Jul – 7 Eruvos Vod
Ayleid
"He's this way!" one of the handlers screamed, rushing towards me. He was a former Dark Brotherhood assassin. When they neared me, I was blade up with fire in my hand. The damn bastard smiled arrogantly, then said the one thing all the guards so far had been too stupid to say – "Now bow, slave. Ayrenn."
I shuddered as the urge to bow ran through my body. Every part of me ached, begged to hand my life over to the monsters in front of me. As the urge threatened to overcome me, a sense of courage broke through the haze of fears and memories of torture I associated with the name. "By Talos, never!" I screamed. The fire erupted from my open palm towards the wide eyed Thalmor warriors. The Assassin barely raised a ward in time to defend against the fire, much less the concussive blast accompanying the fireball that sent the contingent flying down the hall. "NEVER!"
I ran down the hallway, my simple elven blade flying through the bodies and throats of the Thalmor soldiers that rushed towards me, one by one, in the hall barely large enough to hold three soldiers shoulder to shoulder, much less three slashing swords. I had the advantage here. Every attack that came at me was clumsy; obviously the Thalmor masters were lying when they said that Mer held more natural skill than any trained human could hope to achieve.
I roared in rage and fire erupted from my left hand, turning the last of the soldiers to ash. "It seems I trained you too well," the Assassin snarled as I neared him. He unbuckled his cloak from his back and lightning was suddenly crackling in his hands. The Magicka arced towards me through the air.
"I surpassed you a long time ago," I responded in cold rage. My ward rose in fractions of a second, dispersing the Magicka of the Elf's assault. As he understood what was coming, his Magick became erratic.
"You cannot defeat a Mer of superior blood, Ayleid!" the Assassin screamed as I walked slowly, threateningly towards him. "I... Ayrenn! AYRENN!"
I stumbled at the word programmed into my mind to break me, my ward dropping for a moment, which was all the Elf needed. I roared in pain as a bolt of frost hit my leg, a short spear tearing a slice of flesh from my thigh. I clumsily launched another fireball as I went down, and it collided with the Assassin's damnable face as its expression changed from smug triumph to horror filled loss. His body was dust before I even fell to my knee.
I panted heavily for a moment, staying there. After a moment, I realized I would be caught if I remained still any longer. With a hiss, I channeled Magicka through my wound, the yellow light stitching my leg back together until there was not even a scar. I was alerted to the approach of another by the sound of boots clacking against the stone floor. I smiled to myself – I knew that gait.
"Tanyin," I breathed in relief. I turned to greet the Redguard.
Jul – Nu
Lucius
"Dwemer, then," I replied, my eyes stuck on Serana. I would not let Tanyin – Dwemer – whoever the Oblivion she had bec – whoever the Oblivion I made her become, hurt Serana. I glanced up at the Redguard slave. "You're here for Ayleid. He is... dead. You can go home, if you leave now. Otherwise, you won't go home at all."
Dwemer laughed and leaned forward. Her empty eyes finally had a soul glaring out – one full of evil triumph. "Oh, that threat... I definitely recognize that voice," the woman cackled. She looked up at the sky and laughed like a hag for a while longer before sighing and keeping her gaze on the destroyed moons. "Say my name, the way you used to. Maybe I'll let her go."
I shivered with rage. "Dwemer," I growled. She looked down and smiled, then pushed Serana off the bridge. I rushed forward to catch the tumbling Vampire before she could crash into the stone ground. She landed softly in my arms.
"Very good," Dwemer said, her voice a mocking sing-song. I glared up at her, not knowing what I would do if I got my hands on her.
"Can you stand?" I asked Serana.
"Can you put me down?" she asked in response. I nodded and put her down. Part of me wanted to laugh at the situation awkwardly, but I found I couldn't be cheery at that moment. Serana's feet touched the ground and Dawnbreaker was immediately back in my hand. Serana stared at me, puzzled. She'd been expecting a half-funny retort.
