Edited June 2024

15

As Talia slowly gained consciousness, she first became aware of the stiffness in her joints, then the horrible throbbing in her head. It reminded her of that one time when she had been young and stupid, she'd allowed Methredhel and Amusei to convince her to take skooma with them, along with various alcoholic substances. The hallucinations weren't bad, but she had spent the entire night seeing bright fractals in the sky, and pink mammoths strutting around their shack. The hangover that followed the day after had been something to behold.

Talia opened her eyes, and suppressed a groan at what she saw. Swirling green lights, strange floating pillars—yes, even in her addled state, she could recognize this horrid place; she was once again in the Fade. She tensed when she heard a moan of pain somewhere near her, but relaxed when she realized it was only Felix. The dunmer struggled to her feet and hobbled over to the mage, who was deathly pale.

"You're losing a lot of blood. Do you know any healing spells?"

Felix's robes were drenched in blood, and Talia had to tear it to have a better look at the man's wound. His assailant had buried his blade just above his right breast, and it had gone straight through.

"Can't heal when I'm like this," Felix groaned, eyes shut in clear agony.

Talia pursed her lips as she decided what to do. She wasn't ready to reveal her abilities, but she couldn't allow Felix to die on her watch; he was the only bargaining chip she had with Alexius. Mind made, she gathered the familiar energy of a restoration spell, and she pressed it towards Felix's injured shoulder.

The Tevinter's eyes opened in shock as he felt her magic, but Talia kept her face impassive as she healed him. She had stopped the bleeding and knitted some of the shredded tissue, but she didn't feel confident enough to deal with his broken and dislocated bones. She tore a piece of cloth from his robes and fashioned a sling for him.

To his credit, Felix said nothing, even if his eyes betrayed his curiosity.

"Are you well enough to move?" Talia asked as she knotted the bandage.

Felix frowned but when he tried to push himself up, he immediately collapsed, a bemused expression on his face. Talia caught him and lay him back down gently.

"I'll take that as a no. You should get some rest; I'll keep watch." Without waiting for a response, she cast a sleeping spell on the mage.

Felix's eyes fluttered, and Talia could tell he was fighting it. Fatigue won eventually, and the mage drifted to sleep.

Talia sighed as she stood up and surveyed her surroundings. The last time they were in the Fade, she and Lavellan were chased by...something. The girl had seen spiders, but Talia had seen something else entirely. Whatever they were, she had to be alert and stay near Felix in case it happened again.

The dunmer started exploring as far away as she could while still keeping Felix in her sights. She'd escaped through a Fade rift before, though she couldn't see any bright lights like the one they ran towards. Talia remembered Justinia, and she felt a pang of guilt. So far, she hadn't told any of them what had truly happened that day in the Fade. Including the circumstances of the mark's transferring from Lavellan to her.

The air suddenly grew heavier, and Talia tensed as she looked around for the source. A few meters away, familiar purple energy appeared and swirled around, converging in one spot. There was the telltale sound of conjuration, something Talia knew very well, and a small portal appeared, no larger than her hand. She dove behind a large stone and raised her head a fraction, only enough to spy the portal.

Talia stared at it for a moment, her heart rate speeding in excitement. It was the first familiar thing she'd seen in months, and if it appeared, surely someone had performed the spell. She glanced back at Felix, who was still laying on the ground peacefully, and she turned back to the conjuration field. Nothing was exiting the portal, and yet it didn't disappear.

Drawing her Blade of Woe and readying a deadly spell, Talia slowly crept towards the portal. She frowned as she heard voices, and she whipped around in search for it, only to notice it was originating from the portal. There was a strange reverberating quality to them, as if they were holding a conversation inside an empty cave. As she drew nearer, she could make out what they were saying.

"—keyed to my blood. The portal obviously worked; she must be nearby."

"This is pointless. How are we supposed to find her if we can't even see through the portal?" The voice of the woman was unfamiliar.

"This is the first step in establishing contact with another world. These things cannot be rushed. Although I don't expect someone with barely any magical talent at all, to understand these intricacies." The other who spoke was a male dunmer, Talia was certain about that, and she was surprised to note that it actually sounded familiar. She ran through the list of those she knew, but she didn't know anyone that would go out of their way to look for her. Except Modryn, and he was useless with magic.

