Curtis and Marcella Ventus's second child was born on the 20th of Sun's Dawn, 4E 176. The Great War had just ended, the world was hurting and in need of graceful, loving people, so they were happy to welcome a child born under the Lover into the world. Except she wasn't born under the Lover. While Sun's Dawn is the Lover's month, the Serpent was seen in the sky on the night of the child's birth. The hopeful parents named their child Aurelia, after the Hero of Kvatch from whom she was directly descended and shared the birthsign.

It was always believed that Serpents were the most blessed as well as the most cursed. This led Curtis and Marcella to believe that their daughter would go on to do great things. And it was apparent from an early age that Aurelia was bursting with potential. At age four, she could read better than her brother, who was three years older than her. At age eight, she could beat both of her parents at a game of chess. At age twelve, she had discovered a new way to augment 'weakness to magic' poisons. The girl was a genius. This would have thrilled her parents if she wasn't also restless, unpredictable and downright reckless.

As soon as she learned how to walk, she rarely kept still. They had to build new shelves simply to keep everything out of her reach. Most toddlers were content to simply stare vacantly at nothing, but Aurelia's mind needed constant stimulation, or she would throw tantrums out of boredom. Fortunately, because of her intelligence, they were able to begin her lessons in reading and arithmetic early. And as soon as she learned to read, she read everything she could get her hands on. Curtis and Marcella had made a modest living as book merchants, and they were grateful that they were, for books were one of the few things that kept her sitting still, and there were few subjects that didn't interest her.

Although many subjects interested her, alchemy was her first real love. By the time she was nine, she had read many books on the subject and was eager to try it out herself. Her parents thought it would be a harmless enough activity for her to try, so they bought her an alchemy station and a few ingredients in hopes that it would sate her seemingly insatiable desire to learn. However, instead of sating her appetite, encouraging it only seemed to whet it further. She would search every nook and cranny of the Imperial City for ingredients. For the most part, Curtis and Marcella didn't mind except for the days that she would come home sick from tasting new ingredients, or bruised and bloody from being mauled by the skeevers she would test her potions on.

While she would occasionally play with the other children living in the Imperial City, she was under no delusion that any of them were her friends. In fact, many of them bullied her. Most of the time she didn't mind, possibly because she felt she deserved it. The other children bored her, as they were far less intelligent than she was, and she wasn't afraid to tell them so. She only played with them because her parents would get on her tail if she didn't. They insisted she behave like a normal child, even though it was clear to all that she wasn't. In fact, she was so odd that normal attempts at bullying didn't work on her. One child dropped a spider into her hair in an attempt to frighten her, only for her to pick it up and ask the child if she knew what its alchemical properties were.

Occasionally, her older brother Atticus would stand up for her, if he was feeling generous. Other days, he would join in and bully her along with the others. Aurelia couldn't help but notice that the days he joined in were usually the days that Atticus was having trouble with his lessons and their parents made her help him. Whatever. It's not like his bullying or anyone else's actually hurt her. They were usually just words, and words from such feeble minds meant nothing to her.

But even more frightening than her nonchalance was her vengeance, for she did have a problem with bullying when it was more than just words. One boy in particular, Claudio, who was three years older and much bigger than her, had taken to stealing her sweet rolls whenever he saw her with one. She told her parents and they told her that she should resolve the issue herself, because it would be a good chance to improve her negotiation skills. That's what they told her anyway. Aurelia suspected that the real reason was because the boy was the son of an important business associate of theirs and they didn't want to cause trouble. However, stealing her sweet rolls was a minor nuisance compared to one particular incident. She had been carrying a book through the park, and Claudio thought it would be funny to wrench it from her hands and ruin it by throwing it into a pile of mud. This book was one that her parents were intending to sell, and they punished her harshly. She was eleven at this time and was growing increasingly confident in her alchemy skills. So one day she decided to buy her sweet roll and made sure to walk a path that she knew he frequented. As predicted, he devoured it as soon as he got his hands on it. While he was still licking his fingers, he began to retch, and he continued to retch as he ran home. Her parents were not happy when they found out.

"You poisoned Claudio Pandolfo?" Curtis growled at her when she entered the house that night.

"Relax, it's not deadly. Just a little something to upset the stomach, I'm sure he's stopped retching by now." Aurelia said nonchalantly as she set her bag of alchemy ingredients down by the table "What's for dinner?"

