Chapter 28: Operation GSS

It certainly didn't take Nightshade a few seconds to forget Martin's encounter entirely.

The four of them had entered onto a narrow island, its insides gutted out by a pool of lava. To both the right and left were two connecting towers, and in between the square was a giant, maggot-like machine with fire and claws for a head crawling towards them in the lava pool. A team of about five Dremora was guarding the gate and ready for them when they arrived. Ashen, a step ahead of everyone, shouted, "Run!" and proceeded to do so to the west tower. Nightshade quickly downed the potion Martin gave her and followed Ice to the opposite tower.

They all ran like mice in a deadly obstacle course, unsure of where they were heading exactly. There were only two routes to take, which were in the towers, and the split-second logic was that if they were connected, then they could be connected to the Citadel behind the siege crawler. The running wouldn't have been so bad if it wasn't running up the spiral inclines of the towers.

The potion had given Nightshade new strength as she backed up Ice in slashing anything that got in their way, but by the time they had gotten across the bridge to the next tower she was tired again. When it became clear the bridge to the Citadel was not only below at ground level but also broken and sinking in lava she let out a groan and leaned against a wall to steady herself.

"Come on," Ice prodded her, "we're running out of time!"

"I can't. I'm so out of breath."

"Oh, come on, this is a piece of pie. We're going down-hill."

"No, I don't think I can. Go on without me; I'm only slowing you down."

Ice took a step back, gravely considered leaving her there, and then changed his mind. "No, I can't do this by myself."

"Don't be stupid, Ice."

"I'm not being stupid. Deadly, they're going to catch up at any second. Please let's go!"

But it was too late. Dremora were beginning to climb up the tower, clinking with armor and flanked by Daedroths like hounds to the hunt. Fear pulsed through Ice and, without thinking, turned himself invisible and ran further up.

If it was anyone but Ice Nightshade might have felt resentment at being left to die, but her tiredness left her to only feel afraid and think about the task at hand as they came up and surrounded her. She knew she was Ice's only chance at success.

The Daedroth, at first, ran at her, but a sharp order from a Kynmarcher put them in place and Nightshade recognized who he was. It was none other than Eclixirz, but he had changed. He stood taller and his armor made him more muscular. There was a calculated coldness in his eyes that had intensified greatly since they last saw Nightshade. Next to him was a Dremora in blue robes with a less severe face and a look more fascinated than angry.

Eclixirz snarled in genuine hatred, "Down on your knees."

"It's you," she said.

"Yes, it is I, newly appointed Markynaz Eclixirz, one of the few Dremora to meet you and your" –he inhaled and said with strain— "friends and manage not to get vaporized. If you think, too, the only battles I've fought are the ones with you, you are wrong." He laughed hoarsely.

Nightshade glared at him half-heartedly. "And yet you still have an ego the size of Cyrodiil."

He grimaced and slapped her. Before she could fully recover he put his heavy gauntlet on the back of her neck and began to search along its base. He then suddenly smiled and leaned into her face.

"It looks like someone has done half my job for me. Now, I will truly enjoy this." He stood upright and, without much warning, kicked her in the stomach. The Daedroths howled and became restless as Eclixirz proceeded to beat Nightshade. He stomped on her, punched her face, ripped and kicked at her armor, and when he realized he wasn't getting the response he wanted, he ordered the other Dremora to join in.

"Stupid human, fight back!"

At this point Nightshade had become unconscious, and then a brilliant idea came to the blue-robed Dremora. "What if she needs a kick-start?"

"What do you mean? We just gave her one."

"No, I mean what if we gave her power from the Stone?

Eclixirz scowled for a moment. "That sounds dangerous, Kynreeve Rax."

"But it could work."

He stared down in disgust at poor Nightshade whose face was swelling up. "Fine, but only because this clearly isn't working. Kynaz, pick this pathetic meat-sack up. We'll take her to the Citadel."

To say Ashen and Crow were having a hell of a time would be putting it lightly. Most of the Daedra were gathered in the western towers, which is how they figured they were going in the right direction. Using their speeding momentum to slash into them or push them off the incline they got to the second tower surprisingly fast. It was then Crow noticed Ice and Nightshade weren't with them.

"We have to go back," he called to Ashen as he pushed a terrible-looking scamp to its death in spikes below.

"There's no time. Don't worry they'll be fine."

Crow suddenly began to grow hot. "They're not as strong as us, Ashen. They can die."

"Do what you like, but we agreed to fend for ourselves. We're here on a mission and it has to be carried out." He was about to start running again when Crow quietly, yet severely, said, "Just like you left Sayura to die."

