The Gospel of Saint Rilms

Only a year from the fall of Red Mountain and the silencing of the baited Anticipations, there was born in the lands of the Redoran from a barren womb a child star-marked and blessed, for they said that should a mer touch her feet, he would be healed from within. Lord Akul Redoran, upon seeing the birth of his child cried, out, "I am witness to a miracle." And for this, they named the daughter Rilms, a miracle.

Upon that night, Lord Redoran proclaimed before the people of Kogotel the miracle of the birth of his one and only offspring, an heir to take his place upon that House's council. His wife rejoiced, believing that the destiny of her child had begun. For days and months, the sick and cursed beggars came to Rilms and touched her feet, and miraculously were healed. Even the wise Olms visited the child and blessed her with the mark of ALMSIVI.

Lord Redoran, however, was quite displeased, for he was fervently opposed to the new religion, worshiping in the secrecy of his tower the ancient three: Azura, Mephala, and Boethiah. Yet the day before the council was to adjourn in Baan Malur, his convert wife Solema, a soldier who had witnessed the ascension of ALMSIVI at Red Mountain, came to him and announced that Olms would remain in Kogotel for many months to preach to the people. Because of this, his anger and wrath fumed, desiring that his daughter not be subjected to the will of fanatics. Thus, he ordered a pair of gold and silk shoes to be made. Within a few days, the shoes had been crafted from virgin ore and dridrea silk. In the night upon the forgotten day of Hogithum, Lord Redoran anointed the shoes with his own blood and consecrated them in the name of Boethiah, Mephala, and Azura.

He spoke, "Boethiah, your servant Nerevar is dead, murdered in cold blood upon the mountainside. Azura, your servant Alandro Sul is dead, murdered in cold blood upon the mountainside. Mephala, your servant Akul Redoran remains. Bless these shoes and rid my daughter of this shame. Give her a new destiny. Let her be wed at the proper age and strengthen House Redoran from within. What man would marry a freak, praised by unbelievers as a testifier of ALMSIVI? The traitor Olms has come from Molagria, your former glory upturned, Lord Boethiah. Drive him away whether by illness or blade. Though Resdayn has abandoned you, House Redoran will remain true. Your statues will always remain standing at Baan Malur." He placed the shoes upon the child and her miraculous touch was withdrawn. The gods of this world rewrote her destiny that she might marry the young Lord of Hlaalu, whose ancestors had built from the virgin rock the city of Narsis.

Thus, he ordered his team of guar readied and in the night stole the child Rilms away to Baan Malur, city of the Redoran and seat of the grand council of that house. The city, however, was much further than a day's ride, thus he and his retainers rested one night at Kartur.

As Lord Redoran's retainer Vsulan took the child from her father, the shawl fell from the child's body revealing her precious shoes to those who amassed around the caravan. Among these was Salothas, a renowned murderer and thief in the lands of Dres, yet in the lands of the Redoran he was but a byword among soldiers and guardians of the outlying fortresses, a terror without form. He saw Rilm's shoes and coveted them greatly. Thus, he and his fellow thieves plotted in the night to assault the inn. When the two moons had passed westward and the fourth watch had drifted back into its many towers, he sprinted across the silent streets to the inn, his body stained with coal, and his shoes padded with guar leather. Though the door was unlocked, he knew such an entrance did not befit his glory. Thus, he slid down the chimney, falling upright upon the cinders and ash. Offering but a short prayer to Mephala, his form vanished and his eyes glowed like a Khajiit. Among the many bedrolls and hammocks, he found the Lord Redoran and the child beside him, awake and looking upon Salothas with knowing eyes, as though she was aware of his presence, as though she approved. He pulled his iron dagger from the sheath upon his belt and lowered it upon the child's forehead. With a single movement, she would be dead, but his hand became still, not in fear but in mercy. The child's golden eyes looked up into his and she placed her fingers upon the hilt of the dagger, pushing it away from her skin.

