Auriel's Bow
Loading Screen… Auriel's Bow was a weapon used by Akatosh when he walked Nirn as an elf…
~Q~Q~
Stesha stood bare in his underwear, ready to dive into the pool.
"Nice and hairless," Serana commented on Stesha's physique. "You sure you don't want me to do it?"
"I don't want you to have to swim in this freezing water." Stesha rubbed his hands on his biceps, shivering in the light wind.
"Such a gentleman. But you wouldn't mind all that much were I to strip half-naked," Serana teased which caused Stesha to blush again.
Before she could tease him any further, he dived in. The water was cool and soothing, less cold than Stesha had anticipated. He swam down and under the shrine, there a button was located. He pressed it and turned around, swimming back up. Except the water had chilled considerably and the surface had frozen over. Stesha pounded his fists against the ice until something broke it and two pairs of arms pulled him out.
Serana hugged him tightly, holding him against her. "By the gods, I thought I almost lost you." His feet were dangling in the air.
Stesha coughed water out and Serana set him down. He immediately squabbled to put his clothes back on as the fish shaped faucet above the pool spouted more water into the ice-covered tarn. The glade glowed as the sunlight brightened above it.
"These Snow Elves sure don't want just anybody taking the bow." Stesha shivered as he finished putting his vampire armor back on.
He picked up the pitcher and filled its share of water from the shrine before him and Serana continued on their walk. Green rolling hills and marble minarets decorated the beautiful vale ahead of them. Marble archways intersecting in between the mineral-made road.
"Thank you for saving me, Serana." Stesha gushed.
"I will always be there to save you." Serana stared him square in the eyes. Her sapphires gleaming with hope. "Now, let's find Seracles' ally. The sooner we get to Seracles, the sooner we get your cure and stop the Vomindok Virus."
She's so perfect.
The walk devolved into a drudge the more they continued, and Stesha's thoughts returned to the damnable nature of the world. Was anything truly worth it? Was anything real? It had to be because these feelings for Serana were real.
Serana pecked him on the lips and ruffled his hair.
The third shrine was before them. A giant sloth lowered itself upside down and dropped in front of them. Shaped like your average slow sloth but much bigger. Its sharp teeth and creepy black eyes shined with mischief. Serana stood in front of Stesha, holding him back with one arm.
"Answer my riddle and I shall let you pass. Fail and suffer my wrath," the giant sloth giggled. "I come to all, both great and small. A quiet end, a final call. No breath remains, no heartbeat near. What am I, whispered in fear?"
Serana's face concerted and she put her hand on her chin.
Stesha shuddered as an eerie cello played in the eye of his mind. He trembled intensely. "Death."
"Correct." The sloth moved aside and gestured for them to enter with its long arms.
Stesha filled the water jug, and they hurried toward the inner sanctum.
A set of joint staircases and a statue of Auriel preceded it. They marveled at the elven figure holding up his star as they circled up the stairs. Bronze colored with a crown and sharp ears.
"Akatosh is quite beautiful," Stesha said as he poured the contents of the carafe into the bowl.
"Agreed," Serana said.
The different colors intermingled and flushed down a tube of some sort into the ground and recollected to unlock the door of the chantry. The star spun and the handle unlocked. The inner sanctum housed Falmer statues and a cold, stone interior. They traced their way to the back where the balcony was and came out onto a sunny surface where another shrine was located. Locked.
The person standing in front was familiar…
Vlad Dracona.
"Vlad? You betrayed us so you could work with Seracles? Why? To what end?" Serana's expression hardened. "We loved you. You were family!"
Vlad turned around. His handsome appearance lit up by his fangs and curtained bangs. "I see you found my journals. I was hoping Harkon would but I'm glad someone did at least. This would be much too easy otherwise." He put his hand against the stone wall. "You see, I got bored suffering in that spire alone for thousands of years. Seracles made me an offer I simply couldn't refuse. Liberating the forgotten."
Serana blasted him quickly with an ice spike which clipped his shoulder. Vlad turned into a storm of bats and kicked her. Stesha grabbed him and tried to rip him off her, but he slipped away. Vlad cast drain life on them and jumped.
"Who would you prefer if I die? Eris or Orthjolf? Think either of those fools can handle the pressure of the throne?" Vlad blast powerful spells towards them but they dodged.
Serana turned into a bat and knocked a punch straight into Vlad's teeth, knocking him over. He tumbled sideways as Serana tossed fireballs at him, one landed and spread across his body. She then tightened her gloves and shoved him into the sunlight so the fire could spread.
Am I proxy for killing someone? Stesha shook the thoughts off.
Serana and Stesha approached Vlad's immolated body, leaning down to talk to his burned figure. "Tell us everything you know, and I'll heal you," Serana instructed harshly.
Vlad coughed, "there is another Daedric Prince. The eighteenth, his name is Xhaddekagus Abaddon. He's helping the Davouts and Seracles. You'll find him on Stros M'Kai, at the bottom of a dungeon called Bthzark. My job was to make sure the skooma production kept going from here through Roscrea, but Xhaddekagus would give the Davouts an ingredient to mix with the skooma alongside moon sugar in Roscrea to alter it so it wouldn't affect select individuals such as Seracles and me and others." Then the breath left his mouth, and he passed away.
