-Rawl'kha, Reapers March, Mage Guild-
The stillness of the air and the quiet, it was almost like a tomb. Viperish Night looks around. A mage guild but a strange one. Solid stone and a almost ancient air.
Zirasha glances around. "Rawl'kha in Reaper's March." she breaths.
Viperish Night freezes. So it's not utterly silent. She is here. Living breathing and in his space. Viperish Night slowly hisses and turns to her, snatching the books she holds and adding it to the one he had grabbed before entering the portal. Zirasha hisses at him back and the knife is suddenly in her hands and they stare at each other. Does she think she can take him?
"Gladiator," he says coldly. "As well as a necromancer. Try." his eyes narrow at her, this Altmer that dared follow him. Will she rush to her death? Give him a reason to silence her?
Zirasha sees her death in Viperish Night's eyes and she hisses once more before putting the knife away. "I can steal more for you, you know," she says. "I want gold... but I'll give you a discount for the death of every damn Imperial in Nirn."
"You do not like Imperials, do you?" Viperish Night asks studying her. The hatred in her eyes and curious enough fear as well. "You hate them and fear them," he states.
With an animistic snarl, Zirasha springs at him the knife back in her hands. Viperish Night moves like liquid, dodging and grabbing her wrist disarming her in one second and the next second she's on the ground. Her eyes... now that hatred and fear are redirected at him. Viperish Night turns and walks away. He needs to leave this mage guild before more mages come...though in a way he almost wishes they would...
Zirasha scrambles up, scooping up her knife and following him. "You want to be caught too," she insists as she catches up to him. "Just so you can have an excuse to kill them."
"Excuse?" Viperish Night says. "I am going to end them all, so what use is an excuse for?" he finds a side door and opens it, glancing out at the evening light before slinking out.
Zirasha darts around him and out the door. "Coming?" she asks him.
Viperish Night shuts the door. "Why would I come with you?" he says. "I have utterly no use for the living."
"Because," Zirasha says turning around, "I can find you a quiet little house that has not been occupied in some time. I am a thief, I know how to tell how long it's been since someones been in any given location." she turns back adds. "And I already told you, I want to watch."
Viperish Night stalks closer to her until he's practically breathing over her shoulder. "It is not just Imperials that I will end and set free from their madness," he whispers.
Zirasha shrugs. "Kill the Altmer too if you want. I hate them as well. And as for all the others? I really do not care." she says.
Viperish Night is silent for a few long moments. She is Altmer...yet she hates them. "Why?" he asks, curious.
Zirasha frowns as Viperish Night's tone changes. It had been cold, only when he threatened the mage did she catch even a hint of emotion. But now he sounded curious. She turns and gazes at him. "Perfection, the Altmer demanded it. I hated it...so I went to efforts to make myself less than perfect. They predictably rejected me." Zirasha's finger traces the scar down her face.
Viperish Night looks close at it and tilts his head. "You mutilated yourself," he says.
And now he was puzzled. "Why not?" Zirasha says. "I got what I wanted out of it." Zirasha changes the subject. "You said, everyone. Even..." she gestures at his tail. Viperish Night's eyes fill with utter hate. "Ah," Zirasha says. "We have that in common then. Now follow me." she turns and walks along the outskirts of Rawl'kha. This was a job... but she found Viperish Night curious. He seemed so emotionless, but was he? Perhaps not... for he was following her.
-Rawl'kha, Reapers March-
Night had fallen and Zirasha had pulled the curtains closed, so the light from the candles would not be seen by anyone too curious for their own good. She had settled down in a corner on a Khajiit cushion after brushing the dust off. Viperish Night had glared at her for long moments before summoning a Senche-Tiger skeleton, which now rested in front of the table Viperish Night had thrown the books down upon, along with a small clay pot.
