Cearbhail: And now we're almost done with this fight. Oh, and I'm sure you'll enjoy this chapter. It has a lot to offer. Enjoy.

[Julanza]

"How is your sight, dear husband?" The voice of my ex-wife sounded distorted: deeper, sicker. Her body shifted in front of me like it was made out of water. The ground seemed to spin around me. I found it hard to breathe, hard to see, hard to stand. I couldn't take too much more of this. "By now, I should sound like a Daedra, deep, intimidating, maddening. Soon you'll start hallucinating; seeing your worst fears. Your heart should start to speed up as your fear and anxieties take over. Then you'll heart will explode from pumping so much blood so fast. Your brain will shut down from processing so much of your fears, your thoughts. You'll burn yourself out on the sickest of your memories, the worst of your fears. And I will watch, slowly torturing you until you die in the most horrifying, painful way while you kill yourself inside."

That was the woman I fell in love with when I was 18; can you believe it? I was a totally different Argonian back then, but she's always been this way. And she was right, I would start hallucinating. I worked with this poison before; I had used it for interrogations. It was one of the most violent poisons we had. And it worked exactly as she had described. I would eventually think myself to death on all that I feared, all that I lost, all that I could process. It would be so bad that my heart would explode from beating too quickly, if my brain didn't comatose me first. Either I became a vegetable or I died. Either option was bad.

Well, I couldn't just stand here and wait to die. I had to push on and beat her in a fight. I brought my right hand up, raising my elbow blade up. I brought my left hand back behind me, grasping the throwing knives behind me. She knew me too well; time for me to show her how I can change my fighting style.

She eyed me, smiling. "Finally getting serious, are we? Shal'nalin style? Shadow Elbow? You still think you can beat me with this…archaic form? You always were a stickler for tradition, Julanza." She reached for her blades, preparing for my attack. "Show me your favored form, dear husband."

This was going to be hard; I had never actually done anything beyond this particular form when using physical combat. She expected me to fight her like this, so if I was going to make this work, I had to be as stealthy as possible. She couldn't use her magic so she was just as stuck as I was. She had to beat me with her swords and her armor. I still didn't have the edge though. She was always the better fighter.

I charged forward, jumping at her with my elbow. She brought her own elbow up, catching mine with hers. That's when I brought my other hand out, throwing my knives at her when I was at close range. She jumped off to the side as I did so. The knives flew right past her. That was part of my plan, though. Some of the Thalmor coming after us caught my knives for me. I didn't have much time before they started coming after me next. I had to get this fight over with.

I kept my eyes on Riviella the whole time she dodged my attack. Her backhanded sword came flying up towards my stomach plate. I quickly reached for my own blade, unsheathed it, and parried her attack away. My wife's body started to melting around her blades and her arms. Black oil started dripping from her arms to the ground. Her eyes turned black, black blood leaking down her eyes like she was crying. The mud on the ground started drifting up in the air like gravity no longer had laws. The world spun around me and I found myself falling on my knees. I felt a sharp pain in my right side. A giant stream of black oil slid across my side, cutting me open. I could see the oil leaking into my wound, dripping down across my side and onto the ground.

I started hyperventilating. Oh gods…It was happening. The hallucinations. I had to rationalize this. The oil…my mind was playing tricks on me. The cut…she slashed me with her sword. The oil leaking from my body…it was my blood. Ok, I think I can handle this. I just had to keep calm and stand back up.

"What's the matter, sappy? WHAWAWA BRRIIINNN SHAAA." Her voice screeched at me, becoming inaudible as she advanced up to me, her body morphing into a liquid black soulless oil. She slid up to me, her many tentacles dancing behind her, staining the air with its very presence. One of the tentacles wrapped around my neck, gently at first, but then it tightened. Breathing suddenly became harder; the smell of rotten eggs and sulfur filled my lungs as she held onto me. "AAAAAAHHHHH." She screeched to me, pulling me closer to her soulless head.

