CHAPTER FOUR: CLOUD RULER TEMPLE

Martin

Martin was up before the sun that morning. Like most mornings, he went straight from his personal room in the West Wing of Cloud Ruler Temple to the Great Hall. Two Blades—Achilles and Roliand—followed closely behind him, having been posted outside his room during the night.

I wonder if I'll ever go anywhere alone again, once I actually become Emperor. It wasn't that Martin didn't appreciate their devotion to protecting him; he was just still not used to being followed everywhere he went.

The Great Hall was, well, great. It must have got its name for some reason, after all. Tables ran parallel to large, intricate archways that held up the ceiling. Akaviri Katanas having previously belonged to fallen Blades hung from these archways and on the walls. Suspended flames came down from both the ceiling and from wooden carvings of dragons attached to the archways, though Martin wasn't sure how the fires remained lit seemingly without any aid. A blazing fireplace opposite of the entrance to the Grand Hall warmed up the entire room.

To his surprise, since most of the Blades ate their meals in the East Wing's dining room, Jauffre was sitting at one of the tables closest to the fireplace eating a small breakfast. Martin guessed that the man was in his early seventies, judging by the wrinkles and gray hair. He remembered being stunned at how impressive Jauffre had been at Weynon Prior during the battle with the Mythic Dawn, despite his age.

"Good morning," Martin said to the Grandmaster of the Blades as he took a seat across from him. He placed three books he had brought from his room on the table, all of which were about the same topic: the Septim Dynasty.

Jauffre looked up, a tired smile forming on his face. "Up rather early today, aren't we?" His eyes shot to the books, their titles having been facing him. "I see you've taken an interest in your family history."

Martin nodded. "I've never known much about the Sept—my family," he corrected. "The subject had never been of much interest to me before... all of this."

"Should you ever have questions about your father, I'd be willing to answer them," Jauffre offered.

Martin still had a hard time believing that Uriel Septim VII was his father. Forty-five years of believing that he was the son of a farmer was hard to erase so quickly.

Thinking of his past before the Oblivion Crisis helped Martin come up with a question. "Aebond Amatius, the farmer that raised me as his son, did he know that I was the Emperor's son?"

Jauffre shook his head. "Uriel had entrusted me with finding you a good family, one that wouldn't connect you to him."

Martin frowned. He obviously cared a lot for me.

"So I went searching," he continued. "I heard word that Aebond had lost his wife and unborn child from a failed childbirth. Many people in Kvatch had felt bad for him, since they all considered him a good, honest man. As such, I saw him as the best man to raise you, and the best place to hide you. So I left you in front of his home, with a note asking for him to raise you as his own."

It was true. Aebond never treated Martin in a way that would suggest they weren't anything other than father and son. Until he was murdered, that is.

The dark memory didn't stop Martin from chuckling lightly at Jauffre's words. "You chose a short Imperial with bright red hair to be my cover. Were people to assume that I took after my mother?"

Jauffre laughed too. "I suppose so."

Saying the word 'mother' caused Martin to ask his next question. "Do you know who my birth mother was?"

To Martin's disappointment, Jauffre shook his head again. "I never met her, nor was I ever told who she was. Your father didn't give me that information, though whether it was to protect her, himself, or you, I can't say."

The doors behind him flew open. Martin turned to see Cyrus—a Blade—had barged in. Seeing the bow in his hand, Martin guessed he had come from a watch position at the gates to Cloud Ruler Temple.

"What is it?" Jauffre asked, concern in his voice.

"Iron-Heart's back; he's coming up the road right now," Cyrus answered.

Mikhail had been ordered by Jauffre to go to the Imperial City where another Blade was working undercover. The two of them were supposed to retrieve the Amulet of Kings, which had been stolen from Weynon Prior, from the Mythic Dawn.

"Does he have the amulet?" Jauffre asked. "And is Baurus with him?"

Baurus. That's the undercover Blade. According to some of the other Blades, Baurus was the one of two survivors of the successful assassination attempt on Uriel Septim, the other being Mikhail. He had supposedly volunteered to go after the Mythic Dawn, feeling responsible for the Emperor's death.

Cyrus shrugged. "Mikhail didn't say anything other than the password, so I'm not sure about the Amulet of Kings. There was someone on the horse he walked with, but I don't think it was Baurus."

"Well," Jauffre began as he stood up, "let's go find out. You're welcome to come, Martin."

