Hello, Suilebhan here! This chapter took a long time to write, not really because it was really difficult to figure out what to write, but because I didn't have a lot of time. I think you'll enjoy it, so read, enjoy, and feel free to review!
Ignis watched as the four men surrounded the Eye of Magnus, and began to disappear. "Thank you again for your assistance, Arch Mage." Ignis stood, perplexed by their statement for a moment, before his eyes widened and he became flustered. Tolfdir smiled at the lad and held out the Arch Mage's robes.
"I can think of no finer leader than you, Ignis. Congratulations." Tolfdir exclaimed, giving the boy a friendly pat on the back. Ignis was speechless as the elderly wizard led him to the Arch Mage's quarters. Ignis stood alone for several minutes, just fiddling with some of the plants in the Alchemical garden. He looked the door into his new quarters and began to undress. Taking off the bindings around his chest, Ignis frowned. After replacing the bandages, Ignis dressed himself in the Arch Mage's robes, and found himself coming to tears. These were the same robes that Savos had worn before Ancano killed him. Ignis hated being so weak, as he was sure that was the only reason that Ancano's demise wasn't satisfying. A [i]real[/i] man would be able to enjoy revenge, surely.
After a few hours had passed, Ignis descended the stairs leading back to the Hall of the Elements, where the surviving members of the college had gathered. Ignis cleared his throat, biting his lip nervously as he stood before the members of the college. "E-E-Everyone, th-thank you f-for coming... A-as you likely have h-heard, I have b-been named Arch M-Mage b-by the Ps-Psijic Order..." Ignis addressed his colleagues. "Wh-while I am s-sure that I am n-not the only one w-with some reservations about th-this manner of selection, I w-will d-d-do my b-best as your A-Arch Mage..." Tolfdir smiled, walking over and standing behind Ignis.
"I stand behind you, Arch Mage. I know you'll do well." The elderly Breton proclaimed, nodding his head politely. Slowly, the other masters joined Tolfdir, and Ignis became flustered from the sudden attention. "We all stand behind you, as we stood behind Savos." Tolfdir stated as he and his fellow masters bowed their heads politely.
"I..." Ignis's pale face became bright pink. "Th-thank you..." He didn't know what to say. Ignis had been certain that the other mages would be mad by the Psijic Monks deciding that he should be the Arch Mage. "Um... W-we should hold a f-funeral for m-master Savos, a-and miss M-Mirabelle..." Ignis nervously suggested to the members of the college.
"I think that's a wonderful idea." Tolfdir agreed, patting Ignis's back. "Everyone, let us meet in the courtyard at dusk, so that we may say our goodbyes to our fallen comrades." Tolfdir told the members of the college, who nodded and murmured words of agreement.
After everyone had left, Ignis approached Arniel Gane in the Arcanaeium. "Um, A-Arniel, I n-noticed that you've been s-somewhat distressed l-lately, m-more so than th-the others..." Ignis began, sitting on the bench beside Arniel. "I-Is something wr-wrong with your experiment?" Arniel sighed and nodded.
"Yes, unfortunately." He admitted. "You see, I've been trying to simulate the disappearance of the Dwemer, but after Ancano's little grab for power, the convector I've been using to charge the warped soul gem you got me was destroyed." He explained, frowning a bit. "The Dwemer had convectors that they used to charge soul gems, but I'm not in a position to search for them at this time."
"I-I could d-do it!" Ignis suddenly blurted out. "I c-can help you charge th-the soul gem. I've b-been planning on searching Mzinchelft f-for some s-soul gems m-myself, so I'll b-be happy to help..."
Arniel laughed a little. "Well, thank you, then, Ignis. Or should I call you sir, now?" Arniel jokingly asked, smiling. "I suppose I should warn you, due to the nature of the warped soul gem, the convector might not be able to withstand more than one use, so you may need to find a second." Ignis nodded obediently, and Arniel held back another laugh.
Ignis left the massive library, and came across Onmund, training in the main hall. Ignis approached curiously, and smiled meekly as Onmund noticed him. "H-hey, Onmund, wh-what are you w-working on?" Ignis inquired nervously as the Nord turned to look at him.
