"I cannot cheat death, but I can evade it, and hide. It will catch up to me, but not before I catch it." That was my grandfather Nirandyl's favorite saying. He was a master of the art of stealth. My father told me stories of how he could be faced with a hundred adversaries, and all he had to do was crouch low. Shadows had taken him, and every last one of his enemies had been killed or incapacitated, and those that he had spared…he killed later. How could he do this, you ask? Nirandyl was a Nightingale, long ago. An agent of Nocturnal, he was given a choice of 3 abilities. First, the Agent of Subterfuge. This gave him the power to warp his enemies' minds. Second, the Agent of Strife. This allowed him to drain his enemies' life force, thus giving it to him. Lastly…I cannot remember. I do know that he could crouch any minute and disappear. I had hoped to one day, find his killer….and kill them, for they knew what become of my long lost friend, Tathinel.

Two Years Later

"Why must I carry this pack all the way to the Sepulcher!? What happened to you saying, 'I can carry the mightiest of beasts from Solitude to Riften!? What happen-!?", I cut him off. Issuing a look of disgust, and hatred for the Nordic traveler, I carefully explained to him why, saying in a sadistic tone," Because if you don't, I'll chop off whatever hangs between your legs and pierce them to a tree, or feed them to the wolves. I'm not paying you a hundred septims to complain and grumble about how you hate this. Understand?" He did, and it's a good thing he did, because not more than two more miles, did we reach our destination. The Twilight Sepulcher. The door was as black as…..well, twilight. As I walked up to the massive door, the world around me was shrouded in darkness. A deep blue light, with a tint of purple, erupted from under each crevice of the earth. I drew my blade, carved with the insignia of the Nightingales, and stabbed it into the soil. I spoke in a low voice, saying, "Shadow and darkness enshroud me. Midnight define me. Nocturnal…..guide me." The door opened, and revealed a decrepit hall. Just then, an apparition appeared, dressed like me.

The spirit stood as proud and as defined as any Nightingale would have. I walked up to him, and he asked me, "Hello, Nightingale. What brings you hear?" I explained to him of Mercer Frey's treachery, and how I was meant to stop him. He shook his head, saying, "This is nothing new to me. Even in slaying me, I knew he would meet his demise." It all made sense to me now. I said to him, "Wait a minute…..you're Gallus!" Karliah had told me that a Nightingale was bound with Nocturnal and the Sepulcher. He turned his head, suspicious. "I have not heard that name in a long time. How do you know?" I told him about Karliah. He was very surprised. "Karliah!? She's alive!?"I told him she helped me with all of this, and now I have to return the Skeleton Key. He explained that due to that fact that the Key was taken, I would have to take the Pilgrim's Path in order to reach the Ebonmere. I walked down the hall, fighting hostile Nightingale sentinels, and reached a dark-lit room. More like obstacle course, for this was a test of staying in the shadows, yet stepping into the light meant getting burned severely. Reaching the end of the Path, I ran through a corridor, and found some stairs. Halfway down, they had retreated into the wall. The only thing at the bottom of the pit was a skeleton. I looked up, and pulled out the Key. A low rumble sounded, and I fell downward. Below me was a large moonlight colored circle, with a small keyhole in the center. Looking at the teeth of the Key, and seeing it matched the keyhole, at inserted the Key, and soon after the floor erupted, and the same deep blue and purple light erupted, with a midnight color coming from the floor. Ravens soon emerged from the ground , and there, standing before me, was the Lady of Night, Queen of Murk, Daedric princess…Lady Nocturnal.

To my surprise, she appeared like an Imperial. I thought she was the only daedric god to appear as a human. The hooded robe she wore only covered or feet, and the opening through the middle was very….revealing. I stood in awe, since this is the first time I've see a human-looking god, much less a Daedra. I explained to her how I've returned the Skeleton Key, slayed Mercer,and she told me of the three Agents of Nocturnal I could pick. I picked the Agent of Shadow. I looked to the left to see Karliah with Gallus, and then he disappeared. I turned to her, and said, "Let's go find Tathinel.", as we left.

