Chapter 212 - Manners Maketh Man
A/N: We made to 5000 Votes! Can we make it to 8000? Yes, we can! And we will! Votengrade! Never Stop Voting!
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"What… what is that?"
The girls jumped from their place.
Of course, it is the first time they see it, I never showed my Status Screen to a soul.
"This, my ladies, is a newly developed way to tell one's power and mastered spells."
They kept looking at the long list with wide eyes. The Status Screen can only be visible to me but I can use Alteration to make it visible to others.
"How accurate is it?" Alina asked.
"Very."
"Can it show our powers too?" Jull asked.
"Nope. It is kinda a thing that I acquired with the help of a friend who I will introduce to later but it can't be applied to anyone but me."
"Oh." "I see."
The seemed disappointed.
"Well, not if I managed to create a tool that can do something similar."
As I said that, they both looked at me with sparkling eyes.
""Do it!""
"... Alright."
The two got closer and started reading my status together.
"Look at all these spells! I only mastered fifteen spells and... damn!" Jull was taken aback.
"Put that aside, you have two Racial powers, two Bloodline powers, Star Constellation powers, and two Blessings from both Talos and Kyne."
"I am working on Dibella too..."
"That's not the point! How do two divines favor you at the same time? I have never seen you praying." Alina said.
"Talos's blessing is because of this thing, I have been wearing it for six years." I pointed at the Amulet of Talos around my neck. It was the same Amulet that Hilda gave to Nurina six years ago when I discovered she is my real mother.
"Kyne's blessing is because of the old man who taught me hunting, he is the main reason I consider Kyne my favorite et'Ada, this blessing was probably gained when I performed the pilgrim to High Hrothgar. I read all the stone tablets about Kyne's gift to mortals and my Thu'um became stronger."
Alina nodded, she too has Kyne's blessing since birth. Blessings in reality are different than the game, in the game the player can just visit any shrine and press E to gain the blessing. In reality, however, Blessings are great signs and not something anyone can look down on.
Kyne and Kynareath may be the same et'Ada but two different aspects, the Nords see Kyne as the warrior wife of Shor, Goddess of the Storm, Mother of Men and Beasts. The Imperials see Kynareath as the Sky Goddess whose gift is healing. This is why Kyne's Blessing grant power while Kynareath's blessing grants good health.
"Putting that aside, you already have 5 Thu'um and 2 kinds of Auras."
"Only the ones I mastered."
"Meaning?"
"I trained on other kinds of Auras and many words in the Thu'um but I only mastered those."
"... Amazing!"
That's true, the Status Screen is set to show the Spells, Aura and Dragon Words I mastered and use a lot, if I set it to show everything else then we are having a long list of uncomplete shouts, the Auras I don't use and the spells under research.
"I am not sure about the number up there but I assume that the Magicka number works the same way as the Magickameter."
"Correct."
"Damn! You have more than 1200 Magicka? This is insane! Last time I checked myself, I had around 400." Alina said.
"I have around 200." Jull said.
"If we combine ourselves together, we will barely reach half what he has." Alina said.
"This is crazy!" Jull replied.
They both looked at me as if I am some sort of a freak.
"Now you understand how cool the Cultivation is?" I said.
"Wait? That is because of the Cultivation?"
I nodded.
"My technique is not refined at all, it has a lot of flaws and it harmed me badly. As far as I know, I am the only person in the world who uses Magicka that way but there were studies on the Acupoints before so it meant that there is knowledge that can improve my technique, with this book in my hands, I am going to create the best Cultivation method that will not harm the user."
"What pros and cons does that Cultivation have?"
"For the pros, it can increase your power and enlarge your Magicka Pool, improve your Magicka's quality as you can spend less Magicka to make better results, it can also extend your life. For the cons, I would say it is a very unusual path to follow so all I know is that it may harm the Astral Body, there also may be something more dangerous but I didn't come across anything of the sort yet."
"Regarding the cons, you already solved the known problem, but if it can really extend one's life… how did you find about that from the start? You are the same age as us?"
