Naspia's body still ached terribly. She'd had three broken ribs and a nearly shattered clavicle after a single blow from the Akaviri prince. Similar stories were shared by nearly everyone, and similar aches were still felt, even after a week had passed since that night.

After lots of arguing and a battle almost breaking out between the two forces, Tullius and Ulfric decided that the truce was going to be prolonged even further, much to their own annoyance. Naspia had breathed a little easier at that, but then again, she knew the two men couldn't risk open warfare with a rogue mage and a man who seemed to be invincible threatening all of Skyrim. It was after the truce had been prolonged that Naspia decided she would travel with the other mages of the College of Winterhold, back to the College grounds for her healing, as well as some investigation.

"You may be Dragonborn, but the same rules apply to you as everyone else still, got it?" Urag gro-Shub bellowed from behind his desk in the Arcaneum. Naspia couldn't help but smirk at the grumpy old Orsimer and strolled over to him, leaning on the counter top. "So, you come here looking for some ancient magic to keep from getting your rear end handed to you again?"

"Actually, I was looking for a bit of history." Naspia replied. "Anything we could possibly have found, even if its poorly translated or aged."

"What sort of history are we talking about?" Urag asked with peaked interest.

"Ancient Akaviri royalty."

"Well now, that is an interest I've not had a student take since... ever." Urag informed her, seeming legitimately happy that someone was interested in something other than Elder Scrolls and shooting fireballs from their eyes. "I don't have much on the subject of royalty, but I do have a lot on their legends and myths."

"Great." Naspia muttered. "Books about legends about myths of ancient legendary myths."

"Actually, yes, that's an accurate way to describe it." Urag replied, clearly not picking up on her sarcasm. All the same, he stood up and went to one of his secret locked doors and pulled three tomes that literally looked like they should have fallen apart centuries ago. "And I think you'll find in our experience, legends and myths have some bit of truth to them. I'd wager legends created by the Akaviri do mroe than any others."

Naspia bowed her head politely and took the three books over to a chair in the Arcaneum and set two of them on the desk next to her. She wasn't at all surprised to find that the cover was written in the language of the dragons. She pulled the cover open and delved in, struggling a bit to translate the words of the book. Urag watched her, noticeably impressed that she was able to read it herself.

Naspia couldn't tear herself away from the book. The stories it told were incredible, and hardly believable. It told of the Men of Akavir, named after some king by the name of Akallai Akavir. This kingdom was nothing like the ones she'd heard myths about from other books. This kingdom was the greatest on all of Akavir. The Men there were far more powerful than any of the other races that walked the land, and many of them were capable of facing dragons one-to-one.

"This book can't be right at all." Naspia stated flatly, rolling her eyes. "This seems to be more of a well written fiction."

"How can you come to any type of conclusion without finishing the damn book, child?" Urag asked, his opinion of the Dragonborn dropping back to her being nothing but some girl who blundered about the place.

Naspia sighed and read on. After hours of reading about how the Akaviri Dynasty waged hundreds of years of war with the dragons in an effort to tame them, something called the Divide was discussed. She couldnt' find any real details in the story about the Divide. Merely that the king of the Akaviri sacrificed something to some sort of demon for great power, and in the process started the downward spiral of his people. Naspia gently set the book down and reached for one of the others, hungrily searching through it for any information on the Divide, but none was to be found. The same was true of the third and final book.

"Master Urag?" Naspia called, bringing the books back to him. "The first book tells of something caleld the Divide, but the other two made no mention of it. Have you ever heard of such a thing?"

"The Divide, huh?" Urag asked, shaking his head. "Yeah, I've managed to read up on it, but only minimally so."

"What did you learn?"

"Only that the Akaviri king bit off more than he could chew." Urag told her, grabbing the books to return them to the safety of their strong boxes. "Filled with the desire to not just face down the dragons but to tame them and bring them to his cause, he sought dangerous means of acquiring power."

