Chapter 3
Clauviir pressed his hands on the palace's small door at the top of the stairway, his palm on the door's lock. The rusting metal glowed a faint golden light, and within a few seconds the door opened slowly. He walked into the door, encountering an unfamiliar darkness.
"Are you there, Vivec?" Clauviir called meekly, "Why on earth would you blow out all the candles in here?"
"Ah… you've come." Vivec said. He was leaning on one of the pillars which protruded from his meditation triangle. His body, illuminated by the torches which stood on each of the three pillars, looked feeble and unnourished. His skin, instead of a deep charcoal blue, now was splotched with a gray tint. His eyes were dilated and slightly closed. "I felt all that fire was making me dizzy, though it didn't help much with my headache… have you ever gotten one of those, the ones which never seem to go away, that get worse and worse each hour…?" His head leaned to the side, his eyes closed and saliva slightly dripping out of his mouth. His ribs etched into his body with each elongated breath he took.
"You've gotten so much worse since the last time I saw you…" Clauviir came to Vivec's side, placing his body back in its original position, "Are the rumors true? Were you actually going to go out there and speak to them all?"
"Yes…" Vivec turned his head slowly towards Clauviir, smiling weakly, "I felt… that I needed to apologize to them… before I finally went and… and…" He suddenly grabbed Clauviir's shoulder, huffing profusely.
"You're in absolutely no condition to do anything right now, you fool!" Clauviir looked around the room. He found a redware bowl holding grinded ash salts. He crawled towards it quickly and grabbed it, bringing it back to Vivec. Licking his index finger, he took a pinch of the dust and started to draw a rune on Vivec's right shoulder. "Here, just wait a moment. I need to make sure your soul isn't attempting to sever itself from your body…"
"Nerevar…" Vivec whispered, clutching the back of Clauviir's neck, "Nerevar, Nerevar… have I ever told you I was sorry? We were such fools, such ambitious fools…"
"Don't speak, you'll just waste your energy," Clauviir said, anxiously drawing symbols on Vivec's upper body, "The people know you mean well, trust me. If I do, they must… don't worry yourself over nothing."
"...They have no right to forgive me," Vivec said, "Neither one of us were deserving of any kindness, no matter what we did in an attempt to better the people's lives… we took advantage of our powers, made us better through barbaric means, through unearned strength and spirit…"
Vivec's body went lax, his head turned away from Clauviir, whom was continuing to work. Vivec closed his eyes and took a deep breath, grinning.
"I remember when Dagoth Ur stood behind the heart, screaming at us to stay away, that it was his duty to protect it and that we had no right to use its power… and after breaking his body, his spirit, we took that power and called him the devil and the enemy. No, he was as much of a hypocrite as us in the end, yet… was because of us that he became a literal fiend?"
"Of course not," Clauviir said with a sigh, "he had those intentions the entire time. He was tempted by that power as much as you, probably more than all of you combined. You can't blame yourself for that…"
"But we killed you, Nerevar… what kind of man, or elf, or even beastfolk would destroy their protector?"
"That is the long past, and for that one life many lives were saved, emboldened. Nerevar couldn't have defended against the Empire, Nerevar couldn't use superhuman abilities to bring fear and respect to so many people, Nerevar couldn't organize the Dunmer forever…"
"Perhaps you are right… Clauviir," Vivec said, turning back to him.
'Was this the first time he ever said my real name?' Clauviir thought as he looked at Vivec, confused, 'I don't even know where he could have found out. Has he always known it? I'm sure I never told him…'
"I know you are not the same person as Nerevar," Vivec said softly, "You both have different ambitions, different strengths and weaknesses, vices and virtues… even if the prophecy or the Ashlanders won't admit it. Yet I will see Nerevar through you, through your body and into your spirit. You are no Khajiit, barely human… maybe you and Nerevar would have been better as a false god…"
Vivec grabbed Clauviir's shoulder and lifted his body up slowly. He gave a loud cough as he came closer to a standing position. Too afraid of his weak state, Clauviir did nothing to stop him.
"Why are you trying to do this now, of all times to make amends for nothing?" Clauviir said with a dark tone.
"Because I feel my end coming…" Vivec whimpered as he finally erected himself, "I can feel death, even taste it… I've tasted blood, iron, and bone for many years now… but this time I know I cannot delay it anymore. This is the last chance I have to speak to them, they who once worshipped my every word and action… and ask them if they would forgive me."
"I just… I cannot allow you to do--" Clauviir started, interrupted by the sudden tight grip Vivec gave him. Clauviir looked at him, shocked and almost frightened.
"I would sooner kill you then stand idly by and let you stop me from doing this!" Vivec said, coughing loudly right afterwards. His hands, which covered his mouth, were slathered in blood. He looked up at Clauviir, his mouth quivering and a few tears in his eyes. "I appreciate everything you've done for me… your attempts to heal the scar within my spirit, all of the conversations we had about our adventures and the progress of the Dunmer… I've lived more as a human with you than I have even before I was given my powers… but you must understand that this is my last chance for me to see them again… even if they don't know it, they still need it!"
Clauviir looked away, questioning himself on what to do, yet knowing exactly what the right thing to do was. He lightly grabbed Vivec's arm and brought it around Clauviir's shoulder, then continued to lead him out of the palace. "Don't worry; I'll cast sound enchantments around the people so you don't have to speak loudly. I still believe I can heal you, so I can't have you over-exerting yourself…"
"Hah, you are and always will be a fool…" Vivec said quietly as Clauviir's palm pressed on the door's lock, reacting with a golden illumination and opening the door.
