Howdy Howdy, y'all! Welcome back for chapter 2! Honestly, I didn't expect to see the kind of love this story has been receiving, especially from just ONE chapter. It was very humbling to see the number of favorites and follows over the near-two weeks that this story has been out. Thank you all, you have no idea what that means to a first-time author. Please keep following and PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE leave reviews! I really do want to hear your feedback. PM me with suggestions if you want to. I like having a dialogue with my viewers.
Once again, I want to give a special shout-out to my AMAZING beta reader, loraine95, for taking time out of her busy schedule to read through these chapters so that we can deliver a quality experience to you, the readers! Don't forget to check out her smash hit, Amalgamation. It is a definite must-read for all those who have been craving a well-written ME/DA crossover.
As a reminder, I DO NOT own TES: Skyrim or DA: Inquisition. They are the intellectual property of Bethesda and Bioware respectively. All original content, however, is mine.
So, without anymore delay, here is the next installment of Beyond Gods and Demons!
Chapter 2: A Divine Task
Death wasn't exactly what she thought it would be. Everything felt so…still. She had always thought that, when she died, she would wake up in Atherius as a spirit, like those she had seen in Shor's Hall. Instead, she felt suspended, motionless, like she was in some secluded abyss. She didn't even know if she had a physical body anymore. Maybe she had fallen into some sort of gap in between planes and was now cut off from the afterlife. But she quickly dismissed that thought. One does not simply fall through planes of existence, she thought while mentally kicking herself. Or maybe this is the void, the great emptiness of the universe. Maybe this is Sithis coming to exact his vengeance on me. I did wipe out the Dark Brotherhood after all, she grimly thought. She had no regrets about it though. The Brotherhood had been a scourge on Tamriel for millennia, a symbol of darkness and fear in the world. It was high time that they were purged from the face of Nirn, and she had been glad to be the one who did it.
Then another idea dawned on her. Maybe this is some sort of purgatory Arkay puts mortal souls through, to reflect on past sins before entering Atherius. It would make sense, as not everyone has the privilege of a clear conscience upon death. And there were certainly a few events in the Dragonborn's past she had not found closure to yet. While she never considered herself a bigot, the Dragonborn held an undying hatred for the Thalmor. Kidnapping people off the streets, spitting on the name of Talos, attacking MY family?! While she knew not all Altmer were as pretentious as the Thalmor, she would never forgive them for what they had done to her family, in this life or the next. But what haunted her the most what had transpired at Sky Haven Temple. The argument, the rage, the betrayal. The memories started to flood back, but she quickly shoved them back. No, I'm not going back there! I will not relive that day, she screamed in her mind.
A pang of fear suddenly shot through her as another idea hit her; what if she had condemned herself to Oblivion? What if the Divines had decided to bar her from entering Atherius because of her past dealings with the Daedric Princes. Or, more likely, one of the princes she had met had decided to cash in on her being his or her champion and claim her soul. The Dragonborn had never worshipped any of the princes, but did consider a few of them valuable allies or at least valuable associates. She started running through all the lords of Oblivion she had encountered in her travels across Skyrim. Her first thought was Meridia, the Lady of light and life energies as well as the one who had bestowed mighty Dawnbreaker onto her. Given her surroundings and situation, however, she quickly eliminated Meridia from the list. The Queen of Light certainly wouldn't place the soul of her champion in a black abyss, she concluded. Besides, Meridia's realm, while much wasn't known about it, certainly wouldn't be bathed in darkness.
The next on the list was Azura, the Lady of Dusk and Dawn as well as the Mother of Roses. But this place, wherever the Dragonborn was, certainly didn't fit the description of Moonshadow, Azura's realm in Oblivion, as well as place of indescribable beauty. If I was in Moonshadow, I'm pretty sure Azura would have had me wake up in the Rose Palace. I did cleanse her star after all, the Dragonborn reasoned while she remembered her "journey" into Azura's star to banish Malyn Varen's soul. She had no problem doing the deed, since what Malyn had done was essentially a necromantic ritual. If there was one thing that made her blood boil, it was necromancy.