The master thief stopped in his tracks and turned slowly. "What did you just say?"

"I said you left Sayura to die, too."

With sudden speed he went up to Crow's face, stern and angry. "And what do you know of my little girl, heathen?"

Crow fought himself not to strike his father-in-law. He had been treated this way his whole life in Morrowind by dunmer like him, dunmer that looked down upon Clan-born elves and had convinced themselves their ancestry lied within the halls of the Great Houses or, worse, within the empire. But Ashen's anger was different and lied within his personal demons, and Crow didn't know the right way to deal with this. He longed for Ashen to know and accept the truth, so without realizing he blurted, "I'm your son-in-law."

Ashen blinked as he let the news sink in and stood down. For a moment he suddenly looked old and sad as memories of his little girl flooded his mind, and memories of the pain when she left, and then the heartbreak after her death that never mended. "How do I know it's true?"

"You can ask Elyon. She was our organizer for the wedding."

Ashen took another few seconds to gain his bearings and then nodded. "Alright. But on one condition."

"What?"

"We leave fate alone and keep going without turning back."

Sounds of more Daedra coming up the tower reached them. Crow held his breath, and then growled, "Fine," before lifting his sword and charging into battle.

Kynmarcher Eclixirz led Kynreeve Rax and the rest of his entourage to the Citadel dragging Nightshade in the red dust in hopes of reviving her. "Damn it Rax if this doesn't work you will be the one squealing in agony when this is over."

Rax wasn't listening. He was staring at the prisoner curiously. "I cannot believe this is her."

"Well, it is. I should know."

Rax had meant the statement rhetorically but didn't care that Eclixirz took it personally. "How can such a small body house such a great force?"

"I don't know," Eclixirz had found Rax annoying from the very start mostly out of his own selfish pride, but he knew Rax was more knowledgeable than he was. That was why he tolerated him during this important mission.

As they were climbing the Citadel a Kynval came to inform them that the siege crawler was making excellent progress and that two elves had been found in the northwest tower.

"Did you kill them?" Eclixirz demanded.

"No, they disappeared outside the Citadel."

Without hesitation and with a terrible cry the Kynmarcher unsheathed his sword and slashed it straight into the Kynval's skull. All he had time for was an astonished face before his soul was cast back.

"Incompetent bastards!" he yelled at no one in particular. "Rax, take a few Xivilai and get her to the Stone. Quickly, you loathsome idiots! The rest of you fools, search the Citadel and if they aren't found and killed before the siege crawler gets through I will torture you all myself!"

Ice had tried his best to follow Eclixirz's entourage, but once they entered the Citadel the amount of Dremora around made it extremely difficult. Twice he was almost stepped on, and several times a head turned in his direction before deciding there was nothing in the dark. When that happened he had to stand still for several minutes to be convincing, but that was how he lost Nightshade.

He was trying his best to concentrate on his spell, but seeing Nightshade get beat up had shaken him up very badly. The incident had brought up the memory of his parent's death and being helpless then, too. He at first simply felt sick, but once it was over he felt a burning inside of him that turned into both hatred and self-contempt at the same time, one for the attackers and one for his own cowardice.

Unsure of where to go, Ice wandered the Citadel looking for any ways up the tower. The layout was very confusing, leading him down twisting halls into strange torture rooms and inclined spirals that seemed to lead mostly down than up. Several times he had to back track.

And then he found a curious room. Around it were various pillars. It had a semi-circle of benches surrounding an alter and shrine of some sort at its far end. The alter was flanked by two fountains of what looked to be blood.

Ice inspected the shrine, unable to recognize it and bet that his parents could have. He ran his fingers over the alter, almost forgetting the haste of the mission, wondering what sort of horrible rituals they performed on it before realizing he really didn't want to know.

A quiet footstep of clanking metal snapped him back to reality. He turned to see Kynmarcher Eclixirz sneaking carefully in, his claymore in his hands ready to slice open any human. Ice froze.

"Come out, human, I know you're here," he snarled. All Ice heard was a series of harsh growls but that was enough. He slowly began to move away from the alter.

The Kynmarcher was getting closer to him but wasn't fully facing him. "I know you're here," he repeated.

When the Kynmarcher searched the shadows near a fountain Ice felt his spell wearing off. In a flash Ice ran to a pillar near a corner of a wall, but it was too late. Eclixirz turned on the balls of his heels and ran towards the sound of footsteps swinging his sword. Ice knew he was trapped.

"Found you," he sneered, and Ice lamely blocked himself with his knives.

But the blow never came. He opened his eyes to see the Kynmarcher, once again, crumble to his death as a shiny claymore stuck out of his chest and reveal Crow and Ashen standing, drenched in sweat and blood.

