The Elder Scrolls IV: OBLIVION

Hello everyone. I'm the Shadow General, and I'm presenting my take on what it would be like if each major quest line had its own hero, all running together into the world of the Elder Scrolls. Here you shall witness the unlikely alliances of assassins and saints, crusaders and thieves, mages and fighters. Heaven forbid we encounter any humorous, romantic, or tense situations throughout the story, huh? Keep in mind that I am a male, and therefore my only idea of romances is the stuff we all see in movies, so that may be what you see. There is nothing that should go beyond teen rating, however. Remember, this is one gigantic story, and all of these characters you will meet will team up to save the world! Sound like a team of superheroes yet? Well keep in mind, in Oblivion, you start from the ground and work your way up. Things won't be easy for our heroes, no matter how powerful they become. I now wish to present to you:

Seven Saviors

Chapter 1: The Archer and the Assassin

As Gerich Marillin stepped out of the sewer grate, he was forced to squint under the harsh glare of the midday sun. Being in the Imperial Prison had a nasty habit of making sun exposure painful after time was served. But the sun was the least of his problems, he realized, staring at the diamond shaped red gem amulet in his hand. He stared into its depths, swearing he could see swirling flames, like tongues, licking the casing they were inside in an attempt to break free. And do what? He wondered. His life had suddenly taken a swerving turn, but in what direction, he couldn't tell. He decided to sit down on a nearby pier and stick his toes in the water and ponder the occurrences of the past hour and what they meant.

"Okay Gerich," he told himself shakily, "Let's go over the events and see where we are now:

One: I am thrown into prison just because I insult a passing noble's mother on a dare from my friend. Not good.

Two: I sit in prison for about 7 days, a week, before strange stuff starts happening.

Three: I am woken from a nap by raucous guards tramping down the stairs. I go to the barred door, only to be harassed by a strangely armored woman with a bad temperament.

Four: These four strangers are not guards, but three of the elite Blades, escorting the Emperor Himself!

Five: In such a state of shock as to the Emperor being in MY cell, I ask who he is, and get scoffs of disbelief from the mean Redguard and the nasty lady Blades, and an incredulous eyebrow-raise from the nicer Redguard named Baurus.

Six: I ask what I am doing in prison, stupidly enough. Was insulting a noble's mother enough to get a sentence of punishment from the Emperor Himself? No, nothing to fear. My prison cell has a secret passage out of it that the emperor needs to escape the assassins. Ohhh… And I was WORRIED… I much prefer assassins following the emperor coming after him through here than a sentence of punishment from the man himself.

Seven: After meticulously making my way through dungeons crawling with assassins in conjured armor and weapons that I can't take, I finally get weapons when the mean lady gets killed and I take her shortsword, katana, and torch. I feel so much better already. And after going through rat, goblin, and even ZOMBIE-infested dungeons, I get some substantial equipment and meet up with His Majesty, Baurus, and mean Glenroy again. I think the emperor personally held up in that one room to wait for me for some reason.

Eight: After a massive fight in the end, Glenroy dies, Baurus fights off scores of assassins, and a completely weary emperor plunges a national treasure into my hands, he gets killed, and I talk to Baurus about the next step."

Gerich had to laugh then, because when Baurus asked about his profession, he made a ridiculous guess:

"From what I've seen of you, you must be an experienced Bard," said Baurus confidently.

"WHAT? Are you LOONY? Do I look like I dance around inns singing and strumming a lute? I'm an ARCHER! The only thing I strum around here is my BOW!" Gerich exclaimed.

Baurus seemed unfazed by the enraged outburst.

"Really, I never would have guessed."

And he went on about how to leave the sewers.

After trekking through Divines-know-what in the water of the sewer and fighting mudcrabs, rats, and goblins, he finally emerged into the sunlight.

"Ugh, what a day," he groaned, falling onto his back and looking up. He was, needless to say, completely surprised by the fact that someone else was hanging upside-down by their knees from a lamppost above him, looking down and observing him. He was so startled by the appearance that he did nothing until after the other had spoken:

"You know, Imperial, they say that talking to yourself is one of the first symptoms of insanity," the other said.

The other being present was a young, pretty Wood Elf with a nice smile and green eyes. Her brown hair was tied back in a ponytail to keep it out of her face in the wind. She was clad in a one-piece suit of blackest leather, with a red handprint on one of the shoulders. A hood that matched the suit was tucked into the belt. She had a silver bow on her back, with a large amount of steel arrows. Gerich took this all in as he dove backward into a roll, and came up with his bow in his hand and an arrow strung and ready to fire, aiming at… where the wood elf was before. Gerich felt cold steel against his neck, and winced, realizing his folly and hoping the end to this strange day would come quick.

A soft whisper tickled the lobe of his ear, as the wood elf pressed tightly against him in the back, holding a wicked-looking ebony dagger to his neck.

"Judging from the way that you reacted, you're no ordinary civilian out with a bow they think they can use. If you mean me harm, you are in no position to cause me any trouble."

Gerich bumped her into the air by suddenly thrusting himself forward, grabbing and holding the hand with the dagger away from his neck. He brought the elven woman over his head and down onto the pier using the momentum, pulling his steel shortsword and placing it to her neck, as she placed the dagger to his. Both were panting heavily as they stared the other down.

"You play the dangerous game very well, Imperial," the wood elf finally said, her voice cracking with strain as she kept the sword away from her neck with one slender arm, "But if you don't mind letting me up, I have a contract I need to fulfill in the Waterfront. I swear I won't hurt you."

