Towers of Chaos (Philowen Aster)

by Aster's Descendants

What starts out as a simple quest to keep the Thalmor from unearthing an artifact of Molag Bal's uncovers a plot and a danger with world-spanning consequences, and revelations that will shake more than just Mundus. Co-Authored by vanillathunder215. MAJOR SPOILERS for 'Rising from the Ashes' and 'Dungeons and Dragonborn'

19. New Information, New Allies

(So...apparently there's been some confusion on the timeline, which may be my fault, as I haven't said anything. So, keeping in mind that there is some time slippage between Faerun and Tamriel, it has been seven years since the end of 'Dungeons and Dragonborn', one year since the events of 'Rising from the Ashes', and about a year, give or take, since the end of 'Hero' and the events of the following trilogy. (However Salvatore plans to end it after that jaw-dropping cliffhanger at the end of Boundless, which, in my not-so-humble opinion, needs a pretty strong resolution!) So certain characters that will be brought across are actually canon to the story, and circumstances surrounding them can be discovered in the books.)

---

New Information, New Allies

Ravenlight had noticed earlier that Drizzt had disappeared about the same time as Aela; but she hadn't thought much about it, as Drizzt did tend to vanish when Aela came around, and the werewolf took a sort of...perverse enjoyment in looking for him. As it turned out, he hadn't so much gone and hid...as found someone to talk to. She heard the quiet voices from below as she walked toward the trapdoor; when she opened it, and started down, she found Drizzt, seated across from Gyrmallion, the two deep in conversation.

In truth, she couldn't say she was surprised. If anybody in the world understood trying to start fresh after a series of bad decisions...or simply after belonging to a faction that the entire world hated...it was Drizzt. And while Gyrmallion was doing most of-if not all-the talking for the Altmer, all of the warriors were listening intently to what was being said.

---

Drelasa hummed as she got several bowls filled with stew and a side of roasted venison for the Altmer. With a quick nod she got some bread out. They could use the bit extra and by now their bodies would be working again. Fortunately they hadn't been starved long. Their biggest thing had been the lack of water.

Either or, it wasn't among her ways of wanting someone to die, foe or not.

---

Ravenlight didn't really want to interrupt; but they did need to eat. She rapped on the trapdoor, the sound catching their attention. "There's food," she said, once they'd turned toward her. "Roast venison, and horker stew. Figured you'd feeling strong enough by now to come and eat upstairs."

Gyrmallion hesitated. "There won't be trouble if we come up?"

She shook her head. "The Companions probably won't come in the house; they're setting up camp outside. And most of the others are out right now, too. If they do find out..." She shrugged. "Might as well learn now, really. Don't worry; there won't be trouble. Come on up."

Nerevar's words from the other night were nigh audible. 'The world will watch you. What you do will ring for generations.'

It took some courage for Gyrmallion to take hold of the ladder and climb out of the security of the cellar; but he did. And the others followed.

---

Drelasa motioned at the table. "Oh good. Darn pot is heavy and I'm too old to be going up and down ladders with my arms full. Not hot now I'm afraid but it's plenty warm enough."

They seated themselves, almost gingerly, and looking a little dazed as she bustled about. Ravenlight helped, smirking at their reaction: there was none of the haughtiness she typically expected from Altmer from them. Of course, being suddenly arrested and then chained out as vampire bait had probably shaken their worldview more than a little...not to mention being rescued by someone they knew had no reason to even like their kind. She wondered how many of them were silently waiting for the other shoe to drop.

"Well? You can eat. Dig in. She might be the Dragonborn but we aren't dining with the queen here. I like manners but I don't require that level of etiquette." Drelasa encouraged. "Even I get sick of that level of pretend. Though..." she paused thoughtfully. "I think in Skyrim it's be easier. In Morrowind I wouldn't touch anything that viper put out. Well, not Felsi. She's not entirely evil. Her mother is a terrifying witch. Don't think I need to tell you lot that. Summerset had her longer. Rather wish she had stayed..."

One of them suddenly laughed. "That's right, I remember...you apologized, as a Dunmer, for Morgiah." He relaxed, smiling a little. "I-yes, this is a much...less perilous setting."

"She's a bitch." Drelasa said flatly.

"Yes, she is." Gyrmallion shook his head. "And...as irritating as she was to deal with in Summerset, I can't imagine how awful she is now that she's at the top of the heap in Morrowind."

"Oh, come now," Ravenlight scolded lightly. "Don't call her that; if half of what I've heard is true, it's an insult to all honest hounds and wolves everywhere."

"It...honestly is. She's worse than her brother and he pulled off the worst heinous act I can think of." Drelasa said. "Morrowind is back in political uproar. We lasted a year."

"Don't look to Skyrim," muttered Ravenlight, pulling out some bottles of spiced wine and filling their glasses. "The only reason a conflict just as bad as the Civil War hasn't broken out again is because none of the growling Jarls want to take the risk that I won't be on their side. Ulfric dying in battle against the Dragonborn makes for a more...storied ending than being arrested again and then executed...but the end result is the same, and none of them particularly want their story to end that way."

"We're just seeing who has enough money to buy out the Morag Tong...until she irritates the wrong person." Drelasa said.

From the grimace Gyrmallion and Drizzt exchanged, Ravenlight guessed that they had discussed the prevalence of assassinations in their respective societies; and were not particularly fond of it.

"I didn't say I liked them." Drelasa said. "They're there, they're legal...had to send a few back in a box..."

Ravenlight shrugged. "As someone who wiped out the Dark Brotherhood after they made the mistake of attempting to recruit me, I should probably keep my opinions on assassin guilds to myself."

"As unfortunate as it may sound...they actually help keep Morrowind on steadier ground." Drelasa held up a hand. "Hear me out. It's legal, therefore we can keep watch on them. They are easy to see, they have rules they have to follow or else we can move against them. They can't just kill whoever whenever. It's not ideal, not by a long shot but...it's far better than driving it underground and lawless. That and it keeps the nobles and the royals occupied with each other and not making life even more difficult for those who work for a living. In a way...they protect the majority of the population." Drelasa sighed.

"I've seen some...similar situations," Drizzt muttered.

"And I'm working with the new head of the Thieves' Guild down in Riften," Ravenlight agreed. "So...I suppose I shouldn't grumble too much."

"Sometimes, you have to pick the lesser of evils." Drelasa said. "That and I have three Armigers in the ranks so I'll know the instant the guild in Blacklight slips up. And they are terrified of Modyn. I almost forgot that bit."

"Modyn..." Elealda pursed her lips a little. "Is that the name of that young man who'd gotten himself torn open all the way across the front of his body but was still walking this morning? If so, I understand why they're afraid of him."

"My son, yes." Drelasa said. "That's not the worst he's limped home with. Not even the top five. They tried to kill him but he not only killed them first...he stormed the guild hall and Blacklight heard Boethiah laugh as he left scorch marks in place of Mephala's."

"Indeed." Elealda gave Gyrmallion a gimlet glare. "I might need details on these times...could use them to shut up some people whining while I'm trying to piece their rib cages back together after they didn't get out of the way of an infuriated berserker."

"Modyn actually does a decent job not getting hurt." Drelasa admitted. "When he does, it's memorable. The problem one is Nevano. I've pieced that mouthy little ass back together so many times I don't think there's a bone in his body I haven't manipulated in some way."

"That I can't top," Elealda agreed. "I've had to mend every part of the body, but I haven't yet had to do it on one single person." She paused. "By the way, this is all excellent. I have no idea how you did this, and I watched you make it. My sincerest compliments."

"Thank you but Ravenlight is just about better than I am. Those crostatas she makes I fairly certain will land her marriage proposals." Drelasa smiled. "And you can write an entire book on healing with what Nevano brings home."

"Might have to keep a close eye on him, then," Elealda mused, pretending not to notice the quickly-stifled flash of pain in Ravenlight's eyes at the mention of marriage proposals. "It can be useful to have an...odd case around; the practice helps in the small chance that you will have to deal with the same thing in someone else in the future."

Drelasa clapped a hand over her mouth, then rounded on Ravenlight. "I'm so sorry, sweet child. That was thoughtless and cruel of me. We had been talking so much about it, it slipped right out. I'm so sorry."

"It's all right." Ravenlight didn't smile, but her eyes grew wistful. "I'd never...brought him up with you, except in passing." She paused. "I saw him again. In Sovngarde, so it doesn't...hurt as much...but..."

"You will always miss them." Drelasa said. "They have a piece of you and you aren't sure whether to hate them for it or scream to the winds your love for them."

"It's protected me before, actually," Ravenlight said. "Drove me half-mad when I lost him, but...protected me more than once at the same time." She drew in a deep breath. "Conversation best saved for another time...I honestly can't believe you didn't ask me to clarify about Sovngarde."

"I figured I would get the full story later and the wild stories of what you did have pretty much covered all of Tamriel by now, darling." Drelasa said and looked back over at Elealda. "To go back to the previous point...Nevano isn't just an odd case. He gave me very good practice on the nastiest bite I have ever seen. There is just one problem with using him as a case study."

"What sort of bite?" Elealda cocked her head.