"I'm working on my shock spells, since they're some of the most effective destruction spells." Onmund told Ignis, avoiding making eye contact with the boy. "D-do you think you can help me?"
"H-huh? Help you?" Ignis looked surprised by his friend's request. "I-I g-guess so, b-but I d-don't know how I c-can be of help... I'm n-not as g-good as one of the m-masters..."
"That's f-fine," Onmund insisted, smiling nervously, forcing out a short laugh. "You c-can cast a ward, and I'll use m-my lightning spell. We can b-both improve that way... Heh..." He laughed nervously, becoming slightly flustered. Onmund didn't understand why he was feeling so confused when he looked at Ignis, spoke to him... Onmund shook his head a little, focusing. Ignis brought up a ward, and tried to plant his feet tightly on the floor.
Onmund looked at Ignis, his thin, frail body. His slight curved figure, similar to that of a woman. Onmund blushed heavily, shutting his eyes in frustration as he launched a stream of electricity from his hands. He opened his eyes as he heard a frightened yelp, and saw Ignis fallen on the floor, tears in his eyes. "Agh, I'm sorry!" Onmund blurted out, frantically rushing to his junior and trying to check the boy's burns. Ignis winced, cowering away a little as Onmund attempted to remove the young teen's shirt to examine the wound.
"P-P-Please don't..." Ignis asked meekly, covering the opening in his robes. "C-can you g-go get miss Colette and ask her to m-meet me in m-my new chambers?" Ignis nervously asked, wincing again in pain.
"Y-yeah..." Onmund reluctantly agreed, looking away to try hiding his blush. "B-but can you get to your room? I m-mean... You l-look really hurt..." Onmund asked, grabbing on to the boy's hand instinctively in worry. As Onmund felt Ignis's skin, he blushed deeply, and let go immediately. "S-sorry..." It was so soft... It was smoother than Onmund could ever have imagined anyone's hand, guy or girl, to be.
Ignis tried to get up, wincing, and letting out a small yelp of pain, sinking back to the floor. Onmund bit his lip, determined, and wrapped his arms under Ignis, lifting the boy up in his arms, carrying him as if he was a princess. Ignis blushed, embarrassed and frightened by Onmund's touch, and struggled a little. "L-let go... I c-can get to my room b-by myself!" Ignis insisted, tears welling in his eyes. Onmund shook his head, his expression unmoving as he carried his junior up the stairs.
"I've hurt you," Onmund said, his voice heavy with remorse. "It's my fault you are hurt, so it's my duty to help you to your quarters. As soon as I set you down on your bed, I'll go get Colette." Onmund's usual nervous hesitation was missing from his voice, trying to focus on the seriousness of the situation. Of course, he did have a slight blush, as he couldn't help but feel slightly aroused with Ignis in his arms. He set Ignis down on his bed cautiously, trying to be careful not to hurt him more. "I'll send Colette right up... I need to keep training." Onmund tried to act harshly toward Ignis, so that the young teen would avoid him. Onmund couldn't keep having these strange feelings, he didn't want to hurt Ignis again because of them...
Ignis smiled weakly, nodding a little. "Th-thank you, O-Onmund..." He muttered softly as he watched the Nord walk away. After about five minutes, Colette rushed in to the room panicked.
"What's wrong?! You're hurt! Are you dying?! Did you rupture an organ?!" Colette spoke incredibly fast, almost delirious. Ignis shook her head, smiling meekly.
"It... It isn't b-bad, just a little burn..." Ignis said weakly. "And m-maybe a couple b-broken bones..." He admitted nervously.
"Then why did you insist that Onmund boy send me? Surely even someone as inexperienced as him could have healed this." Colette inquired, still speaking unpleasantly quick.
"Well, I.." Ignis's gaze shifted shamefully toward the floor. "M-Miss Colette, c-can you keep a secret?" He asked nervously, clearing his throat nervously.
"The Dwemer certainly knew how to build for the ages. These towers have outlasted their creators by millenia. The book is housed inside that dome. I'll need to unlock the door for us. Lets get on with it."
