Chapter 11
With What's Left
The khajiit and dunmer stood before the gates of the College of Winterhold. Their moods were dually vexed after having to deal with the city's Jarl, who was himself far beyond angry and edging into a dragon's wrath after reading their delivered missive. The two hadn't so much as left the hall as been removed from it.
"Don't delay," an altmer mage insisted as the gates swung open. "The College doesn't take lightly to sightseers. Hurry on with your business."
"We shall," Eclipse insisted, halting Zavi's caustic retort in its tracks as the woman walked away.
"She yells at us one more time, I'm accidentally tripping her. Off a bridge," Zavi groused as they passed through the gates.
"With your luck, she would manage to cast a bolt of lightning straight at your backside as she fell," Eclipse returned.
"At least it'd be warm then," she smirked.
They crossed the circular courtyard hastily, huddled against the wind. Together they heaved against the grand doors leading to the main building, hinges sticking and creaking in the cold. As they shut the entryway behind them, they shivered, stamping snow from their boots. Marginally warmer now that they were inside, they continued onwards. Runes carved above a doorway marked the passage to the library. They stepped through and climbed the narrow, curving staircase to their destination. They emerged, blinking, into the brightly lit room. A treasure trove of knowledge stood before them as bookshelves lined the circular walls, adorned with tomes of myriad sizes and colors.
"Alright," Zavi admitted, "even I'm impressed."
They strode toward a counter, behind which sat an orc with unusually well-kept gray hair. The tusks protruding from his lower lip and his heavy brow gave him a look of perpetual irritation. He stood and locked eyes with them both.
"If either of you harm a single one of these books, I'll have you torn apart by angry atronachs," the orc spat.
Alright, the duo concluded. Perhaps it wasn't just his face that made him look angry.
Zavi smiled. At last, someone who just said what they meant! She almost thanked the divines, then remembered she was still decidedly angry with them.
"We need a book that'll tell us how to kill a goddess while she's mortal here on Nirn. Specifically the goddess of Masser," Zavi announced, once again treating a preposterous request as if it were mundane.
"Wha- Kill a goddess?" he balked. "Next you'll tell me you want an Elder Scroll! Why don't I just get you a Dremora to wash your laundry for you too!"
Zavi smiled again. Yup, definitely liked this one.
"Fine," Zavi replied uncaringly. "I'm sure this place wouldn't have any information on it anyway. Let's go somewhere else," she said to Eclipse and turned to leave.
"Now hold on!" the orc roared. "This collection of books is the most extensive in all of Skyrim! If the knowledge you want is anywhere, it's here! I've devoted my life to gathering these books. Just you wait your flea-ridden backside, I'll find your cursed information!"
The old orc stormed off and began muttering vehemently as he perused the shelves.
"That almost worked too well," Eclipse whispered into her ear with a snicker. She grinned back at him, fangs gleaming in the lamplight.
After several more muttered curses and questions on the mentality of a certain khajiit, the orc returned laden with books. He set the bundle upon a table in the center of the room and flipped through the pages of several, leaving them open to the required pages. With that, the old orc disappeared down the hall.
The duo seated themselves at the table and each began to read, exchanging anything they found interesting or useful. At length, Eclipse heaved a sigh.
"It seems the majority of this is merely theory and conjecture," he frowned.
"Well, I'm pretty sure that not very many people have actually had the chance nor inclination to fight a deity, let alone try to kill them and toss 'em out of the plane," Zavi returned, then brightened as an idea struck her. "Ooh, unless you're Martin Septim, and turn into a giant dragon to rip Mehrunes Dagon a new food hole!" she paused. "I've got it! All we have to do is raise Martin from the dead and have him go punch Moon Lady in the face! It's perfect," she announced, nodding.
Eclipse hung his head and pinched the bridge of his nose as his shoulders shook with silent laughter.
Zavi smiled triumphantly. She quite liked it when he laughed.
As they resumed their labors, the old orc returned cradling something wrapped in cloth. He glared at the two for a moment, then spoke.
"This book is worth more than the emperor's crown and rarer than a dragon that breathes flowers. If you treat it with anything but the utmost respect, I'll throw you out the window myself," he ended with a growl.
