The dark night sky stretched out above Sylvi as she dragged the dead deer to Cannibal. Onmund and Dalton had gone into the town to get supplies and rooms while Sylvi had caught a snack for the large dragon. As she dropped it in front of the dragon, Cannibal stuck up his snout.
"You lout! You CANNOT eat the dragons in King's Landing! Now… I went out and found this for you, so you might as well take it."
The dark beast snorted, blowing smoke in her face, but he took the offering. Sylvi let out a sigh and started walking toward the town. Stars glittered above her in the darkness, the only source of light other than the moon. She stopped for a moment to look at the stars. In her world, there were always glimmers of light in the sky, sometimes green, sometimes pink or even purple… In this world, the darkness seemed to accentuate the stars.
Suddenly, she noticed a patch of the sky free of stars. Goosebumps formed up her arms as a strange, shifting darkness grew in front of her. With a quick glance toward the town, she realized what, or rather who, it was.
"Greetings, champion," Hermaeus Mora spoke in his slow, deep voice as his tendrils forced their ways out of the darkness. "I see that you and your friends have stumbled into another world. An exciting predicament."
His voice hummed with amusement, and Sylvi found herself frozen in place as he spoke. An eye emerged from the darkness to study her as the Daedric Prince waited for her response.
"A 'predicament', huh? It would be… if you hadn't planned it."
His voice practically dripped with smug satisfaction as he replied, "Ah… you have finally learned my ways, Dragonborn. As I studied you, it seems that you were studying me. Yes… I am responsible for the Thalmor's… advancements. Perhaps… if you were willing to serve me, I could help you and your friends defeat your Altmer foes and return to Tamriel."
Sylvi's rage overrode her fear, and she growled, "No. As I told you before, you wretched demon… I am not your toy."
"Are you not?" Hermaeus Mora asked with an amused chuckle as a tendril firmly encircled her arm. "Poor deluded child. You were mine from the moment I laid my eyes upon you, Dragonborn… What makes you think that you can run from me forever? I know that you have felt the call of Apocrypha… I can feel the yearning in your bones to return. Do you deny it, champion?"
Sylvi's body was frozen in place under the Prince's influence, but it was now her turn to speak. She grinned maliciously and retorted, "You must have found out that my soul belongs to Akatosh. Is that why you want to ensnare me? Because you know that I can only go to you if I choose to do so. That any attempt to force me will bring Akatosh's wrath upon you."
There was a low grumble, and the tendril gripped onto her arm. "What makes you think that I am afraid of Akatosh?"
"Because otherwise you would have taken me already," Sylvi replied as the Talos amulet surged with a strange warmth. "And you will not kill me either. As doing so, you will lose all chance of the Last Dragonborn choosing to be your champion."
"You have already said that you will not be my champion."
"And you told me that you thought otherwise," Sylvi said and held her ground as the tendril loosened its grip. "I do have something that I am willing to trade you in return for our safe return to Skyrim. Something that I know you crave."
"And what would that be, Dragonborn? Tell me what I crave."
"Knowledge that cannot be found elsewhere. Knowledge of another world… You wondered how I could maneuver through Skyrim so easily… I can tell you how, and I can tell you stories of a world even stranger than this one."
"And what makes you believe that would hold my interest?" Hermaeus Mora retorted, but she could hear the curiosity in his voice.
"Because… Why else would you help the Thalmor come to this world? You seek knowledge from other worlds as you are no longer content with the one we come from. 'Forbidden knowledge' of other worlds that even the gods do not know."
Tendrils reached out, holding her in place as Hermaeus Mora hissed, "And why should I not rip that knowledge from you now, Dragonborn?!"
"Because it must be given willingly… As with Storn and the Skaal secrets. I have seen what you do to your followers. Miraak… Septimus."
"You had a hand in both of their ends."
"I did not kill either of them. You decided that Septimus was of no further use despite his service to you. I merely gave him the materials he needed to help you."
"And Miraak? You believe that I should have spared him?"
"He likely would have betrayed you at the next opportunity. And I don't blame him. You trapped him in your world… and I've been there. It isn't fun."
Hermaeus Mora's voice almost sounded hurt as he said defensively, "It is not a realm of 'fun.' It is a realm of knowledge and power. Even as you speak so negatively of it, I can feel your yearning for its dark halls."
"It's true that a part of me wants to explore Apocrypha… but not enough to truly go back. 'Forbidden knowledge' is often forbidden for a good reason."
"And yet you accepted my assistance."
"To save the world. Not for my own power… That's the difference between you and I… and Miraak. You and Miraak want knowledge for the sake of having power. Having control."
"And you do not?!" Doubt had crept into the Prince's voice.
"Not for the pursuit of having power. I took it to protect my people… my family. And intention matters. You and Miraak are hollow," Sylvi hissed back at the Prince as the tendrils held her in place. "You care about nothing but yourselves, and nothing in the world will make you happy. Not every bit of knowledge or power that there is… You will never be satisfied."
"And you are 'satisfied'? Is that why you have chosen to allow the Empire to bow to the Aldmeri Dominion? Because you are satisfied? Clearly not… otherwise you would not be here."
"Yes, but I have an end goal! After that, I will be."
"And pray tell what is your 'end goal'?"
"When all races are treated fairly, when the Thalmor no longer attack or enslave the other races, when we are all able to live without the threat of war–"
Hermaeus Mora laughed and retorted, "Then you will die unsatisfied as well. Do you believe that you are Tiberius Septim? Talos the Second?"
"No… I am not," Sylvi said somberly, and the tendrils loosened.