Viperish Night glances at Zirasha, who seems to be asleep. He should kill her. The Senche would do it in a moment. But...Viperish Night tilts his head. She was curious and the hatred in her eyes mirrored his. Still, he would not trust her, he would never trust anyone again. Hence, the Senche-Tiger who would end her curious existence if she tried to kill him. His eyes fall back to the table, where to start first? The book on the Dark Brotherhood was open to the chapter that detailed how to enact the Black Sacrament to summon them. The clay pot sat nearby, taunting him with the promise of memories, and then there were the books he had taken from Zirasha, written about necromancy and forbidden magic and one about mythic relics and artifacts. Viperish Night slowly frowns. That one was out of place among the rest, and so he sets it aside. And lastly, was the book he had taken at the last minute. It is this he pulls toward him. There is a painted illustration of a portal, the very same one he saw from the memory crystal. Viperish Night flips it over, it's a journal by someone called Loremaster Celarus. Viperish Night's eyes scan the words. Psijic Order, located in someplace called Artaeum. Viperish Night stares at the book. How had something like this been just laying around the Wayrest Mage Guild? He opens to the portal illustration and his confusion only grows. The book claims the strange deep blue and cerulean portals had been time breaches, caused by this staff and closed by the order. Why had...Stalks-In-Darkness and mentor come through one? Viperish Night hisses and puts the journal down. It makes utterly no sense. Viperish Night leans back against the wall and closes his eyes. Sleep has been tugging at him for...he's not sure how long he has last slept. The Marsh in all likelihood, and so he sleeps.
It's only a few hours later that Viperish Night wakes again. He has only slept a few hours at a time since leaving Oblivion's Isle. And so he pulls the relic book toward him and starts reading, and only pauses when the Senche skeleton utters a warning growl. Viperish Night looks up to see Zirasha stalking toward him. She sits at the table and just stares at him with a look of intense concentration in her eyes. Viperish Night turns his eyes back to his book.
"So you will ignore me?" Zirasha asks.
"That, or have my Senche eat you." Viperish Night says as he flips through the book.
Zirasha slams her hands on the table and the Senche is up in a moment, knocking her to the floor. "Put your pet outside!" Zirasha says. "I want to ask you something, face to damn face."
Viperish Night rises and steps around the table, his eyes looking down at Zirasha. The Senche backs off, though not outside. Just to the front door, where it lies down keeping its glowing blue eyes locked onto Zirasha
Zirasha rises and stares at Viperish Night. "What is wrong with you?" she spits.
Viperish Night tilts his head. "Wrong? Is wanting to kill everyone wrong?" he asks.
"That is not what I mean," Zirasha says.
"Then what is it you mean?" Viperish Night asks his eyes narrowing. "And hurry up. I am reading."
Zirasha jolts forward and places a hand on Viperish Night's chest, he grabs her wrist in his hand, his claws sinking into her flesh as he hisses. "I should kill you after all."
"Your alive," Zirasha says. "So why are you acting like the dead? So cold and utterly without emotion." she stares into his eyes. "I know it's an act. I can see the cracks. When you grabbed that mage, the fact you're curious about me, the hate in your eyes."
Viperish Night stares into Zirasha's eyes and it is his own eyes that are reflected at him. He releases her wrist and steps backward before moving to the window to glance out at the night. "It is who I am now," he says.
"Sure it is," Zirasha says. "I spent my life wearing a mask. Only when I ripped the knife down my face did I rip the mask off, for good. I know when someone is hiding everything. Or am I wrong?" she stalks closer to him, not sure why she's trying to provoke a reaction from Viperish Night. It's not in her orders. Her orders were to bring him a certain book, the very one he had been reading before she started poking him. Perhaps because he acted like he was already dead. It unnerved her. Pissed her off. If he was going to kill everyone, he should at least enjoy it. "What's wrong? Did the other Argonian's call you names? Is that why you want to kill even them?"
Viperish Night whirls and turns on her faster than she can react. His claws wrap around her neck as he slams her against the wall, his eyes filled with hate. "They rejected me for being HATCHED." he snarls. "I am nothing but an abomination, the Hist itself declared me as less then Saxhleel. My egg-parents either abandoned me or gave me to a monster unless that monster IS my father. WHY SHOULD I SUFFER THEM TO LIVE?"
Zirasha's hands come up and grip Viperish Night's claws. "I guess...we differ there. You did not want to be rejected, did you? I did." Viperish Night's claws relax a fraction and it's suddenly easier to breathe. "What did the rest of the damn world do to deserve the same fate then?" she asks. "Not that I mind, mind you."
"There is a reason I do not trust anyone." Viperish Night softly, dangerously says. "Everyone I trusted betrayed me or died. This world and the living in it have done nothing but make me suffer. Make others suffer. They cheer for it, in fact."
"And you want to kill them all," Zirasha says with a laugh. "And you must enjoy it. Must enjoy watching them fall when you stand over them with the knife."
"I do not..." Viperish Night trails off, thinking back. The Lion Guard, the things he said to their Commander. He drops Zirasha and stumbles back.
