experienced. I got hang of it almost instantly, which is not at all what I expected, and neither did Galos, the mouth who was tutoring me. Granted, I can't levitate very fast, but I can do it for a very long time. I was tested to see where my limits lie and I could keep myself suspended in air for whole three minutes before I felt like I could not will myself to float anymore. Pretty nice, if I may so myself!
Given that I have now learned the very basics of House Telvanni, it's time for some actual proper work. Felisa suggested that I should perhaps seek out her mistress, a mage by the name of Therana, who's been looking for an assistant on a little project she's been conducting. Felisa warned me that it will require a strong heart on my part, and also said that since I'm going to meet her patron, I should also run a small errand for her. She gave me a skirt, a real nice miniskirt, although maybe a little short… Not that I like to wear skirts anyway. Therana resides on a small island in the town of Tel Branora. Getting to the island by foot is possible, but to avoid stress, it's best to arrive by boat.
I'm happy to get some decent work now, but what puzzles me is… Why would I need a strong heart?
End of current content.