"Well, as you may know, High Elves possess the largest Magicka Pool of all races, also they live longer than any other race. While human mages rely on Enchanting and Potions to increase their Magicka Pool for a temporary period, they don't actually possess that much Inner Magicka, one last thing was the people of our clans, both the Firemanes and the Moonblades possess non-human ancestry that they kept for ages which resulted that they are all born with more Magicka and longer lifespans. I came to the realization that Inner Magicka is the key to live as long as Elves. Take old man Tolfdir for example, the last thing I figured out was that he is more than 300 years old and his Inner Magicka is as much as mine, of course, he is an inborn talent but I can pretty much live as long as him by Cultivating."
"Live as long as Tolfdir?" Alina and Jull jumped.
Tolfdir's age is one of the seven wonders of our College, he is very old and everyone is trying to figure out his age. He is a known figure across Tamriel and his life experience and knowledge is at the realm of an Arch-Wizard but he is rather a peaceful person who doesn't pursue strength.
"Well, I am planning to live longer than Tolfdir anyway, which means I am not going to live that long life without my two beautiful girls at my side. You two will learn how to Cultivate when it is safe enough."
I held the two naked girls and hugged them left and right.
Yes, I am a greedy person and I plan on spending the eternity with these two babes.
***
After a lot of sweet words exchanged between the three of us, the two girls didn't spare me in the night and had a few rounds of lovemaking each. Their Vitality was so strong that they really lasted better than before.
Since the time we three started living together, there was never a dull moment. Going together on a ship and spending our lives together like that would be my dream retirement plan but retiring is not the word we are after now, what we are after is work and a lot of hard work too.
This morning, our ship arrived at the port of Raven Rock and Ongeim took a boat to request entry to the port... But we were denied.
"That's one way to get on the wrong foot with Raven Rock… what is the reason?" I asked.
"They refused to let us to the port because of the number of the troops we have!" Ongeim said.
I looked around and understood the situation.
"I see, we may have brought too many troops."
We have around 40 Troopers and 10 Mages let alone the ship's crew. They were all armed and equipped.
"They said we can enter Raven Rock with only two boats even if they were all men."
"Haha, I see."
Raven Rock's governor seems to not want any trouble around his town. Bringing too many men into the town is not good news. Two boats of men mean we either sacrifice the luggage we can transport by boats or we send a decent number of people with their luggage on… still, that was no problem for me.
"Before we take the boats, did you find a port?"
"Yes, to the east outside Raven Rock, there is a platform for ships. We will drop anchor there."
"Good, gather enough supplies for me, my family, Wulfur, Bjorna and ten Troopers."
"That much?"
"Just do it."
Ongeim nodded and turned to the crew.
"You heard the Boss. Do what he said."
In around five minutes, everything was ready in front of me. I aimed my fist forward and all those things got sucked into the Haven Ring.
The men opened their eyes wide but they didn't figure out what happened.
"It is Magic, something not any mage can cast." I explained.
The men started making understanding remarks with their faces. Anything I come up with and call it magic is believable for them.
"Okay, to the boats. Ongeim, take the ship and wait for us outside the town. I will send you your assignments later."
"Understood, Boss."
The two groups got separated on the ship and the boats and we started rowing to Raven Rock town.
***
The air was ashen brown and its smell was that of a burned wood, it was a bit suffocating but we covered our faces with normal covers.
These were the ashes of the Red Mountain, the largest volcano in the continent. I kept looking at the east gazing at that large mountain where a thick pillar of ash rose to the sky. Vvardenfell could be seen all the way from here, it was large enough to be considered an independent country on its own, the home of the Dark Elves.
In front of me, however, was Raven Rock, a colony built by the East Empire Company on the southern coast of Solstheim back in 3E 427, once a mining outpost, it is now Dark Elf colony. A far cry from the prosperous mining town of the past, Raven Rock has become a mostly forgotten settlement Due to the mines drying up and due to the waters being polluted from the ash coming out of the Red Mountain, the town has become something similar to Winterhold from two years ago with fewer ruins and very few trading ships coming by to sell their supplies. Also, after the mass Dunmer migration in the early Fourth Era, it has taken on a heavy Dunmer influence in its governing and culture. House Redoran is an established presence and their banners adorn the walls outside the town.
