Authors Note: I would like to thank Danny for his kind words and any anonymous readers who have stuck with me this long. I know there has been a long wait between chapters but things are coming to an end. With school and stuff like that, exams coming up and the like, there may be some delays between chapters but overall I don't anticipate a long wait. As is said commonly on this website please review my work, it helps me improve my writing skills and don't hesitate to point out any grammatical/typographical errors Greet the new day my brothers, greet the new day.
Darkest Dawn
Chapter 14
The Dread Spire
Khat'ak stood and looked to the sky. His armour was surrounded by a bright aura of white light. Cracks had appeared all around it. He began to walk through the battlefield, broken corpses littered the ground some with arrows in them others simply hacked to pieces, Khat'ak did what he had waited, what felt like an eternity to do, He reared his head up and screamed a lament that scared the birds from their trees and stilled the hellish wind that carried through this empty world. Nirn was gone, now but not for forever as this endless midnight, this black hour is almost up and the dawn is approaching and Khat'ak would bring it, he knew what he had to do. He turned to the dread spire, what used to be white gold tower – a symbol of authority, safety and leadership, a beacon for the weak. Now it was little more than a final condemnation, the final nail in the coffin. Khat'ak reached down to the ground and picked up his chainsaw and walked through the woods beginning his journey to the dread spire.
Dreg ran through the woods of Cyrodill, passing the occasional corpse. Months ago the whole world was a battlefield now the whole world had become a graveyard. Dreg fought back tears and kept running, he forgot the pain in his sides the pulsing throbbing pain all over his body he would make it to the spire, he wouldn't fail, he gave his word.
Dreg after running with short breaks for six hours he reached what used to be lake Rumare. Now it was a deep ravine littered with dead fish and rotting corpses, Dreg saw a Khajiit with it's head lying next to it and a Nord with an arrow in her heart. To his left he saw a dismembered redguard and to his right. Dreg looked away and slid down the side of the ravine and into the dried up, blood stained river. The resistance had made some sort of last stand here, it didn't end well for them. Dreg looked up towards the spire, it was jet black with huge tell-tale daedric claws extending out of it, several smaller towers throughout the city connected to the spire with huge red lightning bolts, supplying limitless dark magic to Mehrunes Dagon. It was logical to assume that if these were somehow disrupted then the tower would be either be completely destroyed or at least severely weakened. Dreg pushed on through the sandy dune.
Khat'ak had run into two Dremora hunting parties, that he quickly dispatched, hoping not to run into another one, he shouted into the air.
"Shadowmere!"
All of a sudden a chilling cold descended, shadow filled every corner of Khat'ak's vision. Then a horse's hooves were heard, echoing in the darkness. Then out of the shadow two red glowing eyes could be seen, Khat'ak walked forward and placed his hand upon the nose of Shadowmere. He stroked the animal. Khat'ak hoisted himself up onto the saddle. Then he pulled the reins and whispered in the horse's ear.
"Shadows know not fear, Let us teach them, onwards shadowmere!"
The horse reared and ran forward at a speed that the fastest arrow couldn't fly at. Khat'ak was a black blur, speeding past the numerous atrocities being committed across the land. He was free, at last to finally destroy Dagon, Dagon tried to make him an instrument of destruction he didn't know it yet but he had sowed the seed of his own destruction. He stopped outside the gate of The Imperial city. The gate was locked.
"The hordes of Oblivion itself couldn't stop me, the flesh of the undead couldn't stop me neither will a slab of wood!" Khat'ak pulled both his hands backwards and began charging a blast of heavy telekinetic energy. His arms glowed white as the energy pulsed within the armour, his aura grew and then the blast was ready. He let go and fired a blast that blew both imperial city gates of their hinges and splintered into a thousand pieces. Dremora with swords, shields and staffs ran at Khat'ak. Khat'ak dodged to the side avoiding being stabbed with a staff and grabbed the staff, White energy snaked it's way up the staff and hit it's Dremora wielder. The Dremora began to whimper, then his body began to glows white then it exploded. Khat'ak turned around and elbowed another attacker in the face, turned around and dodged another blow from an axe wielding Dremora, and then ducked and punched the Dremora through the gut. Khat'ak turned around in one quick motion and kicked a Dremora across the face; the Dremora flew into and dented the stone wall of the market district. The last two Dremora stared in shock at Khat'ak. The first one was either fearless or stupid he ran forward as Khat'ak simply walked. He attempted to slice Khat'ak. The last thing that Dremora saw was Khat'ak turn his eye to his direction. His head tumbled from his neck and his body followed suit, crumpling to the floor in a heap. Khat'ak sheathed his sword once more and walked towards the last Dremora. The warrior simply stood with his jaw dropped and his legs shaking, Khat'ak looked him in the eye, the white aura of his armour singeing the ground he walked on and accenting every move he made. He pulled his fist back to his waist and then thrust it into the Dremora's gut. The Dremora heaved and spat blood in Khat'ak's face which flash vaporised on his helmet. Then Khat'ak looked him in the eye.
Khat'ak whispered in a voice only the injured Dremora could hear: "Knock…Knock" Khat'ak fired a huge white energy blast.
