Cearbhail:

So, what was supposed to be one chapter... is now two. It ended up being more than 15 pages long. So, I split it up into two chapters.

=^^= Enjoy...

[Jurard]

Battlemage Arielle Jurard's log,

Today is 4e 004, 22nd Mid Year. It's amazing that just two days ago, the world was at war with one necromancer… a war that lasted almost four hours. Before that, we were in a war with a whole Dominion, a war that started on the 13th, the day we went to war in Cheydinhal. And before that, we were at war with the Aedra, a war that started the 29thf of Morningstar. We lost a lot of people in the first few weeks. I lost a lot of friends… and for nothing. We spent six months in horror… losing more and more people every day… for nothing. There are not many of us left, and now… we face an even stronger, darker foe, with better equipment than we can ever create. I don't know how much longer we can hold out, how many more times we can fight.

So, it is today that needs to be celebrated. Today on the 22nd, we are celebrating the crowning of the new Queen of Shadows, Nexauvia Frazviani. We also join the new war council together, the war council for the Dwemer problem. We are celebrating the end of the World Silence, given to us by the Aldmeri Dominion. We are celebrating becoming a united world, united against a possible enemy strong enough to crush us. We will rise together and survive, or fall together. This is it… our final fight. I feel it in my bones.

I'd like to… share a few words about my fallen comrades. Countless names but a few among them were close friends to me: among the top of the list are Roliend Hanus, Erthor, and Thalfin. Thalfin, one of my best friends since the war with the necromancers began… Erthor our crazy little summoner… and Roliend… the love of my life. I've lost all three now. Erthor in Nenyold Twyll; Hanus in Silorn; J'skar in Adam Ernard in Cloud Ruler Temple; Thalfin in Blacklight. All of them are gone… and I'm sure there will be more. More friends I will have to let go. Iver… Yuki… Merete… Vatu, Erandur, Primrose, Davilia, Hans, Sosia… how many more do I have to lose? How many more do we have to lose?

Battlemage Arielle Jurard.

…

Today was supposed to be a happy day. Everyone was happily drinking as much mead, wine, beer, ale… whatever they could find really. The town of Blacklight really knows how to party. The grand council of Blacklight has a special dining hall, large enough to fit a lot of tables from each major kingdom. I was gathered with some of the world's leaders, in our new War Council. The new kings of the Akavir Alliance were attending via Illusionary Transmission devices. I could see the faded see-through images of the war leaders sitting in the large table near the middle of the room. I sat at a small table for our battlemages, being treated like the guests I half expected when I first set foot in Blacklight. Good food, good wine, good conversations with Lords Redoran and Archmagister Telvanni. Both seemed to respect me highly. After my welcoming sparring match with Lord Redoran, almost beating him in a sword fight, and then helping Archmagister kill a goddess… I think I earned their respect. Even Hans seemed impressed with me. He told me he also killed Nrillia, but he had to use all his Shouting ability to do it. I told him it was pretty simple. I just stabbed her once and it was over. He seemed pretty pissed at that. Apparently he was fighting her hold on the whole planet and was doing his best to wrestle the world away from her. Now… that would have been an epic battle to see. Not mine… not at all.

Of course the real epic adventure was Archmagister Telvanni and I balancing the world chakras. That took a few minutes of intense concentration. I had to use my old staff to drain the excess magicka energy from the chakras across the world by connecting it all from the one chakra we had. With Nrillia dying… it was easier to say the least. Balancing the world chakras was pretty much… what? Like letting running water out of a bathtub that was overfilling. I just had to drain it somehow without letting it spill too much. My staff helped dispel some of that overflowing magicka. That was two days ago.

