End of Time, p.2
Set me free to find my calling, and I'll return to you somehow — Homeward Bound, Mormon Tabernacle Choir
Baladas arrived. "So, it's time already," he grumbled. "Damnation. That black lizard is smarter than he looks. He's finally realized Helsette is getting too strong to ignore." He held up a jar. Revyn recognized it from the Cornerclub next door. He didn't feel like drinking, but if Master Baladas wanted to drink… He fetched two shot glasses.
As he poured the green-gold liquid, Master Baladas said, "I stopped at the Cornerclub because I felt something odd. Why is Vehk mixing drinks at the bar?"
"Azura's prophecy and the result of all that babbling I did while unconscious. In the first part, Ambarys thinks I can do something with him. I told him that I'm too worried about my wife to worry about making his end-of-life fate a nice one that benefits our people in the long run. But a bored Vehk is not good, so Ambarys lets him amuse himself by playing bartender. Drinks and philosophy seem a natural combination."
"I see. So if the world ends next week, we'll all be so blind drunk that we won't care. Your cousin's sujamma business will do very well, then," said Baladas dryly. "What is the second part?"
"Apparently, something ordered Ambarys to bring Vehk to Windhelm to face judgment."
"Who is making this judgment?"
"I have no idea. I deny Ambarys's interpretation that I am to settle things. I will deal on behalf of my wife, but I refuse to be responsible for the ultimate future of all Dunmer." Baladas chuckled at Revyn's stubborn expression.
"Nerevar left the business with him unfinished, so leave it to him. Perhaps the three who will judge him and determine the future of our race will be Nerevar, Dumac, and the Dragon of the North," mused Baladas.
"As long as it isn't me," mumbled Revyn.
They went to view the progress of the new gate platform.
"Excellent," said Baladas. "Just a final cement coating and I can begin inscribing the necessary patterns to gather and focus power. Are you and your ghosts prepared to revive the power of the gate stone?"
"Yes. But everything now depends on my wife finding and cleaning Skuldafn's gate. Taliesin, Severus, and Curtis should arrive tomorrow evening from Solstheim. Taliesin can help you set up this end of the gate. Then the three of them volunteered to be the first group to go through and strengthen the connection at the other end. I thought of asking Vivec's help, but he's no longer able to re-order the world just by speaking or writing the words. Apparently, the mundane technicalities were Sotha Sil's expertise."
"So let it be written; so let it be done." Baladas's lips curled in grim humor. "Yes, I can see that condition is no longer effective. So, best hope my hand is steady when I begin spell writing. What's that word Curtis used? Ah, yes, 'encoding.'"
"At least this time, we are also not dealing with a dangerous trap." Revyn poured himself another shot. Nearly a year ago they had been testing Baladas's gate platform at Mistwatch. The test had been to merely make a resonance connection to the power source of Candlehearth Hall using Revyn's resonance to the black gate core he had in his home as a beacon, like a leader line before the lightning strike. But something in the chaotic creatia Baladas was drawing power from had twisted, snatching up and using Revyn's connection to his home to target Winterhold College, his wife's secondary home.
"Something." Baladas had said, letting Revyn off the hook. However, both knew that something was likely in Revyn's subconscious mind — his overwhelming desire to protect his mate and his uncanny sense of danger. One of those dangers was the recent gift from the Black Marsh mage association that had arrived at Winterhold. It was an underwater work station designed and built by the Argonian mages in the secretive capital city of Helstrom, Black Marsh.
Unknown to everyone at Winterhold, the gift had been trapped during transit. A still-unknown enemy had painted it with runes designed to leech energy from the ancient Winterhold power lines and disperse the energy into the general environment. Like sabotaging a water pipeline by drilling holes in it to let the water bleed out before it gets to the destination. Magic reinforced the stone column that upheld the College. Magic shielded the College from the worst weather. The College had been built to draw in and concentrate the power of the natural ley lines that were part of this area. If the power fell below a certain point, the College's protection and structural spells would begin to collapse.
