It was the water that awoke him from slumber.
It's been an unknown amount of weeks since he has been here. He slowly opened his eyes, seeing the blue skies of Cyrodiil through the small crack the Imperials call a cell window. The sun shone through the window, beaming its light onto his yellow skin.
The High Elf lifted himself up from the stone slab that was called a bed. The clothes that were supplied were deathly uncomfortable, and the iron shackles on his wrists didn't help either. He began his small walk around the cell, awaiting the breakfast that would come soon. Imperials were sticklers for continuity.
"Have you got the food for them?"
"Yes, Legate."
"Good."
Exactly what the High Elf in the cell was thinking.
The sound of armour going down the steps. The Imperial Legion, the ones who captured him in the first place, we're now keeping him here for Divines know how long. He held two bowls in his hands, one for each prisoner. The Dark Elf across the hall walked up to his cell door, trying to peek through the bars to see the guard. Said guard stopped, placing the bowls in each cell for the two Mer before retreating back up the stairs, his duty done for now. The Elves took their respective bowls and went to the small table in their separate cells. All you could hear in the halls was the sounds of slurping and chewing.
Both being done, they placed their bowls at the edge of their cells, close to the door. The High Elf, with next to nothing to do, went back over to his bed and rested. It wouldn't be for another few hours until the Watch allow them to get out to the yard.
Only an hour went by, and the Elf was still restless. He knew he couldn't practice his magic without the Watch knowing. Some murmurs were heard up the stairs, but the High Elf couldn't make out any probable words. The Dark Elf, however, was listening intently, able to pick out words.
"Well, well, look at the high and mighty Altmer. Where's your dignity now, huh? Where's that famous High Elf poise and bearing?" The Dark Elf began to taunt, an evil smile painted across his face.
"I would implore that you to keep quiet, Valon." The High Elf threatened.
"You know, my time's almost up. Pretty soon, I'll be free, and you'll be stuck here in this rathole, waiting for your execution." Valon Dreth said.
"You can't be serious?" The High Elf asked.
"That's right. I heard some of the guards talking. You're going to die in here, 'High' Elf! You hear me? You're going to DIE!"
The door above their heads unlocked, a series of footfalls were happening upon the stones.
"COME ON, SOLDIERS! MOVE IT!" A strong female voice said.
"You hear that? The guards are coming... for you." Valon finished, laughing maniacally afterwards.
He walked to the back of his cell, rolling freely in his insanity. The High Elf sighed, knowing that Valon was insane since that first day in here. From the footfalls, he counted four people. Three in heavy armour, one in clothing. He walked up to the front of the cell, trying to see who exactly was coming down. The sight surprised him. Two Blades were coming down the stairs, their Akaviri-inspired armour shining brightly, their unique swords hung by their left hips. One was at the back, not holding any of the fancy plating that the other two had, obviously new to the Blades. But the third person in the line caught the High Elf's eye.
It was the Emperor himself. Uriel Septim VII, in all of his aged glory.
"My sons, they're dead." He muttered, but it was louder in the silence of the halls.
"We don't know that, sire. The guards only said they were attacked." The female, obviously the captain of the group, reassured to no avail.
"No, they're dead. I can feel it." Uriel said.
"My job right now is to get you to safety." She said.
She turned to face the cell, meeting the unhappy face of the Altmer prisoner staring back at her. She faced back to the Imperial Blade, the obvious second-in-command.
"What's this prisoner doing here? This cell was supposed to be off limits." She asked.
"Usual mix-up with the Watch. I-" The Imperial tried to answer.
"Never mind, get that gate open." She ordered. She turned to face the Altmer. "Stand back, prisoner. We won't hesitate to kill you if you get in our way."
The Altmer, knowing that he wouldn't stand a chance against three Blades, hurriedly moved to the back of the cell. The Imperial Blade unlocked the cell door and walked over to the Altmer. Even against one, the Altmer would die.
"Stay put, prisoner." He ordered, which the High Elf obeyed.
The other three walked into the small cell. The captain was also an Imperial, yet the last Blade was a Redguard. The captain walked over to the High Elf's bed, looking for something in the bricks. The Redguard looked bored, but was determined to do his job. The Emperor looked at the High Elf. A spark of recognition fleeted across his eyes.