Ellin nodded, pulling her axe from it's current place, lodged deeply in a dead reaver's shoulder. She followed Neloth to the door of the city, feeling a bit awed by the impressive structure.
"The Dwemer of Nchardak appear to have been fond of these control pedestals. Luckily I found a cube to operate it inside on my last visit. I sealed the door when I left to keep out ignorant meddlers. Let me unlock it." The Telvanni master explained, placing a cube in the pedestal, activating some kind of mechanism that unlocked the door. Ellin followed Neloth into the Dwemer ruin, the first room they entered housing a strange mechanism that sealed back some kind of treasure. Looking at what was behind an impenetrable glass sheet, Ellin's eyes widened a little with shock and desire. "You can see the book right there. So tantalizingly close...But trust me, no magic will open that. I'd have had the book already if I could. No, we'll have to do this the hard way. If we can restore the steam supply to this room, I'm certain I can open it. As you'll see, that's easier said than done. This way to the boilers."
Ellin followed Neloth deeper into the ruin, eventually entering a massive chamber, much of which was submerged with water. "Nchardak, The 'City of a Hundred Towers'. In its day it was the largest of the great Dwemer Archives and perhaps the most advanced. In the old stories, when the Nords came to conquer it, it's said the Dwemer sumberged the entire city beneath the sea until the invaders gave up. I have my doubts. But the city was a marvel of Dwemer engineering. Now reduced to this. As you can see, most of the lower levels of the city are flooded. but it isn't hopeless - the old Dwemer pumps still seem to work. Watch." Neloth placed his cube in a pedestal, and there was a sudden loud rumbling, and the water began to drain. "The pumps only operate when a cube is in the pedestal. And unfortunately, I have only one cube. These four boilers provide steam to the room upstairs. They're shut down, but they still respond to the control cubes. So, if we can find four more cubes, we can turn these boilers back on and restore steam power to the room upstairs. Then I should be able to open the book's protective case. Bring that cube. We'll need it." Ellin grabbed the cube, and followed Neloth to some kind of display, though Ellin couldn't make anything of it.
"Yes... here we are. This device shows the location of four more cubes in this section of the city. It looks like most of the cubes were moved to the lower levels, perhaps to try to control the flooding before the city was abandoned. Interesting. That would suggest that the city must have originally sunk during the first cataclysm of Red Mountain. Or that the Dwemer's servitors continued to try to preserve the city after their creators' disappearance." Neloth said to Ellin, who tried to focus on what he was saying. Neloth motioned for Ellin to follow, and she trekked behind slowly. "Three of the cubes are through here. This seems like a sensible place to start. You should be able to unseal this door with the control cube I gave you."
"At last. I hope it was worth it. Please... be my guest. You deserve the first look. Besides, it could be very dangerous. These books are known to drive many people insane."
Ellin grabbed the book, somewhat hesitant, muttering a silent prayer to Auri-el as she opened it. The words seemed to slide off the pages and wrap around Ellin, suddenly becoming tentacles. She would have let out an alarmed scream if her voice would come to her, but instead, she found herself suddenly silent. The world around her had changed, altered. Everything seemed to be very... Mysterious. "Ah, another mortal comes to Apocrypha in search of knowledge?" A voice boomed as a distorted mass of tentacles began to form. "I am Hermaeus Mora, Daedric Prince of Knowledge and Secrets. I welcome you to this place, mortal, and encourage your search for knowledge." The writhing mass of tentacles and eyes explained. "But be warned, Apocrypha is a dangerous realm. If you are weak or foolish, turn back now by reading my Black Book again. If not, then again, I welcome you."
After the distorted mass disappeared again, Ellin let out a sigh of relief. Hermaeus Mora's presence was overpowering, somewhat frightening even. Ellin had felt it before, long ago. The half-elf took a deep breath, and shut her eyes. "Memories lost to me, please, reveal to me what this place is. Please grant onto me the knowledge that was lost." Suddenly, Ellin heard a booming laughter, and the mass appeared again.