I glared at Dwemer and closed my eyes, brow furrowed. "Serana, if I ask you to do something for me, would you?"
"Depen –"
I turned to her, eyes frantic. "Yes. Or. No?" I demanded.
She stared at me for a while. She looked concerned about me. "I..."
"You're my friend. So please run, for me," I begged. Serana's golden eyes widened in shock. She opened her mouth, but was at a loss for words. She nodded. "Thank you. Now run."
I turned back to Dwemer as Serana left. "Getting rid of the leech while the weapons of gods battle?" Her eyes were still wide with manic glee.
"I destroyed you, Tanyin. I'm sorry," I said quietly, calming the mania in Dwemer's eyes. She squinted down at me with disgust. "But you're somewhat right. I didn't want her to be present for when I fight as I truly can." I quietly sheathed Dawnbreaker and lightning appeared between my fingers. She was a mage, so I'd need to take out her Magicka reserves then get in close. True, she was dangerous with a blade as well, but her art had always been Destruction Magick.
I'd always been better though.
The blast of Lightning that rushed from my hand pulverized the stone where she stood, but she had jumped out of its path. I had known the moment I had fired the blast she had escaped death at that moment. I rolled across the ground, knowing what was coming next, and narrowly escaped being frozen solid by a wall of Frost. Stone exploded from where Dwemer's spell hit the ground, raining down around me as my gaze followed her form falling to the ground. My mother's cloak flowed up behind her, looking like a black flame. She sneered, a look that perverted her perfect features, when she hit the ground. "Nice to see Ayleid hasn't lost his touch despite your efforts, Lucius," she spat.
I stood up slowly. "On the contrary, Ayleid was nothing compared to me," I replied calmly. I launched a bolt of lightning towards her left shoulder and she dodged right, right onto the fire rune I had cast while rolling. A spike of ice nearly hit me, but I moved to the side to be enveloped by a blast of Frost from the ground. It was painful, but the enchantments on my armor took the brunt of the Magickal energy, and my Breton blood saved me further. Still hurt awful, though.
"I've gotten better, too, luv," Dwemer snarled. Her robes glowed slightly, also having absorbed the fire rune. "Anything you can do, I can do better."
"Doubtful," I replied. I fired another of stream of Lightning, following her with it as she ran. The Magicka tore through the ancient buildings of Markarth's, ironically in retrospect, Dwemer city. Millennia old masonry crumbled to dust beneath the weight of my power, the city growing to match its people – dead.
I raised a ward as a beam of lightning rushed in, deflecting the Magicka in a flash of light. I regained my sight just in time to move my armored hand up to block an incoming kick from Dwemer, but not quickly enough to move out of the path of her second strike that snapped into the side of my head and sent me tumbling away. I was already channeling Restoration Magick when her foot hit my head, and was quickly back on my feet. She was faster than I remembered.
I fired another bolt of Lightning, one that quickly collided with one she launched at me. The Magicka met in the center of the distance between us, an ever growing sphere of Aetherial power in Nirn. "It seems you are not as strong as you had hoped!" Dwemer screamed over the sound of the colliding Magickal power. I growled, the echoes of the Thu'um rumbling in my throat, but unable to turn the tide in my favor. As of yet, I had been unable to find a way to use the Voice while channeling Magicka; the concentration required of both was absolute. The sphere of power began to grow between us. "You have been weakened by your time with Men! A knife dulled by rust!"
"And you are a rabid animal!" I spat in retort. She laughed and jumped to the side, channeling just enough Magicka into the battle to deflect it out of her path and, instead, through the Jarl's palace. The ancient building seemed to shriek as large portions of it disappeared and the stone crashed to the ground. The boulders rolled down through the city, a veritable avalanche. I ran off to an alley between buildings, saving myself from one of the huge stones that tumbled through the streets.
"Like a skeever to a trap," Dwemer snarled behind me. I screamed in pain and fell to my back. Instinctively, I released my ancestor's magic in a vain attempt to defeat her will and save myself. She laughed. "You know I am too strong willed for that."
