Jul
Ayleid
The Lord Trainer stood beside me, hand on my shoulder, as we gazed down at the milling group of recruits – insects all who had been taken like the animals they were from those who had reared them. It was an incredibly diverse cross-section, with men and women representing Redguard, Nord, Breton, Imperial, and every possible cross-breed possible between those four. I thought I even saw a few Man-Mer bastards in the mix, though it was always hard to tell if one was actually the child of a Lord who had fallen so far as to suffer the touch a human.
"Do you see any you like?" the trainer asked from my right, pushing me towards the railing and forcing my gaze to run over each and every one of the new recruits. All of them were struggling, attacking each other as they had been told – the last few to survive would be those I chose from as my... trainee, I suppose. I would mold them much as I had been molded by the Lords and my original partner.
"Truthfully, Master? No, not yet," I replied, disdainful of the creatures far below. To consider one's life worth saving if they were not Mer? What great folly. "The group down there is all warriors, true, but you have taught me that the sword is not the only weapon. Nor the best one. None seem to have that... spark."
"Indeed. Finding humans imbued with the same Magickal fury that flows even in your veins is a... challenging prospect. I had hoped some of the halflings would hold the blood of their Mer parents, but it appears human blood is often too draining," the Lord wisely stated, his grip tightening around my clavicle. His elven gauntlets pierced my skin and that same weakened blood began to run slowly down my chest beneath my tunic. I did not move. My Lord did, however, releasing me and turning away. There was a clatter as he tossed his gauntlet away. "Bathed in human blood – worthless."
"Of course, Master," I mumbled, still examining the worthless beings in the pit. A few were dead now – insects among insects, it seemed.
"Choose one or have it chosen for you. Few of our weapons get the choice," he commanded as he continued to walk away, leaving me to glare down at them myself.
The battle below was meaningless, in the long run. Animals uselessly killing each other. Hopefully, one of power would show themselves. Likely, they would not. I am a rarity, a being of power amongst the insects. No, Mer, true, but like an Alpha amongst beasts. I watched one of my potential partners fall to a clumsy dagger blow and scoffed.
I hoped to get one of the younger ones – I had been brought in as a child and was stronger for it. However, I doubted that would happen. The young ones often die – again, I am a rare weapon.
Child after child fell – no. I mean, drone after drone fell to the bestial rage of their companions, their souls fading away to the nothingness to which human souls departed. Mer who fell entered Aetherius, at least until their immortality was regained. Men? Nothing returns to nothing.
That was when something caught my eye. A Redguard girl, about my age. She was standing with her back to a fallen rival who was clutching at their severed hand. But she had no weapon. She stood between the Nord man who had the knife that had done it and his former victim. I raised my hand to my chin and watched with interest. "What are you planning, girl?"
The Nord and the Redguard began shouting at each other, incoherent among the din of the battles raging around them and the resulting screams from said battles. The Nord slashed at the woman suddenly, but she merely sidestepped the blow and backed away. Quick. But she did not counter. Why? The Nord slashed at her again, his focus on his prey all but forgotten. He slashed again. Air. Again. Air. Again. Air, yet again. He could not harm the girl.
By this point, they had gotten a distance away from the injured insect. The Nord was becoming increasingly erratic in his movements, angered by his sheer inability to kill this one girl. It was a little entertaining, truthfully. More entertaining, though, was his decision to turn and run from her. His sudden reversal stunned the Redguard, who stood open to an attack as he ran. But no attack came for her; the Nord instead rushed towards his former prey and buried his blade in the insect's skull.
And then came the most interesting part. The Redguard screamed in rage and I felt something I hadn't expected. Power. Raw Magickal energy erupted from the woman's skin, bolts of energy flying around her. One struck the floor near me, sending huge shards of wood erupting upwards and burying splinters in my arms. I paid little attention, just enough to send a healing spell down my body to get rid of the minor wounds. My eyes were locked, transfixed on the young Redguard as the energy continued to whip around her. It shifted to a blazing red as the energy continued to run down her arms and to her hands, concentrating in the channels of power.
And then she released it. The entire pit was immediately bathed in bright, burning flames. The screams became a single, unified chorus as the Magicka turned to fire from the woman's skin, charring the bodies of all the survivors. As they slowly roasted, one could hear the faint pops of their eyes exploding, boiling from the inside. It was – I... And just like that, they all died. Painfully, slowly as they were burned alive by the steady stream – no, ocean of flames. "Her," I told the Lord nearest me. "I will take her."
Fahiil
Thera
I can truthfully say that I had not been prepared for the ferocity of Dwemer's assault. It came as a striking realization that she had underestimated us during our last duel with her, and had paid the price for her folly. Now, however, she knew what she was getting into. Beams of pure Lightning erupted from her palms, crashing through the walls where we had been standing just moments before. I thought I had seen the extent of her power when she had toyed with me as I had found Dexion, but no. She was far beyond what I had ever considered possible with Magick.
