Chapter 1:
A Look into the Past, A Precedent for the Future
Day 11 of the second month; Sun's Dawn.
Year 700 of the First Era.
The Dwemer City-State of Mzuleft.
The steam-driven, clockwork city of Mzuleft was, as always, a flurry of activity. The metal Centurions, whether they be Sphere or Guardian, were the only things in the complex that sat still as they stood at attention at their posts and watched their masters hurry about in silent obedience. The Dwemer people themselves hurried through the passages and tunnels with a fervor and quickness only those with a love of work and progress have, careful not to trip over the Spider Drones underfoot, who carried on with their tasks of maintenance and delivery undeterred. However, it was not the promise of new discoveries, the excitement of new experiments nor the creation of new technological marvels that motivated the diligence of the dwarves this day.
No.
King Dumac, Lord of all Under the Earth, had announced earlier, that war had been declared, war with their fellow elves, the Chimer. And what's more, Lord Kagrenac, High Priest of the Dwemer, Master Magecrafter and Chief Tonal Architect, had called for all Dwemer to assemble at Red Mountain for battle… and the Ascendance.
Soon… very soon, the Dwemer people would take their rightful place as living gods.
Pity not everyone was excited about it.
Deep within the city, a large, single chamber served as study, workshop and bedchambers to a single Dwemer. And unlike his kin, he was not happy this day. No… instead, he was filled with… dread. Worry. Fear… and a burning resentment at those who wished to remain blind to the dangers ahead.
Karval Mzahnch sat alone at his desk, staring blankly at the mess of books and papers before him, sitting as still and quiet as the Sphere Centurion that sat active but dormant in the corner of the room. He let out a small sigh, the only sign he was in fact not a masterfully carved Dwemer statue, and rose from his chair, the slight scrape of stone on the smooth floor echoing off the metal walls in a quiet rhythm.
He was a young elf, nearly two centuries old, but a bright young example of their kind. His skin was the pale cream color of the rest of his kin and his face was fair with sharp features and clever brown eyes. His brown hair and beard were long and done in the traditional braids and coils that were fashionable among his kind. His pointed ears were pierced with golden studs and he wore thick robes sequined with thin copper chains and runic markings as well as a thick leather work smock. Hanging from his side was a large pouch filled to the brim with tightly wrapped scrolls and small, complex tools.
He made his way over to his workbench and ran a hand over the arm of a half-finished Guardian Centurion that lay upon its surface. If only he had the time…
He looked around the room, a smile tugging at his lips as he took in all the nearly completed formulas, schematics, theories, and machines that lay scattered about his home… if only he had the time indeed.
He let out a groan of frustration as his gaze turned to the floor.
How could they not see? The dangers, the uncertainties, the… the HOLES in Kagrenac's theory and plan. Not only the holes… but also the FOOLISHNESS?! To stake everything on the heart of a dead God?!
He let out another groan…
He truly wished his people had never found that damnable, horrible thing… that ruby-like, blood-soaked, still beating, beautiful, POWERFUL… horrible thing.
Still… how were they supposed to know? Know that if they dug long enough and hard enough and greedily enough that they would find the Heart of Lorkhan? The Heart of the Trickster? The Creator? The Father of All Mortals?
And further still, how were those that dug it up to know that Lord Kagrenac would study it for a few years and then come up with some harebrained scheme to use it to create a new god, a god for the Dwemer, and through it, give all Dwemer immortality and incredible power?
The Dwemer were the most intelligent and technologically advanced race on all of Nirn… Karval could admit that without a trace of arrogance or falsehood. Even so, the knowledge of the Elder Scrolls was still sometimes difficult to comprehend and interpret even with their advanced storage Lexicons and reading systems. And the knowledge of the Scrolls was NOTHING compared to the encompassing mind and soul of a divinity. How could they go through with this, using newly created magical tools to attempt to exploit something that was older than their entire race? Something that they could spend GENERATIONS studying to comprehend, but had in fact spent less than a DECADE?!
He just did not understand it… why were the Dwemer suddenly so eager to Ascend? To become gods? To spit in the face of the Aedra and Daedra? True, Karval was no fan of either, nor could any Dwemer claim to be, though Karval DID find them fascinating in a way… but why was it so important they evolve now? So soon? So quickly?