"I'm debating whether or not I should even let you have dinner after what you pulled. Claudio's parents are not happy." Marcella said, her tone pointed as she cut up some carrots.

"You told me to take care of it myself, and I did. I'm fairly certain he won't be trying to steal my sweet rolls anymore." Aurelia said, her tone still uncaring.

"We didn't tell you to poison him!" Curtis yelled.

"Technically, I didn't poison him, he poisoned himself. If he had learned to keep his hands to himself, like he should have been doing this whole time, there wouldn't be any problem here." Her nonchalance was turning into annoyance.

"Look, Aurelia, we understand that he was bothering you, but we must all try to get along." Marcella said, trying to keep her voice calm.

"I was getting along just fine. Claudio was the one who decided to harass me. If you want to grovel in submission to the Pandolfos, that's your business, but leave me out of it!" Aurelia snapped, her anger becoming unrestrained.

Curtis also could not restrain his anger "Aurelia, go to your room! You will go to bed hungry tonight!"

"I'm not even hungry anyway!" Aurelia shouted as she stormed off to her room.

That was a lie, she was very hungry, but she was too proud to admit it. It wasn't her fault her parents were so pathetic. Living in the merchant's district of the Imperial City, most people she knew were merchants and she thought they were all pathetic. She had seen how they became slaves to the pursuit of money and power. She didn't know whether or not her parents had ever entertained the thought of her taking over the family business, but surely they knew by now that it would never happen. She hated business and politics, for in these realms it seemed intelligence and capability meant nothing, only who you knew and how much money you had, and to Oblivion with justice and dignity. If there was any justice, Claudio would be the one in trouble right now, not her. Or maybe Claudio's parents just cared about him more than her parents cared about her.

While Aurelia and her parents didn't hate each other, their inability to understand each other certainly put a strain on their relationship. They loved and looked out for each other, like any dutiful family member would, but Aurelia never felt close to them, and she knew it was the same for them. In fact, she knew that it was more than simply not being close, she wasn't really wanted. She had always suspected it, but she knew for sure one particular day when she was thirteen. She had decided not to go out to collect ingredients that day, but instead, opted to stay home and read a book on magical theory that her parents came across. She wanted to finish it before her parents found a buyer. She decided to leave her room to get something to eat, and just as she was about to start descending the stairs, she heard her father's voice.

"Marcella, dear, have you gone to the Arcane University yet to find a buyer for that rare book on magical theory?"

"Not yet, we actually had quite a few customers, so I didn't have the time to leave the store. Besides, Aurelia has it."

"Ah yes, where is Aurelia?"

"She usually goes out to collect ingredients around this time, doesn't she?"

"Ah yes, no wonder it's so quiet around here."

Marcella laughed "Yes, you know I love our daughter, but the strange noises that are always coming from her alchemy station and her room can make it difficult to relax. I'm surprised she hasn't burned the house down yet."

"That's right, she's been messing around with magic now. Can't we send her to study at the Arcane University?"

"They're certainly interested in her, she really dazzled them last year when she presented them a new way to augment a certain type of poison. But they were hesitant to accept someone so young."

"That's a shame, I'm sure she'd love it there, where she could be paid to cause trouble."

Marcella laughed "I'm sure she will when she comes of age, for now we can only dream of peace and quiet."

"Although if she's too much of a problem, they may kick her out. She is a bit of a nuisance."

"Yes, but we can only hope."

Aurelia slowly backed away from the foot of the stairs and returned to her room. She'd get something to eat later. She tried to return to her book, but she was only able to stare blankly at the pages for a few moments. Then slowly, a smile spread across her face and she began to laugh, but not too loudly, or else her parents would hear. Her parents did not want her around, and she didn't want to be around. This was perfect.

No longer able to focus on the book she was reading, she scanned her own personal bookshelf. As soon as she came of age, she would get out of the Imperial City and never look back, but where would she go? The sandy ruins of Elseweyre? The massive forests of Valenwood? Morrowind, where netches roamed the desolate land and the mushrooms were as tall as trees? She would just have to see them all, but for now, she picked up a book on Cyrodiil's geography, for it made the most sense to see what beauty her own country had to offer before going anywhere else.