"Whatever." Talia could almost hear the woman rolling her eyes. "So what are we supposed to do now?"

Throwing caution to the wind, Talia finally spoke. "Hello?"

"Did you hear that?" the woman said.

"Someone just spoke!" There was excitement in the dunmer's voice this time. "I don't understand it, but that accent is distinctly dunmer."

Couldn't understand? Ah, her amulet, of course. She slipped the enchanted item off before speaking again. "Are you looking for someone?"

"You're obviously not the Dragonborn, so who are you and how did you get there?" The male dunmer demanded.

"You're looking for Savith, then?" Talia felt a touch of disappointment; she hoped it was someone she knew. Still, this was still the best thing that had happened to her since she arrived. Working with these people could help her figure out a way back.

"You know her?" The woman questioned.

"I know of her. She's quite well-known in this world."

"But you never met her when you were in Nirn?" she guessed.

"As far as I know, I was pulled back from an earlier time than she was," Talia admitted.

"Really?" The male dunmer's voice was full of curiosity.

"Yes, though the Dragonborn arrived here far earlier than I did."

There was scribbling and muttering coming from the dunmer and Talia allowed herself a smug smile. She could bargain her knowledge of this world for their help in returning to Nirn. Perhaps she could even help them look for the Dragonborn, it was on her to-do list anyway.

"Before we get carried away with all this story-telling, maybe you can give us your name?" the woman asked.

Talia thought of giving a false name, but it would be pointless. "My name is Talia of the Great House Indoril. You are?"

"Serana," the woman replied, but the dunmer was suspiciously quiet. There was shuffling and the woman—Serana—spoke again. "Neloth? Aren't you going to introduce yourself?"

Talia almost dropped her dagger in shock. "Neloth? Of House Telvanni?" That's why his voice was familiar! She did know him.

"Well, well, little Natalia Indoril. I do remember you from years ago. Are you at least studying better books than what your ignorant father gave you?"

Talia rolled her eyes. Her name was, and never will be Natalia. But for some inexplicable reason, it was what Neloth had heard when she introduced herself, and the name stuck. Her father had brought her with him to Sadrith Mora during one of their negotiations with House Telvanni. Naturally, being a little girl, she grew bored, and she left to wander around the Council Hall.

Neloth had found her in the archives, reading a book on magical theory. He had chided her for getting her grubby hands all over an important book she couldn't possibly understand; but she huffed and explained what she'd read. She then complained about her father never giving her good books on magic. He sneered at her and had a servant escort her back to the meeting hall.

Years later, they had met each other under similar circumstances, and Neloth had still sneered and had someone escort her away, but he let her keep a copy of the book she was reading.

She was young, and very naive, and she idolized the Telvanni mages for their prowess in magic. She'd write letters to Neloth asking for book suggestions and consulting him on her magical experiments. She must have sent a hundred letters, but Neloth only replied once. It was on the lines of "you are an idiot" but he gave her valuable input and told her not to bother him ever again. That didn't deter her though. Her father eventually asked her to stop since she should have been strengthening linkages inside House Indoril and not with other Houses.

"You know each other?" came Serana's surprised tone.

"Evidently," Neloth commented sardonically. "But do tell, Natalia. How did you get there? And where is 'there' exactly?"

"I investigated Sheogorath's Oblivion portal, and when I entered, I was brought here. As for where I am exactly, I couldn't tell you." Talia shrugged, not that they could see it. "As far as I can tell, I'm not on Nirn, though they are similar in many ways. I'm doing my own research, but it's going very slowly. I was—am caught up in yet another end-of-the-world crisis."

Talia ended up summarizing the last few months of her life. It was such a relief to finally tell someone everything; Neloth and Serana, while not really people she knew were at least from Nirn. Both were curious about the new world, but Talia held back some information. It wouldn't do for her if she didn't have some leverage, and her knowledge of this world was the only thing she could bargain with.

"This is as ridiculous as it is fascinating," Neloth said. "Who knows what the Aedra or the Daedra are planning. But I am more interested in this...Fade realm you keep on mentioning. The vampire and I—,"

"I have a name, Neloth," Serana reminded him.

"–have been trying out variations of this ritual for some time. We've used my blood—dunmer blood to locate the Dragonborn before, but it's never worked."

"Can you tell me how you set up the ritual?"

