Chapter 438: Her Brother

The Citadel of Ebonarm, a sect of warriors hidden within the Alik'r Desert. Many come to visit and trade despite the dangers of the Alik'r.

The Dome in the middle of the desert on a rock was just a simple Mirage of a small town on a wide plateau with magnificent buildings around. The funny thing about it is that one has to cross all the desert to get to it, meaning that by the other side of the Citadel is the other edge of the desert. From there, the Capital of Hammerfell, Sentinel, is not that far.

[A/n: There is no mention to the location of the Citadel of Ebonarm but it was said that the Fighters Guild Halls in the Alik'r Desert are sacred lands to the Citadel of Ebonarm. Making the Fighters Guild Halls close to Sentinel is only my assumption.]

On the span of the plateau, the scene of many Domes and Minaret made together the Citadel of Ebonarm, under each dome was a school of martial arts led by a certain Battlelord different than the other schools. The largest four domes belonged to the most prestigious four schools, the School of the Sword, the School of the Saber, the School of the Spear and the School of the Staff.

Despite the different schools and factions, the Citadel was one single order similar to an Order of Knights and their duty would be fending off the land from all manners of threats such as Vampires, Undead, Necromancers and Daedra.

The Fighters Guild also operates on their ground as Allies while the relationship between the Citadel of Ebonarm and the Temple of Stendarr is said to be Chaotic.

Through the eyes of many, Jon and his odd-looking party followed Isha who in turn followed her sister-in-law, Zahra.

Isha didn't talk much about her people and Jon didn't ask as he expected things would be awkward. Still, Isha is a Comrade in Arms and there is a lot of honor to this bond. Whatever Isha needed or faced then the team that followed her here will always be there for her.

Still, things weren't as awkward as Jon expected later on. Once they came across more warriors from the Citadel, they all looked at Isha as if they saw some big idol and whispered words about her. Something about being an apprentice to the Head Spear Battlelord.

"Zahra, I want to see my brother."

At long last, Isha spoke to Zahra after she noticed that her sister-in-law is leading her to the innermost Central Dome of the largest mosque.

Zahra only stopped and looked back at Isha with an expressionless face.

"Zain can wait. The Masters put an order for you to report to them once you arrive." Zahra said in a stern voice.

"What? I came all this way for Zain… the Masters can…" Isha complained and went her way.

"Stop bring a brat, will you?" Zahra scolded.

Isha halted her steps and looked at Zahra with a frown. It looked like a sister-in-laws drama at first but the two women seemed pretty nervous around each other.

Mirren walked behind Isha.

"Isha, let's just play by the rules."

It was obvious that tension between the two ladies had a source but keeping Isha away from trouble was the only thing they can do right now. The Masters wanted to see her, the Masters get what they want.

Isha was reluctant to act but soon she followed Zahra silently.

In the streets of the citadel, Jon found many familiar goods and rarities he completely forgot about. Maybe he can compensate himself for the tour of the Imperial City he couldn't have in this wonderful town.

Soon after, they were at the entrance of the innermost central dome. Zahra stopped and turned to Isha's companions rather than Isha.

"Only those who are worthy may enter, that's just for your own good." She said.

Jon tilted his head but it seemed that Mirren and Miranda were familiar with the situation.

"Apprentice Mirren, a Journeyman from the Desert Wind School of Elsweyr. Here for exchange by the order of my masters."

"Apprentice Miranda, the same."

The two professionally identified themselves.

Jon didn't know what kind of a situation is this or what title to use.

"I vouch for Krilon as a powerful Sorcerer and a Comrade." Isha said.

"Very well."

They were all allowed in. Beyond the door, steps was a powerful pressure of energy that was probably the reason why Zahra stopped them at the door. Everyone felt hard to master up power under the pressure but Jon brushed it off easily.

They entered a large courtyard under the dome, those who carried a left it at the doorway as the customary respect to holy ground and proceeded in.

Under a cloth shed sat a number of men and women, they looked relatively aged but strong in both body and spirit. A gathering of Redguard masters of arms but it looked more like a gathering of dervishes and mystics.

Isha took a deep breath before approaching the Masters, they saw her and some carried hints of surprise while others looked indifferent.

Zahra pointed for Jon and the rest to sit on the edge of the shed and a servant presented Redguard coffee and date fruits.

"So, my long lost apprentice has returned." A Redguard woman among the gathering spoke.

"Teacher." Isha replied.

"Two years of drifting have led you back here… to whom do we owe the pleasure?" Isha's teacher asked.

"... I have returned after fulfilling what I left for."

"And… you fulfilled it?"

"Yes, I am free from the Daedra."

"And?"

"The curse on my Brother is no more… I came home." Isha said as if it is an obvious thing.

The Masters and Apprentices around the courtyard frowned.

"The curse is no more and you came home? Of what use can that be?" Isha's teacher spoke out loud.