But if she was going to travel Tamriel, she had to learn to fight. So she spent much of her teen years training in both magic and blade combat. She admired many mages in her history books, such as Galerion and Shalidor, but she also admired warriors, like Ysgramor. So she decided to pursue both paths and call herself a battle-mage. Those who knew her were surprised when she started learning blades and archery, they thought she was going to strictly study magic. Well, that just showed how well they actually knew her. Studying both magic and blades was the most practical thing to do, as it was most prudent to have many tools at one's disposal, if one was to survive this harsh life.

She would also need coin if she was going to travel. Although this was an easy task for her. Her parents often paid her to crunch numbers for them, since she could do it far more quickly than they could. Not only that, but she could easily make money selling her potions. Of course coin was necessary for traveling expenses, but more importantly, she needed to buy a horse. In addition to a lot of time learning combat skills and making coin, she also spent a lot of time at the stables, working in exchange for riding lessons. When Aurelia was sixteen, there was a new dapple-grey filly at the stables. She gave Aurelia an affectionate nibble on her hand when she approached her for the first time. Aurelia did not believe in love at first sight until that moment. The day that she had finally saved up enough money to buy her was one of the happiest in her life. She named the horse Fauna. All she needed now was an excuse to leave, and the perfect opportunity came up one night when she was home alone having dinner with her mother.

"Good news, I got a letter from your father today, he found a buyer for the entire collection of Stella Pandolfo's works in Cheydinhal, and they're willing to pay quite a lot for it."

"That's great, mom." Aurelia had learned by now to at least pretend she was interested in the family business.

"The only problem is, it's a big collection and a courier would ask a lot of money to send it over."

Aurelia dropped her fork "I'll deliver it to Cheydinhal for free!"

"I don't think so. It's dangerous out there."

"I'm dangerous too."

"As skilled as you are, you're only seventeen."

"Exactly, I'm seventeen and I've never left the Imperial City. We all have to start somewhere right? And Cheydinhal isn't that far away. Besides, this is a win-win situation. I get to see more of Cyrodiil and you get to save money" and have me out of the house for awhile she thought to herself.

"Well, I suppose you're right. But be careful, and don't stray from the main road."

"Of course! Thank you so much! You won't regret it!"

The day she left the Imperial City gates for the first time was a memory that would make her smile until her last day on Nirn. The wind was strong that day, but rather than howling aggressively, it seemed to be calling her excitedly like an old friend and beckoning her to follow it. As she gazed at the untamed beauty of Nirn before her, how could she not heed the wind's call? So she took off her shoes and ran as Fauna trotted along behind her. The chilled dew-covered grass that kissed her feet as she ran almost felt as good as the wind that was coursing through her, invigorating her body, mind, and soul.

Aurelia never realized how deeply she loved nature until this day. Out here, there were no business or politics, only life and freedom. She didn't know how long she ran, but when the time felt right, she collapsed on the ground and laughed until she cried. She had never felt a joy so deep that it felt as if her very soul was laughing. Still smiling, she got up, got on Fauna's back and began her first journey.

But Cheydinhal was not as far away as she had hoped, and she arrived in just over a week. She housed Fauna at the local stables and found her father having dinner at the local inn.

"Aurelia, good to see you made it in one piece. I was getting worried, it shouldn't have taken you this long to get here with your horse."

"Yeah, well, I may have gotten lost a few times." Aurelia scratched the back of her neck guiltily as she sat down across from him.

"How did you get lost? The main road is pretty straightforward."

"I'm sure it is."

Curtis sighed heavily "You didn't stick to the main road did you?"

"Well, I've never seen this part of the country before, I just wanted to explore it, it's so beautiful and I've read that it's a good place to find certain ingredients…"

"Honestly, girl, you're going to get yourself killed one day." He huffed another heavy sigh "But your mother and I will discuss this later. Do you have the shipment?"

"Right here." She dropped the bag on the table, grateful to change the subject.

Curtis began to rifle through them. "Excellent, excellent, good work. So this is your first time leaving the Imperial City, isn't it? How do you like Cheydinhal?"

"It's lovely. I see why you enjoy coming here."

Curtis laughed "I enjoy coming here because there's quite a bit of coin to be made here."

Aurelia sighed. Typical of her father, to come to such a pretty city and not even appreciate it. "We're rather close to the Morrowind border, aren't we?"

"Yes, that's why you see a lot of Dunmer here."