"Probably Dagoth Ur, if I remember correctly," Ravenlight said. "We were...not quite comparing scars, but it was close. He showed me the one where he'd been bitten."

"Dagoth Ur. One final parting shot before he was killed...supposedly." Drelasa said. "I managed to get just enough flesh back to repair the tendons so he could use his left arm again. Far too close to that big vein for comfort. The good news, and the problem I mentioned earlier, was that there was no infection because he is protected from that."

"He'll probably thank for you mentioning that if I ever have to piece him back together," Elealda mused. "Stopping infection is one of the most vital things for any healer or surgeon; even with a good strong healing potion in the works, there's never any telling whether or not something's going to start festering again, and then-while we can usually clean it out-it's a far worse mess than it had been originally."

"No infections, no diseases and no illnesses." Drelasa said. "Makes piecing him back together much easier. Unfortunately, my son picked up the slack."

"It always seems to happen that way," Elealda sighed, picking up her wine glass. "You have one person who abuses his arms all the time, but his legs and torso are fine. Then you get one who cuts, scrapes, breaks, and otherwise abuses his legs, to the point that you can't believe he can still walk, but somehow rarely if ever damages his arms. And then you have one who never seems to block any incoming injury, and as a result, his torso is a mass of scars, and you're fairly sure if Death is on personal speaking terms with him because of how often you weren't sure he's going to pull through this time."

"Poisoned spear through the kidney..." Drelasa growled. "In the middle of nowhere. I got to see it a week after initial injury. Little to no care to it."

"Oh, I can top that, and with Nevano," Ravenlight said dryly. "Lich taint in his bloodstream, to the point that the veins in his arm were black. Serana said she'd never felt anything that horrendous before. It had been a year since he'd fought the blasted lich."

"I feel we almost need to take him out of any competition because he is his own category." Drelasa sighed. "That one was a double hit because he had a damn heart attack on the way home!"

"Lich poison and a heart attack?" She shook her head. "That is..."

"More trouble than an infected wound?" Gyrmallion muttered, almost petulantly.

Elealda thumped him on top of the head. "He had five ribs broken from that sword stroke, it was a miracle she missed anything vital beneath them, and on top of that, he landed face-down on the stone in a place called the Ratways, and you can probably imagine how nasty that was! Developed a raging infection and fever, it was touch and go for nearly two weeks, and I had to clean out the wound twice a day to keep him alive!" She looked over at Drelasa. "Admittedly, it isn't lich poison and a heart attack on top of that...but even so!"

"Picking up an infection in a place called the Ratways..." Drelasa made a face. "I think I got one that might make you feel better. Werewolf attack. Massive, old and very nasty. Nearly took a leg off but settled for shredding flesh from above the hip almost to the knee. Utterly destroying the armor. Bad, but not irreparable. Problem arose when I was called in nearly two weeks after it happened. The idiot, so-called healer there had cauterized the wound without fully clearing debris from the wound. By the time I got there, he was alive, somehow, but unconscious and the infection was...bad is not quite the term I'd use. Had to recut the whole thing. Such a mess."

"Sounds like it. Dear heaven." Ravenlight arched an eyebrow at Gyrmallion. "Picked up a severe injury in the Ratways, huh? Dare I ask when that happened or why Thalmor were down there?"

"Crossed paths a time or two, have you?" Drelasa asked.

"Twice before, actually," Gyrmallion said without heat. "Both times, it was either luck or the favor of the Divines that I survived. Elenwen's party-" He traced the scar on his face, "you just missed my eye. Nailed me to the wall by the helmet. And Elealda, before you start in on her for the Ratways, please remember that the others down there came out very, very dead."

Ravenlight's eyes narrowed, then she nodded. "You were the one who got past me and had the sword to Esbern's throat. Barely remembered it at the time." She leaned back. "So you survived that. Tougher than you look, I've got to say."

"Interesting." Drelasa said. "I suppose Nerevar had a point."

"You know what he came down and said that night?" Gyrmallion looked both interested and surprised.

"I know he came to you. Nothing else would have compelled Nevano to go to you himself." Drelasa said. "I can guess what he said though. I've spoken to Nerevar on quite a few occasions, usually when he's helping keep Nevano alive. Nerevar, out of everyone in that era, was quite the peacekeeper, one who looked for the better qualities in a being, rather than how useful they were. It was what created a friendship between him and the Dwemer king...and what broke him utterly when it all fell apart. He sees where he failed but it didn't change him, other than giving him an irrational hatred of anything to do with the Tribunal. The Thalmor may have messed up, but he wanted to know you, oh one who does not think like the ones we just punted across our borders. He might be long dead and sharing space with another living being, but his insight is very accurate."

"I knew of the Nerevarine," Gyrmallion said slowly, "but not of Nerevar. And I really hadn't considered before how...strange it would be that the person who'd missed killing me twice before and by the narrowest of margins would later be the one who, unasked, came and saved my life and my men's, after those I'd thought my allies turned on me. There probably is a path the Divines...laid out for us." He shrugged. "I'm not going to pretend I understand where to begin to walk that path, but...I won't deny it's there."

"You know..." Drelasa tapped her fingers. "The biggest heroes and champions that Tamriel has ever seen have all...come from captivity. Barenziah sprung an unnamed hero from prison to stop Jagar Tharn, Nevano was falsely imprisoned, the Champion of Cyrodiil was also in prison and Ravenlight found herself...on the wrong end of things in Helgen. You were imprisoned by your own kind and left out as vampire bait. What more signs do you need that you are destined to do something great? What that is, I don't know. I do know that you can choose what that will be."

Gyrmallion nearly fell off the bench, his eyes widening with stunned astonishment. The others exchanged surprised looks and some breathless laughs. Ravenlight grinned broadly.

"And you know, you'll have an advantage that most of us didn't have: while you might not have a previous hero there to help you do...whatever it is you're supposed to do, I at least am more than willing to help you get there."

Drelasa leaned in. "Ask for Nerevar. Nevano is...difficult."

"I..." Gyrmallion looked as though he was considering the wording. "Noticed."

Drelasa gave him a sympathetic smile. "He's an acquired taste."

"Easier than some people I've encountered, too." Ravenlight sighed. "I'm thinking we will have to stop in Valenwood; getting Rangers to help against the vampires will be extremely helpful. And there is no way I can think of to keep Sparrowwing from tagging along."

Drelasa laughed. "Is there a province we are missing?"

"Black Marsh? I don't know of any Argonian contacts I have. But I do know a number of Orsimer, and may be able to use their names to help bring the Orcs to the cause, too." Ravenlight laughed. "I might have to let someone else handle the Khajiit."

Drelasa groaned. "I'm not sure the Argonians are talking to anyone. And they might have some not nice things to say if you are talking to us, unfortunately. I'm sorry, my dear. We are called dun for a reason. As for the Khajiit..." She looked over to the Altmer.

Gyrmallion shrugged. "I lived in Elsweyr once; but unfortunately, any friends or contacts I might have had disappeared or died after my hometown was destroyed." He looked at the others, receiving similar shrugs and head-shakes.

"Hmm...anyway you can fake it?" she asked.

Gyrmallion considered. "I...might be able to try," he said at last. "My...wife...was friends with a group of Khajiit traders. I remember their names, and their clan; I might be able to make contact with some friends of theirs that way."

"It's worth a shot." Drelasa said.

"We can stop by Elsweyr after getting the Legions in Cyrodil," Ravenlight said. "It's a long shot-but I've seen plenty of those pay off, so I'm not going to discourage it."

A sudden crash from outside made them all jump, and Ravenlight growled. "I just now realized that we've got your troublemakers outside with the Companions, and neither of us is out there to keep the peace. I might be stretching a new hide across the frames downstairs in a few minutes..."

"For Azura's sake! Can they go for more than a few moments without being in trouble?!" Drelasa was finally at the end of her patience with the nonsense. Thunder could be heard rumbling in the distance.

"After this, maybe." Ravenlight stalked toward the doors. "Let's go see who it is we need to chastise, here..."

Drelasa stormed after her.

---

The Dunmer that belonged to Drelasa took one look at the clouds gathering overhead suddenly and made themselves scarce as if by magic, Nevusa grabbing Farkas as she ran by. "Hurry! This isn't a storm you want to be caught in!"

The Companions who'd been gathered around the pair of combatants, cheering, jeering, and largely egging them on, suddenly realized that the course of their fight had knocked over a woodpile and Ravenlight's workbench, scattering tools across a fair area. They did not understand the significance of the gathering clouds...but it suddenly occurred to every one of them that perhaps this had not been the best place to encourage a brawl.

The fighters, a Nord woman and a Dunmer man, were suddenly left very much out in the open, confronted by a pair of women who did not look at all happy with what was going on. Thunder shook the air as they stormed over, the clouds overhead turning black.

"You two," Ravenlight growled, "can't even go a single day without finding something stupid to fight over?"

Njada and Athis looked at each other, then at her, and tried to back away.