Gerich thought about it, and what did he have to lose? It wasn't like his life was really filled with purpose now since he didn't have the slightest idea what to do about his situation. He let her up, sheathing his sword and helping her to her feet. He picked up her bow and handed it to her, grabbing his as well.

"Thank you," she said, "You are a decent man. And don't worry about your situation too much, just rest and think on your situation. You will discover in your own time how to go about it. Good luck to you, Gerich Merillin."

Gerich didn't ask how she knew his name, his day was already filled with unnecessary surprises. As the wood elf turned to walk away toward the waterfront, he asked, "I notice you know my name, but may I ask for yours?"

She turned and flashed him a dazzling smile that made his heart thud painfully against his rib cage.

"Adanrael. Perhaps we will meet again, Gerich." She walked away, southwest toward the Waterfront District of Imperial City.

Somewhere deep inside, a part of Gerich couldn't wait until that next meeting.

Gerich sat on the porch in front of his "hole-in-the-wall" wood shack in the Waterfront District, reading his map of Cyrodiil and marking down locations he had found around the city, such as the Ayleid ruins of Vilverin, now a home to a band of bandits, and Sideways Cave, which seemed to be an Imp hive. He had just finished marking down a campsite near the city when he heard a commotion.

"Don't let her get away!" screamed a voice, sounding like a dark elf.

A twang of a bowstring, and then a sick thud as arrow met torso.

"She- She's gone, First Mate!"

"The captain! Check on the captain, you fools!"

Gerich was standing now, gripping the shortsword hilt at his side. He heard a rustling in the bushes beside his house, and saw a vague shimmer, as if there was some magical distortion. There was also a steadily growing red spot on the shimmer, surrounding a shaft of an iron arrow that glinted in the moonlight and lanternlight of his house. He saw the shimmer collapse to the wood floor of his porch with a dull thud! He picked up the body, looking around for witnesses, and carried the body inside. Laying the figure on the bed, he felt around for the figure's arm, and felt a ring there. He pulled it off, and the shimmer effect disappeared, replaced by a figure with an arrow wound. He looked at the face, and saw that it was Adanrael. He swore softly, looking at the wound.

It's good that she's unconscious; he thought as he grasped the arrow and pushed it through and out the other side. The elf moaned in pain in her unconscious stupor, and writhed. The arrow was out, but he wound needed to be cleaned and treated. The only way he could do that was…

…To take off her armor, he thought to himself with a wince. He took a breath, and unfastened the suit, carefully sliding her out of it until she was in her undergarments and the wound was exposed. He took a rag out of the kettle he had had heating on the fire, wringing it out over the wound and then carefully cleaning it. She whimpered, and one hand snaked down to grasp his left hand tightly. He held it while he finished cleaning the wound, then wrapped her abdomen with a length of fabric he used for bandages. He slid down the covers of the bed and put her under them, covering her up. His treatment completed, he went and sat by the fire, mopping his brow.

Adanrael opened her eyes to see a thatched roof above her head, and felt the straw mattress beneath her and the woolen covers on top of her. She realized she was only clad in her undergarments, and opted not to jump out of the bed just yet. She turned her head, analyzing the space. She was in a hut about as big as a Market District sales counter, with ramshackle furnishings and no wealth. She looked by the fireplace and saw Gerich sitting in a rickety chair, mending a black leather suit. HER armor! She sat up slowly in the bed, abdomen aching, looking down to see her lower torso wrapped and bandaged. She moved to get out of the bed, and a book fell off the bed and hit the floor. She winced as Gerich quickly looked up. He smiled.

"Ah, you're awake," he said. "I wasn't about to let an assassin move around without an alarm of sorts so I put the book there. Simplest thing to do, really."

Adanrael smiled softly, realizing what must have happened. She remembered putting on her Shadowed Circlet, and becoming nothing more than a vague transparent disturbance in the air. She remembered staggering with an arrow shaft sticking into her. She remembered that she collapsed onto the stoop of someone's porch, feeling that that was the end. By merest chance, she must have stumbled onto Gerich's porch, and he had taken her in and healed her freely.

Her story was confirmed when he said, "Er, I hope you don't mind, but to properly clean and dress your wound, I had to, erm… remove your topclothes. I'm sorry."

She again smiled as she watched a blush creep up on his cheeks. And she wondered at the same time what made a man give his aid freely to such a dangerous wood elf. He risked what he thought to be death by tending her wounds and, exposing her, yet he had not asked for anything in return.

Gerich spoke again, looking away as she got out of bed and came over, still in her undergarments.

"Uh, I made some Mudcrab chowder in this pot here, it is supposed to be good for you, and very tasty. Then when I've finished mending your armor, you can head back to your home base if you like. Just be careful with you wound, and change the dressing on it once a week until it heals."

Adanrael was confused. What motivated this man to be kind to a stranger like her, especially one as deadly as her? He wasn't even asking for anything in return! Did he by any chance, like her? By Sithis, did this man LOVE her?!? Following this thought, a strange emotion passed over her, an emotion that made her feel warm inside her cold assassin heart. She walked over to where he was sitting in his rickety chair, put her index and middle finger under his chin, and slowly lifted his gaze up to her face. They stayed that way for a moment, and then Adanrael leaned in toward him.

"Thank you," she murmered just before her lips met his.

I hope you all enjoyed this little chapter of my epic story. But know this, there is still more to come as all of our heroes meet one another. Right now you're thinking of the list of characters probably, and thinking: Well, what on earth is the next character after the main character and assassin? Tune in next time.