-1Author's Note: I love Haskill. Whoever came up with this character is awesome and deserves a medal, because he says some of the funniest shit in the funniest way. Plus, he's fun to write about and describe. Enjoy!
A Madgod's Realm
Chapter One - In The Middle of the Niben Bay
Dawn began to creep from behind the Valus Mountains, leaving the sky ablaze with vibrant shades of pink, orange, and blue. Aldric had slept little that night due to the current task laying heavily on his mind. So he had packed his rucksack with the necessities and repaired his ebony armor and sword and had set off for Bravil.
The Redguard loved nature. The relatively arid, hot, and sandy environment of Hammerfell had instilled an urge to explore the environments of the other provinces. Vvardenfell was pretty despite the presence of the Ashlands, but in his mind, Cyrodiil was gorgeous, especially in the West Weald where his home was located.
Despite all of this, what lay before him was mysterious at best and dangerous at worst.
Then again, there's always that element of danger no matter where I go, he thought.
Aldric was soon outside the walls of Bravil, passing the stable on his right to approach the guard at the gate. The Imperial gave a friendly smile but his eyes were watching Aldric's every move.
"Greetings, citizen. What can I do for you?" he asked.
"Are you aware of the strange door in the Niben Bay?" When the guard nodded, he continued. "Can you show me, please?"
"Sure. Follow me."
The pair proceeded slightly northeast of the city's wall to the shoreline, past the ruined remains of a fort, and stopped just short at the edge of a small drop-off. The guard stretched his arm, pointing roughly toward the center of the bay.
"Right out there. One of the guards, Gaius Prentus, is stationed on it. Can you see it?"
Aldric squinted, blocking the sunlight with his left hand, and could just barely make out a small island with what appeared to be a massive stone.
How in Oblivion did this get here? he wondered.
"Is there a bridge?" Aldric asked half-serious.
"Not that I'm aware of," the Bravil guard replied. "Hey…are you…are you Aldric?"
The Redguard groaned inwardly. He didn't like the whole idea of being famous--he just wanted to live his life as a normal person. "Yes, I am."
The guard's face lit up. "Oh, it is such an honor to meet you! Can I go get the stable keepers?"
Aldric couldn't reply as the guard had already run off without waiting for an answer. The Champion looked out toward the island, then back to the guard.
You've swam in armor before. Go for it.
He outstretched his arms over the lip of the edge and pushed off on his heels, effectively diving into the Niben Bay. The ebony armor weighed him down considerably, but he got used to it, immediately dove underwater as he heard the shouts of the guard, then back to the surface, swimming for the island.
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After swimming for what felt like hours, Aldric finally reached the island and climbed up on to the bank with some difficulty. He flopped on his back and stared up at the sky. The water was steadily dripping off various parts of his armor, but the dip in the Niben had been refreshing nonetheless.
He stood after a few moments and walked up a small slope. He froze when he saw what the rock was.
It wasn't a rock, but a three-faced bust of a man's head. The closest face displayed a poker's expression, the middle one was shock, and the far side looked to be an evil smile. In the mouth of the middle face was a shimmering bluish-purple portal that pulsed with radiant energy. On the evil smile side was a female Khajiit and standing near the portal was Gaius Prentus, the guard assigned to watch…whatever this was.
Aldric approached the portal but was stopped short by the guard's sword. "I wouldn't go in there if I were you."
Turning to the Imperial, the Redguard kept his face straight to mask his inner-annoyance. "And why not?"
The man's eyes narrowed and he frowned. "Everything that goes in has come out…wrong. These were once-normal people but when they came out, their brains were addled!" Gaius gestured to the Khajiit behind him.
"You there--" Aldric started.
"Go away," she interrupted, her voice full of fear, "I'm not here."
"But you're right--"
"No, no!" The feline woman dropped to the ground and curled up into a ball, rocking back and forth. "Bad kitty, bad, bad, very bad…"
"See what I mean?" Gaius quipped.
Aldric could see it alright. She was mad, driven insane, and scared. The Redguard looked at the bust, knowing of only one Daedric god who was capable of such a thing.
"Sheogorath…"
"What?" the guard asked suspiciously.