It was expected the pod would be anchored in the new harbor between the town and the College as mages and crafters inspected the new workstation. But eager to use this gift, the Argonians at Winterhold immediately towed it deep and anchored it to their latest underwater dig. The Winterhold gate had fallen into the sea along with the city during the Great Collapse, and the mages wanted to study the runes inscribed on the teleport platform.
The iron leech began absorbing the gate's power — power structured to bend time and space to enable gate travel.
It was too much power. The trap runes painted on the gift couldn't handle the energies; the vessel hadn't been designed for this use. It was going to explode, catastrophically warping the gate, possibly triggering a second Great Collapse.
At the Mistwatch gate project, Revyn had been attempting to enhance his connection to the portal stone in his home and then try to link to Candlehearth. The idea was that he was the "feeder line" preceding the lightning bolt that was Mistwatch's power. But he couldn't control the direction. Instead, the link veered wildly to Winterhold. The Winterhold gate, unlike Candlehearth, still functioned as it had been designed and triggered open. It sucked the pod and a great deal of seawater in, sending it along the connection to Mistwatch. The pod exploded in transit, destroying the link and Baladas's gate. Everyone in the pod had died, and there had been many deaths at Mistwatch among Baladas's assistants and the many curious onlookers of the test event.
And then, for the fourth time in his life, Revyn had collapsed into a prophetic fugue and issued orders and answers to unknown questions. Words cast like downy seeds into the winds of fate to land where they will.
X—X—X—X—X—X—X
"What is that noise?" There was the chiming of shrill bells coming from the kitchen.
"It's that strange hand mirror Mage Curtis gave you, my lord," answered Constance, who had come to help Gilavin put Revyn to bed. "It rings—"
"Bring it to me," he ordered.
"Sit down first," she said firmly, guiding him to a bench before leaving to fetch the device.
It took a few minutes to recall the basic operating instructions he'd gotten from Master Curtis a few days back when he'd been at Tel Mithryn. "Revyn here," he answered.
"Finally! This is Curtis. First thing, don't call her right now. She needs to sleep, and her phone's being used as an alarm trigger should draugr get near."
"Call—?" His heart leaped, and weariness was shed like an inconvenient heavy cloak. "My wife! I can call—"
"Not now! She needs to sleep!" Curtis said sharply. "Listen!"
Revyn drew a deep breath. This was killing him. He needed to talk to her, but Curtis had said "draugr" and "trigger." Where she was… Yes. Hunted. Hiding from draugr and Dragons. He shivered, recalling tense days in his past when he hid from hungry robbers or trolls or wolf packs while trying to keep his pack horses still and quiet.
He was being foolish. She'd been in trouble before and had always come out of it and back to him.
It's just that being ignorant made it easier to live.
Curtis seemed to understand. He kept his tone light and soothing, and he replayed the conversation with Helsette that he'd recorded. He passed along the pictures of Skuldafn.
The most important help they could give her now was to keep their phones active and within reach. No calls to her. She would have initiate contact because only she could determine when it was safe enough to talk.
She was going to try to call back in the morning. Curtis wanted him and Master Tolfdir to be ready with their phones so that Curtis could link them into the call.
"Get some rest, serjo. Hate to say this, but you sound like shit. You go into the call sounding punch-drunk from lack of sleep, it's going to distract her. Get some sleep. But first, get someone who can talk to me now. I'll instruct them how to use the phone because, right now, I don't think you're in shape to retain the info."
It was a good idea. Constance volunteered and took the phone with her to the kitchen to take the temptation to stay awake from Revyn.
Just before dawn, she brought him strong black tea to drink while he sat up in bed and joined in the four-way call. Helsette had managed a good sleep and was preparing to look for the portal platform. The red Dragon had dropped her at the furthest end of the city from the Sovngarde gate.
Curtis speculated that it was for the better because the two reality-warping gates could not be in the same area. The Sovngarde gate had been there first. Why, was never explained in the Game he'd played. But going on that assumption, Alduin had discovered it, realized it was a prime food and power source, locked it down, and built his city around it. Any other gate would have to be as far away as possible to avoid compromising access to his private larder.
