A Book with Bells - Falsetto's Journal

A small purple book with bells hanging off the bottom of the spine. The word 'Journal' is emblazoned on the cover.

The 28th of Sun's Height, 2E 587,

A new town, a new day. For better or worse I've decided to do something that a member of the House of Reveries has not done in a very long time: I left Alinor. People warned me that it was a bad idea. They said that I wouldn't be well recieved and me leaving the island would reflect badly on me. They were right but fuck them. It's true that I'm not pulling anywhere near the crowds I'm used to out here on Auridon and one vile woman even doubted my credentials but hey fuck her too.

When I joined the House of Reveries it was to escape the harsh constraints of life on the island and be whoever I wanted to be. I gave up my birth name of Celenmo and became Falsetto, Master of the Arts and Entertainer of the Masses! No longer was I just some servant boy doomed to a life of following orders and being married off to a woman I never met against my will. I would bring joy to the people! I would create art! And that is exactly what I plan to keep doing!

And this town is clearly in need of my art. The Dominion has cut off funding to the town and everyone is unemployed. Tensions are running high between the townsfolk and the de facto leader, a Miss Kashya. Comedy is what I would prescribe for these people. But what type of comedy? A raw political satire or something more whimsical? I shall have to observe the town more.

The 31st of Sun's Height, 2E 587,

It's been a long day. I'm not even sure how to word it in this journal. A mixed bag really. I performed in the square and people applauded me. Soon after though everyone left and I was alone. There are downsides to being a jester. People don't trust me and generally consider me an unwelcome presence unless they want entertainment. A jester is what I am though at my core and I won't be anything other than what I am for someone. Melodramatic perhaps. I am making some headway (I think) towards forming friendships with some of the townsfolk.

That woman I called vile in my last entry? I believe I deeply misjudged her. She's not vile she's just bitter. Very bitter. I would be too if I was in her situation. To work so hard at becoming an actress only to be saddled with running a town and having my dream snatched away. I couldn't leave her in that position. She said she had written some plays when she was younger so I offered to send them to my mentor. If he likes them he could give her a sponsorship and she could audition for joining the House. She declined though. Said she's too busy running the town and that maybe in a hundred years or so she'd take the offer. I'm leaving the offer on the table just in case she changes her mind.

I've also met a pleasant young khajiit. I don't remember if he told me his name but people around town have been calling him Mavos. He's a great listener from what I can tell. He was willing to listen to me go on about how nobody trusts us jesters due to cultists of Sheogorath and how socially isolating my job is. I know I'm supposed to be the one cheering people up but hey I'm only mortal and I need friends too. He liked my story about the time I was arrested in Sunhold on suspiscion of being a cultist of Sheogorath. He found it pretty funny which I guess it is in hindsight.

I pray to Auriel that I'll be able to make friends. Even a jester needs friends.

SIDE NOTES:

-Apparently there's a feud going on between the woman who runs the clinic, Miss Kiri, and a Miss Estre. It sounds very bitter. Miss Kiri thinks Miss Estre betrayed her but wouldn't tell me why. She says I shouldn't trust Miss Estre but I'd prefer to get my own measure of Miss Estre first.

-Stop referring to other people by race. I accidentally offended Miss Allyria today by calling her 'miss bosmer'. It was an honest mistake! She has very light skin and wears her hair in that side waterfall haircut that's very popular with bosmer women. It also didn't help that she's a bit short but then again I'm taller than most people.

The 5th of Last Seed, 2E 587,

I thought this town to be like any other. Struggling under the weight of every day problems like finances and politics.
I was wrong. So horribly wrong.

This town is the feeding ground to a darkness that preys upon the souls of its citizens. A darkness called Brother Terrance. And Brother Terrance has made his darkness my own.

It all began four days ago on the first of the month. A dunmer named Gladious invited the townsfolk to attend a party at his manse. Now I've performed at a number of parties but this was first time I've ever been invited to one as a guest. I suppose at this point I could describe Gladious' manse but such details would add nothing to this entry. The party was nice. A large number of people attended (including your's truly) and things did get rather wild after I started a drinking contest. The next part of the evening is a blank but apparently, according to rumors I heard around town, a fair number of the party's attendees ended up engaging in what I can only describe as recreational activities normally reserved for procreation.

Such was not my fate though. I have little memory of what happened up until I found myself in Brother Terrance's home with a vampiress named Nalaadan sitting in a chair before Terrance and I; being interrogated. Much of the exchange went over my head but what I was able to comprehend is that the mer I knew as Terrance is in truth an ancient malevolent being known as 'Orion' and that he is the leader of a large number of souls currently contained within Terrance's body.

Orion is a monster.

He consumes the souls of innocents by tricking them into trusting him and then betraying that trust; allowing him to lay claim to their souls through foul ancient magic. He feeds off the anguish and misery of the souls he captures. Torturing them and using their pain as fuel to prolong his life. Now thanks to my own damned curiosity he has made me like him. As a 'reward' for helping him earlier in the evening (I haven't the slightest recollection what that help was but I suspect it only came about due to the heavy amounts of alcohol flowing through my veins and suspending my common sense), he transferred one of his souls into my body, transforming me in the process into a being that hungers for souls. I must consume souls or starve. This is a fate worse than death.