AN:
To Darthfenrir489: Right, I actually kind of forgot about that. That's what Retcons are for, I guess. Taking into account that male Vampires could have children with mortals in Elder Scrolls (as we know from the Grand Prince of the Arena in Oblivion), I originally just used that as justification. With your reminder, however, I suppose I would have to say that Octavian's existence would be a gift, in a manner of speaking. Florentius has already said that Arkay approves, and since Arkay is occasionally directly connected to Mara, Octavian could be seen as a gift from the gods of Death/Life and Love. So thanks for pointing that out, I will try to place it directly into the story eventually. Also, thanks for the compliment on the story's path thus far!
Fahiil
Thera
I had been sent to get Neloth a new steward. He turned me into a damn errand girl, going off to do a pointless fetch quest in that Dunmer village. I made it a point to get the most useless drunk I could... not to mention that he was the only person in the village who was desperate enough to agree to it. Neloth has a reputation for being ruthless and uncaring towards his inferiors, and that is coming from me. I hope this steward tries to kill him. I'm growing bored of his endless demands in return for small favors. I am thinking that I will not only have to kill him soon, but it will also be far more of a joy to do so than I had expected.
Thankfully, his asinine first request was followed by one infinitely more intriguing. It turned out that Neloth the Insufferable was being hunted by a dead woman. I have to admit, that was an odd one even after my line of work. He had apparently torn out the woman's heart himself on an operating table, then buried her not far from his giant mushroom home. The coffin was empty of any clues, save for a single magickal Heart Stone, and a name etched on the surface. Ildari Sarothril.
When he heard the name, I swear that Neloth's face had turned a few shades of gray lighter. Ildari, it turned out, was his former apprentice. His current apprentice, upon finding out that his master had cut open his predecessor's chest for an experiment, had paled even more. It appears that the Heart Stones are some sort of ancient magickal item, perhaps pieces of the Heart of Lorhkan created when that fool Dunmer the Nerevarine shattered the Heart into uncountable fragment. This meant that Neloth's research could become quite important – the Heart of a Divine would be useful in Mantling the Nine.
Unfortunately, I had more immediate problems to deal with at that moment. I was deep in the bowels of Highpoint Tower, an old Imperial fort from the era preceding the Oblivion Crisis. Ash Spawn had been rushing me ever since I had entered the building, and even a swarm of scamps can eventually overwhelm a Daedroth. Still, this at least gave me an opportunity to practice a skill I had been far too lax in trying to master. As another of the creatures approached me I pulled out the Skeleton Key, the green and silver body of the item flashing as I exchanged my secondary blade for the artifact.
As of yet, I had been unable to fully unlock the Key's abilities. That old fool who had tried to betray me and use the Key to take the Eyes of the Thalmor from me had used it for decades before he had managed to unlock its abilities to bend space and time around him, but he had been human. As not only a Mer but also a Daughter of Coldharbour and future Divine, it should have been a simple matter for me to use its power. And yet I still had little control over the tool's abilties. I had only managed to make myself slightly faster and stronger, but I still needed to hold it in my hand like a weapon to use this ability, more than offsetting its usefulness by getting rid of my second blade.
I plunged the blade in my right hand all the way through an incoming Ash Spawn. Hmph, they were easier to kill than humans. Its ashen form fell apart around my weapon, leaving a cracked and broken Heart Stone on the ground where it had been standing a moment before. I turned around as quickly as I could, separating another Ash Spawn's head from its shoulders with a single swipe. This did little other than stun the creature, as the Heart Stone in its chest continued to pulse with magickal power, so I brought my weapon back and jammed it straight into the stone, shattering it. "What a waste," I muttered angrily before a hissing moan came from my left. I hissed back at the creature and slashed its incoming weapon arm off, the stone club clattering against the ground. "Fus!" The creature's body exploded as the force blew its ash away from its Heart Stone and the Ash Spawn was consigned to oblivion.
"This is growing old," I muttered to myself. I lowered my blade to my hip, waiting for another creature to attack me. Fortunately, it seemed as if the Ash Spawn had learned better than to keep fruitlessly attacking me. I took an annoyed breath again and sheathed the sword so I could hold the Skeleton Key in both hands. "What, do you believe that idiot Frey was more worthy of your power than I?" Perhaps predictably, it did not answer. I shook my head and pocketed the Skeleton Key with a disgusted sneer. When I mantled the Heavens I would take all that the Daedra held as my own. The Key would have no choice but to belong to me then. Maybe I'd make a sword out of it! No... No that sounds absurd.
I turned towards the door away from which the Ash Spawn had been unsuccessfully trying to drive me. It looked as if Ildari was done hiding behind her weak slaves. Fine by me. It was just going to be a simple diversion if these were the best obstacles that she could place in my path. Well, as long as she did not die too fast I could hopefully gleam some sort of advantage over Neloth from her twisted, undead mind. And I wonder what blood pumped through the fragment of the Heart of a god would taste like? I smiled at the thought of finding out.