"You." Uriel stated, pointing at the High Elf. That gained the attention of the Redguard. "I've seen you."
The Emperor walked towards the Altmer. Although the Elf was taller than all four, the Emperor radiated that air of respect that made him listen. Uriel studied him deeply, coming to the conclusion.
"You are the one from my dreams. Then the stars were right, and this is the day. Gods give me strength."
"Why are you here?" The High Elf asked.
"Assassins attacked my sons, and I am next. There is a secret passageway that leads out of the city. And by chance, that passage is through your cell."
"Why am I here?"
"Perhaps the Gods have placed you here so that we may meet. But, as for what you have done, it does not matter. That is not what you'll be remembered for."
"Excuse me, milord. But what is his name?" The Redguard asked.
"Undian Loreius, at your service." The High Elf introduced himself.
The sound of stone scraping against stone filled the small cell. The bed sunk lower to the earth, and the wall was pushed outwards slightly. The captain put her hand against the wall and pushed it, forcing the wall to move away and revealing the secret passage. From the very little that he could see, Undian guess that the architecture was Ayelid, or something similar. The three Blades went back to their original places around the Emperor. However, the Redguard stayed behind.
"Stay here, prisoner. Don't try to follow us." With that stated, he ran to catch up with the rest.
Undian was having a debate. Whether to follow orders and stay here, possibly to await execution, or to disobey and escape through the passage. He racked his brain for possible answers, but never came to a definite conclusion.
"Your destiny lies within the passage." A voice in his head said.
Undian gasped, looking for a source to the voice. It sounded Nordic, experienced and old. Instead of searching even more, he decided to run through the passage, hoping to catch up to the four. He raised his fists up, knowing some form of unarmed fighting. He heard the familiar clanking of armour, knowing that they were the Blades. He began to run faster, not wanting to be alone anymore.
"FORM UP! Protect the Emperor!" He heard the female captain say.
He began to hear the sounds of fighting, just around the corner. When he rounded it, he saw the Blades formed up in a protective circle around Uriel Septim, who held a silver short-sword in his hand. Three masked figures were closing in, their armour black and the cloth underneath blood red. A dagger, a Bound dagger, was held in their right hands. The six warriors clashed, a dance of steel and flashes of light beginning. The woman raised her right arm up, only for the assailant's dagger to be sent into her armpit. She cringed, making her vulnerable to more attacks. The dagger was ripped out and sliced across her throat, blood spraying in the half-arc. She gurgled on her own blood, flowing out of her mouth and throat. The assailant, knowing that she is dead, began to charge at the Emperor.
"Renault's down!" The Imperial yelled, finishing off the assailant that he was clashing with. The assassin fell back, the armour disintegrating and revealing a young Imperial woman in red robes.
Undian reacted. He ran forwards, hoping to catch the assassin without the Emperor dying. Fortunately, he did. Undian ran faster, pulling his right arm back for an uppercut. He clashed with the assassin, his uppercut connecting with the plate. It hurt like hell, the knuckles throbbing from the impact. But, it did do some damage to the assailant, as he recoiled. Undian readied a fireball spell, sending it into the assassin. It exploded, engulfing the person in weak flames. While it didn't do much, it did buy the Blades with some time to send the tip of their sword through the neck. The tip retracted, making the armour fade from the person and revealing an Imperial male in red robes and hood, similar to the others.
The rest sheathed their weapons. The Redguard ran up to the Emperor.
"Are you alright, Sire? We're clear, for now." He asked.
Uriel nodded in affirmation. "Captain Renault?"
"She's dead. I'm sorry, sire, but we have to keep moving." With that said, the Redguard walked down the stairs and to the Imperial Blade, who was at an iron gate.
Undian, feeling greedy, picked up Renault's sword and short-sword. He put the sword onto his hip and kept the short-sword out. He gave it a few swings, trying to find if it is balanced or not, which it was. He faintly heard the two Blades talking, and just heard the last sentence.
"-They wouldn't be the first to underestimate the Blades." The Imperial said. He pushed the iron gate open, and went to unlock the wooden door behind it. "I'll take point. Let's move."
The Redguard turned his head to face Undian. "Don't try to follow us."
With that said, he walked through the iron gate and locked it behind him. The only chance that Undian could escape slipped through his fingers. He was slightly despairing, unable to comprehend the unfairness that the Divines placed on him.