"Duly noted," Eclipse replied with a slight nod as he accepted the tome and began to peruse it's contents. The orc returned to his chair behind the counter glaring pointedly at the two in silence.
"So what's so great about that book?" Zavi asked under her breath after waiting patiently for all the count of ten breaths.
Eclipse did not respond, but his eyes narrowed as he read.
Zavi, already suitably bored with reading, pondered the merits of leaning toward him until she was not so much in his personal space as annoying the ever-loving sweetrolls out of it.
"Interesting…" the dunmer muttered to himself.
"What?" Zavi demanded, wanting to repeat the question incessantly until he finally answered.
"A history of the sun and moon deities. Quite fascinating, really. The foreword says that it was penned by an Ancestor Moth who gleaned the information from his readings of the Elder Scrolls."
"So-" Zavi began.
"Before you finish that remark, dear, yes, I believe the source is credible. There is no trace of the taint of madness in the writing that is so common among those exposed to the Scrolls for an extended period of time. Moreover, if we are to believe any of these books, I would place my fate with this one. The Elder Scrolls may be mysterious, but they are infallible."
Zavi shrugged in acceptance, content to trust his conclusion.
"So what's it say?" she pressed.
Eclipse turned back to the book and read aloud softly.
"The sun and moon deities, named Krythus and Illaria respectively, were both born of the goddess Kynareth. Krythus was born of her essence and Akatosh's, and granted astral flesh by Meridea, so that he who was destined to be the sun could ever be a bane to the undead.
"Illaria, destined for the moon, was the culmination of Kynareth and Hircine's essence, granted astral flesh by the same daedric lord that begot her. Of his own flesh and self, Hircine brought forth another child, Stellaria, to rule Secunda. There was a time when those who ruled the moons would have claimed dominion over werewolves through Hircine's flesh, but this is no longer the case."
Zavi groaned at the history lesson let her head fall to the table with an audible thunk. She half-listened as he mercifully took the cue and began skimming the rest, muttering here and there.
"…granted the moons to the goddesses to guard so that the pieces of Lorkhan could never again be made whole… Krythus granted the sun to guard the tear made by Magnus as he fled the creation of the world-"
"Is that what you mortals think?" a voice laughed merrily behind them sounding faintly like the crackling of a fire. The power behind it suffused the air, making their skin tingle as the hairs on the backs of their necks stood in warning.
The duo spun, chairs clattering to the floor. Behind them stood a figure that could only be the deity of the sun as Ven had described. Eclipse glanced at Zavi, seeing that the female already had an arrow knocked to her bow and was sighting down its length at the newcomer. He held his hand in front of the weapon to forestall her firing. She threw him a questioning look.
"If he wanted to kill us, I believe he would have already done so, thus we should refrain... for fear of invoking his wrath," Eclipse explained, abstaining from mentioning the fact that an arrow to the face would likely just enrage the male and deal little in the way of damage.
Zavi lowered the bow, but made no move to return the arrow to its quiver.
Eclipse hoped his assumption was in fact correct.
"Permit me to introduce myself," the igneous male smiled. "I am Krythus."
"Yeah, yeah, ruler of the sun, awesome. You gonna try and take over the world too?" Zavi interrupted with all the tact and finesse of a hammer thrown through a window. Or several windows. Or a dragon crushing a building with its backside…
"Zavi!" Eclipse whispered harshly.
"What?" she objected with a shrug.
"I understand your trepidation," Krythus replied. "But I assure you I have no intention of establishing dominion over this world."
"Oh no…" Zavi moaned and put a hand to her head. "You speak in big fancy words just like he does!" She gestured to the dunmer.
"Enough, child," the sun deity chided, eyes narrowing. "We have much to discuss and little time. Your land will not endure much longer in perpetual night. Unless it is not your wish to stop my sister?"
"You can defeat her?" Eclipse asked.
The molten figure frowned.
"No, not alone. Hircine has tainted my sister, and granted to her a portion of his perverse power. In strength, we are now equal or I would have already put an end to this madness."
"You want our help," Eclipse surmised.