As she resumed going through her encounters, she quickly eliminated Sanguine, Malacath, and Hermaeus Mora. If this was Sanguine's realm, she was certain the Lord of Revelry would have had her at a huge banquet table where every type of conceivable and unconceivable form of debauchery and dark pleasure would be occurring. And she had never had strong affiliation with Malacath, so that automatically eliminated him. As for Hermaeus Mora, the clear lack of endless bookshelves, as well as massed green tentacles, clearly told the Dragonborn this definitely was not Apocrypha. That, and she had never considered herself to be Mora's champion. Wouldn't want to spend eternity with that freak anyway, she happily mused.
That left Sheogorath as the only prince to whom she was the champion of. But this certainly didn't feel like the Shivering Isles. He probably wanted to bring me to some fancy cheese party and sent me into an abyss instead. Seems par for the course, damn nutcase, she thought dryly. As humorous as he could be on rare occasions, Sheogorath's complete insanity and madness was more annoying than anything else. But she doubted even he could fail at something as simple as claiming her soul.
That left two possibilities, one of which she dreaded above all others. The first was Hircine, the Daedric Lord of the Hunt and father of manbeasts. It wouldn't surprise her if Hircine was livid with her for some of her past…transgressions. She had seen how vengeful the Daedric Prince could be, but locking her up in a dark abyss certainly didn't fit his personality. Besides, the Lord of the Hunt no longer held any sway over her soul as she had long since purged the beast blood from herself, as had Vilkas and Farkas. True, the Daedric Prince had given her his ring after she saved Sinding from the hunters Hircine sent after him and that may have made any bad blood between her and Hircene moot, but the Lord of the Hunt was really only interested in claiming the souls of werewolves, not regular mortal souls..
That left only one possibility, and it was one that she dreaded every time she slept: Vaermina, the Daedric Lord of Dreams and Nightmares. With the help of Erandur, the Dragonborn had ended the cult of Nightcaller Temple and banished the Skull of Corruption back to the Quagmire, Vaermina's realm in Oblivion, saving the town of Dawnstar from the Daedra's grasp. Since those events, the Lady of Dreams had tormented the Dragonborn every chance she could, leading to quite a few sleepless nights. But, without the skull's presence in Nirn, Vaermina's reach was limited. The Dragonborn, as frustrated as she was with not knowing where in existence she currently was, had to conclude that this definitely was not the Quagmire. The stillness she felt certainly didn't fit a constantly shifting nightmare realm. Maybe this is some sort of mind-prison, making me doubt where I am while she feeds on my memories for all eternity. It was certainly a possibility, as Vaermina was an expert at psychologically torturing mortals, turning even the bravest of souls into craven cowards just by being in her presence. But the Dragonborn knew that Daedric Princes, especially demonic ones like Vaermina, had a penchant for personally making examples of those who crossed them. The Lady of Dreams was no different in regards to this rule.
While her thoughts raced trying to figure out where she was and whether she was even alive or dead, she had been hearing a whisper all around her, calling to her. It was barely audible at first, but became more discernable as it grew in loudness.
"Vopraan."
That was the word she heard over and over again, commanding her to awaken. A deep, sagely, almost grandfatherly, voice spoke it over and over again. That's when her mind came to a halt. Awaken? Why would something be telling me to awaken? I'm dead! Suddenly, she felt her eyelids beginning to move, as though she had been in a deep slumber. A bolt of realization suddenly shot through her. That's not right. Dead people shouldn't be able to feel anything like this! I shouldn't feel anything, period. Unless…
As if to confirm what was now running through her mind, the voice rang out loud and firm, this time in clear common tounge, "Awaken, my daughter."
Her eyes shot wide open, shock running through her entire body. Immediately she started looking in every direction, trying to find the source of the strange voice. Everything around her was dark, no illumination at all. Yet, when she looked down at her hands, she could still see glistening black metal of her gauntlets. It made her head spin even more than it already was.
"Your tale is not yet done."
