Chapter Text
Together with Maurice, the Breton monk, I had managed to get the sapling from the Eldergleam tree back to Whiterun, and it had been used to replace the mostly destroyed previous Gildergreen tree, rather than just bringing tree sap as Danica had expected. A dragon had attacked the city and strafed the new tree with fire, but it had been apparently blessed and protected by Kynareth and not taken any damage. With many city guards being around, the dragon had soon been defeated, and once this had been done, one of the soldiers had approached me and asked me to come up to Dragonsreach as the Jarl wanted to talk to me.
Naturally, I obliged, and inside Dragonsreach, the Jarl waited on his throne, flanked by his Dunmer housecarl Irileth and his steward Proventus Avenicci. To my surprise, Kodlak Whitemane, the Harbinger, was also present and standing right next to the Jarl. For a moment I wondered if I had done something wrong and was now getting scolded or so, but I saw happy faces. When I was close to them, Jarl Balgruuf the Greater rose and stated, while looking directly at me:
“B’lushona, you just helped to kill another dragon today, after you had already assisted with the first one, the one which had attacked the Western Watchtower. You also managed to get a new Gildergreen sapling for our city, and you know as well as I do that the tree used to be one of our trademarks, so that getting a replacement is an important and memorable achievement. Above and beyond that, you have been a good friend and comrade to many of the city’s and the hold’s citizens, including the hold guards, and you have shown a good heart helping them when they had problems. Thus, by my right as Jarl, I name you Thane of Whiterun. It’s the greatest honor that’s within my power to grant. I assign you Antonius as a personal Housecarl, and this weapon from my armory to serve as your badge of office. I’ll also notify my guards of your new title. Wouldn’t want them to think you’re part of the common rabble, now would we? We are honored to have you as Thane of our city, B’lushona of Whiterun!”
With those words the Jarl nodded to his steward, and Proventus handed over a big axe to me; it was even slightly bigger than the Skyforge steel axe I currently used and, as I noticed right away when I accepted the gift, excellently balanced; I had been using an axe as weapon for some time now and was able to judge that, to some extent at least. The steward told me:
“This glass battleaxe has an enchantment on it to inflict additional fire damage, courtesy of Jarl Balgruuf the Greater and expertly done by our court wizard.”
I felt honored indeed, and I was happy to see that I got my first Thaneship in Whiterun, even though I had not expected it, at least not at this time. I was not sure if I actually earned the honor, but that was the Jarl՚s decision and not mine, and I was sure not going to decline it. Several times before, when playing the game, I had compared the major cities and thought about my favorite place to live if I was actually there and had a choice, and I always decided that this was going to be Whiterun, for various reasons. I bowed to the Jarl, and while I was a little bit amused as he had used that phrase about the ‘common rabble’ again, I managed to hide any hint of smirking and responded with all of the politeness and respect I could master, carefully phrasing my words:
“My Jarl, it is an honor for me to accept the title you bestow upon me and the weapon you graciously offer, and I pledge my continued support for city, hold, and citizens.”
He nodded, and like a spur-of-the moment thought, he added, while showing a hint of a smile:
“And, about your saber cat cubs, as long as you have them under control, they are welcome in my city. At a later time, when they’re getting big, you may want to consider finding a home for them outside of the city, though.”
Kodlak now also spoke:
“Son, you have brought honor to the Companions, and I am very proud to see that one of us was made Thane!”
I bowed to him as well, and of course, likely Jarl Balgruuf had even consulted the Harbinger to make sure that he agreed with his plans. It would not do to honor a Companion officially if Kodlak disagreed, which he apparently had not done. So, this was that, but I had a feeling that not everybody was happy about seeing my as a Thane – Hrongar, the Jarl՚s brother, stood in a corner and seemed to be brooding, but I did not know if he just did not approve of a Khajiit becoming Thane in general or if there was another reason; maybe I would try to find out at some later time. For now, I was happy and a little bit proud of myself, and I was eager to meet my assigned housecarl; where was he? The Jarl had not mentioned his race, but the name sounded Roman, so probably an Imperial. And indeed, when I turned around and stepped away from the throne, a medium sized male Imperial, who looked like he might be in his early to mid thirties, approached me, bowed his head and said:
“My Thane, I am your new housecarl, Antonius.”
