Witch of Lurago Chapter 46: Nenes in Disguise

Nigel and Deighton are both Firstborn nenes in disguise. Their reasons for leaving Twelvestones and blending into man’s society are the same… survival of their race. But their tactics could not be more different.

Prince Nihyllen o’Berwyn walked away from his inheritance and joined the Dawnguard when Rotharia convinced him the Joining was the only means of ensuring nene survival. His life as Nigel Willoughby has been dedicated to seeing the nene and Aurel bloodlines converge. Why Aurels and not Surdisi or Laradians? The mindgifts. The Patterns. And of course, proximity.

Nigel pursues his goals by working his way through the ranks of the Diplomatic Corps in the Kingdom of Innis. His political acumen, cunning, and flexibility of ethics soon elevate him to King’s Minister. From this influential position, he expands his network of secrets and spies, and uses the Dawnguard’s agents and assassins to further the cause.

Johannel o’Cree stakes out a different path. Raised by his father as one of the Fervent, he sees the Joining championed by the Dawnguard as a traitorous attempt to sully the Firstborn bloodline. Rather than a blending of the races, he seeks to subjugate Aurels, cull those of use and exterminate the rest, and then use their mindgifts as weapons to restore Firstborn supremacy.

John Deighton chooses religion as the means to achieve his goal, and he sets about acquiring power within the Church of Innis. His charisma, eloquence, and manipulation of religious devotion mark his rapid rise to the office of Beacon. But Deighton’s arrogance exceeds his cunning, and for every step he advances toward his goal, mistakes often cost him the ground he gained.

The First Law protected them from each other.