There it was again. Who was this mysterious speaker? It certainly didn't sound like any dragon she encountered. It lacked the drawl of Paarthurnax and it was far to smooth in sound to be Odahviing's craggy voice. And she was pretty sure this wasn't the Soul Cairn, so that ruled out Durnehviir. She was becoming more and more confused by the second. Her confusion only increased when her blood began to scream in her ears. Ok, now I'm really starting to wonder if this is Hircene, she thought with a hint of panic. Her whole body felt like it was about lock up, almost as though she was losing control of her limbs. Only when she was a werewolf had she experienced anything like this. But the most bizarre part of it all was that her blood was compelling her to bow before the disembodied voice that was speaking to her.
"Who are you," she yelled, desparate to retain control of herself. "Show yourself!"
Suddenly, a bright, golden light appeared before her. It radiated out toward her with an intensity that should have blinded her, but it didn't. Then it began to move toward her, slowly, but with purpose. As it moved toward the Dragonborn, the light began to change form. A pair of familiar shaped limbs took form, as well as a pair of clawed feet. As the tail, neck, and head took form, the Dragonborn couldn't believe what she was looking at. The light had changed into a golden, ethereal dragon. Its back spines were filed down, like the elder dragons she had occasionally encountered, but the crown of horns on its head were a sight; dozens of long horns all pointed straight back that made it look like the being had an ornate headdress. But the most striking feature was its skin, if it could even be called that. The being's "skin" was a constantly oscillating layer of golden flame, never ceasing to dance even when its master stopped only a few feet away from the Dragonborn. Even as she stared in awe of the creature before her, and the screaming of her blood reached almost deafening volumes in her ears, one thought crossed the Dragonborn's mind: What in the name of Oblivion is going on?!
"Who does your blood say that I am," the dragon simply asked, looking deep into the Dragonborn's eyes.
My blood?! What does that have to…Wait a moment! The Dragonborn stopped mid-thought as an epiphany dawned on her, one she couldn't believe. Her mind flashed back to her first trip to High Hrothgar, where she first learned about what being Dragonborn meant as well as how to use her Voice. It was a conversation she had with Master Arngeir before she had set off to find the horn of Jurgen Windcaller. They had discussed how Dragonborn came to be and why they existed. One particular part of that conversation came to mind and now, looking at the ethereal dragon before her, she could not believe who she was actually talking to.
"Akotash?!"
The word left her lips with as much awe and reverence as there was disbelief. As she spoke the name, she fell onto one knee and, giving in to the demands of her blood, bowed before the god standing only a few feet from her. She couldn't believe it! Akotash, the Dragon God of Time and Father of all Dragonkind, was both standing in front of her and speaking to her!
"Arise, my child. There is much to discuss," the ruler of the Divines commanded in the same sagely voice he had used earlier.
As she arose from her kneeling position, a plethora of questions raced through her mind. Was she dead? Where was she? How was Akotash speaking to her? Was she to be punished for killing his firstborn? And what exactly was going on?
As if reading her mind, Akotash began to speak once more. "Do not be afraid, my child. All your questions will soon be answered. To set your mind at ease, I will tell you this: you are not dead and have not passed into Oblivion. Rather, you are back in Mundus and very, very, much alive."
The dragon god's soothing words were like a wave of relief to the Dragonborn. Well, at least I'm still alive, the thought with relief. But where exactly was she? This certainly didn't look like Tamriel. But a more immediate question still gnawed at her.
"Great Akotash, I must know, have you brought me here as punishment for killing Alduin, your firstborn?"
Letting out a deep, almost exhausted, sigh, Akotash spoke again, "You did what was necessary, my daughter. I took no pleasure in seeing my son die, but he had become blasphemous in his arrogant misuse of his power. He had led the rest of his brothers and sisters down a path I had not intended for them and threatened everything we Aedra had built. I can only hope that Paarthurnax will now lead them down a wiser path."
The sadness in the dragon god's voice was evident. Alduin had been both his firstborn and prized creation. But he had threatened his father's other great creation: Tamriel and, with it, mortalkind. Knowing one's child had to die to save countless lives was a pain of the worst kind for any parent, mortal or divine.
"But dwelling on the past is a fruitless endeavor," Akotash spoke, mournful tone suddenly absent from his voice. Looking at the Dragonborn, he continued to speak, "And, as you know all too well, my daughter, time must flow ever onward as it is meant to."