Drelasa stormed over, her face even more thunderous than the clouds. "This isn't the first, second, or even third time today but you certainly heard about the last few times to behave. How hard is it to follow orders?!" She grabbed them both by an ear, not being gentle in the slightest. "Mighi shoduru'ag s'wits! This area will be spotless or I will have your ears to give to the Ashlander witch that agreed to help us! Am. I. Clear?" Her words were punctuated by another crack of thunder.

There was no help to be had from Ravenlight, either. In fact, her glare made it clear she would probably help Drelasa remove the offending ears if they didn't straighten up.

Her own children had fled into the safety of the swamp, such as it was. It should have been a huge tip off when they felt such a dangerous place was safer to be in. "Well?" Drelasa growled, twisting ears a little.

"Yes! Yes ma'am!" the pair babbled. It was not clear who they were more terrified of: their highly annoyed Harbinger, or her furious and unexpected ally.

Drelasa tossed them into the dirt. "Spotless. Even the goat better shine."

The goat, for her part, looked up in alarm with an explosive snort.

Ravenlight gave them a humorless grin. "There's a curry brush in the stable. You can use that."

"Spot. Less." Drelasa growled.

Ravenlight turned toward the camp, where several nervous eyes could be seen peeking from tents. "This is not Jorrvaskr! I have neither the time, nor the patience to deal with a hundred brawls! So behave, or by Talos, this will be the mildest punishment doled out until we're on the march! Do you understand?!"

Lightning struck nearby to drive the point home. There was an immediate shout of assent on all sides.

"Good." Drelasa glared out into the swamp. "Where are my spawn?"

"Took off for the marsh when you came out," Vilkas offered weakly. "The girl hauled Farkas with her."

"Smart." Drelasa murmured. "But enough of that." Lightning cracked overhead. A clear signal of 'get home now'.

---

Astonishingly enough, the first to arrive were not the ones from the marsh, but Nevano and Serana, racing up from the beach...and still hand-in-hand.

Drelasa blinked, the clouds breaking up a little. "Really now?"

"We were coming back anyway!" Serana said. She wasn't out of breath, though Nevano certainly was.

"Though I appreciate the prompt response, I was signaling those that ran in the opposite direction." Drelasa glared at the swamp. "If two of them rip their stitches..."

"Min is probably not likely to, unless he runs into a tree," Ravenlight said. "Veleth, on the other hand..." She turned, pinning the two miscreants with a glare. "You two are not out of trouble. Get moving. Now."

"Now that you said it...a tree branch just grew of nowhere." Drelasa grunted. "Idiots, the lot of them. They were part of this or else they wouldn't have run."

"It wouldn't have had to. There are plenty of trees in the swamp, dead and otherwise." Ravenlight stepped forward a little, peering into the gloom. "There they are. And-ach. Farkas has somebody over his shoulder."

As it turned out, though, it wasn't Min.

It was Zeb.

"He wasn't watching where he was going," Nevusa explained, exasperated, "and he ran full-tilt into a dead tree branch. I don't think he'll need stitches...but he knocked himself out."

Drelasa facepalmed. "Azura save us..."

"I wonder what it says about our allies that, currently, the one group we haven't had to scream at to behave is the one we would have both happily tried to kill less than a week ago," Ravenlight sighed.

"Give it time. It'll switch." Drelasa sighed. "Where's Min and Modyn?"

"Right behind us," Farkas answered.

Drelasa leaned sideways to look. "Or were..."

Nevano sighed. "I'll go look for them. No need for them to get halfway to Hammerfell."

"Want my wayfinder compass?" Ravenlight asked. "It can lead to an individual, if need be."

"Hold on to it in case you need to find me." Nevano grinned at her. "Twins can hide. Bull is aptly named. I'll be back shortly."

"If I need to find you, I'll ask Serana," Ravenlight muttered; but the side of her mouth quirked up for the first time in a while.

"What?" He half-turned.

"Nothing!" Drelasa shooed him. "Go find the boys before they sink under the mud."

Nevano tilted his head like a confused dog but continued on.

"That armor will be filthy when he gets back." Drelasa said.

"It will," Ravenlight agreed, a slow smirk growing. "It will indeed."

"Can't have that, can we?"

The two women exchanged a conspirator's grin that had the others blinking in confusion.

---

Nevano returned an hour later, covered in mud and looking highly annoyed, as did the other two. Veleth had popped several stitches, though the magic holding it prevented it from bleeding too much.

"For once...a twin didn't cause issues." Nevano said. "But there might be problems. We fixed this one but it's...ugh, I knew there would be loopholes."

"Loopholes as in...what?" Ravenlight came downstairs, signaling for someone behind her to stay where they were.

"Okay, well, the Oblivion Crisis." Nevano let Trueflame and Hopesfire flare brightly, burning off the swamp muck that covered them. "End conclusion is that no Daedra Lord can invade Tamriel again. Not all at once anyway. But there's no foolproof way of stopping them. I couldn't figure out how so many of Molag Bal's minions were stomping around but Veleth tipped me off a bit early this morning and what we saw confirmed it. He's got people summoning them in one at a time. We got them scared off and got to kill two daedroth-we brought you the teeth by the way-but they are bypassing seals."

"He sent one of those demon children at us as a warning. Like he wants us to see what he's doing." Veleth said. "Very bold, even for a daedra."

"Very bold. And possibly an attempt to make us give up before we even start to fight." Ravenlight's eyes darkened. "Well. It's not going to work. And there are plenty of other Daedra to ask for help here."

"At this point, what he's doing is enough to anger even Dagon and Malacath. Malacath is a good one because the orc tribes will be more than happy to fight then." Veleth said. "This could be interesting. How to unite forces that represent chaos..."

"Ugh, I almost don't want to ask." Ravenlight exhaled, toying with her pendant. "All right, I was planning to do this anyway, but if Bal's going that far, we need all the allies we can get. I'm going to go talk to Drizzt; then I'm going through and bringing his wife here. Catti-Brie is incredibly powerful, and she's been more than tested against demons lately."

"The more the better." Nevano nodded. "Wish I knew more groups but all I knew are dead or on their way."

Ravenlight walked past, looking for her brother. Nevano nudged the other two. They needed to clean up.

---

Ravenlight found Drizzt, as she'd half-expected, once again back talking with Gyrmallion. The Altmer were making themselves scarce, but had not yet gone back to the cellar; Drizzt and Gyrmallion sounded as though they were discussing battle tactics. She suspected it wouldn't be long before the two of them were finding a good place to spar with each other. She rapped on the wall, letting them know she was there.

They turned to look at her at once, Drizzt with a little smile on his face. "Get everything straightened out with the Companions and all?"

"Nevano found Veleth and Min," she answered. "We've got a big problem: Bal's found a way around the ban from the Oblivion Crisis. He's sending his creatures onto this plan, one and two at a time, through mortal conjurers."

Gyrmaillion's eyes widened, and he shot to his feet. "Mortal-that explains it. I'd been wondering why on earth I'd seen so many agents placed in mage academies and guilds, and why their orders were to find conjuration mages."

Drelasa came over, her face hard. "Unfortunately, Molag Bal has no shortage of worshippers. Between them and the ones you say were given conjuration training...Azura save us, we are looking at a second Oblivion Crisis!"

"And possibly not a single, concentrated one, either." Gyrmallion glanced around. "What most people don't know about the Thalmor is that, after Naarifen was defeated and hung from the White-Gold Tower, the power base behind the Aldmeri Dominion was split into three. Cousins, I think, from the two remaining high houses: Falcve and Rumalashorn Taromoth, and Sirinalda Aldthar. They were Naarifen's closest confidants, and they're currently the leaders of the High Council. And they do not get along."

He started to pace. "Rumalashorn is the most dangerous. He was Naarifen's right hand, and I strongly suspect the one who encouraged the purges in Valenwood, and the attempted Culling in the Imperial City. If anyone in the Aldmeri Dominion would be actively working with Bal, it would be him. Falcve fights with his cousin constantly: he's the one who's interested in the relics, but he hates both the Daedra and the Divines. I believe he wants to try to break us free of them: I know he sent a team to Vvardenfell about a year ago, and he was behind the expedition to High Rock."

"And Sirinalda?" Drelasa asked.

Tellindil grunted. "You apologized, as a Dunmer, for Morgiah. We'd apologize, as Altmer, for Sirinalda, only she hasn't left Alinor and most of the world doesn't know she exists."

Gyrmallion nodded in agreement. "She's a power-hungry harpy. She gets along-sometimes-with Falcve, because she has a taste for unusual relics, but she absolutely hates Rumalashorn. The orders for the names of conjuration mages came from both Rumalashorn and Sirinalda. And I wouldn't put it past her to make bargains with the Daedric princes who despise Molag Bal to start bringing their minions through the same way, just to throw a spanner in Rumal's might not be a bad thing, except she has absolutely no concern whatsoever for anyone who might be caught in the middle. Rumalashorn is a monster, and Falcve a vicious schemer. Sirinalda is worse, because she simply does not care."

Drelasa thought quickly. "There are seventeen Daedric Princes in total...Molag Bal is the one trying to usurp, two are considered one, four are most inclined to help us. That leaves Clavicus Vile, Hermaeus Mora, Hircine, Malacath, Dagon, Namira, Nocturnal, Peryite, Sanguine, Sheogorath and Vaermina. Vaermina we just cowed a bit, but the others are not exactly pleasant. Which would they most likely make bargains with?"