"And you require mine," the male returned.
"Of course," Zavi mumbled to herself. "Yeah, sure, everyone just feel free to ask us for help. Don't worry, I'm sure we'll say yes. Because if we say no, we're horrible monsters."
Both the divine and the elf shifted their gaze to her, then back to one another, steadfastly ignored the feline's grumbling.
"Am I correct in assuming you have a plan?" Eclipse asked politely, a childhood growing up in Morrowind ensuring that he showed due respect to a divine being.
"Indeed I do, child." Krythus stretched out his arm and held his palm open toward them, fingers splayed. The air shimmered and tasted of a burning hearth. All at once, the air coalesced into two weapons, a sword and bow.
"I call the bow!" Zavi yelled, all grousing forgotten.
"You cannot call ownership of a divine artifact," Eclipse admonished.
"Oh, like you'd be able to use it," she retorted, waving a hand in front of her eyes.
"I believe you are missing the point," the dunmer began, but then thought better of continuing the argument and sighed. "Very well."
"Yes!" Zavi cheered, snatching the weapon from the air. The wood shone an opalescent blue that reflected the sky at dawn and was crafted in a thin, sleek design, yet Zavi got the impression that she could bludgeon someone over the head with it and the bow wouldn't notice. She turned it over in her hand, noting that dragons were carved into the wood, outlined in a milky stone she did not recognize which flashed all the colors of the sunset in the light.
"What manner of weapons are these?" Eclipse breathed, taking the floating broadsword in hand. It's blade mirrored the bow's brilliant blue coloration while it's hilt was rendered in a dazzling white, edged in the same milky, iridescent stone. Roaring dragons comprised the cross guard, their tails winding around the upper portion of the hilt with a craftsmanship so lifelike, it could have made a master smith weep ingots.
Krythus smiled, mischief dancing in his eyes.
"As I am part daedra, I do possess some rather… useful abilities. The power to craft uniquely useful artifacts, for example," he smirked.
"Handy," Zavi commented as if he'd said he was able to sew.
Krythus nodded and stepped between them, moving toward the forgotten tome. He ran his fingers down the page delicately.
Eclipse winced as the male's flame-tinged fingers made contact with the remarkably combustible pages. Though immeasurably relieved when they did not catch fire, he could not help but glance toward the orc librarian, expecting a tirade of oaths. The gruff male, however, was sound asleep, his head lying upon the counter as soft subtle snores come from him. Eclipse glanced back at the sun deity, and shrugged internally. It seemed the divinity did not care for onlookers.
Krythus's eyes gained a sorrowful sheen as he reread a portion of the page, then his sight lost focus entirely as he gazed far back into the past.
"We were destined to be mated once. Your kind call it marriage," he breathed, almost to himself. "Long before your Nirn existed. Then our mother gave to me the sun, though she knew Illaria desired it, and to my sister, it was the last insult she would endure. You must understand," he turned to them, eyes imploring. "My sister was kind and loving, with a remarkable wit and humor. Yet in small ways, my mother disregarded her kinship with her and over the eons, it culminated into a pain that I saw, yet did naught to address" He turned back to the book. "Thus when I was bequeathed the sun, and accepted, Illaria took it as a final affront and employed her sister to aid her in overthrowing me and claiming rulership for herself. It was a bitter battle, and in it, I slew Secunda's goddess, Stellaria. It was not my intent to kill either of them, but combat is… a cruel thing. In the end, the pantheon was irate at our conflict, and our mother took our blades from our grasps and used them to seal us indefinitely to our celestial spheres; Illaria for instigating the fight, and myself for the death of Stellaria."
Zavi and Eclipse exchanged glances, neither daring to interrupt.
"I always despised that Illaria allowed her jealousy to control her, but I think I finally understand," he whispered as he turned back to them. "You must help me shatter the damnable collar that Hircine has placed upon her. You must help me save my sister." The words were soft, beseeching, not a command from a divine, but the entreaty of a man who sought to rescue the one he loved.
The duo stood silently for a moment.
"So," Zavi began. "If we do this, we'll get day and night back?" At the divine's nod, she continued, "Good, cuz I'm freezing my tail off."