My eyes drifted across the table. Iver and Yuki were happily chatting each other up, kissing and the like. Hans was more than happy to join us in spectral form, giving a toast to his daughter Merete on her victory in Lilmoth, who was also here in spectral form. Pretty much everyone was here in spectral form. They didn't have time to all join up so we were actually holding this conference by using a similar spell used for the spectral Ruins and Dwarves the children were playing. It took their soulic image and allowed it to teleport across the world. The Psijics were able to do something similar with freezing magicka and telepathy. This was like a large Illusion Soul Displacement spell, one on an epic level. I could see Vatu and his gang all chatting it up at another table, laughing at the chance to speak again. I could see that he still had Primrose interested in him, and while he did give her some amount of attention, I could tell by his tail that he was actually directing his attention to a Khajiit further away. Interesting. I should go follow up on that sometime.

Looking away from that group, I could see Queen Nexauvia standing near a podium, her Shadow Legion, as well as her entire council, set up in their own table. And now… it was time for the show to begin.

I looked towards the center of the room where the twins Rascia and Huniir were typing away on their illusionary keyboards. Their massive image of the world was starting to light up, showing every major town ever constructed. Each city came up as a dot. "Locations selected for broadcast." Huniir said. "All systems primed and ready." He looked to the War Council. "Shall we begin?"

The leaders all looked at each other. Grandmaster of the Blades, Adam Tullius, the savior of Cyrodiil; Arch Mage Sosia Ernard of the Mages Guild in Cyrodiil; Shadowmaster Julanza, representative of Black Marsh; Roland Lylvieve, Master of the Fighters Guild in Cyrodiil; King Xravrish of Akavir; General Victorious, leader of the Aedra Forces; Jesselle Tatiana, speaker for the Nine Divines; and finally High Councilor Requen of the Aldmeri Dominion. Hans was part of the War Council too, as were Erandur, myself, Lich King Jyon Raven-blood, and Lilly Gray-Mane. The Mane, who I guess was a child, was part of the War Council too, but he had one of his trusted Leos, Do'Risan, leading in his stead. We had a lot of leaders, and it was only getting started.

According to Lilly, when she got to leave our world, she was going to be bringing backup when she came back. Whenever that might be. She implied that she would be back when the time was right. And she would be bringing some of the strongest warriors when she returned. I honestly couldn't wait to see who they were. She even implied that I was related to one of them. Huh… I'm intrigued. I wonder who they are, what they're like. And that would mean I would eventually meet someone too.

The head representative of the War Council, Adam Tullius, nodded to the twins. "I believe we're ready. Shall the ceremony commence?" He looked so somber; it was weird to see him acting like a leader. He never really took to being the Champion of Cyrodiil, but since he was the closest thing we had to a leader other than High Chancellor Ocato, he was the Voice of the Empire at the current moment. He nodded towards Queen Nexauvia. "Is the Queen ready?"

Queen Nexauvia nodded. "I believe I am, High Chancellor Tullius."

Huniir and his sister started tapping away on their keyboards. "Broadcasting from the royal courtroom of Lilmoth in Black Marsh to all available locations. Let the world know…" He nodded. "We're live."

…

[Queen of Shadows Nexauvia Frazviani]

This moment was so surreal. Just two days ago, I stood in this very room cleaning up the bodies of my grandmother and all those who died. We tossed my father's and grandmother's corpses into the carnivorous mouths of the Hist Snappers… our ritualistic burial method. When we die, we are fed to the Hist… returned to the nature from whence we sprouted. Just two days ago… my grandmother was wearing this dress.

Looking down at the dress… it was surreal to think that I was wearing it. Archaic… worn ever since the first Shadowwraith drank from the Elder Hist's Void Sap. It was a long silver mithril dress with archaic runes etched into the fabric. The dress itself sparkled silver with every step I took, illuminating me even more. I looked up at the image appearing above me… my whole ceremony being shown to everyone in the world, to know that I was the new Queen of Black Marsh. To know what I had to say at the end of my ceremony. And then… I would get to see everyone else do their things. I couldn't wait to see how this all ended. Peace at last… and… just like Sithis once said…

Destruction before Creation. Order through Chaos.

This was only the deadly calm before the storm. And I could feel it brewing. We had to get ourselves ready because soon… it won't matter. I know we're at war with the Dwemer… I know it won't be easy. Who ever said it had to be? We know what we're doing. We've fought worse, … probably.

