Chapter 35

Two Steps Forward, One Step Back

XxXxXx

3E 427 – Clockwork City, ?

Nevano could smell the stink of death before he even entered the heart of the Clockwork City.

He wasn't surprised. He had been fully expecting trouble from the moment he had been transported here. He didn't need to be attacked by hordes of strange mechanical creatures to know that the insanity he had been wading hip-deep in had seeped here, too.

Almalexia had claimed Sotha Sil had gone insane and had taken to attacking his own people. Nevano highly doubted that claim. This was coming from the same being who had ordered an ash storm be turned on her own city to make them pray harder to her, prayers she could no longer hear. Sotha Sil, by all accounts, was a mage who would much rather keep to himself and his studies rather than look for public adoration. He probably never even noticed his divinity was gone, and would continue to be oblivious to it until the day he slumped over dead from old age finally catching up to him. He more than likely had no idea what Almalexia was up to. Nevano was not looking forward to the undoubtedly awkward conversation with the Tinkerer.

Idly, Nevano marveled at how differently the Tribunal had handled the fall of their divinity. As much as he didn't like Vivec, he had to give the mer credit on how calmly he had simply accepted the end, even encouraged it. Perhaps he, unlike the others, didn't delude himself with the thought it would be forever? He had to have known, they all had to have some idea, especially with the foresight that came with the divine powers. So why had Almalexia gone mad, then? Was the reality of it far harder to accept than a vision? Had she hoped to change that vision? That was a sobering thought. Vivec had given Nevano Wraithguard freely. Would Almalexia have done the same, knowing that it would end her divine rule? He honestly couldn't say.

As he pushed open the door to Sotha Sil's abode, the stench of death and decay hit him so hard he gagged, his stomach threatening to turn itself inside out. The smell hung in the air almost tangibly; he could nigh feel it coating the exposed skin of his face and arms in an oily film. Then he saw it.

Sotha Sil hung in the center of the room by cables and coils that wrapped around his limbs and torso. He had obviously hung there a long while; his body had rotted to the point where it was simply falling apart. Already his lower body was sloughing off, his blackened insides dripping out into a thick, viscous puddle on the floor. His head was thrown back, his swollen tongue hanging out, his twisted expression frozen into a death mask of agony...and sadness?

Nevano braved a step closer. Sotha Sil's nails were grossly overgrown, far too long for mere personal negligence. Metal bars were attached to his back, nothing that he would have been able to do to himself. There were cuts on his body that looked as if they had scabbed over; those scabs wouldn't be there if they had happened when he died. He couldn't have done this to himself. What could have possibly...the realization of what happened hit Nevano like a ton of bricks.

"You poor fetcher." he murmured. "She caught you completely off guard, didn't she? How long has she kept you chained up here? Since I killed Dagoth Ur months ago? Before then? After you two lost Keening and Sunder?" Nevano sighed and stepped back from the body. "I'd apologize for not getting here sooner but, judging by the smell and how you are all over the floor, you've been dead since I stepped foot in Mournhold. Not sure what Almalexia is planning but...this can only end bloody."

Nevano turned back towards the door. There was nothing he could do for Sotha Sil and he certainly didn't want to push any buttons or levers in this place for fear of causing the whole place to turn on him...well, more so than it was already. He had to find Almalexia and stop her before she, in her madness, could turn against the whole of Mournhold and kill innocent people. Before he had taken a step, Nerevar, who had remained suspiciously silent the whole time, suddenly flared up in alarm. Nevano froze, every nerve in his body lighting up with a primal sense of alertness. The predator was coming.

Almalexia appeared in a flash of blue light, dressed in a battle mask and a beautifully curved sword hanging from her slim waist. Through the slits in her mask, Nevano could see the bright gleam of madness in her eyes. He licked his lips nervously, his heart pounding. He knew that sword, thanks to stories and Nerevar's description; Hopesfire, twin to Trueflame that hung at his own side. If Hopesfire was here, then Almalexia was prepared for a fight. So he was right in his assumption that the ending to this meeting could only go one way. He wasn't particularly thrilled at being right this time.

"Nerevarine. You live. You still live." She wrung her hands in agitation and started pacing back and forth in front of him. "Here it ends, here it ends. This Clockwork City was to be your death. You were to be my greatest martyr! The heroic Nerevarine, sacrificing all to protect Morrowind from the mad Sotha Sil. But you live! You live!"

Nevano felt his stomach twist as he watched her mutter and pace. There was no question about her madness, now. There also was no question about whether or not she wanted him dead. She had hoped that Sotha Sil's creations, running amok now that their master was dead, would have killed him but, like Dagoth Ur, she had grossly underestimated him. Nerevar, skill, and an extraordinary amount of luck had kept him alive. At this point, he wasn't fully convinced if it was bad luck or good luck.