As the boats approached the port, we saw the ashen walls that surrounded the town. The place seemed desolate and otherworldly in the first look but I felt that I really was happy being here.
"Jull, we are outside the Empire and Skyrim. Solstheim is Morrowind land." I held Jull's hand who was beside me.
She smiled with one side and shook her head.
"It's alien to me. I have never seen such a strange land in my life. Skyrim is all I know."
Of course that would be her reply, stupid me.
"Well, we can sightsee for a while before we start our important business." Alina said with a cheerful tone.
"We will."
She was on my other side and looked really beautiful.
"Hooman, I hate this."
Nefertiti, however, was super annoyed. I forced her to be in her Human Form and to wear human clothes, in addition to the alien land we are entering, she was clearly out of her comfort zone.
"Don't worry about it and stop calling me Hooman. You will be Alina's sister and you will call me Jon from now on, understood?"
She didn't reply and looked away.
Okay, time to use it.
I took off the Haven Ring from my hands and transformed it into a cube then into an amulet.
"Here, can you keep this for me?" I put the Haven Amulet around her neck.
Nefertiti's eyes widened and kept looking at the amulet while holding it in her tiny hands. She then looked at me with innocent expressions and nodded.
One thing I discovered about Nefertiti is how much she likes to keep stuff. You can give her anything to keep and she will love you for life. I am not sure where is this coming from but she would treasure any responsibility I give her which is not a cat thing at all, still, I am glad she feels happy about it.
Now, we four were looking cool in our super expensive clothes. Alina, Jullanar and Nefertiti wore custom dresses from Solitude and looked as beautiful as ever. Alina had a red dress and Jull had a blue one, both were made in the Cyrodilic style. Nefertiti had a custom black dress which fit her perfectly. I also wore a very expensive mage robe that gave off my title as an official mage from the College of Winterhold and had a big cloak over it.
House Dare rules.
As soon as we landed on the wooden dock, a Dark Elf man with an arrogant face and expensive clothes, that reflected his age and status, came towards us with some armored guards behind him.
"I don't recognize you, so I'll assume this is your first visit to Raven Rock, Outlander. State your intentions."
Well, nobles!
"My name is Jon Dare, Chief Executive Officer of the Dare Dragon Trading Company in Winterhold as well as its Thane, these are my fiancees Alina and Jullanar, this here is Nefertiti of House Dare, My brother Wulfur and his fiancee Bjorna. My intentions are to trade my goods and also looking for a possibility to make a trading partnership with Morrowind's Great House Redoran."
"... Trading? This time? And Winterhold? Last time I heard of Winterhold was that it is a desolate land with only a College of a long history and ruins… of a long history too."
"Haha! True true, however, all that was until the last two years. The Dare Dragon Company has taken upon itself the mission of rebuilding Winterhold. I can say that you guys are having a rougher time here compared to Winterhold."
"Is that so? Well, it will remain to be seen. But you have picked one of the worst places in Morrowind to do trading, still, suit yourself."
"Thank you."
"What are your goods?"
"Cotton, Wheat, Mead, Honey, Leather and Furs from Skyrim. Rice and Wine from Cyrodiil."
"..." The Dark Elf looked at me speechless.
My company is that rich and we kept a lot of good relations with the traders in Windhelm, Solitude and Dawnstar, actually, we are filthy rich compared to Raven Rocks government.
"Ehem, Sir Jon, is that how you are called?"
"It is."
"Sir Jon, as the Second Councilor of Raven Rock, I, Adril Arano welcome you sir to Raven Rock."
That's one big change of attitude!
"Thank you, Second Councilor."
"Raven Rock has a lot to offer from gemstones to different kinds of ores and alchemy ingredients that an esteemed mage such as yourself would be interested in. Please, this way."
Unlike my wild attitude in Winterhold, I used manners and money to wow the second head of Raven Rock. After all, money makes the man, as well as good clothes, beautiful women and a lot of armored men in the background.
But the most important thing is Manners.
Manners Maketh Man... bitches!