Prompt: the alleyway
A/N: Ben and Lucien being friends and Ben being the ancestral spirit to respond to Valan most of the time (and proceeding to defeat any enemies when needed) are two thoughts that live in my head rent free along with Valan being the second generation of Velothi men to be an absolute menace to Eno while also being one of his favorites.
Late one night while the rest of the world sleeps I find myself sitting atop one of the roofs overlooking a small alleyway in Balmora. The flat rooftops allow for a quiet place to sit and watch the clouds overhead as the rest of the city sleeps. Valan had needed to stop on his way to Sadrith Mora and by coincidence ran into Issy and myself, along with Juliette. The two of them needed to find some remnants of Caius Cosades’ work as spymaster here that Valan was unable to locate, and return them to the archives of The Blades. I had tagged along as I need to find the time to meet with Eno Hlaalu about an exception to the no contracts in Morrowind rule that the Dark Brotherhood has long abided by so as not to anger the Morag Tong.
As I sit on the rooftop, stars slowly moving overhead I feel a peculiar sensation, one of the many I’ve begun to have since death, and undeath. Turning my head to the left in the direction of the sensation, that feels as if there is someone there I find that in fact there is- the spirit of a Dunmer man, dressed in what seems like a less formal version of more traditional robes that Eno tends to wear sits beside me on the roof. His legs dangling casually just as I had been doing moments before. He looks familiar almost, though I can’t place where I know him from. He looks about thirty, with hair pulled back in a tight ponytail and while he seems to acknowledge my presence the man more or less ignores me, looking at the alley and then up at the stars.
“Do I know you?” I ask the spirit. “No.” The man says, continuing to look up at the sky. “No, I’ve been dead since long before you were ever born. Before you were even a twinkle in your mothers eye.” I go to ask another question but before I can the man adds “But you know my son.” The realization hits me as the man turns and looks at me “My name is Benjamin Wei Velothi, but you can just call me Ben.” he tells me, offering a hand. “Lucien LaChance.” I respond, shaking his hand and he laughs slightly “I know.” How does he know?! “There are many observations one can make in death, you’ll learn in time.” Getting cryptic advice from a ghost wasn’t on my to do list for tonight, but as we talk more I find myself somewhat enjoying it. I’m still getting used to this new form.
“Are you like me? Can you do this all the time?” I find myself asking out of curiosity, though it might not be the most polite question. “No. You are a spectre, tied to the Void after death, but otherwise free to roam. I am what we call in Morrowind an ancestral spirit, or an ancestor ghost. Tied to the land and the family. I have the capacity to materialize myself in short bursts should a member of the family be in Morrowind, or anywhere if they summon an ancestral ghost for protection. Other than that I spend my time like the other ancestors; guarding the family shrine, watching over the still living family, and protecting the land as a whole.” Ben explains with a hint of sadness in his voice. Our deaths, while both premature, were very different. Mine being the result of betrayal by others, his however was the result of betrayal by his own body.
“Every now and then when I can, I like to check on Valan, make sure he’s okay, even if he can’t see me most of the time.” I go to make a comment that I don’t think Valan is ever really able to see him due to his blindness, but keep it to myself, it’s not the right time for a remark like that. Ben continues talking, telling stories of time’s he’s checked in on Valan when he hadn’t been paying attention just to make sure he was alright and see how he’d grown up. A fathers love, enduring even in death. Valan, along with Issy and Juliette sleep soundly in one of the little houses below us, completely unaware of our conversation. Ben tells me a bit about his days working with Eno Hlaalu before leaning back and looking back up at the dark sky with a sigh, it seems his time in this form is almost up, and that makes me strangely sad. “I always did love looking up at the stars.” The spirit says softly with a smile, almost to himself before slowly fading away. Leaving me alone on the roof above the alleyway, looking at the dark sky. A lonely spectre in a land of shadows and spirits. Goodnight moon, goodnight trees, goodnight ghosts that only I can see.
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