"Hircine is too uncouth for her tastes, and even she's not foolish enough to expect anything to come from a deal with Clavicus Vile. Malacath...probably not. The ones she'd be most interested in are Nocturnal, Hermaeus Mora, Dagon, and possibly Sanguine, since she..." The Altmer grimaced in unison, "has tastes that...conform to his." Gyrmallion sighed. "And while she is unlikely to have anything to do with Sheogorath, some of her subordinates are...willing to nod in his direction. He rewards creativity as well as madness, after all."

"We do not have time to appeal to all of them, indeed some would toy with us for our trouble." Drelasa said. "I have...one idea we could do. I do not know if it will work; indeed, I do not know how to go about this but there is one out there who will stand against all the daedra."

"Who would that be?" Ravenlight looked bleak. "We might not have a choice."

"Funny how mentioning him a few times and suddenly it's an idea." Drelasa muttered. "The Black Knight. Ebonarm. The God of War and of all warriors and protectors. A lesser god, to be sure, but not lacking in power. I just know very little about him and even less how to appeal to him."

Ravenlight pursed her lips, running a finger over her breastbone. "I'll look into what might be possible," she said. "Being the Daughter of Akatosh may or may not be helpful here...but I might be able to at least find out how to appeal to him." She looked at Drizzt. "And Catti-Brie just might be able to help with that. I've been thinking of bringing her through for a few days now: I'm pretty sure it's going to be necessary now."

Drizzt nodded. "I've been thinking that, too. I know Mielikki doesn't interact in this plane; but Kynareth was more than happy to take up her place the first time. Will you need me to open the portal?"

She nodded. "Yes. I don't know how long they'll be here."

"While you two do that..." Drelasa looked over at the Altmer surgeon. "I'm afraid we might need you to touch up a mer or two..."

Elealda groaned. "Let me guess...broken stitches?"

"I should have suggested using wire instead of silk."

"I've contemplated that a time or two myself." She looked at Ravenlight. "I'm sorry, I appear to be going through your sewing supplies at a...far greater rate than I intended at first."

Ravenlight laughed. "Sewing silk is expensive...spider silk, on the other hand, is not, and I know of several frostbite spider lairs not far from here. If this gets out of hand, we'll go looking for supplies. You can wind up all the silk you need while I thin out the spiders." She sighed. "In fact, I might need to do that, just to blow off some steam. Come on, uhiel, let's go fetch your family."

Drelasa watched them take off. "I owe that girl far more than I can ever repay." She murmured. "Come. Let's go round up the idiots. One of them crashed into a tree."

"Hmmm...that sounds familiar. Hopefully he didn't break anything but his skin doing so." Elealda followed Drelasa, ignoring the irritated mutter of, "I was twelve," from behind her.

Drelasa smirked as she walked out the door.

"I know some folk who claim the gods are cruel and uncaring, if they are there at all," Elealda remarked. "However, those of us with sons, brothers, and male cousins would likely argue that if that was the case, well over half of every race in the world would not make it out of adolescence. Mer are no different from Men in that regard, and I can't imagine that the beastfolk are that much different."

"In many instances, we are all very similar, mortal and immortal alike." Drelasa said. "All of us children, set loose and abandoned on this plane. Depending on what you believe that is."

"Abandoned...or simply run wild." Elealda shrugged. "But I would argue there has to be at least some caring hand that will set us back upright and stitch up our injuries after we run smack into trees. No matter how much we dislike getting the stitches. Metaphorically or otherwise. And I hope yours realizes he's about to get some more...and hasn't tried to slink off to avoid them."

"That depends on what steps in to take that empty place." Drelasa said. "He more than likely knows and he knows better. Or he ought to, I should say."

---

In the meantime, Ravenlight and Drizzt had gone to the top loft of the alchemy tower: it was somewhat exposed, but one of the few places they could be sure wouldn't be disturbed. Ravenlight swept the floor clean of a few leaves and stray feathers that had collected up there. Drizzt closed his eyes and concentrated, holding his pendant in his hands. Then he swept his fingers across its scintillating blue surface. It blazed up in response, and a glowing blue portal flickered into existence in front of them.

They exchanged a look and a nod, and then Ravenlight stepped through.

---

Veleth gotten cleaned up in a remarkable amount of time but had gotten his armor and weapon out. Any thoughts of letting his injury rest until they left were out with this new threat rising. He didn't put it all on right away though. He wasn't going to be so naïve as to think that he wasn't going to get restitched. Fortunately, as he inspected the massive wound, he hadn't popped too many. Just the ones closest to his arm and hip when he had twisted away from a daedroth trying to bite him.

Elealda appeared a few moments later, the sewing box under her arm. "All right, let me see what you've done to yourself," she said, setting the box down and opening it up. "Hmm..." She examined the injury. "Not as bad as I was afraid of. This will just take a few minutes to repair, and you didn't get anything nasty in the places you reopened." She pulled out the needle and threaded it. "What about the one who hit a tree, how bad is he?"

"I think I'm down to two birds now..." Zeb groaned.

"It doesn't look too bad," Nevusa offered. "We were able to get the bleeding stopped...but it's still...kind of big?"

Elealda sighed. "I'll take a look once I'm through with him. Hopefully, it'll just need a Restoration spell."

"Only two birds chirping at him." Veleth snorted. "He's fine."

"Probably not a concussion, then." Elealda measured the space between the broken stitches and inserted the needle. "Which is a good thing, because I don't think he'd be able to take that kind of brain-scrambling."

"What brain?" Veleth muttered.

---

As she was tying off the last stitch over Zeb's eye, in red thread this time, the stairs creaked, and the Dunmer looked up to see Ravenlight and Drizzt coming down the stairs. With them were two others. One was a Dark Elf remarkably similar to Drizzt, though with a squarer face and heavier build. He was looking around with suspicious curiosity. The other was a stunning human woman wearing a white, layered, lacy dress bound with a black sash. Her auburn hair flowed around her face and shoulders. She carried a long staff in one hand...and a small, cooing bundle in the other.

"Everyone," Ravenlight said, "May I introduce Zaknafein Do'Urden, and Catti-Brie."

"You are the ones we've heard so much about." Drelasa smiled warmly. "The pleasure is ours...as well as our gratitude since this isn't quite the situation under which I prefer meeting people but it is what brought us all together."

Zak glanced at them, clearly uncomfortable in his new surroundings. Catti-Brie, however, came down the stairs and answered Drelasa's smile. "I'm glad to meet you as well. She didn't have much time to explain, beyond that it was a situation that could threaten both worlds; she did say we'd have more allies than usual in this fight. And friends, as well." She shifted the little form slightly. "I don't know her quite as well as my husband does; but I've found she has very good judgement where friends are concerned."

Drelasa's face softened when she saw the infant. Babies made Dunmer silly fools. "Of the highest sort, considering she's had to put up with my family's strange antics."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Nevano grinned. "We have been rather well-behaved."

"Somehow, I doubt you want the list," Ravenlight said dryly. "Zak, this way; I'll get you set up. Catti-Brie's been here before; I'll try to get you a little more...acclimatized before you meet the others."

"Please, don't ask for the list, Nevano." Drelasa glared. "Between you and the twins..."

"And in just four days," Drizzt added wryly. He glanced over at Zak, receiving a half-smile and a nod from the older Drow before he turned and followed Ravenlight.

"Not even a record." Nevano said.

"Somehow, that doesn't make it better." Drizzt gently took the little form from Catti-Brie, unwrapping the blanket enough for the little face inside to peek out. "This is my daughter." He and Catti-Brie shared a fond glance. "Alustra."

The baby yawned and blinked wide, blue-violet eyes. Her skin was a dark gray; the fuzzy wisps of hair an almost silvery auburn.

"Now that is the most adorable little face." Nevano instantly got a goofy grin. "Look at those pretty eyes. You, little one, are the cutest thing." She giggled, waving tiny fists. "Yes, you will have full grown, grumpy, crusty soldiers falling over themselves and you know it." Nevano grinned wider.

"She already does," Catti-Brie laughed. "You should see her grandfathers."

"I do not doubt that for a moment." Nevano snorted. "Kids have that magic ability. They keep some of it even when they get big and know how to wield it like a weapon."

"I can't see that as being entirely a bad thing," Catti-Brie said, "considering the trouble I've seen some children get into..."

"It never goes away." Nevano nodded seriously.

Catti-Brie eyed him, then glanced at Drelasa. "Hm. Speaking from experience there?"

"Yes. Yes he is." Drelasa gave Nevano a very fond glare. "Do not let his silvered tongue fool you in the slightest, this one is the most trouble out of them all. Twins a hot second and the rest vying for third."

"I will keep that in mind."

Drizzt laughed, earning an echoed laugh from his daughter. "He takes offense at being compared to Jarlaxle, though."

"Yeah I've heard your description of him." Nevano made a face. "That's not even a small no. "

Nevusa squealed and hurried over. "Look at her, she's adorable! Hey Bull! She's beating Dusty out in the adorable contest."