"It's not a bad thing," Zirasha says, holding her hand to her neck as small trails of blood run down it. "It's a good thing. Making them die and suffer is one thing. It's utterly wasted if you don't enjoy it."
Viperish Night sinks to the floor, his eyes closing as a tremor runs through him. The night that his collar broke and he raised the undead. He acted as if he was one of them. Just stood there as an icy statue as the dead acted on his desires and murdered every living thing on the island, including his friends.
Zirasha kneels by him. "So let me guess. You killed someone close to you. And you either enjoyed it, or utterly despaired over it, both which don't fit into what you were or what you are, so you pretended you felt nothing and went forward in your unholy mission pretending you have zero emotions." she says.
Viperish Night's eyes slowly open and he raises his head to look at Zirasha. "In one night, I murdered an entire island." he hisses. "Every single slaver, every single traveler that came there to watch slaves kill for them, die for them. Every single slave in bondage. Even the animals and plants. They all died." Viperish Night rises and Zirasha rises with him. "And I murdered my friends as well." Viperish Night utters. "Each and every last one of them." He stalks forward and Zirasha backs up until she hits the wall. "It was very very bad," he says softly. "It was monstrous. An act of sheer brutality and evil. I became something I had fought my whole life NOT to be. I let go on PURPOSE. I let the icy river take me, I let the dark magic have my soul." he leans in, his fangs gleaming in the candlelight. "And for the first time in my miserable existence, I felt utterly free and powerful enough to stop anyone from causing me harm ever again. So, yes Zirasha. I ENJOYED IT. I enjoyed watching them die. Even my friends. Because they could not stop me anymore from being free." Viperish Night turns and walks to the table. "And that was not something I could admit to myself," he says as he sits down. "Because I did love my friends, as I have loved my Rishima. But love brought me nothing but pain, for even those who love you will betray you, one way or the other."
"That was not so hard, was it?" Zirasha says as she flops on the floor and leans against the wall. "Be THIS Viperish Night. I like this one. Full of murder and hate. This world deserves all that and more." Zirasha looks up at Viperish Night. "Love... the Altmer don't love. They don't know how. All they know is how to be perfect. Let me come with you. Let me watch you silence them, murder them, end them. Whatever words you want to use for your planned genocide."
Viperish Night glances at Zirasha and slowly starts to smile. "I will not show you mercy, either," he remarks. "Your one of the living too."
Zirasha shrugs. "Kill me last then," she says and then her face turns puzzled. "I never once asked your name. I must be insane, I went off with a homicidal necromancer bent on worldwide genocide without even a name." she throws her head back and laughs.
"Viperish Night." Viperish Night says and turns his eyes back to the book. "Why did you steal this one?"
Zirasha shrugs. "It was with the rest of the books, and I was interrupted by a huge commotion. Your doing, of course. Do more of that." she looks slyly at him. "That's a yes then?"
Viperish Night tilts his head at her. "Follow me into the depths then. But if you betray me, I will kill you."
"As long as you enjoy it," Zirasha says. "Not that I plan on betrayal. I like your plans!" She lies down on the ground and glances over at the table. "What's up with the jar? Your eyes keep traveling back to it and then darting away again. You can't be scared of it it." Zirasha closes her eyes.
Viperish Night tilts his head and he strolls to the table and grips the jar in his claws. Why would he be scared of it? What could the Hist show him that would be worse than the rejection he already suffered from it? Viperish Night heads to the bedroom the Senche rising to follow and guard him. Viperish Night glances at the window and up to the heavens above. How much he had changed, it had thrown him. "No cost?" he snarls softly. His former mentor had claimed the cost for using necromancy would be so much less for him. Another thing he lied about, another thing to kill him over. Although... it was not so bad being this Viperish Night. And with that thought, he upends the jar of Hist sap in his mouth and falls onto the bed. The darkness seems to glow, motes of light drifting over his vision as his eyes shutter closed and he slips into memories, not of his own.
The bubbling of Hist sap, a glowing pool of orange gel in which eggs rested. The Hist tree roots cradled the egg-nest and stretched far beyond it, embedded in the cave walls and sinking deep into the earth. Orange and yellow luminescent moss covers the cave walls, casting soft warm light over the area. The egg-tender lies by the eggs so very still. Viperish Night's former mentor kneels by the eggs, his hood shadowing his face in the low golden light. He looks up as a portal opens and Stalks-in-Darkness walks out carrying an egg. He moves to Mentor and kneels by the egg-nest, laying the egg in an empty spot. "You claimed to have an answer this time." Stalks-in-Darkness hisses angrily. "This cannot continue forever."
