The story of Rodhan: Part 3

    Rodhans next memory is of darkness.  He stood to his feet in order to grasp his surroundings, but was unable to see or hear anything.  Then he heard a booming voice from within his very soul, "MU  MeyZ  NaaL NOROK ViiNG , MU  MeyZ VOTH STaaDNAU AO, FIN LeiN  LOS  Fah DOVah."  Rodhan turned to find the source of the voice.  All he saw there in the darkness were two burning eyes.

    As soon as Rodhan saw the eyes, he was back in the forest.  He was back at camp, but what he saw with his eyes was not what he remembered.  There was blood and ash everywhere, charred and dismembered corpses were all that remained of Garrick's men.  Cyrus' body was laying in the center of the destruction.  Untouched, as if it was the eye of the storm that had burned everything else.  "Do you remember?"  Rodhan turned to see Elenwen behind him.  She looked at him and said, "I asked you, do you remember what happend here?"  Rodhan shook his head, for he did not know what had killed the other men, or what had caused the camp to burn.  "The time for us to talk has come sooner than I had hoped, but it will have to wait a little longer.  We must first honor Cyrus' sacrifice."

    That night, they built a funeral pyre, and placed Cyrus' body atop the structure.  As Rodhan when to light the fire, he was stopped by Elenwen.  "Please, may I have a moment alone with him?"  Rodhan walked to nearby lake to collect his thoughts and give Elenwen some time.  While he was sitting there, he could almost hear singing coming from where the pyre was.  He couldnt understand the words, but the melody was beautiful.  Not long after the singing stopped, he heard Elenwen approaching from behind.  She looked at him and said "It is time" and turned back towards the pyre.  Rodhan thought he saw tears streaming down her face, but he didnt ask her about them.  Though she did not wish to show it, Cyrus' death was affecting her in a terrible way.  Rodhan and Elenwen lit the pyre, said a prayer, and watched for a while.  Once all that was left was a pile of ash, Elenwen motioned for Rodhan to follow.

    They walked for several days without speaking.  They finally stopped near Bruma, and Elenwen spoke for the first time since Cyrus' funeral, "It is time you knew the truth."  She paused to gather her thoughts, then for the first time, she spoke to Rodhan with genuine concern in her voice.  "On the day we found you, Cyrus took you in, bathed you, tore his own garments to clothe you, and asked me to heal your wounds.  He truly was a kind man."  A single tear rolled down her cheek as she spoke of Cyrus.  "From the first time I saw you, I knew.  There is something within you.  It is an unbelievably powerful force, and I was afraid.  Over the years, while I was teaching you, I was also sealing the power away.  This is why you always felt that you were seperated from your magic.  It is also why i never taught you any destruction magic."

    Rodhan could do nothing but stare at her.  Remembering his vision of the voice and contemplating the gravity of the situation.  Elenwen could see the confusion on his face.  "There is one more thing.  This may be the most difficult thing I tell you.  After seeing what you did to the men who killed Cyrus.....The only explanation for what happened to your home village.....is you."  Rodhan couldn't believe what he had just heard.  He took a step back, fell to his knees and, for a moment, was unable to breathe.  He had killed all those people.  He had killed the people who brought him into this world.  He had killed his friends.  He was responsible for the deaths of so many innocent people.  Rodhan began to cry. 

    Once again, showing a kindness he had never seen from the Altmer, she crouched down, put her hand on his shoulder, and whispered, "You should not carry the burden of those deaths.  YOU, did not kill those people.  Rather, it was the force inside of you, erupting far beyond your control."  She stood up and stretched out her hand, "Come now, We have business in Bruma.  I have a friend who may be able to help you."