Chains of the Past VIII

"Of course, brother. I'm with you all the way, no matter where we go, even Oblivion." I assure Inigo with a smile.

"It warms my heart to hear you say that, my friend. With your help I know I can finally put some good back into this world. Anything else you wish to know, my friend?" Inigo replies with a smile.

"Can you tell me a little more about these books?" I say holding up the small stack of books.

"They are called, 'In Search of a Champion' and 'Da Vinci's Journal'. My father wrote the journal and Langley wrote the other. Langley's books contain the story of his search for me and a few tales about Fergus and I. The journal is my father's personal account of our upbringing. In my opinion the books are informative and quite moving." Inigo explains as his eyes glisten for a moment before he wipes them.

"I'll have to give them a solid read through. Perhaps I'll have some time on our travels. Have you learnt anything else about your past?" I ask him, taking a sip of some water from my water skin.

"Like all Khajiit, my physical characteristics were probably determined by the moons at my birth. I seem to be the product of a very rare celestial alignment that only occurs briefly every few hundred years or so? In the backward village where I was born a blue child was seen as a bad moon omen. I would have been sacrificed if my birth mother had not smuggled Fergus and I away." Inigo explains.

"Wait... Khajiit have different forms based on the moons?" I ask him in confusion.

"Yes, my friend. All of our kits look like the same little bundles of fuzz at birth, but depending on which moon they're born under... They could look more like a house cat or sabre cat, or look more human like M'rissi, though the ones in Skyrim are the most common type. Like me, ruggedly handsome with ample hair and striking facial features." Inigo says with a laugh.

"Huh, I just assumed most Khajiit looked like you... I wonder... Nevermind, was Fergus in danger too? From your village." I ask after shaking the thought of what mine and M'rissi's kids, or kits would look like out of my head.

"We were not identical but we were twins. Perhaps his life was forfeit by association? Whatever the case, I like to think that my birth mother could not bear the idea of separating us." Inigo explains with a barley noticable sigh escaping his lips.

"Wait, wasn't he blue like you?" I ask interested by their differences.

"I can only guess that there was enough time between our births for the moons to shift. Langley thinks the alignment that produced me may only last for a few moments. I am incredibly unique, my friend." Inigo says.

"Of course you are, you're one in a million Inigo. But, that aside, did you get any more information about Langley?" I ask Inigo as I look over at Langley who seems excited to have Serana as a captive audience.

"He is... Interesting? Like his visions he mentioned. He has dreams that often come true. He usually foresees the beginning, the middle, or the end of a future event, but never all three. So, he knows that a man at the market will get into a fight but he won't know why, or he will see a dead man at the market but not know how he died. To make matters worse, he sometimes sees two or more possible endings. Until we met, he couldn't be sure that we ever would. He is understandably relieved." Inigo explains what he learned about Langley's visions.

"I see... It could explain why he's such a crotchety old man. Did you learn anything about his search for you while you talked?" I ask Inigo.

"Yes, it appears that ever since I appeared in his dreams he has been looking for me. All he knew in the beginning was that The Champion was Khajiit, avoided death at an early age, and had blue fur." Inigo pauses for a drink himself before continuing.

"He then heard about a remote village among the shifting sands of Elsweyr that would ritualisticaly sacrifice any child born among their number whose fur was blue. He deduced that The Champion was likely a blue child from this village that somehow escaped their fate." Inigo explains before I interrupt.

"I see the logic there, but how was he sure it was your tribe and not another? Or even another blue Khajiit who would escape near death by another means?" I question him.

"Hold on, I am getting there my friend. Let me finish the tale at least?" Inigo says with a sigh of exasperation as I silently shrug my shoulders and motion for him to continue.

"As I was saying, he set off in search of the village in the rumors, but on the way he found Riverhold and heard about me. This was a few years after Fergus and I left to find our fortune though, so he began tracking us. And along the way he heard tales about my brother and I, even collecting mementos from our endeavors. You can see a few of them over there on those shelves by the chest." Inigo says pointing over at some battle trophies, a giant club, severed witches heads, and a handful of other items before continuing on.

"He then found Fergus, skinned and gutted among the remains of our camp... It's he that he lost track of me." Inigo pauses, centering himself as he recalls what happened to his brother.

"Cough... The years passed and Langley grew weary, eventually returning here and employed a group of adventurers to continue the search for me and to look for any signs of the Doom Strider. He also paid a conjuration mage to concoct a 'Summon Inigo' spell. My mind vibrations were the result of him trying unsuccessfully to use the spell." Inigo explains leaving me to think on what he's told me for a moment.

(Author's Note: Hey everyone, sorry for the late chapters. Been busy with finals coming up. So uploads may be delayed or interrupted. Apologies and hope you enjoy what I can upload. Have a good week!)