Mentor's eyes slide to Stalks-in-Darkness. "I told you, the Hist is very nearly beyond understanding. It knows the eggs you bring and place in this nest are wrong, and therefore it will not allow an Argonian soul to enter the egg so it can be born. It simply destroys them as if they are parasites. I have been trying."
Stalks-in-Darkness growls softly. "And every time you fail, no matter what you try. Last time you claimed that if you inserted a soul from a soul gem it would work, and what happened? The soul gem shattered." Stalks-in-Darkness's eyes narrow. "Over a dozen eggs, every single time IT FAILS." he rises and towers over Mentor. "Fail me again, and I will make you suffer in ways you could only dream of!"
Mentor flinches and lowers his head. "I will not fail again. I cannot. I have it, finally." Mentor moves to the egg and places his left hand on it. "The Hist will not give this egg its Argonian soul. And it will not allow a non Argonian soul to be placed in it. The solution is so simple, I curse myself for not thinking of it before."
"Do it then," Stalks-in-Darkness says. "There is only so much time I can keep the Argonian's at bay. I destroyed Suncave tribe, but the Hist has called more. My minions are keeping them at bay in the marsh, but it's only a matter of time."
Mentor places his right hand on one of Suncave Tribes eggs. "It's not a simple or easy matter, but I should be able to do it. Transfer the Argonian soul from this egg into the egg you brought." Mentor's right hand starts to glow blue and it spreads up his arm and across to his left arm, down into the egg. There is a brilliant flash of blinding blue light and when it fades Mentor is lying on the ground. He slowly sits up.
"Did it work?" Stalks-in-Darkness demands,
Mentor reaches out and places his hands on the egg for a long moment. He then picks the egg up and rises. "Yes," he says tiredly.
Stalks-in-Darkness places his claw on the egg and grins, his fangs glimmering in the orange light. "It's time to place this egg in a different Egg-nest, so they can hatch and grow."
Mentor glances at the Hist tree. "Won't the Hist just destroy it? It is... you know what it is."
Stalks-in-Darkness's eyes travel to the Hist, such an unusual one to be underground, but it had been perfect for their experimentation. "The egg has an Argonian soul," he remarks. "The Hist will never absorb or destroy an egg that has an Argonian soul bestowed to it." his eyes dart back to Mentor. "It's still hidden yes?"
Mentor nods. "Of course. I know how to hide things from the Psijic Order. Though hiding a time breach all this time from them, when they were making great efforts to close them was not easy. It helped it was deep within the marsh." he looks at the egg and back at Stalks-in-Darkness. "Did you figure out how we are going to deal with waiting? Eggs do not hatch and grow overnight. And there is the fact we cannot run into our past selves. It would cause a Dragon-break."
Stalks-in-Darkness hisses. "You never liked this plan," he remarks.
"We could hide the egg in our time. I have told you, time and time again, it's the safer option, the saner option." Mentor snaps. "Even I would not defy time, and I have defied everything else that has gotten in my way. The only reason you are doing it is that you want..." Mentor trails off as Stalks-in-Darkness's eyes fill with anger and he finally figures out he has gone too far.
"SILENCE." Stalks-in-Darkness hisses, his claws slashing through the air as a portal opens. "We will sleep until its time for you to mentor the Argonian that hatches," he says.
Mentor lowers his head. "As you wish. Let us hope Akatosh does not strike us from existence for this." he walks through the portal with the egg and Stalks-in-Darkness follows.
The sun streams in from the window and Viperish Night's eyes open. He remains utterly still, utterly frozen as his mind tries to sort out the memories the Hist showed him. Slowly he sits up a bewildered expression on his face. He had egg-siblings, but they had never been given souls, they had not truly existed, unlike him. Viperish Night holds up his hand, the morning rays glimmering off of his claws. He was created to BE a monster, an abomination. The Hist refused to let one of its children be, so it destroyed every one of the eggs until his former mentor had found away around it, a way to ensure the Hist had to let his egg hatch. He was to BE a different Argonian, a real one. And it had been taken from him. Viperish Night rises and with a shattered howl he throws the bed against the wall, and everything else in the room soon follows until it's all just a shattered mess. Viperish Night closes his eyes and slowly his heart stops racing and his anger cools. Blind rage will get him nowhere...but neither will an icy mask. His eyes open, a swirl of ice and darkness. This changes nothing. The Hist still abandoned him, still took his chance away to just be a simple Argonian. Just because of how he was created. Viperish Night tilts his head. Created... he would think that meant he had no actual egg-parents, but Stalks-In-Darkness had said they were culpable. His former mentor had said he knew where Viperish Night's egg parents were. Yes, they could very well be lying. But he did not think they were. Eggs had to come from somewhere. One could not wave a staff and have them appear out of nowhere. Viperish Night stalks out of the bedroom to find Zirasha awake. Her eyes move away from the bedroom as he stalks out.