"The Daedra?" Naspia asked, making Urag stop in his tracks.

"You know... that's so simple. I never thought that this would be the case, but yes. What I read described the one the king made the bargain with as a demon and Daedra have been called as much, and worse."

"Bargain?" Naspia echoed. "You don't suppose Clavicus Vile had a hand in it, do you?"

"I doubt it. Clavicus Vile never backs out of a deal. He just twists the terms in the end. No, this Daedric Prince, if it truly is one of them to blame, was described as out right betraying the king."

"That's just great..." Naspia groaned, receiving a confused look from Urag. "I can think of only one being in existence who would know the identity of this Daedra. He covets all knowledge, as it were."

"Now you listen to me." Urag bellowed, startling Naspia. "I am all for you pursuing knowledge, becoming powerful and saving the world, again. But Hermaeous Mora cannot be trusted. He will ensnare you in his web of knowledge and you will end up a husk, a shadow of your former self, wandering his plain of Oblivion in an endless search for more knowledge."

Naspia shook her head and went over to the one book case she'd been given the key to. The magical seal around it had impressed everyone at the College and, though he wouldn't dream of trying, not even Tolfdir would have been able to breach it. Naspia, however, bypassed it without a problem and reached inside. Urag's heart stopped for a second as he realized what it was she held.

"You... you have the Black Books?"

"Not all of them." Naspia replied. "I... acquired them on my trip to Solsthiem. Long story short, I fought an ancient Dragonborn, who was Hermaeous Mora's old champion. After I beat him, the Daedric Prince granted me a wealth of knowledge."

"What makes you think he'll share any more of his knowledge with you?" Urag demanded, clearly not convinced. "What could you possibly have to offer him in exchange?"

"I don't know, but I have a feeling he'll tell me what he wants." Naspia replied thoughtfully as she set one of the Black Books on the desk and went to open it. "Look, if I thought there was another way to do this, I would go with it, but there isn't one. So, please, just trust me. And if something happens to me, close the book and lock it away. Do not read it."

Urag made to protest but he heard the determination in Naspia's voice and so he merely nodded his head silently. Naspia took that as the move to go ahead and she pulled the book open and let her eyes dance across the first few letters. Before she'd even read the first word the world went dark.

The Apocrypha was never a welcoming place. An ocean of acid spanned this realm, filled with writhing tentacles, ready to beat or rip apart anything foolish enough to get close. She could see, off in the distance, the Seekers, floating, monstrous looking magical creatures that she was certain had once been human. Their dealings with Hermaeous Mora forced them to wander Apocrypha endlessly searching for knowledge, their minds broken by the Daedric Prince. Naspia was broken from her thoughts by a mass of tentacles and floating eyes appearing before her.

"Ah, Dragonborn, my champion." The Daedric Prince, Hermaeous Mora began in his slow, inquisitive tone. "I have not asked for your presence here. I can only assume that you want something from me."

"That's correct." Naspia replied, staring up into the biggest of the floating eyes. "I have questions."

"Indeed. And I have answers. I know the knowledge, you seek, but what could you offer me in return?"

"What do you want?" Naspia asked, dreading the answer, especially when the Daedra began chuckling.

"I know why it is you seek this knowledge." He informed her. "And I know who it revolves around, as well. You seek the knowledge you need to defeat someone who has no equal on the mortal plain. To kill him, perhaps?"

"If it's necessary." Naspia told him.

"There in lies the problem, my champion. You see, the old prince of Akavir has knowledge that has long been forgotten. Knowledge that I want. If you kill him, the knowledge dies with him."

"So you want me to use what you give me to defeat him, but ensure he lives to reveal these secrets to you."

"Precisely, Dragonborn." Mora told her. "And believe me when I say that these secrets are even more valuable to me then the ones you gave to me from the Skaal. These secrets are from a time well before their existence."

