Auroran Arena
Meridia was mocking and messing with Molag Bal's realm of Coldharbour once again. She appeared as a floating light ball at one of Molag's arenas he'd opened in his chaotic replica of the Imperial City.
She took interest in the brutal fights that were taking place at the moment: Scamps vs. Ogrims. Deceived souls from mer and men alike pitted against Bone Beasts. Vampires and the like.
"Pretty sight, huh?" Molag points at the ongoing slaughter and beckons to Meridia to come closer.
"Amusing, but your duels are careless, and lack proper order. I could organise something better than this." Meridia pompously shines brighter as she goes off on a tangent to lecture Molag on the rules of proper arena duelling. "This whole arena, reeks of excrement, fire, piss, sweat and bad tasting wine."
Molag teases back in a hissing tone, "If you think you can pull off something better…" He sprays bad tasting wine over her, "why don't you go make your own arena, you Shining Bitch?"
"Uh, how dare you stain me?" Meridia prepares to leave, her light form turns back just for a second. "Fine, I'll make my own arena with my own Aurorans and creatures, and you're not invited."
"Fine…" He waves sarcastically, "Let me know how that goes for ya, ha, ha, ha." He says, shaking his bad tasting wine in joy.
Afterwards, Meridia left Coldharbour and returned to her Coloured Rooms. Wasting no time, she raised an Arena made of half-light, half-stone somewhere and declared that anyone in the vicinity should come and enjoy the show.
Aurorans, Purified beings, and pretty much any other being or creature that somehow worshipped Meridia enough to earn a place in her realm, gathered around the arena of light. The place seemed more appealing thanks to the rain of sweet, slow-falling emerald tears Meridia summoned over it. Opening the mouth felt like tasting good wine, so people quickly started using it as an excuse to yell and cheer upwards even more, adding to the exciting and vivid environment of a proper arena.
The Lady of Infinite Energies sat on the arena throne overlooking the upcoming battles. She took on a golden, shining humanoid form for the occasion. An Auroran and a Valkyrie beside her.
"Step in, my champion!" She immediately summoned Umaril the Unfeathered into the arena. He was about 2.30m tall and wielding his personal sword, which shone with a thundering hue and had Daedric inscriptions on the blade.
Umaril knelt, placing his sword in front. Meridia had had a few potential warriors in mind for the games: Manusa the Valkyrie, a 2m tall two-handed blademaster; Battlelord Franatia, a slim but tough one-handed spellsword; and cherrypicked Aurorans and Purified from her army. All clad in typical Auroran armour with slight variations.
Umaril's height and his powerful body were enough to make anyone think twice before going up against him, and some of the Aurorans' knees shook upon knowing they'd have to face him. Meridia never cared much for individuals as she saw them as assets to play with, but Umaril was the exception.
The Valkyrie beside Meridia descended into the arena ground to recite the Prince's quotes from her sacred texts to sanctify the show. The Goddess smiled wide upon choosing Battlelord Franatia for the first fight. He was eager, yet wary of Umaril.
"Let's see how the old generation compares to the new." She said after granting Franatia Dawnbreaker and signalling him to move in.
The Valkyrie now announces the names:
"Umaril the Unfeathered vs. Battlelord Franatia!"
Umaril raises his sword upon hearing his name, ready to face his new foe. Meanwhile, Franatia raises Dawnbreaker, ready to face one of the most powerful sorcerer-kings who have ever lived.
One strike to the knee and Umaril staggers, but he retaliates.
Franatia easily blocks his strike, but when trying to counterattack, Umaril responds immediately, sending his sword straight onto Franatia's chest, pushing him back. Franatia falls on the ground with great difficulty, having to recover from the strong blow.
Meridia laughs at the unexpected yell from her Battlelord. Meanwhile, Umaril recovers, bringing down his mighty sword on Franatia again, but this time, the latter dodges it, taking advantage of Umaril's twitchy knee to counterattack, landing a blow on Umaril's side with Dawnbreaker.