"I take it the bedroom deserved to die?" Zirasha says.
"Something like that." Viperish Night mutters as he picks up Loremaster Celarus's journal again. "Why would someone take something in the past?"
"Is that even possible?" Zirasha says. "Wait, don't answer that. Of course, it is." she shrugs, "To hide it? No one would think of to look there."
Viperish Night starts placing the books in a bag and turns to walk out, then pauses to look at Zirasha. "It seems I was always meant to be a monster," he remarks, a glimmer of hate in his eyes. "The Hist could have accepted me and in doing so, saved everything. Or destroyed my egg before it even hatched. It is utterly mad." a feral grin crosses his face. "This world will drown in its utter madness. Let's go play, Altmer."
"It IS Zirasha." Zirasha snarls as she leaps up to follow him. "I don't think using my name will make you want to kill me any less." She grins at him. "Who's first?"
"I'm not sure." Viperish Night says. "Let's go looking for someone who deserves to die. And then let's summon the Brotherhood to murder them."
"That is not what I expected you to say," Zirasha says. "Why are we letting them have all the fun?"
"Just this little bit of fun." Viperish Night says. "I need to find a specific assassin, and this is the only way to do so." he stalks out the door with Zirasha in tow.
A small handful of Rawl'kha Khajiit guards are waiting outside the house for them. One steps forward. "This one heard crashing coming from his friend Ji'zakar's house," he remarks. "K'hani knows that Ji'zakar is gone, so we seem to have two thieves. Surrender peacefully and we will get this all worked out."
Viperish Night drops his bag to the ground and reaches up, unbuckling his robe. It falls to the ground as his eyes fall upon each of the guards in turn. It's fun to watch their eyes widen in alarm as they realize just who they have come to try and apprehend. "Let's play, Zirasha" Viperish Night hisses and streaks for the nearest guard crashing into him sending both to the ground. Zirasha withdraws her knife and with a crazy howl, she runs at the nearest Khajiit and leaps upon him.
Viperish Night's claws are streaked red from the first guard's blood as the second and third rush him, he leaps back and withdraws twin blades, something he picked up along the way. He twists to the side and the sword slides over one Khajiit's throat, even as the third's sword brushes over his side. Spinning around, Viperish Night slams his sword into the Khajiit's gut, dropping him to the ground in a spray of blood. Zirasha's blade is embedded in the guard throat that she had jumped on, and K'hani is roaring, his blade poised to take his head. The Senche roars out of the house in a clatter of bones and leaps upon K'hani, savaging him.
Zirasha's head falls back and she laughs before leaping up. "That was better than breakfast!" she crows.
Viperish Night smiles before turning his back to gather up his robe. "Your right. I should enjoy myself more." Viperish Night hisses.
Zirasha stares at Viperish Night as he shrugs back into his mage's robe. "You have scars too," she says and as his eyes turn narrowing at him she shrugs. "Don't take off your clothes if you don't want a lady to see." Zirasha pauses. "I think I get what you did not say." she finally says. "Gladiator...not by choice then. I hope whoever did that to you is dead."
"Very very dead," Viperish Night says. "It was the least of what that monster did." Memories of that fight, at the time he thought it wrong he took his revenge that way against Valsvis though he did not regret it. Now, he was of a different mind of it. It was what opened the doorway to freedom, even if it had just been a crack. Viperish Night touches the amulet and then holds it out to Zirasha. "I have only been to the Marsh and to Daggerfall. Take us someplace different."
Zirasha takes the amulet and a portal opens. "We need a city to pick out someone we want to be assassinated," she says. "Let's go bother the dark elves in Mournhold. I was there once, this will put us on the outskirts." She darts through the portal and Viperish Night follows.