"But… should you submit to me, I can help you. You can turn the tide of those Altmer and wipe them out. I can protect your friends… your family. Together we can put the Altmer in their place."
"No," Sylvi replied, and the tendrils tightened once more. "Perhaps… I will die before things get better, but… if I can look back on my life and see that I was able to make some small difference for someone… then I am satisfied with that."
"Such a disappointment," Hermaeus Mora muttered and let go of her. "Contact me when you get your fire back, Dragonborn. I do not wish to own such a broken thing. I will leave you with this… The seal on your Thu'um has been broken since you absorbed that dragon. If you cannot use your shout… perhaps it is because you lack the drive. Call for me when you find it."
Hermaeus Mora's eyes and tendrils disappeared into the darkness, and Sylvi collapsed onto her knees. She heard someone calling her name and looked up to see Aemond running towards her. She could barely comprehend what she was seeing as he helped lift her back onto her feet.
"Aemond? Why are you here?"
Aemond kept an arm around her to steady her and replied, "Helaena… All of a sudden after you left, she started screaming… I couldn't understand most of what she was saying but I heard 'Sylvi' and 'demon', and I ran off to find you. Was that what she was speaking of? The darkness that had you in its grasp."
Sylvi nodded and asked in a weak voice, "Can you help me sit down? I… I need a minute."
Aemond led her to a tree, so she could lean on it when he helped her sit down. As soon as Sylvi got on the ground, she rested her head on her knees. Aemond slowly pulled his arm away from her and grimaced at the dark slime that Hermaeus Mora had left behind.
"Sorry," Sylvi murmured. "If you wash it off right away, you might be able to save that shirt. It does stain though.
"How… unpleasant," Aemond said as he noticed how much of the slime was on her. "Uh… I have an extra shirt."
"Could you grab my bag?" Sylvi asked and pointed to it on the ground. "I have a change of clothes."
Aemond quickly retrieved the bag before he ran into the night to find Vhagar and change his own clothes. Sylvi quickly took off the shirt and threw on one of her dresses. It would help her blend in more with the people here anyway, Sylvi told herself before using her magic to set her old shirt on fire. A laugh of disbelief caught her attention, and she looked up to see that Aemond had returned with a bag. He sat down beside her. They watched the blaze for a moment before Aemond tossed his shirt into the fire. As they sat in silence, Sylvi could tell that Aemond had a myriad of questions, but he was holding them back to avoid making her upset.
"Hermaeus Mora," Sylvi said, and Aemond jolted up. "He's the Daedric Prince of Knowledge… specifically forbidden knowledge. He wants a Dragonborn for his collection, and I'm the last."
Aemond nodded and asked, "Is he so dangerous that even you can't kill him?"
"Yes… you can't kill a Daedra, only return it to its plane of existence… Oblivion is its name. Hermaeus Mora's realm is called Apocrypha. When I die… he wants to keep me there."
"And it's not a good place," Aemond said, and Sylvi nodded.
"Nords have our own place for when we die. Sovngarde. I've been there. I fought the God of Time's dragon child there to stop him from ending the world."
Aemond laughed a little at the absurdity, and Sylvi laughed with him. After getting the nervousness out, they sat in silence and looked at the stars. Aemond was looking at the sky thoughtfully. Sylvi doubted that he was truly thinking about the stars.
"Any more questions, Aemond?"
Aemond looked at her with a sheepish grin and said, "I was just wondering what he could have said to make you look so… sad. Did he threaten you?"
"A bit. But honestly it wasn't much for a Daedric Prince… he just asked me a question that stung."
"What did he ask? …You don't have to say anything if you don't want to," Aemond said quickly as though worried that he had upset her.
Sylvi gave him a sad but reassuring smile and answered, "It wasn't exactly the question itself. Ever since I found out that I was the Dragonborn… I felt like there was a certain expectation of me. I was told by the Greybeards of my destiny. That I would fight Alduin for the fate of the world… I was asked to pick a side for the war… It just felt like once I became the Dragonborn… I lost a part of myself. It didn't matter what Sylvi wanted because being the Dragonborn was more important. I fought Alduin and won. I fought in the war and won. I fought Vampire Lords and the first Dragonborn… and I won. But it always felt like no matter what I did, it didn't matter. I was no longer a person… but a tool. I think… I've slowly started to resent being the Dragonborn. Maybe that's why I don't have my voice back yet."
Sylvi and Aemond sat in silence again before Aemond spoke up, "Some people… are more suited for leadership. You said that you lead an army to battle. That each time you won. You must be an inspiration to your soldiers at least. I'm sure that they admire Sylvi."
Sylvi smiled sadly and said, "No… they remember my armor, made of dragonscale and fire. They remember my shouts as I blasted away the Stormcloaks. They remember my magic as I cast spells to blast through the barricades. None of them know Sylvi… Just the Dragonborn."
"I do," Aemond said before looking up at the sky. "And your friends do… You are Serana's family, Marcurio's best friend, and Onmund's teacher."
Sylvi looked at him in surprise, and Aemond laughed while rubbing his neck in embarrassment.
"While you were in meetings with my grandfather, Aegon and I took the opportunity to speak with your friends. I was a little jealous to be honest. I don't know many people outside of my family and the Kingsguard. And they aren't exactly my friends…"
"But we're friends, aren't we?"
Aemond looked at her with his eye wide open in shock.
"You came all this way to make sure that I am safe," Sylvi continued with a gentle smile. "You're a friend to me."
The darkness hid some of his face, but Sylvi could see a slight blush as he answered, "Yes… Thank you for being my friend."
