An Early Grave (Lucien)

 A/N: Happy spooky season and happy Halloween it's a two post in one day event for the occasion :)

The burial practices of the Dunmer have always fascinated me, as they do not bury their dead in the way we do in the west. Rather, they cremate their dead and keep the ashes in highly decorated ceremonial urns, or pits of ash and bone. “From the ash, and to the ash returned.” Valan once told me, as a way of summarizing. I didn’t think my own remains would end up the same way, or that I would take to such an early grave. My body was so broken burying it would take more time and money than cremation, and so now my ashes sit on a shelf in the sanctuary…most of them anyways, some had been returned to High Rock, and scattered into the Iliac Bay, one of the few places I had fond memories of from my childhood. In my current state I have found that more people than expected have too met an early demise, whether through battle, foul play, or simply natural causes. The spirits of Falkreath have many interesting stories to tell. While primarily Nordic, Breton, and Imperial there are a few Altmer spirits interred in the blood soaked ground. Within the confines of the graveyard there is also a tiny Dunmeri ancestral shrine, an almost lantern shaped stone structure no more than a foot tall encircled with a small pit of ash. Compared to the ancient gravestones that have fallen into disrepair and become covered with moss, the shrine is almost pristine. Late one night while the rest of the town sleeps, and the members of the Falkreath sanctuary either rest or plot their next moves, I wander through the graveyard, paying respects to the dead, and cleaning the graves if I can. Not many of the spirits of the dead buried here are out tonight, only a few walk the empty streets unseen by the guards on patrol. Many are old warriors who perished in one of the countless battles that took place in this otherwise sleepy town. The ghostly dog that guards the graveyard, who I have taken to calling Grim, helps with cleaning the headstones and tending to the graves as well as alerting should guards pass by. While the guards can see me due to my rather unique nature, they don’t seem to be overly surprised, and most ignore me. Either that, or they’re intimidated by the large black dog growling at them in the darkness, I don’t know, nor do I particularly care. As the night continues on Grim and I sit in the graveyard for a bit to rest when I notice a single figure come riding into town and as he passes I recognize it’s Everan. He must be passing through to Riverwood to meet with Delphine, the poor excuse for a Blades agent. I consider calling out to him but it is late and I do not want to startle him, he is likely tired, and so I let him pass without disturbance. Shortly after I sense something is off, I hear what sounds like humming, and Grim gets up from where he had been laying and starts trotting off in the direction of the small shrine. Scrambling to my feet I quickly follow the large dog until we come upon a strange sight. Sitting on the stones by the shrine looking in the direction of the inn is a young girl, who seems almost familiar, her face illuminated by the light of a lantern placed next to her. “Do I know you?” I ask the girl “You look familiar.” At that she turns to me and Grim, who goes up to her and puts his head in her lap, awaiting pets. “I don’t think so. What’s your name? And who is this?” She asks me while giving Grim a pat on the head. The ghostly dog wags his tail happily in response. “My name is Lucien LaChance, and this is Grim. He guards this graveyard, I just come visit every so often.” I explain and the girl seems to recognize my name “Oh, you know my brother!” Her brother? Who could be her brother? I hope I didn’t kill her brother…the issue with Mathieu and his mom was more than enough. “He’s staying at the inn he just got here, I like to see what he’s doing sometimes if there’s a shrine nearby, unless he summons for help.” Now who do I know that’s staying at the inn and is at least part Dunmer? Not Valan, his dad is the summoned spirit of choice, and he’s an only child. Teldryn as far as I know is still freezing in Raven Rock, and Qin is older than he is and still alive unless something terrible has happened since I last saw her, and Talvas has no siblings nor is he on the continent at the moment either. That only leaves Everan, ah that makes sense! “You’re Leah Thenath aren’t you?” Though it took me a while to figure out she seems happy that I was able to do so. Wow Everan was right, his sister did die very young…very very young. While she is still technically older than me, it seems she was no more than around six years old when she died, or as she corrects me later, was murdered. Her body was never recovered, and so due to her mixed ancestry she takes the form of a wandering ancestral spirit, preferring to follow her brother unseen except when necessary. “I don’t really talk to him, I don’t want him to feel bad.” Even after all these years Everan still blames himself, even though he too was a child. Now I think I understand why it is he and Issy get along so well, both carry the invisible weight of siblings, and friends, who took to an early grave. Little do they know, we form our own little community, one caught between the world of the living and the world of the dead. Gone, but not entirely, and certainly not forgotten.