"Thank the gods," Crow said quickly. "Where's Nightshade?"

"They took her, probably to the top again."

"Right. Let's go."

The way to the Great Sigil Stone's Sigillum Sanguis wasn't far from where Rax left. He went up the World Breaker and entered the room.

The Great Sigil Stone was about twice the size of any of the other Sigil Stones Nightshade had collected. It commanded a pillar of fire behind it greater than any of the others before, and the heat emanated was that of a good bonfire.

As Rax walked up to it he talked to Nightshade, not caring about the Xivilai. "Your majesty, I hope you don't take this all too personally. We had to do it, you see. Remember Rax was the one who saved you, not Eclixirz. He's stupid and selfish but I have risen above that. I would make a great advisor to you, or even just a Valkynaz. That would be an honor."

They reached the stone and the Xivilai hauled Nightshade up to her feet as best as they could. Rax held her limp arms. "Don't let go of her until she wakes up," he told his servants before adding to Nightshade, "Remember Rax." He placed her palms onto the stone.

The stone suddenly began to sizzle, and the fiery vortex behind it began to roar and grow faster. Rax's eyes grew wide as Nightshade's fingertips and hair began to glow. The Xivilai were growing hot, and when they couldn't take it anymore they let go. As she lost contact the stone let forth a burst of flames before she fell to the ground.

"How dare you!" Rax hissed at them, but then he saw her move. She coughed up a bit of blood onto the floor as she propped herself on her arms, still facing the stone. Her breathing was heavy, as if she hadn't breathed in a long time.

"Your majesty," he said almost timidly, "how do you feel?"

She lifted her hand and inspected it in the glow of the stone. Rax was uneasy and went closer. He touched her shoulder, unable to see her face. "Your majesty?"

At the simple touch the girl turned and jumped on Rax with the speed and agility of something unworldly. It was so sudden he fell on his back with Nightshade pinning him down on his chest. The Xivilai moved away as she proceeded to, with her own teeth and hands, rip his throat out. He screamed as best as he could, but did nothing to stop her.

Once she had done she turned to face the Xivilai. They were nervous but didn't run as she realized she still had a sword and began to swing it at them menacingly.

At the moment she decided to chop their heads off Crow, Ashen, and Ice came into the Sigillum Sanguis. All they saw were heads being thrown off the top level.

There was no time to think. "Nightshade," Crow called, "grab the stone!"

She contemplated for a moment, ran it all through her head, for it was no longer Nightshade who inhabited her body but something else, something powerful and terrible. It was bent on killing, killing everything because it was finally free, free from the mind of a little girl. But what it wanted more than bloodshed was power, and it wondered if taking the Great Sigil Stone would give it more. In a dumb frenzy it leapt for it.

The transition from Oblivion into reality was different this time. It seemed to happen in an explosion of light rather than vortex of fire like the other gates. It knocked the three elves below over, but when they opened their eyes, sore and bloody, they were back in Bruma.

It was an awesome sight to see for the soldiers and guards fighting in the snow. They had been down to half their men still able to fight but, thanks to Elyon and the city's healers, not as many bodies were lying lifeless on the ground. Adrenaline had replaced hope and valor long ago in everyone's minds, and Martin found it difficult to hold up a sword. He was standing next to Baurus and was vaguely aware of Jauffre a few meters away.

Suddenly the head of the siege crawler came piercing out of the Great gate, and despair began to fill every human being. It was over. They had lost. Martin dropped his sword and fell to his knees. No, no, no…

And then it happened. It was a great rumble at first, and then a horrible shriek. Everyone seemed to stop and stare, even the Daedra. The gate was closing in on the siege crawler, cutting it in half, and then all the gates closed simultaneously, taking the remaining Daedra with them. There was a lot of smoke, and the snow seemed to catch on fire, and then all was quiet.

Martin, who had been watching in awe while everyone else blocked themselves from the blast, stood up with his mouth agape. Out from behind the rubble of the crawler like god-like saviors came Ice and Ashen, blinking at the new light and looking bewilderingly at the still-standing army. Martin began to feel good again until Crow came out carrying an unconscious Nightshade in his arms. She, in turn, was hugging a glowing Great Sigil Stone, and seemed to be glowing herself.

Jauffre reacted instantly. "We need to get her inside the city now."

A path was quickly made through the army. As Crow practically ran to the city gates his mind began to clear. He glanced down at Nightshade and immediately shivered. Although energy seemed to surge through her, her face, now more red than black, had the eerie and almost angelic complexion of a fresh corpse.