The orange hue of the waning dusk blanketed the sky over the great stone cantons. On the temple canton stood a massive gathering of people, staring up at Vivec and Clauviir in wonder and expectancy. Clauviir raised both of his hands and opened his palms, releasing a sound enhancement charm that he learned from a master illusionist. He looked at Vivec and smiled calmly. "If you're not ready to stand, I can just hold you like this," he said, patting Vivec's arm.
"No--" Vivec said back, pushing his side off of Clauviir. He stood there triumphantly; Clauviir believed he saw some of his light blue coloring come back to his skin. "I'll be fine, so long as you stay by my side." He looked at Clauviir, gave a quick grin, and immediately turned towards the crowd, his face solemn.
"My dear kinsman," he said, his voice echoing over the horizon due to the sound enchantment, "It has been too long since I stood before you. I am, perhaps, physically unfamiliar to the Vivec you see in the statues built around you, but I am indeed that same person.
"We all rejoiced when the great Nerevarine brought down the devil Dagoth Ur, treading through the powerful blight storms, slaying legions of beasts as he went. This was once looked at as a duty of The Tribunal; Almalexia, Sotha Sil, and I. Each one of us failed you, but I most of all…
"You all once called me the great "warrior poet", you all called me a savior, a being higher than the saints, even Veloth. You all once believed me better than Azura, than The Divines, than Nerevar. We all learned, through many centuries of trial and error, through four centuries of Imperial occupancy that this was far from the correct way to think of us.
"We were no better than the saints; we were barely comparable. Fear of living gods gave us total control over you, fear of out power made you worship us beyond your abilities. Great thinkers like Saryoni believed I should be thanked for natural born virtues, that I should be thanked for simply reiterating what many of you have already learned and accomplished as children. I will give myself credit that I led you all towards the right values, but nothing can make up for the years I've oppressed all the Dunmer, how I've starved you all from wealth, knowledge, and tolerance.
"I offer now my apologies, and beg you all for forgiveness. I know nothing I can do could make up for the damage I've caused, but with the greatest humility I beg you to find an ounce of clemency in your hearts."
The people watching stood motionless. The Ordinators stirred uncomfortably in their positions, understanding but fearful of the people's reaction. Suddenly, a shirtless Dunmer male, who had climbed to the tip of High Fane started to scream out, "Bring down the false god! He was the true creator of the blight! He conjured Dagoth Ur from the pits of Oblivion! Destroy him before he attempts to destroy us again!"
Clauviir only slightly recognized the elf's bright red hair and hideous looking scars on his abdomen; he was an ex-dreamer, uninfluenced by Dagoth Ur's nightmares yet psychologically destroyed beyond a repairable point. Had the people known what he was, they might have not taken him seriously; but upon his word, the crowd manifested their hidden hatred and violence for Vivec, thoughts which they never knew they had. The massive wave of people crashed onto the line of Ordinators, whom were quickly broken apart due to the sheer weight of the crowd. They smashed through the main guards of the stairway, and dozens of men trickled upwards towards Vivec. They were armed with rusty daggers or nothing at all, as though they were going to tear him apart with their bare hands. The red in their eyes seemed to be wild, shining like newly spilled blood.
They came to the last few steps before Clauviir stepped in front of them, his twin blades unsheathed. The blue of the electricity and orange of the eternal flame wafted from their blades, almost spilling around him like an aura of pure mystical energy. His deep green eyes, as wide and intimidating as a wild lion, stared down on the violent crowd, whom softened upon the awesome sight.
"Fools!" Clauviir screamed, a massive echo emboldened by the sound charm, bringing much of the crowd to their knees as they covered their ears. "This man humbly comes down and kisses your feet even when it is undeserved! What has he done to deserve your hatred? God or not, he has done more than any Daedra, even Azura! By the gods, he represents the kind, strong soul within you all! Calm your passions, for you all are in the presence of a god who earned his right to the title."
The crowd brought themselves up, with many different expressions on their face; dissatisfaction, humility, despair. Clauviir looked behind him to see Vivec lying on the ground, breathing heavily. Clauviir came down to him, propping Vivec's body up as Clauviir kneeled beside him.
"I am… glad," Vivec said, quivering, "that you were willing to say… such things publically. I always thought… you wanted to keep up an image… but that image is much more virtuous than I thought…"
"Fool," Clauviir said, chuckling hesitantly, "I've taken care of your weakening body for 15 years. How could you imagine I was trying to hide that fact? That would take far too much effort."
Vivec gave a single laugh before coughing madly. He closed his eyes and loosened his body, forcing Clauviir to hold him tighter, less he fall. "Then this is the end… I am…. Satisfied… please, take care… of them…" As his voice trailed off, he went completely limp. Clauviir stared at the corpse gravely, laying Vivec's upper body on the cold, damp stone. He looked towards the closest Ordinator and gestured for him to come. As the Ordinator came up the stairway, huffing profusely, Clauviir whispered to him, "Bring his body to Azura's shrine. Tell only the heads of the old temple order. His body will be incinerated… that was his request."
He came down the stairway, the red moon poking through the weakening twilight. He gave eye contact to no one as he stomped through the disillusioned crowd.