Hello again! I'm really on a roll, I've been writing a lot very fast! Anyways, another chapter might be up by tomorrow, I certainly hope there will, at least! I hope you're enjoying ADPBF, and if you have any feedback, I'd love to hear it! Thanks!
And now, we return to our feature presentation...
Delchkahn felt Sithis' cold blade pierce his chest, slicing through his heart and severing his spinal cord. He fell to the ground, blood spilling from his mouth. The hall of Morimath faded away, along with his wounds. That had been the fifth time already he had lost to Sithis, and he was beginning to get irritated. Sithis walked over to him, obviously angry. "You fool! How are you supposed to defeat Them if you cannot even land a single strike on me?!" His voice bellowed in the cold air like a thunderstorm, crashes of brass cymbals on his consonants. Amori stood, and walked over to Sithis, his purple features tinted red.
"How am I supposed to his you if half of the time, I can't even SEE you?" he demanded angrily, his face an inch away from Sithis'. "You've been 'training' me for the past… Akatosh knows how long! How am I supposed to be confident in training to fight 'Them' when I don't even know who 'They' are?!" As fast as a strike of lightning, Sithis struck Amori in the gut and kneed him under the chin. Before Delchkahn even knew what was happening, he felt Sithis' cold blade up against his throat. The dark god was standing above him, scowling.
"If I were one of Them, you'd be dead now," he said sternly, anger apparent in his white eyes. "I can understand why you don't trust me, Amori: you left my Brotherhood, killed my Black Hand, assisted others in evading the Brotherhood, and finally, killed my bride and sons, in the process, thwarting my visit to Thamriel. I cannot tell you that I am not angry with you; I am FURIOUS! But, nevertheless, you are Thamriel's greatest, and possibly only, hope in repelling Them! Think, Amori, think! You repelled Dagon himself! Now fight me, and WIN THIS TIME!" Sithis backed up, and Morimath reappeared. Amori got up, readied his blade, and charged the dark god for the sixth time.
Soul-Swimmer nearly jumped out of her skin as Amori's body jerked suddenly, his back arching about a foot off the ground. His breathing and heart rate quickened, stopped, and returned to normal, all within the span of a few seconds. She sighed, lowering her head into her palms. That was the fifth time that had happened in the past hour, and each time, it seemed to be getting worse. "Ka-Mala had better make up her mind soon," she muttered to herself: Amori wasn'r going to last comatose without restoration much longer. She could understand Ka-Mala's hesitation: when the Archmage Traven signed a death warrant, he usually made sure that it was fulfilled, whether it was a week, a month, or even a year after the event. Still, she couldn't help but be angry at Ka-Mala; Amori was in danger, and she was, for now, doing nothing. Suddenly, she heard a loud noise, almost like a Deadric Gate opening. She drew Song as she was getting up, only to see Ka-Mala standing before a glowing, blue portal. She looked nervous, and even from the distance she was at, Soul-Swimmer could see beads of sweat on her neck and forehead. She walked over to the group nervously; most of them were asleep. "Ahem…" she coughed, and the other members of the ragged band groaned and crawled out of bed. "Y-y-you should g-get ready to g-go," she stuttered, wringing her tail in her hands. "I-I've opened a portal t-to the Anvil Mages…" She took a few deep breaths, steadying herself. "To the Anvil Mages Guild." The group members stood: Rhiihaaj on his crutches, Sehiiri close behind him; Soul-Swimmer carrying Amori's limp form with the help of Padfoot; Dar-Ma and Dra-Shek carrying Seed-Neeus' body on a length of wood Dra-Shek had cut to use as a makeshift stretcher. One by one, they filed into the portal, Ka-Mala, limp tail in hands, coming through last.