"These weapons," Eclipse added. "What exactly do they do?"
A small smile brightened Krythus's gloomy look.
"They carry the resonance of my divine power. You will need to fuel them with soul gems, but I assume you are resourceful enough to accomplish such a thing. They should weaken the magic Hircine bound in the artifact around my sister's neck and help destroy it, thereby freeing her true self. But I must caution you upon one thing," he stepped toward them menacingly. "You are not to destroy her physical form before the artifact is eradicated. If you do, and she returns to her true form on Masser, I will show you, in great detail, the fury of the sun." Flames burned brighter along his smoldering body as he glared.
"Understood," Eclipse returned. "A moment, if you would," he said as he stepped toward Zavi.
They moved a few paces away and spoke in quiet tones.
"I don't exactly see how we can say no to helping him without being set on fire…" Zavi grimaced.
"True indeed," Eclipse agreed.
"We're stuck?"
"It seems so."
Zavi groaned. "Why is it that every time there's a problem, the world comes to us and expects us to solve it? Is there a sign on my back that says 'free world-saving'!? This is getting ridiculous!"
Eclipse smiled at her warmly.
"I thought you hated leaving things half-finished?" his tone was light, teasing.
"Next time you go to sleep, I'm shaving half your head," she retorted.
"I rather think not. You enjoy my hair far too much," he smirked.
Zavi opened and shut her mouth several times.
A low chuckle rumbled from the dunmer.
"Shall we go 'save the world', my dear?"
Zavi huffed and looked away.
"Fine," she spat, hating that the look in his eye robbed her of coherent thought. And curse him, he likely knew it.
Danica Pure-Spring paced relentlessly. She prayed for the umpteenth time for an answer. People did not just disappear from the Temple of Kynareth. She loosed a rather unpriestesslike swear. Arden and the other man who was bitten had vanished the night before without a trace. She rubbed her eyes, trying to fathom how two badly injured men had been able to sneak out of the temple full of priestesses (and city full of guards, for that matter) without a single soul seeing them. With the city scoured twice by her disciples, it was clear that the men were gone, and not just simply resting somewhere else, enjoying some fresh air or privacy. She could delay no longer. Kynareth help her, it was time to face the Jarl.
Arden panted and curled on his side, tongue lolling from his canine jaws. Blood both new and old matted his once vibrant fur, a testament to his activities of late. That last fort had been foolish to attempt, he chastised himself. Far too large, he panted. Far too many bandits to deal with at once. But the compulsion that gripped him would not abate but for the moments his jaws found another's flesh. He rolled over, groaning, stretching, trying desperately to ease the pain in his body. Dozens of wounds marred his coat, yet as he lay there, they began to mend, flesh reknitting into a seamless furred expanse. His breath shuddered out of him. He had escaped death, but whether this was a blessing or a curse, he was unsure. A snapping twig caught his attention and his ears swiveled to the left and he rolled to get his feet under him.
Arden sniffed and leered.
A bandit tracking him? He would have laughed… if he could figure out how through his lupine features. The sweet dark voice whispered to him, and ah, how exquisite it sounded. It wanted more, nay, needed more. He had to find more. The bandit emerged from the dense foliage and jumped in surprise. Arden rose to all four feet and smiled as he tried to laugh. A lilting growl tinged with malevolent promise was all he managed, but as the bandit stumbled backward and fell to the ground, he reasoned it would do nicely.
The great silver wolf approached slowly, fangs gleaming. The bandit recovered his wits and stood, drawing his dagger, and facing a wolf that stood as tall as his waist with remarkable bravery.
It mattered little.
Arden pounced, powerful body slamming into the man's chest, knocking him back to the ground as the dagger went flying from his grip. Before either could blink, the wolf's jaws latched onto the bandit's throat. Eyes wide in terror, the hunter-turned-prey could not gain the air to scream as blood poured into the soft soil beneath him. He frantically tried to pry the beast's maw open, but it only resulted in the wolf clamping down harder. His vision began to darken at the edges, and in desperation he tried to dig his thumbs into the damnable wolf's eyes.