"Fear not. I will tell the tale myself when this is done. I will tell my people how, with your dying breath, you proclaimed your devotion to me, the one true god." Her voice rose in exaltation, excited by her own illusion. "Your death will end this prophecy and unite my people once again under one god, one faith, one rule by my divine law. The puppet king will lay down his arms and bow to my will. Those who do not yield will be destroyed."

Nevano straightened up at that. He didn't like prophecies, and absolutely hated the prophecy that had jailed him and dictated his life the past year or so, but it was his prophecy. It was his to carry out and his to end. Almalexia was trying to remove him and take his place in his own gods damned prophecy. Only instead of wanting to see everyone free of fear, Almalexia was essentially setting herself up to be the next Dagoth Ur. Nevano couldn't let that happen. His hand drifted to Trueflame's hilt and gripped it tight. The sword warmed beneath his hand, as ready as he was to fight.

"The Mazed Band has allowed me to travel to this place." Almalexia continued to ramble on, oblivious to Nevano's sudden change in mood. "Here, I slew Sotha Sil. Here, I summoned the Fabricants to attack Mournhold. I will be the savior of my people! I, alone, will be their salvation!"

"No." Nevano snapped angrily, making Almalexia look at him in surprise that he dare interrupt her. "How stupid can you be? You, Vivec, Sotha Sil...you are so gods rotting stupid that you are willing to become the next Dagoth Ur and you don't see anything wrong with it! By now, me laying out how stupid this...this shite idea of yours is will just go over your head, so I'm not even going to try. But I won't let you do this. You'll have to go through me, first."

"None may stand in my way!" Almalexia screeched. "Not you, and certainly not Vivec. He is a poet, a fool. I will deal with him when I have finished with you. And Sotha Sil…he always thought himself our better, shunning us, locking himself in his hole. He spoke not a word as he died. Not a whisper. Even in death, he mocked me with his silence. But I think you will scream, my love. For now, you face the one true god."

The curved sword at Almalexia's side snapped out in a flash of blue fire, but Nevano was ready for it. Weeks of living in paranoia and suspicion had prepared him for this moment. As soon as Almalexia had started to move, he had Trueflame waiting for the first blow and, for the first time in thousands of years, the two swords reunited in a thunderous embrace.

However, something curious happened as soon as the blades crossed. Where Trueflame touched Hopesfire, the blue flame that engulfed the elegant blade shrank away. It took a moment for the significance to sink into Nevano's mind; the sword wants nothing to do with Almalexia's insanity.

Almalexia flinched backwards in surprise at her sword's reluctance. She disengaged and fell back, holding Hopesfire before her. The blue flames flickered moodily. "You will obey me!" Almalexia snapped. Instead of burning brighter, the flames simply winked out of existence. The goddess growled in annoyance and dove back at her foe with the darkened blade.

Nevano wasted no pity on her. Indeed he had none. He parried the strike as it came to his face and drove for a strike of his own. Almalexia, despite how deep she was in her own insanity, was still a talented fighter with thousands of years experience in fighting and war. They traded blows and strikes and parries for what felt like hours, neither breaking through the other's defenses despite some near misses.

Finally, in sheer frustration and impatience, Almalexia clenched her left hand, gathering her magicka for a nasty spell. Nevano could smell the scent of rain in the air and the exposed skin of his arms tingled as energy built up. Lightning. She was planning on striking him with a powerful lightning spell. This was no gentle spell like Drelasa threw at him in rebuke for one insolence or another. One hit from a spell this powerful meant instantaneous death. She raised her hand up high, small bolts of electricity dancing between her fingers.

Nevano saw his opening and dove in. One sweep knocked Hopesfire wide, throwing the goddess off balance and leaving her exposed. Then Trueflame drove into the exposed flesh of Almalexia's belly and angled up to exit out her back between her shoulder blades, the wickedly sharp blade popping through internal organs easily and splintering bone like dry twigs. Blood sprayed from the horrendous wound, coating Nevano and making Trueflame hiss. Behind the mask, Almalexia's eyes went wide. She tried to say something, but all that came out was a wet gurgle, and blood ran down her neck from under the mask. Trueflame was viciously pulled free and Almalexia staggered back several steps, the spell dissipating instantly, before collapsing to the floor, blood quickly spreading around her in a massive pool.

