Vezahr

Vezahr’s story begins as one might expect. He was the only cub born to two loving parents in a small settlement outside Corinthe. At the time of his birth he was given an amulet engraved with the moons, as is customary for most khajiit cubs. The family was a part of a traveling caravan that made stops all over Elsweyr and occasionally into the borders of Valenwood and Cyrodil. It was made up of only a few – his mother (Aini), his father (Za’nir), the leader (Ri’shaan), a shady khajiit named Sinvirr, a wizard named J’ahir, her brother Do’rani, and one other.

While living with the group of traders, Vezahr learned the basics of hunting, fighting, and bartering. He gained a thirst for adventure and a desire to see more and more of the world as he grew. Having been born under the sign of the Mage, he was apprenticed under J’ahri who attempted to teach him to use magic. This was not to be, for the lessons he took to most were those in swindling and thieving by Sinvirr. Despite the near complete shunning by the rest of the caravan, young Vezahr took to the shadowy khajiit’s grandiose tales of pleasure and plunder. Sinvirr made the entire ordeal sound so easy and rewarding. It was almost inspiring how proud of each stolen exploit he was. Unsurprisingly, it was exactly the kind of thing that made Vezahr’s little heart race.

His family would stay with the caravan for the first ten years of his life until Ri’haan became sick with the mysterious Knahaten Flu. The flu spread quickly to J’ahri and then to her brother Do’rani, which caused the group to break apart and scatter in fear. In the following months after wandering far from the capitol, Aini would also fall prey to the illness and cause her mate to spiral downward in grief. Za’nir took to drinking and gambling after losing his family and often neglected Vezahr, preferring the company of other women than paying attention to his own cub. He was dead within the year – murdered for owing too much debt – and found by his now eleven year old son. The cub would flee their small home, and the entire town, in fear and travel back to Corinthe in an attempt to continue his existence. Alone and helpless, he did what any young down-on-his-luck cub would do: he started stealing.

It was small at first. A paw thrust hastily into a drunkard’s coin purse or a trinket whisked away from its owner to buy him a bit of food and drink every other night. With each passing theft, however, he began to notice a certain feeling would well up in his gut. His heart would pound, his senses would heighten, he could practically hear the blood rushing in his ears. The heists he would pull off gradually became bigger as the feeling grew. He was almost addicted to the rush of it and improved his skill considerably within three years. Of course, he was nowhere near the best and he had his boundaries. He would remain a solo thief until age 14 when he met a familiar face counting his coin in what he thought was a secluded location. In was Sinvirr – one of the khajiit from his caravan! In his excited relief at seeing a familiar face, Vezahr let his guard down. Unfortunately, the older khajiit had no intention of reuniting with him. It took only a few seconds for him to rob Vezahr blind. Luckily, he managed to pick himself up and follow Sinvirr as he made his escape.

The young khajiit followed his assailant to a secret tunnel dug into the side of a hill a few minutes’ ride from Corinthe. It took a few moments to pry the door open and creep through the tunnels, but once he had he stood in the middle of an underground commons. It was mostly empty, dimly lit, and smelled like damp soil all around. Vezahr crept into the corner and waited for Sinvirr to appear. Once he came padding through he sprang from his hiding place and tackled him to the ground. A struggled ensued, only to be broken up by the other members of the group that inhabited this place. It was then that he realized this was a hideout for more than just his old acquaintance.

He was thrown before the leader and once the situation was explained, the leader admitted he was impressed with Vezahr’s ability to track, follow his assailant, and then break into the hideout. The leader decided to give him a chance to join and he quickly accepted, happy to be a part of a crowd again. The small gang was nothing like the caravan of his childhood, much to his chagrin. While they operated together it was still very much an ‘every-cat-for-himself’ kind of deal. Vezahr’s first lesson had already been taught – if you cannot defend your spoils, you don’t deserve to have them. He quickly learned to be self-reliant and untrusting of those around him. Khajiit were born to be the best deceivers, so why should he take anyone at their word? In turn, he also learned the art of deceit and put his birthsign to good use by studying illusion spells. While with the group he saw leaders rise and fall, members join and leave, as the ebb and flow and time carried on for the next five years.

Slowly, he became disenchanted with his life. Sure, he made a profit and had a few good allies. He had seen a good portion of Elsweyr in his 20 years, but… Was there was more waiting for him? He began to entertain thoughts of leaving and going somewhere else to see the world. Something, however, always pulled him back. Something tied him here. Sifting through trying to find what it was only made the choice harder.

Luckily, fate made the choice for him. One seemingly quiet morning the hideout was rushed by authorities. Those who weren’t killed for fighting back were taken and arrested. Only a handful of members were able to make it out relatively unscathed – one of which was Vezahr. He took off running through the dunes with nothing but a handful of gold, the moon amulet he was given, and the clothes on his back. With nothing left tying him to Elsweyr, he made the decision that night to hitch a ride to the Summerset Isles and travel. He managed to stow away on a cargo shipment to Khenarthi’s Roost first, but came to something of a dead end when trying to get to Auridon. The fee was too much for him to pay with just gold… So he was forced to pay with the amulet as well. The trade made his heart heavy, but as the ship set sail to Vuhkel Guard, he had never felt so free.