"Life can be so boring when it goes on forever," thought Dibella. Watching and waiting, waiting and watching. That was her life nowadays. Things got dull quickly, and lately she had been occupying herself by watching the affairs of the mortals. Sometimes she envied them. At some point life would end for them. They didn't know what death would bring; glory in Sovngarde, eternity in Oblivion, or if it would just all be over. How Dibella wished she could experience that uncertainty. But alas, she knew everything. She and the other Aedra had shaped Mundus and guided the mortals day by day, year by year, eon by eon.
There are nine of them: the Nine Divines. The races throughout Tamriel call them different names, but we shall use the names given to them by the Nords of Skyrim; Akatosh, Arkay, Dibella, Julianos, Kynareth, Mara, Stendarr, Talos, and Zenithar. Akatosh, the Chief Deity, had summoned them all to the Pantheon to discuss certain 'issues'.
"No doubt this involves the mortals," sighed Dibella as she strode across the Pantheon to her throne.
She noticed Kynareth scoff at her as she passed. Today Dibella had appeared in her human form, in which she wore nothing but a sheer skirt around her waist and a lotus blossom in her long blonde hair. As she took her seat on her throne, she noticed Stendarr staring and gave him a playful wink. He quickly averted his gaze, embarrassed that she had caught him gawking at her, but Dibella did not mind one bit. She had created the woman body and was quite pleased with it, so she would always show off her work. While this made the goddesses criticize her lack of modesty, the gods never objected when she was topless. During their revels, all of the gods would get hopelessly drunk and fondled Dibella as she would pass. They all enjoyed her very much. All of them, that was, except for Akatosh.
"Oh, Akatosh," Dibella giggled in her mind. Just because every race in Tamriel worshipped him, he thought he should lead the Pantheon. She wasn't complaining, of course. Nobody else wanted to take charge, and quite frankly, Akatosh was best suited for the job. She saw him sitting upon the Dragon Throne in his human form, toying with the Amulet of Kings. He was King around here: the Dragon God. Truthfully, she and the others were intimidated by him when he came before them as a dragon. Power had made him quite a stickler for his own rules. He was like a grumpy old protective Father to them all; especially towards his real son, Arkay. Akatosh was always nitpicking at them all, complaining for intervening with mortal affairs. He thinks that the only connection to them should be through rewarding their loyalty and worship, but he himself has even indulged with the mortals. Let's not forget the Oblivion Crisis! How were the jaws of Oblivion sealed forever? By using Akatosh's power, of course! And sending the Last Dragonborn to Tamriel recently to banish Alduin the World-Eater, who was none other than a kin of Akatosh.
"If he carries on about this then all I need to do is remind him of that" Dibella reassured herself.
As she glanced around at the other skeptical Aedra, she realized she was not alone in thinking Akatosh was complaining again. Their faces were glazed with boredom and tiredness. As Akatosh ran around collecting papers and other objects, the Aedra exchanged these expressions and giggled with each other. Dibella did not take part in mocking Akatosh, but she enjoyed watching it.
After several minutes, Akatosh's booming voice called the Aedra. "Comrades," he thundered. "Welcome back. I am sure that you are all wondering why I called you here. As you know, some of the mortals are…unsure about our legitimacy."
All eyes went to Talos. He had once been mortal himself, but the Pantheon had agreed to let him ascend to godhood. He shifted uncomfortably and lowered his head, trying to avert the pitiful gazes of the Aedra.
"Poor dear," mused Dibella. Now he understood how dull it is to be a god, how frustrating it is to watch the mortals ignore your existence.
"Which is why," continued Akatosh, "I feel compelled to do this. It is bad enough for us already that the Nords of Skyrim are at war with the Empire. The Daedra have been much bolder as of late. Many mortals are converting to Daedra worship over Aedra. The number of cults arising is outrageous."
"My Vigilants are hard at work trying to eliminate all of the Daedra, Lord Akatosh!" yelled Stendarr triumphantly.
Akatosh nodded. "Yes, Stendarr, your followers have helped. But they have not helped enough. As you may or may not know, Alduin the World-Eater has broken through time into this era. Now the people of Skyrim are facing off dragons as well as soldiers. They need help. Our help."
