The Elder Scrolls: The Field of Stars
An Elder Scrolls/Starfield/Witcher crossover
…
Prologue
The College of Winterhold.
The Dragonborn sliced through another magical anomaly with his sword. The anomaly seemed to scream in pain as it was bisected in half by the blade of his sword, and it fell to the snow in a pile of steaming magical goo. The warrior panted slightly and took a moment to observe the battlefield briefly. Members of the College, both novices and masters were engaging the magical anomalies in battle, blasting out streams of fire, lightning and frost at the anomalies that flew about, slamming their eldritch bodies into the college members. This had all started when Ancano, the Thalmor advisor (read: toady), had taken control of the Eye of Magnus and was using the artefact's insurmountable power for his own ends.
The Psjic Monks had informed the Dragonborn that he was the only one who could stop what was happening. A meeting with the Augur of Dunlain had the warrior travelling to Labyrinthian, the ancient Nord city ruin nestled deep in the frozen mountains, to recover the Staff of Magnus that would have the power to close the Eye before it could potentially destroy the world.
After a long battle with legions of undead and the Dragon Priest Morokei who commanded them, the Dragonborn had recovered the Staff and immediately made his way back to the College. It had devolved into pandemonium as Ancano's reckless misuse of the Eye had caused magical ruptures to split the borders between realms, spilling forth magical anomalies that had begun attacking everything in sight.
The warrior participated in the battle, helping his fellow college members as best he could, slicing apart the anomalies with his sword and providing healing and magicka potions to anyone who was injured in the battle against the anomalies. Mirabelle Ervine urged him to end the insanity and that was what the warrior intended to do.
Tolfdir volunteered his services to aid the Dragonborn in reaching the College and the warrior gratefully accepted the offer of the elderly but powerful wizard's help. Once the anomalies in the town had been dealt with, the pair then traversed the walkway leading to the college and they soon reached the magical barrier that barred the way. Pulling the staff of Magnus from his back, the Dragonborn raised the eldritch staff in front of him and unleashed the power of the staff onto the magical barrier barring entry.
Immediately eldritch energy shot forth from the crystal head of the staff and the stream of magic collided with the barrier in a shower of magical sparks and arcs of lightning. There was a great screaming sound as though the barrier itself were in pain but that didn't stop the warrior as he focussed on bringing the barrier down. Finally, after a tense nerve-wracking moment, the barrier was brought down, and it cracked and broke like splintering glass as 'shards' of magic fell around the College like broken glass.
Putting the staff away, the Slayer of Alduin then charged into the college with his sword at the ready and Tolfdir following closely, his hands wreathed in arcane flames.
Barging through the large oak and iron bound doors, Dragonborn and the Tolfdir entered the Hall of Elements where they found Ancano standing before the Eye of Magnus, his body enveloped in arcane magic.
"Ancano! Stop this madness! You don't know what you're doing!" the Dragonborn shouted. Ancano turned around to sneer dismissively before he replied.
"Foolish whelp! I know exactly what I'm doing!" boasted the Thalmor agent. "With the Eye at my command, the Thalmor has all it needs to wipe out both the Stormcloaks and the Imperial Legion from the board!" he declared.
"Ancano, please! Listen to reason!" Tolfdir cried "There are magics we were never meant to meddle with!" he yelled.
"Pathetic old man!" Ancano sneered, "I tire of your prattle!" Ancano then waved a hand and Tolfdir fell to the ground paralysed.
"No! Damn you!" shouted the Dragonborn as he blasted out a stream of lightning at Ancano but the magical aura surrounding the Altmer easily absorbed the lightning. Ancano waved another hand and it was only lightning quick reflexes that saved the Dragonborn from being struck by a paralysis spell. The hero of Skyrim then drew the staff of Magnus from his back. Ancano's eyes flashed with recognition as he saw the staff in the warrior's gauntleted hands.
"The… Staff of Magnus? You found the Staff of Magnus?!" screeched Ancano.