"I could, but I won't. It's long and complicated; I doubt you'd be able to recreate it."

Neloth's snarky response had Talia rolling her eyes. "Maybe you can only establish a link to this world through the Fade?" Sheogorath's portal had spit her out here in the Fade. Savith must have been too, although Talia still didn't know the circumstances of her arrival.

"Hmmm. Well, that would explain why we could never get hold of the Dragonborn. If you're the first being that's physically entered this Fade in quite some time."

"Or maybe it has something to do with the Breach? It is the largest tear in the barrier to the Fade in history. It's throwing off the balance of magic in this world, at least that's what I think." The Fade was where all magic originated, having a large hole in the Veil would siphon excess magic to the mortal plane.

"You said the mark on your hand connects you to this Fade, correct?"

"Yes."

"Then perhaps we—,"

"This is all well and good, but this doesn't help us find Savith," Serana interrupted, sounding irritated now.

"I only ever agreed to look for the Dragonborn so that I could study this strange phenomenon. Now that we can speak with Natalia, looking for Savith no longer concerns me."

"Neloth," the vampire's voice sounded dangerous.

"How did you even know the Dragonborn fell into another world?" Talia asked curiously.

"I didn't believe she died in the rescue attempt in the Thalmor Embassy. I asked around, but the answer came from an unlikely source, a dragon. Her dragon master to be specific." Serana paused. "He mentioned that he could not sense the 'brightness of her soul' in this plane, and was likely in another." Her voice regained its hard edge. "And we were given this information in hopes of finding Savith, who isn't only a hero who's saved the world twice over, but a valued friend without whose help, Neloth wouldn't be able to do half his current research—,"

"Ugh, fine, fine. Savith was my most resilient test subject. I suppose recovering her might be worthwhile."

Typical Telvannni attitude, Talia rolled her eyes.

"I'm looking for her as well," she said. "If we pool our knowledge and resources together, we may find a way to get off this forsaken world."

"There, are you satisfied, Serana? Don't bare your fangs at me, or I'll turn you into ash." There was shuffling and Neloth spoke again. "Now, as I was saying. We designed the ritual in such a way that Savith could key the portal to her through her blood. With the complication of this Fade realm, it probably won't work. So, consider this a sort of experiment," his voice sounded eager. "Try channeling the power of your mark to this portal. Since your mark opens rifts in the Fade, I believe that it may be the key to allowing us to establish a portal in the mortal plane as well."

"Through me," Talia said warily. She had no idea if it would work; she rarely had time to experiment with her mark. But Neloth's reasoning was sound, well, based on what they knew at least. And if it did work, it would give them the ability to converse and discuss the situation.

"Well? What are you waiting for? Don't tell me you don't even know how it works?" Neloth commented snootily.

That was the case. She didn't know how her mark worked, but she'd be damned if she admitted that to Neloth.

Talia raised her hand and focused on willing her magic to flow through her marked hand. Her mark sizzled, and after a few moments, the tell-tale green magic burst from her hand and connected with the portal. It was strangely similar to closing a Fade rift, except that this one didn't implode when it couldn't handle the magic.

It exploded.

The dunmer was thrown back by the force of the blast. A shockwave rippled through the air, and Talia allowed herself to gape when a number of gateways appeared out of nowhere, white light burning brightly as the one she exited months ago.

A shrill cry pierced through the air, and Talia was on her feet in a flash. She whirled around, looking for the source, and in the distance behind her, she could make barely make out a moving form. From where she was, it looked like a massive wave of black tar slowly splashing and flowing towards them.

"Natalia?" Neloth's voice snapped her back to reality. The portal now looked unsteady, the energy shifting to green then back to purple.

"Did it work?"

"The soul gems glowed green, but I'm not sure. and we don't know for certain when we'll get in touch again, but just be ready," Serana told her.

"I have to leave. Something's coming."

"Don't get killed, Natalia," were Neloth's parting words as Talia turned away from the portal, which was already fading. She made her way back to Felix, slipping her amulet back on and still keeping an eye on the strange occurrence in the horizon.

"I—what?" Felix asked groggily when she shook him awake.

"It's time to move." Talia slung the man's arm over her shoulder and braced her other hand on his him, bearing most of his weight.