Carahil crouched over her table, examining the bubbling ingredients carefully. She had extract of Ambrosia in the alembic, the water being steamed out of it to produce a fine powder. She had a slice of Deadra Heart in her crucible, and was steadily cooking it, while a slab of boar jerky rested on the table next to her. Suddenly, she heard the sound of a Gate being opened. She turned around, and saw a group of what seemed to be armed refugees stumble through, followed by someone she had never expected to see again: Ka-Mala, the convicted Necromancer. Almost immediately, Carahil was at her throat, a ball of lightning in her hand pressed against the underside of Ka-Mala's chin. Ka-Mala squeeked timidly, trembling stiffly. "H-h-hello, C-carahil," she said nervously, not daring to budge for fear of a deadly shock. Carahil snarled: how DARE this necromancer and convicted murderer set foot in her guildhouse?!
"What are you doing here?" she demanded, her face a mask of rage. "You think that I'm going to let you live after what you did to Rikel?!" Carahil shuddered, remembering the use of the forbidden spell Ka-Mala had created: all that was left was a sack of skin and bones, all muscle and internal organs liquefied and sucked out. Ka-Mala whimpered, small tears budding in her eyes as Carahil pressed the electric ball closer to her neck. She felt the pinpricks of pain as the outer sparks brushed her skin. Suddenly, Carahil stopped. Soul-Swimmer was behind her, the tip of Song pressed against the back of her neck.
"Put my friend down," she demanded, pressing Song into Carahil's flesh a little harder. "Now." Carahil spat at Ka-Mala, and retracted her hand, allowing Ka-Mala to settle back onto her feet. She took a shaky breath, and leaned on Soul-Swimmer's shoulder. Carahil, not a patient person when Necromancers were nearby, interrupted rudely.
"Excuse me, but what do you people want?" she asked, looking over the group skeptically. She saw two crippled Khajiit, what seemed to be a teenage Khajiit vampire, and a family of Argonians standing over a corpse. Soul-Swimmer stepped aside, and Carahil gasped: Delchkahn Amori, known savior of Thamriel, lay asleep on the table.
"We came because we need your help," said Soul-Swimmer bluntly. Carahil looked the group over once again, and realized that the Argonian with the baby was Dar-Ma, and the corpse on the stretcher was Seed-Neeus. She saw Amori's missing hands, and the blackened puncture wounds in the crippled Khajiits' limbs. "My friend risked her life to bring us here. She told us that Traven had ordered her killed, and she brought us here anyways. Tell me: does that sound like a necromancer to you?" Carahil paused to think; Ka-Mala had actively gone out of her way to help these people; no necromancer would do that. Obviously, something more was going on here. She sighed, realizing that although she hated Ka-Mala, she had to help these people.
"Alright, I'll see what I can do."
Amori brought his shield up to block Sithis' vicious attacks. The Dark Lord's swords slashed against his shield with abandon, carving large Xs into its surface. Finaly, the shield shattered into four pieces. Amori jumped back, sword readied. He dodged nimbly under Sithis' strikes, dashing in between the two blades. He lunged forward, FrostFire leading, blue flames trailing from its blade. Sithis neatly sidestepped, and brought his blades down. Amori rolled over mid dash, pushing Sithis' blades back with FrostFire, and then up and wide as he leaped into a forward flip. Sithis smirked: Amori was getting good. Delchkahn hit the ground running, and rammed Sithis in the chest, knocking him back a few feet. Sithis did a backflip… and fell over the ledge. Amori lowered his sword, confused. Had it really ended that easily? Was that really how he had won? He cautiously walked to the ledge, not noticing the gloved fingers gripping it. As he peered over the edge, Sithis launched himself into the air, blades crossed, their edges pointing upwards in position to decapitate Amori. Delchakhn hastily stepped backwards, and Sithis came down with a relentless flurry of blade strikes. He pushed Amori back with each strike, and eventually, Delchkahn struggled to keep his balance at the ledge. Finally, Sithis disarmed him, and pushed him over.
