Chapter 26- The Final Battle
Everything was dark. Calvus was cold, and he felt cold for what seemed like an eternity.
Oh great I'm dead, Calvus thought.
But after that thought, he felt slightly warmer. His body got warmer and warmer, until he felt…alive. The darkness around him was slowly dissipated by a bright light. Calvus was blinded by it, and had to close his eyes. After several seconds he opened them and looked down. He appeared to be lying on a bed of cotton wool. However a closer inspection revealed it was not cotton wool, but an extremely large cloud. Alarmed, Calvus looked around. After his brain registered the update of his situation, he said:
"Oh great, I'm lying on a cloud!"
He slowly got to his feet, and regained his balance. His head cleared, and he remembered what had just happened. He felt his chest, but could not find any break in the Crusaders Cuirass.
"Wait a minute, if I'm here, and I'm not dead then…"
He turned around.
Umaril was on the other side of the cloud. He looked a lot bigger than he did in the throne room, standing almost nine feet tall. In this spiritual plain, Calvus could see the Daedra that was within Umaril. His eyes were no longer gold, but a stark red, and they burned. His golden skin shone brightly, illuminating the part of the cloud around him in agolden glow.
"I will be the death of you today, Umaril the Unfeathered!" Calvus roared, all grogginess drained from his body.
Umaril roared in return, his mouth opened wide, revealing his sharp fangs. He raised his sword hand, and charged at Calvus. Calvus drew the Sword, and a blue glow emitted from the blade. The cloud was now coloured with golden and blue light. Calvus ran towards Umaril. As the opponents charged towards each other, they raised their blades. Umaril's came down first, and Calvus blocked it. Violet sparks flew from each sword, and as the two glows collided, they turned into the same colour light. With each strike of their blades, the cloud kept flashing from golden blue to violet, until it seemed the whole sky was afire with a terrible magical storm. Calvus and Umaril locked blades, lightening erupted from them and stuck the ground far below.
***
Emperor Uriel Septim VII looked up at the sky from the top of White Gold Tower. It looked as if a storm was brewing far up in the clouds, but not any normal storm. A collection of gold, blue and violet light flashed across the sky. A lightening bolt was visible for a second, then vanished, the rumbling came only a second after.
"Are they really fighting up there?" he asked.
"Not physically. They are in another dimension, some small part of Oblivion. But because they are so similar, that dimension and your sky, the lines between them are blurred and the effects of that great battle are seen in this world." the Prophet answered.
"But it is happening now?" Uriel asked.
"Yes."
" Well I have done all I can to aid him…"
"And very good aid it was too, My Lord." the Prophet said, "But as you cannot do anything more to help him, there is something I need to tell you that concerns your future…"
***
Calvus managed to push Umaril's blade back, and hit him in the chest with the Shield. Umaril staggered back, and Calvus took his chance. He aimed a strike at Umaril, but it was only a glancing blow. Umaril had a small cut in his leg, and black blood wept from it. In return, the half Daedra Ayleid gripped his sword in both hands and went into a frenzy against Calvus, long powerful blows had to be either dodged or blocked, and Calvus had just enough strength and stamina to do both. Each blow resulted in the violet sparks that engulfed them. After about a minute of this onslaught, Umaril grew tired, and his blows became weaker and more feeble. Calvus was tiring as well, as blocking Umaril's hard blows required much strength. The pair broke, retreating a few steps.
"Give up?" Calvus asked, out of breath.
Umaril said nothing, he just glared at Calvus. A drop of black blood fell from his leg and through the cloud. It started raining.
"First blood to me!" Calvus exclaimed, and charged.
Umaril raised his blade to parry Calvus' blow, Calvus leapt up into the air, but as he leapt he threw the Shield aside, and grabbed the Mace from his belt.
Umaril's sword managed to repel Calvus' blow from the Sword. But the Mace crashed into his side. Umaril cried out in pain and fell down. He lay on the ground, one hand clutching his wounded side, the other hand holding his sword. To Calvus surprise, he managed to get up again, still clutching his side.