"Very well, I'll make him tell you his secrets." Naspia agreed. "Now who was the Daedric Prince that the king of Akavir spoke to that caused the Divide?"

"Ah, you are more knowledgeable than I had predicted, Dragonborn. And you will find the answer to that in Whiterun."

"Whiterun?" Naspia asked. "What could possibly be in Whiterun that would tell me the answers I seek?"

"Speak to Ysolda, the woman you helped obtain the inn. Ask her about the rumors that plague that city and you will find your path, as clear as the day."

Without anything else to go by, Hermaeous Mora disappeared and Naspia glared at the pit he had come from. Reaching behind her, she began reading the book again to depart from the Apocrypha.

Naspia snapped out of it and blinked a few times, looking up at Urag who was as pale as she'd ever seen an Orc.

"Did you get the information you wanted?" He asked her warily.

"Not exactly." Naspia replied. "He seemed intent on feeding me horker dung of mystical, run-around talk. All I was given was that I needed to learn about rumors floating throughout Whiterun."

"That seems odd." Urag agreed, shaking his head as Naspia returned the book to the sealed shelf and locked it back up. "What could possibly be in Whiterun that would give you any type of clue?"

"I don't know, but I plan on finding out. Thank you Master Urag. You've been most helpful, as always."

"Don't mention it, kid." He replied as Naspia left the Arcaneum, bounding down the stairs. "Damn girl is going to get herself killed..."

Akonus watched as more and more mercenaries came into the ruins. Casius had forced the prince to use what he kept calling 'Old Magic' to make the ruins accessible to these pirates, thieves and sellswords, believing that Akonus would keep the place safe from any invasion. The Akaviri prince obliged him, magically lifting rock from below the sea and building a small island with it around the entrance to the ruins. The whole process had taken nearly a week, but Casius had been dumbfounded by the prince's power. With that, he hired on mercenaries by the dozen, ordering them into Dwemer ruins to bring him back as much of their bronze metal as they could carry.

Akonus watched as the thirty or so bandits brought the metals in on carts, or carried them in their arms and began tossing them into the massive smelter that had been deeper into the facility. The giant melting pot liquefied the metals until and then let them run through a series of rather intricate cuts in the stonework that allowed the metals to flow to where they needed to in exactly the amount required. Akonus was shocked that a species so intelligent could have been wiped out by anything, but Casius had been vague on the details of the Dwemer's disappearance.

"Remarkable, is it not?" Casius asked as he strode into the room. "With these simple metals, this machine and the vast collection of soulgems I've acquired over the years, we can build an army as great as any in Tamriel and all without having to worry about the blood of our men being spilled."

"Your metal men will spill enough blood to make up for it, Casius." Akonus replied, looking down at the automatons that had already been built. It had been the first day of production and already dozens of spider like metal creatures were scurrying about. Even more impressive, at least to the mage, was that they listened to his commands. Akonus explained with knowledge he was only just finding out he had, that the automatons were made to respond to the orders of those that built them. Since there were no Dwemer alive today, the metal creatures that had only just been built had no knowledge of their original masters.

"With luck our enemies will see the might of our created army and surrender immediately." Casius told him. "With an army of Dwarven automatons and you at their head none shall be able to stand against us."

"Hey boss, that's the last of the shipment." One of the bandits stated, walking up to them. "Anything else you need before we head out to round up some more?"

"Hmm... yes, actually." Casius replied with a smirk.

Naspia hopped off the wagon as it approached the gates of Whiterun, handing the driver almost twice the usual rate. She had promised him extra coin for getting there quickly and the man had certainly delivered. They'd arrived, coming all the way from Winterhold in just under half a day, so as far as Naspia was concerned the man had earned his coin.

Thanking the carriage driver, Naspia made her way into the city, walking with purpose toward the Bannered Mare inn. Many people tried to stop her to ask questions, but she politely told them she was in a hurry and opened up the door to the inn. Ysolda, the only other red head besides the Dragonborn in Whiterun, smiled and waved at her.