"You've already given my poor kid an unfortunate nickname and now you're throwing him under the cart?" Veleth said completely without venom, also completely melting in the presence of a tiny baby.

Catti-Brie laughed. "So she wasn't kidding. She told me you would all be excited to see the baby; I'll admit I only half-believed her."

"We don't see many among our kind." Nevusa said sadly, letting Alustra grab her fingers. "Veleth's son was the only one born in the past year."

"That would make a difference," Catti-Brie agreed, her eyes clouding for a moment with sympathy. "That would make...a huge difference."

"So anytime we see a child, Dunmer or not, we...turn into puffballs." Veleth admitted. "I think even General Garil would melt, especially if she blinks those pretty eyes at him."

Nevusa's eyes went wide. "You, little one, might be the only thing that would crumble some of that crust. All of you will get to meet him and I guarantee you will hear him long before you see him."

"Two minutes in and I already prefer Dunmer to Drow." Catti-Brie grinned at Drizzt as he raised an eyebrow at her. "Most Drow, that is."

"Don't blame you there." Ravenlight reappeared. "Well, Gyrmallion and Zak have encountered each other, though I have informed both of them in no uncertain terms that if that escalates beyond a staring contest, they will wish it was Drelasa who got hold of them. And as I do not believe your father understood my explanation that Dunmer and Drow are different, and he has some rather...bad memories of powerful Drow females, that should keep him on good behavior for at least a day or two."

"From what you told us about Drow, all he has to do is watch us crash into each other in the dark." Veleth pointed out. "Since we don't see in the dark. At all. And the thought of pitting my mother against one of them...yeah, I don't want to imagine. Let's not think along those lines."

"No, I think he thought your mother was one of them, and I will happily watch as she shows him she isn't." Ravenlight joined the crowd beaming down at her giggling niece, who was absolutely delighted to have all these friendly new faces gathered around. "So. Who wants to start explaining the full situation? I really just gave out the bare bones of it, mostly because I wasn't sure I was getting all the details right, especially concerning the Towers and all."

Nevusa and Nevano were quick to sacrifice Veleth, who, strangely enough, didn't seem to mind in the slightest. "Do you want the long version where I throw in all the stupid things Nevano did or the shortened version where you don't think he's a moron? And where should I start?" He scratched at the one of the new stitches by his shoulder.

"Start with the ruin," Ravenlight advised, "and...eh, let's go with long version, let her know what she's in for if she decides to help me try and ride herd on you lot." A movement caught her eye, and she turned. "Ah, there you three are. Been playing with the Companions?"

Lucia nodded. "Uh-huh. Oh! Auntie! And-" She turned into a blur, stopping just before she crashed into Drizzt. "Oh, you brought her!"

"Long awaited guest, I take it?" Nevano asked.

"We've only ever seen her once," Lucia said, staring up at Drizzt wide-eyed, obviously begging without actually saying anything.

Ravenlight laughed. "All right, sit down and I'll get a pillow for you. And you can take turns."

Veleth glanced at Nevano. "You might get lucky. I won't make you out too badly with the kids around."

Ravenlight got Lucia situated in a chair with a pillow to help prop her arm, then took Alustra from Drizzt-he handed her over with some reluctance-and then gently placed her in her daughter's arms. The older girl cooed down at the baby, who babbled back. Blaise did not quite hover nearby; but Connlach placed himself right in front of them, staring with wide eyes at the goings-on.

Farkas, who was watching with what appeared to be equal parts fascination and terror, looked over the kids and laughed. "I don't think they'll hear." He grinned at Nevano mischievously. "I will, though."

Nevano groaned dramatically. "Can't go anywhere or do anything without a critic!"

Veleth ignored Nevano's moaning. "I'm not sure how much you know about the pantheon we have here but I am...a bit closely connected to a Daedra Lord known as Boethiah. She ever so kindly decided to let me know something was wrong with a dream that lit a fire under my tail. Nevano was the first unlucky one I ran across that agreed to come along to High Rock with me. Honestly, I'm surprised it wasn't the other way around. Azura likes the dreams, not Boethiah."

"We found ourselves outside some ruins in northern High Rock, where some of our favorite kin known as the Thalmor were busily digging. What we didn't know was that we weren't the only ones who had gotten the same feeling that something really wasn't right about these ruins. None of the gods bothered to let either party know. A part of me thinks they got some amusement out of that."

"To be fair," said Serana, coming down the stairs herself, "I don't think either the Aedra or the Daedra had anything to do with why I knew there was trouble there."

"More than fair." Veleth said. "Knowing what we know now, I think they were content to let it stay hidden. Unfortunately, no one has yet to learn a damn thing in that one cannot let evil objects sit and hope it rots away. It doesn't work like that and it always reappears at some point."

From the look on Catti-Brie's face, she knew that sort of situation all too well herself. Nevano smiled at Serana as she came over, his eyes on her only.

Veleth chose not to comment on that, though he saw Ravenlight watching them. "Anyway, so we went about stopping the Thalmor from digging further. Both parties. At the exact same time. I'm fairly certain Ravenlight and Drizzt weren't expecting to see an arrow explode solid rock about as much as we weren't expecting to see an enormous black cat come flying out of nowhere. Things were going rather well, we managed to not hit each other and the Thalmor had just about gotten the message to get out...when that...thing came crawling out of the ruins."

It was unusual to have Drizzt and Ravenlight shudder at the same time, and her eyes widened as she noticed that. "It was that bad?"

"We went squelching through an entire swamp of Netherese undead once," Ravenlight said grimly, "and nothing there even came close to what came out of that ruin."

"Magic weapons, dragon shouts and demon fire were doing nothing." Veleth said. "I have never seen anything stand up like that to the rage beast when I let it loose. Even a Daedric Lord can't fully stop it. This thing did. It wasn't until Ravenlight did that one rather nasty shout we were able to finally kill it. Of course, she nearly killed Nevano in the process which, strike one against him, he didn't back up when she said to. The shout probably wouldn't have affected him so bad except he carries two souls in him. He now knows to run when Ravenlight tells him to."

"Two souls?" Catti-Brie looked surprised. "I know about Ravenlight's...unusual situation. But I was under the impression it was unique."

"It is." Nevano said. "She carries the soul of a dragon. I carry the soul of..." Nevano was cut off as he shuddered, his head twitching. His eyes flared gold.

"I know that look. Now I can formally introduce Lord Indoril Nerevar. The former Chimer king of Resdayn. Which is now known as Morrowind. Reborn through Nevano. While they get along, it is funny watching Nevano suddenly get irritated and argue with what seems like nothing in a language no one speaks anymore." Veleth said.

"I...see." It was doubtful she actually did, but...well, she'd probably seen some things that were considerably stranger.

Nevano's entire demeanor changed. He inclined his head politely to her, saying something in a language that was smoother than Dunmeri, almost impossible to form easily with an untrained tongue.

"I don't know a word in Chimeri but I feel safe in saying that was a rather formal greeting." Veleth said.

Nevano twitched again. "I hate when he does that!"

"Hey, at least Nerevar is human," Ravenlight said dryly. "When the Dov does that to me, it's...well..."

"Want to swap?" Nevano said. "You'll want to give him back after a week of 'inspirational' speeches. He was a king. Those speeches go on forever."

"You apparently need a few more." Veleth waved at him to hush. "Especially since you didn't back up and nearly got him booted out of your head for a second time. The four of us made it to a cave where, after saving Nevano's ever so grateful hide, we discussed each other's reasons for being there. Turns out there's something called the Armor of Wrath in those ruins. Armor that embodies all the rage, hate and everything else from the first vampire. And the thing we fought? A young thrall. A young one. We hadn't even gotten to stronger ones yet! That is just a bit over our heads, even as strong as we are. We made rough plans to gather some that could help but before we could get going, the storm that had gone over us brought a nasty surprise; vampires. So we had to flee and quick."

"And not just vampires," Drizzt interjected, "nearly a dozen clans. That's a few more than even Auri-El's bow can handle."

"We were chased by a wave of them. Fortunately for us, it was around dawn, so Nevano could appeal to Azura to stop them long enough that we could get away. On a skeleton horse because there were not enough undead for one day." Veleth made a face. "We ended up at a small village. Seemed small and innocent enough but it was quickly obvious it was not. There were no local guards, Thalmor everywhere and, wonders never cease, the mark of the Buoyant Armigers, Morrowind's spy network. Poor little town was in an espionage warzone and now in direct line of vampires."

"Skeletal horse..." She glanced over at Ravenlight with a smile. "Arvak, I take it?"

"Mmm-hm." Ravenlight grinned. "He looked just as happy about riding him as Wulfgar did that one time."

"I'm not fond of undead." Veleth said flatly, glaring when Nevano started laughing. "If you bring up the mummy thing I swear you will be hanging upside down from a tree outside!"

"Oh, and I can help with that!" Ravenlight's grin was not exactly reassuring to the Dunmer. "Picked up a few tricks watching my other brothers deal with Sparrowwing!"