Nevano carefully nudged Hopesfire away from Almalexia's reach, but he knew there was no hope she could retaliate against him. Her limbs had lost all voluntary mobility and were twitching uselessly as her life ebbed from her. He knelt down next to her and carefully removed her mask. Blood was bubbling up from her throat in her mouth and spilling over. Her lips were moving, but no sound came out. Her eyes darted back and forth, the pupils narrowed to a pinpoint. He said nothing, just watched as the light slowly faded from her eyes. There was nothing left to say. Not even Nerevar had anything to say to his once wife. Words were worthless at this point. There was nothing that would ease the pain for the betrayed, and there was nothing that would forgive the betrayers. There was no satisfaction in this ending, just the knowledge that it was over.

Nevano picked up Hopesfire. The blade flickered with a blue light as soon as his fingers touched it, Trueflame answering with a flicker of its own. The twin blades were reunited again and Nevano made a silent promise to himself that they would never part again. The blades were a representation of all that should have been that was destroyed through ambition and madness. What a strange world, where a tool designed to destroy held more promise of hope and unity than the ones who wielded it. Then again, Nevano didn't know how to describe normal, anymore.

He secured both swords at his hips and straightened up. It was time to go.

XxXxXx

4E 201, 23rd Hearthfire - Mournhold, Morrowind

The first thing Veleth became aware of was the smell of dust. He could feel it coating him like a second skin. He could feel the grit rolling between his teeth, in his eyes and his nose. Then the scent of leather and sweat came in strong on his second whiff. Something moved on top of him and he remembered Nevusa throwing herself over him just as the palace collapsed and a wave debris buried them. He appreciated it, but it was all entirely unnecessary…

His face was pressed against Nevusa's chest. The blood drained from his face as he realized that when they had fallen, they had landed just perfectly so that they were both cushioned from the fall. Her light leather armor left almost nothing to his imagination, especially pressed against him like that. To his mounting humiliation, his heart rate rose in spite of himself.

Above him, Nevusa grunted, and he could hear debris rolling off somewhere. He squeezed his eyes shut and just waited for her to get off of him, sending a quick prayer to every god and goddess he could think of that she wouldn't move around so much against him. Thank Azura he wore heavy armor...or curse it. He couldn't quite decide that, yet. He could do nothing about his pointed ears, which he knew were flushed a bright red and, going by how his luck was going, perfectly visible through the dust coating them.

"Well, hello there, handsome." He opened his eyes and recoiled sharply into the debris under him when he realized she had shifted and was in his face, their noses nearly touching, her red and yellow eyes like a burst of sun in his face. "Aww, the big, strong, shy type."

Oh, this situation could not get more humiliating. He desperately wished the ground would just open up and swallow him right now. He opened his mouth to protest, but the words refused to leave his throat.

"Poor thing. Never thought you would get tongue-tied like some cunt-struck youngling."

Veleth was fairly certain his tongue had just given up and wandered off, never to be seen again. He had no recourse and couldn't think of a single thing to say that would not make this situation even worse than it already was. Thankfully, before he had to endure another moment of mortifying torment, one god or another decided to take mercy on him. Sunlight opened up above them as debris was cleared away.

"Churl, get up off him." A gruff voice ordered.

"Yessir!" Nevusa said, far too cheerfully for just being dug out of a collapsed palace, and pushed herself up off Veleth's chest.

Veleth grunted as the air was forced from his lungs and stayed where he was, staring up at the dust-colored sky. It would take a long while for the dust to settle from the air, but he could tell that the sky was blue beyond the haze of grey-yellow. The clouds had cleared, the green light was gone, the sounds of fighting were gone and the overall feeling of death and despair had left. Veleth allowed himself to relax, letting the tight tension he had held in for the past several days, and the more recent humiliation, to bleed from his muscles. Finally, he could allow himself to believe it: they had won.

"C'mon, boy, get up." Veleth grunted as a hand grabbed the front of his battle-ruined cuirass and hauled him to his feet. He swayed a little, the past full day's worth of fighting and getting beat up finally taking their toll. Now that he was back on his feet, he could feel the full extent of his injuries and exhaustion. The rough hand steadied him, keeping him from falling face-first back into the hole he had just been drug out from. His head cleared just enough for him to realize General Garil was glaring at him, as if daring him to keel over. Veleth stubbornly locked his knees.

"I can't believe you just went toe-to-toe with possibly the most skilled warrior I know of. Don't tell the smug fetcher I said that, though." Garil frowned, critically looking over the very obvious and still bleeding wounds on Veleth's face. "Not without taking a beating yourself, I see. Go find one of the healers and get fixed up. You look like you got kicked in the face by a guar."

"Any sign of Nevano, sir?" Veleth immediately brushed off all concern for himself. The less he thought about his own injuries, the less they hurt.

Garil's frown became decidedly more annoyed. "No. No sign of him at all. It's too dangerous to go crawling through the bulk of the pile just yet, but I will have men looking to see if we find anything."