"He's not in these damn woods! We won't find him like this, Taal! Where should we look?!", Karliah said. Ignoring her, I ran to a large brown circle, and then a flood of memories erupted in my head. Repressed memories, which made me break down in a waterfall of emotions. What was different about the atronach was it would not have been just out like the regular ones, but a mage would have conjured it, and possibly died in the process. I knew the only mage who could have made it, and not died, and he was buried deep below Winterhold. "Karliah! We are going to Winterhold!", I exclaimed. She looked at me like I had slaughterfish for ears. We stopped at the Nightgate Inn to stay for a few days.

I woke up screaming, my blade drawn about to strike and slash anything in my way, only to find nothing but pitch darkness. I turned to the left, and saw two beautiful midnight purple eyes glowing in the darkness. Something told me it was my wife, and something told me it was Karliah, but I closed my eyes and slept through the night.

Morning light shone through the window, blinding me for a second. As they adjusted, they adjusted to Karliah, who had just awoken. Not noticing me, she stood up and stretched. Sleek, agile, and just damn beautiful, I thought. She slipped into her earthy brown Thieves Guild armor, still looking beautiful. I was still in my loincloth when I had stood up. She turned to me, and giggled. I looked down and then I realized. Quickly adjusting the leather straps and belts, and pouches to my comfort level, and packing my quiver and my prized Elven bow, a gift from Tathinel's family, we walked out the door, and to my surprise, was three dead bodies, and a contract. I looked at Karliah, and said," Mercenaries?" She nodded, and we continued walking. I read the note, and it said they were sent by…Dorthe? The small little girl from Riverwood? I only stole a potato from them! A damn potato! I ripped the contract, throwing it into a creek.

"I don't know what's worse! The walk through the cold, or dealing with these spiders! It's really annoying and it's so….!", she stopped. I finished for her. "Cold?", I said. She nodded greatly. Walking for another two and a half miles, I finally saw the College. I gave a large sigh of relief. We ran the rest of the way. We made it to the entrance, when we were stopped by a mage named Niranye. She told me to prove myself as a mage, and so I told her I'm the Dragonborn. She then said prove it. So…..I threw her off a cliff. We walked ever so further, to the large gate, where I met Mirabelle Ervine. I said to her that I need to speak to Enthir. She told me that I can't speak to anyone without being inducted into the College. The three grand soul gems and the 250 septims changed her mind. When we found him, Enthir brought us to his room, asking why we were here. We gave him the short version, saying that I'm on a vengeance quest to find the man who killed my grandfather, and to find what happened to my friend. He led us to a long hallway, with a ladder at the end. "Go down there. Along the way, there will be pillars. Take note of the design on them. They will give you the answer on how to get to the door, and open it,". After going down the ladder, we were amazed. A glistening pool of lavender-colored water, with windows of forest green on the sides, and a light on the top of the cavern ceiling, which made shapes on the sides. Karliah was walking forward, obviously bewitched by all of it. I pulled her to the side, and put my hands on her, one on her back, and the other on the base of her neck. A sunlit color exploded from my hands, and she turned to me with a sorrowful look. She wept, saying she was sorry for all she did to me. "What are you talking about, Karliah!? You did nothing!", I said. Looking at her I asked if she ever had a spouse. She wept even more. "What was his name!? Huh, what was it?", I asked. She turned to me with her large, purple midnight eyes, and said, "Taalindrel".

