It was the twenty first of First Seed; the festival of the Invocation of Azura.
The city of Blacklight was alive with colour and the sound of music; the twilight glowed from the tall spires of the buildings as the warm glow of the torch fires lit the city streets, and flowers adorned the fountains and street stalls. Happily addled Dunmer danced and flirted in the town square, the young ones wearing the flowers in their hair and drinking too much Shein and Mazte; the more seasoned dark elves sat on their benches along the sidelines, drinking their Sujamma and heckling the efforts of the young men as they tried to procure the affections of the girls. The smell of food and incense wafted pleasantly through the evening air; I smiled as I watched the revellers from my seat next to the door of the corner club and smoked, drinking Sujamma from the jar.

Sahren was drinking in the centre of the square near the fountain, smiling widely as he nursed a bottle of Shein as he stood and watched his amorous friends chase after the sweet-faced young Dunmer girls, uttering proclamations of devotion as they offered traditional tokens of carved ebony Daelhad dolls and flowers.
He stepped backward politely as the more confident of the young ladies approached him, cocking her hips to the side and giving him a suggestive glance as she spoke; I knew why she was interested. Even though he had no Dunmer heritage - he stood out in the crowd of dark elves like a gleaming white beacon in a sea of dark skin - his height was a draw card. He was tall like his father; at only sixteen years old, he was already the same height as I was, and would likely grow taller. And he was reserved and polite like Virdanyis; he didn't take advantage of the opportunities on offer, much to the bewilderment of his friends.

I smirked as I watched the amorous Dunmer girl place her hand on his chest and reach up to twirl a finger around a lock of his long, shiny white hair. I remembered when I was young and the girls would do the same to me, remarking on my height; it wasn't the length of his hair they were interested in.

Thank Azura for that old rumour. It had been assisting the romantic efforts of tall teenagers since time immemorial.

'Dad.'

I heard a sweet chime of high-pitched giggles from the group of young girls on my left side; I pretended not to hear them as I exhaled a long, thin plume of smoke into the air, crossing my legs as I lifted the Sujamma bottle.

'Dad. I need more septims.'

I grinned smugly as I turned to face her, raising an eyebrow. 'Is that so? I thought I gave you plenty a few hours ago. And I don't pay for bad manners, young lady.'

She gave a frustrated sigh, her deep purple eyes burning with embarrassment as her long, messy black hair hung about her shoulders, littered with flower petals. I grinned at her innocently, taking a drink from the Sujamma bottle.

'Please, father, may I have more gold?'

I smiled at her as she stood there in her long red dress, her pale grey skin shimmering with the powdered moonstone all of the girls were wearing these days.

'That's better.' I put the bottle down and reached into my pouch for a generous fistful of coin. 'I'll need you to give me something in return, though. All of those Daelhad dolls you've got in your pockets.'

Her eyes widened as a faint blush appeared on her cheeks.

'Dad! You're embarrassing me!' She whispered harshly.

'Oh, nonsense,' I said brightly. 'I could have demanded a ransom for all of the other ones I found in that little wooden box under your bed. That would be embarrassing. Wouldn't you agree, girls?'

The three Dunmer girls waiting behind Serenwen began to giggle as I smiled and winked at them, and the coins were snatched from my hands.

'Ah ah! What do you say?'

'Thank you, dad.' She leaned over to give me a kiss on the cheek and I returned the gesture.

'Ask your uncle the next time you run out. He'll be here soon. I'm watching you, murhjul.'

I smiled as I watched her skip away with her group of friends. My pride and joy; a perfect blend of her mother and father. And a reason to stay up at night and worry.

I was roused from my pondering by the sight of a tall figure making its way through the crowd; it was Virdanyis, his incredibly long white braid draped around to his front and a genuinely warm smile spread across his handsome face. His scar moved slightly as he went to speak, his Falmer cuirass catching the light of the torches in the town square.

'General!' He shouted out as I stood up from my chair to greet him, a broad smile upon my face. 'You're watching from afar with the old folk now? I never thought I would see it with my own eyes.'

I gripped his right hand firmly and pulled him into a manly embrace, my heart filling with joy at the pleasure of his company. 'You don't have a teenage daughter,' I murmured as I smiled. 'It's like permanent guard duty.'

'Sahren hasn't been giving you trouble?'

'None whatsoever. I wish he'd give me more. He's a teenager too; he should take some guidance from his sister.'

He laughed quietly as we broke the embrace. 'It's good to see you again, friend. It's been too long.'

'That it has. Looks like you've spent all your time growing your hair. Life must be quiet in The Vale nowadays.' I grinned as I picked up the thick braid on his shoulder and dropped it, shaking my head sarcastically.

'We can't all be dashing war heroes with handsome battle scars.' He smiled. 'We heard of your victory in Black Marsh.'

'My men are the true heroes. They did us all proud.' I paused as I observed him. 'I assume you're here for Sahren and Serenwen. For their introduction to the Avatars.'

'Yes.' His voice was quiet and polite; he knew that I was reluctant to let them go. 'Have you informed them?'

'I have. They're both very excited.' I turned my head to watch as Sahren and Serenwen came running up to meet us, their faces lighting up as they saw Virdanyis. 'By the way. I told them you were going to give them money. Don't be a killjoy.' I winked at him as he turned to them and opened his arms wide, a huge smile upon his face.

It was a bittersweet moment.
I watched on patiently as they greeted eachother, exchanging excited words and warm embraces; Sahren and Virdanyis were so much alike that they seemed almost like brothers instead of father and son.

His arrival signalled the dawn of something else for me; something I had been waiting for since I had taken Sahren and Serenwen from The Vale to raise them in Blacklight.

As the three of them basked in each other's company, I quietly slipped away; to begin a different kind of journey. One that I would need to commence in the place where it had all begun; the frozen lake.

'I'm here, sera.'

The night air was still, as always; the torch bugs danced in the same way they always had, as if we had never left, and all the time we had spent away from this place was just a dream.

The shadows began to pool as she manifested; I felt her hands creep over my shoulders as she rose up behind me.

'They have gone to The Vale?', she whispered.

'Yes. They are with Virdanyis now.'

It had taken sixteen years for me to come this far with her; to reach the point where she believed what I had been telling her, what had been transcribed in the letters I had shown her. To make her understand how much I loved her and needed her; to reveal the existence of our children without endangering them.

Sixteen years of secret meetings, without anybody else ever knowing.

We had occasionally fought; we had both walked away with injuries. There was still work to be done.

But in all that time, we had remained at odds in a fundamental way. She was a creature of the night, and far beyond redemption; and I was committed to raising Sahren and Serenwen, to making sure that they grew to become the proud paragons they were always destined to be.

But now my job was done. The new Heralds were about to take their places in the kingdom and begin their training; and I was finally free to cast myself to the wind.

It was time to remove the final barrier; for me to be with her again, as I always should have been.

I felt a powerful intoxication overwhelm me as her hands slid down my arms and she appeared in front of me, her long black eyelashes gleamed in the dim light as her red eyes came to rest upon my neck.

'I love you, Teldryn.'

The words weakened me; I wrapped my arms around her and rested my lips against the cold whiteness of the crook of her neck as I spoke.

'And I love you.'

And as I felt the pain of her long, sharp teeth slowly sinking into my neck, the delirium washed me away completely; there was nothing but her and I.

And now; now we would be together for eternity.