The Real Barenziah , Book I Summary . This book is part of a five - volume series on Barenziah : Content . Five hundred years ago in Mournhold , City of Gems , there lived a blind widow and her only child , a tall , strapping young man . He was a miner , as was his father before him , a common laborer in the mines of the Lord of Mournhold , for his ability in magicka was small . The work was honorable but paid poorly . His mother made and sold comberry cakes at the city market to help eke out their living . They did well enough , she said , they had enough to fill their bellies , no one could wear more than one suit of clothing at a time , and the roof leaked only when it rained . But Symmachus would have liked more . He hoped for a lucky strike at the mines , which would garner him a large bonus . In his free hours he enjoyed hoisting a mug of ale in the tavern with his friends , and gambling with them at cards . He also drew the eyes and sighs of more than one pretty Elven lass , although none held his interest for long . He was a typical young Dark Elf of peasant descent , remarkable only for his size . It was rumored that he had a bit of Nord ic blood in him . In Symmachus ' thirtieth year , there was great rejoicing in Mournhold - a girl - child had been born to the Lord and Lady . A Queen , the people sang , a Queen is born to us ! For among the people of Mournhold , the birth of an heiress is a sure sign of future peace and prosperity . When the time came round for the royal child ' s Rite of Naming , the mines were closed and Symmachus dashed home to bathe and dress in his best . " I ' ll rush straight home and tell you all about it , " he promised his mother , who would not be able to attend . She had been ailing , and besides there would be a great crush of people as all Mournhold turned out to be part of the blessed event ; and being blind she would be unable to see anything anyway . " My son , " she said . " Afore you go , fetch me a priest or a healer , else I may pass from the mortal plane ere you return . " Symmachus crossed to her pallet at once and noted anxiously that her forehead was very hot and her breathing shallow . He pried loose a slat of the wooden floor under which their small hoard of savings was kept . There wasn ' t nearly enough to pay a priest for healing . He would have to give what they had and owe the rest . Symmachus snatched up his cloak and hurried away . The streets were full of folk hurrying to the sacred grove , but the temples were locked and barred . " Closed for the ceremony , " read all the signs . Symmachus elbowed his way through the mob and managed to overtake a brown - robed priest . " After the rite , brother , " the priest said , " if you have gold I shall gladly attend to your mother . Milord has bidden all clerics attend - and I , for one , have no wish to offend him . " " My mother ' s desperately ill , " Symmachus pled . " Surely Milord will not miss one lowly priest . " " True , but the Archcanon will , " the priest said nervously , tearing his robe loose from Symmachus ' desperate grip and vanishing into the crowd . Symmachus tried other priests , and even a few mages , but with no better result . Armored guards marched through the street and pushed him aside with their lances , and Symmachus realized that the royal procession was approaching . As the carriage bearing the city ' s rulers drew abreast , Symmachus rushed out from the crowd and shouted , " Milord , Milord ! My mother ' s dying - ! " " I forbid her to do so on this glorious night ! " the Lord shouted , laughing and scattering coin into the throng . Symmachus was close enough to smell wine on the royal breath . On the other side of the carriage his Lady clutched the babe to her breast , and stared slit - eyed at Symmachus , her nostrils flared in disdain . " Guards ! " she cried . " Remove this oaf . " Rough hands seized Symmachus . He was beaten and left dazed by the side of the road . Symmachus , head aching , followed in the wake of the crowd and witnessed the Rite of Naming from the top of a hill . He could see the brown - robed clerics and blue - robed mages gathered near the highborn folk far below . Barenziah . The name came dimly to Symmachus ' ears as the High Priest lifted the swaddled babe and proffered her to the twin moons on either side of the horizon : Jone rising , Jode setting . " Behold the Lady Barenziah , born to the land of Mournhold ! Grant her thy blessings and thy counsel , ye kind gods , that