He heard a falling of stone to his right. He looked over there, seeing a small section of the wall had fallen down. He saw a savage rat running towards him. It leaped a metre away from him, hoping to close the distance to bite the High Elf. Undian sidestepped, making the rat harmlessly fly past. It turned quickly and leapt to bite again. Undian raised the steel short-sword, catching the rat's razor sharp teeth around it. He turned, flinging the rat away. It hit a pillar, hearing something crack, and fell to the ground, not moving. Waiting a minute so that anything else wouldn't attack him, Undian walked through the hole. It was covered in dirt, but it wasn't used in centuries, at least. He spotted a skeleton at the far end, walking over to it. He suddenly felt pain on his right ankle. He looked down, seeing yet another rat biting into it. He bent down and swung his short-sword at it. It did connect, making the rat let go, and Undian sent the tip down through its skull, killing it.
"Gods-forsaken rats. Why couldn't it be something more hygienic than that?" Undian muttered to himself.
He casted the healing spell that he knew best, Heal Minor Wounds. He felt the muscles and skin repair themselves, quicker than what nature could do alone. Undian made it to the skeleton, suddenly realising that it was wearing leather armour, but only a cuirass and boots were in working order. It looked rough, obviously either hand-made or of bad quality. But it didn't matter, Undian needed the protection. He took the cuirass and boots and put them on. It was uncomfortable, definitely of bad quality. He also looted the leather shield placed beside it, along with the bow, a torch and a few lockpicks. He tried to open the chest beside it, but it was locked.
"At least he had the bloody smarts to lock it." The High Elf muttered again.
He brought a lockpick out and inserted the curved end into the lock. He fished through the bolts, trying to find which ones were down. The last four were up, but the one closest to him was down. He pushed it up and twisted the lockpick, keeping it in place. He heard the lock click, indicating that it was now unlocked. He opened it, revealing a quiver of iron arrows and a sapphire. He took them and continued on, shield raised in alarm of another rat attack. One last rat came to him, but leapt straight into the shield. It met the quickest death that Undian sent, a fireball straight in the face. He walked over to the rotting wooden door at the far side of the room. A corpse was lying on the bricks, obviously recent. Cloth was hanging by the waist down. It was green, like an Orc, but was shorter and thinner than one. A goblin, a shaman by the looks. It sported various bite marks across its body and neck.
'Killed by the rats, no doubt.' Undian thought.
He looted the body, seeing two scrolls, some gold, a club, a torch and a rusty key. Undian took everything of interest, including the club and gold, but left the torch. He kept the key out and placed it into the lock on the door, fitting it perfectly. The Mer twisted it, unlocking the door and entering the next room. It was a lot more open than the previous, but was still dirty as hell. He heard a happy squeak from the corner on his left, seeing a rat turn it with a hungry look in its eyes. Undian merely stepped backwards, allowing the rodent to fall before his feet. He kicked it, making it reel back in pain. It scampered back, hoping to keep away from further harm. Undian wasn't going to let it live, and sent a fireball into the rat, killing it.
He walked past the chest, thinking that there was nothing important in it and went down the small decline into another hall. A rat rounded the corner, frightening Undian a bit. Its eyes were filled with fear. Undian saw yet another rat run past, the same look in its eyes. A third was flung over the corner, hitting the wall with a series of cracks. Undian was starting to get suspicious. He waited, and what revealed itself shocked the High Elf all the way to his bones.
It was a walking corpse!
The skin on it was green, obvious decomposition of the dead. Some chunks of flesh were gone, revealing bones like the ribs and its intestines. The lower jaw was missing and its right arm only went to halfway up the forearm. Undian, knowing that this is the work of necromancy, charged the evil being. He sent the short-sword tip through where the heart would be, hoping that it would die from that. The entire blade went through the body, getting lodged inside the muscle. It stumbled back from the force of the charge, but it didn't fall. Undian let go and walked back, in disbelief. The corpse retaliated, rushing forwards and swiping with what remains of his left arm. Undian dodged backwards, not wanting the scratch to hit any part of his body. He took out the club and held it out in front. When the zombie came close, he swung. The force from the swing, as well as the mass of the club, crushed the skull of the corpse and made half of what remains of the face fall off in a red and green mess. This stopped the creature, as it fell sideways and never moved again. Undian threw the club away, not liking it, and forcibly pulled the short sword out, bringing a whole chunk of mort flesh with him. Disgusted, he pushed the flesh off the blade and wiped it clean. Finished, he continued on, trekking through the dirt and grime.
