Make sure you have tissues cause I myself cried a little bit as I was writing the end of this chapter. This is where things are going to get interesting from this point on. i hope you enjoy the latest chapter!

Chapter 19 – The Last Clue

Dear Martin,

I actually have some good news. I went to see Tar-Meena and she told me to pay attention to the first letter in some of the paragraphs. She said that a hidden message would be found. And she was right.

Make sure to tell this information to Jauffre. The message that I found was "Green Emperor Way Where Tower Touches Midday Sun."

From what I can understand, something has to happen at noon and I am thinking that it has to be near the Imperial Palace as it has a tower. But I can't confirm this just yet. I'll be seeing Tar-Meena tomorrow so that I can uncover the final clue. I wish that she didn't have to keep telling me to wait until the next day to see her, but she has been a good help.

Thank you for letting me know what to expect when I get to the shrine. And of course I wouldn't dare perform a sacrifice. And don't worry. I bought a hooded robe when I was doing my little shopping spree. I should be able to hide the best I can.

I knew you believed in me, Martin. I know Steffan and Jauffre do too. I won't let you down.

You're right…we are one step closer.

Sonja

When I returned to the Arcane University the next morning, Bothiel had told me that Tar-Meena wasn't there and that she wasn't going to be back until after 1pm.

Damn it.

At least I knew what time she was going to be back. In the meantime, it gave me the opportunity to finish the Thoronir investigation.

All I learned was that he was working with a man named Agarmir, who seemed like he had his own secrets and so he became the new suspect.

I returned to the Talos Plaza District and stood in front of his house until he opened the door and came out. I walked up to him as soon as he did. "Um, excuse me?"

"Yea?" Agarmir didn't have the best manners.

"Pardon me," I said. "But I was wondering if you would answer some questions about Thoronir."

"I don't know anybody by that name," he said. "Now go away. I have better things to do."

And he just walked away. Just by his attitude, I knew that he was hiding something. So I had to find another way to see if he was up to anything. Unfortunately, the only other way to do so was to break into his house.

I picked the lock and made it inside before the guards could see me breaking in. Akatosh, forgive me. I wish there had been another way.

Basements, generally, are a good way to stash anything that was secret. So I picked the lock to Agarmir's basement. When I got to the bottom of the stairs, I saw something horrific.

There were skeleton bones and clothing scattered all over the place. There was a book sitting on a desk with a whole bunch of candles called the "Macabre Manifest". When I opened the book, I was horrified by what I was reading.

It was now clear to me that the inventory in Thoronir's shop came from the recently deceased and that Agarmir had been digging graves in order to get the stuff!

"Thoronir! We need to talk!" I slammed the book on top of the counter and it made Thoronir jump.

"Wh – What is this?" said Thoronir. "Where did you find this?"

"Read it," I said.

Thoronir started flipping through the pages and was in disbelief. "I don't understand…what does all this mean?"

"Look, I don't know if you never knew about this or if you are just covering for Agarmir," I said. "But your inventory was taken from the dead and Agarmir has been digging their graves! And you have been selling these things to people for cheap prices!"

Suddenly I saw Thoronir's eyes fill with tears. "I…I can't believe what I'm seeing in this book. I'm mortified!"

"You…didn't know about this?"

"No, of course not! If I had known, I never would have…oh, Zenithar, forgive me! What have I done?" Tears were streaming down his eyes at this point.

All Thoronir wanted to do was have a good business. But he was naive. He never meant to hurt anyone at all. I felt bad for him. And perhaps I was wrong to accuse him of anything.

I put a hand on his shoulder. "Agarmir was setting you up to fail. He used you, Thoronir. If you want respect from the other shopkeepers and if you want to have a fair business, you need to stop seeing him."

Thoronir sniffed and pulled out a handkerchief. "You're right. I'll never meet with him again. I can't even look at that book. I guess an apology is not enough. Please, tell me what can I do to make it up to everyone?"

"Help me catch Agarmir," I said.

"I remember him mentioning a place he had to be this very day," he said. "He said that he wouldn't be able to do anything else, as he had something important to do. Wait…you don't think he would…oh no."

"He's probably going to dig up another grave," I said. "Don't worry. I'm going to stop him."

"In the meantime, I'll decide what to do with all of these ill-gotten things!"

Surrounding the Imperial Palace was a wide grass area decorated with gravestones. So I figured that was where Agarmir was going. I was hearing from other people that the Trentius Family Mausoleum had been broken into. Clever. He knew that he couldn't be seen digging graves in the daylight so he chose a mausoleum instead.