The blast blew a huge gash in the market district. It left a smoking crater leaving the Dread spires north eastern support tower severely damaged. Khat'ak walked past the steaming pair of legs in front of him and continued walking through the imperial city.
"If they didn't know I was here before, they do now"
Vella was awoken from her sleep when a huge explosion shook the city like the thundering footsteps of the approaching dragons of Akavir. She looked out of her window and saw the burning ruin of what used to be the market district. She stared closer. A glowing white man was approaching the tower. Her heart raced,
"Khat'ak is it you?" she whispered.
Arakna still held the bloodied dagger. He pondered giving in so many times, He wanted to die. Then he felt the explosion and hope returned. He knew Khat'ak had come for him, had come to make Dagon pay, that in itself was all he needed.
Dreg Van Isleif was still outside the city. He had heard and seen the explosion and ran to the scene. He arrived and found numerous dead Dremora and a smoking pile of daedric rubble.
"By the Gods, what befell these demons?
He readied his axe and ran through the smoking gash that was the market district, he reached the imperial palace and Khat'ak stood looking at it. He had changed since last Dreg saw him. He was covered by a glorious white aura that seemed to emanate from cracks in his armour. Dreg walked up to him and placed his hand on Khat'ak's shoulder then immediately recoiled as his hand became burned by the aura. Khat'ak turned and warned him not to touch the aura, Dreg -although annoyed by the timing of such an announcement- complied. Khat'ak turned to Dreg and pointed towards the door to the dread spire.
"Distract them he said."
Dreg was slightly confused.
"Where are you going Khat'ak?"
Khat'ak bent his knees and turned to Dreg and said.
"Jailbreak"
He jumped at least fifty feet into the air. And when he passed the level he knew the jail cells were on. He stopped himself by punching straight through the wall. He then put his other hand through and pulled the wall apart. He swung into the hole. Into a dark corridor with cells on either side Khat'ak opened every one he came across. None had any living within. Except a few which had skeletons and half eaten corpses being gorged on by a daedroth or clannfear. Both easily dispatched. Then he came to a cell with an Argonian lying, crying on his side. Khat'ak put his hand through the glass window of the cell.
Arakna turned to the crazed Dremora and fired a full power lightning spell at him. The Dremora extended his hand and caught the blast, he seemed to absorb it and the white aura surrounding him grew in size. Then it spoke.
"Arakna, it is I, Khat'ak, Dagon stole my physical body, destroyed it, now this is my vessel."
Arakna considered this a moment then dropped the bloodied dagger, it clattered to the ground. Khat'ak looked over the young Argonian's shoulder and saw a dead child. Khat'ak turned back to Arakna.
"She was starving Khat'ak I knew Dagon would show her no pity, so I did instead, she cannot be hurt anymore."
Tears ran the length of Arakna's face; his fists were clenched so tight they bled.
Arakna reached out to Khat'ak but he pulled back.
"This white aura destroys everything it touches. You can't touch me Arakna, no one can."
"That is both a gift and a curse my friend, quickly let us find Vella" Arakna decided.
Dreg had opened the gates of the spire and entered past the numerous guards, all easily dispatched. He had climbed up several levels and now found himself in a fight with five Dremora one Valkynaz and four Kynmarchers. The Valkynaz barked an order and two of the four marchers ran forward, keeping their wits sharp and their claymores close. The first one attempted to slice Dreg down the middle, Dreg dodged to the side and elbowed the Dremora in the face and then he took his battle axe and swung one hundred and eighty degrees and buried the axe in the kynmarcher's chest. The second kynmarcher's blade moved inches past his face. Dreg dived and looped his arms around the Dremora's waist pushing him to the ground. He lifted his head, looked the beast in the eye and head-butted him. then took out his dagger, that he kept in his boot and stabbed him in the eye. Then the Valkynaz ordered the two last Kynmarchers to attack. Dreg freed his axe from the other Dremora's corpse and let the shaft fall in to his hand.
"By Ysmir's beard, I have fought mud crabs more fearsome than you! Bring it on!"
The Dremora released a battle cry and they launched themselves forward. Dreg brought his axe to bear.
"Let's Go!"
Arakna and Khat'ak had been walking for ten minutes then eventually they found the cell of Vella. Arakna stood beside the luminescent Khat'ak and Vella looked them over.
"Aren't you a little bright for a demon?" She asked playfully.
Vella's inner Elven wisdom had always served her well and she recognised Khat'ak instantly. She also knew not to touch him.
"You're soul has become separate from your corpse, most likely Dagon's work, that means you can not be touched by any living being with a spec of evil in their soul, because you have done so many good deeds you repel evil but this comes at a cost as every mortal being is born into a world of pain they are inherently evil to some extent, so you can touch no mortal being, on the other hand as your soul is not fully contained within a vessel anymore it makes you the most powerful being on this world."
Arakna was confused.
"Surely when the soul is separated from the body, one passes onto the land of the divines or daedra. How has this not happened to Khat'ak?"
Vella explained.