"So, Neloth the Coward sends someone else to kill his former student? He knows I have surpassed him, then!" I looked up at the Dunmer standing on a balcony above me. Her face was a manic grin, hair disheveled and covered in ash. I sighed, disappointed, at the sight of her torn and singed robes and the chipped ebony dagger held far too tight in her hand. I am loathe to admit it, but part of me had been holding out hope for a small challenge. I had spent far too long fighting weak enemies, so much so that now Lucius was a true threat to me. Perhaps by stealing whatever power Miraak had, I could find a secret to more easily killing my mirror. And, if that failed, I am sure that the new Ayleid's face would distract Lucius long enough to deal true damage. Perhaps if he had no Voice he would be manageable.
"I don't have time for this," I sighed The world around me began to slowly turn a bloody red as I summoned up magic in the deepest pit of my soul. My voice grew lower and more gravelly with every syllable uttered. "Now that I see you, I know you have no information I can use against Neloth. Your life has no worth to me now." Then my wings exploded from my back and I launched myself through the air at Sarothril. My jaw opened wide, huge teeth and gray claws wrapping around her throat and strangling the scream that was trying to escape her lungs. Her blood flowed into my maw and the warbling screech died away completely into a whimper until, finally, I had drained her body dry.
I let it fall from my claws and collapse into lifeless ash against the ground. I licked my large teeth. "Cinnamon. Hm."
Jul
Lucius
"DAAAMN IT!" I screamed as the ground gave way beneath me. I turned on instinct and tried to run towards the more solid stone and the safety it promised, though it seemed as if the gods still enjoyed laughing at me and my efforts. The stone beneath me crumbled completely and I began to tumble towards the floor of the cave far below, only slowing as I slammed into a series of cliffs just close enough to one another that when I hit each it was only incredibly painful rather than actually debilitating. I hit the ground just as hard and groaned. "Why... Why does this always happen to me?" I growled. I shut my eyes. I felt like taking a nap.
"Idiot."
I opened my eyes slowly, feeling much better now that I had slept for an hour or two. The bruises were gone, and a dull ache in my left shoulder told me that my arm had been both dislocated and then relocated. "Who's an idiot?" I growled, expecting Dorthe. "I told you to stay with Serana and Octavian!"
"Oh, looks as if you haven't gotten any better at noticing things these past five years." I looked up at the source of the voice and my eyes met a pair of shining, golden orbs. Serana shook her head and sighed in disappointment. "Honestly, you go on one adventure without me and you immediately fall down a cliff. I hope you do better when Dorthe is watching out for you."
"... Why are you here?"
Serana raised an eyebrow and I knew I'd said the wrong thing. "Oh, so you don't want to see me? Too bad. I'm here." She flicked my forehead with her middle finger and I hissed at the sudden, sharp pain. "Tell me, what'd you learn about the ground by sleeping with it?"
"It doesn't hit as hard as you do," I grunted.
"Flatterer." Serana smiled at me and held her hand out to help me to my feet. I sighed and accepted the aid and was soon on my feet.
"You know what I meant," I pointed out after a moment of silence. "You know Thera is here. She's going to try to capture you. Why didn't you stay with Dorthe and Octavian?"
"Because, as we both know, I can handle myself. Unlike you. You can't get ten feet without someone having to save your life." Serana placed one hand on her hip. I sighed and decided to just take in the sights for a moment.
Serana was dressed in an armor somewhat reminiscent of the armor she had been wearing when we had met. It was black with blood red overtones, but the edifices of Molag Bal had been removed from the clasps of the cloak. In the place of that god were two Imperial Dragons, something that brought a small smile to my face. Her entire chest was covered by the armor, beneath which a leathery red shirt hung from her shoulders. Her cloak had been replaced with mine, the dim green glow visible in the darkness. Her hair was dangling in her face, ever so slightly. "Like what you see?"
I smiled as I was snapped out of my stupor. "It's certainly more protective than what you used to wear," I said, gesturing at her chest for emphasis. "Tired of sunburn?"
"Among other things," she said, her fangs flashing as she smiled at me. She grabbed me suddenly by the collar of my coat and dragged my face in front of hers.
My eyes softened and I shook my head. "I've never been so glad you never listen to me."
"I listen," she said indignantly. She let go of my collar and patted the top of my head condescendingly. "When you have a good idea."
"So not often?" I asked, taking the degradation in stride. I grabbed her other arm. "I think I have a good idea right now."
She raised an eyebrow and stopped tapping my head. "Oh really?"
"Kiss me."
Serana smirked. "What do you know? You're right," she said before leaning in. I wrapped my arms around her waist as hers wrapped around my neck. She let the kiss die after a moment. "Unfortunately, I think we should get out of here. This is an Ebony mine, and I don't think this is the best place for what's on your mind."
"Our minds," I corrected her.
"Fair." She let go of me and I sighed in defeat, letting go of her hesitatingly. She turned and pointed at a wall. "Tell me, Archmage, do you know how to break through that?"
