Morrowind Mod:Tamriel Rebuilt/Peakstar

The waves washed lightly against the shore, bringing in shells, bottles, wood, and bodies. Nothing on the shore could remember where it came from. This was either because the objects were incapable of memory, or because the bodies had no more use for their memories.

A body stirred on the shore. The waves moved it up a few inches further, then brought it back down a few more inches then it had been before. The body stirred again. The waves carry it up the shore again; this time leaving it entrenched upon the sand. The fingers move, the toes begin to wiggle. The head sways from side to side. The eyes open. The waves brought another message to Vvardenfell. But this time the message was not in a bottle. It was the bottle itself. It did not know what its message was. That's what it had to discover.

"Look, Sul-Matuul, there at the peak. The star has risen."

"Yes" replied the Ashkhan. "And once again, the prophecies have failed us."

"No, they have not. They do not say when the incarnate will arrive, nor where. Most of what we believe is what we wanted to believe. The prophecies have been lost, and through the generations, what we remembered has changed. We must look where we would not expect."

"Nibani, look! There at Peakstar!" The Ashkhan pointed towards the great mound. The star had disappeared, as well as those around it. There was a dark shape outlined by the lighter colored sky. The shape was that of a Dunmer.

Do you think The Wise-woman started.

The Urshilaku Ashlanders took the lost Dunmer in as their own. They trained her in the arts of war, medicine, and leadership. The Wise Woman and the Ashkhan, the two tribal leaders, looked to her for hope of their continuation. They named her Peakstar. She would continue on with the prophecies, and not fail where the others had before. She would succeed. She must succeed.

The fall brought many blight storms. The winter brought many blight storms, but it also dropped something else: poisoned rain. The blight was getting worse, infecting the very air with its symptoms.

Nibani, Wise Woman of the Urshilaku, walked to the mound of the prophecies, to Peakstar. Once again, the star had risen to its point. And once again, there was something else on the hill. Nibani walked closer. It was a flower, a fire fern. And it was in full blossom. Nibani smiled and looked back towards Peakstar, the Nerevarine Reincarnate, talking with the Ashkhan.

The blue sky was getting darker. Clouds were moving in from the south, from Red Mountain. The poisoned rain began to fall from the sky. It lasted for nearly an hour. Chores could not be completed, food and livestock was ruined. The sky was turning red, and the rain had finally stopped. Peakstar watched the sky in silence. She knew this storm was going to be a bad one. The clouds had thickened, and they were blood red. The winds began to blow now. Strong winds, dangerous winds, winds that cried through the valleys with the cries of the ash vampires. Nibani and the Ashkhan were sitting in silence as well, though they were not watching the growing storm. They were thinking about the future of the ashlanders, of Vvardenfell. They were hoping that Peakstar would not end up like the others. The winds had grown strong, and the tents began to bend under the force of the winds. The cries grew louder and louder until it seemed that they did not come from the wind any longer. The Ashkhan heard this, too, and he grew terrified.

"Protect the camp! Don't let them through!" Peakstar began to give the warriors their orders for the battle. The ash vampires had used the cover of the blight storms to approach on the camp. They attacked first by raining spears and arrows down upon them unexpectedly. The Urshilaku replied with a volley of their own, along with a few spells. Then they sent out their bravest warriors. The Urshilaku did not have many. Most had died fighting the intangible blight. What they had then might not have been enough. Peakstar joined the battle as soon as possible. She ran into the middle of the fighting swinging her staff around with pure skill. She knew where to hit, and when to block. She knew when to cast a spell on her enemies, and when to heal her friends. She knew where to lead her warriors and the tactics they would need in order to defeat their enemies. She had been trained to lead Morrowind, and that duty started with the Ashlanders. Peakstar looked promising.

The battle ended with the retreat of the ash vampires, though the battle had come at a heavy price to the Urshilaku. Many were forced to leave the camp to look for trade in the more civilized areas of Vvardenfell. The size of the camp decreased considerably, and the danger to those remaining had increased.

The time had come for Peakstar. She had led the Ashlanders through many dangers, protected them from numerous enemies. The Ashkhan and the Wise-woman had come to their decision. Peakstar would be tested. She was given the directions to the Cavern of the Incarnate, where she would put on the ring of Moon-and-Star, and Morrowind would know the Nerevarine once again! Peakstar made it to the cavern safely, and entered through the doors of twilight.

The message had been discovered. Peakstar was not the Nerevarine, but one piece of its whole. She was a promise that the puzzle would someday be complete, and the hopes and prophecies of the ashlanders would come true. The Old Ways would be restored. The waves brought in another message: a freed prisoner with an emperor's decree.