The other hundred oily tentacles danced around my body, poking me, drawing oil-ish blood as they did so. I felt every single one of them stab me, every single one numb me. I felt my body drain as the blood dripped out of me. "SHRRIIII!" The monster in front of me screeched, more of her tentacles slashing into me.

The world around her started to disappear. I couldn't see the sky anymore; it had morphed into a black void filled with swirling gray streams that danced in the sky. The ground was as dark as the sky, all a giant stretch of black, clear and reflective. It was just her and me. The air screeched with the wails of a thousand tortured souls. Faces of all those I had killed started to form on the monster's body, their heads forming in the black oil that made up her body. The faces wailed at me, wishing me either to join them in suffering or to escape before I became just like them.

All the pain stopped, a single tentacle lifting up my head. The monster bent over to look at me, her void-filled eyes glaring at me, examining me. I felt so weak, so ready to go. I believe I was beginning the final stages of this poison. Any minute now, the hallucinations would agitate me, growing stronger until I couldn't handle any more. I wondered how much my own brain could take before the emotional network became too raw. How longer until I overthought myself to death?

The monster nodded at me, raising another tentacle that resembled partly of her sword. I guess Riviella was ready to let me die. I wondered why it had come to this. What did I do wrong that led to this moment? I had failed my wife, my daughter, my country. And I was going to die before I could see Princess Nexauvia become the Queen of Argonia. I would never see the end of the Aedra Wars. I was going to die, any second now.

"BSHRRIIII!" A lighter sound screamed. Out of nowhere another blob of oil slammed into what should have been Riviella. Riviella's tentacle released my head as the other blob tackled her. The two blobs started wrapping around each other as they screeched in their banshee-like voices. They coiled around each other, oil spilling everywhere, but finally, the one that resembled Riviella started retreating. She cast one glance as me before shifting away, becoming a slight blur to my eye as she ran off.

The other blob ran up to me, wrapping its tentacles around my chest and my neck. Was this one going to kill me too? Was it Hans? Who could possibly be on my side other than Hans right now? One of the tentacles stabbed me in my bicep. Oh no…it was going to kill me! I tried to struggle but my body was pretty torn up. My heart started slowing down. This was it…I was fading away.

I closed my eyes and prepared to die. I just wanted this to end. I couldn't take much more. So, I waited. And waited. "VSHRAA! JUUURAAASHAA! JUULAANSHAA! HAAARR, JULAAANZAA. HEY, WAAKE UPP, JULANZA!" The voice had started morphing from a loud deep screech, lightening in tone until it sounded more Argonian.

I opened my eyes. What was I hearing? Shouldn't I be dying, not getting better? The light glared into my eyes and I half-closed them as I looked around. Things were starting to clear up. The sky had turned back to the light purple that the shield covering the whole world portrayed. Holding me in her arms, Yuvenni looked down at me, her eyes focused but emotionless.

Yuvenni nodded her head, scanning my eyes. "Dilation is persistent but eyes appear focused. Checking pulse." She placed her fingers to my neck. My heart skipped a beat and I held my breath. She nodded in response. "Erratic heartbeat, but at least it's slowed down." She pulled me close, hugging me. "Welcome back, Julanza. I administered you with an antidote that I had with me. I used my shadow arts to chase away Riviella. She has run off to lick her wounds. You are safe." Her voice sounds light and monotone. She hadn't changed much. But, at least she was on our side. That was good; Yuvenni was always my best friend, always my ally. It was good that she came back to help us.

I swallowed the blood gathering in my throat. "Yeah…thanks. It's good to see you on our side."

She nodded to me. "I will always be on your side." She pulled me in and I found us kissing. What was going on? I thought she was a husk.

…

[Hans]

I raised a giant wall of fire as I jumped back. A giant black sword made of dark magicka blasted through the wall of fire like it was nothing. Behind it, an insane Altmer dressed in black necromancer robes came flying through the fire. She laughed maniacally as she rushed up to me, slashing me with her blade. I stepped to the side, brushing the attack off. I launched my fist out, covering it in a thick layer of lightning magic. I made contact with her side; the lightning tearing through her body, cutting it in half. Blood flew everywhere as she fell apart.