Carahil watched in concern: Amori's body was jumping and jerking regardless of the leather belts she had used to secure him to the stone table. His muscles were tense, easily showing beneath his skin. His fists were clenched, and his spine arched and slammed back into the table in succession. Finally, the violent jerking subsided, and Delchkahn's breathing returned to normal. Carahil shook her head; this behavior was all too familiar. It was just like Henantier when he was trapped in the Dreamworld. That first dangerous experiment was a little secret she shared with him and Kud-Ei, his Argonian "friend". Recently, he had perfected the science of Dreamworld travel, and had been using it to train. On one of these expeditions, he had seen a vision of Bravil, utterly destroyed. He had urged for the evacuation of the city, but the Count hadn't listened. Eventually, he had just come to Anvil with Kud-Ei. Carahil shuddered; just a day after he had left, Bravil had been destroyed by the Night Mother's army of undead. She shook her head again, not knowing exactly what could be done to help Amori. "I've come to a conclusion, but it's not one you'll like," Carahil said to Soul-Swimmer, like a doctor about to deliver bad news. Soul-Swimmer looked concerned.
"What is it? What's wrong?" she asked worriedly. Carahil shook her head.
"Delchkahn Amori seems to be in a state similar to that which Henantier was in when he first experimented with the Dreamworld Amulet. He became trapped in his own subconscious, and needed Amori's help to escape. Honestly, he's probably the only one who knows about this condition." Carahil took a few deep breaths; this was the most excitement she'd seen in a while. "I'll get him and Kud-Ei." Carahil left the room, and a few moments later, an Altmer male and Argonian female entered the room, hand in hand. Rhiihaaj, with newly healed legs, raised an eyebrow as he saw the matching silver rings they were wearing, but he said nothing. Carahil followed them into the room, and began introductions. "Soul-Swimmer, Rhiihaaj, Sehiiri, Dar-Ma, Dra-Shek, Padfoot…" Carahil rolled her eyes, "Ka-Mala, this is Henantier, and this is Kud-Ei," she said, pointing to each person as she said their name. "Henantier, Kud-Ei, I don't think you'll need to be introduced to your patient." Carahil led them to the stone tablet, and Henantier's eyes widened as he saw who he would be working on: Amori.
"Delchkahn Amori…" he whispered under his breath. Just last year, Amori had freed him from his own Dreamworld. He was about to place the Dreamworld Amulet around his neck, when Kud-Ei stopped him.
"Hen…" she said, using her nickname for him, "remember the violent thrashing he's been undergoing. I can't imagine what's going on in there; even when you were trapped in your Dreamworld you were somewhat calm." She gazed at him imploringly, and for a while, he just gazed back into her eyes. He turned away, his face grim.
"Kud-Ei… I have to go in," he said, struggling to find his words. "Amori… Amori saved me from my Dreamworld, and it's time I repaid him." He turned back to Kud-Ei, and saw that she had tears in her eyes.
"I… I understand," she replied half-heartedly. "Just be careful, okay?" Henantier nodded, and gently kissed Kud-Ei's forehead. He laid a bedroll on the floor, put on the Dreamworld Amulet, and went to sleep.
Delchkahn clung to the ledge with all his strength, his fingers barely maintaining their grip. He knew he was in a bad position: on one end, there was an endless drop, and on the other, was Sithis. It didn't help that he had dropped FrostFire when he fell. He heard footsteps slowly padding over to the ledge, and closed his eyes, waiting for the drop. Suddenly, he heard a voice in his head, one tht sounded faintly familiar. "Amori… what are you doing?" it asked, and Delchkahn realized in shock who it was.
"O-o-ocheeva?" he whispered, surprised. She appeared next to him, floating in mid-air, leanig casually against the pillar. She wore a white toga, and her skin was deathly pale.
"Yes, love. It's me." Tears began to bud in Amori's eyes; all of the guilt from her death came flooding back into his mind in a single rush
"Ocheeva… I'm so sorry…" Ocheeva put a finger to his lips, and smiled at him knowilngly.
