Welcome back my readers. I hoped you enjoyed the first chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it. I didn't plan this story to begin with a very romantic chapter but it turned out that way and I'm proud of it anyways. This chapter has more action and Selena is only mentioned a couple of times throughout the written words. Before you read this chapter however you may want to read "Sacrifice" a prequel of this so you may understand who Aetius is. You don't have to because it's revealed here but anyways it would be easier to understand. Sacrifice only has one chapter up at this point in time but between each of these chapters another one will be released. Hope you enjoy and please review.

Chapter Two: Heart of Oblivion

LILLI OLMERI

Lilli was donned in a beautiful white dress made of silk from the richest house in Cyrodiil, how Aetius had got the dress Lilli did not know but she was pleased anyway. Her husband was late, she hated when he was like this. Away for a year or two travelling Tamriel like it was a holiday but to him it was home and he missed it each day he was in the Isles. Lilli didn't understand why he preferred the wilds of Tamriel to the wilds of the Shivering Isles, he was the Prince of Madness but he seemed to reject his responsibilities and seek adventure upon the mortal realm, leaving Lilli to do her husband's job. She didn't mind ruling the Isles in her husband name but she was always lonely, there were no other men on the Isles except for the ones that were truly mad. Lilli had thought about leaving the Isles for a month and work in a pleasure house, getting all of the sex that she could imagine but she decided against it because that'll be cheating against Aetius, her soul mate. She pushed her long blond hair out of her face and continued to seek thoughts of her husband, lost in the wilds of Tamriel. Kirn and Morgan appeared from around the corner with faces filled with sorrow and depression, Lilli had to stay strong for her children's sake. Well they weren't her children but she always said that they were the family she never hands, a family that protected and loved each other beyond what Mara could offer so she called the Dark Seducers and Golden Saints her children and they seemed to enjoy having an immortal mother figure to look up to. Even though the Seducers and Saints were Daedra and immortal themselves they seemed to respect Lilli more than their queens that were because Lilli was the Queen of Madness, the Mistress of the Shivering Isles. Kirn, Queen of the Seducers, smiled when she saw her mistress waiting for them in the hallway. Morgan, Queen of the Saints, had happiness in her eyes when they glanced at the elegant mistress in white. Lilli smiled at the two women and started off to the end of the hallway with the women following close behind.

"Whatever happens here today my children, do not give in to anger" Lilli said and they passed through a large wooden door. As they passed through the door it seemed to Lilli that some mystical wind rushed passed them, nearly pushing Lilli over. Kirn steadied her mistress and Lilli would've thanked her if she wasn't spellbound. She was spellbound because of the magnificence of the Daedric Pantheon. It was a large black temple behind held above the poisonous ocean of lava by an island that was as large as the temple itself. Surrounding the pantheon were large stone columns which rose from the sea bed, but the stone was untouchable because of the lava that molded around them. A short bridge made of materials that Lilli will never understand ran from all different directions towards the temple and Lilli was one on of them bridges now.

"Mistress why have we come to this foul place," Morgan asked, hands on the hilt of her sword. Lilli just stared at the beauty of the pantheon and wondered who had built it.

"Morgan this foul place as you call it is the center of Oblivion. This is the only place that Daedric Princes' respect because this is where they were born and housed as they grew into what they are today. Your Lord was one of the few that weren't born here so he doesn't need to play respect like the other Princes but he still has to beware of it" Lilli described to Morgan and the Golden Saint nodded in understanding but was still unsure why they were here. They pushed on with Kirn's bow drawn and an arrow nocked and Morgan with sword drawn and eyes cast upon the ocean. A splash echoed from close by and a terrible sense spread into Lilli's stomach, she closed her eyes and that was when she heard the howl. It was a foreign howl that Lilli and her children had never heard before, a howl that scared them to death.

"I see it" Kirn yelled above the echoing howls. Her eyes were focused on a small patch of land where a demon looking creature sat, mouth moving in howling rhythms. Kirn drew back the bowstring of her longbow and nodded to Morgan; the saint drew a small bladed knife and drew her arm back in a throwing motion. Kirn let the arrow loose and Morgan threw the knife, both flew through the air with perfect accuracy but that wasn't enough. Just as the weapons swirled through the air over the center of the ocean a great white creature flung itself up and the weapons fluttered and slammed into its flesh. A bellow of pain erupted from the creature and Lilli could feel the eyes of death upon them. Kirn drew another arrow and nocked it upon the bowstring as Morgan drew another knife, a knife covered in a green liquid that dropped onto the bridge and made a hissing sound.

"We need to take out those creatures' eyes: Morgan yelled across the Kirn and the Seducer aimed the bow and a millisecond later the arrow was buried in the creatures left eye, just as it hit the lava. Splashing the deadly liquid into the air and screaming in agony as its eyes became blind. Morgan flung the knife across the ocean and it slammed into the creature's skin, stabbing into its flesh and injecting it with a poison from the Shivering Isles. Another bellow of pain escaped the creature and it was gone, disappeared underneath the lava's waves.

"What is that thing" Kirn yelled, drawing another arrow from her quiver.