"Hm..." I muttered. I walked towards the stone, where a large, crisscrossing series of red lights was glowing from within the wall. I reached out and felt the trace magicka within pressing against my mind. It felt... primal, raw, and evil. And also very familiar. "It's a Dragon Priest's Temple." I took a step back before launching a blade of energy from my hand at the wall. The red glow dimmed for a moment as the spells met, then glowed even brighter, my spell having done nothing to weaken it.
"You lost your touch?"
"You tell me," I shot back at Serana. I frowned and studied the energy further. Something about it felt... off. Divided. I placed my hand on the wall, trying to attune my magicka with the energy in the wall, then let loose a spell. It was a variation of the Clairvoyance spell, which connected the magicka within a person to the magicka within a region in order to map the quickest route. This, instead, was connecting the magicka in the wall to whatever else contained that magick. I could see two paths spread out in my mind's eye, one leading through the wall and towards the Dragon Priest who hid within. Another extended behind me, leading towards another of the cavern's walls. I let the spell die and turned around. "Serana, do you see anything over there."
She followed my gaze and turned, her night vision letting her catch sight of it quickly. "A sword." She ran over and picked it up, dragging it into my field of vision. It was a large blade, a claymore made of steel and some sort of red, magickal mineral. As it approached the glowing wall, the red mineral began to glow along the blade's edge.
"A key," I corrected. She gave me a weird look. "Hey, it's not the first key that's a sword I've had to deal with on my travels." I walked towards her and held my hand out. "May I?"
Serana shrugged and held the blade's handle out to me. I took it and hefted the blade over my shoulder. Immediately, I felt the flow of magicka in my body change, flowing into my palms and up the length of the blade. On a whim, I slashed the blade at the glowing wall, causing a blade of red energy to fly out of the sword. The red light on the wall flashed when the blade connected before disappearing. I raised the blade in front of me again and slashed at another of the glowing beams, then another, and another. Finally, the brown stone crumbled. I tossed the sword to the ground and drew Dragonslayer.
"What should we be expecting?" Serana asked, drawing an ebony dagger from her hip and following me towards the opening.
"Dragon Priest. Masked, most likely," I explained.
"Ah. Plan?"
"I'll think of something," I assured her. I walked through the opening and Serana was barely able to stop me in time to avoid a spinning blade that passed just in front of me. "A-ah." I took a step back.
"You see what I mean? You'd be dead without me," Serana whispered as I stepped back. I didn't point out to her how worried she sounded.
"Okay, you're right," I admitted with a shrug.
"Good. Took you long enough to figure that out," she growled, punching my shoulder. She gestured next at the hallway of spinning, deadly blades. "Any plans?"
"One," I said. I took a step forward, letting the blade move as close to me as possible.
"Is it a bad idea?"
"You tell me." I took a deep breath as the blade passed me again. "Wuld Nah Kest!" I was suddenly at the other side of the hallway, a lever at my feet. I pulled it, and I heard the swinging blades click into place as the trap was deactivated. I turned around to see Serana glaring at me. "That good?"
"You're going to be the death of me one day," she growled. She walked past me and I grinned at the back of her head. She stopped and looked over her shoulder at me. "Well?" I nodded and followed her towards the Dragon Priest. It would be nice to kill something with her again.
As usual, as soon as we entered the room the Dragon Priest rose from his coffin as if pulled by the strings of a marionette before unleashing his power and hissing at us. His mask was gray and a different design than the others I had taken up to this point, with small tentacles forming the mouth. It looked like a more simple version of the one Miraak wore, with the tentacles much shorteer and more tame in their curling. "Okay, here's the plan," I said out of the corner of my mouth. "... I bet I can kill him first."
"Good luck with that," Serana smirked, and she ran towards the Dragon Priest before I could. I let my weapon remain at my side, determined to watch her work for at least a few minutes. Her dagger slashed past a beam of Lightning energy, the spell flashing and hissing as it collided with the ground behind the Vampiress. She sidestepped the next spell, which rushed past her and towards me. I raised my hand and absorbed the spell with a ward, the blue energy distorting my view of Serana slightly. She rolled beneath a swipe from the Draugr's claw, then jumped upward and wrapped her hand around the Dragon Priest's throat. It shrieked and began to tumble backwards, the concentration required to keep it aloft gone. Serana buried her dagger in its throat and hit the ground with only ash and a mask beneath her.
"Hmph. You win," I said as she stood up and began to walk towards me, a dry glare on her face.
"Just like you to make me do all the work."
"I like having my eye on you again," I said, sheathing my blade. She arrived in front of me and crossed her arms. "I don't want this to go to your head, but it's kind of hard to take them off of you."
Serana grinned at me and placed a kiss on my jawline. "Flattery will get you somewhere."
I opened my mouth to say more, but froze when I saw something floating behind Serana. I swallowed the fear in my throat as the black book opened and a writhing mass of tentacles appeared from its pages. "Hello... Dragonborn," a ponderous, condescending voice said.
"Hermaeus Mora," I growled at the single demonic eye at the center of the tentacles. Ever the voyeur, that one.