Veleth nodded, though instantly regretted it when a wave of dizziness nearly knocked him down.

"Get going before you fall over and can't get back up again."

Before Veleth could argue, Nevusa snaked her arm around his and dragged him off. As drained as he was, she didn't have to put in very much effort to make him move. The effort came in making sure he stayed on his feet. She managed to get him across the plaza to where the healer had staked out a small tent. Veleth obliged them both by crashing to the ground at their feet, his body unable to keep going despite his stubborn will trying to insist otherwise. Unfortunately for him, the healer was just as short-tempered as the general who ran the Safepoint and was none too pleased at having to drag his new, rather large and heavily-armored patient at least partially up. With an annoyed sigh, he pulled out a bottle with a liquid that was a shifty green color that Veleth took an instant dislike to, but before he could protest, the contents of the bottle were unceremoniously poured down his throat. He gagged, and would have coughed most of the potion up had the healer not shoved his head back, forcing him to swallow. The concoction burned his throat all the way to his stomach, much like a hefty mouthful of brandy. It shifted moodily in his stomach, making him feel sick.

"There. Let that go to work. You'll be back on your feet in a moment, though the best thing for you right now is rest." The healer roughly poked and prodded at him while he spoke. "Most of these cuts are shallow. They'll heal nicely on their own. Somehow, despite the swelling, your jaw isn't broken. You would've been screaming when you fought me on that potion otherwise. Lucky, there. Your nose, on the other hand, you weren't so lucky on. I'll need to set that back in place. I'll offer you one chance to sit still, but if you can't and start squirming, I'm going to send you off into a nap for the next twelve hours, and you'll be lucky if you wake up and remember where you are and haven't pissed yourself."

Veleth grunted his assent, too busy worrying over what the mystery potion was doing to him than to be bothered by the healer's threats. Despite the discomfort in his gut, he could feel the strength return to his limbs, chasing away the weak shakiness there. He couldn't say he felt rejuvenated but he certainly could stand on his own two feet and not worry about falling over. He could make it through the day, or at least make it until someone got sick of his stumbling around and shoved him face-first into a bedroll. The healer crossed his arms and tapped a foot. Veleth finally had enough sense in him to glare but pulled his knife from his boot and clamped the hilt between his teeth.

"I never got why you boys will happily allow some stranger to beat your ass to a bloody pulp but the instant a healer has to do something mildly uncomfortable to help you, you glare and whine and generally are a pain to work with," Nevusa mused.

Veleth muttered a few impolite, choice phrases, deliberately allowing the knife hilt in his mouth to muffle his words beyond recognition.

"That's no way to treat a lady who's just saved your life." She teased, tossing her head in mock outrage. "I should make you buy me dinner in repayment."

"I'm sorry, my dear, but this particular bull is taken by a lady in Raven Rock." A voice interrupted them. "She won't be very pleased with your attempts at stealing her boy away from her. I mean, she's a sweet girl but I know she's got a hidden temper in there somewhere."

Veleth damn near cracked a tooth biting down hard on the knife's hilt when he looked up to see Nevano sitting on one of the boxes nearby, idly looking over Bonebiter's broken string. How in the hell did he not notice him walk up? More importantly, how did no one else notice? Before he could spit the knife out to begin his tirade of questions, the healer took advantage of his distraction and shoved his nose back into place. Stars exploded in his vision as cartilage snapped back into position with a nauseating crack. It hurt about as much as when Andas had initially rearranged his face. It made him forget about Nevano for a moment. Nevusa, however, was not so easily distracted.

"You FETCHER!" She screeched. Veleth's head swam. That was not helping the pounding ache in his head. "Do you have any idea how worried we've been? Do you have any idea what went on out here while you went off without any sort of back up?!" Nevusa's breathy scream rose a few octaves, making everyone in the vicinity cringe. "We thought you were dead! Veleth had to fight off Andas and we nearly lost the Ordinators and then the gods be damned palace just collapsed! We thought you were buried! Alive! Then what would we do?! How did you escape? What happened in there?! You had better tell us and it better be good!"

"NOT in here!" The healer snapped, hauling Veleth to his feet. "You'll live. Now get out and try not to do anything extraordinarily stupid for a while." He turned and ran a critical eye over Nevano.

Nevano seemed fairly unperturbed, despite having numerous cuts and burns on the exposed skin of his face and arms, and his left hand hastily wrapped in a filthy bandage. "Nothing to see here, priest. Move along to the others."

"You are..."

"Perfectly fine." Nevano hopped off his perch and took the two younger mer by the arm. "Well...not. But nothing you'd be able to do about it anyway."

Veleth got the pleasure of seeing the healer's face purple with rage as Nevano tugged them out into the sunshine, though he tugged his arm free once they were relatively clear of any sort of retaliation.