she may ever rule well over Mournhold , its ken and its weal , its kith and its ilk . " " Bless her , bless her , " all the people intoned along with their Lord and Lady , hands upraised . Only Symmachus stood silent , head bowed , knowing in his heart that his dear mother was gone . And in silence he swore a mighty oath - that he should be his Lord ' s bane , and in vengeance for his mother ' s needless death , the child Barenziah he should have for his own bride , and that his mother ' s grandchildren should be born to rule over Mournhold . After the ceremony , he watched impassively as the royal procession returned to the palace . He saw the priest to whom he ' d first spoken . The man came gladly enough now in return for the gold Symmachus had , and a promise of more afterward . They found his mother dead . The priest sighed and tucked the pouch of gold coins away . " I ' m sorry , brother . It ' s all right , you can forget the rest of the gold , there ' s aught I can do here . Likely - " " Give me back my money ! " Symmachus snarled . " You ' ve done naught to earn it ! " He lifted his right arm threateningly . The priest backed away , about to utter a curse , but Symmachus struck him across the face before more than three words had left his mouth . He went down heavily , striking his head sharply on one of the stones that formed the fire pit . He died instantly . Symmachus snatched up the gold and fled the city . As he ran , he muttered one word over and over , like a sorcerer ' s chant . " Barenziah , " he said . " Barenziah . Barenziah . " Barenziah stood on one of the balconies of the palace , staring down into the courtyard where soldiers milled , dazzling in their armor . Presently they formed into ordered ranks and cheered as her parents , the Lord and Lady , emerged from the palace , clad from head to toe in ebony armor , long purple - dyed fur cloaks flowing behind . Splendidly caparisoned , shining black horses were brought for them , and they mounted and rode to the courtyard gates , and turned to salute her . " Barenziah ! " they cried . " Barenziah our beloved , farewell ! " The little girl blinked back tears and waved one hand bravely , her favorite stuffed animal , a gray wolf cub she called Wuffen , clutched to her breast with the other . She had never been parted from her parents before and had no idea what it meant , save that there was war in the west and the name Tiber Septim was on everyone ' s lips , spoken in hate and dread . " Barenziah ! " the soldiers cried , lifting their lances and swords and bows . Then her dear parents turned and rode away , knights trailing in their wake , until the courtyard was nearly emptied . Sometime after came a day when Barenziah was shaken awake by her nurse , dressed hurriedly , and borne from the palace . All she could remember of that dreadful time was seeing a huge shadow with burning eyes filling the sky . She was passed from hand to hand . Foreign soldiers appeared , disappeared , and sometimes reappeared . Her nurse vanished and was replaced by strangers , some more strange than others . There were days , or it may have been weeks , of travel . One morning she awoke to step out of the coach into a cold place with a large gray stone castle amid empty , endless gray - green hills covered patchily with gray - white snow . She clutched Wuffen to her breast in both hands and stood blinking and shivering in the gray dawn , feeling very small and very dark in all this endless space , this endless gray - white space . She and Hana , a brown - skinned , black - haired maid who had been traveling with her for several days , went inside the keep . A large gray - white woman with icy gray - golden hair was standing by a hearth in one of the rooms . She stared at Barenziah with dreadful , bright blue eyes . " She ' s very - - black , isn ' t she ? " the woman remarked to Hana . " I ' ve never seen a Dark Elf before . " " I don ' t know much about them myself , Milady , " Hana said . " But this one ' s got red hair and a temper to match , I can tell you that . Take care . She bites . And worse . " " I ' ll soon train her out of that , " the other woman sniffed . " And what ' s that filthy thing she ' s got ? Ugh ! " The woman snatched Wuffen away and threw him into the blazing hearth . Barenziah shrieked and would have flung herself after him , but was held back despite her attempts to bite and claw at her captors . Poor Wuffen was reduced to a tiny heap of charred ash . Barenziah