All right, that was that, no pretty lady for me. However, this Antonius had a friendly and almost charming face and looked like a good chap to have at my side, so that I replied politely:
“Antonius, it is good to meet you. Let me just find the court wizard to also thank him, and then we’ll step outside and get acquainted with each other.”
I turned into the wizard’s room, where I found him bent over his desk, studying some books as he frequently did. I knocked, and when he looked up, I said:
“Farengar, I wanted to thank you for enchantment you placed on my new axe; I appreciate the effort a lot!”
“You are welcome, B’lushona, you are very much welcome. I don’t think that this hold ever had a Khajiit as thane, and I believe that you earned this. Don’t hesitate to see me when you want to buy more spell tomes, and don’t forget to practice magic!”
“I will do that, sir, for sure. For now, I am going to talk to my new housecarl for some time. Good bye, and thank you again!”
I turned around, and when I left Dragonsreach to slowly descended the stairs – I much preferred to take my time so that I could also enjoy the view on the city from up here – Antonius followed me; we went down to the new Gildergreen tree to sit down on one of the benches around it. The Imperial asked:
“Is my assumption correct that you know what a housecarl is, my Thane? I have heard about the dragon at the Western Watchtower and your fighting together with the Dragonborn in Last Seed; you were there when she became Thane and got Lydia assigned, weren’t you?”
I nodded: “Yes, that’s correct, I was around when the Dragonborn got her housecarl, and I heard some of their conversation. I roughly know what a housecarl is and what he is supposed to do, so that there’s no need to state that ‘I am sworn to carry your burdens’ phrase repeatedly.”
My new housecarl laughed, and I already got a feeling that we’d get along pretty well.
“I believe that the two of us will figure out how to work together nicely, and as we will most likely be on the road a few times for some task or quest or so at some time in the future, there’s going to be plenty of time to talk about more details if needed. For now, I do have a few questions, though. First, do you have a bed to sleep in? At this time, I do not have a home of my own, and when I am here in the city, I sleep in Jorrvaskr.”
“You are a Companion? Great, I like that, and I had already wondered when I saw the Harbinger here. In Whiterun, finding a bed is not a problem; I can always stay in the guards barracks here, and same applies to other cities, too. When we are traveling and need to stay in smaller towns, though, I guess that we will need to make enough money to afford a bed at an inn. Of course, if needed, I can also rough it and sleep outside, in summer, at least. Winter is a different story; I am an Imperial and not a Nord, after all.”
“Good. Second question: What is your preferred style of fighting and what are your preferred weapons?”
“That’s a good question, and I like it, my Thane. Not everyone is interested enough to ask, believe me. I sometimes prefer the stealthy approach and I am usually nimble enough to evade hits, thus I wear light armor. I am decent with a bow, and in close combat I use a one handed sword and a small shield.”
“So you can move without being heard?”
“Well, I try to, but this is something I’d like to improve more, and I know that I need to.”
“Any knowledge in magic, Antonius?”
“A little, but not much. I can heal myself to some extent and I can cast the shock spell, and I have some skill in Illusion magic. Specifically, I can cast the ‘Calm’ spell and the ‘Courage’ spell, and I am trying to learn ‘Pacify’.”
I nodded and responded:
“Yes, I can understand where that might help.”
Antonius had some questions, too:
“I heard the Jarl acknowledging your saber cat cubs. Are you going to keep them with you all of the time?”
“As much as I can, yes. Do you have a problem with that?”
“No, not at all. My Thane, can you do the honors and introduce me to them, please?”
I grinned, stood up, and turned towards my girls:
“Ladies, may I introduce my housecarl, Antonius. Housecarl, please meet Hanni and Nanni.”
The introduction was completed by the two cubs sniffing the Imperial’s hands for some time, and that was that.
