Jun 30, 2016 at 04:13 PM
#4
In-Depth Background:
The Eldest of a litter of three, Tsarani is actually the shortest. Tsarani often says her parents had little creativity for names, hence the names of her sisters: Tsarafi and Tsarabi. She also says that she and her sisters were closer than most, describing them as, "Three claws on the same Khajiit." and that their names were most appropriate. They were never apart.
When they turned eighteen, the sisters left their home and traveled around Elsweyr as minstrels. Tsarani played the Lute, Tsarafi the Flute and Tsarabi the Drums. The Song-Blessed Sisters, as they were called, grew more and more popular as they traveled. About a year after their departure from their little farm, they started to recognize three faces that were in every crowd they played for.
Three Khajiit brothers had seen their performance and had become so smitten, they followed the sisters all over Elsweyr. At first, the brothers were shy and merely watched, but as time passed, they grew more bold. Tsarani and her sisters grew to care for these young men, and by the end of the year, they were married.
They continued to travel for some time before finally settling down in a city not too far from their parents moon-sugar farm. There, they continued to play their songs, but also picked up a craft. Tsarani learned the art of Alchemy. Tsarafi learned to create glyphs of enchantment. Tsarabi learned to cook meals and brew drinks. The SIsters and their husbands were very happy together for a time. Two good years had gone by before the day came when the Brothers turned dark.
Their normally sweet, caring husbands became suddenly ill-tempered and secretive. They tried many different things to get their husbands to tell them what was wrong, but their attempts only made them more irritable. The brothers grew more and more weary of their prying wives and snapped. The beat the women they had once cared so much for. That was only the first time.
After that, the beatings came much more freely for reasons even less sound. They imposed rules on the women, never allowing them out of their home. Tsarani and her sisters became weak. They could not keep up with the constant list of chores, and so they were beat and deprived of food. They became weaker. Like the cycle of the moons, so did this cycle never end.
At last, the moons smiled upon them again when the brothers slipped up and the sisters heard them speaking of their business selling skooma. It was then that Tsarani and her dear sisters understood. Skooma turned good men bad. Skooma had poisoned the minds of their beloved husbands, turning them into the monsters they were now. There was no way to reverse this type of poisoning...only to end it.
Tsani, Tsafi and Tsabi spent much time collecting things for their new plan. A little bit of Violet Coprinus growing in the cellar, a few Nightshade petals stuck to her husband's clothing... some water collected from the well and carefully purified to produce the most effective poison possible.
A few drops in their dinner was all it took. They were writhing within minutes and dead within an hour. The sisters had long finished mourning the men their husbands once were, but out of respect for who they had been, they buried them and made simple stone markers.
Their notes and files were quickly found and the sisters discovered they had a patron. A wealthy noble with ties to families all over Tamriel. His death would be noticed, but if the skooma trade was to stop, he must be killed.
They were hired into his household as servants and quickly set about finding a way to murder the vile man. A couple months of watching his behavior revealed a prime path. Every Sundas after his prayers to Zenithar, the man would sit out in his garden to drink tea and go over his more legitimate ledgers. The plan was to put poison in the tea, which would be delivered by the usual maid, steal the skooma ledgers from his office and leave without a word. But this time, the moons did not shine their light upon the sisters.
The usual maid was sick, and could not serve tea to her master. Tsarani was chosen to go in her place. Tsarani was supposed to be the one to steal the ledgers, being the stealthiest of her sisters. When she went to deliver the tea, the man looked over her with a lecherous gaze. He grasped her wrist and suggested things that shall not be mentioned here. She pulled away and his anger flared. He threw the teapot at her, and the poison within was lost. She had no choice left. She drew the vial containing the remains of the poison, tackled the man and forced it down his throat. The surprise of the attack was the only reason she had managed to get it down him.
The man was dead, but the struggle had caused marks upon his body. She set him back up in the chair and prayed no one would see them. A shout reached her ears. She ran to find Tsarafi, who told her Tsarabi had been caught stealing the ledgers by the man's wife. They collected Tsarabi, who had at this point knocked the wife out, and fled the city.
The wife sent the guard after them. They ran from their pursuers, losing strength with every passing day. When all seemed lost, they arrived at a Temple of Two-Moons Dance. The monks there cared for and hid them from the law. They were taught how to defend themselves. Tsarani and her sisters spent three years learning. Three years of shelter from the law that chased them relentlessly.
Three years of putting their new family at risk. They spoke in secret. They would leave the temple. The law searched for three sisters together, not three apart. They would leave and live among the members of the newly formed alliances until their crimes were forgotten or pardoned. Tsarani had three matching amulets made in the shape of the symbol of the Khajiiti people. Each one had a single moonstone placed. One moon light, two dark. Alive, but separate. Unseen, but never forgotten.
The sisters went their separate ways, helping those who faced corruption like their own family had. Some time later, they made a business among themselves and their new friends they had made: The Three Sisters Trade Company. This name isn't shared publicly for fear of revealing themselves, but together they restock adventurers and crafters all over Tamriel.