Suddenly, the spirits of Lord Mephala came to him and whispered in their cunning voices, "Why murder this one? Were the coteries of Lord Dres not enough? Lord Mephala calls unto you, saying, 'You will not last forever, Salothas. Take up an heir; teach but one to take up the sword in my name.'" Thus, Salothas took the child from her bed and vanished out the front door. By dawn, he looked back upon Kartur in the distance, a blur in the sunrise. He would raise the child in the lands of Hlaalu, at Narsis, for the Lady of Hlaalu much favored Salothas, her first cousin, and abstained from hunting him. For she had built in the secrecy of the south a fortress within the mountains, a hideout for the followers of Salothas--a place called The Fist of the South.

Yet, as Salothas moved southward towards his destiny, Lord Redoran awoke to an empty bed; his daughter had vanished within the night. He ordered the city gates fortified, sealing the city for many days as he searched house to house for his lost child. Upon the fourth day, Vsulan rode to Baan Malur to inform them of the events that had transpired. The Great Council, however, was disinterested in Lord Redoran's excuses. Thus, Lord Redoran abandoned his search and journeyed for Baan Malur, weeping not for the loss of his daughter, but for the shame he had brought upon himself for fear of Olms and for disgracing himself before the Council.

 

For Rilms, life among beggars and thieves was not made simpler. Each day her supposed father Salothas would awaken Rilms with a bucket of icy river water, but not at the same time so Rilms could never be prepared for it. After, she was instructed to peel hamum roots and carve them properly. Salothas, however, did not intend to eat the root. Instead, Rilms would learn to carve lock picks. Her successes were cast in iron, her failures into the cooking pot. Rilms, sick from her diet of hamum and saltrice, learned quickly the art of the master thief.

In the evening, Rilms was taken into the streets of Hassanour, glowing with light magic. Salothas would say, "The greatest thief does not need the cover of darkness. The greatest thief simply becomes part of his surroundings." Thus, Salothas would steal from Muhun Andrelo or Vabda Therandas and blame Rilms. Rilms sneaked through guar pastures, private gardens, even occupied houses without one person realizing her presence. Yet for all the trouble, she was raised to relish practicality and survival; things which she would never have learned from her father.

Under the tutelage of her foster father Salothas, Rilms learned piety, and how the spirit must go before the flesh. Yet even with her daily lessons of survival tactics, Rilms wanted. Though she could not remember her life in Kogotel, she yearned for fine silks and ornate, exquisite jewels. This inner hunger Salothas would chastise with the rod. Knowing Rilms yearned for treasure; Salothas hid her shoes in a chest within a larger chest within a larger chest.

One day, Salothas left the camp on a mission to steal a relic for Mehrunes Dagon from the temple of Ald Daedroth. Before beginning his task, he spoke to Rilms explaining that she was to look after herself and that she was not to tamper with his enchanted chest for he had trapped it with deadly spells. Rilms promised her mentor to maintain the camp and not to tamper with his chest. Salothas smirked and took upon his guar northward towards Hlormaren.

Rilms, however, could not be tempted so much. She entered Salothas' room and found the chest; casting mighty spells learned her by the wizard Tanthalas, who had tamed the skylamps of Lan Orethan. She picked the lock on the largest chest. She summoned a Daedric beast to shatter the inner chest. The third chest, however, was trapped with a fatal spell. She took the third chest to a desolate Dwemer tower and placed it between two enormous brass wheels, which shattered the box and absorbed the spell. With the shattered box lay a pair of shoes sewn from the silk of the muhadakhil-the ancient speaking dridrea-, a jeweled Indoril scepter, and a sparkling mithril coronet of the Ayleids.

Though her hands sweated to possess these relics, the muhadakhil spoke through the shoes, "Woman, possess us, but only us. Take what is yours and leave what is Salothas'." Rilms stretched out her arms to the scepter but her fingers seemed to bend away from it. She tried to clutch the coronet but her fingers wilted before the grasp. Ever while, the shoes glittered in the corner of her eyes, seemingly floating toward her. The muhadakhil bound within the soles spoke again: "Daughter of Mephala's blood, wear these shoes, enchanted by the souls of ten thousand of our number. Walk in them that they guide you to your destiny."