"You need to explain what happened." Veleth said bluntly. Somehow, his nose didn't hurt quite as bad anymore. Maybe there was more to that healer's potion than he realized.

"And I will. Fully, with no parts left out. Mostly." Nevano turned to them. Though he spoke easily, there was a tension in his shoulders and face that Veleth didn't like. He could see a few of the burns across his cheek were the result of lightning magic, something he was rather familiar with thanks to his mother. Whatever had happened in the palace had not been pleasant. "But I don't want to repeat this several times. Get Garil and we can compare stories."

"Should probably include the autarch in on this too." Nevusa said.

"Andas is alive?"

"Yes. I'll go let him and Garil know you made it through alive." Veleth turned to go but hesitated, holding one finger up. "However, just to make sure you don't wander off again like you seem to like doing…"

A few minutes later, Veleth set off to go find the autarch and the general, a satisfied smirk on his face, the day now going considerably better. Several soldiers and Ordinators stared after him in bewilderment…though that could also be because they had just witnessed him and the Churl tying the Nerevarine to a massive bell and walking off, leaving the golden-eyed mer bellowing and cussing after the former guard captain. Yes, the day was going much better.

XxXxXx

Nevano's fingers worked feverishly at the rope binding him to the massive tower bell, trying to find any way to make the rope give just enough to allow him to drop free. Nevusa sat silently nearby, glaring daggers at him. It made him squirm uncomfortably but, while he regretted making her mad, he didn't regret his decision. They would forgive him. Eventually. Hopefully. Veleth had certainly made his point rather clear. Nevano squirmed again against the tight rope, but it refused to give. Apparently, knot tying numbered among Bull's talents. No wonder Dreyla's father didn't want Veleth near his daughter.

"Huh, so they discovered a way to keep you from running off. I approve." Nevano looked up to see General Garil watching him with a his habitual frown, though this time it was tinted with amusement.

Nevano assumed that the other mer standing next to Garil was the famed Autarch Andas, though he currently wasn't wearing his Indoril armor. Nevano was pleased to see that he hadn't come out of his encounter with Veleth unscathed. His left arm was bound with a bloodstained bandage and he was standing with the stiff posture of someone whose ribs had been cracked. "Glad to see everyone survived here."

"Uh huh." Garil hummed in agreement. "Speaking of surviving, how did you get out of that collapsing palace?"

"There was an escape in the basement to the sewers." Nevano said, giving another futile tugs at his bounds. "Got a bit turned around in there, but as soon as I found a tunnel I recognized, I managed to find my way back to the bazaar, and here I am."

"Here you are, indeed." Garil sighed. "Alright, you two, let him down. As amusing as it is to see him tied up like that, I have a feeling he's going to be a pain in the ass if we leave him up there for too long. It's been a long enough day. I don't feel like dealing with that."

"I'm so glad to get your blessing to be released. Reminds me of when I was blessed by the emperor during my release in Seyda Neen." Nevano said acidly before unceremoniously hitting the ground with a grunt. "A little warning, Veleth..."

Andas perked up then and took a closer look at the younger mer. "Veleth? Any relation to that Buoyant Armiger that used to be an Ordinator?"

The former captain nodded a little stiffly.

Andas shook his head. "The Ordinators lost a good man in the ranks that day. My father was chief of Vivec's Order of the Watch, at the time. He often told me that Berel Sala was going to regret letting him go so easily."

"That's an understatement." Nevano got to his feet, brushing in vain at the dust coating him. "By the time the Ordinators had pulled their heads from their arses and realized what they'd lost, he had already proved himself on Red Mountain, and Dagoth Ur was dead. This is his bull-headed son. Kid is an even stronger fighter than his father is."

"No kidding." Andas winced, a hand going to his bandaged arm. "Possessed or no, I've never gotten a thrashing like that before. When you are done running around for the Redoran, how about you come train my Ordinators?"

"Hands off, Temple Guard." Garil growled. "I'd lay claim to him myself, but I doubt any of us'll be able to pry him from Relas' cold, dead hands."

Nevano snickered as he watched Veleth become increasingly uncomfortable listening to the two older mer argue over him. It amused him greatly to see the faint flush run up Veleth's neck. He was curious to see if he could get it up his ears as well.

"Who said I was going to let him go?" Nevano's smirk broadened when Andas and Garil turned to him. "I'm rather enjoying his company. He's easily the most capable mer I've ever had the pleasure of working with. Think of the trouble I can get into, with him around! Morrowind's entire government will crumble!"

"You've already done that once, already." Andas accused.

"No, I just destroyed her religion." Nevano pointed at Veleth. "I'm going to break down all those stuffy inhibitions you Redoran put in him and turn him loose. Time to see what the Bull of Stros is capable of when taken off leash!"