"I did!" the Dragonborn declared "And with it, your schemes are over!" he said as he pointed the staff towards the Eye and blasted a stream of energy at the Eye. The stream of energy collided with the Eye and the Eye closed. As the Eye closed, Ancano's magical aura faded away leaving him vulnerable. Almost immediately, the warrior was upon the Thalmor agent, his sword flashing. Ancano barely dodged each strike, trying to raise his hands to cast a spell.
The Dragonborn kept to trying to get in close so that the Thalmor lackey wouldn't be able to use any magic. Ancano in an act of desperation drew his dagger and slashed at the man who blocked the strike with his sword, but this provided Ancano with enough time to hit the Dragonborn with a telekinetic pulse which forced him back. Ancano then stretched his hand towards the Eye and cast a spell on it. The Eye opened and Ancano was then covered in magic once again.
Ancano then began throwing lightning bolts and fireballs at his foe for all he was worth. It took all of the Dragonborn's agility to avoid being hit by the destructive spells and he aimed the staff at the Eye and cast the magic of the artefact into the Eye. The eldritch magic of the staff collided with the Eye, and it began to close again. Ancano screamed in rage as he cast a counter-spell at the Eye for it to remain open. But as Ancano's counter-spell hit the Eye, it began to froth with energy and arcs of energy and lightning lashed out and there was a great cracking sound as above the Eye a tear in the fabric of reality opened and began to suck everything in.
Ancano was the first to be sucked into the blackhole and the Thalmor agent screamed in desperation as he scrambled to hold onto solid ground. The Dovahkiin acted quickly; he used his Thu'um to Shout Ice Form to anchor Tolfdir to the floor ensuring he wouldn't be sucked into the blackhole. The Dragonborn then thrust the blade of his sword deep into the ground and held on tight. The warrior's body was raised into the air as the blackhole sucked everything in the room into its gaping maw.
The Slayer of Alduin held on as tightly as he could but before he could react, his sword came free of its from its anchor and the warrior was sucked into the blackhole. The Dragonborn yelled in frustration as he was sucked into the wormhole and he struggled to try and make his way back to the Hall of Elements but as he was sucked into the blackhole, the tear sealed itself. The Dragonborn roared in disbelief as he was now cut off from his own world.
Then there was nought but darkness as the Slayer of Alduin found himself floating in a near all consuming void. The darkness seemed to stretch on forever as far as the warrior's eyes could see.
"So, this is how it ends?" the warrior said dryly before giving a grunt and adding, "Had a good run at least."
Then something or rather someone walked into view and it was a familiar sight. A tall gangly looking man wearing a finely tailored outfit coloured purple with grey-white hair and near whited-out eyes and a grin that never seemed to leave his face walked into view.
"Well, now, isn't this is a coincidence?" asked the strange man with a toothy grin on his lips.
"Sheogorath. To what do I owe this pleasure?" the Dragonborn asked tiredly having dealt with the Daedric Prince of Madness before.
"Well, I was out for a stroll and saw you were in a spot of wee bother here," the Mad God replied. "Or are you not in trouble?" he asked quizzically.
"You could say that," the Dragonborn admitted dryly. "And I suppose you're here to gloat?" he asked lightly.
"Now, what kind of man do ye take for?" Sheogorath said in mock hurt. "After the time you helped me reunite with my servant, while cutting me holiday short mind you, I think I owe ya one," he added. "Unless you want to stay here that is?" the Mad God then asked blandly.
"Where is here, exactly?"
"Och, nowhere you want to be, that's for certain," Sheogorath said. "Would you like a lift?" he then asked with a friendly grin on his lips.
"Some assistance would be nice," the Dragonborn replied with a nod of his head.
"All ye had to ask was ask," Sheogorath replied as he waved his hand before the Dovahkiin could tell him where he wanted to be dropped off.
…
Pont Vanis. Kovir.
Drizzling rain pattered gently down on the many rooves of Kovir as the citizens made their way through the winding streets of Pont Vanis. One individual in particular walked slowly through the water sodden streets, carefully and calmly avoiding the local denizens. She was a reasonably tall young woman with a slender hourglass figure and deep fiery red hair in twin low hanging buns were hidden beneath the large hood she wore to keep the rain off her head. A pair of bright emerald green eyes were looking ahead, focused on her destination.