"I know, my love. I know. I was a ghost after I died, at least until you did something. I was a ghost until you built me a tomb. You built a grave for me, and you put my spirit to rest. I know you feel guilty about my death, and I know that you can never forgive yourself. My love, Amori, I don't ask you to forgive yourself, I only ask you to accept forgiveness from me." She placed a kiss on Amori's lips, and the two lingered there for a moment, but eventually, Ocheeva faded away, her spirit journeying back to the realm of Akatosh. Amori smiled, and looked up. He saw the edges of Sithis' boots, and grinned. He had Ocheeva's forgiveness; there was nothing he couldn't do. At the last second, he launched himself up from the ledge, punching Sithis in the jaw. Ha landed, and drove the Dark Lord back with a flurry of kicks and punches, all the while dodging his foe's blade strikes. He saw FrostFire lying on the ground, and used his foot to draw the blade over to him. He picked it up, and unleashed its power. His eyes glowed with blue flames, the FrostFire leaving trails of steam and fire in the air behind it. Sithis was on the defensive, struggling to parry all of Amori's attacks. Eventually, he slipped. Delchkahn seized the opportunity, and tripped Sithis, landing him flat on his back. At the precise second Sithis hit the ground, Amori drove FrostFire through his chest. Sithis' eyes grew wide, and glazed over as his body began to dissolve in wisps of smoke. Amori had defeated Death.
Henantier watched in awe; this was not Amori's Dreamworld. He was in an incorporeal state, floating above the platform that Sithis and Amori battled on. He watched in awe as he saw their blades clash, and nearly cried out for his friend as he saw Amori's shield shatter, Amori drop his blade, and go over the edge. Then, he saw Amori clinging to the edge of the platform, and what he saw next, he couldn't explain: he saw a ghost of a young Argonian woman. She came and spoke to Amori for a while, and with a kiss, she was gone. Delchkahn seemed to be revitalized by her visit, and Henantir watched, dumbfounded, as he launched himself over the edge of the platform. He saw Amori knock Sithis back, retrieve his sword, and finally slay the Dark Lord. Henantier had witnessed the death of Death.
Henantier sat bolt upright, panting heavily. Kud-Ei rushed over to him,a wet cloth in her hand. She patted the cloth on his forehead, cooling his fevered brow. His eyes were wide, and his pupils dilated. "That… that was incredible!" he panted, seemingly to himself.
"What? What was it?" asked Kud-Ei, concerned for her fiancé's well being. He had proposed to her just the night before last, and things were going well. She didn't want to risk that.
"Amori… was in Ǽther… the realm of Sithis! But this wasn't a dream, it was real! Sithis was really there, and Delchkahn was visited by a ghost, even! In the end… Amori defeated Sithis!" Suddenly, Amori's body began thrashing violently under the leather belts restraining him. He writhed wildly, his fist clenching and unclenching. Finally, his eyes snapped open, and he yelled, long and triumphant. Soul-Swimmer ran to his side, concerned.
"Delchkahn!" she cried, worry in her eyes. "Are you alright?" She noticed small tears in his eyes, but she also saw that he was smiling.
"I'm fine, Soul-Swimmer," he said calmly. "In fact, I'm better than ever. Ocheeva visited me, and she forgave me. Finally, I can find true peace." Suddenly, his face grew grim. Soul-Swimmer unbuckled him, and he sat up. Slowly, he looked over everyone in the room: there was Carahil, Ka-Mala (who for some reason, was wearing drain-magicka manacles), Soul-Swimmer, Rhiihaaj and Sehiiri, now healed, a pale Khajiit girl who looked vaguely vampiric, and to his great surprise, Henantier and Kud-Ei. He raised an eyebrow as he noticed their matching rings, but said nothing. Addressing everyone in the room, he spoke. "An enemy unlike any we've ever faced is on Their way here," he said, his eyes dark. "They are coming."
Okay, one question: do I use too many cliffhangers? I think cliffhangers are cool, but I acknowledge that they could possibly get slightly irritating after a while. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed the chapter! Little reunion between Amori and Ocheeva; now Amori can finally be at peace with her death, because he knows she's in a better place. BTW, I have it so that the dead don't actually live in Ǽther, but the ones who can travel use it as a crossroads between realms. So, basically Ocheeva now resides in Akatosh's heaven. Yeah, she's an assassin, but I thought she was nice, so there. Anyways, I will award anybody (somehow) who can guess who the mysterious They are! Try and think about it, They are a part of Elder Scrolls! Anyways, this chapter is finished, so until the next, I say adieu!
The winds of time blow on, shifting the sands of reality into ever changing patterns.
-Baeowulf