Umaril summons his Aurorans to fight alongside him. Meanwhile, Franatia is charging at him again, slashing with Dawnbreaker, but Umaril dodges it again and strikes back with his sword, sending him flying across the arena with a mighty blow.
Dirt flies across as the crowd cheer on.
Meridia wows, seeing her Champion and her Battlelord fight each other tooth and nail, their skills almost matched. Next, Franatia gets off the ground and runs toward Umaril, slashing his gauntlet, but Umaril blocks the attack again and responds with a punch from underneath both their swords, making him stumble back.
Umaril's Aurorans jump on top of Franatia, but his light of life granted by Meridia keeps him going.
He uses the power of this light to push the Aurorans off him, slashing them open from their stomach and legs, and leaving them to slowly die. Umaril strikes again, but Franatia clanks swords with him, and counterattacks cutting and exposing Umaril's arm.
The Ayleid recoils and looks at his wound.
He steps back for a moment in irritation, when Franatia takes the opportunity to attack, slashing him on one side above his shoulder. His light of life still healing him as Umaril kneels being hurt.
Umaril is now clearly wounded but still strong enough to fight when Franatia takes advantage of his position and raises Dawnbreaker to strike another blow to his chest. Umaril's body shakes, his armour plate dented, but he remains half-standing, not showing signs of giving in.
He stands up whilst casting a light wave to fling his foe across, his gaze fixated on him.
Franatia gets up from the ground and dusts himself off, before beginning to run towards Umaril again, his face filled with fury and blood spurts.
Aurorans and everyone else go excited over the fight. Amusement roars are heard throughout the arena.
Meridia continues to watch the fight, amused and proud of both of her warriors. She was sure this would be a fight to remember for her and her people.
Umaril gets lifted up in the air, clothed in Her Light. He is extremely angry and powerful, and is brewing a mighty strike. Everyone is amazed by this turn of events. But Franatia gets back into the fight, charging at Umaril, but he is aware of him, and brings his sword down on Franatia. Both weapons clank loud, and Franatia lands back on the ground with a thud.
The Battlelord, being a spellsword, then summons his own Valkyrie with a hammer to assist.
She smites Umaril down into the ground, but he gets up in a sort of twisting, dancing motion as if sliding backwards: and prepares to face the Valkyrie. However, Franatia raises Dawnbreaker and lands a hit on his helmet, forcing him further back and almost cracking it open.
Umaril dodges the next Dawnbreaker strike from his foe and, in a display of skill, slaps the blade from its side, and sends the very Dawnbreaker through the summoned Valkyrie next to him, causing Franatia to unwillingly stab her to death. The sword emits beige particles coming into contact with her.
Meanwhile, Franatia doesn't flinch, and prepares to strike one more time. Umaril raises his sword in a flamboyant fashion and sends a powerful strike at Franatia, who manages to dodge the blow from underneath and strike back, cutting Umaril's side again, which is now bloodied and exposing the Ayleid's golden skin.
With her power, the Daedric Prince intensifies the sweet emerald rain covering the whole area. While this happens, she laughs, amused by the sight of her two warriors duking it out with all their strength.
The epic proportions of the Prince's amusement duel captivate everyone present, who can't help but look with awe.
Meanwhile, the battle gets more and more intense, as both Umaril and Franatia don't seem willing to give in to the other.
Both warriors are bleeding profusely, showing how fierce the battle has been.
Franatia and Umaril are now gasping out of exhaustion, each breathing heavily and their movements becoming slower by the seconds. Their strength is diminishing rapidly, but they continue to fight on, one last blow away from winning the battle.
Meridia casts a blue, horizontal light of restoration across the arena to heal both warriors and continue the fight. It just works, and both Franatia and Umaril recover from their exhaustion, regaining their energy. Meridia watches excitedly, and takes advantage of the quick miracle to brag about her power, waiting for the decisive moment when one of her warriors will defeat the other. The Auroran beside her frowning behind his helmet at the excessive amount of showing-off.