"And so I shall." He followed both men outside, where the sky was just staring to get brighter. Martin cursed under his breath, wishing he had put on heavier clothing than his old priest robes. The cold, northern Cyrodiil air immediately sent a chill down his spine; ankle-deep snow froze his feet.

A short distance away, a floating ball of fire appeared. Martin had to look closer to see that his young Nordic friend and savior Mikhail Iron-Heart was the source of the light. His ebony armor would have rendered him completely invisible, had it not been for the fire he carried. Just as Cyrus had informed them, Mikhail was leading his horse by its reigns. Martin didn't know why at first, but as the man and horse got closer, a third, smaller figure could be made out on the horse's saddle.

"You've returned," Jauffre said with a hint of shock in his voice.

When Mikhail didn't answer, Martin added, "I told Jauffre not to worry. What could you face with difficulty these days, after taking on as many Daedra as you have?"

"It was no walk in the park," Mikhail grunted. He stopped a few paces away from Martin, his face now clear enough to tell something was troubling him.

"I see you have bad news," Martin commented. "You didn't recover the amulet, did you?"

Mikhail nodded. "That, and more."

"What has happened to Baurus?" Jauffre asked.

"He's... alive." Mikhail had taken a while to finish his statement, as if he had been having trouble finding the right words. "We ran into some trouble last night, and he remained behind to take care of things. He'll be here soon enough."

Martin turned his attention to the person on Mikhail's horse. "Then who is that?"

Mikhail's fire grew larger, allowing its light to illuminate more of his surroundings, including the horse and its rider. A young Redguard child, with a bandaged cheek and sleepy eyes, became visible. In his hands was a small pup that looked equally worn out.

"A child?"

"This is Kole—Baurus's son," Mikhail explained.

Jauffre sighed, as if the child had become a new addition to his long list of problems. "Why have you brought him here? Only Blades and those of the Septim bloodline are allowed here, under normal circumstances."

Martin hadn't know that that was a rule. Though now that it was out in the open, he realized that it must have been a strict rule, considering that there were only the Blades and himself prior to Mikhail's return. What is the reasoning behind this rule?

"These aren't normal circumstances," Mikhail assured him.

"Mikhail," Kole whimpered, "can we go inside? I'm tired."

"Of course." Extinguishing his flame, Mikhail picked up Kole and carried him towards the open doors of Cloud Ruler Temple. Martin thought it was an odd sight: a large Nord, carrying a small Redguard child, carrying a pup.

Jauffre placed his hand on Mikhail's shoulder as he passed by. "You better have good reasoning to violate our rules this early into your time as a Blade."

Mikhail shook the hand off his shoulder. "I will explain myself once I've put Kole to bed," he muttered before proceeding into the Great Hall then to the entrance of the West Wing.

Cyrus cleared his throat. "Well, I suppose I should put his horse away before he goes to bite my head off next." He grabbed the horse's reigns and started for the stables.

Jauffre groaned heavily. He went to enter Cloud Ruler Temple just as Martin asked, "why?"

He turned around, a confused expression on his face. "What?"

"Why is that a rule?" Martin clarified for him. "Why can't there be anyone other than Blades and my family?"

"Because the Blades have a sworn duty to put the Emperor before all else," Jauffre explained. "Blades are permitted to have families, but not to have them here." Possibly sensing that Martin was about to ask why, he continued. "What would you do in this scenario? Someone in your family is in trouble—it could be your son, or maybe your wife—and you are able to save them. However, at the same time, the Emperor is also in trouble, and he too can be saved. Who would you save, had you only enough time to save one?"

"I would try to save both," Martin said, "no matter the cost."

"No matter the cost?" Jauffre repeated. He shook his head in disappointment. "If you save the Emperor, your family member dies, and you are forever ridden with guilt. If you save your family member, the Emperor dies, and you are branded a traitor and will forever be known as one. If, as you would do, you try to save both and fail, then you are broken—forever."

"Or, I could successfully save them both," Martin suggested. "Then nothing bad would happen, and everyone would be happy."

Jauffre frowned. "You're blinded by your optimism. I suppose it is a good trait for an Emperor to have, should you learn to keep it in check." He scratched what little amount of hair he had. "Look, I just want what is best for the Empire. Following these ancient rules has done us well, and at a time like this we need to stick together."

"I suppose you're right about working together, but still..."—I can't believe I am doing this—"...as the heir to the Septim throne, I say that Kole is allowed to stay here until a time that his father sees fit to remove him. And that goes for the rest of the Blades and their families."

Jauffre didn't look very surprised, but he did express disapproval. Regardless, he bowed to Martin. "Very well. I suppose we should go inside, find out what happened from Mikhail."