"I hope I would get handsomely rewarded for this." Undian muttered to himself.
He came to a large expanse, where many goblins now make their lair. He counted two from where he was now, but looks can be deceiving. There was a pit in the middle of the room, no doubt where a whole horde was waiting, and light was emanating on his right, most likely a fire and a few more goblins are. He heard a small shriek and clanks of bone coming towards him. He looked, seeing a goblin berserker running towards him. Undian just unsheathed his short-sword when the goblin lunged at him. The rusty knife it held hit the rough leather, cutting somewhat into it. But it held firm, allowing the High Elf to plunge the short-sword into its stomach. Its breath lurched, obviously in pain. It took a shaky breath, one of which was wasted on an ear-piercing screech. Undian pushed the blade deeper into the goblin, taking its life fully. He pulled it out savagely, spilling the guts into the dirt.
Unfortunately, the shriek caught the attention of the rest of the goblins, which was only three. Two regular savages and one shaman. The savages were easy to handle, when on their own. But the shaman within the ranks made it a lot more difficult. Both savages rushed the High Elf, blindly attacking. Undian sidestepped the flurry of attacks and stabbed one goblin in the throat. However, the extended use of the steel short-sword, along with the strain of multiple blocks, meant that the blade snapped off when one strike from the remaining savage hit it when Undian tried to block. The High Elf was stunned, but sent what remained of the sword into the goblin's skull.
A flash of lightning streaked by him, pure magic flowing out of the projectile. He turned to the source, seeing the shaman holding a staff in its right hand, a skull perched on the top. It pulled its left hand back, revealing a small orange glow. The thrust out of the hand shot a fireball. Undian easily dodged it, but was hit by the streak of lightning emitted by the staff. His body convulsed from the impact, more so than if it hit an Imperial or the worthless beings everyone calls Argonians or Khajiit. The convulsions stopped, resulting in Undian just lying there, breathing heavily.
"By the Eight, how I hate magic against me.' He thought, standing back up.
He was smiling evilly. Magic coursed through his blood, the High Elf birthright. A casted a spell that came to mind. A portal opened up at his head height, dropping out a skeleton from the depths of Oblivion. It saw the enemy that was threatening its master, running what was left of its body towards the shaman. While it was running around one way, Undian ran the other way around. The pincer attack succeeded, resulting in a destroyed skeleton and a dead goblin shaman. He picked up the staff, feeling the Lightning magic course through his hand and arm. He spotted a chest beyond a fence and walked over to it. It was locked, but it was simple. He inserted a lockpick into the lock, feeling that only one spring was lowered. However, the lockpick broke.
"Fuck." Undian cursed, taking the broken pick out.
He threw it away and took out a new one, inserting it into the lock. This time, it unlocked, allowing the High Elf to search the contents. An armourer's hammer and an iron longsword was what he took, leaving the rest inside the chest. He stopped, taking inventory and for the possible final prayer.
"May the Eight take mercy on me and my soul. Whatever their judgement may be, it will be just. Oblivion or Aetherius, my soul will rest and my body be swallowed by the water of life."
He continued on, facing whatever dangers were impeding his progress.
"Kill him. He must be working with the assassins."
Two Dunmer in the red robes littered the floor at their feet. One of the Blades was pointing the tip of his sword at Undian, who was scared to death. He just made it to the party of three when the two assassins attacked. As at the start, the Blades easily defeated the onslaught, but they were tiring.
"NO!"
All three looked at the ageing emperor, who held up his hand and a scowl painted across his face.
"He can help us. He must help us."
The Imperial sighed, defeated. "As you wish, sire." He said, sheathing his sword. Undian let out a breath that he was holding.
The Emperor walked up to him, no hostility in his movements.
"They cannot understand why I trust you. They've not seen what I've seen." He stated, holding a hand to his head.
"Listen, you know the Nine? How they guide our fates with an invisible hand?"
"I worship the Eight. This 'Talos' isn't a god." Undian replied truthfully.