"It's a fine day with you around." Ysolda told her. "What brings you to the inn, Naspia?"

"Oh I was..." Naspia began, then realized it wasn't best to tell Ysolda and Daedric Prince had mentioned her by name. She had no desire to worry the poor woman. "I was just back in the area and I decided to see how you were getting on, here."

"Really?" Ysolda asked with a smile. "Well, I'm doing great, actually. The inn has been bringing in more and more paying customers since I took over. I've even had to turn some people away, unfortunately. If I had the room I'd make the inn bigger once I saved up enough gold, but the Jarl isn't likely to knock some of the wall down to accommodate the space."

"Yeah, probably not." Naspia agreed. "But I'm glad to see that business is going well for you."

"And I have you to thank for it." Ysolda told her. Something about the way she said it made Naspia feel a little flustered and break eye contact for a moment. "So how have things been with the mighty Dragonborn?"

"Oh, it could be worse, I suppose." Naspia replied. She knew Ysolda had heard about what happened in Hjaalmarch. Anyone who hadn't in all of Skyrim had to have been living under a rock.

"I'm glad you can stay optimistic." Ysolda said, gently placing a hand on Naspia's. The Dragonborn looked up at Ysolda, turning a light red and suddenly realized that maybe she should have changed her story a bit. It seemed she had given Ysolda the wrong impression. "When I heard what had happened I was worried something might have happened to the savior of Skyrim."

"I don't think that's a fitting title." Naspia replied with a laugh. "But no, I'm fine now. Promise."

"Well... um. Good."

"So, what's been going on around the city?" Naspia asked, hurriedly changing the subject. "Any exciting rumors? Apart from another end of the world scenario, anyways?"

"Well, I heard that Jarl Baalgruf's youngest son is having some issues." Ysolda told her, removing her hand after realizing it was making Naspia nervous. "He been saying some dark, violent things from what I've overheard."

"Really?" Naspia felt like this was exactly the information she had needed. After all, children don't just start saying things that give adults chills. "Maybe he just needs someone to talk to."

"Sounds like a perfect job for you." Ysolda told her with a smirk. "As I understand it, you're great with children. The whole town was talking for days about how the Dragonborn played hide and seek with the kids around here. I have to admit it was one of the most adorable things I'd ever heard."

"Oh, well..." Naspia stammered, her cheeks turning red once more. "I was just trying to enjoy my day is all. I figured no one knew how to have innocent fun like a bunch of kids."

"Well either way lots of people have been jokingly stating how they wish you'd start babysitting." Ysolda teased, sliding a mug of mead over to a Nord who'd approached the bar. "At any rate the Jarl's children will likely be in bed by now. I have a room available still, if you want to stay here for the night. Free of charge, of course. You're the reaosn I have this place, after all."

"I couldn't take from your business like that, Ysolda." Naspia protested but Ysolda shook her head.

"I insist, friend. It's the very least I could do."

Naspia smiled and nodded her assent. The two of them sat at the bar counter a good while longer, talking about what had been going on in Skyrim before the incident at Hjaalmarch until Naspia decided she'd had enough with Ysolda's obvious flirting and pretended like she was heading to bed. She bade Ysolda goodnight while the innkeeper began to lock the place up and headed to her room.

An hour or two had rolled by before Naspia had finally come close to some form of sleep when a soft knock at her door roused her.

"Come in." Naspia called, her hand hovering close to her dragonbone blade. The door opened slowly and Ysolda stepped in. "Oh, Ysolda, what is it?"

"There's someone at the door for you." She replied, looking over her shoulder. "He said he would wait around back but said it was urgent he spoke with you..."

"I thought you'd locked up." Naspia replied, getting out of the bed.

"I did, and was fast asleep when something woke me." Ysolda told her nervously. "For some reason I felt the need to check the front door and when I did, he was there."