Franatia uses Dawnbreaker's edge to catch some of the restoration light, repurposes the energy, and casts it back on Umaril on the spot to hurt him.
Meridia always had a soft spot for Umaril despite his failures in Cyrodiil. She often assured him that he would be safe no matter the outcome of the events he was ever involved in. Umaril was always strong on the outside and in his mind, but Meridia knew that his heart was in constant communion with her. A secret the Ayleid never let out.
The Prince now teleports Manusa the Valkyrie to help her champion out. Manusa drives Franatia away from Umaril and diverts him for the time being.
Franatia now summons two Aurorans to distract the Valkyrie towering over him. The two Aurorans are noticeably shorter than Manusa, and awkwardly try to get a hold of her arms as if dragging a tied animal down; but she retaliates, shaking her body up and violently swinging the two Aurorans around who manage to hold on to her arms.
Keeping her busy, Franatia sneaks out, but Umaril, though covered in blood from the abdomen down, is already standing and ready to attack, sending his sword at the Battlelord, who dodges it with a sidestep, flips around and gets behind him for another hit, cutting Umaril right across his chest. The Prince is jubilant at such a display.
Umaril's flesh is exposed further, but Franatia can't keep going for long. One of his Aurorans loosens his grip on Manusa, and, using the momentum from her swinging at the right time, then steps in and charges at Umaril just before the latter finishes another swing of his blade. The well-timed push shoves him aside despite his size.
Manusa, seeing her ally in danger, clasps both her arms together and pounds the lonely Auroran still on her to get rid of him. The crowd yell a big "Oof" upon seeing a broken limb on the Auroran's body. She then rushes off towards Franatia and restrains him by his shoulders from behind.
Franatia experiences a sudden fear knowing he's in a dangerous spot. His other Auroran nearby turns around and tries to head back to him, but Umaril, now lying close to the wall, sweeps the Auroran off the ground with a swing of his arm from underneath.
The strength of the sweep is enough to make the Auroran somersault twice before falling. Umaril buys a few seconds off the situation, and steps in front of Franatia.
With both Aurorans out of the way, Manusa and Umaril quickly act on their opponent: first, Umaril starts restraining Franatia from the front, sandwiching him between two giants. Manusa then brings up her two-handed sword. Meridia gently rises from her seat and the crowd go rather quiet.
Manusa stabs Franatia from behind his chest. Half her sword goes through him, and blood squirts all over Umaril's armour plate. Umaril violently smashes Franatia's head once with his sword, and the torn skin exposes his head from above.
The Valkyrie's eyes widen behind her helmet at such gruesome sight, but keeps the Battlelord still by using her sword stab as a handle. Umaril then gently draws his sword edge closer to Franatia's neck and beheads him with a clean sideways cut.
Whatever bit of consciousness Franatia had up to that point fades away, and blood covers his executioners' hands.
The strike is indeed decisive. Meridia is astonished by the violence of what has taken place, and can't help but nod in approval. The crowd resume cheering.
Umaril throws Franatia's body away after Manusa detaches her weapon. He looks at Meridia ready to claim his victory.
But suddenly, using their short height, Franatia's Aurorans sneak up on them and grab Dawnbreaker from the Battlelord's corpse. The sword, as if being able to read its wielders' intention, becomes longer on the spot.
The Aurorans hold it both at once like a spear and use it to stab Manusa's head right from the side when she and Umaril are distracted. The execution briefly looks like two men raising a flag.
Umaril is taken aback, seeing the Valkyrie in such a pitiful stance. Meanwhile, Meridia can't help but be amused at the turn of events, and cannot wait to see how her champion will react.
The Ayleid king steps back to strike a pose as he sheaths his sword. He's going to use his bare hands for this fight.