"Enough, enough!" Veleth finally burst out, his ears flushing fully red. "Vith, I've been humiliated enough for one day!"

Nevano laughed in delight at his accomplishment. "Alright, alright, all joking aside, we didn't go crawling through old haunted sewers and a ruined palace just for a good laugh. No offense, but I didn't run in to save Ordinators out of the goodness of my heart."

"Right. Compensation." Andas sighed. "I think I've found myself at a distinct disadvantage here. There's nothing I can rightly say 'no' to, but I have nothing to give."

"I'm not that unreasonable, despite rumors." Nevano grinned broadly, causing everyone to grimace slightly. "This time I promise I won't destroy everything you stand for. Stood for." He quickly corrected himself. "In fact, this might give you a whole new direction. Do it well, and I will call us even."

"What is it?

"Stand with me against the Thalmor."

"The Thalmor..." Andas said.

"Yes." Nevano quit smiling, then. "The time has come to drive them out. Would love to just go hunting them, but I was told that there needed to be some semblance of a plan and order to this. The first step was to ask the Ordinators if they would dedicate themselves to defending the people of Morrowind, to bolster their courage and sense of security. We already know the Redoran generals are itching for a chance to kick stuck-up high elf arse, but the people need to know they are safe. Unless the effectiveness of the Ordinators has waned over the decades..."

He knew then that he had the autarch hooked. Andas straightened up, instantly filled with righteous indignation. "My Ordinators have made it through the Oblivion Crisis, the Red Year, the Argonian Invasion, and this nonsense with Helseth, and have only proven their strength and determination over the years. I think we can handle Thalmor."

"Good. Swear it."

Andas looked as if he were trying to swallow razors. Garil sighed. "Just do it. He's an annoying little fetcher until he gets what he wants. Annoying...but useful."

"Fine! Fine..." The older mer sighed. "I, Athvos Andas, Autarch of the Ordinators, hereby pledge the services of the Ordinators to the Nerevarine to protect the people of Morrowind and expel the Thalmor from our great nation, in order to declare our sovereignty from the empire."

"I happily accept your very fancy offer." Nevano smiled happily. "Now that we got that out of the way, I have to ask the burning question that has been hanging in the air since we first arrived here in Mournhold; how in the sixteen planes of oblivion did you get sucked under Helseth's spell?"

Andas sighed in exasperation. "Not my finest moment, I'll admit. Not long after we reclaimed Mournhold, I became aware of Helseth's presence. I gave the order for everyone, especially the Redoran, to avoid the palace until I could think of what to do with him. I could tell he was too strong to just banish with any of the priests we had, but I...underestimated his strength. I thought he was just a shade, a specter. I thought I had time to figure out how to banish him."

"Tricked you, too, huh?"

"Yes. I could hear him whispering in the back of my head, but I could always repeal his advances, but then once I realized what he was..." Andas shook his head. "The rage and hatred in him was incredible. All I could think to do was protect those here, so I ordered the Redoran out. We all couldn't fall to it. As soon as I did that, Helseth struck. I was careless. and he took full advantage of that. What I do remember is muddy. I tried to fight, but I didn't have the strength or the ability to beat that presence out."

"He was powerful, there's no denying that." Nevano looked away, thinking of how he would have been killed if not for Nerevar. "He's gone, now. Mournhold can rebuild and many a spirit can finally rest easy. There is one thing I'm curious about, though."

"What's that?"

"Why did you tell everyone to avoid the temple?"

Andas frowned. "I never issued such an order."

Veleth, Garil and Nevusa exchanged a look, but Nevano grunted in annoyance.

XxXxXx

Nevano sat on the hillock, watching the sun set. Finally the brilliant show of oranges, yellows, and pinks showed through bright and clear, no more moody gray clouds covering everything up. Everything was back to normal...or as back to normal as Morrowind could possibly get at this point. He held up his left arm, looking over the black streaks that followed the network of veins under his skin. He resolved to get a glove to cover that up. Those burns were a bit too creepy to be seen on a regular basis. Unlike the scars on his back that were simply out of sight, this was nigh in his face every day. This wouldn't necessarily be an incident he would look back on too fondly. Fortunately the most dangerous thing out right now was giant mosquitoes.

"May I join you?" Nevano quickly dropped his lich-touched arm and turned to see the Churl walking up.

"Sure." He gestured to the ground next to him. He watched as she settled into the grass, her knees pulled up to her chin and her arms wrapped around her legs. "I have a distinct feeling I'm in trouble."

"Up until about an hour ago you were but..." Nevusa arms tightened around her legs. "I can see why you did it even if I still don't agree with it."

