A/N: Hey there guys, what's up? Another chapter fresh out of the oven, this one with a lot of action and combat, as our Mage shows off some of his skills. Many of the spells I use come from mods that improve Skyrim's magic system, which I find rather lacking if compared to Oblivion's- at least when it comes to spells.
Either way, I'll be answering the reviews.
Sdarkness05: Hell yeah, this chapter will be packing a lot of action, with a long fight against a powerful Vampire. Altmer have been my favorite race since Oblivion, so I try to use much of their lore- and that bit about the undead just fit perfectly in with Sybille and our Mage.
That's it, on to the reading now.
Chapter 4
It was early in the evening, and the sister moons Masser and Secunda dominate the night sky, when Mithras rides out from the stables of the Blue Palace and through the gates of Solitude.
Swift as an arrow, the bay mare gallops freely down the roads of Haafingar, the icy winds of Skyrim making its mane ripple as they cross cropped fields and hills towards Pinemoon cave. Once they are far enough from the city limits, a pull to the leather reins makes it halt at a crossroads.
"Hmm…" One road led to the west, deep into the hold towards High Rock, another led south, to a place called Dragon's Bridge. "I need to find the girl first."
Sybille had given him a brief description of his target. Jordis- a human girl, fresh out of her teens, with hair the color of hay and a head filled with dream-fueled heroism. At his request, she had also provided him with a piece of fabric, which smelled like the girl and could be used to track her down.
With a whistle, he calls forth an incantation, summoning his Familiar from Hircine's Hunting Grounds. The daedric wolf lets out a howl that pierces the veil of the night, making the horse shift nervously against the reins.
"Shhhh, calm down." He tries to soothe, caressing its side. "Nice and easy, come on…"
Foreseeing a long trip towards the vampires' hideout and given the urgency of his task, Sybille had asked him to talk to the Jarl's stable master about acquiring one of the castle's steeds. Of course, the man had been hesitant, until he showed him the Court Wizard's note. The price had been hefty, but the mare's speed made it worth it.
Once it had calmed down, he showed his Familiar the fabric. "Can you track it?"
The wolf's response is to growl, before taking a sniff off the scents in the fabric. Minutes pass, as the Daedra tries to find the girl's trail. Then, with a howl, it dashes out into the night.
Climbing up onto the saddle, Mithras is quick to follow, the spectral glow of its form guiding him through the dark. After a few more hours of ride through the countryside, they finally come to a halt atop a small cliff. It is there, that their eyes behold a dreary sight.
Under the shadows of a dimly lit grove, a woman fights for her life against a pack of corrupted beasts.
Necrotic, hairless black skin and blood red eyes that glowed faintly in the darkness of the night- those undead hounds seemed relentless on their assault, making a circle around the blonde Nord as they tried to bite and hack her with their claws. He did not see any signs of a leader, however...
The whispers of a spell being cast are all the warning he gets, before a shard of magical ice is hurled towards him faster than an arrow. It was only through reflex, that he managed to cast a ward to shield him from being impaled by the spear.
"Damn."
Now that the invisibility spell had fallen, the vampire's eyes glowed an intense gold. A tall, slender silhouette immersed in shadows; the very air seemed to freeze in its presence.
"Good reflexes." The creature remarks mockingly, its voice indicating it to be a man. "I hope you can entertain me, mortal."
Cursing silently under his breath, the Altmer enters a combat stance- placing his feet forward, flames dancing around his fingertips, while he chants the words for the Stoneflesh spell.
Another spear comes, this time from his right. He counters it with a ward, before sending a ball of flames on the creature's direction. An explosion rocks the cliff, sending rocks and dust up in the air in a cloud of debris as the fireball hits its mark.
"Is this all you can do? I must admit, I'm not impressed." Or so had Mithras imagined, for he heard the vampire's voice comment behind him just in time to dodge a lightning bolt to his back.
"Invisible cunt." To make matters worse, a pained scream makes itself heard in the dark, as one of the hounds managed to get a hold off the girl's leg. It was clear she wouldn't last much longer, not alone…
"Come forth, my servant, from the realms of Ice and Snow." He chants in Daedric, countering another of the vampire's spears with his flames just as the Frost Atronach materializes before him. The ice colossus towers over the Altmer, who takes no time in barking out orders. "Help the girl. Now!"
With that out of the way, Mithras turns his full attention to the fight at hand
Even with his military training, fighting a vampire under the cover of night, in the middle of the woods left him at a great disadvantage. Though he was sure he could win if he unleashed more destructive spells, the risk of causing a forest fire that could turn that dying grove into his pyre was too much to take. He needed to find another way, perhaps…
Yes, that could work.
Just as one of the undead hounds flies over his head, tossed like a ragdoll by the sheer strength of the Frost Atronach, the Altmer casts a spell- a simple one, Detect Dead, from the school of Mysticism.
The spell fails, and this time, he doesn't have the time to put up a ward to protect him. A shard of ice the size of a spear drills a hole right through his shoulder, earning a loud curse from him. "Fuck!"
He barely has any time to counter the lightning bolt coming his way, falling on his knees to slap a hand to the floor, channeling his magicka and screaming in Aldmeris. "Earth Wall!"
At the mage's call, a colossal wall of mud and rocks rises up from the ground between them, just as a stream of magic projectiles collides with it in an explosion. Feeling the drain in his magicka reserves, the Altmer's hand goes to his shoulder, as he yanks the shard embedded there with a growl.
"To be honest, I'm disappointed." He can hear the vampire comment, from the other side of his barrier. "I expected more from an Altmer, but then again I suppose you are only mortal."
Drinking a bitter potion of magicka, Mithras feels his reserves begin to replenish, just in time to counter an Ice Shiv to his back with a Firebolt. This time, he'll not give the vampire any time to breathe. Just as the two spells collides, he points his free hand on the creature's direction and calls.