"Princess Nexauvia, please step forward." Shadowmaster Riviella called from the throne.

I exhaled lightly as I took my first step towards the throne. This is it… the path I set out for myself the minute I knew my father had died. The path I knew I would walk the moment I was hatched. Everything had led to this moment. And I couldn't be more ready. As I walked down the aisle towards the throne, I couldn't help but think of my friends. Everyone I had met during this period. Everyone worked so hard to get me here. Vatu, Nakuma, Oleeme… even my cousin Meesei. It was nice to see her supporting me even after she tried to kill me once. It made me feel like I could do this. That I could run my country. That I deserved to be on this throne. I just hoped I was right.

As soon as I stepped up to the throne, I spun on my heel like I had been training for all yesterday. Shadowmaster Riviella stepped up beside me, carrying two items: a crown, and a staff. The crown was made up of the strongest wood our Hist could create called Everbranch. The large three jewels were made up of their Eternal Amber, the essence that flowed through my veins as well. In the other hand was the first staff created by my grandmother… made from the same Elder Hist that gave her Shadow in the first place. Holding the staff was supposed to link me to the Elder Hist's life-force, giving me knowledge and wisdom in my times of crisis.

As I watched Riviella walking in front of me, carrying the sacred items. I tried my best to stand up straight, showing my strength to everyone watching. I could see Shadowmaster Julanza watching me from his Illusionary Projection Chair. He nodded to me just enough so that I could see him supporting me. I started thinking of Dad… Mom… of what they would think if they could see me now. Dad pretty much allowed me to kill him for this very reason. He didn't even have to die. He didn't have to do anything of the sort. I wish I had known he wasn't Nrillia's puppet. I would have tried to talk him out of fighting me. But… he did start the fight, I just followed through. One last test… I think that was his intention. It's hard to accept that I actually killed him though.

"Princess Nexauvia…" Shadowmaster Riviella called to me, drawing my attention back to her and the world watching me. "In accordance with Argonian tradition since the first Queen of Shadows, you are the remaining heir to the Throne of Shadows. Before I bestow these relics onto you and announce your title to the world, I would like to speak for you."

I nodded to her. "If you would."

She spun on her heel, turning her head to the crystal ball recording us. "Princess Nexauvia made a difficult decision… one not made lightly. When the Dominion quickly did away with Queen Ali-Jinasha and Warlord Zeelius Frazviani… ordering the execution of a certain Khajiit mage… our Princess rose above her station to protect that Khajiit, disowning herself from the royal family. When she found out that our Warlord and Queen were slain… the responsibility of running Argonia is her hands… she fought with everything she had to keep our country safe. She made allegiances with anyone she could, even our most sacred Hist… all to come home and claim what she knew was hers. And… she even faced her father in combat, in a hopeless struggle, to beat him in order to claim her birthright. And… she has proven her strength, her ferocity, her dedication to our country. And it cannot have come sooner. The threat we face is one like we've never faced before. As we speak, there is a team working on stabilizing our planet's energy network, allowing us to safely drop the massive Silence bubble floating above our heads. And the minute we do… we risk an invasion from Aetherius… from the Dwemer that we fear so badly. They may come in peace, but our intelligence from the Nine Divines speaks differently. They come in war, and so we must face them."

Shadowmaster Riviella bowed to the crystal ball, turning to face me. "And now, Princess Nexauvia… please sit for the anointing."

I closed my eyes as I gingerly allowed myself to sink into the throne, still trying my best to keep my back as straight as possible. When I felt myself sitting in the Elder Throne, I allowed myself a small exhalation. Shadowmaster Riviella walked up to me, nodding to my hands. I stuck them both out, reaching for the staff. "With this staff… the Elder Staff, you will accept the wisdom of the Elder Hist. Upon accepting the Elder Staff, you will be endowed with all the knowledge of those who came before you. You will be committing yourself to the good will of your nation, to your people, and to yourself. Do you accept?"