In the meantime, while Helsette was searching for the portal the ghosts had long assured him was there, Curtis and company were sailing back to Windhelm, Tolfdir was selecting the wizardry team from the many volunteers, and he would be talking with Ulfric. As soon as Severus arrived in Windhelm, he'd take over talking with Ulfric and preparing the Nord units gearing up to invade for Skuldafn.
With this consult over, Revyn ignored the other call participants to say, "I love you, wife. I pray for a successful hunt."
"Yes." She laughed softly, a sound full of warmth and intimacy. "You're my secret source of strength, husband. Let's finally finish this so I can come back to you."
After the call and after breakfast, he went to his shop to talk with the staff there. It had been a shock to them to learn the store had been traded to Early-Dawn for Candlehearth. The why of it shocked them even further. A teleport platform? Like there used to be in Morrowind before Red Year? To a place they'd never heard of? And Whiterun had recently been partially destroyed by a Dragon attack and riots from Dragon worshipers?
All through the meeting, Nords were pounding on the door, demanding answers or to buy weapons, armor, and potions for battle.
It was a long morning. Although the store was technically Early-Dawn's, Revyn ordered a a shut-down of walk-in business. Only business that had been pre-arranged, such as repairs and pre-order pickups, were allowed. He would arrange for additional security, and the staff would do inventory. As for jobs, he had yet to discuss such matters with Early-Dawn. But for now, he would be grateful if people stayed in place until final ownership could be properly settled. He assured them that they would all meet later after he had talks with Early-Dawn. She had been willing to sell Candlehearth because she wanted to retire. Taking on a large, busy store was not retirement. He intended to buy it back from her at a fair market price or offer silent partnership. In either case, she'd retire richer than most jarls.
He went to the palace and the war room, where Ulfric, Galmar, and Icewind discussed troop size, commanders, supplies, and equipment. Icewind was going to be the field commander of this operation. This was his first command of an operation of this size.
When they paused to ask his opinion, he said. "My humble apologies for my presumption, but Lord Severus, Master Curtis, and Taliesin will be the first to go through after the ghosts. Taliesin has been training to set up a gate; he will inspect the Skuldafn gate and do what he must to strengthen its power. Lord Severus and Master Curtis have their own tasks to prepare for the next team sent through. That team will be the Winterhold wizards and Dunmer warriors. The mages will fend off the Dragons, who should be taking notice of unusual power surges. The mer I am sending are experienced with fighting and warding against the undead. But they will not enter the city; their duty is to create and guard the staging area."
"You seem to have everything thought out," said Icewind.
"I have discussed this contingency with Lord Severus beforehand. Furthermore, I humbly insist that he share command with you, Thane Icewind. Beyond that, I have no opinions." As he expected, the Nords weren't happy.
"Who is this 'Lord Severus?' Does he have experience in Skuldafn?" demanded Galmar.
"No, but he is Nerevarine; King Nerevar reborn who defeated the Tribunal gods over two hundred years ago. He is also a Dragonborn. Not the prophesied 'Last Dragonborn,' which is my wife, but should she fall…" His mind stumbled to a halt at that. He drew a deep breath and said lightly, "Well, it never hurts to have a backup in the area, does it?"
"Severus is not a Dunmer name," said Icewind. "It sounds Imperial."
"Yes, his name is Severus Timberwolf. His mother was a Nord serving in the Legion, his father, she thinks, was an Imperial she kept company with for a brief time, but she wasn't totally sure. Severus was his family's name, just as Timberwolf was hers."
"He is the one you say is the head of your House Mora," said Ulfric.
"Yes. House Mora was originally the House of Nerevar."
"I see. Yes, I heard he made quite an impression upon the Dunmer delegations at my coronation. The return of a living legend." Ulfric's lips twitched in a small smile. "A pity we didn't have time to meet then. But as the lord of my new city of my kingdom, it is the proper time to meet."
Revyn's smile was strained. Politics again. As Aldmora was technically an Eastmarch city, the city lord had to swear loyalty to Ulfric.