Martin followed him into the Great Hall. Just as they were about to enter the West Wing, Mikhail passed through the doorway, no longer holding Kole. Martin noticed that his helmet was nowhere in sight, and neither was his greatsword.

"So is this when I get yelled at?" Mikhail asked Jauffre. "For not abandoning the child of my friend?"

Jauffre cleared his throat. "It was, until Martin decided that the rule was too strict and got rid of it."

"Really?" Mikhail grinned at Martin. "I thank you, and so would Baurus if he were here."

"There's no need to thank me."

Jauffre waved his arm towards the table that he and Martin had been sitting at before. "Let's discuss what has happened, and what our next move will be."

The three of them moved quickly to the table. Martin and Jauffre took their original spots while Mikhail found a seat next to Martin. He glanced at the books that were in front of him. "Brief History of the Empire, Biography of the Wolf Queen, The Madness of Pelagius? Not the kind of light reading I'm interested in."

"I wanted to learn more about my family," Martin told him.

Mikhail smirked. "Your family does have quite an extensive history. Complex, insane, and sometimes downright impossible, but extensive."

"That's no understatement," Martin said with a small smile. "So what resulted in Kole being here, anyway?"

Mikhail spoke fast—hitting all the main points as quickly as he could. He and Baurus had discovered that an Oblivion Gate had opened in front of Baurus's family home. Mikhail, after closing the gate, had found Baurus weeping over the body of his wife Constance. Luckily they had found Kole mostly unharmed in the basement. Mikhail and Kole began the journey to Cloud Ruler Temple while Baurus took care of his wife's corpse.

"...decided to leave Kole in the dark about the whole thing," Mikhail finished. "Neither of us could find it in our hearts to tell him his mother had died."

All of them were quiet for a while. Martin felt horrible for Kole. He had lost his father at seventeen-years-old; a clan of bandits had fatally wounded him in a robbery attempt. Aebond had died in Martin's hands—his last words a prayer that the gods take care of Martin.

The trauma, the pain, the turmoil of losing his father had nearly driven Martin insane. It was watching his father die that drove him into Daedra worship in hope that their carefree and happy lifestyle would help him move on.

But I was already a man when I lost my father. Kole is just a boy...

Jauffre was the first to speak. "I only ever met Constance once. It was when she was still pregnant with Kole. Never had I seen a love as strong as that which she shared with Baurus."

"Had Kole not survived, I'm not sure that Baurus would be able to go on," Mikhail said.

Martin, not knowing Baurus as well as the other two did, decided that they needed to move onto more pressing matters. "So what happened before that, with the Mythic Dawn and the Amulet of Kings?"

"Baurus and I succeeded in infiltrating the Mythic Dawn," Mikhail began, looking at Martin with an expression of gratefulness for changing the subject. "But Camoran escaped with the amulet before we could snatch it back. He left to a realm he called Paradise, claiming to return with Mehrunes Dagon."

"Where is this 'Paradise'?" Martin asked.

Mikhail shrugged. "I'm guessing it is a part of the Deadlands, or perhaps another part of Oblivion that Mehrunes controls. Either way, he's beyond our reach now."

"Dammit," Jauffre cursed under his breath. "We have to get the Amulet of Kings back."

"Way ahead of you." Mikhail started to dig around in his pack, eventually pulling out a rectangular object wrapped up in a thin cloth. He placed it on the table. "This is how we'll get the amulet back," he said as he removed the cloth.

Martin gasped. Somehow, even though he had never seen the book, he recognized it right away. Jauffre somehow knew as well, a fact he made known when he cried out, "the Mysterium Xarxes!"

"By the Nine!" Martin shouted. "Such a thing is dangerous even to handle!"

"That's why I covered it up," Mikhail said.

Jauffre mumbled something under his breath. "Do you really think that the powers hidden inside this damned book can really be contained with a handkerchief?"

Martin recalled a spell he had learned during his time as a worshiper of Sanguine, one that suppressed the effects of magical items with quite a degree of success. "You were right to bring it here. But I should be the one that reads it; I know some ways to protect myself from its evil powers."

"Are you sure?" Jauffre asked. "What if Mehrunes tries to control you through the book? Or, more likely, he kills you with it?"

"Trust me, the spell I know is exceptionally strong. It will work—it has to," Martin said.

"So will you be able to do it? Find Camoran?" Mikhail asked.