As the rubble exploded from the ceiling of the once frozen over chantry, the woman quickly shifted the nature of the power emanating from her. Golden energy lanced out from her fingertips and I rushed from where I stood, barely in time to avoid the huge stone that crashed into the ground where I had stood. But even as I did, I was surrounded by pain. Bolts of arcing lightning flowed across my skin from the floor and I screamed. When had she found the time to cast a rune during her assault?
"I have to say, I didn't expect you to perform so well against me last time. You were tired, weakened from your fight.. But somehow you three and that old man managed to prevail against me," Dwemer spat, the beams of lightning pouring over the ground once again. I regained my senses just in time to jump out of one's path and save my life. I had no clue how the others were faring, though – given that I was of superior Mer blood – I doubted it was any better. "So now you have my full attention."
"Great. I have too much attention; give it to someone else!" Lucius joked over the storm. His voice was pained, however – Gelebor's death seemed to have affected him. Odd, seeing as he could only have met the Snow Elf for a mere moment. Though, he was weak in that he tried to form bonds with any he came across, regardless of their weaknesses.
"Oh, Luv, you'll be next," Dwemer threatened and I realized that she was making sure he would survive. As I jumped over another beam, I noticed that one of the Lightning streams was dedicated to both Serana and myself. The other, solely to Lucius. She considered him the true threat, hm? Then I would show her just how foolish that was. "After all, you gave that whorish bitch the cloak? I'll have to punish you for that one." That gave me an idea...
"Whore!" I hissed at Serana as I made my way near her, drawing an iresome glare from her. "I will provide you with an... opportunity." The woman grunted in what I hoped was affirmation, because we were soon split up by the steady stream of Lightning.
Dwemer's Magicka reserves were, to say the least, astounding. Any other Mage would have already wasted their power twice over in her circumstance, yet here she stood – a Vampire in the blinding sun no less – waging continuous battle against two of the greatest warriors in all of Tamriel... and Serana, I suppose.
I rushed forward at my earliest opportunity, as the energy swerved towards Serana. I drew a throwing dagger from my hip and sent it flying towards our opponent. Dwemer's gaze turned towards me just in time, and she brought her hand up to point directly at the knife. The energy in her hand shifted as she did so, the same gold appearing to grasp the knife that was too close to be completely annihilated by her lightning. The gold angled the path of the blade, deflecting it over her shoulder. This left her open, of course, to the spike of ice that crashed through her leg. She screamed in pain, both streams of energy dissipating as she fell to her knee.
Golden energy flowed down her body, shattering the icy spear and basically rebuilding her leg. What manner of beast was she that she could do this? I advanced on her, both blades ready to quickly behead her. "Back away!" Lucius shouted, drawing my attention. I did not hesitate – in this moment, not even I would have lied to him. I did as he had suggested just in time, barely making my way outside a pillar of flames that erupted from the ground around Dwemer. I glanced over at Lucius. A moment later, and I would have been ash. A sorely tempting prospect to the human, I'm sure.
"Fine, then," Dwemer said, quiet and menacing, as the flames died down. "I had hoped it wouldn't come to this. I'm not very good at controlling myself; I'm not sure if I'll be able to keep myself from turning you, Luv. It would be better if Lady Lamae did that herself. That's to say nothing of the possibility that I kill you."
It was my turn to understand. "Kill her now!" I screamed, drawing another knife and letting it fly. Lightning and fire flew at her as well. The knife buried itself in her shoulder and the spells exploded around her. Too late, it appeared. The knife fell from her skin as it turned to a bloody crimson, the Magicka was swiftly absorbed by the power that now emanated from the Vampire. I let slip the rare prayer. "Divines help us..."
The facade of the woman before us began to shudder and crack, contorting wildly as the creature within began to make itself known. Pain flashed across the few visible features of Dwemer as a wing tore its way free of her flesh, erupting in bloody gore. This was nothing like my own transformations. This was... animalistic. Savage. The next wing exploded from her shoulder as well, tearing skin away. The two flapped once and large flaps of skin drifted to the ground before melting away in blood that began to crawl back to her writhing form. Long, bladed claws and even longer fingers ripped their way out of where her bony appendages had been moments before. Her spine lengthened suddenly and her skull loudly cracked as it rearranged itself to fit its new needs. As the red film slowly was absorbed back into her skin, there was a dull, horrifying rumble... "Hungry... So... Hungry..."
Jul
Lucius
I had thought our fight difficult when it was Dwemer we had been united against. Now, however, it appeared that she was merely the warm up. The Vampire that had replaced her was even more dangerous, moving between the three of us like a bolt of gray lightning. Even as I raised my blade to catch her claws, I was already being tossed aside like a ragdoll. It appeared that my three allies were in much the same position.