"Even now, events are taking form that may, or may not, bring disaster upon all of mortalkind, both in Nirn and beyond."
"Beyond, your eminence?"
The Dragonborn made no effort to hide the confusion as well as the bewilderment in her voice. Does he mean there are worlds besides Nirn? Another mortal subplane within Mundus? Was such a thing possible?
Akotash nodded his head in affirmation, confirming that the Dragonborn had indeed heard what she thought he had heard.
"Indeed. Long ago, when Lorkhan led us in building Nirn, rumors abounded that another group of Aedra, independent of Lorkhan's influence, attempted to build their own mortal plane. Most of us dismissed it as just a rumor. Others, such as myself, wondered if they were true."
While the God of Time spoke, the Dragonborn was absolutely mesmerized by what she was hearing. Another world? It sounded ridiculous. Yet, here was the ruler of the Divines telling her that there was at least one other world occupied my mortals in the universe.
"I was never given the opportunity to find out, however. Fate is fickle, even to those of divine origin. By that time, Magnus and the rest of our brethren had realized the price that they were paying for creating the mortal plane and had fled back to Atherius, leaving myself and the other seven original Divines to bind ourselves to the earth-bones of Nirn. But I never stopped wondering if that other faction of Aedra had actually succeeded in creating another world."
He paused for a moment, almost as though for dramatic effect. And then the words rolled from his lips like a boulder rolling down a hill.
"That is, until now."
The words hit the Dragonborn like a boulder into a wall. There really are different worlds within Mundus! She knew the entire College of Winterhold would give anything to be hearing this revelation. But what this had to do with the coming disaster Akotash spoke of, she still did not know.
Deciding to voice her thoughts, she said, "I still do not understand. How does the coming disaster you spoke of relate to this other world?" She wanted to ask where she was, but this discovery, this revelation, was far more important than her location.
"Even from the earth-bones of Nirn, I could feel an…echo rippling across the very fabric of Mundus," he spoke, the slight pause not lost on the Dragonborn.
"From my eternal post, I gazed out across Mundus, searching for the source, until I finally found it. Though I should have been exited at finding that the rumors I heard so long ago were true, that another mortal world was in fact created, what I saw instead frightened me."
Then Akotash, after briefly pausing once more, drove the point home.
"This world's earth-bones have become severely weakened, and if action is not taken, it will completely collapse and cause destruction on an inconceivable scale across the very fabric of Mundus."
The Dragonborn was absolutely floored by what she just heard. A dying world? Decaying earth-bones? What could possibly be powerful enough to weaken the foundations of a world? She threw the quandary back and forth in her mind, trying to comprehend the very idea that a world could not only collapse, but that said collapse could potentially destroy other worlds as well. It just didn't seem possible. Then again, people used to believe Daedric Princes couldn't cross over into Tamriel. Even two centuries later, the continent had never fully recovered from Mehrunes Dagon's invasion. The void in the decisive leadership of the Septim dynasty that had held the Empire, which had covered all of Tamriel, together for the entirety of the Third Era had led to multiple provinces seceding and the aggressive, supremacist mentality of the Aldemeri Dominion was turning Tamriel into a divided, broken land.
The more she thought about it, the more it actually made sense. But she still couldn't fathom what could even damage a world's foundations. And she still had no clue as to where she was.
"This is why I have brought you here, my daughter, to the border between Nirn and this forgotten world."
"Th-th-the BORDER between Worlds?!" the Dragonborn stammered in shock. THAT'S where I am?! This was stretching the bounds of what she believed and didn't believe to be possible.
"Yes, so that you may understand how dire this crisis and to be prepared for the journey at hand," the Dragon God said matter-of-factly.
"Journey? I am to travel to this world? Why me?"
At this point, the Dragonborn was starting to wonder how many more shocks she could endure. Traveling to a new world? The number of unknowns with that scenario was larger than she could count. At least when she was in Skyrim she already had a sound understanding of where she was, thanks to her mother. But this was just too much.
"Because, my daughter, this is why the Dragonborn were first created: to restore peace and order to the world at times of great need," Akotash spoke, his voice firm, yet soothing at the same time.