Rilms took on the shoes and felt the power rise upon her legs and enter her body, pulling her forward away from the melancholic tomb towards the Redoran cities looming on the horizon. Rilms hands seemed to reach back behind her towards the tombs doors, toward the endless treasure therein, but her feet moved only forward, never tiring, never ending. She journeyed fourteen days without rest, food, or water. The beasts of the wild land did not approach for they were blinded by the radiance of her feet. Often, Rilms would command her feet to move back towards Hassanour, to her eager master and mentor. However, the shoes did not err. Rilms' destiny was not south but north into the lands of Redoran. The wilderness seemed to close behind her, always driving her northbound to the city of Kogotel.

The winter was cruel to Rilms while on her journey. Her skin was cracked and was laced with frost. Even the ravenous beasts did not approach Rilms for she seemed to them a moving stone of ice. As the sky darkened to the hue of blood, Rilms entered the gates of Kogotel, now seemingly abandoned, devoid of sound or breath-only ice, snow, and steam. The muhadakhil whispered to Rilms, "You are home, Sister. The undying tower welcomes you with offerings of blood and life." Rilms opened the gate to her father's ancient estate, though she did not know, and beheld a miserable sight. Upon the lawn lay a mass of Redoran bodies, piled upon one another--an endless misery whose blood trailed the length of the city. Rilms wept at the sight, for its sadness shook her. She stood alone in the cold, listening to her own heartbeat and breath. Rilms stepped away, towards the house in hope of warmth and rest from her journey. She climbed over rubble, bodies, and charred beams. She sighed terribly when she tried the door and discovered to her dismay that it was locked. Rilms cried in her pain and put her face in her palms, faced with the silence of the scene.

As she breathed, Rilms heard a faint cry from the wilted gardens behind the manor. Her feet stirred once again and she continued into the garden. At the foot of a tomb a young girl knelt, bare foot, tortured and raped. She wept not for him that resided in the tomb, but for herself, because she could not enter the tomb. Rilms knelt beside her and lightly touched her shoulder. The muhadakhil whispered "anane" meaning 'sister.' Rilms embraced the young girl and they wept together, filling the silent city with an unending lament, not for the dead, but for the living.

The girl placed her hand to her heart and said, "I am Rilms, daughter of Akul." The girl flinched and grabbed her feet, darkened with frostbite. Rilms' heart sunk into her chest, for she too felt the pain in her feet. She nodded to the girl and took from her feet the silk shoes, which had guided her to her destiny. The muhadakhil sighed. Rilms explained, "Wear these. They are warm and soft." The girl meekly took the shoes and placed them on her feet. The muhadakhil whispered, "Sister."

The barefoot girl stood up and ran into the house, calling for her mother to come and see the strange woman who shared her name. From the shadows, came out a weathered face, the astounded smile of an ancient woman who came out weeping, clutching the pair of worn shoes: "Traveler, where did you find these shoes?"

Rilms lowered her eyes and grievously said, "From my father, the thief Salothas."

The woman, Solema, looked into Rilms' eyes and stared intently. "These belonged to my daughter Rilms who perished long ago."

Rilms turned to the girl and asked the woman, "Is that not your daughter standing there?"

Solema extended her hand to the girl and explained, "This daughter I named Rilms too to replace the loss of my first daughter at the hands of my deceased husband, Akul Redoran. He lost our daughter in Baan Malur."

Rilms remembered her surroundings and asked the woman, "What has happened to this city? Who has slain your husband and master?"

Tears fell from her eyes. She tried desperately not to see the mound of bodies before her home. "Servants of Mephala assault us from the west, from among the mountains. Our men were asleep when they fell upon the city. They did not slay all, only the nobles and leaders. My daughter and I are left of our house. You will still find women who live in poverty. There are many. The Daedra worshipers will return to slay us all. We are reading to leave the city, escape to Baan Malur. Will you come?"

As Solema spoke these words, Rilms thought of Salothas who raised her and taught her; she thought of his worship of Mephala and Mehrunes Dagon and the other Daedra Lords. Yet here in the ruins of Kogotel, these great masters ruined and slew. Though the girl now wore Rilms' shoes, they still spoke to her: "Call the city."