"You ask for knowledge while in my realm?" Hermaeus Mora asked, the disembodied voice almost seeming to mock Ellin. "So be it, I shall grant you your memories forgotten, but be warned, you will not like what you find, Suleyk." Ellin's eyes widened as a single tentacle shot out, seeming to pierce her head. Images flashed through her mind rapidly, finding the place they had lost long ago. Chaos, destruction. Power. The mask was everything. And to the one behind the mask, knowledge and power was the only thing to be sought or cared for. He served the Dov, one of their mightiest priests, and took her from her home to train her. She thought he would care for her as the daughter she was, but to him, she was only another weapon.
For seven years, she was his disciple, but then came the Betrayal. He killed the masters he once served, bowing to a new king, one of ancient knowledge long forbidden. He stole the Dragon's knowledge, and used the secrets he gained from his new master to bend their will. He was Miraak. He was Bormah. Father.
Ellin screamed, holding her hands to her temples tightly. It hurt so much. The half-elf stood still for several minutes, then an hour... Finally, she moved. It had been nearly six hours since Hermaeus Mora granted his gift, and now he eyed the mortal curiously, interested in how she would act with such knowledge. Ellin proceeded quickly, staring at the first Seekers she encountered with hollow eyes. There was a sudden blur of movement, and Ellin was behind them, dagger in hand. The Seekers exploded into dust and rags, their physical bodies destroyed. Ellin continued, defeated the creatures that stood in her path, and finally made it to the large tome at the end of the fragment of Apocrypha. "Congratulations, mortal. You have traversed to the end of this book in search of knowledge, so now I shall grant it." Ellin looked up at the mass of eyes and tentacles as the knowledge of Bend Will entered her mind. "But, alas, I cannot grant you the last part of the shout until I receive something in return."
"For more years than you can likely comprehend, I have sought the knowledge held by the Skaal. They have never relinquished it on to me, so that shall be the price of my knowledge." Ellin nodded a little, still looking somewhat lifeless. Of course she wouldn't do that, unless Storn agreed to it. Ellin read the tome, obtaining the hidden knowledge of Fus within, and found herself returned to Solstheim.
"That took a while," Neloth complained as she returned to a corporeal state. "Let's get out of here, I have a foolish apprentice to attend to."
Ignis stood silently before the pyre, a tear running down his cheek. He placed the torch down, and watched as the fire began to consume Savos's body. "I'm sorry..." He muttered softly to himself, shutting his eyes and turning away, hastily returning to the Arch Mage's quarters. Sitting alone on his new bed, Ignis cried into his covers. Why did Savos have to die? Why did Ancano have to abuse the artifact from Saarthal? Ignis tried to stop as he heard someone approaching, and looked up to see Onmund. "O-Onmund..?" Ignis became somewhat flustered and hid his face with his bed sheets. "Wh-what are you doing h-here?"
"I, um, I wanted t-to apologize." Onmund admitted, looking away, blushing, as he noticed the embarrassed reaction Ignis made. "I... I'm s-sorry about hurting you earlier..."
Ignis shook his behind vigorously behind the bed sheets. "Y-you don't n-need to a-apologize... It w-was an accident..." Ignis insisted, blushing greatly, averting his gaze from Onmund's eyes. Onmund smiled a little, and grabbed Ignis's hand. "O-Onmund?"
"But I do..." Onmund told Ignis, smiling. "I... I hurt you because I can't control these feelings... I can't keep running away..." He moved forward, suddenly pressing his lips against the new Arch Mage's neck. Ignis's eyes widened, and he pushed Onmund away as best as he could. Onmund realized what he had done, and became bright red. "I... I'm sorry!" He exclaimed loudly, attempting to flee, stopping as he felt the soft grasp of Ignis's hand grabbing onto his sleeve.