"I do." That wasn't very hard to say. I still felt like I wasn't really myself though. Was this really my destiny? Was this really happening? I wasn't dreaming? Daydreaming? Maybe I could just open my eyes and wake up with Vatu in my arms, finding out we both passed out in the alleyway in the Arcane University after asking him why he saved me. Perhaps none of this was real… and I could just wake up and resume my life. My simple life.

As soon as Elder Staff hit my open palms, I knew I wasn't dreaming… there was no turning back. My fate was sealed. And… I could never have Vatu. I knew that now. Everything I did, I did because I wanted to be with him. And now…

"And with this crown, you accept your position to your nation… as Queen of Shadows. You will accept that you will have to choose a proper mate in order to pass along the perfect genetics of the Shadow Lineage." Yup, there it was. I can't marry a Khajiit. This could have been avoided if I married Vatu before becoming queen but now… politics. Fucking politics. Maybe I can change them further down the line, but it won't help me much. I'll be immortal until I give birth, and I'm sure the royal court would be just as happy to have me forever. Make me the best queen they'd ever have… the strongest. Each year of experience I'd only grow more powerful, and they'd eventually wait me out. Vatu would pass away, and I would accept the inevitable.

I bowed my head towards Shadowmaster Riviella, allowing her to place the crown upon my head. As soon as it touched my scales and tiny spikes, I knew there was never going back for me now. I was now the Queen of Shadows. This was it… I'm officially the Queen of Shadows. Why did I feel so hollow? Because I allowed myself to go through this? I should have made Meesei go through this crap. She already loves an Argonian.

Shadowmaster Riviella smiled wickedly at my crestfallen face. She didn't really like me much, but even she had a bit of pride in my decision to go through with this. She knew I loved Vatu… everyone did by now. And now… I can never be with him. She made that very clear last night when she tried to talk me out of this. I accepted it. I had my chance, and I lost it. And now… this is my destiny. This is my fate.

"Everyone rise for your Queen of Shadows, Nexauvia Frazviani." Shadowmaster Riviella yelled to the crystal ball. Everyone in the plaza stood up, clapping for me, cheering or me. I just sat there, sitting stoically as I looked at everyone. I felt so empty now. Maybe I'll get used to it.

As the clapping started to wear off, I started to stand up, clearing my throat. "We are at war with an enemy we know nothing about. And it is for this reason the world must stand strong. As Queen of Shadows, I announce that Argonia will be joining with the World Council. We will work together to face this new enemy, and either make peace together, or fight as one. Win or lose, we do it as a planet. So… this is where we stand. I want the entire Shadow Legion prepared for war within the next 24 hours. I want everyone ready to deploy. Understand?"

Everyone I saw that was in the Shadow Legion bowed to me. Good, we'll be ready. "Now… I believe we have some scouts ready to shut down the Black Soul Gem Capacitor?"

…

[Vatu]

Wow… I knew Nexa said she wasn't excited to become the Queen of Shadows but… that look in her eyes. I know her well enough to know that she was breaking herself down inside. What was she thinking about? What could be so bad that she could barely hold herself together? I didn't know, but I could tell it was killing her. As I looked at her in the crystal ball, I tried to read her thoughts. I was never very good with empathy or telepathy… but there was something about that look, I couldn't figure it out.

I had to shake the thought away as I walked away from the projection. Lilly was facing a crystal ball being held by Crassi, explaining her plan. "As you know, if we drop the massive Silence Bubble surrounding the world, there is a 50% chance the world will be torn apart by the sudden shift in energy. This is only because General Victorious reactivated the world chakras without first shutting off the Silence in the first place. Of course, if he hadn't the world would have eventually died anyway. So, we were going to originally use this device to absorb all the Aedra, like they were 2,000 years ago. But now… we're doing something a little different. We're going to use this device to absorb the discharged energy burst that comes from the falling Silence bubble."

