The Wedding
He taught songbirds new songs to sing, music so sweet that could wake the dead, the skies weep, and the fallen gods to dance again.
When Greymarch's fire swept clean, leaving nothing but barren lands…
It's said the songs of songbirds on Nirn are what remains of his great works. Music that shall live on beyond order's reach. But alas, all songs would come to change and distort for birds are not known for their great memories as their lives are shorter than men – even great men themselves could not remember their own history well.
But Sheogorath would still come to Nirn to listen to their songs and love the changes the birds would sing in every spring.
It was an event, an event everyone expected to be invited and participate. Well, it was not like everyday mortals were given personal invitation, and the Tormenter of Men was purposely not included for good reasons. Chrys founded the whole celebration a curious event to simply past his time in, after all when you are two-hundred and seventy one years old young guy trying to find what to do after your first hundreds spent on working and rehab, a day of being swept up in the city's celebration was something he was not exactly against.
It was quite a sight, an unforgettable sight he dared say. The clear blue sky for once unpolluted from vehicles. He could easily see the Twins, the Eight, the Sun unshadowed even on this day despite the sky filled with countless moons. The stars themselves glimmer brightly amidst them in daylight, even the black stars whose existence had been speculations until recent findings were published. Unsurprisingly, the adas, the gods, the spirits of the dead walked freely but the dark elves flocked the street with excited grins and laughs.
Their hero was getting married today.
The Nerevarine, Hero of Morrowind in ancient time but nowadays is known as the Hero of Mundus. Being the sole pilot of Akulakhan, he had defended the last bastion from Numidium, hence the heroic title given.
Chrys was not up to date with affairs of the immortals. In fact, he never had involved himself with such everyday otherworldly folks in all his life. It was not to say his attitude was uncommon, since it was quite a known fact mortals do not try to have the gods involved in their business for plenty of important reasons. Except for the Dunmer, but that's a culture thing for them.
But even he couldn't deny today was not important even for him. The whole reason why he still exist despite the whole Landfall history hardly mattered to him was because the daughter of the Dragon God was today's bride.
If it had not been the God of Time and Space bringing back Nirn, none of them would be standing here and now. Though it was a bit weird to think about it, since Nirn was wiped from all of existence from that same power that brought it back, although it was a power that was manipulated by ancient tech of an extinct civilisation.
The Dragon God had many names, mythically he was the father of Cyrodiil, after all it was said when he was the star-made knight of the Slave-Queen he consummated his marriage with her on her deathbed. She gave birth to this nation and now city, hence he was technically this city's patron god.
Still, it was funny to think about the family tree of their patron god, since the Dragon God's youngest was technically getting married on her sister, added the fact the dark elves' hero is marrying into this. Not sure why he would do that, but love was said to be a mysterious force of nature.
Nepotism would have been an easy joke to make, but today's bride was the engineer of Akulakhan who was also the Keeper of the Ancient Heart, the instrument that powered Akulakhan itself. Even the Dunmer could not be spiteful towards her as she technically did contribute in defending the entirety of mortals.
The wedding itself was being held in the ancient part of the city, where the ruins of the iconic white tower sat surrounded by the native wild gardens and the graves of bygone civilisation, towered over by the modern sky scraping buildings of today's world. Naturally it would be jam-packed the more he walked towards the old part of the city, so he was content to simply take a seat at a street stall serving hot noodles while people passed him by. He was not alone as a customer as there were others of similar thoughts had already taken their seats. From a brief glance at outside, there were even people happy enough to stay at their own home and watch the whole event from their balconies.
The sky briefly darkened under the moving clouds of birds. They swept over the city in a mesmerising stir, their loud trilling could be heard even under the excited roars of cheer. He couldn't help but let out a soft wow at the sight of seeing birds from other seasons gathered together.
"Not a fan of the bird shit they will leave after this." The stall owner said, her feathers visibly ruffled.
She was of the younger race, considering she had the head of a bird and feathers over her body. Part of the sub-ethnicity from Argonia, alongside the frog-like brethren he occasionally saw walking by the city's canal. A funny children tale has it the birds made their nest on a Hist tree, and the frog laid their eggs in the water cupped between its root. The Hist liked them so much, they made their children walked amongst the surviving mortals.
"The cockatoos are terrible enough on their own, but to see the mountain parrots with them." She didn't finish, since the parrots did have notorious reputation of causing untold amount of property damage with their beaks chewing whatever rubber they could get their claws on.
"Still love em'," she added with a smile. "The usual?" she asked him.
"Yes." He nodded. "Busy day, isn't it?"
"Well today's event should bring new business in at least."
He could tell considering the unfamiliar faces seated beside him as they laughed and chat over the sound of clattering pot of boiling fresh soup. His own steaming bowl was immediately placed in front of him as he took his seat, he then took out his metal chopsticks from his pocket before he began earnestly eating his first meal of the day.
The wedding procession was on full display on the antique screen, barely audible over the noise of the stall and street. He had seen a wedding before, and he found them terribly boring, but at least with the wedding of the immortals they knew how to entertain their guests. The colours were at least pretty, he thought as he watched the mass dancing under the watch of Akulakhan perched at the head of the procession. Despite the numerous and unrecognisable amount gods and spirits, even in the blend of it all, they were instinctually recognisable, a deep part of him knew them.
