Tes4Mod:Order of the Dragon/Hinrich the Lion, Book VI

The journey from Blacklight to the Imperial capital was long and arduous. While he traveled in a carriage with a pair of Imperial Guards and avoided the unpaved trails in remote areas, this unfortunately made the way longer and the wait for the next stop was the nagging thought that left little to displace. Hinrich looked out the tiny peephole of wooden carriage to the fog outside, lurking at the bottom of everything around in deceptive twilight. Next to him was the Imperial Envoy, a frail man with sparse hair, a keen eye, and wealth of knowledge of everything, but low in experience. Hinrich did not particularly like it, so he had asked to be allowed to ride on a horse, because he felt more comfortable there. He also wanted to have the enovy's company along the way, but he thought that a conversation would hardly get off the ground. But the Emperor's envoy endured Hinrich's carefree travel and his company.

So for two weeks Hinrich sat with the men in the narrow carriage and short talks were limited to the accounting of the weather and the physical discomfort on the part of the envoy regarding the rigors of such a long journey. Here, the Lord seemed not to think of the hardships which Hinrich had survived only recently and at all qualified to participate in this trip. The envoy's ignorance was another point that bothered him about the company. The bombastic tone of his speech and the snooty appearance towards the accompanying riders did the rest.

Hinrich looked at the hurrying meadows and trees, grasses and fields, noting that his past and his present life remained. He would enter a new world that was far from his old ideals and obligations, but the innermost was filled with more rot. The horses whinnied, otherwise they heard nothing. It was quiet. The Imperial envoy shouted angrily to the coachman: "Hey, why did you stop? The moons are far away and our destination is even further. So give me a good reason for your quarrelling or snap the reins and continue our trip!"

The envoy had felt quite powerful before, but the small handful of respect Hinrich still felt for him, disappeared more and more. When still no answer came after a minute, the envoy was extremely nervous, and carefully looked through the tiny peephole but saw nothing. Hinrich grabbed his sword and was about to open the door, but the envoy grabbed his shoulder: "Are you sure you want to go out there? I've got a bad feeling."

Hinrich brushed aside the thin hand and opened the the carriage door without another word, but he thought that one must also bear the life, rather than wait in the coffin for death. He jumped from the top step in the muddy soil of the forest road and was surprised to find himself in such a remote area. The Messenger hastily closed carriage door from the inside, leaving his right eye peeking through the peephole. A failure to avoid the unpaved trails? The horses stamped and stamped restlessly on the ground, but their riders were not to be seen. No sign of danger was to be seen, but the presence of an imminent fear was not to be denied in any case. There was someone or something whose presence Hinrich could feel. He went forward, examined the horse and stroked her nostrils. He looked down the path, which disappeared in the dense forest.

What was that? A purple tree branch lay in the mud of the vestigial ways of the forest road. It obviously was not from one of the nearby trees, as it beamed as bright as only gems in their innermost light from the sun. Hinrich was near it, when suddenly - without warning - a high elf appeared in a purple robe in front of him. His skin was white as snow, and he held a rod in front of him, the ends lit magenta.

"So you're the one to whom the Blue Sword of Akatosh was entrusted? What levity! What daring! Now, if you've had long enough to carry this burden, I'll set you free from it. Then you'll be my prisoner for a long time. The world is really gracious to you today."

The magician took his staff and let him fly to the ground with all his strength. A moment later, Hinrich lay helpless on his back and tried in vain to move. The white-skinned mage, however, walked slowly and without any worry of suddenly being attacked by Hinrich: "We go now, my friend."

After he had gone a piece, the white-skinned mage turned round to Hinrich and said: "Well, come along!"

With a cheeky grin, he raised his hand, the rod in his grip, and spoke strange words in a foreign language. Suddenly, Hinrich's body was moving, but he could not do anything about it, nor otherwise affect it. Hinrich the Lion began to float. He glided like a spring through the air, initially only still at one point, but as the Mage walked away, Hinrich followed him without being able to stop. And now he heard - because he could not move so his head - how something lit and in the wild dancing shade of trees, Hinrich thought that the carriage of the Imperial Envoy burned. A gruesome horror flashed through his numb bones about the unpredictability of this magician. The crackling of the dwindling wood was the last thing he heard from the Emperor's envoy.