"Won't go down eh?" Calvus mockingly asked, and struck with the Mace.
Umaril parried it weakly, but could not muster the strength to parry the next blow, which took his left arm off.
"That's isn't just a flesh wound!" Calvus roared, and stabbed Umaril through the chest.
Umaril fell to his knees with a roar. He had his head bowed, but then looked up at Calvus.
"For Pelinal!" Calvus cried, and swung his sword.
Umaril's head came clean off.
Calvus breathed heavily for a few seconds, and then let out a sigh of relief. He looked down, and saw the cloud beneath him start to break up. He then felt the sudden pull of gravity upon his body, and started falling through the clouds. Umaril's body and sword fell with him.
"Oh bloody hell, not again!" He shouted.
***
The battle outside Garlas Malatar suddenly stopped, Stentus and his Legion watched as each Auroran screamed, and faded into nothing.
"Blimey, he did it!" Stentus cried, "HE DID IT!!! THE CRUSADER HAS DONE IT LADS!!!"
The Legion cheered, but their cheer died down after they saw several figures come out of Garlas Malatar. It was Sir Gukimir, bearing the body of the Crusader. He was followed by the Knights and the remaining Fighters Guild. They got closer to the Legion, and stopped in front of Stentus. He bowed his head.
"And so passes a great leader, and bringer of justice…" he said solemnly.
He then turned to his Legion.
"HAIL OUR GLORIOUS DEAD!" he shouted.
"HAIL!!" They cried in unison, and all of them bowed their heads in respect.
***
Calvus slowly came round, and felt the sensation of cold stone on his body. He opened his eyes, and looked up. He saw Umaril staring at him.
"GAARRHHH!!" he cried, before he realised that it was just part of the stain glass window above him.
He looked around, and found himself in the crypt under the Priory. The Ghostly Knights were nowhere to be seen. Calvus looked down. The Crusader's Cuirass had no break in it, showing none of the damage Umaril's sword had done to it previously. He slowly got up, and checked that all his limbs were still there.
How long have I been out? And how did I end up here? he thought to himself.
He then heard footsteps coming towards the crypt door. Sir Thredret cautiously opened it, and saw Calvus standing up. Calvus would later reminisce about the absolutely priceless look on Sir Thredret's face.
"C-C-Crusader?" he said stunned. "Are you…alive?"
"Well last time I checked I was…" Calvus said slightly confused at Lathon's statement.
"But…you died…I saw your wound. Your blood was all over the place…I moved your brother to the next room, he could see you were dead as well…"
"Yeah…well, before I died, I cast the Blessing of Talos. I travelled to a spirit world, where I killed Umaril's Daedric soul. And I woke up here."
"Then the Gods have seen fit to bring you back!" Sir Thredret beamed, "I must tell the Knights, I need to tell everyone!"
"Wait, who's 'everyone'?" Calvus asked quickly.
"Well, the Legion of course! And there are others, citizens and lords, that have travelled far to come here. There are some journalists from the Black Horse Courier here as well!"
"Sir Thredret, you will listen to my following orders very carefully." Calvus stated. "Tell the Knights and Aranwen that I am not dead. But do not tell any of the others. You see…I had a life that I ran away from to become the Divine Crusader…I'd like to go back to it. Tell the others I did not die as such. Tell them the Gods have declared my task is done, and I can do no further good. But if…well lets be honest: when Daedra threaten Tamriel again, the Divine Crusader will return.
"But Sir, that could be decades from now!"
"Let me finish Sir Thredret! Continue to recruit to the Order, expand our numbers. And when the time comes, the leader of the Order will take the Divine Crusaders place. Its just a suit of armour… Sir Thredret, I name you the leader of the Knights of the Nine in my absence. Your first duty is to make sure that my Brother is arrested for his crimes, he is too corrupt to be let free into the world.
"I will do that sir!"
"And I assure you Sir Thredret, if Tamriel is threatened like that ever again in my lifetime, I will return. Are your orders clear Sir Thredret?"