"Have you never wondered why certain individuals throughout your history were able to do extraordinary feats when Tamriel seemed on the brink of disaster? Was it pure chance that a single prisoner, rotting away in a prison cell, would end up saving Nirn from being conquered by Mehrunes Dagon, the Lord of Destruction? Or that St. Alessia was able to found a free nation and chosen to form a covenant with me that would protect mortalkind from direct meddling from both Atherius and Oblivion? And what of the prisoner who would come to be known as the Nerevarine? Why was he able to succeed in defeating Dagoth Ur when so many others had failed over the centuries?"
"It is the same reason that only one of the dragonblood has ever ruled over all of Tamriel. And," he paused, looking straight into the Dragonborn's eyes, "why you were at Darkwater Crossing when you were, and became wrapped in the events that would set you on your journey to defeat my son rather than find refuge from the Thalmor with your relatives in Cyrodiil."
The Dragonborn was absolutely speechless at what she had just heard. All these names, all these exceptional figures from history she had read about. Every one of them placed at the right moment and the right time in history to accomplish feats that would impact the world for ages to come. And every one of them a Dragonborn, her almost numb mind processed. This was her heritage, and she was not about to betray something so sacred, especially not when it was the progenitor of that long legacy calling on her to fulfill her duty. There was no faltering in her decision when she finally had recovered enough to speak once more.
"Then…what would ask of me, great Akotash, in undertaking this journey," she asked, her resolve strengthened anew. She knew not what she would face in this world, but she would face it with the determination and tenacity that had seen her through her journeys across Skyrim.
Pleased with the Dragonborn's acceptance, the God of Time spoke once more, "This is the task I place before you: you are to travel to this world, discern what has caused its foundations to weaken, and remove the threat so that the earth-bones may heal. Only then will Nirn, and all of Mundus, be safe from catastrophe. And to aid you in your journey, I bestow this holy gift upon you."
The Dragonborn suddenly saw her amulet of Akotash slide out from under her cuirass, while Akotash's eyes had suddenly become bright gold beacons. A long, thin, golden stream of energy snaked out from the god's body and into the amulet. After a few seconds, the amulet returned to its resting position, only now it was resting outside her armor.
In awe, the Dragonborn dared not touch her amulet, but instead asked with as much reverence as awe, "What just happened?"
"I will say only this, my daughter. A dragon's thu'um can make low mountains and part raging seas. But through my blood, which your amulet now possesses, a thu'um, whether spoken through thought or voice, can transcend time and space itself."
To say she was mystified would be a colossal understatement. She was still wrapping her mind around the magnitude of what just happened. Not since the days of St. Alessia had Akotash gifted a mortal the power of his blood. And she still had no idea what exactly it would enable her to do now.
Pushing herself out of her mystified state, she said, "Thank you for this gift, your eminence. But regarding the world I am to travel to, do you have any insight as to what could be causing its earth-bones to weaken?"
Akotash's "brow," if dragons had brows in the first place, furrowed, clearly deep in thought on the matter.
"I wish I could tell you more, but even my sight is limited. However it does seem…"
His head jerked up suddenly, and began to look deep into the space behind the Dragonborn. She looked behind herself, wondering what had caught the god of time's attention, but saw nothing but black. Clearly, it must be something only a Divine can perceive.
Akotash returned his gaze to the Dragonborn, a sense of dire urgency communicated by his eyes. She had to wonder what could cause a god to panic like this.
"A critical moment in the time flow approaches. You must go now if this world is to be brought back from the brink."
At that moment, a golden light began to engulf the Dragonborn, rendering her immobile. She tried to speak, to understand what was happening, but found herself unable to. All she could do was feel the heat of the blazing light wrap itself around her body, surprised that it wasn't burning her skin. At the climax, she felt all her senses become overloaded and quickly blacked out.
And now we FINALLY get to move on to Thedas! YAY! As always, please leave all of your thoughts, ideas, suggestions, and constructive criticisms in your reviews. Feel free to PM me with ideas or questions, I turn away NO ONE!
Thank you all once again for taking the time to read this as well as joining me on this incredible journey! I'm very eager to show you where I'm taking this and I hope you'll find it as exciting to read as I have writing it.