The Aurorans detach the long Dawnbreaker from Manusa's corpse, which finally falls, and get in line still holding it as a spear. Umaril giggles at the sight, and prepares himself for the fight against both. The crowd go wild, throwing flowers and other colourful things on the arena. Meridia wonders at the courage mustered by the Aurorans. The sweet emerald rain keeping everyone pumped up.
Umaril approaches with care. One hand stops Dawnbreaker's edge and diverts the Auroran's attacks. The other hand tries punch them from below, but fails to reach either.
The footwork of the Aurorans is impressive. A testament to how Meridia's army work as a hivemind.
Umaril is extremely strong, and continues to advance despite the poking he can't dodge. Meridia, however, doesn't want the show to end, and summons more Aurorans by the move of her hand.
The new warriors come already walking out of an azure dazzling cloud with a beam of light raining on them from above, and start running at Umaril from all sides, golden swords in hand and a sense of bloodlust.
Umaril jogs around the arena, not losing sight of his foes or letting them catch him. His movements are smooth, yet swift, as if he is walking on air. "Wows" and "Woah's" are heard all around.
Seconds pass, and Meridia decides to up the ante again by ordering one of the arena gates to open.
A group of Purified beings wearing golden spectacle helmets, and shining with Her Light from within, enter the arena to help Umaril. The Aurorans, however, have grown tired of chasing, and muster enough strength to lift Manusa's corpse and hurl it at the new arrivals as a projectile.
Manusa's armour is so heavy that it makes some of the Purified fall and stagger.
Umaril unleashes a wave of Meridia's light upon the Aurorans to deter them further. The Purified attack with their beige swords and push their foes back, The clanking of weapons and heavy pieces jolting each other embellish the scene.
The Aurorans that Franatia summoned, more capable than the rest, manoeuvre around the Purified and make their way back to Umaril amidst the chaos.
The Ayleid shoves aside Purified and Aurorans and stands in front of Franatia's. Their Dawnbreaker spear once again in position.
They push the spear straight at Umaril who tries to parry the blow with his hands, still cocky enough to not use his own weapon, but he is too exhausted from the loss of blood, and the spear slips through his hands. Meanwhile, Meridia can't help but be amused by the fact that the Aurorans are proving to be such persistent opponents for Umaril, adding more challenge to his fight.
The Purified gather around Umaril to create a sort of phalanx with their bodies and protect him before the other Aurorans pounce on him again, but he's bleeding from the last blow.
He is now limping away by the back of the phalanx, but the Aurorans are closing in on him despite the Purified facing them. The clanking and slashing of swords can be heard from afar, and the phalanx steps back a little.
With each passing second, the Purified are weakened and the Aurorans' rage increases. The former see the latter shouting, gasping and gnashing through the openings in their helmets, their bloodlust showing on their golden eyes.
Some of the Purified are cut through and slashed dead as they glow more radiant each time one of them dies.
Shoving the falling ones aside, the Aurorans reach the last two Purified and manage to glance at Umaril behind, reluctant to limp but kneeling and covered in blood from the chest down.
One of the Purified is flung against the wall by several Aurorans, which causes his spectacle helmet to fall off, and remains unconscious resembling death. The last one is held still by two and a third Auroran grabs his sword and pierces his neck from the front, planting the sword's end through it and onto the wall behind as a sort of pinning execution.
Meridia's brow twitches at such violence, but her gaze quickly turns to Umaril who is vulnerable and desperately trying to evade his foes. His wounds make him easier to catch this time, and all the Aurorans seize this chance to surround him.
A bad omen is felt amongst the arena crowd, who are now expectant. The movements of the Aurorans seem frighteningly determined and earnest as they lay their arms on Umaril.
The Aurorans are now trying to dismember Umaril in front of everyone!
The crowd on the other end of the arena rush and lean over the wall to see the execution. Meridia stands up from her seat and the emerald rain intensifies. Umaril is slowly brought to the middle of the arena whilst the Aurorans keep trying to pull his limbs apart with their bare hands. Despite their combined strength, they still struggle to haul him.