I heard more laughing as three new bodies jumped out of the ground. They all looked just like her. They all stuck their hands out, summoning two Daedric swords per person. They both smirked at me as they walked. "Don't you get it, Nord? You can't possible beat me. I'm invincible." All three of her said as she walked up.

I brought my sword up in a defensive position. "You'll have to run out of bodies sooner or later, or at least magicka."

They laughed. "These bodies were taken from the mass grave of the Imperial City. I assure you I won't run out anytime soon. As for the magicka…I'm lying in the River of Magicka; I will never run out, for I am using the magicka of Nirn, not my own. For each body you destroy, our planet dies a little on the inside."

I found myself laughing at her. Ok, now I understood. She was taping into the raw energy of the planet. I could do that just as easily as she was. "Ok, that's how you want to play. Let's see who can kill the planet faster." I replied as I firmly planted my feet on the ground. I grunted and my feet blasted into the loose dirt.

The Altmers looked down at my feet. "Is that your plan? Plant your feet into the soil? What will that do?"

"You should know." I smirked to her, getting a scowl in reply. I guess even she did not know the old methods of magicka, used before we could tap into our own. "This is the oldest of techniques for gathering magicka: rooting. With my feet planted into the soil, I can tap into the energy of Nirn, allowing me to fight you with all the energy this planet has."

"Are you willing to destroy this planet so that you can beat me?" She asked.

"I don't see why not. You're already doing it. If I can take you down before the planet dies…then great. If not, the world will die for a century or so until life begins anew." I started laughing as I started calling up on the energy of the planet. I closed my eyes and focused. I could feel the planet's heartbeat, the energy lines that traversed the planet. I visualized roots shooting out of my feet, roots made up of my personal energy, my soulic energy. I visualized them hitting several of the energy lines, wrapping around them. It planted me firmly into Nirn and allowed me to tap into its energy. I willed the energy of the planet to flow through me. As I felt the raw magicka flow into me, I knew that I wasn't going to lose this fight. I opened my eyes, seeing that the Altmers hadn't moved. "Ok, let's get this started."

"We'll force you to move and break your roots!" They screamed as they came after me. I waited until they got close before I dropped my sword. I clapped my hands so hard that it created a blast of wind energy. It was strong enough to blast them away for a few seconds. While they screamed in surprise, I connected my ring fingers to middle fingers. Lightning crackled at my fingertips. I blasted both hands out, frying two of the three Altmers in front of me. They screeched in horror as they melted from the intense heat.

The only Altmer left standing brought a shield up. "I won't let you win!" She screamed to me. "Take all this planet has to offer. Die!" She roared as she stuck her hands out, blasting a concentrated beam of raw magicka at me. It wasn't even a Destruction spell, just raw energy.

I summoned a shield around myself as the energy rushed me. I pulled as much energy from the ground as I could as I tried to keep the shield up. "Is that all you're willing to muster up? Are you ok with dying on this planet with no air, no gravity, no life? Are you ok with drifting in the empty sky while you grasp at your own throat, hoping that air will fill it? Are you willing to feel empty, personally depleted while being separated from your magicka? Is that really what you want?"

She didn't reply, but she did scream and summon more energy to blast me. I increased my shield, absorbing some of the energy directed at me and forcing it into the shield. I could hear Nirn squirm from all the energy being wasted on this pointless battle. Don't worry; I won't let it get too far.

I brought my two fingers up, lightning crackling at their tips. I screamed and launched a concentrated beam of lightning at her. I watched as her head exploded. Her lifeless body slumped before falling into several pieces.

I allowed the shield to drop. I waited for a few seconds before I released my roots and pulled my feet out of the ground. As soon as I did so, I saw more faces pulling out of the dirt. Ten or so Nrillia's climbed out of the dirt, all summoning bows, swords, and axes. "We won't let you walk away so easily." They replied. "Prepare to die."