"You do the knots, I'll get the rope." Veleth growled. "And he's considering it greatly."

"Look, it was a hilarious moment in a rather tense situation." Nevano bit his lip to stop from laughing. "At your expense unfortunately but it opened to the door to our most… uhh… interesting ally?"

Veleth groaned. "So after we got in contact with the Armiger, which I screwed up and let the rage get the better of me and the Armiger was handy in shutting that down, Nevano got his next strike and got picked up by a Mute. Mutes are the Thalmor's version of spies. They are also assassins, torturers and all around not good people at all. This one...had magic abilities. Assassin abilities. Drizzt then met with our friends upstairs to bust Nevano free...and we connected the dots. That Mute was there to kill them. We couldn't do much about it though. We had no time. So we left for Vvardenfell to plead the aforementioned exotic allies for help."

"Friends upstairs?" Catti-Brie looked puzzled.

"Drizzt and I were the ones who contacted the Armiger, using a pair of code words Veleth had given us," Ravenlight explained, "and we caught the attention of more than the Armiger: a Thalmor official. Fortunately for everyone, most especially him, he proved to be reasonable, and when I told him what had happened to the Thalmor who'd entered that ruin, and that there were now a dozen vampire clans practically on their doorstep, he believed me, and offered to use his influence with the soldiers there to defend the town against them. He was also the one who helped Drizzt find and rescue Nevano. The Mute, apparently, was after him. Though..." She shook her head. "I'll let Veleth keep going."

"We'll get back to them." Veleth nodded. "With Odahviing's help, we got to Vvardenfell, the island that makes up most of northern Morrowind, in record time...only to find that even the vampire clans there were fighting, using an ash storm as cover. Drizzt and Ravenlight were quick to make their day very miserable. Solved half our problems. Unfortunately, Ravenlight had used up so much energy she was...fairly done. Lucky for us, the Ashlanders were more than a little curious at all that was going on so we were ushered underground to the Card'vel's abode without too much trouble. Here is...where the story gets a little muddled. The Card'vel are good people but they are strange. Card'vel translates roughly to 'People of the Dead'. They made their home underground in all the tombs that litter the island, digging tunnels to connect them all. They care for the dead and the souls there and...have been known to eat trespassers. Ceremoniously, though. We don't touch whatever meat they have just in case though. More than that, the two that lead the tribe are...I don't know how to describe Kaid-Anit but Uliamu is crazy as they come."

"Unfortunately accurate assessment," Ravenlight agreed. "Minor correction: it was not dispelling the ash storm that exhausted me so much as having previously dealt with a Revered dragon we encountered along the way. This would be the equivalent of an Elder dragon in your world...old, extremely powerful, and not always pleasant. The Divines decided to cut us a break, and Mirdovek is a follower of Paarthurnax, the ancient dragon at the Throat of the World I've mentioned a few times. He agreed to recognize my authority, and I sent him back to High Rock to keep an eye on the vampires and pick off any stragglers he might happen to notice." She gave Nevano a sly grin. "The rest of the flight was uneventful-unless you count the dive over the ocean when Odahviing saw a fish."

Nevano sputtered out several curses at that.

"I hadn't heard a scream that high-pitched even when Blaise dropped a handful of worms down Lucia's collar."

"If we were made to be over deep water, we'd have fins and scales like a damned fish." Nevano grumbled.

"Could have been worse. He could have decided to swim the rest of the way!" Veleth laughed, earning a dirty look.

"Or decided he needed more than one fish." Serana giggled, leaning her head against Nevano's shoulder as she did.

Nevano sighed and put his arm around her. "Chalk it up as another thing I won't live down."

"As I said, this is where things get muddled but I firmly believe that that was on purpose." Veleth said. "Kaid-Anit and Ulimau might be strange but they are also insanely powerful. Kaid-Anit can hear the gods, though his faith has limited him only to those he worships. He also has this incredibly obnoxious ability to drop someone into a deep sleep at the wave of a hand or hold you right at the edge of sleep. Uliamu...I thought she was completely out of her mind when I watched her bury a bone, but she made me a believer when that one bone created an entire, very powerful ghost fence. I think she's quite possibly one of the most powerful spirit mages alive currently. Three gods couldn't do that without extreme difficulty. Anyway, I know something happened but we weren't all awake at the same time for it. The end result was Kaid-Anit agreeing that help was needed. Instead of just having Uliamu coming to bind the magic in the armor and banish it...we got the whole tribe and however many tribes they can reach on the way out."

"Ah, that I can at least partially fill in," Ravenlight said. "Kaid-Anit and Uliamu both talked to the Dov. I wasn't awake for part of it, but I do remember some of my conversation with Kaid-Anit and I remember Uliamu telling me that more than vampires were heeding the call of the Mistress in the ruins. And Kaid-Anit was the one who warned us about the half-Daedra children of Vivec and Molag Bal." She grimaced, noting the look of utter revulsion that crossed Serana's face at that. "I don't think you want details about them."

Nevano twitched. "Please, don't ask about that subject. The fact that it was true and not some weird half-truth or lie on Vivec's part is..." His eyes flared gold a moment.

"Beyond disgusting," Serana volunteered.

Catti-Brie looked briefly puzzled. Drizzt pulled her close and whispered something in her ear that made her blue eyes go wide with horror. "Oh, you poor girl."

Nevano pulled Serana closer to his side. She huddled against him, meeting Catti-Brie's eyes for a moment, before dropping her gaze.

"Muhri kol flur." Nevano murmured to her. "El edur ayuli enhi lo."

"Normally I put exactly zero faith in anyone who tries to play fortune teller but in Kaid-Anit's case, it's something to listen to." Veleth said. "Nor did we have to wait all that long to find out. Our next stop was Blacklight. We landed in the safest place I could think of without setting the entire city into a panic and one of those creatures dared attack us there." Veleth had to stop, his eyes flaring red suddenly.

"It was his father's gravesite," Ravenlight said quietly. "And that creature..." She shook her head, glancing for a moment at Drelasa. "Well. We dealt with it too quickly for it to desecrate the site."

"He gave me a good warning before it took our heads off." Veleth said. "Then ever so helpfully set it on fire. Wonder which of the Reclamations has that thing..."

"Any justice in the world, and it'll be in the Soul Cairn," Ravenlight said coldly. "Give Durnehviir a nice new chew toy."

"Where it is, it's leaving that shrine alone." Veleth shifted. "Anyway, that's when Ravenlight and Drizzt got the second leg of the crash course in meeting the family. My mother is the easiest one...but then we set Nevusa and the twins on them."

"Hey!" Nevusa protested.

"You stole my son and ran in screaming about it." Veleth shot back.

"I was watching him!" Nevusa argued. "You know...while his parents weren't around?"

"Did you even bother telling Dreyla?"

"You know I don't like your wife." Nevusa pouted.

Veleth just groaned. Catti-Brie looked worriedly over at her daughter. Ravenlight laughed. "Don't worry. After that little talk I had with Connlach when Alustra was born, she'd have to peel him off first before she could run off with her." She smiled down at the five-year-old. "You take protecting your little cousin seriously, don't you?"

He nodded solemnly.

"No, no! Don't worry! Just his." Nevusa pointed at Veleth. "And really it's not his wife so much as it is her father. Most annoying fetcher..."

"Before we fall down that particular hole..." Veleth said. "Initially, the plan was to get the twins, who, despite being more trouble than a sack of wet cats, are a walking army, Nevusa, who is a decent enough fighter-" Nevusa slugged him in the arm for that comment- "and my mother, who can change the weather as well as probably scare half the vampires back home. However, plans were a bit altered when my mother starts mobilizing the entire Buoyant Armigers because she took over them at some point when we weren't paying attention."

"I'm still rather shocked none of you noticed." Drelasa laughed. "Shocked and slightly disappointed. It was rather obvious."

Ravenlight shrugged. "Well, since we in Skyrim didn't know that the Buoyant Armigers existed...you lot, however, probably have no such excuse." She looked over at her children. "All right, Lucia, let Blaise have his turn now."

"Good! It means they are doing their jobs." Drelasa smiled. To Catti-brie's confused look, she explained. "My late husband had headed the Armigers. Unfortunately, in a long, tangled plot that is a tale for another time, he was killed last year. The Armigers needed a spymaster and I had already been working with Jorun so I continued on."

"Ah." She nodded. "It probably would be a good thing if no one outside of a spy network knew about them."

"The name is not unfamiliar in Morrowind." Drelasa said. "They were originally a military branch that answered to Vivec. 'Vivec's finest, fleet and fit. Besting heretic by sword and Ordinator by wit. Sworn to live a life of noble grace, except to laugh in danger's face.' When Vivec was thrown down and gone, they turned to a new profession. Most believe they are scouts for the military now but that is merely a front."

"At least outwardly a more...noble calling than the other spy network I know about," Ravenlight muttered.

Drizzt stifled a laugh. "They're not really spies...but I do have to agree with you on that."

