It took an hour of navigating the dark, disgusting sewers before I finally came to the gate leading outside.

I emerged into bright sunlight, with fields of grass and trees stretching as far as the eye could see. In the distance, the dark form of a mountain loomed. Butterflies danced upon a gentle breeze as I raised my hand to shield my eyes from the sun. At long last, I was free. Free to find Ruma. Free to complete the last will of the Emperor. Free to figure out why I had been falsely imprisoned. And free to understand my strange new awakening.

I trudged down to the river's edge, taking in my surroundings as I tried to get my bearings. I was outside of the city, with no guards in sight. To my right was a dock, which was empty, save a single boat. Not a long way across the water, I saw the ruins of an ancient civilization. The stark white stones poked out of the land like old bones. Then I noticed the strange glow than emanated from them.

Something within me pulled towards the ruins, calling to me with a voice that was more of a whisper. I grabbed my katana, and pushed the boat at the dock out into the open water, making my way towards the dazzling white stone structure.

One there, I felt a sense of awe wash over me. These ruins were ancient, and had been abandoned for centuries. What little treasure they had once contained was probably long since looted, but the history of the place? That could not be stripped away so easily.

The same glow I'd seen from across the water was clearer now, and focused at the top of the ruins, above the door that would lead me underground. I passed beneath great stone obelisks, following the light without a second thought. I stepped over large ivory stones that had likely once paved a grand walkway as I made my way to the doors, and took a sharp right upon reaching them. Around the ruin I went, until at last I found a clear path up to the top.

"An Ayleid well," I mumbled to myself, recognizing the well from various diagrams I'd seen of them in my parent's books. These great fonts of magicka were some of the wonders of our world, and a great boon to travelling mages. With a tired sigh I stared down into the depths of the well, trying to see the bottom, but I could not. The colored lights that had drawn me to the well spiraled and twisted in an eternal dance. Just standing there, I could feel the magicka welling up within me. It filled me with warmth that burned away the chill from the sewers, and made my head feel light.

Something else built up within be as well, beginning with an innocent tickling sensation in my mose that quickly developed into a full blown allergy attack on my sinuses.

"Ahhh… Ahhhhh….AGHCHOOOOO!"

I swayed where I stood, only to end up tripping upon an uneven stone. By the time I had recovered my senses, I was tumbling head over heels into the Ayleid well with a rather undignified scream.

My last thoughts were of regret as I realized how I would probably die from this fall. I cursed my allergies, such as I could while plummeting to my doom, and remembered my short lived freedom with bitterness.

Seeing as this was my first (and probably last) time falling into a well, Ayleid or otherwise, I wasn't sure what to expect when I hit the bottom. The last thing I expected was for the bottom to elude me entirely.

I hung suspended in midair, but I was not falling. The air was still and cool. I was not hanging by a rope, or treading water. My feet were not touching the ground. I was just… floating.

There was no light, not even when I looked in the direction I thought was up. The entrance to the well was gone. I was alone. Or so I had thought.

A voice rumbled through the darkness, so booming and powerful that it shook my very bones. My gold jangled in my coin purse.

"What in Aethirius is this? Which of those arseholes put a mortal in this beaker?!"

"Er… is someone out there? Can you hear me?" I asked cautiously.

"Oh, I can hear you, alright," the voice replied unhappily. "I'll have you know that you've just a ruined a thousand year old experiment! Why are you in that beaker? Who put you up to this? Was it Kynareth?"

As I could not see anything, I was unsure of how to go about this. I had no clue who I was speaking to, and no way out. So I told the truth.

"You've my apologies about your experiment," I said to the darkness, "and as for how I got here… I was drawn to an Ayleid well and I… erm…"

"Yes? Spit it out!"

"I… uh, well, I sneezed. And ended up falling in."

I heard a loud bark of laughter which devolved into a fit of giggles as whoever I had been talking too lost their composure.

"Hey, it's not funny dammit! I was facing my own mortality!"

"Oh, how quaint… but if this was an accident-"

"It was!"

"-then you did not seek me out? No one put you here to prank me?"

"Nope."

"How curious…" A prolonged silence followed. Fear raised its ugly head within my heart as I began to think the presence had left me. Then it spoke again.

"Tell me, mortal, do you know who I am?"

"Haven't the foggiest," I admitted, "but I certainly hope you're someone who can find humor in unconventional circumstances. I've had a very long day."

"I can sense the truth in your words," the voice said. "Most interesting. And you say you fell down an Ayleid well. Remarkable…."

"That it is," I agreed, "after all, I thought I was going to die."

"Mortal-"

"My name is Sigan."

"Whatever. Tell me: what do you see at this very moment? What do you feel?"

"All I see is darkness- which is to say- nothing. As for what I feel, I can say about the same."

"So you cannot see out of there? Odd, I can see you just fine. Speaking of, why are you dressed as a Daedric cultist?"