"What did he look like?" Naspia pressed, throwing a tunic over the loose furs she had worn to bed.

"Mmm... black hair. Skin paler than snow. He wore a strange kind of armor. I've never seen it's like before. And something was definitely wrong with his eyes."

Naspia's heart caught in her chest. She looked over at Ysolda and shook her head.

"Ysolda, stay here." Naspia told her. She looked like she was about to protest but Naspia pressed her finger to the woman's lips and shook her head. "Stay here."

Naspia grabbed her blade and ran down stairs, flying through the door and looking all around. There were no buildings burning, no dead or beaten bodies in the streets. It was a quiet night out. She rounded the inn and there, sitting down and... was he meditating? Naspia shook her head in disbelief. Somehow that Akaviri prince had made it into Whiterun without raising any alarm or causing any kind of fuss.

"If you're here to threaten my friends..." Naspia began but was stopped when Akonus raised a hand.

"Please, Dragonborn." He began, standing up and looking her dead in the eye. Naspia couldn't help but feel that his eyes weren't glowing nearly as bright as they should have been, but still it felt like his gaze was piercing right through her. "I am only here to talk."

"Sure you are." She replied sarcastically, blade held ready.

"Strike me down if you must, Naspia but I'm not actually here." He told her. "This is a mere apparition. A magical being of energy that I have created specifically so that I could speak with you. I wouldn't be surprised if the knowledge of how to do such things was lost long ago. It wasn't popular in my day."

"What do you want?" Naspia demanded.

"As I said. I wish to speak with you. I believe we can help one another."

"And why should I trust you?"

"Because I could have killed you and everyone else the night of my rebirth." Akonus told her. Somehow it didn't seem like a threat. It seemed closer to just him pointing out a fact.

"Fine... How can you help me?"

"Well, in truth I can't help you until you've helped me, plain and simple. I am forced into the service of this mage, Casius merely because I will not allow myself to be sent back into the Soul Cairn. However I have, so far, refused to take a life. I fear that he will find a way to bind me, soon, and in so doing strip away my free will."

"Which means he could, potentially, force you to kill anyone he deemed a threat." Naspia finished. "How exactly am I supposed to help you?"

"That I don't know." Akonus admitted. "I never had an interest in Alok-Dilon. I'm certain, however, that you can find some sorcerer who is well verse in raising the dead and ask him or her."

"And what exactly am I supposed to ask them?"

"How I can be released from this curse. Casius has not bound me to his will, yet, but he keeps me on a leash because he can send me back to the Soul Cairn in an instant. Killing him isn't the solution to my problem, as that would just send us both back together, so I need you to figure out how to sever his connection to the Soul Cairn. Can you do this?"

"What's so bad about the Soul Cairn for you that I should help?" Naspia demanded, stepping forward.

"Well... I suppose you have no vested interest in it, but personally I did not find it all that pleasant. Have you ever been?"

"I have..."

"Really? Surprising. I assume you ventured there while still living, yes? At any rate, the Ideal Masters yearned for my soul but they couldn't take it. I was trapped, you see, within a stone that housed my soul. Their tortures, however, could still get inside."

"You expect me to believe that you under went agonizing pain to your soul for thousands of years?" Naspia asked. "And even after all that, you still don't want to destroy this world for allowing you to go to it?"

"This world is not responsible for my death and soul imprisonment." Akonus replied nonchalantly. "But yes, that was my hope. I do not require an answer, Dragonborn and I have no more time. Do this for me and Casius will fall. Refuse and I might just destroy you against my will."

Akonus began to glow, just as his eyes did and it looked as though he were about to say something else, but before it came out he flickered and disappeared. Naspia fell back against the wall, trying to figure out how all of this insanity had fallen into her lap. Shaking her head, she stood and decided that she needed to finish her task at hand before she undertook another one. But before she even did that, she needed to sleep.