"I wasn't about to let you two face that twisted soul." Nevano said bluntly. "Yes, you two are grown, and, yes, you two can perfectly take care of yourselves but Helseth and I had a score to settle. It was nothing you and Veleth needed to be involved with. Besides, I felt confident that you could handle whatever happened out here and I was right in that."

"You could have said mentioned that, exactly like that, before just disappearing."

"Would you have listened to it?" Nevano smiled a little when she didn't reply. "Sorry, my dear, but you have my blood in your veins. I know me pretty well, or at least I think I do. I would have damned the reasonable and done the stupid. We are an unreasonable lot."

Nevusa sighed irritably and fell silent. Nevano let her have a few moments to think while he watched the sun fully set and the stars claim dominance in the sky. Then a tiny voice spoke up again.

"Will I see you again?"

"Undoubtedly so when we fight the Thalmor off once and for all." Nevano said. "That's not going to be a small, quiet affair where we ask nicely and they politely leave."

"I meant after. After all the fighting. After all this." Sunburst eyes watched him nervously. "I don't...you might just disappear again."

"Even if Dagoth Ur came back from the dead and half of Tamriel was under attack by hordes of ash vampires, I'll still come back to see you." Nevano meant every word of that. He had let Sorosi go. He wasn't about to let his only, supposedly impossible, child go. "I have a feeling that the future holds something that will bring us together on some sort of adventure."

"I would like that." Nevusa smiled and held her hands up. After a few seconds a tiny fireball formed on her palm and she began to bounce it back and forth like a child with a ball, its light causing strange shadows to dance around them. Nevano felt his jaw drop as he watched the tiny flames bounce around.

"You know magic?" Nevano asked in astonishment. "Why didn't you say so sooner? We could have made use of that!"

"I studied it in secret." Nevusa said. "When I was forbidden from touching a sword, I stole some books on some simple spells. Was far easier to hide than swordplay, though I one time set the kitchen on fire. Fortunately, that was blamed on someone spilling some fat, and no one found out it was me. As to not saying so sooner...I worked very hard to prove myself. No one believed that I, a noble-born woman, could fight worth anything. If they ever knew I could cast spells...I would never be able to recover my reputation with a sword. You saw how Garil is about magic. So it's more of a hobby than anything useful."

"Uh-huh..." Nevano clicked his teeth as a plan began to form in his mind. "So you have an affinity for the school of destruction?"

"Fit my rebellious mood, at the time." She shrugged.

Slowly a grin stretched across Nevano's face. Nevusa's hands froze, causing the tiny fireball to fall to the ground and extinguish. Even without its meager light, Nevano could still see the blanched horror growing on her face.

"I have a great idea."

XxXxXx

4E 201, 24th Hearthfire - Mournhold, Morrowind

The next morning, Nevano found General Garil overseeing the beginning stages of cleaning Mournhold up. The air was much lighter, and the city, though in deplorable condition, no longer had the feeling of a haunted graveyard. There was a new feeling of hope that hadn't been there before. He was confident that, now that Helseth was finally gone, the city could truly begin to heal and, one day, return to its former glory. He had heard several Redoran say that they had sent word out to the various villages in the surrounding country side, and many villagers were on the way to help with the reconstruction, eager to see Mournhold rise again.

"I have to admit, I didn't think you could pull it off." Garil said without looking at him. "I had pretty much written you off for dead."

"You aren't the first to think that of me." Nevano shrugged. "I'm not going to hold it against you. You had your soldiers to look after. Whatever me and Veleth could accomplish was just bonus."

"Yeah, speaking of Veleth, you tell the old man to be careful. The Thalmor will get notice of this pretty quick." Garil spat on the ground. "Don't give me that look. I said I'm not particularly fond of secrety stuff, but that doesn't mean I'm stupid enough to pretend it doesn't exist. I didn't get to where I am by being oblivious. A supposedly dead hero and Morrowind's bluntest soldier coming together to expel the Thalmor from Morrowind? That has Jorun Veleth written all over. However, I approve. You and the boy would blow it on your own. You got a good mind planning this, and you will need every bit of his devious intelligence to outsmart the Thalmor."

"How much of your approval do I really have in this?" Nevano asked. "When I talked to you and Andas earlier, you didn't say much."

"Smarter than you look." The gruff general nodded. "There are many strings attached to this, some of which I simply can't promise, because I am bound by the laws the Redoran have laid down. I don't have a magic gut that predicts the future. By the gods, I couldn't even see this happening, and it was all right under my nose. But…I feel very confident in saying that if you can carry out whatever crazy plan that old Armiger has in mind, you can get those stuffy councilors to agree to pushing the Thalmor out. That will then free up the Redoran army, and we will come running to that battle horn."