Felix blinked bemusedly, but allowed himself to be dragged forward. "What's going on?" he squinted at the beams of light coming from the numerous portals they passed.

"My mark reacted to something, and it opened all these exits. I think I disturbed something."

Felix looked behind him, and he peered at what was behind them for a moment before his eyes widened almost comically.

"What is it?"

"I'd rather not find out," Talia muttered as she hauled Felix forward.

Theoretically, the gateways that appeared probably led to different Fade rifts throughout Thedas. The problem was Talia didn't know which one she had to take to get back to Redcliffe. Peering through them revealed nothing, and she was not risking touching them unless she was sure it was the exit she needed.

Without warning, Felix cried out and his knees buckled, taking Talia down with him. The man started convulsing, and Talia tried examining him, but she couldn't figure out what was wrong. The wave of black liquid was coming towards them more quickly now, and it seemed to extinguish even the ethereal green glow of the Fade itself. The sky, or at least what was above them was darkening as well, and every second that passed seemed to make Felix's convulsions stronger.

There was something oppressive about the blackness that she could not explain, nothing like that peaceful darkness of the Void, but something deeper, more sinister. The blackness was only a few meters away, and Talia made a split-second decision.

She threw the strongest paralyzing spell she knew onto Felix, grabbed him by the front of his collar and threw both him and herself through the nearest exit.

The light was blinding, and Talia had to shut her eyes against it. She kept a firm grip on Felix's clothes as she felt both of them being propelled forward. There was the strange feeling of floating before they fell forward.

Talia immediately let go of Felix and lay on her back, left hand outstretched to connect her mark with the rift. As it imploded with a soft pop, Talia lay back down on the grass. She squinted up at the sky; there was something different about the Breach. Her eyes widened as it pulsed, and pain ripped through her hand as it answered with a green flash of its own.

Talia cried out and cradled her hand to her chest. What was happening? She thought the Breach had been stabilized? A stronger wave of pain throbbed through her mark. She gritted her teeth and tried to remain awake, but exhaustion and pain won out, and Talia lost consciousness.

There were no dreams, and no indication she had slept at all. When Talia woke, she was immediately alert, and she looked at her surroundings as she ascertained where she was. The shack was unfamiliar, as was the old woman standing in front of the fireplace. Talia sat up and opened her mouth to speak, but the old woman beat her to it.

"Before you attempt any murders, your equipment is on the table beside you. And you and your friend have been healed."

Talia looked beside her, where Felix was sleeping soundly. The Tevinter's shoulder was fully healed, and he was no longer convulsing. She looked back at the old woman who still hadn't faced her, and was stirring a large pot of what Talia assumed was stew.

"Thank you for healing us, ma'am," Talia said quietly.

"Ma'am?" The old woman cackled. "How quaint."

"I'm very grateful to you. At least let me know the name of my savior." Talia tried flattery, but the old woman laughed at her again.

"So you're the kind of woman who enjoys making others dance to your tune, hmmm?" She finally turned to Talia. Her face was lined, and she looked brittle, but her eyes spoke of centuries of wisdom and cunning Talia didn't often see.

"Perhaps." She inclined her head. "But I digress, may I know your name?"

"Persistent. I like your manners, girl." The woman grinned at her toothily. "I am known by many names, but to make matters simple, you may call me Flemeth."

A/N:

Sorry for the late upload. I had an influx of work to do, so I had little time to write on this. I did promise myself I'd update at least once a month. So yeah, here it is!

Response to reviews:

Sacchin: A little bit of both. :)

Goodpie2: I enjoyed all your reviews, thanks very much. I do plan on writing Savith's story, after I finish this one. I've had that one in my head for a long time.

Iskandar, Guest: Thanks very much!

Questioner: Thanks for your insights! I've always appreciated your reviews since they help me out on some of the aspects of lore, when combining the DA and TES worlds.

Knife in the darkness: Thank you so much! I appreciate it.

Reploid Avenger: I actually haven't decided yet. But from where it's going, it seems she's going to be single. But there will be a lot of background pairings :)

Guest: Her morals are skewed, mostly because of the Oblivion Crisis, and working as a thief and assassin. Her priority now is looking out for herself, because she's given too much to the world when during the Oblivion Crisis. Thanks for your review!

WiseSilver: Thanks very much! I've always found it boring when you stick to canon too much, along with so much in-game dialogue.