"You remember how I was so emphatic that I did not want Jarlaxle here, for any reason?" She faced the others. "He leads a mercenary group, called Breagan D'earth. They used to be centered in the Underdark; but he made it to the surface somehow, discovered that kinslaying and habitual treachery aren't considered pastimes up there, and decided to move his operation. He's got agents in nearly every city and town up there now, they're almost like cockroaches-which is extremely annoying to me, in the times I'm over there and wandering on my own, because I never know when that-fetcher is going to show up to try and pester me into working a job for him-especially when he halfway blackmails me into doing it half the time."

Drizzt arched an eyebrow. "I didn't know about that..."

"No, because he never tells you, and I'm usually so mad at him by the time it's over I'm ready to kill a troll with my bare hands, so I don't come near you until I've cooled down."

"Bonus points for the Dunmeri curse there." Nevano said. "Though you are making me want to really meet this one."

Ravenlight shook her head. "I'm tempted. Though I'm not sure if it's worth it: I'm unusual, but not a tip-off. A Dark Elf that isn't a Drow is...far more unusual. I don't want him asking any more questions than he usually does. Anyway." She waved a hand. "We got sidetracked."

"We did." Veleth motioned for Nevano to shush again. "So now we have a spy network on the move...but alma wasn't done throwing surprises around. She also knew of two Redoran generals in town and got them to round up their men and any other soldier in town so now there's a Dunmer army headed to High Rock. One of which is the rather crusty general Nevusa mentioned earlier, the one she serves under. She also sent a clear warning to the queen of Morrowind to butt out."

"Was that necessary?" Catti-Brie raised an eyebrow.

"Yes." Every Dunmer in the room answered at once. Ravenlight stifled a laugh.

"Ah, my dear, Morrowind recently underwent a massive political upheaval." Drelasa said. "The queen herself is young. She isn't quite the problem. It's the one behind her. Her mother is an evil, conniving snake that came slithering back once all the hard work had been done to try and take credit from a dead man and then attempted to silence those who protested...but was convinced to sit her outwitted ass down when her assassins were returned to her. In a bag. In her bed chamber. On her pillow. By sending the message to the queen directly, I am training her to start to make decisions for herself instead of turning to her mother to ask when to breathe. She apparently is learning, for she sent mages along with the soldiers. Improvement. I hope."

"I take it you're responsible for sending the assassins back," a voice said from the door behind them. Nearly everyone jumped, except Ravenlight, who realized she'd half-guessed he was listening about the time she'd started grumbling about Jarlaxle.

"Finished your staring contest, then?" She looked back at Zaknafein. "Come on in and sit down; there's a ways to go yet."

Zak chose a spot that wasn't near the others, but he came in and sat down.

"I don't go looking for them but when I find one hiding in my house..." Drelasa tilted her head. "Well, he wasn't hiding by the time I got home. My dog found him first. He wasn't expecting Lady. The next night they went after my son...while his wife and child were in the house. They have since learned the errors of their ways. "

This earned her a curious look...and an approving nod.

"After getting all we could in Blacklight, we were ready to leave, though we had some fun with that." Veleth smirked.

Ravenlight grinned at Catti-Brie. "After this, I'll show you the dress I was wearing. And show you a few images I have of Azura, the patron of Morrowind and the Dunmer."

"We got every Dunmer thinking Ravenlight was Azura's avatar, riding on a unicorn through town, with Drizzt dressed to impressed on a skeleton horse." Veleth could not stop the wicked grin at the memory. "Then she called Odahviing right in front of Rootspire, where every politician could see and hear.

"Odahviing?" Zaknafein frowned in confusion.

"Oh, that's right, I never told you. He's a dragon; used to be Alduin's right...wing, I guess would be the accurate term. Dragons respect strength, so when I sent that spiky black wretch running, he wasn't slow in transferring that loyalty to me." Ravenlight shrugged. "Since I did proceed to kill Alduin not long after...he's stayed loyal."

"After we made sure everyone was thoroughly impressed, we came here." Veleth said. "Greeted by recent news of Thalmor passing through. Ravenlight went to talk to dragons while we dealt with Molag Bal's newest challenges."

"Talk to dragons?" Both Catti-Brie and Zak's eyebrows rose at that, and there was a slight sound from around the door that suggested other listeners.

"Recruit," Ravenlight clarified. "I defeated Alduin; I am the Dovahjud, the Dragon Queen. I called them from across Skyrim and then challenged them to help fight the hordes of Molag Bal. Some agreed to take on the vampires on their own; ten actually agreed to fight alongside us. As for Molag Bal's latest challenge..." she eyed the others. "I'd like a little clarification on that, considering what I came home to."

"It was what's called a titan." Veleth said. "Basically, a dragon that long ago was taken by Molag Bal and...experimented on. It's twisted beyond all reason but it's still very, very powerful. And it's not the only one. There are plenty others in the realms of Oblivion." He continued. "Boethiah has one too. Though she treats him like a pet I noticed...a pet she lets eat other daedra that displease her."

"Be warned," Drizzt said, "they breathe fire-and it's not normal flame. Icingdeath protected me well enough that I wasn't killed, but..."

"Horrendous burns," Ravenlight said flatly. "All over every inch of exposed skin and every single tiny join in his armor. We got him healed up, but it took a full day before he recovered completely from that."

Veleth and Nevano winced in sympathy.

"While Drizzt was recovering..." Veleth said. "We started connecting the dots over just what was happening because none of this was making any sense. We started to connect events that happened both recent and in the past few years. Turns out, this is not just some evil armor in an old crumbling ruin. This isn't about vampires. This is about the most rage-filled vampire to exist being used by Molag Bal, using the Thalmor, all arguing over the most powerful objects in Tamriel. We basically were tossed into the most dangerous game I can possibly think of while the Daedra Lords are actually scared that we won't succeed."

"To elaborate...there are what's known as Towers all over Tamriel." Veleth continued on. "They've been there since creation really. All of them have keys. Without the keys, they cannot be used. Some keys have been lost, some towers have been destroyed. Most are this way...except one. Ada-mantia. In High Rock."

"There is something in the ruin that the Mistress was using to amplify her call, reaching all the vampires across Tamriel," Ravenlight said. "Turns out that this item is called the 'Beacon of Death'. It's either the key to the Tower, or the key to the key, that part was not entirely clear. Either way, it's an item of unbelievable power, used to unlock a place that has more ties to creation than the Moth Priests' entire library of Elder Scrolls."

"It wasn't always a Beacon of Death." Drelasa said sadly. "Jorun found out more for me. It once something called Lattanya, the Light of Life. The Ayleids used it to grow plants and heal illnesses. This ruin, Erokii, was once the greatest Ayleid city in the northern parts of Tamriel. It was corrupted when the city was destroyed in a very bloody conflict, becoming Abagandra, the Lightless Remnant. The great spire, the ruins you were in, is now known as Doomcrag. It was built very similar in design to Ada-mantia, which made many believe it was a failed tower but Jorun seems to think it was built in likeness because it housed the key to the real tower; Lattanya. How the armor came to reside in the ruins, I do not know. Nor does Jorun. But it can't be sheer coincidence. Jorun was highly concerned that the key is corrupted...what will happen if a corrupt key is used on the tower?"

"Nothing good," Zak grunted. "I wouldn't be surprised if this armor was housed there deliberately...perhaps even because this key was there."

"And I think...I can guess what might happen to the tower if the corrupted key is used." Serana spoke quietly. "You said you used the Bow of Auri-El on vampires in Vvardenfell; the great power of the Bow, I would imagine? Well...there was a way to...corrupt, and darken, the Bow, so that its power would, rather than calling down the Sun, actually...put it out." She hesitated. "It required the blood of a Daughter of Coldharbour. Like me. I think...using the corrupted key on the Tower would have a very similar effect."

"Or worse." Drelasa said. "I'm not saying that to be doom and gloom. Not even the Daedra Lords OR the Divines know what this tower does. It predates even them. This could rewrite history entirely."

"We were already considering the possibility that Molag Bal is trying to set himself up over the other Daedra as king," Ravenlight pointed out. "And that doing so might throw the balance of this entire plane of existence off-balance so badly it could destroy it completely… leaving him free to move over to another world and start wreaking havoc there." She looked at Catti-Brie. "And...your world is closest, of all of them."

"Oh and it gets better and better." Veleth said. "We've been gathering every ally, friend, acquaintance, friend of a friend of a friend of the dog that lived down the road twelve years ago. We were starting to feel pretty good but then, of course, a loop was thrown. Earlier today, when my mother decided to scare the piss out of everything within several leagues...we ran across a group of Molag Bal worshippers opening a damn portal to summon a few daedroth! Daedroth are Bal's minions. Look like the swamp reptiles that live in Black Marsh. Long mouth filled with sharp teeth. Oh! Here. Almost forgot." Veleth tossed a cloth bag that clacked to Ravenlight, who caught it out of the air. "Daedroth teeth. Useful in alchemy. Anyway, we were a bit busy killing giant demon reptiles that the cultists ran off. Since the Oblivion Crisis, no Daedra Lord can invade the mortal plane. BUT if they are summoned in small numbers? No problem. So they are being summoned in bits at a time. Just great."