This young woman was named Triss Merigold of Maribor, a powerful sorceress who formerly belonged to the Lodge of Sorceresses, a political and magical cabal of the world's most powerful mages who had been involved in more than their share of cutthroat political backstabbing and the like. So much so, that it had led to the mass killings and witch hunts in the Northern Kingdoms by Radovid the Stern, King of Redania.
But much of that was in the past now due to individuals who had brought about an end to the insane Radovid, not to mention the business with the Wild Hunt.
Initially, Triss had set up shop in Novigrad but was quickly forced into hiding due to the Church of the Eternal Fire declaring all mages to be witches and traitors and with eager assistance from Radovid, they had started exterminating anyone who so much as had a whiff of magic or even the slightest modicum of learning about them. Triss found herself the head of an underground movement looking to free all the mages of Novigrad and with some help from Novigrad's underworld bosses and the assistance of the Witcher Geralt of Rivia, Triss had spirited away the mages of Novigrad to Kovir where they were given sanctuary by King Tancred.
Geralt…
Geralt was a… complicated subject for Triss to put it lightly. For years she had been in love with the Witcher, unhappily so. When Geralt had been found outside Kaer Morhen with no memory of his past, Triss had, ashamedly, taken advantage of the man's amnesia, and partly due to the belief that Geralt's other half, Yennefer of Vengerberg, was presumed dead, to pursue a relationship with him.
But as time went on, Geralt's memory came back to him and Yennefer was revealed to be alive and subsequently, the pair had gotten back together and were now more in love than ever. Of course, Geralt had forgiven Triss for deceiving him and taking advantage of his amnesiac state as he too had believed Yennefer to be dead.
But still, it was a bitter sting to Triss's heart that Geralt and Yennefer had now gotten their happily ever after. Last Triss had heard, Geralt had been given a vineyard of all things as part of a hefty reward for a lucrative monster contract in Toussaint.
But in all respects, Triss didn't have too bad either herself; she no longer had to hide her magical abilities, was in service to a sympathetic king who had given the mages shelter and the whole mess with the war with Nilfgaard and the Wild Hunt was now over.
Still, Triss did often think about her life with Geralt before. To tell the complete truth, she was lonely. The house she had received in Pont Vanis was a tad empty of human company, despite some of the servants who tended the estate and as bad as she felt, Triss felt herself pining for company.
Sighing to herself, Triss made her way through the streets as she neared a brightly lit tavern. She had decided to get out of the house and spend an evening at a tavern, hoping the mood and nearby presence of people would cheer her up. At the very least, she could get blind drunk and stumble back home with someone.
Entering the tavern, Triss felt the warm air brush over her as she lowered her hood and took in the sights of the tavern patrons, eating, drinking, singing or other such activities one would partake in a tavern. A troupe of troubadours were on stage playing a lively and merry tune and some space in the middle of the floor was cleared away for patrons to dance.
Sitting herself in a small but cosy booth, Triss gave her order to a serving girl who came back moments later with a bottle of fine Est-Est and a glass. Murmuring her thanks, Triss poured herself a glass and sipped slowly; giving a small hum of appreciation of the fine wine, Triss settled back in her seat to observe the crowd. She spotted some young couples dancing together or enjoying private intimate moments with each other; her heart panged at the sight.
Sighing heavily, Triss took another sip of her drink, hoping the alcohol would kick in and she could forget about her own heartache for a while.
"Excuse me, lassie, but is this seat taken?" a voice suddenly asked, and Triss looked up to see a rather peculiar man standing before her. He was clad in the most garish ensemble of orange and purple clothes, but they looked to be finely tailored and fit the man like a well-made glove. He had windswept silver-grey hair and his eyes where a pale silvery colour that almost made Triss think he was blind. An almost manic looking smile was on the odd man's lips as he looked at her expectantly.
"Um, no, not at all, feel free," Triss said to the odd man who gave a wide grin and sat opposite her.
"Ah, thank ye, very much, lass. I've travelled quite a long way here," he said as he leaned back in his seat and pulled out from his jacket a large wedge of orange cheese and bit into it. "Would you like some?" he offered the wedge to Triss who shook her head in response. "Hmm, more for me than," he stated as he took even larger bite of his cheese.