"But not for this, too," Serana's voice came.
"No..." I groaned. A green bolt crashed into Dwemer's body and she stumbled, visibly shaken. There was a pained shriek and a roar, the last thing I heard before my vision blacked out and Nirn was gone.
Jul – 7 Eruvos Vod
Ayleid
"Why? Why, luv?" Tanyin asked as I stood up. I hadn't expected this from her – she hated the Thalmor more than any. But had I... Had I really changed her that much at Skingrad? I thought – "I am not Tanyin. I am Dwemer. Ayleid, why are you doing this? Luv?"
"Tanyin... Tanyin, this isn't who we are," I told her. "We can run, just like you talked about. You were right, this isn't... this isn't how people are supposed to live."
She stared at me and then down at the Thalmor. "We are not people," she said simply. She rushed forward, my mother's enchanted cloak flying out behind her. Roaring, she continued, "We are weapons!"
I ducked beneath her incoming blow and shouldered her in the gut as she was above me. She tumbled to the ground, then rolled to her feet and rushed once more to kill me. Still, I did not raise my sword. "Tanyin, please stop!" I begged, effortlessly moving past her blows. I raised a ward and her Flame spell was deflected into the wall. The Magickal flames took, and the Fort was on its way to being a pile of ash. Good, get rid of it all. "Tanyin, we need to get out of here!"
"I am Dwemer!" she screamed, tears streaming from her face. I stared in horror as I moved past her next assault. The scars on her neck, the ones I had left in the process of making her a monster like me, glistened with sweat on her neck. I dropped my sword and shoved the woman away from me.
"Stop, please, I'm begging you, Tanyin!" I screamed. I held my hand out to her. "We can escape. Be human."
She stared at me, her eyes hollow. "I can think of nothing worse," she said coldly. She rushed towards me and I rolled out of the way of her next attack. She tumbled over me and into the flames, shrieking in pain.
"Tanyin!" I screamed. I ran towards the flames.
She clawed her way towards me, skin ablaze. One arm was raised, glowing weakly with Frost. Her hair was melting into her scalp. "Die, Ayleid!" she snarled.
I looked down at the creature. "He already has," I told the husk at my feet. I turned away. "My name is Lucius." Then I walked away with tears streaming down my cheeks.
Jul – Nu
Lucius
I have vague memories of my time unconscious. There are images, things I barely saw as Serana dragged me from the city, and other sensations. The feeling of taut, dry, gray skin on my skin. The feeling of being hoisted into the air. The flapping of wings. Blood. Lots of blood. The iron scent wafted into my nose from all around and permeated my nightmares. Skingrad appeared before my eyes often in that fitful... I don't want to say sleep, because, really, I was passed out.
When I awoke, finally, it was dark and damp. The air smelled of freshness and rain that washed away the world. "Serana?" I croaked hoarsely. Gold eyes turned to me from the darkness. There was a flash of lightning from the sky followed by echoing thunder and I saw we were in a cave. For the briefest moment I could see the fear in Serana's eyes as she gazed at me. I groaned, a noise like a wild Horker's call, and pushed myself up to sit against the cave wall. It was made easier by the fact my armor was carefully laid on the cave floor nearby. I was dressed in my tunic I wore beneath the plate armor. "Serana, I... Thank you for saving me."
The gold orbs fixed on me bobbed up and down for a moment then gazed out into the night again. "You should get some sleep," I suggested.
"It's night," she replied.
"We need to move during the day, Serana," I reminded. She sighed and turned back to me. Another flash of lightning revealed her face was still coated with a quiet fear. I let my head fall then shook it. "Ask the question, Serana."
"What are you really?" She was across from me now, her back against the wall. She sat down and our feet touched in the small width of the cave. "You weren't just some slave, were you?"
I smiled sadly. I ran my thumb across the knuckle of my finger. "No, I wasn't. You said you didn't hold it against me that I was forced to kill cities. I'm a different person now, or whatever?" I began. I shook my head. "I didn't kill cities. I wiped them away. For all their faults, the Thalmor are very good at training Mages, especially the ones whose lives they don't care about.
