Hello and welcome to this prequel. Do not worry you don't need to read my main story "Queen of Hearts" to read this one for it comes well before and only two of the characters in involved in this. It's an origin story on the character Aetius who appears throughout the first chapter of "Queen of Hearts" and involves him in the second. Sorry if that's brief but I'm only up to chapter 2 at the main story and just wanted to put this one up so people can understand who Aetius is before chapter two is uploaded. This is only a short prequel which will go one for about ten chapters or less or maybe more it depends on what I show in this story. It's set in the Oblivion storyline well Oblivion: Shivering Isles anyway. Hope you enjoy and please review on "Queen of Hearts" and this story please.

Chapter One: Prince of Madness

AETIUS OLMERI

Aetius's life was seeping away into the coldest depths of Oblivion, the depths of the dammed and the prisoners filled with endless sorrow and hopefulness. He wasn't going to be like them he promised himself that, Aetius promised the divines that he'd set his life on track before this everlasting madness ripped through his mind and turned it to something delusional. It's been seven months since the end of the Greymarch ended with the defeat of the great Jyggalag who was so powerful that the rest of the Daedric Princes' feared him. So they created an immortal form and bound Jyggalag to it, he was named Sheogorath, the Prince of Madness. Everyone knows that at the end of each era the Greymarch is creating. The Greymarch was where Jyggalag would return to his rightful form and wipe the Shivering Isles of Madness and return it with order but this time the Prince of Order was defeat. Defeated by Aetius, the Imperial can still remember the bloody fight. The end of the duel came to an end when Aetius thrust his sword into Jyggalag's chest, stabbing the heart of the Daedric Prince and bring a close to Orders siege. Aetius was rewarded for his loyalty and became Sheogorath himself. He became the Prince of Madness, a god that he once bowed before. But Aetius didn't feel different; the only thing that was difference was the madness and memories swirling around in his head that weren't his. His thoughts weren't his own but as it seemed someone else's as well, but this person who was inside his head seemed different in many ways but also as himself. He pushed himself from the comfortable bed which dominated most of the room. He shut his eyes and was once again forced to open them as the madness bashed against his skull. He buried his head into his hands and relived the memories that were his, the rescue of Kvatch, the death of Martin to save Tamriel from Mehrunes Dagon and the most painful the death of his most beloved, Lilli. The Imperial walked over to his wardrobe and donned his usual clothes, a tan shirt made of linen, horsehair leggings, leather boots and his weapons. He strapped the double scabbard over his shoulders and sheathed the swords inside the hard leather. He was set for another day in the Shivering Isles.

The strangest thing that ever happened to Aetius was that hundreds of Daedra obeyed him, obeyed him with such loyalty that he seemed to be in control of everything on the Shivering Isles. And he was, he was the new Daedric Prince of Madness. He was the man that ruled and entire realm of Oblivion and its entire people, people who have lived for over a thousand years. It was the day of his ascension, he'd finally become Sheogorath by name, title and abilities. That was what Kirn ad said, the Queen of the Dark Seducers, the dark skinned woman that controlled all of Dementia and obeyed Aetius as the Madgod. They served him without questions and aided him as best as they could, Kirn was Aetius's trusted friend, a friend that helped Aetius mourn the death of Lilli and Haskill, a servant that will never be replaced. But the small bitterness between Dark Seducers and Golden Saints still remain no matter how many times Aetius locked Kirn and Morgan in a room to talk it out. Morgan was another trusted adviser and friend to Aetius but she was the Queen of the Golden Saints, the golden tinged women who controlled all of Mania and obeyed Aetius as Sheogorath, his new name. He entered the throne room with a sigh and took a seat on the throne, a throne that was colored in black and red to show the two personalities of Sheogorath and Demetria and Mania. The court filled in the room, plenty of Seducers and Saints were visible along the side of the divided rooms but Aetius didn't care all he cared about was the sacrifice that happened for the Shivering Isles to continue its existence without having to rebuild and dread the return of Jyggalag.

