User:Esh/Daughter of Ash and Smoke

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A hapless storm in the Inner Sea caused the ship of a Nord, whose name is lost in the mists of time, in the northern Ashlands of Vvardenfell to run aground. The sailor was lucky that the Urshilaku Ashkhan welcomed him. He remained in the tribe for six months, enjoying the hospitality of the Ashlanders. But there was also another reason to stay there for so long. Fainash, the sublime wife of the Ashkhan, had conquered his heart.

The Nord went out to sea again. He was never heard from again, but four months after his departure, Fainash gave birth to a girl. She was named Ikko-Zonza, she was a Dunmer, but whose eyes were of a purple tone, instead of reddish, which fueled the rumors among the Urshilaku. Certainly, the romance between the stranger and Fainash had not gone unnoticed.

When the Ashkhan died, his son succeeded him. However, he did not exercise power for a long time, because shortly after being named Ashkhan, Telvanni slavers abducted him, along with his wife and seventy other Ashlanders who were sold as slaves.

After the short reign of the first son of the Ashkhan, his second son followed him in power. The new Ashkhan married his half-sister, Ikko-Zonza. But Atash-Enal, a close relative, also claimed the title. He controlled a large region of Ashlands and had as many important relationships as power among the warriors. In addition, Atash-Enal maintained that Ikko-Zonza was not the daughter of an Urshilaku Ashkhan, but the fruit of his wife's relationship with that outlander, and thus, not an Ashlander.

The Wisewoman and the Farseer of the tribe met and, after divination rituals, left the resolution of the problem in the hands of Mehrunes Dagon, who would subject Ikko-Zonza to a supernatural test, to prove her ancestry.

The day set for the test arrived. They took Ikko-Zonza and three more tribal women to a cave near the Red Mountain sacred to Dagon. Several other Ashlanders came to contemplate the macabre spectacle. When Ikko-Zonza was at the entrance of the grotto, she looked at the crowd and could see some dear faces, covered with tears. Only her old midwife dared to contravene the rules and approach her to embrace her. An old man signaled and a couple of men gently pushed the old woman away for the act to continue. Apparently strong and sure of herself, Ikko-Zonza entered the cave, followed by her companions. In front of the grotto, green branches were piled up. The four women entered the hole from which came an intense smoke. With palm leaves, two warriors fanned the smoke into the cave.

The locked women began to feel their eyes and throats stinging. On the outside, the people waited expectantly for the result of the test: if Ikko-Zonza did not die suffocated, it would be the demonstration that the blood that flowed through her veins was pure Dunmer blood. After a short time, the screams of the women were heard. Then, a choking cough. In the end, the sounds that came from the cave weakened and became extinct. However, smoke was still coming out of the cave.

A long time later, when Mehrunes Dagon decided that it was sufficient ordeal for Ikko-Zonza, the Wisewomen and the Farseer of various tribes entered the grotto. In front of them, on the floor, lay the lifeless bodies of the three companions of Ikko-Zonza. His posture was twisted and his eyes were still wide open in terror and agony. Further in, leaning against the wall of the cave, was Ikko-Zonza, blackened by smoke. Without uttering a word, she took some wobbly steps. She refused any help and slowly left the cave with his head up, blinking. It was dusk and the light of the sunset bathed his blackened figure. She approached her husband, the Ashkhan, and embraced him. The crowd, gathered in front of the cave, was delirious with joy at the prodigy that had just taken place before their very eyes.

As often happens in stories, only a few people found out how that miracle had been performed. The rest, never knew what was the real reason why the midwife had made its way to Ikko-Zonza, through the assistants to the test. Nobody was surprised that the old woman hugged Ikko-Zonza, but what none of those present observed how, surreptitiously, the matron gave her a sea sponge, dipped in water, and begged her to put it in her mouth to breathe through it when the smoke started to come out.

Thus, Ikko-Zonza could save his life.