I followed Lilly as she walked up to the machine. It was more impressive than I could have guessed it was. It took us all yesterday to dig the place up, to find the entrance. It was buried pretty deep under the sand. No wonder no one ever found it. Once we got inside, we had to avoid pre-set traps and spectral assassins that tried to keep us from getting to this room. They'd been standing guard for so long they had forgotten their mission to defend the machine from enemies… not people trying to save the world. But anyway, we beat the crap out of them and ended up in this room. One giant machine with what looked like a giant black Welkynd Stone… a lot of the one I got zapped with so long ago. The one that awoken my magicka.

"So, we have the machine, but we haven't tried to activate it yet. There are no Illusionary panel we can use to activate it. It seems it's only turned on by special magicka, not like any I can create." Lilly looked back at me and then to Nisha. "But… I feel we got the keys to turn it on." She waved at me and Nisha. "If you two would… approach the machine."

"Us… but why?" Nisha squeaked. She was afraid of the machine, and I don't blame her. The last time we got near one of the crystals, we got blasted pretty hard with lightning. We never went back to that ruin and… well… we kind of stayed away from all the ruins at that point. That was our retirement from ruin delving. I still had nightmares about stones like this one. And I bet Nisha still has them too.

I looked over to Lilly. She definitely knew exactly why we needed to approach the machine. So, I exhaled. I walked over to Nisha, taking her hand. "We'll do this together."

"What? Do what?" If only she knew.

Nisha and I were never mages before we got shocked by lightning. We were regular Khajiits. It was only after we got hit that we started experiencing magicka. The Mages Guild scanners said that we were overloaded with mysterious magicka… that we weren't normal. Now I knew why. This energy inside us wasn't magicka… or it wasn't ours. We were merely transporters to bring it here. The Aedra meant for us to carry this to this temple. They meant for us to end up here. And now… it was time we accepted our fate.

"Time to go back to being normal." I sighed as I started approaching the machine with Nisha holding my hand.

"Normal? What do you mean?" She asked as she walked beside me. "I am normal."

"I hope that is true." I mumbled as we walked into what looked like a drawn magic circle with extraction runes. Yeah, I can read the runes. I never could before. This was it then. The end.

I walked into the circle with Nisha still holding my hand. As soon as we settled into the middle, the circle lit up, a white shimmering Shield surrounding us. Nisha got startled, gripping my hand even tighter. "Vatu?! What's going on?"

"We're simply returning what we borrowed." I said to Nisha. "This magicka isn't really ours. It's the Aedra's."

It was pretty quick. That circle pulled down on us, like gravity intensified by a few hundreds. I was pulled down to my knees pretty quickly, my face and soul feeling like it was being sucked out. I grit my teeth and struggled to let go peacefully. Nisha was crying out in bloody murder as she fought the process.

"Just let it go, Nisha! You'll only make it worse if you resist." I tried to say to her through my clenched jaw.

"I can't breathe! It's too painful." She growled out.

There was a final pull and the gravity sensation ended. Nisha and I were left kneeling in an empty circle. The air around me felt pretty drained. I felt different… lighter. I couldn't explain it. I felt… better. That constant pain in my chest was gone. That… pressure to keep myself restrained… gone. I felt normal for once. Like I didn't need to hold myself back.

Nisha looked just as relieved. "It's over… it's finally over!" She cried as she fell into my lap, wrapping her arms around me. "That pain, that constant pain! It's finally gone!"

That was a first for me. I didn't know she was hurting too. "A pain in your chest?"

She nodded. "It kept getting worse every day, like there was this thing inside me trying to claw its way out. And now… it's gone."

Lilly smiled as she walked up to me. "Vatu… your magicka is still very much there. The crystal took… it took something more primal from you."

"My Sen'la'gar?"

She smirked. "Well… yes and no. You can't get rid of your bloodline. You still have it. But… you did inherit your blood-rage from the crystal you encountered. You can now safely use your Sengar state. Each time you activated it, that foreign magicka only got stronger, making it harder to resist. In the past, the Ayleids would take Sengars and supercharge their Sen'la'gars to make them even more feral and powerful, unleashing them onto their enemies… the most common being the Aedra. That's where blood-raging originated from… from these crystals. It took your bloodline and made it a sick and twisted thing… and now you're cured of yours. Your bloodline is clean again… all of it."