grew like a weed transplanted to a Skyrim garden , a ward of Count Sven and his wife the Lady Inga . Outwardly , that is , she thrived — but always there was a cold and empty place within . " I ' ve raised her as my own daughter , " Lady Inga was wont to sigh as she sat gossiping when neighboring ladies came to visit . " But she ' s a Dark Elf . What can you expect ? " Barenziah was not meant to overhear these words . At least she thought she was not . Her hearing was keener than that of her Nordic hosts . Other , less desirable Dark Elven traits evidently included pilfering , lying , and a little misplaced magic , just a small fire spell here and a little levitation spell there . And , as she grew older , a keen interest in boys and men , who could provide very pleasant sensations — and to her aston ishment , gifts as well . Inga disapproved of this last for reasons incomprehensible to Barenziah , so she was careful to keep it as secret as possible . " She ' s wonderful with the children , " Inga added , referring to her five sons , all younger than Barenziah . " I don ' t think she ' d ever let them come to harm . " A tutor had been hired when Jonni was six and Barenziah eight , and they took their lessons together . She would have liked to train in arms as well , but the very idea scandalized Count Sven and Lady Inga . So Barenziah was given a small bow and allowed to play at target shooting with the boys . She watched them at arms practice when she could , sparred with them when no grownup folk were about , and knew she was good as or better than they . " She ' s very . . . proud , though , isn ' t she ? " one of the ladies would whisper to Inga ; and Barenziah , pretending not to hear , would nod silently in agreement . She could not help but feel superior to the Count and his Lady . There was something about them that provoked contempt . Afterward she came to learn that Sven and Inga were distant cousins of Darkmoor Keep ' s last titled residents , and she finally understood . They were poseurs , impostors , not rulers at all . At least , they were not raised to rule . This thought made her strangely furious at them , a good clean hatred quite detached from resentment . She came to see them as disgusting and repellent insects who could be despised but never feared . Once a month a courier came from the Emperor , bringing a small bag of gold for Sven and Inga and a large bag of dried mushrooms from Morrowind for Barenziah , her favorite treat . On these occasions , she was always made to look presentable - or at least as presentable as a skinny Dark Elf could be made to look in Inga ' s eyes - before being summoned into the courier ' s presence for a brief interview . The same courier seldom came twice , but all of them looked her over in much the same way a farmer would look over a hog he is readying for market . In the spring of her sixteenth year , Barenziah thought the courier looked as if she were at last ready for market . Upon reflection , she decided she did not wish to be marketed . The stable - boy , Straw , a big , muscular blond lad , clumsy , gentle , affectionate , and rather simple , had been urging her to run off for some weeks now . Barenziah stole the bag of gold the courier had left , took the mushrooms from the storeroom , disguised herself as a boy in one of Jonni ' s old tunics and a pair of his cast - off breeches . . . and on one fine spring night she and Straw took the two best horses from the stable and rode hard through the night toward Whiterun , the nearest city of any importance and the place where Straw wanted to be . But Mournhold and Morrowind also lay eastward and they drew Barenziah as a lodestone draws iron . In the morning they abandoned the horses at Barenziah ' s insistence . She knew they would be missed and tracked down , and she hoped to throw off any pursuers . They continued on foot until late afternoon , keeping to side roads , and slept for several hours in an abandoned hut . They went on at dusk and came to Whiterun ' s city gates just before dawn . Barenziah had prepared a pass of sorts for Straw , a makeshift document stating an errand to a temple in the city for a local village lord . She herself glided over the wall with the help of a levitation spell . She had reasoned - correctly , as it turned out - that by now the gate guards would have been alerted to keep an eye out for a young Dark Elven girl and a Nordic boy traveling together . On the other hand , unaccompanied country