The Dwemer were already a long-lived race, a thousand years at the very least, with the ones who remained active and had a strong connection with magic could easily reach three millennia! And their technology… their magic… their wonders and might… did it not already rival the gods? Did it not make them one of, if not the, most powerful races of the world? So why transcend NOW?!
And every time Karval asked himself that same question… he got the same answer… Kagrenac.
Lord Kagrenac was elderly… even by Dwemer standards. He would not see another two centuries. He did not want to waste anymore time. The time he could use to achieve a simple, prideful dream that had been an obsession for mortals since the dawn of creation.
Immortality.
True, never-ending life, without any sort of bargains with divines or horrible catches or prices.
It made sense… Lord Kagrenac, more than any other Dwemer in history, had always scorned and laughed at the Aedra and Daedra. Spat in their faces whenever given the chance. Mocked and humiliated their priests… Perhaps in his old age, Lord Kagrenac was worried who might be waiting for him on the other side, in the Outer Realms. And even if that was not the case, who could honestly say they wished to die? Certainly not Kagrenac… he loved life too much. Loved being praised and respected too much.
So they were rushing into an experiment, with high stakes that was bound to fail, for the pride and fear of a single old man. And the worst part… no one else could see it. Well… that was not quite true.
Karval's father had seen it.
Bthuand Mzahnch had always criticized Kagrenac's ideas about the Heart. Debated them, countered them, and denied them. He had even written a book about the dangers, labeled 'The Egg of Time'. Karval had a copy himself; it was quite a good read, one of his father's finest works. No one else in the Dwemer Council had been such a stout adversary to the High Tonal Architect.
It must have hurt the High Priest to see his greatest pupil turn against him.
Karval shared his father's feelings, using the Heart was folly, at least with so little actual data on it's true power and nature… and what's more, he was not sure he even WANTED to be a god.
True, dying was not such an appealing option, but what was a god, let alone a whole RACE of gods supposed to do anyway? He liked his small workshop, he liked building automatons and researching new energy conduit fields from the Outer Realms. He liked inventing things and improving existing inventions that made life easier. He liked pouring over knowledge from the Elder Scrolls and debating the impacts with his colleagues.
He liked his simple life…
What's more; this whole STUPID affair had gotten them into another war with the Chimer… many of his kin were fine with this, seeing the golden-skinned elves as young interlopers or simple-minded brutes at best, possibly slaves or victims at worst. But when the peace had been struck between King Dumac and Lord Nerevar, Karval had gone out, into their towns and cities, gotten to know their cousins, he even knew a few he could actually call friend… but no more… now more blood would be spilled… needlessly.
He was sure of that.
With another sigh, Karval trudged back to his desk and leaned against it, rubbing his hand across his face and brow, attempting to banish the headache he knew was coming before it could begin.
Already most of his race has begun to assemble at Red Mountain, even their kin from far of Skyrim and Hammerfell were coming. Even his father had gone, seemingly the fight finally leaving him... or perhaps he was simply curious what would happen. What's more he had heard rumors and whispers that the Chimer were marshaling their forces not far off... a time of great change was upon them... and Karval was quite sure he wanted nothing to do with it.
He blinked as he heard the familiar sound of footsteps approaching his door, the metal flooring giving off a soft yet obvious, clang clang clang. He sighed as he straitened up and prepared for company… although he had a uneasy feeling he already knew who it was going to be.
"Karval!" cried a Dwemer a decade or two older than Karval as he strutted through the door, not even bothering to knock.
"Bzalft. Good to see you." Karval lied through his teeth.
It was never good seeing this lying, petty, credit stealing… but regardless…
"What can I do for you?" He asked in a polite manner.
"What can you-… are you daft? The Calling has sounded! Lord Kagrenac has summoned us all to Red Mountain! It's time, let's go!" The older elf began but stopped himself as he saw a pack and satchel resting by the bed, packed to the brim with metal bars, tools, scrolls, books, journals as well as containers of water and food, even a compacted Spider Drone was shoved into a side satchel.
"Ah! You are already packed! Good, good! Then we can just walk on out! But what is the meaning of the metals and the tools, friend? You don't expect to do much tinkering on the road do you?"