I went to the now opened mausoleum and went inside. And there was Agarmir along with someone else I didn't know. But they sure were digging a grave.

"Give it up, Agarmir!" I said. "You know the penalty for grave robbing. You might as well surrender."

"Oh it's you," said Agarmir." And perfect timing."

"What are you talking about?"

"You see, I had a feeling you'd catch on sooner or later. That's why I had this trap prepared for you. If you'll notice, the grave is already dug. This time it wasn't to take something from the graveyard, it was to add something instead."

"Where are you going with this?" I asked.

"I'm afraid all I can offer you, Imperial, is an unmarked grave."

Suddenly Agarmir unsheathed an enchanted blade. Once more, I was unarmed. But I did train myself in hand to hand combat and on top of that, I had magic.

Agarmir's friend came at me first and I shot him with several fireballs, weakening him enough to give me the chance to stab him with his own sword. With the blade still in my hands, I used it in my duel with Agarmir.

He tried to make me into the empty grave. In fact, that is what he had been trying to do the whole time we fought. Unfortunately he managed to get me in there. But there was still hope left. I found a huge rock in the casket and as Agarmir was about to end me, I threw the rock at his head, killing him. The penalty of grave robbing was death anyway. I got out of the casket and picked up Agarmir's shovel to use as proof that it was he who committed the crime.

When I returned to the Market District and shower the shovel to both Thoronir and Jensine, things turned out better than I thought.

Thoronir replaced his stocks with more carefully obtained items with fair prices and he donated his old inventory and all the money he made to the temple. In addition, he became the newest member of the Society, earning respect from Jensine. Thoronir gifted me with an enchanted ring and Jensine rewarded me in gold for helping them.

I returned to the Arcane University and thankfully Tar-Meena had returned.

"I apologize for not being here earlier, Sonja," she said. "But I do have good news. I think I may have figured out part of the hidden message." She pulled out a piece of paper and showed it to me. "I've only been able to find the first four words since I only had the first two books."

"Not to worry," I said. "I've been doing my own studying and I found the complete message." I took out the paper that I used to write down the message and showed it to Tar-Meena. "Green Emperor Way Where Tower Touches Midday Sun."

"Are you familiar with Green Emperor Way?" she asked.

"Not really."

"The gardens around the Imperial Palace. Something must be revealed there at noon. How exciting!"

I gasped. "I knew it…I knew it! I knew it had to be somewhere there! Wait…damn it. I was just there recently and now it's barely past noon."

"It's not too late, Sonja," she said. Then her eyes widened a little. "Wait. I just thought of something."

"What is it?"

"You may want to check the tomb of Prince Camarril. It stands near the entrance to the Talos Plaza District. Sometimes I would walk by there and in certain that it has markings that glow red. I don't know if they start glowing at noon, but it's a good place to check."

"I will keep that in mind," I said before shaking her hand. "Thank you for all of your help, Tar-Meena."

"I'm glad I could help," said Tar-Meena. "Good luck, Sonja. I hope you find what you're looking for."

Now that I had solved the final clue, I returned to my hotel room and started packing my things so that I could leave as soon as I check out the tomb that Tar-Meena talked about.

As I packed my bags, Augusta knocked on my door. When I opened it, she had another letter from Martin in her hands. I told her that I would be leaving the hotel the next day. She gave me the letter before thanking me for being one of her guests.

After she left, I opened Martin's letter.

Dear Sonja,

This is great news! I knew you could do it. We all did.

There was something I had forgotten to mention in my last letter. If you go undercover, you'll have to remember how to greet a member of the Mythic Dawn. Some of them may greet you with either "Dawn is breaking" or "Greet the new day." If you don't want to make them too suspicious, it would be easier to just reply with simply "Greet the new day".

There was something that Jauffre and I had been discussing earlier. I don't know if you will like it. But please trust me.

I'm not sure if you packed the vial that Count Hassildor gave you, but if you did, I think…I think you should drink it.

There could be a chance that Mankar Camoran, himself, may be alive and he may be present when you get to the shrine. If he is alive, he will be very powerful. As an Aetherial, you may be able to best him in combat. I can't promise that you would be his match, but I believe that you would be strong enough to confront him. But only if you drink the vial.

It is your choice, my friend. I know you don't care about power. And I know that the thought of thirsting for blood frightens you. Trust me, I felt it when we were in Skingrad. But if you are going to retrieve the Amulet of Kings, you must do what is necessary to prepare yourself. Even if that means accepting your true nature.

I am just giving you my opinion. The final choice is yours.

Sonja,…please promise me that you will return to Cloud Ruler Temple immediately after you get the Amulet. To be honest, I care more about your safety than I do the Amulet.