That set the Imperial Blade off. He spun around and punched Undian in the face, one he wasn't expecting. A crunching of bone was heard underneath the fist, followed by a gushing of blood from Undian's nose.
"You insolent cur! You just disrespected the Emperor's bloodline!" The Blade yelled, roughly grabbing Undian by the lapels and shaking him while shouting.
"Glenroy." The Redguard warned.
"Shut up, Baurus! This Elf deserved to be in prison."
"Blade Glenroy, I'd implore you to release the High Elf." The Emperor ordered calmly, one which Glenroy half-heartedly obeyed.
Baurus walked over and held an armoured hand out, one which Undian took. When up on his feet, the High Elf casted Heal Minor Wounds on himself, ridding him of the broken nose.
"Why did you not let him kill me?" He asked the Emperor.
"You believe what you want to believe. I haven't launched a campaign against the Dark Elves for worshipping Daedra. So why should you believing in one less Divine be any different?"
"True, true. Anyways, the Divines guide and protect us, correct?" Undian replied.
"I have served the Nine all my days, and tracked their progress through the heavens. Each star a sign, each holding countless fires. But, now I wonder, which one sparked your birth?"
"I don't-" Undian started.
"The Steed."
Undian looked around the room, trying to find that Nordic voice again. The source eluded him yet again, but what it said felt true to him.
"The Steed." He repeated.
"You were about to say you didn't know." The Emperor said.
"A voice told me what sign I was born under. Not sure why, though."
"Well, the signs I read has shown the end of my path. My death, a necessary end, will come when it will come."
"But, what about me?"
"Your stars are not mine. Today, the Steed shall guide you to your destiny."
After exchanging a few more words, walking through a few more tunnels and fighting off a few more assassins, they came to a very different kind of stop. A flight of stairs that led down to a small platform. The platforms on either side were so high that even Undian couldn't look over them.
"Hold up. Something doesn't look right. I'll take point." Glenroy said, marching confidently onto the platform.
Fortunately, nothing bad happened, allowing the others to come down and walk through to an iron gate. A thick block of wood barred entrance to the other side.
"Dammit. The gate is barred on the other side. A trap!" Glenroy yelled, unsheathing his sword.
"What about that side passage back there?" Baurus asked, indicating with his head.
"Worth a try. Let's go." Glenroy responded.
Baurus unsheathed his sword and all went through the narrow hall into a small side room. There wasn't a side passage and, if there was, it was really well hidden.
"Bah, if only Captain Renault was here. She knew this like the back of her hand." Glenroy muttered.
A distant closing of the door sparked the attention of the four. Glenroy and Baurus feared the worst.
"They're behind us! Wait here, sire." He ran out into the expanse.
"Stay here with the Emperor. Guard him with your life." Baurus muttered to Undian before following Glenroy out. "For the Emperor!"
Uriel Septim turned to the High Elf before him. He took the amulet off of his neck and held it in his hand.
"I can go no further. You alone can stand against the Prince of Destruction and his mortal servants. They must not have the Amulet of Kings." He said, taking the amulet and placing it in Undian's hand. "Take it to Jauffre. He alone knows where to find my last son." He gently wrapped Undian's fingers around the amulet, glowing a soft red.
"Find him, and close shut the jaws of Oblivion."
Those were the last words the Emperor said before an assassin's blade met his heart, staining everything closeby red with blood.
Undian stumbled out of the gate. The leather and iron armour were worn for now. He still cannot believe he called himself a War-Monger, a specialist in Blade, Light armour, Destruction, Mysticism, Restoration, Conjuration and Alteration.
His knees gave way, his body going into shut down. He fell onto the sands just outside the Imperial Prison walls, feeling the sun heat up the golden skin. He laughed at the irony of the situation.
"Screw you, Valen! I'm free!" Undian yelled, laughing even more afterwards.
His laughter died down, now pondering on what the Emperor said about the jaws of Oblivion. However, priorities first needed to be completed. That meant going to talk to this Jauffre person in Weynon Priory, close to Chorrol.
Undian stood back up shakily, feeling the cool air brush against his face. Not bothering to walk around, he went straight into the lake that surrounded the Imperial City and made directly to the shore opposite to him. Once there, he began to head northwest.
His journey has begun.