"It's a harmless beast that roams the waters of Oblivion's Heart, now it's very pissed off and is coming this way" Lilli shouted, but as her last word was thrown into the air at the two immortals her dress suddenly shifted to armor. The dress suddenly shrunk so it was knee height, showing off Lilli's beautiful white legs. Lilli's chest was suddenly clasp in a bronze breastplate that made her look like the woman she once was. The rest of her body was covered in a green leather-like material except for her head which was still the same as before. Lilli drew a golden sword from thin air and turned to face the beast. The beast erupted from the lava and flung itself at the bridge, causing it to shudder. Kirn collapsed to the ground, dropping her bow as she went down. The bow clattered across the bridge, unnoticed by everyone on the bridge until it feels into the lava. Kirn was weaponless, her eyes cast upon the beast as it swirled itself around to launch another attack.

"Shit, my bow" Kirn swore out loud as the beats launched itself at the bridge once more. Morgan threw a knife but the beast was already through the air and the knife simply bounced off its skin.

"Fuck we're going to die" Morgan swore and drew her sword, eyes full of intense adrenaline. The beast crashed against the bridge and this time it split in two, splitting the women from each other. Morgan and Kirn on the side with the door, Lilli on the side of the pantheon, the beast continued through the bridge and landed into the lava, Lilli watched as the beast circled around the collapsing remains of the bridge. That was when Lilli noticed the entire bridge was collapsing; its main support was gone.

"Go, go back to the Isles. I'll be fine" Lilli yelled at the lesser Daedra that watched in horror as their queen stood alone on the other side of the bridge. The two Daedra looked at their queen and ran, back towards safety. "Aetius I need you" Lilli whispered in her mind but the beast launched itself at Lilli, aiming for the top of the bridge. The creature flew through the air until it crashed onto the bridge and then its form shimmered with dark light. A moment ago the creature was a fearsome shark-like creature now it was a seven foot tall warrior in full dark armor. The warrior drew a large black bladed greatsword from the scabbard across its back and glared at Lilli through the eye slits. Lilli cast her hand into the air and another golden sword appeared for her other hand.

"You die now witch" the warrior said then lunged forward with fury in his eyes and his mind focused on the task at hand. Lilli had excepted the lunge and parried the strike easily but it was still a powerful blow. The warrior pushed the sword down with all its force but Lilli held her swords in a cross position so that she was protected by both blades. Suddenly on blade disappeared from the cross defense but then reappeared below in Lilli's unused hand. She stabbed the shimmering blade into the creatures stomach, twisting the blade so it cause great pain but the creature looked unaffected and just continued to look Lilli in the eyes. Lilli summoned some arcane strength and shot a ball of fire into the creatures face. The creature staggered back from the Queen of Madness but that was her open chance. Lilli cast both her hands into the sky and suddenly lightning clashed across the sky, lighting it with fury.

"I summon forth the power of madness and show it the path to this unworthy soul. Let the madness corrupt this creature until it falls to its knees and dies of the dark corruption" Lilli shouted into the sky. The lightning and thunder stopped but a small drop of rain fell from the clear sky and splashed on the warrior's helmet. The water slid around the helmet until it found the eye slits than pushed itself in, towards the creatures soul. The creature suddenly lunged at Lilli but she sidestepped the swing and summoned another sword from the arcane plane of existence. She slashed it across the warrior's chest, opening a deep wound that could take months to fully heal. The warrior again swung at the mistress of madness but she leaped upwards and the blade swung underneath her. She landed in a crouch and rolled underneath the creatures legs as it swung the blade forward, hoping to slam the blade into Lilli with great amounts of force. She pulled herself to a kneeling position and summoned a bow and a quiver of arrow with magic. They appeared in her hands and seconds later she'd let two arrows at the warrior, each finding weak links in its armor. The creature hollowed in pain as the arrow imbedded themselves into its flesh.

Lilli let the bow go and it returned to the mist of magicka. She sprinted at the monster, feet nearly gliding across the bridge. She reaches the creature and jumped onto its back, forcing it down to the ground then she flipped over the falling creature. Acrobatics was one of Lilli's many hobbies when she was a young girl, now she was hundreds of years old. Lilli landed with a roll and spun around so she could face the rising creature. She summoned a ball of fire and cast it at the creature, but somehow it missed. She was too late. Lilli went to turn but something impaled her spine, cracking the bone and tearing open her flesh, pain flowed through Lilli's senses, flooding her emotions and mind. The blade continued through Lilli's body, slowly so the pain remained, the pain was so great that Lilli couldn't even drop or cry just stand as if spellbound. She could feel the blade stabbing her heart, and then it came free. Opening her flesh and splitting open the breastplate. Then the blade was torn from her body with great speed, making her scream in agony. She dropped to her knees, blood was already pooling around her body. She collapsed onto her stomach and the last thing she heard was Aetius screaming in pain as he watched his beloved die. But that wasn't the last thing she felt or saw. The leather feel away from her flesh, feel away from the dying body. Then she felt a sharp pain on her feet and moved her head to see a white leather-like material creep up her legs. It continued until it reached her face and then she was gone, feeling the leather case her face in its warmth.

So that is it, chapter two complete. So you didn't expect that did you. Lilli dying from a creature that I knew could easily defeat her. It was hard writing the scene of her dying but she isn't dead yet, that leather material thing incased her body so that she may heal without her dying. Kind of like a coma now that I think of it. Oh and I made up everything in the Heart of Oblivion, really cool don't you think. Anyhow thanks to those that reviewed on the first chapter, but for some reason there was many views but only two reviewed. Come on peeps please review, just say good work if you have nothing to say. Please review or even PM me. Ok so chapter two on "Sacrifice" is out soon, just after this one I hope. Well hope you enjoyed. ElderSage wishes you luck for the future.