"Who are you, sir? What made you want to sit here?" Triss then asked, curious as to why this odd fellow wanted to sit her booth when there were others that were available.
"Well, I saw ye sitting there alone, looking like the loneliest bairn in the world and I thought I'd come sit a spell with ye," the man replied with a grin. "As for who I am, I am called Sheogorath Cheeseman, Lord of the Never-There," he then said with a bow of his head.
"A pleasure to meet you, Mr Cheeseman," Triss said, feeling a little baffled at this odd man's name. Was this man a sorcerer? If he was, she'd never heard of him before. And as for his title, Lord of the Never-There, it sounded quite made-up, yet there was a little feeling that told Triss that it sounded like a real place. "I am…" she then tried to introduce herself to Sheogorath who cut her off with.
"I know who you are, lass. Triss Merigold of Maribor, the Fourteenth of the Hill and former member of the Lodge of Sorceresses," he said with a knowing grin.
"My reputation precedes me it seems," Triss said dryly. "But I must say that I've never heard of you before, nor have I heard of any place called Never-There," she added.
"Oh, but everyone does know me, lass," Sheogorath said with a mysterious grin. "I lurk in the back of everyone's mind, beneath the surface of every rational thought I wait, and I can bring to one brilliance or their wit's end," he added.
Triss raised an eyebrow at this; this conversation had taken a very strange turn indeed. This Sheogorath seemed to be brimming with madness and she had half a mind to cast a spell to calm the man down and bring him to a doctor.
"I wouldn't bother trying to cast one of your spells on me, lassie. Ye'd only annoy me, and you really don't want to annoy me," Sheogorath said with a grin and another bite of his cheese.
"Telepathy?" Triss asked in a guarded voice as she mentally threw up some defences around her mind.
"Oh, ye could say that, little lass," Sheogorath said with a secretive little grin. "The mind is a specialty of mine," he added.
"What is it you want from me?" Triss asked, staring at the odd man with a flat look on her face. "You obviously have a reason to be sitting here when there are other booths available. So, what is it that you want from me?"
"Truth be told, I'd like to play a game with ye," Sheogorath said.
"Gwent?" Triss deadpanned, wondering if the man before her was just plain insane.
"Oh, nothing so trite as that, bonny lass," Sheogorath said a cackle. "But if ye play this game of mine, ye could learn more about yerself and, dare I say it, perhaps even find love," he offered.
"And if I'm not interested?" Triss asked lightly, playing devil's advocate.
"Well, ye cannae do much worse than ye are right now, can ye?" Sheogorath said to her. "It's all in good fun and you might find yerself enjoying it," he added.
Triss thought about it for a moment before shrugging and said, "Well, what harm could it do?"
"Knew I liked ye for a reason, bonny lass," Sheogorath smiled as he waved his hand at Triss before she could even say anything, and she felt herself be pulled from the world and fell backwards into a void.
…
The first thing the Dragonborn felt was something cool and went being draped across his forehead. His eyes slowly opening, he realised he was laying on something soft yet firm. His vision slightly unfocussed, the warrior made to sit up when something strong pressed down on his chest, gently pushing him back down.
"Easy there, friend. You've been out quite a while," said a gruff but friendly voice.
"Where am I?" the Dragonborn asked as his vision cleared and sharpened. Swimming into his field of vision was a man with greying hair and a hard lined face.
"You're in the Rock of Akila City, same as your friend," the middle-aged man informed the hero of Skyrim.
"Friend?" the Dragonborn parroted.
"Oh, so that lady we found you with isn't a friend of yours?" the old man asked.
With a grunt, the Dragonborn sat up and looked around. He was laying on a bed of a make that was different from he was used to. The old man who had been nursing him sat back in a wooden chair and the warrior looked at the room around him. Nothing looked immediately familiar, but the general aesthetic of the room was rugged yet comfortable. Looking around, the Slayer of Alduin spotted another bed beside his and saw a young woman with deep red hair and freckles on an otherwise beautiful and youthful looking face.
