I have to confess I’ve been easter-egging one of my favorite authors all over the place and it’s pretty apparent in this one.
11. Cyrelian– Acts of War: Solitude 6
February 23, 2018
Stories and screenshots from Skyrim– many NSFW
So now I guess the comments are accepting my fake email address.
Anywho, great chapter! I’d forgotten all about Gilgondoron, annoying little bugger. 🙂 I have to admit I’m curious as to when Cyrelian is going to cave in to the illness he’s been feeling from trying to heal himself. I have a feeling it’s not gonna be pretty.
Between you and Furb, I’ve been enjoying great stories! 🙂
Aww!
And yep, it’s not going to be much fun for poor Cyrelian. He’s got a while longer. I’m still working on getting him out of Solitude! Argh.
Busy struggling to write another love scene. You’ll have to let me know if I missed the mark in the Respite chapter. I have a renewed respect for any author who can write that stuff, it’s difficult and it always makes me feel weird.
Great chapter as always. My favorite image was the recollection of the Dibella shrine, and I think you described Cyrelian and Ahtar’s…disrupted? No. I can’t think of the word. Their intimacy, though. It was sweet and soft.
It’s good to read him again…though I’m going backwards now (it’s no bigs, I’ve gotten enough glimpses to not be terribly lost, plus sometimes backwards is the best forwards). I was stuck with Rei, but I’m inspired 🙂
I’m glad you liked it. I had cut that Dibella pic from the Saturalia piece as it was getting long, and I really liked the image… and then I couldn’t figure out why on earth an Altmer lady would even have such a thing in the house…
My favorite-though it may not be easy to see, and I didn’t catch it till I was cleaning up the shot in GIMP– is the one where Ahtar is sitting up on the bed in Cyr’s arms in bed below the snowberry wreath. On the bookshelf below is a Thalmor mini-mannekin in full dress.
I had no idea it was even there. Mad props to Jokerine.
This was a bloody great chapter, and words are kind of evading me, so a lot of this is basically the Greatest Hits with things I liked about each part, heh.
“I’d showed him what Jala had said of course, and touched his face similarly; he inhaled sharply and the amber of his eyes shone near-gold. When he bit at the heel of my hand I cried out, and he had to catch me when my knees gave.
I had assumed Jala’s gift was a gift to me.
I was severely annoyed with myself for wasting the gift I had been given.” – I loved this entire part. The imagery was gorgeous, and Cyr’s little aside at the end was perfect. The whole part of this chapter that focused on Cyr and Ahtar was wonderful – intimate, sensual and with a vulnerability that makes them so realistic and intriguing.
“May Stuhn the god of ransom free me; it is Gilgondoron and his demands again.” – This line made me laugh out loud.
“Outside later I saw the night shift lining up for the second batch of tomato bread.
I noted the need to make profuse apologies to Vana and Mariel.
That promise of tomato bread had bought us one detailed message to Jehanna Harbor and to Tullius, via Jala’s ship. Doling out said tomato bread had bought Mariel and Corpulus a peaceable surrender.” – I loved this callback. Yep, I bet he does feel the need to apologise, but he’s right. It had more impact than inside the city walls. Really nicely written passage, this one.
“”He said they’d spike elf heads up– by the ears!” Gilgondoron was upset enough to talk of ears, which is uncouth.
“Ow,” I agreed, and rubbed my right ear in feigned sympathy, since his crudeness gave me leeway. It was a little tender. So was my neck. I fought down the rush of heat.” – This bit was both wonderfully stiff-upper-lip Cyr and sexytimes Cyr, and it was delicious.
Ah! The first appearance of Marcus, too. Putting out the Solitude Lighthouse fire, no less. Some absolutely brilliant lines from Cyrelian here – he really wasn’t happy with Gil, and no wonder. The screenshots were especially gorgeous here, too, and not just because they had our favourite Imperial trade in em.
“”Jorluf is doubtless counting the hours until he can hand this city over to Ulfric or Tullius, and you’re just turned over his glass,” I said. My head hurt. My sides hurt. My gut hurt. I was revulsed. Oblivion take Gilgondoron.
“So obviously you’ve kept your asset busy.” I said. What’s your problem now? He need to get paid?”
Gods know that would be an exercise in ingenuity. Current accounting: four septims and a piece of green glass.” – This might have been my favourite part overall. Brilliant, dry humour from Cyr, as well as punchy, visceral prose.
I’m not sure who’s more fucked – Gil for being assigned to shadow some pirates, or Cyr for inadvertently ringleading the whole thing.
Hehe, I am glad that you liked it. This chapter was a call-out to a favorite chapter of a science-fiction book, The Vor Game… in which the protagonist is essentially told “Follow the Captain’s orders…” which he willfully misunderstands as “Do what the captain was told to do” rather than “Do as the captain says.” It’s a brilliant book.
So now we have that genius Gil running around doing what the First Emissary was told to do…oh boy.
And of course Jala’s gift was a gift to Ahtar, lol. It’ll get called out later.