Then the portal flashed soundlessly, and a Dunmer man appeared next to the guard.
"It's not right!" he screamed, falling to his knees and clutching his head. "Shouldn't be…it can't be…it doesn't make sense!"
The crazed Dark Elf glanced at the Bravil guard and pointed an accusing finger. "You! You don't know! You're all going to die! Hehehe!"
Uh oh, Aldric thought as the man pulled out a dagger and lunged at the guard, who dodged out of the way.
"Stay back! This one's violent!" the Imperial cried, pulling out his silver long-sword as he dodged another of the mad man's attacks.
The Khajiit screamed and went tumbling down the adjacent slope, still curled up. The guard parried another blow, then stabbed the Dunmer in the gut. Blood stained the bust and the surrounding ground as the guard withdrew his weapon.
But it didn't stop there. The eye sockets of the bust glowed with bright, blue magic and Aldric swore he heard lightning--but yet it wasn't raining! Then as he tried to move, he found himself pinned in place.
"Unworthy! Unworthy!" a disembodied, angry voice shouted, seemingly from the heavens. "Useless mortal meat! Walking bag of dung!"
That's definitely Sheogorath, Aldric thought almost cheerfully, much to his surprise. He figured he would remain silent, though.
"A nice effort, though," the Daedric Prince of Madness continued. "A shame he's dead. These things happen."
"Voices from nowhere," Gaius muttered, looking at the sky. "I don't get paid enough."
"Bring me a champion! Rend the flesh of my foes! A mortal champion…to wade through the entrails of my enemies!"
Sounds just like my kind of job, the ex-farmer thought with some amusement and disgust.
The infamous Madgod didn't speak for a few seconds, as though he was waiting for Aldric to speak. But the next few words piqued his curiosity.
"Really though! You should come in! It's lovely in the Isles right now," he implored, with the tone of a merchant trying to sell a product. "Who knows! Maybe you'll fare better than the last couple did!"
The eye sockets stopped glowing and Aldric stood before the giant bust of Sheogorath's head, his mind putting pieces of the puzzle together. The Isles that the Daedric Prince of Madness mentioned could only be the Shivering Isles, Sheogorath's Plane of Oblivion. From what he could understand, the Madgod's realm was being threatened and he needed a warrior to help out. The only thing missing is why Ocato had requested the Champion of Cyrodiil to investigate. What would he seek to gain? After all, it was harmless enough--no Daedra had spawned from the portal like Mehrunes Dagon. Just a crazy Dark Elf…
"I'm not crazy, am I?" Gaius Prentus muttered to himself. "I heard a voice, I know it! Oh Talos, why must I be stuck with this post?"
The Redguard looked over at the Khajiit woman who seemed to be staring up into the morning sky, also muttering.
"That voice said kitty was bad. He said leave. I said okay and now I'm not here…"
She continued to ramble as Aldric shook the guard's shoulder. The Imperial snapped out of his daze and shook his head rapidly.
"You're not crazy," Aldric assured, being sincere. "I'm going in, though."
The Imperial shrugged, but still had a fearful look on his face. "Suit yourself."
Aldric hesitantly walked forward towards the portal, feeling like Sheogorath was swallowing him into his world through the bust's mouth. As he stood before the shimmering gateway, he yelled with surprise as he was suddenly jerked off his feet and sucked into the portal.
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Where am I? the Redguard thought. He felt light-headed after entering the portal and when he stopped seeing bright lights, he realized he was sitting on his butt and so he stood.
He wasn't alone. Before him stood a gnarled, black desk containing nothing save for a single book, which looked like The Madness of Pelagius from where he was standing. The second thing Aldric noticed was the sheer quiet of the room, which was soon broken by a ticking noise. He squinted to see what was causing it, and it was an evil-looking metronome on the left side of the desk, black like the desk and…the walls of the room, he realized.
Behind the desk was a man impeccably dressed in a black velvet suit with a red under-shirt that billowed out at the collar, which led up to a bald head and a bored expression mixed with a hint of amusement.
"Let's be civil, shall we?" the man said in a tone that matched his expression. He gestured to a chair in front of the desk. "Please, have a seat."