"Well, he is the kinlord of our House, sire, but he is not going to reside in Aldmora. His home and his family are in Colovia. I will manage the House Mora business in Aldmora in his name, and you already have my loyalty."
"Do I? I do wonder about that."
Revyn looked away. He gestured for one of his bodyguards to unroll a long, cloth-wrapped bundle on the table. "It's a copy of an ancient map of Skuldafn made when the Ebonheart Pact leaders used to meet there, a place the Akaviri could not get to. I doubt the city's layout has changed these past 800 years." As the Nords studied it, Revyn moved closer to Icewind.
"I know the troops will look to you first for their orders," he said to Icewind. "Severus will not contest for command so long as you do not ignore or dismiss him. The Dunmer and mages battling in this will take their orders from him. For Dunmer, it is cultural. And he has spent time at Winterhold and is familiar with the mages. Like my wife, he is both a warrior and mage."
"But he has not been training to fight Alduin as your wife has done," said Icewind.
"That is so. All the skills he cultivated were to defeat the Tribunal. And he does not know as many Shouts as my wife does. He has fought at least four Dragons, while my wife has killed dozens. He will only step in if she should die before she reaches the Sovngarde portal. In truth, he does not think his chances are good. She's driven Alduin to challenge her or lose control of all the Dragons he resurrected. Perhaps the heroes of Sovngarde will assist her, but in the end, not even all of Sovngarde can defeat him without her. Only her voice is the one that can break Alduin."
Icewind clamped a hand on his shoulder and squeezed it painfully. "Then I suppose it was your destiny to be such a skilled viper. You kept me from killing her. So, when is this Timberwolf supposed to get here?"
X—X—X—X—X—X—X
He planted the withered ash yams that had been sitting in front of the Open Door for the past week. On the other side of the ash pit, Curtis was pulling out young roots that had grown from previous offerings that had revived once reburied in the ash and watered. He was going to make savory pancakes out of them. They were actually delicious prepared that way. A new recipe to the Dunmer because the other ingredients were the winter wheat the Nords grew, milk from goats or cows, and eggs from chickens — ingredients not native to Morrowind. Saltrice, plant juice, and insect eggs didn't quite have the same flavor and texture characteristics. And then there were other spices from Khajiit lands that Curtis also mixed in.
His office was crowded with guests praying to the god or Daedric Prince of their choice. Only Revyn kissed the tips of his fingers and touched the Wabbajack, wishing for a mere touch of the Mad God's inspiration and insight.
They eventually convened around the kitchen table. It wasn't big enough to seat all of them, so they just piled the food on it and carried their dishes out to what had once been the storefront to either stand around the counter or sit on the benches along the walls. They didn't talk about Skuldafn or Sovngarde. Curtis talked about the dive suits he found in one of Solstheim's Dwemer ruins and about the mental therapy session with the Altmer. Taliesin and Baladas discussed technical magics. Severus told stories of his trials to gain the trust of the ashlander tribes to Ambarys and Ilya. Vivec sat in a corner, watching and listening. He had wandered in on his own.
Then he wandered downstairs. Revyn watched but did not try to stop the ex-god. A long time ago, he had regularly attended Vivec's temple and paid lip service to the god. He had been ashlander-raised and taught to worship the Great Ancestors and believe in the Nerevarine. He'd lost family to Vivec's more violent and fanatic Redoran believers and Ordinators. The long years in Skyrim's snows had long since cooled that anger.
Time for business. Taliesin and Baladas went to the Candlehearth teleport platform. Revyn, Severus, Curtis, and Ambarys went to the Palace to meet with King Ulfric, General Galmar, and Thane Icewind. Revyn felt like mini guar trying to mediate a peaceful meeting of Morrowind kagoutis and Skyrim snow bears. It was a silly feeling, really. Neither side would kill him if he spoke a wrong word, but they weren't in a dangerous mood. A little tense, which was to be expected, and a little sensitive about authority lines.