"No… but then again… I'm not going." Karval said quietly.
Bzalft stopped and looked at the younger Dwemer with disbelieving eyes.
"Ha… not going? You're not serious?"
"No. I'm perfectly serious." replied Karval.
"You… oh by my forefathers you don't honestly believe your father's theories, do you?" Bzalft asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Yes… I do. And I think you are all heading towards a fall. A fall I will not be part of." Karval said with resolution in his voice.
"Karval, see reason! Lord Kagrenac knows what he is doing! He has never made a mistake before! You are one of the youngest Dwemer to ever achieve both the ranks of Tonal Architect and Magecrafter… surely you're intelligent enough to see your father's worries are pointless and unfounded?"
"I see that our race is being foolish… but it would not be the first time…" Karval muttered to himself.
"And what does that mean, exactly?" Bzalft asked with a leer.
"You know what it means. You've heard of what our brothers in the northwest have done to the Falmer, just as I have." the younger Dwemer said with a dull pain in his voice.
Bzalft rolled his eyes, a knowing smirk on his lips.
"Oh please don't tell me you're one of those bleeding hearts. So what if our kin in the west blinded a few Snow Elves? They made good slaves from what I hear, and will again! I have no doubt our brothers will squash this 'rebellion' in time to meet us for the Ascension. Perhaps they'll even take a few with them and we'll get to see the effects of this 'miracle fungus' first hand when we meet them at Red Mountain."
"They are our kin! No matter how distant, we are still all elves! They came to them for help, and our brethren betrayed their trust. And as for the rebellion, it's been going on for over a decade now! What makes you think it will end now, of all times?" Karval snarled.
"Because they were weak and foolish then and are weak, foolish and BLIND now. They are lesser Elves! They were shown their place, are misbehaving, will be put down, and shown again. And this time, they WILL stay there." Bzalft snarled back.
The two dwarves locked glares for a moment before the elder scoffed and turned to leave.
"I will see you on the road, Karval. I am sure you will come to your sense. I will accept your apology then. And if not then, after the Ascension. Lord Kagrenac is sending the wave throughout the entire Calling. You cannot escape that. Ha ha!" Bzalft laughed as he exited the young Magecrafter's chambers, his mocking sounds echoing throughout the metal tunnels.
Karval turned and made his way over to his packs and satchels and hefted them onto his back and sides. Everything he would need to survive for a month or so as well as set up a new workshop when he found a place to settle. He smiled a knowing smile to himself as Bzalft's words rung in his head.
"Oh… but I can escape it my forgetful friend…" Karval said as he approached a wall opposite of his current position, a circle of runes painted on the wall, hidden from view by his workbench and bookcase.
"Our race has grown sick… and it has only worsened since we found that damnable Heart… and I want no more part of it. However, I WILL outlive the destruction I know is coming… I will wait, in the Outer Realms, and then… I think I would like to see another realm of Mundus… another mortal world. I wonder if they have humans and elves there as well…" Karval said to himself as he raises his hand.
There was a flash of Magicka, the runes exploded with light and sprung to life. The area inside the circle shifted constantly as if it wasn't sure whether to be a gas, solid, liquid, or all three at once. Occasionally there could be seen brief glimpses of… other places. Some beautiful, some horrible. But all of them very far away from here.
Then, with a smile and a few short steps, Karval Mzahnch was gone from Tamriel.
AN: Ok, tell me what you think, like it, hate it, continue, stop, delete, what what what?!
Heh, but in all seriousness please do tell me what you think and leave comments telling me what you think. I know it's short, but this is more of a... test than anything. Trust me, the other chapters WILL be longer.
My reasoning for this is that there HAD to have been Dwemer who disagreed with Kagrenac's plan. To use the Heart in such a manner, to create a new god and ascend their entire race at once. The Egg of Time is proof of that. And as we see with Yagrum, the last dwarf in Tamriel, seen in Morrowwind, a Dwemer in the Outer Realms, Oblivion or Aetherius, would be safe from the wave sent out through the Calling, the subtle psychic connection shared with all Dwemer.
Tell me what you think and tell me what you think would be interesting to happen with a Dwemer in Thedas. He'll be putting many people in their place, that's for sure. The Templars and Dwarves spring to mind… heh heh heh…