"Barra-Molag!"
From his palm, a chain of explosive fire spells is fired one after the other in quick succession, bathing the entirety of the clearing in the light of the flames. The sheer force of the explosions makes the earth under his feet tremble, but even then, he can hear the agonized shrieks of the burning vampire.
As a much more potent variant of Firebolt, Bombardment was one of the most difficult- although effective- spells of the Destruction school. Even a mage such as Mithras, who was considered a prodigy by his mentors at the College, felt drained after a few seconds of constant casting.
When the screams finally die out, he falls to his knees in exhaustion- his magicka reserves nearing depletion, but he still cast a healing spell to mend his bleeding wound.
"Now that's what I call a spell." He hears a cheerful voice comment with a whistle behind his back, and turns to see the Nord girl he'd helped out standing up behind him, using her sword as support. "I wouldn't have made it without your help, for that, I owe you. My name is Jordis! What is yours?"
"Mithras." The Altmer calmly replies, standing up despite the protests of his legs. "Sybille sent me for you."
"Sybille huh? That explains things, then…" the girl sight, before her face contorts in obvious pain. Or at least that was how Mithras supposed humans expressed it. "Hey, I don't want to be a burden but…would you mind?"
"Hm." He nods, before helping her down so he could check up on her wounds. Though he was not a skilled medic by any means, every Mage worth his salt would learn at least the basics of the Restoration school. Those who didn't courted an early death. Taking a potion from his belt, he places it on her lips. "Here, drink this. It'll help you recover."
Once more, the High Elf found himself impressed at just how durable a Nord could be. This girl…Jordis, had taken enough punishment to kill him twice and another half- yet she still smiled and jested, even when she'd lost enough blood to make her skin as pale as death.
"I think I'm done here." By the end of it, he had spent the last of his magicka reserves, and two more of his Health potions. As he stood up, a glance to the horizon made him realize it was almost morning. Looking back at Jordis, he asks. "How are you feeling?"
"Good as new." The girl replies with a grin, taking his arm and helping herself up. Now that they stood so close to one another, he could get a better look at her features.
For starters, she was young- even for a human, she couldn't possibly be on her second decade of life. As a Nord, she was also very tall- standing close to the Altmer's shoulder- and had hair the color of hay, as well as deep blue eyes. Her build was lean and muscular, and she wore a ruined set of Steel Armor over leather.
She also seemed to notice his staring, for her next line was. "Like what you see?"
"Hmm." The Altmer grunts, before shifting his gaze to where he killed the vampire. The fires were now starting to die out into isolated patches of flame and embers, leaving ashes and charred pieces of wood as the only evidence of what had transpired.
He was just about to check out for the creature's ashes, when a sound makes him halt on his step.
From a pile of ashes, a vaguely humanoid figure emerges, its lean form now fully visible as exposed flesh and bone slowly knit themselves together through the powers of undeath. Under the faint light of dawn, its burnt skin has the golden tone of an Altmer's.
The vampire stands up slowly, its dazed eyes looking around before settling down on his. The creature's eyes were golden, unlike his emerald.
"You know, when I kill someone, I expect them to stay dead." Mithras sardonically remarks, though his hand goes to the hilt of the blade on his back. He had avoided using it until now, but if the situation demands it…
"Indeed, mortal. Only through the powers of the blood, have I survived." The creature rebukes, still not moving from its position. "In over a thousand years, I had yet to be defeated by one not of my kind. Mithras, is it not?"
"Hm." The battlemage nods, seeing from the corner of his eye that Jordis had also drawn her sword. "What's yours, vampire?"
"My name is Vingalmo." the creature replies, as its face slowly starts knitting itself back together. "And I believe you would be a great asset for my clan. I'd even be willing to forget this…altercation, so, what do you say?"
"Hm…"
"You can't be serious." Jordis glared at the vampire with fury burning in her eyes, before turning to him. "Please tell me you aren't really considering it."
"I'm afraid I'm not for hire." The battlemage rebukes in his usual tone.
"Then, this is farewell. I hope we never meet again." The creature says with a nod, before dissolving into a cloud of dozens of bats, flying off into the woods and beyond.
"Why did you let him escape? We could have killed him together!"
"No, we couldn't." the Altmer replies, turning to meet Jordis' angry face with his usual calm and indifference. "He was weakened, but so were we. Besides, now that I know who he is…" Feeling his magicka reserves starting to replenish, he conjures up an orb made of crystal dark as the night. "I can track him down with Clairvoyance, and find out where he came from."
"Hmm…that makes sense. Wizards and their magic, I suppose." The Nord nods, before grinning and giving him a playful jab at his arm. "Just don't go around letting every enemy we meet go. As the Sword-Maiden, it won't do any good to my renown if I spare those creatures of evil."
"Sword-Maiden huh?" What a funny nickname.
"Anyways, you said Sybille sent you right? Did she tell you what my mission was?"
"Yes." He replies with a nod. "Destroy a vampire coven at Pinemoon Cave. I happen to have the same mission."
"Good." Jordis cheerfully states, with a smile that could lit up a thousand suns. "Let's be off then. All Evil shall tremble before the Sword-Maiden and her companion, Mithras, the Ardent Flame!"
"Ardent Flame?" he asks with cocked eyebrows.
"Your nickname, all true Nordic heroes have one!" She proudly replies, puffing up her chest. "Now come, my partner. We still have a mission to accomplish! Let us show those filthy undead our might!"
It was only then, did Mithras remembered the favor Sybille had asked him to do.
He gave that head a good smack.
Chapter End.
A/N: Thanks for reading, guys. Give me your thoughts on the reviews, I really want to know if I'm doing things right here.