"What are you talking about, my brother…"

"You disappeared for two years with nothing but a note. You said you are leaving to look for a way to dispel the curse cast by the Daedra. We know nothing about you for months and then hear news about you following Daedric Cultists and doing errands for them."

"Not errands. It was trials to settle the grudge the Daedra have. My brother should be free from his torture by now." Isha explained.

"So you're saying you left the order to seek salvation for your brother? What use can salvation do him?" Isha's teacher replied with anger.

"What are you talking about? He is my brother!"

"Enough!" Zahra shouted from the side.

Rude as it was, she was the wife of Isha's brother which meant the matter is related to her.

"Zain… he would want nothing of this fight. Master Nagla, Isha, there is no point arguing about this anymore." Zahra said.

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"Zahra is right. As long as everything is okay for my brother, I am willing to receive any punishment… I swear to redeem myself."

"Redeem? For what? Isha, listen. You don't need to go through this any longer, it won't fix anything." Zahra said.

"Won't fix?" Isha expressions became grim, "I have been fixing this since the day I left for my brother's sake. How dare you say it won't fix anything?"

The situation escalated for the worse.

None was able to make heads and tails of what's going on anymore.

Jon watched silently from the side as Isha, her teacher and Zahra were shouting at each other.

Isha was having a strange obsession with the word 'Brother', Jon, Mirren and Miranda knew that Isha was close to her brother but something was wrong.

On the other hand, her Master was angry at her for leaving on an honorable quest to find a way to dispel curse on her blood kin.

Zahra, who is the wife of the said brother, was acting all defeated. It seemed that her relationship with Isha was not good judging by their encounter but they were not hating each other.

"This doesn't feel right. It is like… it is as if they all are arguing about different things." Jon murmured.

"What?" Mirren and Miranda took note of Jon's remark.

The argument between the three women reached its climax and Isha was about to lash out at the two.

"Stop her, Mirren. Now!" Jon realized something terrible.

"What?"

"Just do it, hold her still."

Knowing Jon has a reason, Mirren and Miranda moved in a spec of a second and held Isha from two sides.

"What are you doing? Let go of me! LET GO!"

Losing her patience, Isha was resisting like a wild heart but Jon was already in front of her.

"You need to calm down." He said while casting a close-range spell on her.

Jon normally does not use illusions but this spell was very useful to put down a raging ally. It is not [Calm] but a stronger variant called [Deactivation].

Once the spell came in contact, Isha lost all the power in her body as if going unconscious.

The argument halted and the mood frozen, next thing Jon knew was weapons flying from all over the place to the hands of those Masters and aiming at him, Mirren and Miranda.

The Auras of those Masters was so strong and domineering. Jon himself wasn't a match in a direct flight.

"That may have been a bad idea after all." Mirren commented.

"Take distance from her, strangers." Isha's teacher spoke.

"Okay but at first… hey, my name is Krilon… not my real one but the one I go around with. Anyway, we are Isha's friends, nice to meet you, Isha's very angry aunts and uncles. We are sorry to interrupt like that but in case you were so busy arguing, you didn't notice that there was some sort of misunderstanding going on?" Jon said.

"What have you done to her?" Zahra asked while aiming her scimitar at Jon.

"I put her to a higher calmness state. She can hear and see but she can't fully act or react. It will wear off once she is calm enough." Jon said, "More importantly, Isha and I have been friends for almost a year now and this is my first time seeing her lose it like that even though the Shivering Isles. Now, I think something is unnatural about this situation and as warriors, you must have felt it, right?"

For a Mage's intuition to be stronger than a warrior! Even those who felt nothing nodded.

Jon looked at Isha in Mirren's arms.

"I am sorry but let me handle things."

After apologizing to her, Jon turned to Zahra.

"Madam, can you please take us to your husband." Jon asked.

The Masters put away their weapons and Isha's teacher, Spearmaster Nagla, went ahead.

"Follow me."

Jon followed Nagla and Zahra as Mirren and Miranda supported Isha. Other Masters and Apprentices joined until the small group reached a house at the edge of the plateau with a view to a large oasis beside.

Zahra didn't enter the house but walked until the shore of the oasis where a single palm tree stood. And all stopped, there was no need to see or understand more at this moment.

"Can you… wake her now?" Zahra asked Jon.

Jon nodded and merely snapped his fingers for Isha to return back to full consciousness at once.

She could feel the heaviness of the mood around her. Jon sighed and cleared the way for Isha.

She saw the palm tree and looked down to its base where a single tombstone stood.

"What are you showing me? What is the meaning of this? Where is my brother?" Isha asked looking around to the one beside her.

Everyone looked down or averted their eyes.

"Isha, what are you saying? Zain is dead. He died to the curse two years." Nagla said.

Zahra looked at Isha and spoke.

"We buried him... together."

~~~~~~~~~~

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