"O-Onmund... Wh-what's g-going on? Is something wr-wrong?" Ignis asked meekly. "Y-you clearly aren't y-yourself, s-someone must've put you up to th-this..." Ignis insisted. "S-something must be controlling you... Th-there's no way you c-could actually like me... I'm n-not attractive l-like—"
Onmund hesitated a moment as his junior spoke, then suddenly kissed Ignis. He couldn't control himself, he just found the young Arch Mage so... Adorable. Ignis's eyes widened again as Onmund wrapped his arms around him, and he lost any resistance he had. It only lasted for a moment, but to Onmund, it had lasted a lifetime. "Don't say foolish things like that!" Onmund insisted, looking down at Ignis, holding the young wizard by the shoulders. "Even if I've never even seen your eyes, you are more beautiful than any woman I've seen! You aren't arrogant or impolite, you're kind and loving toward others. The only thing that is controlling me now is my heart." Onmund's cheeks with red with embarrassment, but he didn't care. He embraced Ignis tightly, running his hand through the boy's hair.
Ignis stayed silent for a few minutes, his lip quivering from embarrassment. He slowly raised his arms, and wrapped them around Onmund, pressing his head against the Nord's chest. Onmund continued slowly running his hand through the young magician's hair, stopping as he felt his robes dampening. Ignis looked up, tears running down his cheeks, the hair shrouding his eyes parting, revealing brilliant cyan eyes that seemed to glow softly. There were faded scars on Ignis's face, Onmund thought were likely from burns, and the young Mage attempted to cover his eyes. Onmund stopped him, placing his head back to his chest. He heard Ignis begin to quietly weep, and he smiled softly, looking down at his junior. "Hush, don't cry."
"Y-you don't understand..." Ignis meekly replied, tears still flowing from his eyes. "I... I can't have f-feelings like this... It's wr-wrong..." Ignis continued to cry, Onmund holding the boy's head to his chest.
"It doesn't matter if it's wrong," Onmund insisted. "Love is love. No matter what." He felt a little embarrassed after saying such a cheesy thing, but he didn't care. Ignis shook his head softly, still whimpering a little.
"Y-you don't understand..." Ignis began, afraid to look Onmund in the eye.
"Maybe I don't, but it can't change how I feel." Onmund insisted, his hand slowly moving down Ignis's back. He stopped as he felt Ignis pushing him away, and looked down to see the young teen gazing up, tears running down his face. "I... Sorry... I'll go..."
Ellin stood at the summit of the massive tower, a long Nordic Blade in her hand. "So then, this is it? You have no idea the power I have!" Miraak shouted pridefully, his words filled with arrogance. Ellin let out a small laugh, and smirked a little. She pulled out an Ebony mask from her pack, and placed it on her face. Miraak's confidence began to wither as he recognized the mask.
"Hello," Ellin said calmly, grinning a little behind the mask. "Father." She lunged forward, Miraak staggering back as he block the first attack. She continued to recklessly strike at her Father, each time his blocks becoming less powerful. "I really should thank you," she told Miraak as she thrust her blade toward him, the sound of metal striking metal as he desperately parried the attack. "Because of you, I've gotten to experience actually kindness!" She exclaimed, her pale eyes beginning to shimmer with water. "I've made friends, I've found a shield-family!" She struck the ornate short sword from Miraak's grasp. "Still, all this time, the thing I had wanted most in life..." She held her blade straight, pointing it at Miraak's neck. "Was my father's love!" She shouted, hesitating momentarily.
Miraak trust his hand forward, disarming Ellin, then kicking her in the chest, knocking her to the ground. She gasped for air, the breath taken from her by her father's strike to the chest. "That's why you were a fool, Suleyk..." Miraak said as he slowly limped over to his blade, leaning down to grab it. "You were always looking for something the doesn't exist." He told her as he approached, sword in hand. He grabbed her by the collar, and held her up, point the point of his blade at Ellin's neck. "Now go and meet your–" A tentacle suddenly shot out from the air, disarming the first Dragonborn and wrapping around his right hand. Another came from his other side and clenched onto his left wrist. Miraak let go of Ellin, and she watched as he was pulled back and held up by the grasp of Hermaeus Mora.
"You can hide nothing from me in my realm." The Daedric Prince's voice echoing through the air. "This game has gone on long enough. I have a new Dragonborn champion, I have no need for you now." A tentacle shot out from the wretched abyss that formed in the air, stabbing Miraak through the chest. The man let out a pained cry, looking toward Ellin, disgust in the eyes behind his mask. He slumped down a little, and dissolved into ash, his spirit being consumed by Ellin. "Well done, Champion." Hermaeus Mora proclaimed, Ellin standing up slowly. "I grant you the knowledge of this book, the knowledge to alter your own abilities. You may return to Tamriel when you wish."