"But Lord Akatosh," asked Zenithar timidly. "I thought the barrier of our godhood prevented us from traveling to Nirn?"
Akatosh grinned. "It does. But, I have discovered a way to bypass the system. It's very similar to the end of the Oblivion Crisis. We cannot go whilst we assume our godly forms, but if we take on mortal incarnates, we can reach Nirn similarly to the way the Daedra can. Unlike our demonic counterparts, we can freely walk Tamriel by use of these incarnates."
Akatosh smirked and looked at the others. Dibella couldn't believe what she was hearing. The utter hypocrisy of it all! Akatosh, who had always scorned the way of the Daedra and the way they enticed the mortals, was asking us to do the very same!
"Lord Akatosh," said Kynareth, "I am very surprised by this. I would never have expected you to ask this of us. As for Alduin, is he not your child? How shall you dispatch of him.
Akatosh looked grim. "Yes, Alduin is my eldest child. Alas, I cannot defeat him. He is immortal. But we can keep banishing him through time. As of now, that is the only way to keep him at bay. Paathurnax, Alduin's brother, is hard at work trying to find the Elder Scroll with the Dovahkiin- Dragonborn, whom we sent to Tamriel recently."
All throughout the Pantheon the Aedra nodded and whispered, "Dovahkiin," as if they were remembering the name. Dibella said the name as well. She loved the way it echoed against her teeth and turned her skin to gooseflesh.
"As for the matter of our worship," Akatosh continued. "I am assigning to each of you a region of Skyrim, and a mortal who needs your help. I expect you to assist them by using your own teachings, giving them faith in the Aedra. Here are your dossiers." He extended his arms and a red leather book fell into each of their laps. "Read it thoroughly and do exactly as it says. Come up to me once you are done reading and I shall send you to Tamriel in your mortal forms."
The Aedra looked and each other uneasily and began to read the dossiers.
"And what of you, Father?" asked Arkay. "What shall you be doing?"
Akatosh gave him a devilish grin and said, "I shall be here. Watching and waiting."
Dibella opened her dossier and read:
Dibella: Lady of Love
Problem: Because your worship incorporates erotic love, this has revolted some mortals and caused them to consult Lady Mara for romantic guidance instead. You are described by many as 'too lusty', and your worshippers must practice Dibellan Arts in secrecy, for if their practices are revealed they could be run out of town.
Go to: Ivarstead in The Rift
Mission: Find Fastred. You must convince her to travel with you to Solitude. Help her get settled in and earn her trust. To restore your worship in Haafingar hold, you must unite her and a Solitude resident in matrimony. You will only be able to do this through use of your Dibellan Arts. Please refrain from sensual and erotic pleasures and beauty.
She was shocked. So the mortals thought she was too erotic? Yes, Dibella admitted to herself that her she got carried away with seductiveness, but what was wrong with her practices? After watching the mortals for eternity she realized that men seemed to be the dominant ones. And what of her daughters, the women? They were tossed around by the men! This had offended her immensely. If the mortals were displeased with her work then well, so be it. They were obviously interpreting her practices wrongly. The point is to be attractive through natural beauty, not slutty actions.
Now Dibella was angry with the mortals. She did not intend on assisting them. As she sat staring at the leather binding on the dossier, she could feel Akatosh's stare burning into her soul. Without looking, the vision of his stern glare made Dibella quiver. Before she realized what was happening, she was walking towards Akatosh. He noticed her outfit, or therefor lack of, and appeared to be disgusted.
"Try to keep your tongue off and your clothes on." Akatosh spat at her while she parted her hair over her shoulders. "Now, you understand what must be done?"
"Yes, Lord Akatosh."
"Wonderful. Here is what you will need to know about yourself: You are Dianne Winthrop and have lived in Riften your whole life. Your parents are dead and you are in Ivarstead looking to sell wheat from their farm. Now you are looking to move to Solitude to pray at the Temple of the Divines."
"Yes, Lord Akatosh."
Dibella, now Dianne, listened to Akatosh whisper an incantation.
"Bron Keizaal Kotin" he whispered. He repeated this saying over three more times. The Pantheon turned dark, and all Dibella could see was darkness. The wind whipped her hair around her. She tried to flail but could not. All she could do was wait.