Summary: For 10 years, she prepared. Now Kieran Herne, a human from Earth turned into an elven warrior, must race against time to find the heir to the Empire and restore him to the throne, else all of Tamriel – and Nirn – perish.

Warning:Will contain graphic violence, cussing (in Farscape terminology or otherwise), bandits, marauders, papercuts, hangnails, Azura prophecy-messages. Will also include threats, verbal fencing matches, wild magic that's incredibly out of control, the Tribunal, tarot, and all sorts of havoc dedicated to the Prince of Madness.

Spoiler Warning:Spoilers for the Main Quest and the Mages Guild quest/storyline.


Edgedancer
Act 1 - Ending Beginning
Chapter 1-12 - "Gate"


The refugee camp was just as gloomy as the skies above the city. There were, at minimum, nine notable individuals, perhaps ten, wandering around the camp, quiet and sullen. Most of what I could see at first glance were Imperials, but I did catch sight of at least one Argonian, Orc, and High Elf.

Speaking of High Elves... I readjusted my belts to make sure that I had everything, keeping an eye on the road ahead as I caught sight of an Altmer man with reddish-brown hair styled similarly to a mohawk running towards us in total panic.

"And he'll start talking to us in five. Four. Three. Two. One..."

Cue the Altmer commoner grabbing my arm, tugging me back down the road and towards Anvil. His eyes were wide with fear, and his manner of speaking was frantic, almost as if he had gotten trapped in some sort of horror movie. "Come on! Run, while there's still time! The guard still holds the road, but it's only a matter of time before they're overwhelmed!"

...Actually, in hindsight, the siege probably was just like a horror movie.

"Calm yourself, good sir, and unhand me!" I said, removing his hand from my arm. "It's clear that some sort of catastrophe happened here...!"

He looked at me, and then at Killian, as if we had both suddenly turned into Argonian hatchlings running around in circles. This time the shock he was feeling was more about our "ignorance" to the situation. "God's blood... You don't know, do you?"

I opened my mouth to speak, but the terrified Altmer cut me off, practically shouting. "Daedra overran Kvatch just last night! There were...glowing portals outside the walls! Gates to Oblivion itself!"

Great. Definitely in shock - he was going through flashbacks as he continued speaking. "There was a... huge creature - something out of a nightmare - came right over the walls... blasting fire. They swarmed around it... killing..."

My gaze shifted from the Altmer back towards the charred city higher up on the mountain, a mix of concern, worry, and determination crossing my face. "The entire city...?"

"Go see for yourself!" he replied, still panicking and clearly still remembering the night before. "Kvatch is a smoking ruin! We're all that's left, do you understand me? Everyone else is dead!"

The panic was going to eventually make me panic, and once again, my extreme empathy was not helping matters. I suddenly turned towards him, looking at him straight in the eye despite my face being shadowed by my hood. "How did you escape?"

Thought it was subtle, I could see he was beginning to calm down and focus on what needed to be done. "It was... Savlian Matius. Some of the other guards. Helped some of us escape. They cut their way out, right through the city gates. Savlian says they can hold the road..."

"But that's only on their own," Killian finished, turning to me. I looked at her, nodding, before turning back to the man.

"It's clear on your face what you think is going to happen," I noted. "Run to Anvil; I need to speak with Matius."

The refugee again shot me the expression from when I first spoke to him. "By the Nine, are you mad!"

"Very, as I've had to inform multiple people," I deadpanned, a serious look on my face as I folded my arms. "Hurry down the road; you'll probably need to distance yourself from here for some time."

Killian looked between me and the Altmer before whispering to him, "I'd do as she says. Once she's got her mind set on something, she's dead set on it."

"But..." he started. "Nothing can stop them. If you'd seen it, you'd know..." He shook his head, now focusing again on the present - he didn't catch sight of the small glow of the crystals in his hand. "I'm getting out of here before it's too late! They'll be here any minute, I'm telling you. Run while you can!"

And with that said, he rushed down the Gold Road, heading straight for Anvil. I nodded, lowering my arms to my sides before turning around, beginning to walk through the camp at a quick, brisk pace with Killian right behind me, intending to hike up the winding path that would lead to the barricade. "Well, that was informative..."


The sky had gotten darker and much more menacing now that we had approached the barricade, behind which stood four or five normal guardsman and a slightly taller Imperial man behind them keeping his eyes on the valley, his head shaven bald and a single band of brown fabric around his head, most likely to absorb sweat. Upon hearing our footsteps, however, he immediately turned to face us, then approached me. Saying that he wasn't happy simply from the tone of his voice was a mild understatement.