Wow… it was safe for me to use my Sen'la'gar now? That was something else entirely. No more needing to live in fear of killing someone. No more need to keep myself guarded against my emotions. I can finally let myself feel again. "I'm so getting wasted after this." I mumbled out loud.

Nisha was happily crying in my lap. "I have my big brother back!"

We were interrupted from our happy moment when the machine started humming. I could see the machine lighting up, becoming alive. There was a pause as the machine did nothing. "What's wrong with it?"

"We haven't turned it on yet!" Lilly said, rolling her eyes. She walked away from us over to what looked like a console. She started pushing old buttons. "Well, let's see." An illusionary display appeared. "Ah… now it's working." She started scrolling through the menus, nodding at things. "Huh… I don't remember this part." She looked back at us. "Um… someone in history forgot to mention this in their shadow journal." She looked down at Nisha with disappointment/fake anger. She looked back at the screen. "The seven black soul gems are completely empty. The colossal black soul gem is also empty. Luckily for us, we actually have the colossal black soul gem to replace that one but… we forgot seven black soul gems to replace the dead ones."

Crassi sighed. "So, we have to wait for someone to deliver seven black soul gems?"

J'skar shook his head. "No, we need not. We can magicka-weave the black soul gems full."

Crassi scoffed. "Yeah, we'll all just fill seven black soul gems designed to hold a full soul. Yeah… that's smart. We'll die!"

"You won't. I will." J'skar said as he walked up to the machine. "I'm a lich. I'm already dead. I've seen my afterlife, and honestly I want to return to it already. My soul cannot be stolen at this point. I can safely do this." He looked at Lilly. "Prepare the colossal black soul gem."

Lilly nodded. "Of course."

Crassi looked offended. "Wait… you're just going to let him do this?"

Lilly shrugged. "Well… he did pull out my organs once."

He snickered. "Oh… that was you? I thought you looked similar to her. How did you survive that?"

"I was dream-walking. It's hard to explain." She shook her head as she reached into her pocket to pull out the colossal black soul gem. She looked over at Crassi. "Besides… you heard J'skar. He's ready to go back. He did the same thing in his last past… only he was aided by Sosia, Hans, Zergon, Archmagister Telvanni, Lord Redoran, and Modryn Oreyn. They all gave their lives to fill the soul gems. It was only then that Erandur could turn on the machine and absorb all the Aedra. They gave their lives to end this war. And now…" She looked at J'skar. "Are you sure you can do this?"

Uncle J'skar nodded. "When you restored my body to me… you restored my Sengar as well. I have flowing blood so… it's time I take this to the next level. Time to show you the true power of a Sengar. Who knows… I might survive this… After all, it's only seven souls I'm filling up. I'm easily worth ten."

I watched as Uncle J'skar leaned forward, letting out a loud hiss that was only getting louder with each second. I could feel the magicka pressure beginning to build. With a loud hissing roar, I saw his fur stick straight up, his amber/green eyes turning blood red. I could feel his magicka rolling off him, reassuring me that I was still a mage myself. J'skar made a hand-sign, one for forbidden lich magic. "Blood Clone Spell!" Six more bodies started appearing as they stepped out of him.

The clones started walking around the machine, all looking exactly like him. I was astonished by this. "Illusion magicka?"

All the J'skars shook their heads. "Very much like Nrillia's bodies… only I create them from myself. I use my own magicka… one exact soul strength spell, to create their bodies. They're all as strong as one exact J'skar. I'm now four J'skar strong… for now." He nodded to his clones and they started placing their hands on the black soul gems. J'skar grit his teeth and he placed his own hand on the device. "Let's hurry this up, seer. I can't hold this forever. One minute is one soul I will spend to hold onto this."

Lilly hurried as she started turning to the crystal ball. "Ok, twins! Start the shut down!"