"Yes Commander!" Sir Thredret said with a smile and a salute.
Sir Thredret ran out of the Crypt. Calvus reflected on what he had just said, and felt that it was the right thing to do. He then heard a noise, and a blinding flash.
"HE'S ALIVE BOYS!!" Sir Amiel boomed.
"Damn, I was looking forward to his company!" Sir Berich roared.
"Hey, I don't give up that easily!" Calvus said.
The Ghostly Knights laughed.
"You have killed Umaril the Unfeathered, reclaimed the Crusaders relics and rebuilt our old order! You have achieved much Crusader, and it is thanks to you that we can now rest in peace…" Sir Amiel said with great joy.
"You forever have the gratitude of myself and the whole Order!" Sir Berich said.
Calvus received compliments from the other Knights, who all congratulated him on his achievements. But finally Sir Amiel said:
"It is now time for us to rest. Thank you…Calvus…"
The Knights slowly faded. Sir Amiels final word echoed around the chamber for a few seconds, then faded as well. The door then opened. A blur ran at Calvus, and knocked him to the ground. When he recovered, he saw Aranwen clinging to him tightly.
"Don't you ever die on me again!!" she said painfully through tears.
"I'm okay - seriously!"
"I mean it!"
Calvus wasn't about to argue with that. After a minute or two Aranwen calmed down, and let Calvus get up. He took the Helm off, and she kissed him passionately before he could say a word.
"Enough time for that later" he said after they broke away. "Can you get me some clothes from upstairs?"
"Okay then…" Aranwen said, slightly disappointed.
She disappeared through the crypt door. Calvus started to take off the Crusaders armour, and carefully placed it on the armour stand in the small alcove at the back of the crypt. He was in his woollen underclothes when Aranwen came back in with a blue silk shirt, trousers and shoes. As Calvus took his woollen shirt off, he noticed a large scar, right where Umaril's blade had pierced him. It was quite long, and darker than his other scars.
"One to add to the collection." he said as he put the silk shirt on, covering it completely.
Aranwen gave him a warm look to show her sympathy.
"Its okay, I'll get used to it." he said.
He was now dressed, and took Aranwen's hand. He reached the crypt door and turned. He looked at the Armour stand with all of the Crusader's relics upon it, and smiled. He went through the door and into the basement.
***
"Hello Brother." Marsus said to him.
Marsus was sitting on a chair, to which his hands were tied.
"They didn't want me to be in the same room with you. I didn't really want to share the room with a corpse either."
"You don't seem to be surprised to have seen me cheat death."
"I heard you talking. The rest was easy to deduce. You know, I didn't get half a bloody scare when I woke up. Those ghosts are terrifying."
"Aranwen, can you leave me alone with my brother for a second please?" Calvus asked, not breaking eye contact with his brother.
"Okay…" she said.
Once she left the room, Calvus spoke.
"So how did you survive the fire all those years ago?"
"Well, its quite simple. You remember that the cottage used to belong to a mage?"
"I thought you made that up…"
"It was the truth!" Marsus claimed. "There was a cupboard in the basement. It was enchanted to protect against fire. Its where he kept all of his potions and documents, in case of fire. I hid in it. You and father never knew about it. It was my secret place."
"And how did you know it would stop you burning to death?"
"I accidentally set it alight one night with a candle. It just extinguished. I even fired a flare spell at it, did nothing. It could not be set light to. That's how I survived. I waited until I could not hear the flames anymore, and I escaped, and wandered the country side. I thought you and Father were dead, I thought you had been killed by the bandits. A travelling Breton noble found me, and…adopted me. He took me to High Rock, where I became one of the family. I inherited the place when he died, along with his entire estate. I was quite wealthy. Then one day, a few weeks ago, I was reading the Black horse Courier, and I see all this talk of the Divine Crusader. But right at the back of the paper, I spy this article "Fighters Guild member missing.". It mentioned your name. It didn't take me long to figure out what you had done. I felt angry. I hired the Dark Brotherhood to kill you, then when they failed, I travelled here to do it myself, but not before bribing some bandits to save me the bother. You know the rest…"
Marsus bowed his head. Calvus sighed, and walked to the other side of the room and back again in thought.