I was flummoxed. My wife, was almost eradicated by Mercer Frey. I'm glad the bastard's dead. If he wasn't, he would have been. How could this be!? I was told my wife had died in a fire, with her unborn child. I fainted. During my unconsciousness, my life went by. From my birth in Valenwood, to now. This was something I would never forget. When I awoke, I was groggy. Very….groggy. I looked to Karliah, and I saw in her a look I never knew before…..fear. The very fear that I had during Helgen. "What happened? I was told you and our daughter died in a fire!", I asked. She looked to me with those eyes. I knew they felt sorrow. "Fifteen years ago. Today, in fact, I was told that you had died during the bandit raid. I had been depressed for 4 weeks. When I was told I was pregnant with a girl, I was happy. Then another raid came. I defended myself. I must've killed at least twenty-five brigands. Then I ran inside when they came with their pit wolves, not able to kill them. They set fire to the house. I thought for sure I would die. Just then, Lady Nocturnal came to me and said, 'Look to shadow for safety.', and so I did. There was a secret entrance. I then learned that our child died from the trauma. So, I joined the Guild, and we ended up here.". We cleaned our meal, and pressed forward. Coming to what must've been, the last pillar, which had the Akaviri symbol for dragon, we came to a massive, double door. It was pure blue, almost white. I spoke in the dragon tongue, which I had said, "By the staff of Julianos, the demons of Oblivion, and the shouts of the Dovah, open this door!". The massive entrance exploded in blinding, and pristine light. Walking in, revealed a massive hall with at least three portcullises', and each with a different light in front of them. Red, green, and blue. They were lined in that exact order. "Fascinating, isn't it?", said a voice. Karliah and I both turned to see a very elderly Altmer standing behind us. "This is the Hall of Ascension. This is where all gods had been made and ascended to the cosmos. What are you after here?", he asked. I explained to him about Tathinel, and the atronach. This made him weep uncontrollably. Karliah started to weep to, and I was so befuddled I sat down and huddled, bring my knees up to my chest. Sorrow was now what enshrouding me. On the verge of hysteria, a familiar voice came from behind. "Taal, are you alright!?" I was unsure of who it was, and told them to go away. The phrase that followed afterwards was a familiar one, as I heard it plain as day. "Taal, wanna go to the meadery!?" This overcomes me with emotion.

"Where in Oblivion happened to you!? I thought you were dead!", I shouted to him, while hugging him. My friend was alive, and that's all I cared about. Yet he was dressed differently. Instead of the pale blue hooded robes, he wore a red and black robe, with its hood down. His gloves were red, and his fingers protruded through them. The shoes were simple, and….again, red. There was a crimson handprint in the middle of a triangular piece of red cloth that attached to the robes. I knew those robes, because I had worn them myself. Well, just the gloves and hood. The other part was a skin tight-and I mean SKIN TIGHT- outfit. The robes were that of a mage of the Dark Brotherhood, the once feared assassin society in Tamriel. They are feared now, because the Emperor of Tamriel is dead. Can you guess who did that? I slowly let go of him, and saw his cheeks had sunken in. His red eyes were even redder, and I noticed two small little pointed teeth inside his mouth. He winced when the light caught his robes, and I noticed he was steaming when he came into view. My friend, gone for 2 years, had been turned into a creature of the night. He had been turned into a vampire.

Five years earlier

Blood seeped from my hood. The two holes in my neck were burning viciously now. My vision blurred, and I woke up in utter darkness. I closed my eyes, and opened them to find the darkness gone. I realized I was buried inside a coffin. The air was thickening, and breathing was rough. See you soon, uncle Nirandyl, I thought. Just at that moment, was loud shouting. "Get the other side. On my count, lift. We gotta get him out!", said the unknown voice. Short stripes of light revealed themselves from the tomb's sides, and soon I was staring into the pristine light of the moon. "Thank Shor you're alright!". It was Aela. She pulled me out, and hugged me. I was trying to make sense of everything. Aela, Vilkas, and Farkas saw my look of bewilderment. They told me that the assignment I was sent on was a setup, that I was sent to be killed. The cave was filled with vampires. After slaying at least eight, I was knocked unconscious. I woke up a stone table, to find the master standing over me. A strong burning sensation coursed through my upper body and a saw an evil-shaped implement being plunged into my heart. The master then bent over, and latched onto my neck.

"Tathinel. I'm just glad you're alive.", I said. Karliah, Tathinel, and I began to leave, but the door was latched shut. The elderly man stood in the center of the room, with a staff shaped like a serpent. He spoke loudly, but in a language that sounded gibberish to us. A large bolt of light jolted from the staff's tip, knocking Tathinel and Karliah unconscious. I looked to him, and realized that it was the vampire that changed me into what I was. My brow furrowed, my eyes grew darker. I opened my mouth, and unleased my power of the Voice. "Fus…..Ro…..DAH!". The vampire was flung into the light, and he flames spew from every orifice in his body. He was reduced to nothing but ash within a few seconds. I looked to Karliah, and saw her arise. Tathinel stood up fast, dagger drawn, and flame in hand. I waved a hand, and said it's ok. After letting my throat cool, I looked to the door, and shouted it down. I looked to Tathinel, and said, "Hey! You wanna go to the meadery!?".