"Stand back, civilians!" he ordered. "This is no place for either of you. Get back to the encampment at once!"

"Wish we could, kind of can't," Killian grumbled. The man, clearly Savlian Matius, looked at Killian with a raised eyebrow before I spoke up, catching his attention.

"What happened here?" 'Even though I already know what happened.'

Matius' eyes narrowed as he spoke. "We lost the damned city, that's what happened!" The Imperial turned away, looking back towards the city gates... or, rather, the ominous red-orange glowing portal with framework that appeared ominously similar to charred bone, highlighted and tipped with a blood-red color. "It was too much... too fast. We were overwhelmed. Couldn't even get everyone out. There are people still trapped in there. Some made it into the Chapel, but others were just...run down in the streets. The Count and his men are still holed up in the castle. And now we can't even get back into the city to help them, what with that damned Oblivion Gate blocking the way."

I shifted my attention to the Gate itself, feeling a cold chill run down my spine despite the heat of the still-blazing patches of ground and trees not too far away. I had seen them in the game, but in real life...

'In real life, they're a hell of a lot more terrifying,' I thought as I felt my hands clench into fists. I had a serious feeling of deja vu, namely of how scared I was to try and play Diablo myself instead of looking over one of my parents' shoulders when I was around six or seven. I didn't turn back to the captain. "What will you do now?"

"The only thing we can do," answered the guardsman. "We'll try to hold our ground, that's what. If we can't hold this barricade, those beasts could march right down and overrun the encampment. I have to try and protect the few civilians that are left. It's all I can do now."

And the only way to get the civilians in the chapel - most especially a certain priest of Akatosh - out was to make sure that gate got closed. My next line was rather obvious. "Can we help?"

The captain gave me a similar look to when the Altmer refugee first ran into me. "You want to help? You're kidding, right?"

Cue my signature death glare of "Of course I'm serious, you frellwit," which did all the talking for me. A skeptical look was evident on Matius' face.

"Hm... If you're serious, maybe I can put you to use," he said after a moment of thought. His expression turned grim. "It'll likely mean your death, though. Are you sure?"

"We'll do whatever we can!" assured Killian with a nod.

Matius nodded in response before turning back towards the portal. "I don't know how to close this gate, but it must be possible, because the enemy closed the ones they opened during the initial attack. You can see the marks on the ground where they were..." He pointed towards a good amount of the rubble nearby, before pointing at the ground in the middle of the triangle made by the two smaller scorch-marks and the active gate, "...with the Great Gate right in the middle.

"I sent men into the Gate to see if they could find a way to shut it. They haven't come back. If you can get in there, find out what happened to them. If they're alive, help them finish the job. If not, see what you two can do on your own." He turned towards me. "The best I can say is, good luck. If you make it back alive, we'll be waiting for you."

I gave a small nod. "One quick question before we head in." The captain raised an eyebrow. "We came here to find someone - an Imperial man by the name of Martin."

Matius blinked, surprised. "You mean the priest? Last I saw him, he was leading a group towards the Chapel of Akatosh. If he's lucky, he's trapped inside there with the rest of them, at least safe for the moment. If he's not..."

"I'd really rather not contemplate that possibility," I answered in a low grumble. My gaze shifted back towards the Gate, to which I made a single slashing motion with my hand. "But the objective is clear. Those daedra won't even know what hit 'em."

Savlian Matius gave us both a single nod. "Good luck. It is a brave thing you're doing."

"Thank us after the damn gate is gone," I said in response, dashing past the captain and the rest of the guard. Everything was about to get messy.


Note to self: do not eat for at least a couple of hours before stepping through an Oblivion Gate. If the motion sickness doesn't get you, the smell of sulfur, decaying bodies, charcoal, and the spiddal sticks will.

"Oh, by the Nine!" I groaned, holding my head as soon as Killian and I found ourselves on the other side of the gate. The Deadlands certainly lived up to their name. The area we were currently in mimicked that of an island stuck in the midst of a sea of lava. The sky above us hadn't changed from the sky above Kvatch - most likely another indication that things were not going to go well. I shook my head to quickly dispel the delirium that had struck me from the trip and our surroundings before lifting my gaze towards the closed, black and red gates in front of us.

My eyes quickly caught sight of a man beset by three scamps to our left, desperately trying to fend them off with a silver longsword. Damn it, what was his name again? I couldn't remember. Now, however, wasn't the time. I shot a look at Killian, who nodded before rushing towards the fight, wrist blades at the ready. I withdrew my bow from behind me, knocking an arrow and taking aim at the nearest Scamp.

'Lightning... strike!'