"Two reasons firstly because he is already dead, he was killed and reborn as a Dremora secondly because his spirit is not completely free the armour still maintains a slight element of containment. You could end this war Khat'ak you are more powerful than Dagon, you could destroy him."
Khat'ak looked at Vella.
"No I can't. I made a deal with Dagon when I was mortal, my soul for that of my wife's. She killed in self defence, a bandit attacked her she stabbed him, in fear of losing her life. I knew that would leave her open to damnation so I stepped in and I stood before that demon in prayer and asked he take me instead. He said that I would live out my life in happiness until the day I die then I belong to him. If I go back on my end of the deal he will go back on his."
Vella stood back in her cell.
"I wont ask you to sacrifice her, but we have all lost people Khat'ak perhaps you need to as well."
Khat'ak shot back at Vella.
"I was his puppet! Dagon's little Rakynaz, sent to weed out the insurrectionist mortals, I killed every single one of them, Khajiit, Argonian, elf whatever their all meaningless to Dagon. I slaughtered them all every single last man, woman and child. Do not assume I have not felt pain in this war, not for a second, don't you dare! I understand you want this to end I understand you hurt because of what he stole from you but casting an innocent soul into the void for all eternity is not the right way to deal with this; if we do that then we are no better than Dagon. We would save the world but at what cost. Could you really live with yourself, knowing what you'd done! Your scared and to give into that fear is to give into him, and I don't know about you but I will NEVER surrender to that demon!
Both Vella and Arakna looked at Khat'ak apologetically, and yielded to his authority,
"Could you get me out of here please?" She asked
Khat'ak grabbed the gate and pulled it off it's hinges, then chucked it across the room. Vella walked past being sure not to touch Khat'ak. All three of them ran together to the nearest door looking for the exit.
Dreg kicked the last kynmarcher as it lay their bleeding.
"What's the matter? Run out of whelps to send to do your dirty work for you."
The Valkynaz clenched his teeth and ran forward.
"Your blood is forfeit mortal!"
Dreg smiled and delivered a punch straight to the Valkynazes gut. It bent over holding it's gut then Dreg spun kicked him across the face and he smashed into the wall, then Dreg ran and tried to stab the Dremora while he was on the ground. The Dremora rolled the side and dodged a recovery swipe from dreg. Then grabbed his arm and wrenched the dagger from his grip. He caught it and attempted to stab him with it. Dreg dodged and kicked the dagger from the Dremora's grip. Then he kicked him in the face and the Dremora staggered back. Dreg then screamed and pushed him onto the handrail of the walkway the Dremora managed to invert their positions, he whispered in Dreg's ear.
"What shall lord Dagon, have inscribed next to your name mortal, weakling or coward?"
Dreg kicked him in the groin and pushed him off him then pulled him towards him and said.
"How about… Victor!" Then he threw the Dremora over the side of the handrail into the huge circular, swirling lake of fire at the base of the spire.
Dreg fell against the handrail, he caught his breath. Then Khat'ak ran through the door with an Argonian boy and an Elven lass.
"You surround yourself with children in a war zone? On the other hand I can't complain about your other choice of company." He said looking at Vella. Vella simply avoided his gaze and looked at the numerous dead Dremora lying bleeding on the ground.
"You are not injured are you Dreg?"
Dreg smiled and stood at his full height.
"Not in your lifetime Khat'ak not in your lifetime."
Khat'ak pointed down at the base of the spire,
"That is where the exit is."
Dreg smiled and said sarcastically.
"Yes that is generally where you put an exit to a giant spire."
Dreg turned to Khat'ak.
"Do you have a plan as to how we can get down there without getting caught or cornered?"
Khat'ak without looking up said.
"yes"
Dreg looked intrigued.
"Oh and what is that?"
Khat'ak looked up from the railing.
"I take the lead."
The four of them ran down the length of the winding walkways of the dread spire and killed what Dremora got in their way, finally they reached the door. Khat'ak held it open and then slammed it shut as they left. They Came to a city wall, that Khat'ak subsequently destroyed and they escaped, to rethink their plans.
Meanwhile on a dark hillside.
"Again what's wrong with firing cheese at the spire?"
Jyggalag obviously tiring of the argument said.
"This isn't the isles madgod, cheese does not destroy buildings!"
Sheogorath considered this a minute.
"You know what we need?"
"No but I have a nauseating suspicion I am about to find out." Jyggalag retorted
"Well then Cheese it is!"
Jyggalag stood dumbfounded, realising he'd just been fooled by the king of fools.
"Madgod I swear to-"
"Hush now I have to ask Mora to give me a recipe." Sheogorath interrupted him.
"Sheogorath we cannot destroy the spire with cheese it simply does not make any logical sense!"
Sheogorath, without looking up to acknowledge him said.
"Don't you have a children's game to ruin or something seriously all it is with you is logic, sense and logical sense or sensical logic without even that much deviation, it's boring Jiggy boring, boring, boring, BORING!"
"This is war madgod it is not supposed to be fun, it is about logic, strategy and calculation and-" Sheogorath interrupted with a snore, the madgod had fallen asleep.
Jyggalag took advantage of this and reported to the other daedra; "we attack the dread spire at dawn"