Meridia's amusement soon turns into a serious frown, yet she is interested in what's about to come. The crowd, however, are revelling in the moment, being drunk on sweet emerald rain.
They drop him. His armour thumps the ground. More Aurorans gather by his side, leaving the other limbs alone.
Umaril starts screaming as his left arm is detached and torn apart first out of sheer Auroran strength. They shout out of amusement and laugh whilst a pool of blood forms around the wound. Their opponent's voice fills the arena.
Meridia's eyes open wide.
Franatia's two Aurorans wielding Dawnbreaker get behind the agonising Umaril, ready to cut his head off, but...
Something unexpected happens...
The last surviving Purified being, now with the spectacle helmet back on, suddenly strikes the Aurorans from behind using Manusa's long two-handed sword in a horizontal fashion to push the whole group back and away from Umaril.
Meridia is impressed with the sudden intervention, and smiles at the irony of life. Meanwhile, some of the Aurorans quickly recover and turn around to fight the Purified loner.
Umaril, missing an arm, gets away from his captors. The adrenaline makes him forget the pain momentarily.
The Purified's intervention has given Umaril a chance to fight back. Meridia silently creates an unnoticeable small light of restoration from within Umaril's body, which cures his limping and keeps his blood from dripping out his wound.
All the Aurorans are, however, now mauling and repeatedly stabbing Umaril's saviour in the middle of the arena. Their cries of rage can be heard.
The group of golden carnage then gather round the Purified, seize Manusa's sword, and impale him on it to then plant it firmly on the ground. The victim gagging and twitching in his legs.
The tide of the battle is changing every second, and the balance of power keeps swinging back and forth. The rain of light on the arena makes a colourful scenario, as people watch in awe as the battle continues.
Umaril manages to sneak away for a second during the impaling, and draws his sword again, now using it one-handed style. Aurorans, blinded by their bloodlust, turn around, realizing they've left themselves open, but it is too late, as Umaril attacks, slashing open some of them and delivering a deep, fatal wound to one in the chest.
He then sweeps his sword to cast a wave of light across the arena and make them stumble. The light is blue, thick and cloudy, and covers most of the arena all around, preventing the Aurorans from seeing what's in front of them.
Meridia watches, fascinated by the speed and efficiency with which Umaril is utilizing the sword to incapacitate his opponents. Everyone can tell when an Auroran falls by the sound of their clanking armour.
Franatia's Aurorans stumble upon the edge of the arena wall, which is the only place the cloud of light hasn't covered yet.
Umaril suddenly feels an urge to puke and opens his mouth.
The light of restoration inside him comes out and snuffs away part of the light cloud's density as it floats above his head. A passing thought, as if coming from the light itself, tells him to pick up his severed arm.
Meridia and the crowd finally get to see Umaril clearly standing in the middle of the arena, a few dead Aurorans at his feet. Her Light covering him all over and purifying his wounds and dripping blood.
He then picks up his severed arm off the ground, puts it next to his exposed shoulder and the light starts to "sew" it back in place.
Meridia, conceited, is proud of the miracles her own essence can work out.
Umaril is flabbergasted at his arm being whole anew, but his marshal instinct keeps him aware of his foes.
Franatia's Aurorans barely see what's happening now that the light cloud is vanishing. Soon after, they make out the figure in the middle of the arena, the blood on his body now glowing yellowish and wielding his sword two-handed style.
The Aurorans, Dawnbreaker spear in hand, run at Umaril in a cavalry fashion, but he clanks swords with them and pushes them back with renewed strength, lifting dirt off the arena. The push is hard enough to make the Aurorans drop Dawnbreaker.
Umaril picks it up and the sword, imbued with intelligence, draws back its spear-like length, and with the added power of having his second arm back, he easily slashes Franatia's Aurorans for good, first thrusting his body into them to crush them against the wall with their bones cracking in the process. Then cutting them down with two slices each from the chest down. Meridia has sat down and continues to watch the scene from her throne, now quite sure of Umaril's inevitable victory.