I let the arrow fly, catching sight of white sparks surrounding the projectile before hitting its mark in the back of the neck. The Scamp's corpse fell to the ground, convulsing and smelling of ozone as electricity coursed through it before becoming still. The other two Scamps fell to stab wounds from a pair of wrist blades and a silver longsword soon after. I quickly rushed over to Killian and the unidentified guardsman, returning my bow to its normal holding spot. The guard sighed in relief before turning to me and Killian, glad there were no more Daedra out to kill him at the moment.

"Thank the Nine!" he breathed out, about ready to collapse. "I never thought I'd see a friendly face..." A grim expression now crossed his features as he glanced behind him. "The others... taken... they were taken to the tower!"

"Calm yourself; what's going on? And what's your name, sir?" I asked, trying to keep the conversation as short as possible.

"I'm Ilend Vonius. Captain Matius sent us to try and close the gate." His face showed hurt as he spoke. "We were ambushed, trapped, and picked off. I managed to escape, but the others are strewn across that bridge." He turned to the bridge towards my right, the one the black iron gates had barred Killian and I from crossing when we first entered this area. "They took Menien off to the big tower. You've got to save him!" He turned to us at this point, already appearing slightly panicked. "I'm getting out of here."

I nodded once in response. "Very well. We'll handle the situation from here. You're needed at the barricades. Captain Matius needs your help."

Vonius' eyes widened in shock. "The Captain is still holding the barricade? I figured I was the last one left alive. Alright. I'll try to get out of here and let the Captain know what's going on. You saved my life, both of you."

"Then you'd best hurry," I said, turning to glance behind us, "before more of the daedra come."

He nodded before running past us towards the gate, vanishing through the flame-colored rift back to Kvatch and the rest of the mortal realm of this universe. I drew my bow again, knocking another arrow before turning to my shadow.

"Shall we?" I asked, raising an eyebrow with a smirk.

Killian cackled, an insane grin on her face as she turned back towards the path ahead. She quickly stepped into stance, wrist blades at the ready. "Scamp flambé or Dremora a la Mode?"


"Yeowch! That's smarts!"

"Then get out of the way of the fireball next time!"

The pigtailed double shot me an annoyed look as she stabbed the Dremora Kynreeve in front of her in the gut while I quickly launched a wave of fire at two more coming from my right, following through with an ice blast. Our progress through the sigil keep - the Blood Feast, as this tower was called - wasn't going as fast as I had liked. We were practically being attacked by another annoyance, be it Dremora, Scamp, or Clannfear, almost every ten seconds or so. To say I was a little peevish was like saying the lava surrounding this entire damn island was safe enough to swim in.

On the floors below us, the ground level and the Rending Halls were already filled with corpses of felled daedra. With these remaining Dremora killed (Killian launched a number of throwing stars into their chests, causing my two targets to fall over in loud shouts of pain), the Corridors of Dark Salvation were beginning to look similar.

My gaze quickly scanned the room we were now in. There were three doors - one to our left, another to our right, and one right in front of us. If I recalled correctly, the two to either side of us were locked, which meant...

"Remember the deal?" I asked, shooting Killian a look. She waved her hand nonchalantly, holding out one of her arms. I quickly opened my pack, withdrawing the full set of chainmail armor and the silver longsword I had set aside in reserve for this next objective. I quickly draped the armor over her arm and placed the sword in her hand, turning back towards the door. I had a rather nasty urge to pummel something, not slash them to bits. I didn't take much time in equipping Wraithguard to my right arm again, which I had kept hidden for some time. Most of the times I used Wraithguard, I normally used Keening as my weapon. I figured what the heck - might as well give Sunder a shot.

We burst through the doors, crossing the narrow bridge to the smaller tower on the other side, the Reaper's Sprawl. (I had to restrain myself from looking down - even though I had that flight amulet, I still didn't like heights.) The ramp we emerged on spiraled upwards and downwards towards ground level - above us, I could see a very visible cage and two figures, one inside said cage. I motioned to Killian to follow, pulling Sunder from my belt. Upon reaching the top of the ramp, we quickly saw what the figures were: an old Imperial man dressed only in a pair of sack cloth pants guarded by a heavily armored Dremora. My eyes narrowed at the Sigil Keeper as he approached us, weapon at the ready.

"You should not be here, mortal!" he growled, glaring at me. "Your blood is forfeit, and your flesh is-!"

I didn't even let him finish his sentence as I swung Sunder at his head, a sickening crack being heard as the daedra's skull broke. I glared at the corpse. "That's your blood that's forfeit."