We could see the twins on a different screen floating overhead. I could also see Davilia and Erandur holding each other as they watched us struggling to get this fixed. They knew J'skar just as well as I did. He was our teacher for a long time, and to see him giving up his life like this… it was hard. It was worse for me because I was actually related to him. He was my Uncle J'skar.

One of the twins… whoever they were… spoke to us as they typed way on their world map. "All systems ready for Shield drop. Ten seconds. Nine… eight… seven… six…"

"Hurry…" J'skar grumbled. I could feel one of his extra souls flickering away. Now, he only had three to work with.

"five… four… three… two… Starting Shield drop." The girl twin yelled.

"Now, J'skar!" Lilly screamed to him.

All the J'skars screamed in unison as they pushed everything they had into the machine. Lilly rushed as she placed the colossal black soul gem into its slot, replacing the older one.

Junna walked up beside me, leaning in close to whisper to me. I leaned over to get close enough to hear her. "Um.. why couldn't they just do this before it had to be a problem with J'skar holding onto his spell? It's not like the machine would suddenly die or something, right?"

Lilly shook her head. "Unfortunately, that's exactly the case. We don't have time to fix it, and we only need it this one time. This is a power up and activation at the same time. We can't keep this thing on longer than a split second. It has to be precise." She said as she looked back at Junna. "Good thinking though."

I turned my attention back to the J'skars as one suddenly faded away to nothing, a black soul gem glowing like it was perfectly filled. More and more of the J'skars started fading away. And I felt two souls drip away from the real J'skar. He dropped to his knees, breathing pretty rapidly. "Mine's filled." It was only a few more seconds before the other J'skars all filled theirs. "That's it… it's done." He smirked. He still looked more or less alive. His red eyes were gone though, replaced with his normal green/amber ones.

"Machine's ready!" Lilly announced. "Opening pyramid roof now!" There was a loud grinding sound as the top of the pyramid started to move. The ground we were standing on started to shake as the pyramid started opening up. It was finally happening. We waited so long for this day, to see this come to life. We were going to use this to defeat the Aedra, but… here we were… using it to absorb magicka instead.

"Shield's dropping!" The girl twin called from above us. "Energy unleashed from backlash of the spell is not being absorbed by the world chakras. The world is becoming overloaded like we feared." She looked towards her screen. "If you plan on doing something, do it now!"

"Just wait! I'm configuring this thing to work! Dammit!" She pounded on the machine. "Where's a Dwemer when you need one? They designed this hunkajunk! I irony is great with this one. I'm using a machine made by the Dwemer, to keep the Dwemer from coming home… and I need a shabla Dwemer to fix their machine to keep them from coming back in the first place!" She pounded the console again and something happened. The giant Great Black Welkynd Stone started spinning, whirring to life. A giant purple hue started to envelope it. "Oh…" Lilly said as she looked up at the stone. "Sweet. I fixed it." She went back to typing away on the machine. "Ok, I have it set to absorb the energy overwhelming the world's chakras. And… fire!"

The Great Black Welkynd Stone's purple hue stretched out, suddenly becoming a giant portal. I could feel it sucking in life-force. "Everyone, get back!" Lilly cried. "If you get too close, you'll only be pulled in!"

I bent down and scooped Nisha up in my arms. "We're getting out of here!" I said as I started heading for the door. Junna was right behind me, helping to push me to the doorway. "Junna?" I looked back at her.

"You're tired, I can tell!" She screamed as she stayed behind me, offering some amount of help by using some Telekinesis magicka to help us. "And no… I'm not using a spell! This is totally a scroll I stole from my teacher before I left to go to Rimmen!"

"Are you a mind reader or something?" I couldn't help but yell as we ran for the doorway. She always seemed to know what I was thinking.

"No! I'm just… you know… I'm a girl! I know things!" She screamed back to me before we cleared the doorway. Everyone else was already out in the hallway, right behind me.

Lilly was the last one to come through the doorway, closing it behind her. "Ok… now… we wait."

Cearbhail:

And now, the last chapter awaits. It's already done.