I rolled to the side, barely escaping being impaled by the claws that rushed down at me. "You weren't lying – you can't control yourself," I said as I realized that blow had been intended to kill me. The Vampire merely shrieked in reply, stopping for a moment before jumping at me and trying to bury its teeth in my throat.
This time, however, I was able to raise my sword quickly enough, holding the weapon in her jaws and blocking the probably life-threatening blow. The flames that came into being across her flesh did little to dissuade her from continuing her attempt on my life, instead causing her to place the full brunt of her weight atop me. I grunted in pain as the points of Auri-El's Bow jabbed into my back, somehow even causing pain through my Daedric plate. "Dwemer – Tanyin, please!" I growled, barely holding off the attack.
The creature's response: "Hungry..."
"Fine then," I snapped, pulling my feet up to plant them on Dwemer's face. "Eat this!" I lashed out, extending my body completely and rolling onto my feet – which, let me just say, is both painful and incredibly difficult in heavy plate armor – even while I launched the Vampire away. She dashed to the ground, already on to her next target and trying to rip Thera's throat out with her teeth. I ran towards the Vampire, only to be inconvenienced as it was already attacking Serana, who was across the courtyard.
"We need to make our way together!" I shouted, sprinting for the center of the courtyard where Gelebor's body still remained. I brought my sword up in anticipation, slamming its hilt into Dwemer's jaw as she suddenly appeared as if from thin air. She stumbled back with a hideous roar and I felt myself get thrown away again, tumbling down the icy stairs and back into the ruined chantry.
"Gods above, that should have killed you," a familiar voice said from above me. I groaned in pain and looked up into the face of the god once again. He looked the same, though there were things I hadn't noticed before. There was a long, thin scar across his throat and his lips were crisscrossed with thin, almost unnoticeable scars as well. He extended a hand towards me, which I ignored, and he shrugged as I pushed myself up to my feet.
"Wh-What are you doing here?" I asked, gasping in pain and falling back to my knees. I think something in my body was broken – though I couldn't quite tell what. Everything, maybe? I channeled Magick down my arms and into my body, but stopped immediately. It was only making the pain worse.
"Will you take my help, now?" he asked.
I glared up at him, earning nothing but an amused, wry smile. "I can wait an eternity. Given your wounds, I'd say you've got five minutes."
"Please," I growled, nowhere near meaning it. It seemed good enough for the deity, however, as he began to channel primordial Magick through me. My bones and tissue snapped and sewed back into place with a, somehow pleasurable, pop. I took a breath, surprised by how deep it went. I must have had a crushed lung. "What are you doing here?"
"You not know any other words to this song and dance?" the god asked, seemingly ignoring me.
"I need to know!" I snapped. I turned back to the stairs. "If you won't tell me, I have to go back up there to save someone I hate and – much more importantly – someone I love." I began to walk up the stairs when I received no response.
"At the expense of someone else you love," the unknown god said quietly. I stopped moving and let my head fall.
"Yes. It's hard to give up love," I said, turning to glare at him over my shoulder.
"That's why you want to kill her. If Serana does it, you're afraid you'll resent her," the god said. My conversation with Serana from days earlier echoed in my ears – it was not only for her benefit. "And you don't want Thera to do it, because you think it should be you. You brought Dwemer into this world, after all."
"It's only fair I send Tanyin out of it," I growled, finishing the thought that had been running through my mind since the fight had began. I sheathed my sword and walked back down to the god. "Help me. Please." This time I meant it with all my being.
The god cocked his head to the side, staring at me. His eyes seemed to pierce my being, questing after something hidden within. Finally, he nodded. "Akatosh isn't a big fan of us interfering in mortal business – the whole locking other planes out of Nirn and all. But a little bit of aid for a weary warrior? Well, you can't expect me of all Divines to just let that go." The god reached behind his back and pulled out a small quiver made of gleaming gold.
"Elven arrows?" I asked dryly. If he was who I thought he was, there was an irony in there somewhere. "Well, never let it be said that the aid of gods is overwhelming."
"I think you'll find it to be exactly what you need," the Divine muttered with a grin. He tossed the arrows to me and I caught them in one hand, looping the quiver around my shoulders. "Sunhallowed Arrows. If you don't want to hurt your woman up there, I wouldn't aim them at the sun."
My eyes widened slightly and I gingerly, but quickly as I could, unlooped Auri-El's Bow from my shoulders. I looked down at the weapon, its elegant curves and incredible, Divine craftsmanship. "You want me to – " I looked up. He was already gone. Well, this little Deus ex Machina was already more than I could have hoped for, so I wasn't going to waste it. I nocked one of the arrows on the Bow, the weapon humming appreciatively as the bow and arrow became one, then made my way up the stairs.