It was time to bring out the communication units Curtis had built for the Stormblade team that had once been Revyn's bodyguards. Revyn had agreed with Curtis that the audio and visual communicators were too dangerous to show to the Nords, even for Helsette's sake. It was best to utilize the crude version. Curtis instructed them on the uses and limitations of the devices. The Nords had read about this device from the reports of the Stormblades guarding Revyn a year ago. But there was nothing like a live demonstration, such as wearing the active devices while they talked. These primitive devices created what Curtis called a "party line," meaning everyone heard whatever each wearer heard or said.
They would be using these devices to coordinate units in Skuldafn. There was a distance limitation, and part of Curtis's Dwemer armor function was to boost the magic of the devices and enable listeners on the other side of the portal. And so because he was necessary for communications, he would not be taking part in any battles and, instead, would act as the camp centurion.
When he was no longer needed at this conference, he excused himself to return home to meditate with the ghosts. In a few hours, they would be ready to attempt the connection to Skuldafn.
X—X—X—X—X—X—X
They didn't let him walk. An enclosed chair was brought for him. Ulfric's personal Stormblade guards escorted him and the portal stone from his home to Candlehearth.
A Revyn-shaped puppet got out of the chair. The ghosts pulled the strings on his body, using his mouth to utter the spells, using his inborn power to gather and shape the energies from the deep ley lines and connect them to the stone.
Onlookers saw him bathed in a halo of soft white light. Only the mages and those sensitive to magic had to look away lest they be blinded by the violent energies.
The stone was set and covered by a gold plate inscribed with runes. And over that was a larger steel plate with a two-meter heartstone spike. Magic was used to lift a beautifully carved white marble pedestal coated with pearlescent white mica. It had a hollow center for the heartstone.
More light swirled around the pedestal. Now even non-mages could see the suggestion of human-like wraiths. Maybe even faces. Strange, though. The faces were Nord.
A glorious pillar of light rose to the sky, reflecting off the scattered clouds above. The ground shook. The halo of spirits likewise rose to the sky.
Revyn opened his eyes and looked blearily around to find Severus. "Now," he said. "Touch. Go find my wife."
Severus, Curtis, and Taliesin picked up their equipment packs and quickly came forward to touch the pedestal. They became ghosts of light and faded.
The power flickered. Revyn hoarsely cried out in a harsh tongue. Dunmer heard it as an invocation to Azura for her foresight and protection moving forward to an unknown destiny, to Mephala for guidance to traversing the dark web of Oblivion, and to Boethiah for strength to reach the battlefield. Ashlander accent and phrasing; ashlander anger and defiance. A scream to the void.
For a moment, it seemed he was fading into the light, his body becoming transparent as if leeching into the erratic power. Or a painted clay statue dissolving in rushing water.
A presence familiar to the Winterhold mages appeared, a swirl of rainbow dots of light. The Augur of Dunlain had come. Revyn was one of the few the doomed mage called a friend. Revyn had always made it a point to chat with the Augur in its chamber deep in the bowels of the College every time he visited Winterhold. And now the Augur came here to return the favor. The Augur had been a Master of Restoration, unable to restore and save its own body in a disaster of its own making. Its power flowed around its friend, shielding, allowing Revyn and the remaining Nord spirits the grace they needed to reinforce the connection to Skuldafn and stabilize the energies flowing through the portal stone and runes.
The flickering power steadied and grew pure.
The Augur left, the last of the spirits left, and Revyn collapsed. The soaring tower of light dimmed to a gently glowing candle.
X—X—X—X—X—X—X
He slept solidly for the next ten hours. Master Colette, the head of the Restorations department of the College, watched over him. Majicka exhaustion and emotional stress, she pronounced. He should have another two days to fully recover, but he was needed for sending the next team to Skuldafn. She and her assistants gently infused majicka back into him. A process made easier because his birth sign was The Ritual, inferring a natural self-heal talent and blessed in word and touch against the undead.
The little square miracle she kept in a leather purse on her belt vibrated. She pulled it out. She tapped the button with a bell drawn on it. "Colette here," she said.