“May I ask, my Thane,” Antonius said “what your next plans are going to be?”
“For the next few days I will certainly stay here and spend some more time again with the Companions. After that, I am not sure yet, but I feel tempted to visit either Riften or Solitude, probably the latter first.”
Indeed, while I had no reason to travel again very soon, I was curious to meet Jordis, even if it meant I might have to become Thane there as well. Yes, I knew that this likely implied going against Potema and other enemies, if things were as expected, but now, with a capable housecarl at my side, that should be doable. I was also tempted to go to Riften first and see if Inigo was actually there, as Mia had mentioned, but that could probably wait; I was not exactly eager to get in contact with the Thieves Guild there, one way or another.
For now, the day was almost at an end, with the sun close to the horizon, and my housecarl made his way to the city barracks to find a bed. Before heading towards Jorrvaskr, I decided to visit Arcadia’s Cauldron once more. My memory about Skyrim plants and flowers from playing the game way very limited, and I wanted to ask the ladies there if they had some notes I could copy or so. Mia and Arcadia were happy top see me again, and once I had told them what I was looking for, Arcadia told me right away:
“B’lushona, I think I have what you need. Here, this book may get you started nicely, and if you like it, I can see if I can find more about the same topic, too.”
I took the book and paid, and outside I paused for a moment to open it. It was titled ‘Herbalist's guide to Skyrim’ and had, as I could see, pages on some Skyrim plants and flowers at least, plus a few notes on butterflies and moths. That would be helpful for my future studies, for sure, and I was going to take this book with me when I was traveling for sure.
When I got to Jorrvaskr and entered the mead hall, I found that some Companions were out on some quest, as usual, but there was enough company around. Ria, Athis, Njada, Borogar and Vilkas were missing, but Farkas, Aela, Skjor, Torvar, Lorgukh and Vignar welcomed me in the big hall. As always, my two saber cat cubs were also welcome there and got their share from the food as well. While the others all had their mugs with mead, Tilma had wonderful juice for me, and when we started to eat, I suddenly noticed that this has been one of those days without a proper lunch, again, so that I was reasonably hungry. Once my stomach felt good, I was prompted to tell what I had done over the last few days. The story of my new Thaneship had somehow traveled fast, and the Companions already knew about that. What they did not know, and I had to tell in all details, was what I had done to earn it, and telling that took easily one hour or so.
When I was finally allowed to retire, I was reasonably tired and my throat hurt a little from all of the talking, but that was all right. What a day that had been! I had fought against bandits, helped to replace the Gildergreen tree, assisted in defending the city against a dragon, I had received my Thaneship together with a new axe, and I had a housecarl now. I was a little bit proud of myself and went to sleep in my bed in the attic room with a smile on my face; this had been quite a memorable and good day.
For the next few days, I fell back into my normal routine. Antonius joined me from time to time on my morning exercise running around Whiterun, but he had to make an effort to keep up with me. He was ‘only’ an Imperial with average size, whereas I was a supersized Khajiit with longer and more muscled legs. However, I slowed down a little where applicable, as I enjoyed his company. When we got back into the city again, we normally separated, with him going to the guards barracks for some training and me going to Jorrvaskr for breakfast and my own training with Vilkas or some other Companion, followed by practicing magic and doing occasional quests. Hanni and Nanni were with me most of the time, particularly for the morning runs. Almost everybody not only in Jorrvaskr, but in the entire city had learned to either like them or at least tolerate them, specifically now as I was a Thane of Whiterun. Some, like Njada and Aela for instance, tried to keep their distance from the saber cat cubs as much as possible and looked at them warily, whereas others, like Tilma and Ria, considered them cute and actually fed them occasionally. Tilma always had some milk ready for the cubs, and sometimes, when I had been somewhere where I could not take them with me, I found Hanni and Nanni next to Tilma, with their heads in the older lady’s lap and getting their fur scratched.