I'll be waiting for you.

Martin

I laid in bed for most of the night thinking about Martin's letter and processing every word that he said. The more I processed it, the more I actually wanted to consider drinking the vial. I didn't know you why he was concerned my safety when he was the one the Mythic Dawn were after. I was conflicted. Yes, he was going to become the Emperor and because of our differences in classes, I had to fight my attraction towards him. But after reading his letter, I was starting to feel in my gut that he genuinely cared about me. Even when he was a priest and I was a prisoner, he cared about me. And now even as a prince, he demonstrated that he still cared.

When I woke up the next morning, I got up, got dressed, ate and then made my way to Green Emperor Way in the Palace District.

The tomb of Prince Camarril was near the door just as Tar-Meena had said. The sun wasn't above the tower yet so I knew that it was going to be a long wait. I sat in front of one of the tombstones and just repeatedly reread Martin's letter. Every letter that he had sent me since I first came to the Imperial City was comforting. Was it wrong to call his letters comforting? I don't know. Perhaps it wasn't.

It was getting brighter so I knew that the sun was close to hitting the top of the tower. Suddenly a red glowing mark appeared on the tomb just like what Tar-Meena said. It was a picture of what looked like a rising or setting sun and underneath was a map of Cyrodiil. I stood up and slowly touched it. The image started to change and a star appeared on the map near the city of Cheydinhal.

I had found the location of the Mythic Dawn's shrine to Mehrunes Dagon at last.

I returned to my hotel room once more to finish packing the rest of my things.

Shortly after packing, I remembered that I still hadn't read the letter from my father that Jauffre gave me when I first learned of his death. I pulled it out from one of the bag's pockets and I just looked at it. Martin has said that both of our fathers had a reason to keep us protected even if that meant lying to us. But then he also said that I should forgive my father. I considered it. But I wasn't sure. But I wanted to see if the letter had the truth written in his own words. I opened the letter and started reading it.

My dearest daughter,

If you are reading this, it means that something has happened and that I will not be coming home. I was honored to have been in the Emperor's service. But I was hoping that I wouldn't have to go without seeing you one last time.

There are things that I never told you. Things that I've never been truly honest about. I should have told you while you were growing up. I don't even know how old you will be when you read this letter. But at this point, I can no longer hide this from you.

You and I are the last direct Aetherial descendants of Lin, the first of the Aetherials. Aetherials are humanoid brings that possess abilities of the Dragonborn and of the Vampire. I was able to use the Thu'um and live like a normal human being. But I also drank blood. I hope that explains why at times I would leave in the middle of the night.

That being said, you were born with the soul of a dragon. But the blood flowing through your veins is not vampiric.

If and only if you become curious about your heritage, go to Skingrad and request to speak with an old friend of mine, Count Janus Hassildor. He is your godfather and my Sire. You can trust him. He will tell you everything he knows.

I know you may be angry with me now that you know the truth. I will not blame you. I wanted to keep you protected. Sometimes people will never understand what is different. Keeping this from you has been breaking my heart for so long. I wish that I didn't have to lie to you. Your mother and your brother both tried to convince me to tell you, but I was afraid. But I'm not anymore.

Listen to me, Sonja. You were born to do great things. When I held you in my arms after you were born, I looked into your eyes and caught a glimpse of what may come to pass. I believe that you can become someone that the empire can depend on. I believe that you have the potential to overcome many obstacles and be the greatest warrior that Tamriel has ever seen.

But most of all, I believe that you can be a hero.

You are a blessing from Akatosh, himself. Just as your brother and mother were. You are a treasure. Never let anyone make you think otherwise. Never forget all the blessings the Nine have bestowed upon you.

You have a destiny to fulfill. And although the path ahead will be long, I know you will succeed. And I will be with you every step of the way.

Never forget how much I love you and that I will always love you. And I am so proud of you. For in my eyes,…you are already a hero.

May Akatosh watch over you and protect you in the days to come.

Forever in your heart,

Your father

By the time I finished reading the letter, tear drops had already fallen onto the paper. I chose to forgive my father and to truly embrace who I was.

I had packed the vial but I didn't plan on taking it out. But I decided to do so,

I took the top off of it and took several deep breaths. I knew that if I drank the vial, there would be no going back. But maybe it was the right thing to do because I wouldn't be doing it for power or strength. I would be doing it for my father, for Martin and for the people of Tamriel.

So I drank the vial without hesitation.

The only thing I can remember was blacking out and then waking up shortly afterwards feeling as though I had been…reborn.