Corpus Tamrielicum - The Imperial Library

130 2. THE ELDER SCROLLS CHAPTER 2: DAGGERFALL
[30.7] King Edward VII
King Edward, Part VII
by Anonymous
Chapter 7: Dragon
"So you saw a demon? And killed a rat with Tooth? That's a fine ebony dagger, Tooth is.
They're rare so you want to take real good care of it," Mith said. "I can't tell you about the
blade except it came from Moraelyn's father. It's the one his brother sent him to repair just
before we ran away. Would you like to hear about how they got the dragon's tooth that Mats
carved the hilt from?"
Edward nodded, caressing the curved hilt with its lightly carved intertwined roses, thorns and
leaves. It was well after supper and everyone but him and Mith had left the fire for one reason
or another. Aliera and Moraelyn had gone for a walk hand in hand, Aliera holding Moraelyn's
newly healed left hand in both of hers. They'd laughed and shaken their heads when he'd
offered to come along, "Not tonight," Aliera had said. "Go to sleep soon. We'll be leaving
before dawn." Willow had gone to visit a High Elf friend. Beech, Ssa'ass, Mats and the
Khajiit woman, Silk, had also gone off together, laughing. They'd invited Mith to come along,
but Mith had declined.
"Khajiits! They're all turning into a bunch of shameless Khajiits," Mith said. The short Dark
Elf sat close to the glowing embers, knees to chest. His hair and eyes glowed in the dim light.
"If you're going to pair, you should pair, not turn it into an tourney. They'll be selling tickets
next. But each to his own. Khajiits think we're weird because we like eating as a group. Silk
says it put her right off her food at first, listening to everybody chew. Well, having a bunch of
watchers puts me off. I s'pose you're too young for this kind of talk."
Edward shrugged. It was a beautiful night, crisply cool, no moon, but the stars were very large
and bright.
"Anyway, it was just a few months after Mats had joined up with us. We were up in Skyrim,
travelling from town to town. Just three kids seeing the country a bit, picking up odd jobs
where we could. Moraelyn entered tournaments if we heard about them, but he wasn't
winning that much...just about enough to cover healing him up afterwards. You can get beat
up pretty bad fighting Skyrim style - that's without shielding spells, or any other spells for that
matter, no magic allowed - even if it isn't to the death. And he drew a few types that didn't
mind seeing a little dark elf blood spilled in the sand. Or a lot. And the crowds were against
him at first. It can get pretty lonely in the arena, especially if you're beating the home town
favorite. And it's even worse if he's beating you. "Mats and me 'ud be the only ones for him,
and sometimes we didn't dare cheer too loud. They'd look real funny at a Nord boy cheering a
Dark Elf back then. 'Course Mats was so big, not many wanted to start anything with him.
That was a long time ago. Moraelyn's the favorite now if things get tough. 'Course the crowds
will cheer for a good match, but hardly anyone really wants to see him lose now. They like
seeing the best, even if it comes wrapped in a dark elf hide. And when he walks into an arena
you know you're seeing the best. Not but what they'd like seeing a Nord that's better. And