"I still cannot forgive you, Marsus. Father wouldn't. You almost killed me, and my friends…and my love. Father would make you pay your debt to society. I will do the same."
"What?"
"You have hurt me. But worse than that, you must have performed the Night Mother ritual to recruit the Dark Brotherhood. The things you must have done to…get the required items. It makes me shudder. You are going to go to prison, until your debt, to me and all those you have hurt, is paid."
"What, brother! You have got me wrong, I have changed!" Marsus implored Calvus as he walked away.
Calvus stopped and turned his head slightly.
"You changed too late brother…" he said darkly, and exited the room.
***
He met Aranwen outside, and the pair walked quickly through the double doors into the fresh air. Calvus saw Sir Thredret standing on a crate, addressing many Legion soldiers, citizens from nearby Skingrad and a few journalists from the Black Horse courier. The rest of his Knights were in front of Thredret, almost like they were crowd control. The journalists had quills and parchment at the ready, waiting eagerly to hear what Sir Lathon had to say. Calvus and Aranwen slipped into the crowd unnoticed.
"People of Tamriel, I have some grave news. The Crusader is no longer with us." Sir Thredret started, "But, he is not dead. The Gods have seen fit to take him back, ready for when Tamriel is threatened once again. But the Crusader managed to destroy Umaril the Unfeathered utterly. The Chapels are safe, and Umaril will never bother them or us again. He had only a short time upon this world, but he has achieved much. And though he has been taken back by the Nine, I know he can hear us."
Sir Thredret's eyes twinkled as he looked in Calvus' direction, who smiled slightly.
"Hail the Divine Crusader!" Sir Thredret roared.
"HAIL THE DIVINE CRUSADER!!" The crowd replied.
The men and women started to applaud, and the journalists ran forwards to ask questions. Calvus looked through the crowd and saw an old man, dressed in familiar tan robes, of which the hood was up. The man approached him.
"Greeting Calvus." The Prophet said.
"I wasn't expecting to see you here!" Calvus said surprised.
"Well I do have important business to attend to, so I will be brief. I see you chose not to continue as…well you know. I just wondered why."
"I had a life I wanted to return too. Besides, I didn't want to be wearing that armour the rest of my life!"
"Indeed not. Well…that shows that though you have changed greatly since I first met you, you still have your modesty. You had no claim to fame, and yet there you were with one firmly in your hands, and you let go of that as well. Some would call you foolish. Not I. That just shows that your heart is still humble, no matter what you have been through. You have done well Calvus."
The Prophet smiled and started walking away from the crowd.
"Is he for real?" Aranwen asked.
"Yes he is." Calvus replied.
The Prophet disappeared into the trees. A few seconds later, Calvus and Aranwen saw a brief gold flash from the woodland, and they both knew that the Prophet was gone. As Calvus made his way through the crowd, no-one recognised him, or even gave him a second glance.
"You're common again!" Aranwen said teasingly.
"And it feels good…" Calvus said.
He took Aranwen to the stables, and there he found Tiber. The horse looked wide eyed at Calvus in surprise, then his eyes narrowed in suspicion.
"Yes it is really me!" Calvus said laughing.
He climbed onto Tiber's back, and offered Aranwen a hand up. She took it and hoisted herself up behind Calvus.
"Just one thought." Calvus said just before he was about to kick his heels.
"What?"
"Can I have my sword back?"
Aranwen smiled, and handed it to him from behind him.
"I didn't use it that much. Your better with it than me…" she said meekly.
"Thank you." Calvus said, strapping it to his belt, "Now I feel safe!"
He kicked his heels against Tiber's flanks, and the horse took off from the stables, riding away from the Priory, the crowd, and everything else to do with the Divine Crusader.