"Shall we begin, Lord Sheogorath" Kirn asked making his head coming back to the present. Aetius nodded and she seemed to hesitate before beginning. "Before us sits the New Sheogorath, the chosen one of Jyggalag and the Shivering Isles, today were are going to perform the Ritual of Madness so our lord can fully become Sheogorath" she said and Aetius nodded for her to continue but suddenly a Bosmer stepped forward and glanced at everyone's face. He smiled that reached over his shoulder and had an arrow nocked on a longbow before anyone could blink. Then he drew it back and released, the arrow slicing through the air with accuracy but Aetius was faster than the rest of his court. He grabbed the arrow out of midflight and crushed it between a clenched grip, he then jumped from the throne, landed in front of the Bosmer and knocked the elf unconscious. Everyone stared at Aetius as he knelt over the dreaming elf, the eyes moving behind its closed lids.

"Nym, Aws take this man to the cells, search him for any notes or belongings that could say why he tried to kill me. I'll swing by later" he said and a woman from the Dark Seducers and a woman from the Golden Saints hurried forward to snatch up the unconscious elf. The Seducer pulled the elf up and let his limp body rest on her shoulder while the Saint did the same on the other side of the elf. They vanished quickly as they led the prisoner towards the prison where cries could be heard.

"That's the third one this month" Kirn said, racking her brain for any ideas on the matter at hand.

"Well sort this mess out after the ritual is complete" Aetius said stalking back to the throne.

In half an hour the ritual was finished and the citizens were filling out of the throne room, the Dark Seducers and Golden Saints stalked off looking for intruders that would come for Aetius's life. But however Aetius felt different, he felt powerful and the madness in his head had come to a stop. But he wasn't himself; it was like he was now two people inside one body. Like if a Dark Seducer and Golden Saint were breed together the child would choose both sides but unable to choose which side it went for most. That was what Aetius now seemed like; he was between himself and the soul of Sheogorath. Kirn and Morgan were never far behind Aetius, they promised their lord that the Seducers and Saints will have peace between each other until the failed assassinations came to an end. Because of the peace Aetius didn't want the assassins to stop coming, his realm was more peaceful without the two Daedra fighting over each other.

The three reached the dungeons in now time, even though Aetius walked at a slow pace. He pushed open the dark polished wood door which led down into the dungeons of the Shivering Isles, dungeons that cried out pains of agony and screams of madness. This was a place that no one could think even those prisoners that weren't screaming or crying for a lost memory of the past. Aetius had been the same way for seven months but now he finally had his memories and agonizing pain under control, he was now truly Sheogorath. The dungeons weren't what Tamriel's were, while the dungeons on Tamriel were damp and cold and quiet this dungeon was warm, beautiful and loud. A small waterfall splashed against the side of a wall, giving water to those that needed it. The dungeons in the Shivering Isles was one large room where prisoners could wander free without any restrictions except for the usual rules of course. They could have sex, force rape if they really needed to and even bash each other up. But if you killed or mortality injured someone you were thrown into the pit and tortured violently by whoever was in charge of the prison guard at the moment. Guards roamed outside of the prisons room, Dark Seducers and Golden Saints were working together for the second time since Aetius had arrived in the Isles. He stalked over to the waterfall and continued through it, letting the cold water pass over his armor and down his skin giving him the chills. Aetius opened his palm and a small white flame appeared, lighting the small passage and giving Aetius warmth. Kirn and Morgan did the same and soon the passage was as light as the sun but less warm.

Aetius led the way down the twisting turns of the passage until they reached the end. He appeared in a lit room that donned a single window, directly above them which was more like a gate to drop the dead bodies of those in the arena that died. The ground of the room was covered in dried and wet blood which still seeped across the cracks in the stone, giving the stone a ruby colour. On one side of the room sat the Bosmer assassin who was bound to a steel chair, a chair that was near unbreakable. On the other side was a table where Nym and Aws said silently playing a game of black madness? Black madness was a common card game in the Shivering Isles, it was very similar to the Tamriel game of Blackjack but with black madness you could lose anything on your body. Aetius once played it when he first arrived in the Isles and by chance he won, the other play stood from the game and cut of his hand with his knife. Aetius was horrified by the game that he swore he'd never play it again. He heard of another case where a Dark Seducer and a Golden Saint were the most beautiful in both there races so they played a game of black madness to test who was the best. In the end they tied so the agreement was to become less beautiful so they cut of their right breasts, Aetius was truly horrified at this game by that point but the citizens of the Shivering Isles loved the game so he refused to cancel it in favor for a less dangerous game but this day he didn't mind the game as much.