"Have you ever been to Morrowind?"

"No, don't really have any need to. I don't have any business associates there."

"You've never wanted to go just to see it?"

"Not really."

"Well, I think I'd like to."

Curtis furrowed his brow at her "Right now?"

"Well, obviously not right this minute, but since I'm here in Cheydinhal, I figure, why not?"

"I'll tell you why not. You're only seventeen, you're still just a girl."

"I bet I could beat Atticus in a fight."

"Your brother is a legionnaire."

"And I'm a battle-mage."

"You're not going, and that's the end of it. My room is up the stairs, second from the left. We'll stay tonight and we'll leave in the morning. Now, my client is anxious to get his goods, I'll be back shortly. Here's a few Septims, get yourself something to eat." He set a few coins on the table and then got up and left before she could argue.

As she watched her father go out the door, it occurred to her that he couldn't really stop her. She could feed herself, shelter herself, defend herself, and make her own coin. She didn't need them, and if she didn't need them, they had no power over her. So she went up to her father's room, put a note on the dresser, got Fauna and left for Morrowind.

Morrowind was unlike any place she had ever visited. Well, because she had never been anywhere else besides the Imperial City and more recently Cheydinhal, but still, she was impressed. The landscape was so strange and desolate looking, and yet she was eager to get lost in it. Her small adventure to Cheydinhal had turned into a large one as she wandered further and further north. And yet the further north she went, the more incessant the gnawing guilt became. Even if she could take care of herself, it was selfish of her to run off like that. Her parents were probably worried. She'd just have to think of a way to make it up to them. Two months after she left Cheydinhal, she walked through the doors of her parent's house.

"Aurelia! What in Oblivion were you thinking, running off to a foreign country alone like that? Are you alright? Curtis! Aurelia's home!" Marcella couldn't seem to make up her mind as to whether or not she should be relieved or livid as she grasped her daughter's shoulders. "Well, what do you have to say for yourself?"

"You had no need to be worried, I was fine. I had a lot of fun, too. Well, there was that incident in which I was almost sacrificed to Vaermina by some of her followers…"

"What?!" Curtis had just appeared from the other room.

"Relax, I'm obviously still here, right? And look, I even got this from them, after I killed them all, of course." She pulled a large tome out of her bag.

"Is… Is that a copy of the Dreamstride?" Curtis said as he closed the distance between them.

"You can have it if you want. I've already read it and taken notes. In fact, I came across lots of rare books and items." She started gingerly taking everything out of her bag. Not only were there books, but jewelry, ancient relics and weapons. All of which looked valuable. "Look, I'm sorry I lied to you, but you can have all this stuff if it helps make up for it."

"By the Eight! Look at all this! How old do you think this is, Curtis?"

"I'm pretty sure this item dates back to the first era, the rest, I have no idea."

When they were done being awestruck by the treasures Aurelia brought home, Marcella slowly turned to her daughter "So, you really took on a cult of Vaermina by yourself?"

"Technically Fauna helped me, kicked a few of them in the face." She said with a chuckle, feeling relieved that it was sounding like her parents were forgiving her.

"That's impressive. Not many adults could do that, much less a teenage girl. I suppose you are getting to an age where you should be making your own decisions." Curtis said.

Aurelia lit up. She gave each of her parents a hug before going to bed.

From that day forward, Aurelia barely spent any time at her parents' home. When she wasn't holed up in her quarters doing research at the Arcane University, she was traveling Tamriel. Wherever she went, she sent gifts to her parents, and in exchange, she would call upon them if she needed gold or books. Although she rarely needed gold. Between her potion-making and whatever odd jobs she found to do while traveling, she never seemed to have much financial problems. This was her life for many years until late summer of 4E 201. She had just gotten back from a trip to Black Marsh when she decided to pay her parents a visit.

"Aurelia! Come in, have you heard the news?" Marcella said as soon as she opened the door.

"What news?" Aurelia said as she stepped into the house.

"Skyrim is embroiled in a civil war! One of their jarls, a man by the name of Ulfric Stormcloak has killed the High King of Skyrim and is leading a rebellion to secede from the Empire!" Curtis said gravely from his seat at the table.

"Huh, that is indeed grave news. I hope they settle it quickly."

"The emperor, needless to say, is not happy, they've sent in the Legion to take care of it." Marcella said, her tone taking a heavy shift "Atticus left a few weeks ago."

