Chapter 4
Alise sat at the little table in her room, and I sat on her bed. "The story of the Dragon Priests is long and complicated. But im sure you can handle it. Long ago, there was a land known as Atmora. Atmora was the home of brave men that fought with metal, and drank much ale. These people were known as Nords. Nords had a tradition; before they could move from childhood, to adulthood, they had to prove themselves. Some went to caves and fought mighty beasts that had terrorized villages. Others swam or traversed great distances. But there was one boy who wanted to do something that no other Nord had ever done. He decided to travel to another land and bring back something no Nord had ever seen. This boy's name was Ysgramor. Ysgramor had heard of a land far off to the south, that no sane person would ever travel to. But Ysgramor was determined, and so built himself a boat. He then searched and searched for a crew, but none would go with him. Ysgramor planned to go to a distant land, young, untrained and alone. Ysgramor set sail to the unknown land and was on the water for 4 years until he hit land. By then, Ysgramor had lived off of fish and exotic animals from small islands in the middle of the sea and was grateful for what he found. Waiting for him on the shores of this new land were people that looked just like him. They all stood off in the line of trees and he could only see their upper halves until one of them stepped forward. From the waist down, this man was a snake. From that moment on, Ysgramor was enticed. He stayed on this land for 5 years, and befriended the people whom he knew as the snake people. Ysgramor shared with the snake people all of his Nordic traditions, and taught them how to fight with the sword. Up until Ysgramor arrived, they had used ancient magick and their mouths. This won them many battles with the other creatures of the land he came to find out was called Akavir. The Akaviri snake people were very grateful and offered to share with him any three things he wanted to know. This surprised Ysgramor. During his time on Akavir, he knew the snake people to be very secretive about their magicks. Ysgramor thought about what he might ask of them. During his stay, he found out that the Akavir snake people were given their magick from ancient beasts known as "dragons". He asked for the secret to this knowledge, and they brought him to a dragon known as Pearthanaux. It was there that Ysgramor learned the first "thuum". Ysgramor also came to learn that the snake people had the ability to instill great magicks into items, but the power of the magick was determined by the power of the sacrifice. So Ysgramor asked that 9 dragons be sacrificed to enchant 9 masks. This request daunted the snake people. For capturing, let alone killing a dragon was nigh on impossible. Ysgramor only laughed and told the snake people of an idea that took them completely off guard. Instead of killing the dragons, bind them into the items. That way the enchantment would not drain, but last until the item was destroyed. The Akavir tried and failed to bind the dragons, and returned the information to Ysgramor. Ysgramor thought long and hard for a solution. He thought for 5 more years until one night, a bright light appeared in his room, and was replaced by a man in a gray cloak. It was said that this man was Sotha Sil, the leader of the Psijic Order. That night, Ysgramor and Sotha Sil devised a plan that would preserve the Nords, as well as the Aldmer and all of its offspring. Together, they formed the idea to absorb dragon souls. The next day, Ysgramor was given the ability. And that same day, the dragon priest masks were formed, and named after the dragons that he subdued. Ysgramor returned to Atmora in his late 20s and rose to power as the king of the Nords. Years later, after not finding anyone worthy to wear the masks, Sotha Sil returned to Ysgramor and told him of another land known as Tamriel. He said that Tamriel had been inhabited by several breeds of Mer and they could settle there in friendship. Ysgramor sent his sons and many settlers to this new land, only to find out that they were all slaughtered by the Mer upon arrival. Ysgramor, in his rage, gathered 500 of his fiercest Nords and crossed the sea of ghosts. When he arrived on the new land, he sent his army far and wide, slaughtering these Mer as he went. When there were none left, he died. His people were then divided under the rule of the Circle of Captains. These Captains were worthy generals and were the heirs to Ysgramor's throne. They were the ones who recieved the masks. And it was tradition, that from then on, the wearers of the masks would be chosen by the Psijic Order. And so far, all of the Priests have been visited by a member of the Psijic Order and granted the masks that were chosen for them. There have always been eight Priests, and the ninth mask is said to only be used when the right time is near. The wearer is granted great powers. Prophecy states that the wearer cannot be defeated in battle. Of any kind. Mental, emotional, spiritual or physical. But every mask bares a curse as great as the power it gives. My mask is the mask of "Morokei". It grants me unlimited use of magick. But I cannot lift a sword. My brethren, whom, by tradition we must call by the name their masks bear, all have great power as well. Hevnoraak is immune to disease and poison, and his body does not physically age. He can also heal others of most illnesses. He is cursed with blindness though. Rahgot will never grow tired. He can fight all day and all night or until his weapons break. His curse is that he cannot sleep or eat." She continued to speak, but my mind was swarming with information. I had to get away. I got up and left the room, and then walked out of the inn and headed for the bridge.