Arden darted up and snapped twice, crushing one, then the other of the man's hands into nothing but mirrored masses of blood and shards of broken bones. The silver wolf leered, and strode away. His work was done regardless.
The alluring voice within him praised his actions. He sighed in pleasure as she spoke softly. The compulsion lessened, giving him a brief reprieve.
One more would join the pack.
He envied the man, for he would get to make his way to the voice that called so sweetly, while Arden continued his efforts alone in the endless dark. He shook the thoughts from him like water from his coat. At least he could earn her pleasure. A howl sounded, far in the distance, his pack brother announcing his own elation as he too triumphed over new prey. Arden smiled as he loped through the underbrush. Another howl resonated, cutting through coherent thought. He did not hear the summons, he felt it within his very bones.
She was calling them home.
Aeternia glared in annoyance. The human before her stammered hastily, tripping over words as he amended his original statement. The goddess wasn't listening anyway. She turned and gestured to the Elder Brother.
"Deal with this," she commanded with a sigh and a wave of her hand.
The khajiit stepped forward and spoke quickly.
Aeternia heard not a word as she paced the confines of the Elder Brother's room. After a breath the khajiit shut the door, and turned back to her. The goddess sighed and moved toward him. He wore such a disheartened look these nights. She stroked his cheek softly and the male sighed. He always seemed to like when she did that. Such fascinating creatures.
"You realize that I stay my fangs from your people for but one reason. If they will not serve me as you insisted they would, then they shall serve me as a wolf. Have I not made that abundantly clear?"
"Of course, my lady," he replied, bowing his head.
"So troublesome…" she mused. In truth, she had agreed to his pleading for her to refrain from turning the remainder of the mages into her werewolves simply because she enjoyed the extra layer of protection they granted her, willingly or not. Risking their deaths in transforming them when there were so many other candidates seemed foolish.
Gently, she wove both arms around the male and drew him against her. His sigh of contentment shuddered forth, and she allowed herself a dark smile. Too easy.
"The time draws near, my little mortal," she sighed as she stroked his soft mane. "My pack grows by the breath. With my brother's demise, the sun will be mine to command, and so will a legion of souls gifted with my fangs."
He murmured something and leaned into her.
"But for the moment," she sighed, "I would rest."
A wicked smile played on her lips as she drew away.
"Come, little mortal," she beckoned with an outstretched hand. "Lay here with me."
His breath stopped as he followed.
Zavi and Eclipse stood atop one of the towers that adorned the Mage's College. The maddening wind had mercifully stilled, leaving the night eerily calm as the eclipsing Masser sank below the horizon, and Secunda languished amid a bed of stars. The duo huddled near a hearty brazier, grateful for the warmth and light it shed. Krythus stood some way off on the ramparts gazing out at something they could only speculate at as he respected their wish for privacy.
Eclipse drew forth the amulet Venfrie had given them and focused his mind. It was only prudent to keep the girl and the mages informed, after all. He was getting better at this than the first time he'd tried on the carriage ride over. After a brief pause, he felt his summons answered as Venfrie responded.
"Find anything interesting?" the girl asked eagerly.
He smiled at the exuberance. Regardless of the mage's plan to stay out of the goddess's way, Venfrie assured the duo that her family was more than ready to set a literal fire under the divine's backside and drive her off the plane.
"If I told you we have allied with the ruler of the sun, would you believe me?"
"How in the name of Julianos did you manage that!?" she retorted incredulously.
"In all fairness, it was at his insistence."
A woman's voice interjected. "Did he just say-?"
"Yep," Ven affirmed.
Eclipse paused a moment. The new voice sounded familiar, but he could not place it.
"We even got really nice exploding weapons to shoot Moon with!" Zavi added excitedly.
"Umm…" Ven began.
"She means Krythus has crafted us divine artifacts that shall allow us to damage the goddess," Eclipse supplied. "He wishes to break the necklace bound to her and restore her to her true self."
"I see," Ven replied. "That doesn't sound easy, but it's better than nothing."
"Indeed. Are you all alright for the moment?" he inquired.