The mirror surface shifted, and now its face reflected Curtis at her. "Hi, babe. We're fine and dandy over here. How is he?" he asked.
"Better than we'd anticipated. But are you sure you're well? You don't look it."
"Well, it was a bit rough. A hearty breakfast was not a good idea, but we all got over it."
"Thank the gods for that. And thank the Augur of Dunlain, too. The portal almost shut down, and Revyn came near to being burned up in trying to keep the power steady. But the Augur came through and kept him from dissolution."
"Wow! I didn't think he could leave the College."
"Neither did we. It was a shock to all of us. If they weren't such good friends… I hate to think what we'd tell the Archimage when she came back."
"Yeah." The were both silent a long while. "Well, Taliesin's making adjustments on this end. Can you get a phone to Baladas? They need to be talking."
"I'll do that right away."
"Thanks. See you soon, babe."
"I am relieved that they arrived safely," whispered Revyn, opening his eyes. "The other side had some weaknesses the guardians could not completely overcome. Sending an actual load of mass needed more power than calculated."
Colette nodded and said, "Yes, we also realized that, but we dared not interfere for fear of everything collapsing. Only Dunlain could help, he being what he is. I don't suppose you know how he was able to leave Winterhold?"
"The stone. The Argonian pod. Mistwatch test gone wrong. Connected to Winterhold. Gate power. College power. All linked. Can now move between College and Candlehearth.
"Don't strain yourself," ordered Colette as Revyn's voice faltered, and he was fighting to keep his eyes open. "But they arrived safely on the other side, so you can stop worrying. Here, I'm going to help you sit up a bit so you can drink some soup, and then you will get some more rest until we need you again."
"Necklace."
"What?"
"Ancestor necklace. Give it to me, please." Colette handed him the necklace, which had been put on a side table. Touching it sent cautionary tingles along her spine. Most non-Dunmer masters had done a cursory review of the rumored magicka of ashlander shamans when it became known the Archimage Helsette was married to one. He had never consented to a full assessment of his powers so they didn't know his true strength. The necklace was imbued with sentient magic that reminded her of the Dunlain.
The next group was sent off without drama. He was no longer needed for the portal. Taliesin had fixed the mechanical problems that the ghosts couldn't touch, so now Mage Onmund could take over gate activation.
Ulfric gave him a suite in the palace to rest in. Constance and Angharad brought the children over. Revyn held Gaia as he waited for calls from Taliesin or Severus. All his world had narrowed down to a four-inch circle of glass. Old ruins, draugr, shouting, glimpses of his wife in battle. She was magnificent, truly. A goddess of mayhem.
Taliesin was also pretty good. That was to be expected of her brother. Nerevarine, dual-wielding Trueflame and Hopesfire, was a rampaging force of nature. Revyn had never thought about voice quality before, but it was interesting. His wife was the high howling of an ash storm, but Nerevar was the deep rumbling of Red Mountain.
He kissed the top of Gaia's head. "Look, that was a good blow. Your momma's so fierce, Alduin dug his own grave."
To Sovngarde. The dragonpriest there was defeated. The two sentry Dragons overhead never moved during the entire battle. He watched her jump into the fiery portal.
Dark hours later, Ulfric and Galmar walked into the suite. Revyn sat, not looking at them. Icewind entered, holding the dragonpriest's staff which keyed the Sovngarde portal. He knelt and extended the staff. "Lady Helsette's has gone to Sovngarde. I brought the gate key to you."
After a long moment, Revyn lifted his eyes to look at him. Icewind felt a chill. Dunmer eyes. Crimson eyes. For the first time since he'd known him, the mild-mannered shopkeeper looked like the devil he'd often accused him of being.
"Break it," Revyn whispered. "There will be no robber's path, no hidden backdoor to Sovngarde. Alduin will not escape my wife a second time."
It took all the strength of the three Nords to break the staff.
She'd been in trouble before and had always come out of it and back to him.
It's just that…
He buried his face against Gaia's belly and cried.
Ted Hsu: They've been like this since #3 Overstock when Icewind was first introduced. They understand each other perfectly.
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