1. Learning the Rules
"Know the rules well, so you can break them effectively." - Dalai Lama XIV
Khanna Allard was never a pious person. She couldn't help but roll her eyes when others started preaching their philosophies to her. Perhaps Gods created her, but she had no intention of leaving her fate to in their hands. Her future was her own and she survived all these years using her skills and her brain, not talking her enemies into death.
And yet, in the strange turn of events she was stuck in an ancient temple devoted to who-knows-who, freezing her brains out. Perhaps coming to Skyrim on such short notice was a bad idea, and yet she couldn't let an opportunity to collect more treasure and knowledge to slip her fingers. Straightening her spine she looked over towards the middle of the room. Her companion friend was spinning the pillars effortlessly around.
"You said you know how to pass the traps and puzzles." she said with a deep sigh. Like killing all those monstrosities wasn't enough, now she even had to waste her time here.
"We are alive." the thick Khajiit accent made her fringe a bit "No trap got to us!" he continued spinning the middle of the three pillars not really paying attention to her.
"So, we won't die from swinging blades, nor will we perish in flames… We will starve in an ancient hallway?" Khanna cocked her head on the side, thinking about her sarcastic comment. It was too close to truth. Her Khajiit friend didn't answer that, but continued trying to solve the puzzle. Utterly bored and irritated by the fact that she was so close to get her hands on some ancient scripts she started pacing through the hallway, rumbling though the ruined books.
A loud noise made her raise her head towards the large gate that was opening before her eyes. The fool seemed to finally guessed the combination. It was about time. Throwing the unreadable scripts back in the dirt, she hurried towards the gate.
"I, Dar'kajo, solved legendary ancient Nordic puzzle." he boasted while picking up his gear from the ground.
Khanna tried to ignore him as she studied the script on the walls of the long hallway. The inscribed texts were mainly lost and impossible to translate in the state they were in. She could, although recognize a word or two. It was a strange script, obviously ancient Nordic and yet it used some expressions that didn't belong to that civilization. Frowning she shortly wrote some of the remarks in her journal before returning it back to her bag. She needed to return here and investigate this further on her way back.
On the other side, her Khajiit companion continued boasting his skills and his intelligence. He only stopped on moments so he could pick up a gem or two or some interesting object he thought could be sold off for good money.
"Do the scribbles on the wall say anything about treasure?" he asked as they continued their way. Khanna was now suspicious of the calmness surrounding them. No draugr was on sight and it was utterly quiet. In her book, this was never a good omen, so she was readying herself to get her blades at any moment.
"The scribbles are... Confusing. Just scattered words on stone that I cannot translate completely." Khanna absently said, as she glanced over the hallway once more.
"Disappointing." he concluded the conversation, and she felt no urge to continue it.
She was surprised that this… Person, Dar'kajo was the same one who wrote her that letter two months ago, calling her to investigate a newly discovered ruin in chase of knowledge, riches and fame. The letter was so intelligent and ingenious while the Khajiit before her… Well, he just wasn't all that. Perhaps he yet had the time to shine.
"Shush." She told him, although the silence around them was complete. After a few seconds spent trying to decide whether her mind was playing tricks on her, she turned her head towards the Khajiit and slowly nodded to him, signaling that they were ready to continue. The laughter was just an illusion, don't think about the nonsense from the past. Now was not the time for her childhood memories to come to the surface. Shaking her head slightly, she decided she was ready to continue.
The large gate was made from ebony. Dark and beautiful, it almost seemed as if it was alive under her gaze. That was it, the inner sanctum of the place, still no draugr on sight and her companion finally shut his mouth. With her hand, she slowly touched the cold metal beneath her fingers. Whatever might be behind these doors could mark her life. She closed her eyes for a second, hoping that it wasn't just a simple burial chamber or another alchemy chamber. Let it be books, or inscribed walls or at the very least treasures.
Khanna opened her eyes and with a solid push opened the door before her. The room in front of her was gigantic and the walls were beautifully carved and well preserved in metals and stone. Khanna let out a breath and felt some of the pressure fall off her shoulders. Her Khajiit companion barged into the room, while she marveled the beauty of the place, and started pulling out the gems and engraved metals from the walls. She was far too enthralled with everything to notice his actions.
"So beautiful." she said breathlessly under her breath.
The room was a large, decorated in Nordic ornaments and vases, but among them she could see a few decorations from different origins. A temple made by more races? That was very unusual. Most of the room was taken by a large table surrounded by decorated thrones. Although most of the scrolls were destroyed and soaked in dirt and water, Khanna had her hopes for the walls surrounding the place.
The western wall was written in Nordic carvings and she quickly read the first few paragraphs. It only took so much for her eyes to widen and her heartbeat to fasten. This wasn't a temple for Gods, it was as far from it as it gets.
"Dar'kajo… I think this isn't what you suspected it was." she told him. No one answered her. Slowly, Khanna turned around only to face a blade stuck at her face. A grin was playing on the Khajiit's face.
"Ah, the Halfling understood." he said "Now, slowly put your blades on the ground."
Without much other option, Khanna took both her blades and placed them on the ground near her feet, her gaze never leaving his face.
"I never wanted the gems, you could've taken them and left." she told him.
"You aren't so bright as they say you are, are you?" he chuckled "I don't care about the gems so much. I want my masters to come back and reward me for my loyal services."
"Your masters…" she could fell her own heart beat fasten "The Daedra."
"Ah, yes. The Daedra." he confirmed "Now, all you have to do is be a nice little sacrifice. It will all be over soon."
Khanna was instructed towards the large altar behind the table. She rested on the cold metal surface, and the Khajiit summoned his masters. But in that moment only one question whirled around her head. Was it too late to start praying?
A/N : I started this story based on a dream I've had a few weeks ago. It was kinda stuck in my head and I couldn't do anything about it, so I decided that it was perhaps best to get it out and write it as a story. I honestly have no idea how long will I be writing it or how many chapters will it have. Also, Khanna is my character in Skyrim, and a Dragonborn, but right in this story she isn't the D-born but just a young scholar and a halfling (Breton-Nord) who's very invested in her research. Also, the story will feature the real Dragonborn, since all this is happening in the same time when the dragons are coming back. So, basically it will be a story similar to the main plotlines and faction plotlines(still haven't made any decisions on factions...), but completely unique. So, everything that's happening is pretty much my idea :D Also, special attention will be paid to Daedric questions!
Very possible romance somewhere in the near future! If anyone has any ideas s/he would like to incorporate, please contact me. I am totally open for alomst anything! This will be rated T until further notice(but perhaps it even goes to M, since there will be some very graphic violence descriptions)!
I would love some feedback on this! Thanks for reading! :3
Oh, and sorry for the mistakes in my English. It's not my mother language so I feel a bit shaky when writing xD I'll pay as much attention as I can!