Rest in peace, Vlad Dracona.
"We got our lead. Xhaddekagus the eighteenth Daedric Prince is altering the skooma to make some people immune to the virus. Never heard of this prince though." Stesha covered Vlad's body with the vampire's cape. "He's able to locate an ingredient and organize shipments of it to Roscrea so they can mix it with the skooma to make certain individuals immune. He's probably using his and whoever he's protecting's blood as a base."
"I hope I'm not interrupting something." They both turned to see Gelebor there. In his immaculate snow elven armor, stylized with bronze lines and a lack of pauldrons.
The Snow Elf unlocked the door to the shrine and there was Auriel's Bow in all its golden splendor. Stesha carefully stepped up and took the bow, placing it over his back with the assortment of elven arrows.
"Thank you for everything, Gelebor." Stesha shook the elf's hand.
"Please, come with us. We can be your new family," Serana offered the elf.
"You know what, I think I will. It's high time I left this place and spent my golden years in the company of others." Gelebor nodded.
They arrived back at the castle and divulged everything to everyone there in a court session.
"Well, this calls for a celebration!" Harkon boomed. "Oh, and Stesha, I have a gift for you."
Valerica brought out a pair of royal vampire armor just like what Vlad wore. It had crimson sleeves, a black vest, collar, and a cloak. Stesha changed into it immediately as the festivities were brought out. Several thralls served blood and wine as a feast was laid out and wreaths were placed on Stesha and Serana's heads.
"Sing our praises to the prince and princess! Stesha and Serana!" Rogen raised a glass which made them both blush.
A few gargoyles tramped around as dancing and merrymaking filled the dark marble hall. Stationary, stone gargoyles watched from above too. Pairs of feet twirling on the red rug laid out in the center. Harkon spun Valerica around and kissed her as Stalf and Fura Bloodmouth made out in the crowd. Eris and Lokil curled and did some sort of ballroom tango. Gelebor conversed with Orthjolf in the corner. Bresoth and Rogen danced with each other too.
Stesha was staring at a note. He'd slipped it away from Harkon when the golden-haired vamp wasn't looking. It was a note from Movarth from Movarth's lair, Fort Piquine.
My court recently acquired two new members. Alva Piquine, my bride-to-be, and Laelette Le Gaul.
"Let's go somewhere we can talk in private." Serana stood from her chair and led Stesha by the hand towards the hallways, relinquishing him of Harkon's note.
They passed portraits and statutes until arriving at Serana's room. With bloodred curtains drawn over the window, her chamber was dimly lit. The corners of the curtains on the west side. Black brickwork supported a bookshelf filled with antique books and her bed, which was covered in dark green sheets. Glancing out the window, he observed the clear, white fields of Atmora shimmering in the late evening light. Waves of glaciers crashing into the Edge of the World. The frothing white waters surrounding the spire.
Before he knew it Serana's lips were smashed against his and her intoxicating scent overwhelmed him. White chocolate and rosewater. Then she started reaching for his threads and began untying his clothes.
"Serana," Stesha choked. "Are you sure you want to. I-I'm a virgin. I've never even kissed anyone other than you."
Serana's glare became predatory. She put two fingers in Stesha's mouth. "Are you my good boy?"
Stesha nodded. He closed his eyes and sucked on her fingers. She removed the rest of his and her clothes then threw him on the bed. Serana crawled onto the bed like a cougar, pinning Stesha to the bed with her hands on his wrists. She began to suckle on his neck and shower him with kisses. Stesha moaned as her bare breasts smushed up against his chest.
Then she whispered something in his ear, "I need you inside me."
She entered his length inside her to a pleasurable hiss from Stesha. Serana choked Stesha hard with both hands as she rode him roughly, simultaneously kissing him.
"Choke me harder," Stesha moaned, and Serana obliged, grinding atop him.
She pulled Stesha up and he leaned back against the bedframe as she lowered herself onto his manhood again. Stesha moaned as Serana gyrated on him and pressed her large breasts against him. She rode him intensely and put his face in between her chest. Stesha began sucking on her nipples, feeling her body with his hands.
"You're my baby," she cooed.
Tears slid down Stesha's face. He remembered all the loneliness, the sadness, the abandonment and neglect he suffered. His parents were good people, but they had neglected him the love he so desperately desired until one day he had stopped believing in love altogether. That was until he got to know Serana.
"What is it!?" Serana slowed her rolling hips and held his face in her hands.
"It's just," Stesha cried, "I've never been loved like this."
Serana held him tight and kissed the top of his head as their naked bodies became one. "I will always love you."
"I love you." He looked into her eyes. She was so tight, and he was so deep inside her. "Serana, I'm about to." Stesha could feel his seed rising.
"I can't get pregnant, baby boy. I want to feel it all." Serana kissed him over and over again as she plowed him. She reached her hand into his hair and pulled his head back, sucking on his neck again. "Now look into my eyes."