Rilms searched the city, gathering the remaining women together in the city's battle scarred temple. They lit candles for ALMSIVI: Solema lit for Seht; the girl lit for Vehk; and Rilms lit for Ayem. Rilms spoke to the people, "The city was silent, and now its voice has returned. Though the men have been silenced, let us speak for them as well. We must not wait to die in this place. Let us go forth to conquer and to slay. Gather up staves and swords and axes and clubs, women."

The women all returned to their smoldering homes and gathered weapons and potions. The widow Solema gathered supplies and made shields from old crates. When the army was ready, they marched from the city westward towards the mountains of Veloth. Soon they stood at the summit of the ancient Daedric temple. The sun was setting and it began to rain--the mischief of Mephala. Thus, the army camped beneath the path to the temple.

As Rilms slept, the goddess Ayem came to Rilms in a dream and took away the veil that hid her past. She saw Salothas trying to kill her in her father's bed. She saw Salotha coveting her shoes. She saw her father's disgrace before the House. She saw the slaying of Kogotel and her father's brutal execution as demanded by Mephala for her aid long ago. She saw the destiny she trekked as though it were a path carved at the time of creation solely for her. She saw herself sleeping in the cold, waiting for vengeance against the murderous band. Ayem guided her into the temple through a secret door and showed her the victory already laid out.

When the morning came, the women gathered to assault the main door, but Rilms protested, arguing that there was another way. But the women were too blood hungry and brought down the door, flooding into the trapped antechamber. As each woman entered, she was poisoned with swift arrows and flung down a break in the floor. Within a few minutes, their cries were silenced.

The two Rilms and Solema alone stayed back. They were more desirous of justice now that the Daedra worshipers have taken even more lives. Together, they slipped through the secret door on the side of the mountain and quickly gained the fortress.

As Rilms fought boldly against the murderous heretics, Solema saw within her a glimpse of something she had forgotten, a part of herself lost from grieving. She recognized the eyes, the curl of her hair, even the way she smiled. Almalexia whispered into her ear, "Woman, behold your daughter!"

When the room was stilled, Solema embraced Rilms and wept for she had finally found her lost daughter for whom she named her second daughter. "I have wept for your loss without fail since your absence, since you did not return from Baan Malur."

However, they were unaware of the high priest of Mephala looming in the shadows. He came forward and planted his blade into Solema's side. For he obeyed the will of Mephala--that the city of Kogotel be sacrificed to Mephala's glory in exchanged for Lord Akul's pact. Rilms stood there in disbelief, carrying the weighing body of her lifeless mother, carrying the memories and the dreams. She lay her mother down, kissed her cheek, and drew her sword once again.

The girl fell to her mother's side and wept endlessly-for her, for her father, for the women, for the men, for the city itself-left lifeless. Yet at the same time, she wept for the discovery of her lost sister, the lost heir of Akul Redoran--she who would take the seat of Kogotel though it lay in ruins.

Rilms hurried into the fane of Mephala and fought hard against the high priest whose name was Saradur Vselo. Though she fought valiantly, he was well trained and more powerful. With a single thrust, she was pierced through.

Rilms pulled herself from the sword, losing her balance and knowing the battle was over. She thought of her lost mother, her sister, her father, her people. As the light faded from her eyes, Almalexia appeared to her in brilliant white flame. "Stand up, daughter. Follow me." As the vision left Rilms' eyes, she stood up, refreshed, no longer wounded. She took up her sword and lifted it above her head. With a single drop of the sword, the high priest was dead, sliced in half before the altar of Mephala.

Rilms fell to her knees and sighed. "It is finished, Mother Ayem." The door opened and her sister Rilms staggered forth. They knelt together, embraced, and kissed.

The sister explained to Rilms, "You are our master, heir of Akul Redoran, lord of Kogotel. I will follow you, sister. I will stand beside you and aid in your guiding of our House."

Rilms held her sister's hand and smiled. "As I gave you my shoes, so I give you my destiny. I am not the master of Kogotel. That is you. You will guide the people towards grace. Lead them, Rilms, in the faith and glory of ALMSIVI. Love them as the Triune loves us."

The sister asked, "And what of you?"

Rilms smiled and said, "I am a servant of Ayem, Vehk, Seht, and the people of Velothi. I will go where there is need to serve those hungry for the abundance of ALMSIVI."