"They pushed me – us, me and Tanyin – to the very brink of Magicka. We tested all the most dangerous theories on Destruction Magick, Summoning Magick. Anything they could use in their coming war with the Empire. For instance, did you know that the entire world – all of Nirn – is made out of Aetherial energy? Everything was crafted by the Divines from their own bones, their own lifeblood. As much as we deny it, Nirn is almost like a Plane of Oblivion or Aetherius in its own right. Anyways, we learned all sorts of things one could do with Magick. There are craters in Valenwood where rebellious Bosmer cities were turned to ash overnight." I smelled the fires. I looked up at her and forced a broken smile. "You were wondering who she was, correct?"
"It doesn't matter. She should be dead, now," Serana explained. She smiled coldly. "She didn't make it when I saved you."
I almost fell for it. Almost. I was smiling, thinking I was once again free from the Thalmor. Then it hit me. "Was she still wearing the black cloak?"
"What?" Serana asked, worry creeping into her voice. She shook her head and shrugged. "I don't know. Why?"
I sighed and looked down at the ground. I pulled my knees up to my chest and nearly cried. I had come so close. "The cloak is enchanted. Once for a life beget on Mundus, it delays Arkay."
"It... what?"
"If you are murdered wearing the cloak, you die. And then you come back, whole again. Fixed. But only once," I explained. Serana looked astonished. "It's a trick I picked up. Haven't been able to pick it up again. It's too difficult."
"S-so she's not dead?"
"No. And now she's going to come after us with everything," I told her.
Serana seemed scared. "That wasn't everything she had?"
"That?" I replied. I laughed and saw Serana tense in fear. "That was the warm up. The fight hasn't even started yet."
Jul
Dwemer
The dead city was silent, with no living creature of Mundus within her walls. Markarth was now the city twice abandoned because of gods and their games. Not a single soul remained within the walls of Markarth.
And suddenly, that was no longer true.
The woman's body shot up, her back arching painfully. The world burned. Her throat begged for water. Her stomach felt empty, devoid of any sustenance. The sun bore down on her with heat like fire. It was a struggle for her to even stay awake in the pain, the aching brokenness.
Then, slowly, it was over. Air flooded into her lungs and cooled her. Her tongue was no longer like a cotton ball in her mouth. Soon, she noticed that she had been unable to move her hands, unable to blink, and now she could. Her heart slowed back to its normal, quiet thump-thump. She pushed herself to her feet and hissed in pain: her gut still hurt from where that Vampire bitch had gutted her with gray, cruel claws. But it was whole, at least.
Compulsively, Dwemer ran her hands down her head to calm herself. The smooth skin of her neck and shoulder greeted her and she stopped in unsure puzzlement. "Something is wrong," she hissed to herself. She ran her fingers up and down her neck again a few times before she began to hyperventilate. "No.. No, they can't be gone. No..." Her breathing grew more and more erratic. "No, no... No..."
She wildly tore at her belt, struggling to unsheath the dagger at her hip. She could not help herself, she could not stop herself. Her skin was clean, it was fixed. It was broken. Her only reminders of Ayleid and his kidnapping at Luc's hands. This was not right to her, it was not right for her skin to be that of Tanyin once again. To be like that human was weakness, was wrong and dirty.
Dwemer raised the blade to the side of her neck and began to laugh maniacally, shaking her entire body with insanity. Then she ran the blade over her skin, igniting her flesh and burning a scar into her neck. She gasped in pain, but quickly moved the blade down and did the same again. Again. Again. Again. Again until all the scars had returned to her. The air sizzled with the scent of burning flesh, a scent that calmed Dwemer. She ran her hands gratefully up and down the fresh scars that now crisscrossed her neck. She sighed contentedly as the remains of her sanity returned to her.
Then she grabbed the knife and did the same to the other side of her neck.