yokels like Straw were a common enough sight . Alone and with papers , it was unlikely that he would draw attention . Her simple plan went smoothly . She met Straw at the temple , which was not far from the gate ; she had been to Whiterun on a few previous occasions . Straw , however , had never been more than a few miles from Sven ' s estate , which was his birthplace . Together they made their way to a rundown inn in the poorer quarters of Whiterun . Gloved , cloaked , and hooded against the morning chill , Barenziah ' s dark skin and red eyes were not apparent and no one paid any heed to them . They entered the inn separately . Straw paid the innkeeper for a single cubicle , an immense meal , and two jugs of ale . Barenziah sneaked in a few minutes later . They ate and drank together gleefully , rejoicing in their escape , and made love vigorously on the narrow cot . Afterward they fell into an exhausted , dreamless sleep . They stayed for a week at Whiterun . Straw earned a bit of money running errands and Barenziah burgled a few houses at night . She continued to dress as a boy . She cut her hair short and dyed her flame - red tresses jet black to further the disguise , and kept out of sight as much as possible . There were few Dark Elves in Whiterun . One day Straw got them work as temporary guards for a merchant caravan traveling east . The one - armed sergeant looked her over dubiously . " Heh , " he chuckled , " Dark Elf , ain ' tcha ? Like settin ' a wolf t ' guard the sheep , that is . Still , I need arms , and we ain ' t goin ' near ' nough Morrowind so ' s ye can betray us to yer folk . Our homegrown bandits would as fain cut yer throat as mine . " The sergeant turned to give Straw an appraising look . Then he spun back abruptly toward Barenziah , whipping out his shortsword . But she had her dagger out in the twinkling of an eye and was in a defensive stance . Straw drew his own knife and circled round to the man ' s rear . The sergeant dropped his blade and chuckled again . " Not bad , kids , not bad . How are ye with yon bow , Dark Elf ? " Barenziah demonstrated her prowess briefly . " Aye , not bad , not bad ' tall . And ye ' ll be keen of eye by night , boy , and of hearin ' ' tall times . A trusty Dark Elf makes as good a fightin ' man as any could ask for . I know . I served under Symmachus his self afore I lost this arm and got invalided outter the Emp ' ror ' s army . " " We could betray them . I know folk who ' d pay well , " Straw said later as they bedded down for their last night at the ramshackle lodge . " Or rob them ourselves . They ' re very rich , those merchants are , Berry . " Barenziah laughed . " Whatever would we do with so much money ? And besides , we need their protection for traveling quite as much as they need ours . " " We could buy a little farm , you and me , Berry - - and settle down , all nice like . " Peasant ! Barenziah thought scornfully . Straw was a peasant and harbored nothing but peasant dreams . But all she said was , " Not here , Straw , we ' re too close to Darkmoor still . We ' ll have other chances farther east . " The caravan went only as far east as Sunguard . The Emperor Tiber Septim I had done much in the way of building relatively safe and regularly patrolled highways . But the tolls were steep , and this particular caravan kept to the side roads as much as possible to avoid them . This exposed them to the hazards of wayside robbers , both human and Orcish , and roving brigand bands of various races . But such were the perils of trade and profit . They had two such encounters before reaching Sunguard — an ambush which Barenziah ' s keen ears warned them of in plenty of time for them to circle about and surprise the lurkers , and a night attack by a mixed band of Khajiit , humans , and Wood Elves . The latter were a skilled band and even Barenziah did not hear them sneaking up in time to give much warning . This time the fighting was fierce . The attackers were driven off , but two of the caravan ' s other guards were slain and Straw got a nasty cut on his thigh before he and Barenziah managed to gash his Khajiit assailant ' s throat . Barenziah rather enjoyed the life . The garrulous sergeant had taken a liking to her , and she spent most of her evenings sitting around the campfire listening to his tales of campaigning in Morrowind with Tiber Septim and General Symmachus . This Symmachus had been made general after Mournhold fell , the sergeant said . " He ' s a fine