"Hm, divines protect him." She wasn't entirely sure why the Legion should get involved. If Skyrim wanted to secede from the empire, wasn't that their business? But she knew to keep her mouth shut, as politics were not her strong suit.

"Actually, Aurelia, why don't you join the Legion as well and help bring this war to a swift end?" Curtis said slowly and cautiously.

Aurelia laughed "You don't actually think I could end a war, do you?"

"Why not? You've done all sorts of amazing things on your travels." Curtis said.

"I've taken on a few bandits, thieves, cultists, and the like, but ending a war is something completely different. Besides, you know how I feel about being a soldier."

"But you wouldn't have to be a soldier. I bet with your brains, you'd rise up to the rank of general in no time." Marcella said.

"I'm sure they already have a general dealing with the conflict."

"Please, Aurelia, I don't want to lose our son to this pointless conflict." Marcella said.

But you have no problem risking your daughter? But she didn't say this out loud, she knew that they'd simply say that she'd been in so many dangerous situations that they had no reason to worry about her. Or something like that. "The conflict is pointless, is it? Why exactly is this Stormcloak and his followers rebelling?"

"Something about their Nord way of life being at risk? I'm not even certain of the details, but I know that the Nords were particularly upset about the conditions of the White-Gold Concordat. Although it is entirely possible that this Stormcloak fellow is simply seeking the throne for himself." Curtis said.

"Yeah, people tend to do things like that." Aurelia said.

"So will you go to Skyrim?" Marcella said.

"I think I've made it quite clear that I won't." Aurelia said.

"So you're just going to let your brother get killed?" Marcella said, growing increasingly desperate.

"Don't you dare try to guilt trip me into this. First of all, there is no guarantee that my intervention will save his life. Second, this is what Atticus signed up for. He made the decision to join the Legion, he knew he may have to go to war because of it." She knew her parents were just desperate and terrified of losing their son, their normal child. But still, this level of irrationality was grating on her nerves.

Her parents were silent for a moment, until Curtis said "Will you at least think about it before you head off to gods know where?"

"Fine, but if you'll excuse me, it's been a long journey, I'm going to retire to my room for the night."

And Aurelia did think about it, but she didn't think about joining the Legion, she thought about going to Skyrim. She had never been there before, but she had read about it. She read that it was cold, but it looked beautiful in pictures, with the snow-covered mountains and evergreen trees scattered among golden grasses. She also knew there were Dwemer ruins dotting the landscape, and even a Dwemer museum in one of the major cities. There were crypts filled with frightening creatures called draugr, a subject that had always fascinated her. She had even heard that Skyrim had a pretty good mage's college with a huge library. Yeah, maybe a trip to Skyrim would be a good idea. The next morning, she told her parents her plans.

"I've been thinking about what you said, and I think you're right. Going to Skyrim would be a good idea. I think I can do a lot of good there." Aurelia said.

"Really?" Curtis said, honestly surprised that they had convinced her "Well, alright then, stay safe. When are you leaving?"

"I'm going to spend a few hours preparing, and then I'll leave today. I promise I'll write you as often as I can."

Leaving for a trip on such short notice wasn't unusual for Aurelia, and she used this to her advantage. Her parents may not have been at her level of intelligence, but they weren't stupid. They would quickly figure out that she had not actually intended to join the Legion and would try to further persuade her to. Not that she would have listened, but she would rather not deal with it if she didn't have to.

She was ready to leave by a little after noon.

"Ok, Aurelia. Stay safe, look after your brother if you come across him, and for the love of the Eight, stay on the road! I don't care what alchemy ingredients you think are nearby!" Marcella said.

"Oh Mother, don't worry, I do have some self-control. I promise you, nothing will keep me from exploring Skyrim." She gave each of them a hug and a kiss and hurried out of sight to the stables.

"Curtis, dear, what did she say just before she left? 'Nothing will keep me from exploring Skyrim'?" Marcella said.

"I believe so, what of it?" Curtis said.

"Hm, that's what I thought." Marcella said bitterly.

Curtis was silent for a moment as the realization of what his wife was implying settled in. "She's not going to join the Legion to help end the civil war, is she?"

"I doubt it." Marcella said.

Curtis sighed heavily "Damn it all to Oblivion."