Five days passed since the college held Savos's funeral, and Onmund had accompanied Ignis as the new Arch Mage helped Arniel in his endeavor to recreate what had happened to the Dwemer. The two had grown closer, although Ignis still refused some of Onmund's more bold advances.
Currently, Onmund was comforting Ignis after the unfortunate success of Arniel's experiment, causing him to disappear. "It's not your fault," the Nord insisted, holding Ignis close to him. "None of us knew what would happen, it's just a miracle that none of use were harmed." He ran his hand through Ignis's hair, smiling as he held the boy's head to his chest. They sat silently on Ignis's bed, when suddenly J'zargo burst into the Arch Mage's chambers in a panic.
"Arch Mage! J'zargo has come to alert you!" The Khajiit exclaimed, causing Ignis stand suddenly, worried. Onmund stood beside Ignis, hoping it was nothing serious. "A... A dragon is approaching, we fear it may attack–" As J'zargo spoke, there was a loud crashing sound and the building shook. They rushed out to the courtyard, to find a large Dragon in the air above the courtyard. There were marks in the stone where the beast had clearly landed, as well as scorch marks from a large amount of flame. Onmund grabbed Ignis, pulling him to cover as the beast strafed the ground with flames.
The college shook again as the Dragon landed again, attempting to get at the mages in their cover behind the pillars in the courtyard. It swung its tail, shattering the one that Onmund and Ignis hid behind, and cleared its throat. In desperation, Onmund threw Ignis to the ground and charged, letting out a loud battle cry as battle axe was conjured into his hands. He leapt up, smashing the axe into the winged lizard's mouth just before it could speak, angering it. The Dragon lunged its mouth forward, biting Onmund's chest, griping him in its jaws. He began to cough blood as the creature violently wrenched his body around, before throwing him against the wall. Seeing what happened, tears began to flow down Ignis's cheeks, and he screamed out in sorrow.
The Dragon slowly crept up to the mortally wounded Nord, preparing for a small snack, when a short human, likely of Breton descent, ran between them. The human drew a small crystal dagger, and screamed, charging at the Dragon. At the bat of a wing, Ignis was thrown against the wall. Figuring the human that had attacked it was dead, the Dragon returned its gaze to the wounded one that it was planning on snacking on. Suddenly, a massive stone impacted the Dragon's body, throwing it aside.
Ignis was standing, tears running down his face, his eyes glowing a brilliant cyan. His sleeves were now torn, revealing runes similar to those seen on the Eye of Magnus running across his bare arms. He lifted up a hand, and with it, a large section of the pillar that the Dragon had destroyed. The rock shattered the Dragon's skull, causing the creature to go limp. Ignis ran past the fallen Dragon and embraced Onmund, the Nord's heart beating slowly. Onmund noticed the bandages covering much of Ignis's chest, and smiled a little. He was such an idiot... He shut his eyes, and Ignis began weeping loudly. Colette ran over, placing her hand to Onmund's neck. "Arch Mage, he's still alive, but just barely... I'll do what I can, but you better cover up, before everyone sees you." The expert healer told the frail girl who was clinging onto Onmund's unconscious body. Ignis became somewhat pink as she stood up and covered the torn bandages as best as she could.
Tolfdir and Faralda approached the limp body of the Dragon closely, as if to assure it's demise, when suddenly the scales began to burn violently and turn to ash, leaving only a skeleton. The was a sound of rushing wind, and a strange mist began to surround Ignis. Tolfdir stared, speechless, as the soul was enveloped by the young Arch Mage. Ignis was also confused, looking around frantically as the soul seemed to enter her body. "Wh-What's going on?!" She exclaimed, frightened, backing away.
"I can't believe it..." Tolfdir said slowly, looking at Ignis. "You're... you're Dragonborn..."
Now that was a cliffhanger! :3
In case anyone wasn't clear with the end, Ignis is actually a girl who was crossdressing as a boy, the reason for which will be revealed in a later chapter.