"For now, but you should be careful. The goddess is martialing an army of werewolves. We've seen them lurking in the shadows near the cave. The beasts are gigantic. I'd say they stand almost as tall as I do."
"Awesome," Zavi growled. "That is just what I wanted."
The woman's voice on Venfrie's side interjected again.
"Be careful if you tangle with those monsters. I'd wager there's more to them than we think. The goddess wouldn't bother to craft mere wolves."
"We will be wary of them, thank you," Eclipse affirmed.
There was a pensive silence for but a moment.
"What's your plan for fighting her then?" Ven asked.
"Shoot the necklace 'til it breaks," Zavi drawled, as if it were obvious.
Silence.
"Can I suggest an additional plan?" Venfrie offered, a wicked mirth carrying through with her words.
Eclipse smiled.
"By your tone, we may enjoy this."
The mischievous laugh that returned made the duo grin as they exchanged glances.
"Nothing left to do but wait for them," Venfrie sighed as she sat back against the damp stone wall of the cave.
"Aye," the Elder Sister agreed. "It'll be sooner than you think. Best get some rest while we can."
Ven nodded, twisting the chain on her amulet, then letting it spin like a mad dance as she sighed. Sitting beside her, the Elder Sister reached over and patted the girl's leg sympathetically.
"Nothing's ever going to be the same now, is it," Venfrie lamented.
The woman beside her smiled.
"Nothing is ever the same as the day before. Even if you sit and do nothing, time moves ever onward, and the moments you've lost you can never get back." She hooked a finger under the girl's chin and drew her eyes to meet her own. "Far better to take a chance in moving forward, than to waste away gaining nothing."
"But we've lost everything," Venfrie countered softly, shaking her head.
"It might appear that way now," the woman replied as she draped an arm around the girl's shoulders and drew her into a hug. "But gray clouds do not linger all morning, and the fiercest storms cannot last forever. We will rebuild what we have lost. … Somewhere far from here."
Venfrie reached up and held the hand of the woman that was more a mother to her than her own had ever been.
"Somewhere warmer," the girl added. "And less… smelly."
"Indeed!" the woman laughed. Ah, volcanic wastes. She would not miss them. But at least their cave was relatively warm, compared to the bitter cold outside. She winced as her staff dug into her back and shifted it to a more comfortable position.
The Elder Sister sighed softly as Venfrie rested against her. They would have much to rebuild, and many changes to make. But the first order of business after the goddess was gone, and they were far away, was very, very clear.
Anyone in the family even mentioned necromancy ever again, and she would punch them in the face.
Krythus closed his eyes atop the ramparts of the mage's college and exhaled slowly. It was so strange, this sense of time flowing around him. It had always been insignificant to him, after all, he'd spent countless ages imprisoned in the burning torrent of the sun. Yet now as he stood upon the mortal realm, he could feel myriad of flora aching for sustenance, robbed of the delicate balance of light and dark.
Time.
Such a strange thing.
With another steaming breath, he stilled his thoughts and stretched his mind across the land.
'Sister,' resonated his call.
Melodious laughter greeted him. Scornful. Self-assured.
'Ah, Brother mine. Are you tired of running yet? Finally resigned to die?'
'It is time to end this madness.'
'I agree. Come to me so that I may kill you.'
It was his turn to laugh.
'You are but a hollow mockery of a soul. I shall rend thee asunder, abomination, and your master shall rue the day he laid hands upon one I love.'
'Oh, he says the cutest things,' she jeered.
He broke the link, turning away. For a moment, returning to awareness felt like being thrown into a pool of icy water. He wondered why he bothered even speaking with the perversion of his sister. The breath he took shuddered. He assured himself it was only because he had broken the link so suddenly.
Powerful strides carried him quickly to the dunmer and khajiit.
"We must make haste. We cannot afford her any more time to recuperate." Krythus stated. "If you're finally done speaking to your allies?"
They nodded as Eclipse tucked the amulet back beneath his armor.
"So, we should find a carriage?" Zavi asked.
"Carriage?" Krythus laughed. "What ever for? Dear child, I am a Divine!"
With that grand proclamation, he lifted his arms and bent space around them, casting the three of them across the vast distance to the final battle.