"And," said Ravenlight grimly, "it looks like it's not just random Molag Bal worshipers. That Elf you were glaring at earlier?" She glanced at Zak. "He's that reasonable Thalmor I mentioned close to the start of this. The Revered dragon I had patrolling the edges of the vampire army found him and the ones most loyal to him staked out in a kind of rough shed about halfway between the town and the ruin, each one with a number of shallow cuts across their limbs. He...mentioned it to me in a dream; not because he was at all interested in the fact that five people had been staked out as vampire bait, but because he was picking off any vampires that came close to investigate."

She shook her head. "I didn't remember what I'd been shown right away, because I had to head off a crisis the instant I woke up...but I did remember later. And immediately called Odahviing and another dragon to head back up there and retrieve them, because Thalmor or not, no one deserves to be staked out for vampires to tear apart. He told us right before I went to get you that the Thalmor power base is divided: and that two of them have been rounding up conjuration mages-mages who can summon creatures of Oblivion-for different purposes. One might actually be working with Molag Bal; the other is almost assuredly partnering with other Daedric princes and summoning creatures that are not affiliated with Bal-which would all be just fine, if these creatures actually cared about whoever got caught in the crossfire." Her eyes were grim. "And after that lovely little debacle from your world, concerning those utter idiots and their possessed jewelry, I don't think I have to spell out how bad that is."

"No," Zak and Catti-Brie said at the same time, both with similar expressions, "you don't."

Farkas looked mildly confused. "I didn't know there were any reasonable Thalmor."

"I'm fairly sure that a few years ago, people would have said the same thing about reasonable werewolves," Ravenlight pointed out mildly.

He considered this, then nodded. "Guess that makes sense."

"So, we are looking at not only an invasion of demons, a take over of exceedingly powerful vampires and a war between them and gods..." Veleth said flatly. "We also are looking at the destruction of our world and quite possibly a few others. No pressure."

Zak looked over at Ravenlight. "So you weren't exaggerating," he said.

"Nope." She grimaced. "Might have been understating it, in fact."

"Just lacking ash vampires and a soul-eating dragon." Nevano said.

"Please don't tempt fate," Ravenlight growled. "I already know we're going to have to involve Durnehviir in some way, and I'm not really happy about that."

"I wouldn't worry too much. You and I destroyed the towers associated with that." Nevano said. "Inadvertently but successful all the same."

"Red Mountain might be a smoldering crater," Ravenlight pointed out, "but if 'Snow Throat' is the Throat of the World and not just the Greybeard's monastery, then it is very much still standing. Though I will admit, Alduin is very dead...and even better, he died in Sovngarde, so there's no way to find some fragment to try and resurrect him from."

"Red Mountain still stands. It's still an active volcano." Nevano pointed out. "A bit difficult to destroy a mountain. Ours just happens to spew fire and ash. You destroyed the tower by killing Alduin and I did by destroying the Heart. The tower itself remains but we destroyed the keys. That tends to ruin a bit. But, as we both found out, destroying a key isn't easy. It nearly killed us. One because your key liked to move around and bite and mine because the monster that claimed it also liked to bite. Oh wait this key has biting things around it too..."

"I think the point Nevano can't seem to focus on here is this; destroying the key will solve quite a bit but it'll take an enormous amount of effort." Veleth said. "This tower is supposedly more powerful than Red and Snow. Destroying the key just might cost more than blood, if it even can be destroyed. There's still one thing that's bothering me..."

"Which would be?"

"When the Heart was put back together, that Thalmor battlemage said something that didn't really stick until now." Veleth frowned. "He said 'power cannot be destroyed. The shell was broken but the power remains.' I thought he was rambling because the power they put back in it was powered by stolen souls, corrupting it badly. Couldn't be near the thing without wanting to be sick. But with the destruction of these keys and towers...where did that power go?"

"A fair question," Ravenlight said. "I saw what happened to Alduin, despite being barely conscious at the time: his energy was absorbed directly into the Aurbis. Whether he's actually gone or not, I don't know. And I don't know if the...same thing happened with the Heart of Lorkhan."

"Could have been because of where you killed him." Veleth said. "You were already at the edge of Aetherius."

"You are worried that the power of these other keys went to Ada-Mantia, aren't you?" Nevano said.

"I'm starting to wonder if destroying the key will have worse consequences than letting them have it." Veleth said.

Catti-Brie pursed her lips. "There is something, back in our world, that could hold the key safe without destroying it," she said slowly, "and perhaps even keep it safe for...if not eternity, than for a few thousand more years. And the way the portal stones work, we'd be able to take the key and remove it there without danger of anything else trying to interfere with it."

Veleth nodded. "We'll see what happens. That might be the best thing to do."

"Either that or we give it to Durnehviir and let him haul it into the Soul Cairn," Ravenlight muttered.

"I suppose we'll have a clearer idea what to do once we see it." Veleth said. "For all we know, it's a pebble. Or an enormous thing that makes you vomit if you get within fifteen paces of it. But we have plans. That's something at least."

"It's better than what we had previously." Ravenlight sighed and stood. "All right. I don't know how long it's going to take the Jarls to get their collective rears in motion, and some of them will take longer than others...so, rather than fret about that all day, I am going to do something productive. We've got several people who could use new sets of armor, so I am going down to the forge in the cellar to start working on that. And Nevano, I don't know how you managed to get that filthy, but your armor is disgusting. Go get some clean clothes on and give that to me; I'll get it cleaned up while I'm working down there."

Nevano sighed. "That...would have been the daedroth that threw me into the swamp."

"Well, however it happened, you're muddy to the ears and it's starting to stink." She jerked her hand. "There's a bath chamber over beside the greenhouse; you go get some hot water there and clean up. But I want that armor. It's not just dirty, it's starting to get torn, and you're going to want it in perfect condition before we're thrown up against half of Oblivion as well as Thalmor and vampires."

Drizzt stood. "Ravenlight, if you don't mind...the Companions will only go so long before they're ready to kill each other unless there's something for them to fight. I'm going to go find a spot to set up a decent sparring arena, without threatening damage to the house or any surrounding structures."

Nevano grumbled heavily about his armor not being torn but, at a touch from Serana, got up to obey.

Ravenlight also nodded at Drizzt. "That's a good idea. Keep them in line and training, and...not a bad place to let the others start building their strength up, too." She glanced over to where Gyrmallion and the other three Altmer warriors had been trying to lurk. "There's practice armor and and spare weapons downstairs that you can borrow. Oh, and uhiel, make it very clear to Companions and all that bumps and bruises are expected during training, but anything that will actually have to be healed, I will not be happy about."

Drelasa stood. "No need to fret about that, dear. I'll be out there. As you said, we are about to go against half of Oblivion. I need to practice as well. Destruction spells work only so well. I just need someone willing to actually spar."

"You'll have quite a few volunteers." Ravenlight glanced over at Drizzt. "In fact, before you and Zak wear yourselves out against each other, why don't you sound her out, test her and see what she's capable of?"

"I like the sound of that." Drelasa stood. "I shall meet you out there."

Veleth started to leave with the rest of them but Nevusa hooked his shirt with a finger. "Where are you going?"

"To get the rest of my armor?"

"I don't think so. You've gotten tore up enough today." She poked him in the chest, right next to stitches, making him wince. "You got your spar today with a Daedra Lord. Sit."

"Oh, let him go watch." Ravenlight was grinning. "I'd go myself...but I really do need to get that armor made. And you two, you go watch too. Zak taught Drizzt. Watching those two go at each other is a sight well worth seeing."

"Just need to put a rock on his back to keep him from getting too excited." Nevusa grinned. "These soldiers just can't seem to resist sometimes."

"Have Farkas sit on him," Ravenlight said with a grin. She shifted over to let the Altmer go past, each one wearing simple armor and carrying the steel swords she often made for practice. "And don't get carried away, or I will take Elealda to gather spider silk to stitch you lot up with."

Veleth made a face at the suggestion but Nevusa giggled.

Nevano trudged back in, looking slightly chastised, carrying his armor. Apparently Serana had managed to talk him out of all pieces of his armor. Including the boots. Veleth recoiled in horror at the stench wafting from them.

"Will you please just get new boots?" He asked.

"They're lucky." Nevano insisted.

Ravenight wrinkled her nose, but shrugged. "I've actually seen worse. Though Speckle typically made sure that if my brother's shoes got too stinky, they vanished forever. I don't know why she liked them that much...but I do know a few ways to get rid of the smell, because she'd steal mine, too."

"Lady refuses to touch his boots." Veleth started to beat a hasty retreat.

"You just have a thing about boots."

"Go slog in a swamp after Argonians for four years and tell me you wouldn't have a thing about boots after that!" Veleth shot as he bolted outside.

"He might have a point." Ravenlight took the armor, carrying the boots gingerly between two fingers. "And they need to be repaired, too. Don't worry, you'll get the same boots back."

She grinned. "Go on out; with those two sparring, it's going to be pretty impressive."

Nevano nodded. "Would not mind getting to appreciate those swords without dodging daedra at the same time."

---

(And three years after Hero, since we still haven't met the baby, I am taking creative liberty with Drizzt and Cattie-Brie's baby. So. Alustra she is!)