Aldric looked about the room for a door into the Shivering Isles, but the portal (floating behind him) seemed to be the only way in and out. Seeing no other alternative, the Redguard reluctantly sat in the offered chair. "Look, I just--"
"I imagine you're here about the door?" the man interrupted. Aldric nodded in reply. "Hmm, yes. You have entered and now you are here. Amazing. Truly."
The Redguard cocked his left eyebrow at the man's unusual and unnecessary use of sarcasm. Then again, he too is probably insane in his own way.
"Who are you?" Aldric asked.
The bald-headed man smiled. "I am Haskill, Chamberlain to the Lord Sheogorath. You approach the Shivering Isles. Through the door behind me lies the Realm of Sheogorath…Prince of Madness. Lord of the Never-There."
Aldric glanced behind Haskill, seeing no doors to speak of, but he knew that there was more here than what he was seeing. "Why did that door appear in Cyrodiil?"
"Because my Lord wills it to be so," Haskill replied with a hint of condescension. "It poses no danger to Mundus; no compact has been violated. It is a doorway, an invitation. Perhaps you will accept it for what it is." He shrugged.
Well, there's one question answered, the Champion thought, but he still had more.
"What do you want with me?"
"For you?" A puzzled look appeared on Haskill's face. "I do not know. My Lord seeks a mortal to act as His Champion. As for his intent…to attempt to fathom it is a foolish endeavor."
The Chamberlain stood and began to stretch and do some sort of aerobics as he talked in the same bored tone. "His Will is His own; His reality follows suit. You are here because you chose to enter; you were not summoned."
If only you knew, buddy. A frown almost appeared on the young Redguard's face, but he stifled it before it could manifest.
"So what of the Dunmer and Khajiit, then?" Aldric inquired as Haskill took a seat. "What of the others who have entered?"
"They entered this Realm…and were ill-prepared. Their minds are now the property of my Lord."
The possibility of losing his mind wasn't too appealing, but Aldric realized that the Oblivion Crisis, as well as his short stint as a vampire, had changed him. He felt that he was already half-mad, so what did he have to lose?
"Can they be cured?" Aldric asked.
"Cured?" Haskill asked in return, seemingly mocking him. "You speak as if they are diseased. They live now in another state of being. Perhaps it is you who needs a cure.
"I leave you with two options. You may leave the way you entered, and your life will be none the worse for your time spent here. Or, you may continue onward, through the door behind me. If you can pass through the Gates of Madness, perhaps the Lord Sheogorath will find a use for you."
Aldric had contemplated leaving everything behind to live a life of peace and tranquility and forgetting the mission. But even Caius, who liked Aldric a lot, would come hunting for him at Ocato's order and sooner or later he would be found and executed. The Redguard didn't care for Ocato or the amount of praise the High Elf received--ever since he learned about Jagar Tharn as a kid, he regarded all Imperial Battlemages with suspicion.
"Enter or do not, but make your decision. I've other duties to which I must attend," Haskill said, waving his hand to get the Redguard's attention. "Speak when you have made up your mind. The anticipation is almost too much to bare."
Well, Aldric my boy, you're still young, he thought. An early death isn't what you have in mind, so let's satisfy Ocato for now.
"I will enter," Aldric stated.
Haskill smiled. "Excellent! Maybe you'll fare better than the others."
The bald-headed man stood and walked to the back wall of the room. "You'll be deposited into The Fringe, and you'll want to pass through the Gates of Madness. Oh--" Haskill looked over his left shoulder at Aldric. "--and mind the Gatekeeper. He dislikes strangers to the Realm. Enjoy your stay."
Haskill teleported out of the room and at the same time, a magical spectacle took place. From all sides, the walls burst into hundreds upon thousands of beautiful butterflies. Sunlight rapidly creed in, and Aldric had to close his eyes momentarily.
When he opened his eyes, the most beautiful landscape he had ever seen stretched before him, seemingly endless. Gone were the trees of Cyrodiil--tall, twisted mushrooms replaced them. Everything seemed more vibrant and colorful than what he had expected, but Aldric knew appearances could be very deceiving.