"That," I laughed humorlessly, "is a very long story."

"Then it is in your best interests to speak quickly," the voice grumbled, "unless you wish to be vaporized. I have little time for Daedra worshippers and their ilk."

Left with little choice, I told the being in the dark everything. I told him about my life, about Ruma, and my awakening. I explained my innocence, and how the Emperor seemed to see something within me that no one else did. I spoke of daggers and shadows, blood, fire, and death. Then I told him of my very, very, very short lived freedom.

Apparently, my story was to his liking, as I finished it without being vaporized.

"It's all coming together," the voice said, more to himself than to me, "I've knew something was afoot. You say you have this Amulet upon your person?"

"Aye, it's right here." I produced the Amulet of Kings from my pocket.

"That is why you came here," the voice explained, "The Divine blood within the Amulet must have acted as a catalyst for the wild magic of the well."

"Ah, yes, I think I get it now," I lied, "but erm… well, where exactly is 'here'? And who exactly are you?"

"As for where you are, you are currently in a beaker, upon the desk of my laboratory," the being said, "and as for me, I am known by many names. Most call me Julianos."

"J-Julianos?" I gulped past the lump that had formed in my throat. "As in thee Julianos? God of Wisdom?"

"Wisdom, Knowledge, Logic, Magic, and Arithmetic," the god sighed. "In other words, all the things you mortals generally take for granted."

"I am truly humbled to be in your presence-"

"No," Julianos said, "you are not. You desperately wish to be gone from this place, so that you might track down Ruma."

I did not bother to deny it. Lying to a god's face was a damned stupid thing to do, especially if you valued your life.

"I will save you some trouble," the Divine said, "you will never find her as you are now. And even if you manage to track her down, things will never be the same between you."

"I don't care," I said icily, "I cannot simply give up on her- on us."

"You know, your heart may be endearing to another Divine, but you waste your valiant words on me, mortal. Now, to decide how I will punish you for ruining my experiment…."

Twisted thought began to form in my mind as I wondered what unholy things a Divine could make me do. Then I remembered that the Divines were inherently good, and to my knowledge, I hadn't villainous. Not yet, anyway. The worst he could probably make me do was shave the top of my head and join a Priory.

My heart sank to somewhere around my knees as I felt my world go even more topsy-turvy.

'Please don't send me to the Priory,' I thought desperately, 'please don't send me to the Priory!'

I was so caught up in my paranoia that I didn't notice his muttered words. "Akatosh already has pieces in play, but they will not be enough. Not on their own…."

"So… so then what would you have me do as penance?" My body tense as I prepared for the worst. I could already feel the razor combing across my scalp, removing my mane of glorious auburn hair.

"You will be returning to Cyrodiil, to aid the Septims during this crisis," Julianos commanded. "Akatosh already has a champion, but the Septim bloodline runs the risk of falling in the days ahead. You are to be my insurance, mortal. You shall take up arms against this threat, and protect all of Nirn from these cursed Daedra."

"If I do this, will you help me find Ruma?"

"Yes," the Divine agreed, "if you succeed in your quest, then I shall aid you in finding her."

"And given that this quest is such a tall order… what shall become of me if I fail?"

"If you fail, then all of Nirn shall perish."

"Yes, of course." I rolled my eyes. "Silly me, I knew that. No pressure."

"Then you agree to these terms?"

I shrugged. "What other choice do I have?"

"Good. If you had said no, I would have vaporized you on the spot. Oh, and one more item of business. If you return as you are now, you will not survive what the journey has in store for you."

"Wow," I mumbled, "thanks for the vote of confidence."

"As a token of my gratitude, I shall awaken your natural magicka reserves, and bolster them with the magic of the Ayleid well you fell in."

"What will that help?" I asked.

"At your current skill level, not much. It will simply increase your total magicka reserves and how quickly it recovers. But as your power grows, you will notice its effects more prominently."

"So thanks for nothing." I said in an undertone.

"Alright then, I think we are done here," Julianos decided, his voice growing more distant, "Off you go back to Nirn, little mortal. I'll be in touch. Try not to get killed."

And with that pleasant farewell I shot upward, rocketing towards a pinprick of light so fast that it felt like the skin on my face was peeling off.

Author's Notes:

Don't you hate it when you're just trying to save the world and accidentally meet God? Happens all the time.

Anyway, this is a much shorter chapter, but it's still pretty important to the narrative. I also tried my hand at making this funny, because it can't be doom and gloom all the time. In fact, I'd say it makes humor even more crucial. Hold onto your Amulets, people, because shit is about to go down.

Here's more music:

Bank on the Funeral-Matt Maeson

Moon- Lund

Cinderella Man- Eminem

The Show Goes On- Lupe Fiasco

Thanks for reading. In the next chapter we kill god and stare into the void hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahafuckthehighelvesthohahahahahahahahahahaha