chapter 1

"What the hell did you do? He's freaking dead!"

"That wasn't supposed to happen! It was a simple illusion spell! Oh kynereth! What do we do now?!"

"We hide the body that's what. If the archmage finds out about this we'll be kicked out this time for good. Quick, grab his arms."

What was originally supposed to be a practical joke aimed at the innocent Desmond, ended up placing him in a death-like stasis. Unknowingly to the two guild recruits, they dragged his body down the spiral staircase, knocking his head on each step.

Thinking he was dead, they snuck him out of the guild and threw his body onto a transport wagon, telling the driver to take him far away.

"Hey. I don't drive corpses. What do you take me for, an idiot? Get him off!"

"Just dump him somewhere far away from here. Do that for us and you'll get this," Golvin, the dark elf, and accomplice, presented the driver with a pouch filled with a decent amount of septims.

The driver stared at the gold before kissing his teeth. "Tsk. Fine. But I'm not doing this again."

He swiped the pouch and placed it in his coat pocket before whipping his horses and taking off, mumbling under his breath, "You guild mages and your damned magic."

When the wagon finally disappeared from view, Sorrens, the one who had accidentally killed Dez, breathed a sigh of relief. He was a skinny lanky nord man also donning guild mages robes.

"I'm glad that's over. I feel so bad for Dez. This is all my fault." he said.

"Yeah, it is," The dark elf, Golvin replied, "You know it would've been funny if your spell actually worked. Making him see Hagravens as sexy beautiful women would have been hilarious to watch."

"Too bad it didn't...i think, " Sorrens scratched his head. "And now that you mention it, I can't even remember the spell."

"Forget about it. Let's return to the guild before anyone gets suspicious. We don't talk about this to anyone, you hear me?"

******

In the far outskirts of the reach, just beyond Rorikstead, Desmond's body could be seen tumbling down a hill like a rag doll, only stopping when it hit a boulder.

"That takes care of that. This is the last time I'm dealing with mages. In fact, I think I'll cross out Winterhold for the foreseeable future. Mages are just too much of a handful."

He took off on his carriage, leaving Desmond's body lying face down in the dirt. It wasn't until a few hours later he would be found.

*****

"Ow...my head. What happened?"

"We found you unconscious by the road."

Desmond slowly opened his eyes, feeling his headache beginning to dissipate. The first thing he noticed was the cold metal bars of an iron cage surrounding him and a woman wearing some kind of tribal outfit with tattoos all over her face and skin standing in front.

"Who are you...wait. Who am I?"

"That's what I'd like to know. You were wearing the mages guild robes so we figured you for a mage."

As hard as he thought, Desmond couldn't recollect anything besides his name. There were a few fuzzy images but they weren't clear enough for him to see.

"You said, I'm a mage?"

He looked around the room and noticed he was actually in a cave with torches lining the wall. In the other cages were skeletons of most likely past prisoners who met their unfortunate end at the hands of his captors.

Before the woman could respond, a voice echoed out from the cave entrance at the back.

"I will talk to our prisoner. Go help out the others."

"Yes, leader." The woman bowed to the new guest before turning to leave.

Desmond couldn't believe his eyes as a woman of great beauty gently strode toward him. She was barefoot but her dainty feet looked unblemished and every step she took caused her bosom to shake slightly, as if defying gravity.

When she stepped into the light, he got a better look at her face.

It stunned him.

'She's gorgeous!'

The enchanting fairy-like lady had long silky black hair that draped over her shoulders, red ruby lips, and a fine delicate nose. Her clothes were a bit unusual and couldn't hide her curvaceous, voluptuous figure. She wore a leather strapped short vest that was held together by threads at the center which failed to cover up even half of her sensual breasts. The bottom part of her body was completely bare, save for a small skirt made of long black feathers. When she moved, the feathers would slightly part, teasing him for a view to see what was inside!

'I don't know what's going on but I think I like it...except for that skeleton over there...'

This woman definitely looked out of place in this disgusting-smelling cave which made him a bit suspicious.

"You are a long way away from the guild," she said in a husky voice that sent shivers down Desmond's spine. "Tell me, which mage did you anger to warrant such a powerful paralysis spell to be cast on you?"

"I..." It was hard not to stare at the woman's body, especially her breasts and long smooth legs. And not to mention her amazingly dainty feet and freshly cut pink cute toenails. So Desmond tore his eyes away, hoping not to seem like a pig. He was a man after all. A man with dignity. "I actually don't know. I don't have any memories except for my name."

When the woman asked her question, her deep black eyes were locked with his until he turned his sight away a few seconds later and gave his answer. The expression on his face seemed uncomfortable and slightly disturbed, as all men who ever saw her visage did.

She was a Hagraven, after all, and the price to become one was a heavy toll. She had become a hideously disfigured half bird half woman. No man in their right mind would ever love her.

Hella was the leader of her tribe of foresworn. They revered her power more than actually being loyal, but it was adequate enough for her needs. She didn't need loyalty. She had multiple foresworn pillagers, a few witches, and a briar heart under her command.

"I see..." she hissed.

She contemplated letting him out of the cage. She could use him for experiments but she needed more mages under her command, and his losing any and all memories proved to be an advantageous boon. But first, she had to make sure he was telling the truth.

"Then you won't mind if I peer into your head? If I find you lying you'll end up like your inmate."

Though the woman had threatened him with death, Desmond couldn't respond properly due to her soothingly deep feminine voice. "Uh, y-yeah, okay. S-Sure." He was also sure she wouldn't kill him because he indeed didn't have any memories.

"Good. Give me your hand."

Desmond inched his hand through the iron bars while the woman lifted her right hand and grabbed it.

'Her skin's so soft!' he thought.

Her fingernails were neatly trimmed and had a soft pink color. He could feel the pulse of her heart which for some reason had a different beat rhythm than his.

"Do not resist."

A few seconds later, he felt a strange feeling enter his body and then slowly creep its way into his mind. It lingered there for a few seconds before digging into his mind.

Hella read through the man's mind, finding nothing at all pertaining to his past. He was a blank slate. His last memory was waking up in the cage. Before the memories would continue, she left, not caring for the rest.

"You are indeed telling the truth."

"Thank you."

Contemplating her next decision, she decided to let the young mage out. Keeping him as a prisoner would make him less likely to join her and she already scared him enough with her appearance.

Desmond stepped out of the cage, stretching his body. It was then he realized he was naked except for the rag covering his groin.

"There are clothes in the barrel in the room on the left," the woman spoke. "After getting dressed, go meet with Ascila. Her tent is just outside the cave."

"Um, may I know your name?"

"My name is Hella, but you may refer to me as Matriarch or leader. Now go before I decide to...pluck out your eyes," she said, smiling and licking her lips playfully. "I'm feeling quite hungry at the moment."

Seeing her tongue slather her lips, Desmond made a quick dash out of the cave before she would realize he had a massive boner under his loincloth.