Franatia's Aurorans moan in pain as they die to Dawnbreaker. Umaril finally finishes off the last one on the ground by cutting his head off to return the favour. He utilises the momentum from this final move to sheathe Dawnbreaker with style.
The battle has come to an end. A brief hush overtakes the arena; and Umaril, gazing at the Prince, stands as the winner amidst the carnage, Her Light still floating above him.
"Meridia!" He yells, raising his "sewn" arm. The crowd break their silence and follow up with a loud, yet ubiquitous "Meridia!" as well.
The Prince descends into the arena to join her champion in his moment of glory. Everyone present stands up to pay respect.
Her Valkyrie and personal Auroran guard unfold a golden carpet from the main gate ending at Umaril's feet. Sparks are lifted off the carpet's surface as it extends, blending with the emerald rain and leaving a shiny path for the Prince to walk on.
Meridia's presence has transformed the bloody battlefield into a scene of triumph.
With the crowd's applause and cheering, Umaril looks at his Goddess, filled with a sense of pride and gratitude. Meridia, notwithstanding the corpses around, draws closer and is radiating a majestic aura that smells like the sweet flora in the Coloured Rooms.
Her visible aura envelops Umaril the moment she stands next to him. Her presence is so potent that it creates a sort of gentle vibration in everyone within 2 metres of her.
The Prince gives a brief speech on the glory of her realm, what she stands for and why her ways are the right path to follow. In a split-second, she transfers a thought to Umaril's consciousness, and compels him to return Dawnbreaker to her.
The Ayleid obliges without a doubt and, very carefully, draws Dawnbreaker whilst keeping his eyes locked on Her as a gesture of utmost respect. He gently holds the sword sideways with both hands and shows it to her as he kneels.
Meridia, satisfied with the gesture, slowly blinks once before receiving her sword, her movements exuding extreme finesse. At the same time, Umaril takes advantage of her pause to quickly read some of the inscriptions in Daedric alphabet on Dawnbreaker, before gazing back at her.
The emerald rain stops after the exchange, and the Valkyrie and Auroran guard blow their trumpets to announce Umaril as the victor.
Meridia finishes the ceremony by embracing her champion. Her grip is tight, vibrant, and not a single muscle in Umaril's body moves for the duration, as if he were turned into stone.
Umaril experiences the light emanating from her being. The sensation is unbearable in a pleasant way, like being more life-force than even a powerful being like him could hold.
One final gesture from the Prince's hand to bless her champion and the crowd resume applauding.
As everyone in the arena reacts with excitement to the outcome, the sound of cheering and celebrating can be heard far beyond the place as well, intriguing bystanders.
The Auroran guard beckons to the guards to close the arena. Soon after, the crowd disperse and begin celebrating just outside.
Umaril finally departs after taking some minutes to collect himself not before bowing to the Prince one last time, leaving her alone to herself in the middle of the arena.
With the faint echo of the crowd's party outside, Meridia ponders. Her thinking not relying on any words, symbols, feelings or imagery, but in a unique way only known to beings that "see" many things all over Oblivion at once.
Smiling in satisfaction at her own ingenuity and mental conclusions, the Prince finally leaves the arena and prepares to retake her duties as the Lady of Infinite Energies. She gets one passing thought about showing Molag Bal the arena battle in a vision.
Hours later, on his way back to his own place in the Coloured Rooms, Umaril thinks about the recent events.
Before sitting down to rest for a while, he vaguely remembers what inscriptions he could read before giving Dawnbreaker back to Meridia, from the grip of the sword to the top edge:
"Merid-Nunda…"
"… from the Aurbis…"
"The error of Mag—"
"… only Light can…"
"… across the Rainbow Road…"
"We, the Magna Ge…"