Martin scanned the cover of the Mysterium Xarxes, grimacing at the ideas that ran through his head of what ancient, evil messages and words were written inside the book. He managed to decipher the Daedric language without much difficulty, which both stunned and scared him. Some things are never forgotten, I suppose.

Still, he didn't want to get either man's hopes up if he couldn't read the rest of the book. "I don't know," Martin admitted. "Maybe. I suspect that the secret of how to open a portal to Camoran's Paradise lies within these pages. But I will need time; tampering with dark secrets, even just reading them, can be very dangerous. I'll have to proceed carefully."

"How much time?" Mikhail asked.

"I couldn't tell you. A few days, maybe a week. I will get started as soon as possible."

Mikhail yawned, rubbing his eyes much like Kole had been when the Nord was carrying him. "I'm gonna go hit the hay. Felt like I haven't slept in months."

"When you awake, go find Steffan," Jauffre told him. "There've been reports of strangers around the perimeter of Cloud Ruler Temple. The last sighting was by Steffan, who thinks that they could be members of the Mythic Dawn. If that's the case, they'd likely be hiding out in Bruma."

"What will I need to do?" Mikhail asked.

"You and Steffan will search the area, looking for clues of Mythic Dawn activity," Jauffre informed him. "Then the two of you will head to Bruma—Baurus too, since he was raised in Bruma and has several contacts—and look there for anything."

"Actually, Baurus expressed the desire to become Martin's bodyguard," Mikhail said. "I think he feels that he needs to make up for..."

Martin waited for Mikhail to finish his sentence, but he never did. "Make up for what?"

Jauffre and Mikhail traded glances. A silent back-and-forth conversation passed between them, one that Martin had no idea was about. Finally, Jauffre said to him, "Baurus was a member of your father's personal guard. He was with Uriel the night he was assassinated, along with two other Blades that unfortunately didn't survive the night either."

"He blames himself for the Emperor's death," Mikhail added. He looked down at the table. "It's actually my fault."

"What do you mean," Martin asked, "that it was all your fault?"

Continuing to stare at the wooden table, Mikhail answered. "I too was with your father that night. Their escape route out of the Imperial City began in my prison cell."

"Why were you in prison?"

"I followed him and his Blade escorts," Mikhail continued, ignoring Martin's question. "We came across a dead end, and Mythic Dawn assassins started pouring in from left and right. Baurus told me to stay behind with the Emperor while he and the other Blade fought the cult. But then your father handed me the Amulet of Kings, told me that it was all up to me now, then was killed by a dagger of a man who had broken through a false wall."

Martin didn't see how it was anyone's fault. Other than Mehrunes and Camoran. "I'm sure you did your best. Obviously my father knew you would handle things, else he wouldn't have trusted you with the amulet."

Mikhail rubbed his brow. "That's just it—I didn't handle things. The Emperor died, the Amulet of Kings is gone, the Oblivion Gates are popping up all over the country. This end of times is all my fault."

"Don't beat yourself up about it."

Mikhail looked up. His face was cold with determination. "I won't. The Oblivion Crisis began by my inaction, and it will end as long as I continue to fight." Again he yawned. "But there is no more I can do at this point, other than sleep." He stood up and headed for the West Wing. "Night."

"So... what do you think?" Jauffre asked. "About having Baurus be your guard?"

Martin didn't know what he thought about it. But he knew he should agree to it. By having Baurus be assigned to Martin, who hadn't a reason to leave Cloud Ruler Temple, he would always be close to Kole. "I think that it is a good idea."

Something in Jauffre's eyes revealed that he knew the reason behind Martin's decision, but he didn't say it. "Very well." He picked up his breakfast and rose from his seat. "I think I will finish this in my office while you get to work on the Mysterium Xarxes. Do be careful with it."

"I will," Martin assured the man as he walked towards the East Wing. He returned his attention to the book, worried about what would happen next if the secret to entering Camoran's Paradise wasn't inside it. "Here goes nothing."

AUTHOR'S NOTE: I'm not sure if I've mentioned this before, but this is going to be a short story. Originally I thought that it would be less than ten chapters long by the time I was done, but now I am thinking it will be more in the 10-15 chapter range. After all, this is a story to develop Kole's backstory rather than an entire Oblivion Main Quest story.

Time for shameless plug-ins! Go read my story "The Nerevarine Returns" to see what Kole has become. Of course, you won't know why until this story is complete, so read this one as well.

Thanks to harmoniedusoir for beta-reading this. And thanks to everyone who enjoys my story (or stories). And an even BIGGER thanks to anyone who reviews either story.