Once or twice it happened that a wolf pack followed me when I did my morning run around the city, and when Antonius was not with me I sometimes used the opportunity to lure the wolves to Whitewatch Tower, where the guards helped me to dispatch of them. I left the pelts with the guards, and they were grateful to get the opportunity to make a little bit of money on the side. Naturally, with my daily habits, most of the guards got used to my cubs soon, not only the two real ones, but also sometimes the conjured one, and seeing ‘B’lushona and his girls’ was becoming almost a common expression, although some just called us ‘the three cats’. Some of the younger girls in the city, specifically Mila, sometimes even called me ‘Kitty Cat’, and I did not mind that. On the days when Antonius or, in rare case, some of the other Companions was with me, we stopped and fought the wolves, as part of my weapons training. Antonius, as it turned out, was quite nimble and handed a shortsword like he had done nothing else for years.
The guards were more respectful than before once I had been made Thane, but after I had assured them that the title had not changed me, most of them got back to the easy talking we had had before. I much preferred it this way, and while some guards still insisted to call me ‘Thane’ very time they met me, most of them got back to call me by my name after a few days, and a few of the young female guards even occasionally greeted my cubs and with just ‘cats’, which almost always made me smile. After all, I was something like a big cat, right? When I thought about it, there weren’t many small cats in the city, but I had seen some on the farms, where they were probably useful to keep mice and rats under control. Anyway, being called ‘cat’ was something I could live with, if it was spoken in a friendly way; ‘kitty cat’ was a term I only tolerated from kids, like when Mila hugged me and called me ‘my big kitty cat’; that made me long for children of my own. For that, of course, I’d have to find a wife first, or I could focus on a proper home, adopt children and have one of my housecarls play nanny.
Kodlak made it a habit to watch training sessions on some days, and Hanni and Nanni usually allowed him to scratch their heads and necks, sitting next to him. The saber cat cubs still loved to drink milk, but they were already proficient enough to go hunting on their own, mostly going for rabbits and similar prey. Occasionally I allowed them to go out with Mia, the alchemist, too, and they seemed to understand that they were supposed to protect the petite Bosmer when she was out in the tundra on her own to collect ingredients. They might not be able yet to keep a wolf pack away, but at least they provide an early warning, so that the elf could cast one of her spells.
On some days I also practiced sword fighting with Antonius, mostly with my axe against his sword; like me, he rarely used a shield in combat as he wanted to have his left hand free for spell casting. For practicing purposes, though, we sometimes both used a shield. A couple of times he worked with two swords against me, dual wielding them in both hands, and that helped me to pay attention to two dangers at the same time. While I had significantly more body mass and my tall and strong body in my favor, Antoninus had much better combat skills, and in a real fight I would probably have lost against him. However, with constant training I could see my own skills improving, albeit slowly.
I also sat down with my housecarl to use magic from time to time. He had a spell tome for a spell which was called ‘Courage’, and he explained that this spell not only made the target less likely to flee from combat, but also granted the person it was cast on additional health and stamina for some time. The spell was a novice level Illusion spell, and I was soon able to learn it. We made it a habit to cast it on each other frequently to train, and I also had Antoninus learn ‘Oakflesh’ from the spell tome I had. With those two spells, we had two easy novice spells for Alteration and Illusion training at least, and casting them frequently would also work towards expanding our magicka pool, we also regularly used opportunities to heal each other’s bruises and scratches to improve restoration.
Besides training with my housecarl, I also tried not to neglect some other friends. Since I had helped with teaching at school on one day, most of the children in the city remembered me, and sometimes I made it happen to pass the school building right when they had one of their breaks; without a watch, timing this right was difficult, but sometimes at least I managed. Also, school breaks were not run by the clock – there weren’t any of those around anyway – and at times the teachers just called a break when I walked along. This was always a nice opportunity to chat with some of the kids and play some games. Mila, Carlotta՚s daughter, was my special friend, and once or twice she was even allowed to go outside of the city with my new housecarl and me; her mother considered it safe when she was with me and my cubs. Mila reminded me that I had not been in the school for lessons recently, and so I obliged and promised to be there on the next day.