Distantly he recalled a memory of being in a windowless hall with hundreds and thousands of lit candles, the miniature statues of saints, heroes, adas lining the path. The Eight appearing unremarkable amidst the rank, no greater, no lesser yet his eyes were drawn to them. Within the wedding, he could easily imagine the Dragon God smiling with his wives as they danced together. After all, he had spent the entirety of Mundus' existence being missing, dead, divided and insane, so for him to be wholly complete and there with them must be the miracle of their life.
At least he imagined it to be. Everyone seemed to be having a good time.
When the birds finally sang goosebumps spread all over his body. The glass of water in his hand even swirled to the music, and he almost felt his very bones swaying to the tunes had it not been his eyes enraptured to the screen. The elder moths swarmed over her face, their scaled wings of many eyes hiding the goddess' face jealously but even they could not hide her voice.
She really could make any mortals cry, literally since he could hear some other customer crying right now.
She was so beautifully beyond anyone and anything that the idea of even coveting her was the definition of insanity. Her stories were even made into a series of children games, where she was again kidnapped by the Madgod and the chosen knight of the Dragon God had to go rescue her. Sometimes it was Stendarr, other times it was Zenithar, popularly it was Arkay, although it was revealed the knight was the Dragon God himself in the secret epilogue.
To no one's surprise, Arkay was escorting the bride.
There were clips of an interview that the Last Dragonborn admitted her most favourite sibling was her step-brother, Arkay and within the same clip the Burial God had made a small smile as he pointed back. It was highly replayed and shared clip that everyone on Nirn knew it as a fact by then.
The husband-to-be stood waiting with his patron god behind him, the lone surviving Reclamation, Azura. He held out both of his ash-bruised hands when the bride reached him.
The father of the bride stood with the officiate of the wedding, the Mother Wolf Mara. Where there was the Dragon God stood the man of endless space, watching fondly of his daughter with his red eyes of doomed stars. In his arms he held his eldest of his children, Alduin who took after him while his twin Paarthurnax took after his counterpart. Chrys suddenly realised the uncanny resemblance the Dunmer race had with him now that Azura was within the same view. Her bruised ash-blue skin and red eyes shared some similarity to the God of Space. Did the patron god of Dunmer purposely made their image after Lorkhan?
It wasn't within a blink. It wasn't in an instant. There was a sudden despair overwhelmed his body, that Nirn itself shuddered for all to feel. Somewhere, he heard the city roared as all the glass on the building shattered and rained down the street. Daylight vanished into an endless darkness. Something had went wrong.
He was there where father and daughter was, impossibly big, impossibly hungry, a scaly worm, a snake that covered the skies and he had already eaten two of the guests, Zenithar and Stendarr who had reacted within the moment. It was within that moment the familiar brass claws of Akulakhan grabbed his neck with a moon shoved into his black hole of a mouth before he could gulped all the guests.
The screen turned blank. Chrys couldn't hear anything except the thunder of his heart. He looked around the stall and found he was alone. Soups dripped down to the ground, bowls overturned and spilling out their noodles on the table. His glass of water shattered into tiny sands.
He realised now what he saw. That was Alduin.
That was the World Eater.
Why?
When he got out of the stall, he found the city eerily empty and without the light of the street lamps nor buildings on. Not even a ghost, not even the god that covered a building with its leaves could be found when he slowly walked back home. Like everyone had vanished on the spot. It made sense, everyone and their mother should be carrying an intervention.
He didn't carry his when he got out today.
Somehow he managed to made it back home. When he entered his apartment, the dim glow of his shattered fish tank greeted him, and he stood with dread at the sight. Chrys desperately glanced around his place and sighed in relief when he found the mechanical spider coming out to greet him.
"I think the world is ending, Itchy," Chrys said to his fish.
Itchy was his former co-pilot that he rescued when he left his job of harvesting Oblivion's unending realms. He grew fond of the fella and secretly took it when he retired. Itchy though just stared with its soft glowing eyes, obviously waiting for some form of command before it pointed its gaze at something on his balcony's rail.
Chrys turned and smiled at the familiar sight of his stray cat. The silver tabby swished his tail, a telltale he was irritated. Bright yellow eyes turned to look at him when Chrys went over to give him a pet on the head.
"It's good to see you, Your Grace." He smiled when he said his cat's name then picked him up into his arms.
Your Grace did not fight back, probably noticed his human was upset. Feeling his soft fur was reassuring that Chrys' heart finally settled down.
"Are we fucked?" He asked to no one whatsoever.
His cat stirred a bit in his cradling arm and a voice close to his chest replied.
"Yes, we are, mortal."
Chrys froze and his eyes slowly widened as his thoughts quickly went through all possibilities of where that voice came from. Dazedly he walked to his kitchen counter and placed his cat on top before he stared.
"Did you just talked to me?" he asked the cat.
The silver tabby gave a slow blink. "Why yes I did, and I have a favour to ask."
What?
His shaking hands slowly reached up to his head and brushed through his hair while his wide eyes rested on his feet, miraculously still holding him up.
"Chrysanthos, I need you to present me at the House of Gods."
He was a god!
Chrys finally screamed his lungs out.
[…] the foolish, the irritable speck in the eyes of the cosmos. He denies his origin and destiny, even who He is. Neither Man, neither God, but something in between, He runs across the shadows and stars like an ignorant in bliss.
A Man denying Godhood, or a God pretending to be Man.
Sheogorath: There's always family drama happening at weddings! Why would I miss it?