I was preparing to tap into Nirn again, but I was suddenly halted. My body was frozen in its spot. The Nrillia's laughed as they slowly walked up to me. "It took a lot of energy, but your body has been dominated. You can no longer move; no longer threaten us with killing Nirn. Do not worry, we will not Alter your body to look like ours. You will be our personal bodyguard; still alive, still functional. Your mind will belong to us. Now, come…we have work to do, shadowscales to kill."

My body started moving on its own. I couldn't stop it from moving. Crap, and my magicka wasn't listening to me either. What was I going to do? I looked over at Julanza to see that he was being carried away by Yuvenni. Come on! I could use some help guys! I couldn't even talk. I sure hope someone came by to help.

And as if by some miracle, the battlefield started exploding from behind the Altmers. I could see as Thalmor started fighting some unseen foe. They were launching all their magicka at it, but the end results were Thalmor turning and running before the ground around them exploded. It drew the Nrillia sisters' attention. They turned around as the last line of defense exploded.

"Who are you to interrupt our party?" They screamed to the new fighter.

"A party? And I wasn't invited? How rude. Everyone knows the Champion of Cyrodiil loves to party." It was Adam, the Champion of Cyrodiil. His crazily skinny body with the relaxed/cocky demeanor was well-known around Cyrodiil by now. He had traveled north to the Akaviri Alliance to help the Blades recruit them into our war. I wondered what had happened to him afterwards. No one had heard from him.

"The Champion of Cyrodiil?" The Nrillia sisters screamed. "Are you telling us that a skinny Imperial like you is the Champion of Cyrodiil?"

Adam smiled. "You wish to find out?" He asked as he unsheathed his Akaviri katana. "Just so you know…I'm the strongest Blade around." As I got a better look, he wasn't wearing his usual golden armor; he was wearing some sort of Akaviri battle leather suit. It looked a lot like the Blades armor, only more streamline, scalier, and more fitted to his body.

The Nrillia's all started blasting raw magicka at him. Adam gracefully maneuvered away from each blast, sometimes using his enchanted katana to deflect the beams away from him. He slowly made his way up the battlefield, never getting a scratch on him. Adam came to a stop for a second and all the beams collided on him. It caused a giant explosion; throwing dirt up everywhere. The Nrillia sisters froze, looking into the dust. "I think we got him." One of the Nrillia's said. Just as she said that, I watched as a katana carved through her body, splitting her in two.

Adam pushed down and her body fell to pieces. The other nine Nrillias all started firing at him, but he flashed through the rest of them with one slash of his sword. He reappeared on the other side of the Nrillias. I watched as one by one, the Nrillias fell to the ground, each one missing a head or a torso, all their arms, or even their legs. Adam scanned the battlefield before flicking the blood off his katana. He smirked and nodded his chin to me before walking up. He pulled out an apple and took a bite out of it. "So, what did I miss?" He asked as he reached down to take my hand. "Oh and don't worry. I enchanted my blade with a special spell. That necromancer won't be able to summon any more creatures for at least a couple days. She blocked once we kill whatever she had left summoned."

I found myself laughing as I took Adam's hand. "I can't believe you did that. It's good to see you, old friend." It was good news to me. Adam had dealt with necromancers and other conjurers before. He had a spell developed in the Mages Guild that allowed someone to block a necromancer's summoning ability once all their allies had been cut down. It had something to do with disrupting the portal magic. I was a part of the research team that helped develop the spell, but I had forgotten that I even knew it, or even knew how to use it. But, now I remembered. Nrillia didn't stand a chance from here on out.

Cearbhail: Can you believe it? I finally have included Adam, the Champion of Cyrodiil. A cocky self-imposed hero that basically wouldn't take his nose out of the whole Mythic Dawn business and forced himself on the Emperor so that he could be included in the war. Of course, he is one strong fighter with the whole air of destiny flowing off of him. His role is well determined, he is the Champion of Cyrodiil, after all (and is quick to make sure everyone knows it).