"Don't get comfortable here, then."

"I would love a chance at the Thalmor. They're even more annoying than the Imperial soldiers that used to be garrisoned around here. They keep looking down their noses at us they'll go cross-eyed. Don't think they ever forgave us for leaving, all those millennia ago."

"I think you'll get that chance." Nevano smiled and started to turn but paused, fluttering one hand in the air. "Oh! Before I forget…no one is patrolling by the temple are they?"

"No. None of them are brave enough to go near it, still. The Ordinators are telling ghost stories and the fools are spooked."

"Oh, good!" Nevano gave a broad grin, one that made Garil frown heavily in suspicion.

"What did y-." Garil was cut off when a massive explosion rocked the entire city. Soldiers and Ordinators cried out and ran for cover as the ground shuddered, as if in pain. The sweeping white spire of Almalexia's temple, seen clearly from their vantage point across the city now that the palace was no longer in the way, seemed to jump in the air. Then the rest of the temple crumpled in on itself, dropping quickly from view. The spire hovered in the air for the briefest of moments before it followed the rest of the temple to the ground.

It was over as quickly as it had begun. Only the sound of large pieces of debris settling echoed through the still air and a cloud of dust billowing in the air remained.

"What the hell did you do?" Garil spun on Nevano, for once his habitual frown wiped from his face in favor of open shock.

Nevano didn't answer. He instead just walked off, broad grin still plastered on his face.

XxXxXx

4E 201, 2nd Frost Fall – North of Safepoint Kogo, Morrowind

Nevano and Veleth made their laborious way back to Blacklight, hindered by a lingering exhaustion and still-healing injuries. Veleth wanted to push on, but Nevano held back, forcing him to stop and rest at night. While there was some urgency, it was nothing Nevano was willing to risk re-injury over.

"Ok, I can't take it anymore." Veleth blurted out when they stopped for the night north of Safepoint Kogo. "I gotta know...what did you do to the temple? Don't try to feed me some lie that it wasn't you. I know you had something to do with it."

"Oh, I wasn't going to deny it." Nevano grinned. "I have no problem explaining my genius now. It's surprisingly simple. Remember how I said I got a bit turned around in the sewers when I escaped the palace? Well, while under there, I wound up in the tunnels under the temple. Didn't get that far, because I could smell a build-up of gas under there. So I blew up the chamber, and the temple simply collapsed into the sewers. Not sure why everyone was so upset. It cleaned itself up very nicely."

"And exactly how did you blow up a sewer tunnel full of highly flammable gas without killing yourself? More importantly, how did you do it while you weren't even down there?"

Nevano smiled sweetly at him, but said nothing. He made a promise and he intended to keep it. Besides, it had been fun listening to all the wild rumors. The wilder they became, the more that a simple fire rune spell would seem very boring and uninteresting by comparison. He did feel a bit bad about not telling Veleth...but it wasn't his to tell, anymore. The kids could hash it out later, because he had no doubts in his mind that they would all see each other again very soon.

The next morning they started to see familiar landmarks that told them they were within a few days of reaching Blacklight, which was a massive relief to them both. They had just passed a small village when Nevano felt it. It started out as a small warning throb in his chest, beating in time to his heartbeat. He stopped walking, feeling the now familiar sense of dread mingled with panic. A tingly tightness prickled behind his ears and traveled down the sides of his neck, surrounded his chest and settled in the pit of his stomach before slowly making its way down the insides of his arms and legs. Dimly, he was aware of his name being called, but even when he opened his mouth, he couldn't answer it. He shivered and took an instinctive step backwards, trying to get away from what he knew was coming next.

As soon as his foot touched the ground, the pain struck him full in the chest like a war hammer, doubling him over. He screamed out in agony, drowning out the voice frantically calling him. The pain kept growing, a pounding red rage that seared his entire body in fire, emanating from the point in his chest. This was by far the worst this had ever gotten. A realization occurred to him as he fell face-first into the dirt, causing a jolt of terror to run through him, that he just might die this time.

The last thing he saw as his consciousness faded was booted feet running towards him and dropping right in front of him. It was a slight comfort, as darkness claimed him, knowing he wouldn't die alone.

END PART 4

XxXxXx

A/N: Did I say I was going faster? I should never make predictions. When I do, life laughs hysterically and douses me in lemon juice. For once the procrastination is not my fault! The first and most likely the last time it will not be my fault. Also staying true to me being banned from making predictions, I originally thought that this chapter was going to be nice and short but, much like this entire story, it kept growing. So a nice hefty ending to Kings. Onward!

Ah, yes, and a massive shout-out to AJestice, who I now proclaim the queen of beta readers.

Happy Easter Everyone!