"Nym, Aws you can leave" Aetius said when he came into view of the lamp. Nym stood up first and grabbed half of the coins on the table and left while Aws decided to hesitate. She pushed herself from the seat, grabbed the coins and walked over to Aetius.

"Lord Sheogorath, we found this note on the assassin" she said handing the note to Aetius. He smiled and she left with a limp. Aetius turned and saw that blood was seeping from a wound in her leg, gushing out the wound like water out of a fountain.

"Aws what happened to your leg," Aetius asked and she turned with a grim look of sadness.

"The assassin had a hidden knife and launched an attack at Nym but I got in the way and was injured" she said and turned around to limp off but Morgan was already behind her with an arm on her shoulder, helping her young Saint down the path. Aetius turned back to the assassin and saw that the Bosmer was smiling. Aetius drew his sword and pointed it at the elf but it just continued smiling.

"Tell me elf, why try to assassinate me" Aetius said and the elf just laughed in a wicked voice. Aetius pricked the elf with the point of his sword drawing the blood of the ancient Bosmer. The elf smiled at the blood and seemed to not care.

"Nothing you do will make me talk, imposter" the elf replied. Kirn launched forward and backhanded the elf; bruising his face and making him cough up blood. She went for another strike but Aetius caught her hand and she looked up in question.

"Enough Kirn, he has nothing for us" Aetius said, letting go of her wrist.

"But he disrespected you Madgod. He should be punished by death" Kirn said, eyes full of knowledge and knowing that no one respects her lord. Aetius cast his eyes down and a thought came to his head. The note. Aetius took the note from his pocket and unfolded it. The note read:

Dear Speaker of the Dark Brotherhood

I have a contract for you, a contract that will be given to the most skilled of your order. It involves the Oblivion Crisis but for a different Daedric Lord, the Prince of Madness. It's the end of the era and I've been told that Sheogorath is weak and in the middle of a civil war with Jyggalag, if my sources are correct then that is to be true. I'll be placing a contract on the head of Sheogorath himself, a contract that will be paid with many of my funds as a Lord. You may accept this contract and receive the honorable amount of coins that I offer or you can refuse and be destroyed by me and my servants. It is your choice.

Sheogorath is in his realm of the Shivering Isles and I believe that a door has opened near the Imperial City and Cyrodiil. Yes a door that leads you into his realm. This may be a one way trip for the assassin that you send or maybe he/she may come out alive after the Madgod is killed. It doesn't matter to me as long as the Prince of Madness lies dead. When the contract has been complete come to Bruma and speak to a man by the name of Minkle, you should know this but in case you don't he is a guard that is under my employment, You will notice him when you see him. He will lead you to the coins and me. We will speak of more of this when your contract has been for filled and you require the funds.

?

Aetius tore his eyes from the letter and glanced at the assassin who just smiled, the letter was either a trap or real. Probably a trap but Aetius had no other choice. He drew his sword and sliced it across the elf's throat, cleaning a path for the blood to escape the wound. Aetius sheathed the sword and turned away from the dying elf.

"Kirn give this corpse to the Gatekeeper, I'm sure he'd enjoy it" Aetius said beginning to walk away.

"Where are you going my lord" Kirn replied with a troubled expression. She was confused at what her lord was going to do.

"I'm going on a holiday to Tamriel. Oh I'm bringing Nym as well…I'm hunting down the scum that think a Daedric Prince can die so easily" he said leaving the room. He was going for vengeance and answers, he was returning to his birthplace, Cyrodiil was his first home.

So this was the first chapter of "Sacrifice" and I cannot believe that it was so easy to write unlike "Queen of Hearts", anyway this is a origin story on Aetius and you'll now understand much about him. He is the Daedric Prince of Madness so did you guys ever expect that in "Queen of Hearts". Well I hope you enjoyed the story and please review it means so much to me if you do.