"Is she someone you recognise?" the old man asked the Dragonborn who looked at him and shook his head in response. "What's your name, friend?" was the next question asked of the warrior.
"I am called the Dragonborn," said the warrior.
"Dragonborn, huh?" stated the old man before he said, "Name's Daniel Blake, Marshall of the Freestar Rangers stationed in Akila City." He then stuck out a worn looking hand to shake.
The Dragonborn clasped hand his hand in Daniel's and replied, "A pleasure to meet you." After shaking hands with the man, the warrior then asked, "Where is Akila City?"
"Capital city of the planet Akila in the Cheyenne System," Danield replied.
"Planet? Cheyenne System?" the Dragonborn echoed. "Where are they?" he then asked.
Daniel looked at the warrior in concern and said, "You okay there? You look a little lost. Where are you from? Can you remember?"
"I am from Skyrim, I was stopping Ancano from misusing the Eye of Magnus. A rift opened and pulled me in," the Dragonborn recalled. "Then Sheogorath appeared and offered to help me," he then said.
"Skyrim? Never heard of the place. What System is it in?" Daniel asked.
"I wouldn't know," the Dragonborn admitted as he looked at himself and realised he was no longer wearing his armour. "Where are my armour or weapons?" he enquired.
"We took your armour off to check you for injuries. They're in a wardrobe waiting for you," Daniel told him. "So you don't know which system Skyrim is in," he then said. "Anything else you can tell me?" he asked.
"Perhaps if you told me more about where I am, I might be able to answer that," replied the Dragonborn.
Then the redheaded woman awoke with a groan. "Where am I?" she asked in a groggy voice.
"Easy there, missy," Daniel said as he rose from his seat to tend to her. "You've been out for a while. You and your friend are lucky you ain't ashta chow," he added.
The woman's eyes opened to reveal emerald green eyes as she looked at Daniel and said to him, "Who are you?"
"Name's Daniel Blake, Marshall of the Freestar Rangers," replied Daniel. "What's your name, little missy?" he then asked.
"Triss Merigold," said the woman as she sat up slowly and then looked at the Dragonborn who looked at her calmly. "And you are?" she prompted.
"Call me Dragonborn," answered the warrior.
Triss raised an eyebrow before looking at Daniel who nodded at her. Triss then looked at the Dragonborn and gave a warm smile. "A pleasure to meet you," she then said to the warrior. "So, where are we?" she asked.
"Akila City, capital of Akila in the Cheyenne System," Daniel informed her.
"Akila City? I've never heard of it before, nor this Cheyenne System I'm afraid," Triss said regretfully. "Where exactly are we?" she asked.
"Well, where are you from?" said Daniel.
"The Continent, specifically the Kingdom of Kovir of the Northern Realms," stated Triss.
"Kingdom? Northern Realms?" Daniel echoed in mild confusion. "You been taking Aurora or something?" he asked.
"I was spending the evening at a tavern when this strange man introduced himself to me," Triss replied. "He called himself Sheogorath Cheeseman, Lord of the Never-There," she said.
"Sheogorath? You met the Daedric Prince of Madness?" the Dragonborn asked suddenly.
"You know him?" Triss looked at the hero of Skyrim who nodded.
"He's a Daedric Prince, essentially a god, one of madness and insanity."
"Alright, let's start from the beginning here," Daniel said firmly. "You tell us about this Sheogorath feller and we'll go from there," he suggested.
The Dragonborn nodded before beginning to tell Triss Merigold and Daniel Blake what he knew of Sheogorath.
TO BE CONTINUED…
A/N: There, just thought I'd give this a try and be the first to write an Elder Scrolls/Starfield crossover as there hasn't been any crossovers for Starfield yet, not any straight Starfield fics either. Guess I shouldn't be too surprised by that, it was only about a couple of weeks ago that Starfield came out, so it might be some time before we see any Starfield fics, but I like to think I took the first step and get the ball rolling.
And apart from that, I haven't got too much more to say about this, so I'll leave this here and see you all in the next one. Please do leave a review if you liked this, but if you didn't like it then don't bother.
Be kind to one another,
Angry lil' elf.