Placing Sunder back onto my belt, I kneeled down, withdrawing a key from the Dremora's pouch. The sound of a metal gate opening indicated Killian's success at unlocking the cage, to which she dragged out the Imperial man. This had to be Menien Goneld, without a doubt, especially with his frantic words.

"Quickly! Quickly! There is no time! You must get to the top of the large tower. The Sigil Keep, they call it. That's what keeps the Oblivion Gate open!" he explained in a nearly breathless manner. "Find the Sigil Stone. Remove it, and the Gate will close! Hurry! The Keeper has the key - you must get the key!"

"We've got the key, now it's a matter of getting you out of here," I informed. "And neither of us are taking 'no' for an answer. I'll handle the Sigil Stone's removal; Killian here will escort you back to the captain."

Killian withdrew the armor and sword, handing them to the soldier. "Use these. I'll escort you back to the barricade. Shouldn't be too much trouble, though, not with all the daedra we've cut through."

I gave my shadow a nod before turning around, rushing back down the ramp and back to the central tower. It was time this hellish nightmare ended.


Sigillium Sanguis. Translated from Latin, the phrase meant "blood seal". Fitting, considering how much blood was being spilled in this room.

I let out a small cry as another Dremora's blade struck my side, only to find itself launched backwards by a burst of fire. I was swinging Sunder at any daedra that came too close. I was still on the lowest level of this area, and I was being beset by five Dremora and at least two or three summoned Scamps, for pity's sake! A growl escaped my lips as I blocked another incoming blade, only to duck and kick my nearest opponent in the chest and knock him backwards before I spun around, smashing another Dremora's shield and knocking him to the floor.

"You lot are really pissing me off!" I said, glaring at the three soldiers in front me and then the two mages on the second level. With a wave of my hand, lightning rushed towards the mage on my right, causing him to scream and fall off as I leapt out of the way of a sword. I touched the first Dremora with another lightning spell, and then spun around to kick back the second. I had to teleport out of the way of the third warrior, just barely dodging an incoming fireball as I did so. I slammed Sunder into the nearby Dremora's back before launching a powerful burst of cold at the final warrior standing.

Something slammed into me, causing me to stumble forward a bit as a burning sensation spread across my back. Using my free hand, I slashed downward towards the final Dremora, the mage suddenly being impaled by multiple large icicles, quickly turning crimson with blood.

An annoyed sigh escaped my lips as I climbed up the rather bone-like stairs to the second level, quickly moving towards the red, wing-like, fleshy ramps that led to the highest point in the tower. "If there are any more of you damn idiots, I'm going to make you wish you weren't immortal."

Fortunately, there weren't, thank the Divines for small miracles. My attention was now focused entirely on the dark stone hovering in midair above a sort of altar, which seemed to absorb the flame-like pillar that had dominated the center of this tower the entire trip up. The stone seemed to be about the size of my head and, strangely, seemed to remind me of a flame-engulfed Palantir from The Lord of the Rings.

I returned Sunder to my belt and removed Wraithguard from my arm, placing it in my pack before approaching the stone and reaching out towards it. As soon as I touched it, the sound of wind rushing and what seemed to be an impending implosion reached my ears. The stone quickly shrunk, becoming half its size and dropping into the palm of my hand. I drew my hand back and took a few steps backwards as well, watching as a flame-colored pillar shot up into the skies above. The entire room suddenly seemed to be surrounded by flames, threatening to take me with the tower's destruction. There was a brilliant flash of light, causing me to close my eyes, turn away, and attempt to shield them from the light with my arm...


Prophecies will be made and so they shall be broken. The Three shall meet again and together, they shall avert doom for the worlds in which they must learn to survive. The Sword's life shall be cast as a die in the Game of Fate. He only may live if he can truly learn to embrace all that he is.

The Shadow, too, will perish, unless she can find the ability to trust in all of her allies, instead of just the one she calls "brother."

If all this comes to pass, then only the Star shall be left to right the wrongs of the world and to live with the full knowledge of having lived into two worlds.



Author's Notes: ...I HATE the fact this chapter has been so frelling hard to write. And it's short. Sorry for the delay. At least I got it out, right? ...Right?

Also, a big shout-out to Godlybunny for actually reviewing Chapter 1-10 – your review was actually the main motivator to get this finished on time. And yes, Kimberlyn's joining a guild, but she's going to have a bit of a delay in getting around to it for rather obvious reasons. Well, it's a bit hard to get your recommendations when one of the major cities you need to get one from is under siege and has been burned to the ground, now, isn't it?

Next Chapter: Rescuing the refugees and the Battle for Castle Kvatch

Until next chapter…

-Kestrel Harper