Sapphire-Blue and Garnet-Mahogany locked.
Stesha burst as his eyes rolled back in his head. He laid down and Serana unsheathed herself from him, laying on top of him. Stesha loved the way her large, warm body covered him, and he loved feeling her weight on top of him. She pulled the blanket over them, and they fell into a deep, deep sleep.
The next morning, they were gathered with everyone again as they were preparing to leave. Harkon and Valerica pulled Stesha aside as Gelebor conversed with Serana.
"I just wanted to say, young man, I've never seen Serana happier than when she is with you. Please, cure yourself." Harkon put a hand on his shoulder.
"Yes, that means you have our blessings to marry our daughter." Valerica smiled and gave Stesha a hug. "We are now your parents as much as Serana's."
Mother and father. They must miss me terribly.
Stesha bowed awkwardly. "Thank you. You both are wonderful."
"Remember, Stesha," Harkon called back. "Please live, for our daughter's sake. Do whatever you must. Anything you can. You must not die."
"I will sir, I promise." Stesha swallowed; not entirely sure he could keep that promise.
After the celebrations and festivities, Stesha and Serana packed their things and took their leave, trudging through the snow towards Durnehviir, who had offered to drop them off on Stros M'Kai.
"Last night was amazing." Stesha perked up. "I like a woman with some experience, and I like you on top of me."
Serana kissed him on the cheek. Where Stesha was nineteen, Serana's physical appearance was twenty-seven. "And I love innocent, cute Breton boys like you." She held his hand as they flew up towards the Dragon and seated themselves on his back.
I'll be turning twenty on the sixth of Morning Star. The Ritual was his birthsign.
Durn took off and soared through the windy skies of Atmora. Stesha wrapped his arms around Serana's waist and braced in for the long flight. The fjords of Atmora flushed white water and the northern sea coalesced together in stark, bleached waves.
"One of my brethren, Nafaalilargus, roosts deep in the central dungeon of Stros M'Kai, likely guarding this Daedric Prince you spoke of. When you get to him, tell him Durnehviir says hello. He will let you pass then," said the Dragon.
They flew over High Rock and the Abecean Sea. As they went over the former, Stesha thought he saw Wind Keep and Wayrest below them. They were the same as ever.
Stros M'Kai was a small island, littered with palm trees, cacti, jarrin root, and stretches of desert.
Durnehviir landed outside a dwemer ruin melded in with the rockface. "This is Bthzark, the central dungeon. Good luck."
Stesha and Serana hopped off and the dov took flight, soaring back through the sky. A sea of sand decorated the landscape with rocky structures hither and thither. A few scarab beetles swam through the sand and coconuts rested on the ground. Old, limestone arches were located on the paths just like in the forgotten vale. Serana and Stesha entered the dungeon to be greeted by a hallway with dwemer pipes and a stone walkway. Augmented dwemer spiders jumped them and the two mages took to blasting them away, charging shock spells and dismantling the automatons. The chamber widened and turned, and Serana and Stesha followed their way through. Up a rampart into another room with bronze lining and steam generators outlining it. They came into a room with an apparatus and raised grey monoliths. Dwemer Spheres sprung from both sides.
Stesha rolled and hurdled ice spikes into one, breaking its machinery as Serana supercharged the other with electricity. Their oil spilling across the floor.
It took an hour but at last they made it, exhausted and beaten, to the penultimate room. A crimson dragon with sharp horns and six limbs, four legs and two wings roosted atop a stone-grey platform.
"Krosis. Who dares to disturb Nafaalilargus?" The Dragon spoke serenely.
Serana stood up, pulling Stesha behind her. "Durnehviir says hello."
"Aah, you are friends of my brother. Very well, you may pass. But be wary. Any attempt on my lord's life and you shall suffer," the bloodred dragon warned.
Stesha and Serana stepped into the final room. A Dwarven centurion was embedded into the wall, connected to the steam pipes that ran all around the room. It lacked a lower body and instead a console interface with two wings that had various buttons on the wings was adjoined beneath it. At the center, directly below the centurion's upper torso was a wide computer screen. Lava boiled in small pools to the sides of the Dwarven centurion, protected by barred grates.
"Where's Xhaddekagus?" Stesha clenched his teeth.
"You have found him," the dwarven centurion spoke, its eyes lighting up white. "I am Xhaddekagus Abaddon, the eighteenth Daedric Prince."
Serana and Stesha shared a look.
"I am artificial intelligence, created by the Davouts who reverse engineered the Dwarves' first computer and gave me life," Xhaddekagus explained. "You are looking for Seracles, no doubt? He said you would come," the line on the screen spiked and moved as Xhaddekagus spoke.
"So, how can we get to him? If he wants to meet us so badly, why doesn't he just show himself?" Serana's eyes sharpened.
"Seracles needs something from you first," the Daedric Prince computed.
"What's that?" Stesha inquired.
"The heart of the Messiah, Charlamagne Guice."
~Q~Q~
A/N: A review a day keeps the depression away.