soldier , boy , Symmachus is . But there was more ' n soldiery involved ' n that Morrowind business , if y ' take my meanin ' . But , well , y ' know all ' bout that , I ' spect . " " No . No , I don ' t remember , " Barenziah said , trying to sound nonchalant . " I ' ve lived most of my life in Skyrim . My mother married a Skyrim man . They ' re both dead , though . Tell me , what happened to the Lord and Lady of Mournhold ? " The sergeant shrugged . " I ain ' t never heard . Dead , I ' spect . ' Twas alot of fightin ' afore the Armistice got signed . It ' s pretty quiet now . Maybe too quiet . Like a calm afore a storm . Say , boy , you goin ' back there ? " " Maybe , " Barenziah said . The truth was that she was drawn irresistibly to Morrowind , and Mournhold , like a moth to a burning house . Straw sensed it and was unhappy about it . He was unhappy anyway since they could not bed together , as she was supposed to be a boy . Barenziah rather missed it too , but not as much as Straw did , seemingly . The sergeant wanted them to sign on for the return trip , but gave them a bonus nonetheless when they turned the offer down , and parchments of recommendation . Straw wanted to settle down permanently near Sunguard , but Barenziah insisted on continuing their travels east . " I ' m the Queen of Mournhold by rights , " she said , unsure whether it was true — or was it just a daydream she had made up as a lost , bewildered child ? " I want to go home . I need to go home . " That at least was true . After a few weeks they managed to get places in another caravan heading east . By early winter they were at Rifton , and nearing the Morrowind border . But the weather had grown severe as the days passed and they were told no merchant caravans would be setting forth till mid - spring . Barenziah stood on top of the city walls and stared across the deep gorge that separated Rifton from the snow - clad mountain wall guarding Morrowind beyond . " Berry , " Straw said gently . " Mournhold ' s a long way off yet , nearly as far as we ' ve come already . And the lands between are wild , full of wolves and bandits and Orcs and still worse creatures . We ' ll have to wait for spring . " " There ' s Silgrod Tower , " Berry said , referring to the Dark Elven township that had grown up around an ancient minaret guarding the border between Skyrim and Morrowind . " The bridge guards won ' t let me across , Berry . They ' re crack Imperial troops . They can ' t be bribed . If you go , you go alone . I won ' t try and stop you . But what will you do ? Silgrod Tower is full of Imperial soldiers . Will you become a washing - woman for them ? Or a camp follower ? " " No , " Barenziah said slowly , thoughtfully . Actually the idea was not entirely unappealing . She was sure she could earn a modest living by sleeping with the soldiers . She ' d had a few adventures of that sort as they crossed Skyrim , when she ' d dressed as a woman and slipped away from Straw . She ' d only been looking for a bit of variety . Straw was sweet but dull . She ' d been startled , but extremely pleased , when the men she picked up offered her money afterward . Straw had been unhappy about it , though , and would shout for a while then sulk for days afterward if he caught her at it . He was quite jealous . He ' d even threatened to leave her . Not that he ever did . Or could . But the Imperial Guards were a tough and brutal lot by all accounts , and Barenziah had heard some very ugly stories during their treks . The ugliest of them by far had come from the lips of ex - army veterans around the caravan campfire , and were proudly recounted . They ' d been trying to shock her and Straw , she realized - but she also comprehended that there was some truth behind the wild tales . Straw hated that kind of dirty talk , and hated it more that she had to hear it . But there was a part of him that was fascinated nevertheless . Barenziah sensed this and had encouraged Straw to seek out other women . But he said he didn ' t want anyone else but her . She told him candidly she didn ' t feel that way about him , but she did like him better than anyone else . " Then why do you go with other men ? " Straw had asked on one occasion . " I don ' t know . " Straw sighed . " They say Dark Elven women are like that . " Barenziah smiled and shrugged . " I don ' t know . Or , no . . . maybe I do . Yes , I do know . " She turned and kissed him affectionately . " I guess that ' s all the explanation there is . "