Beta'd by Mega Lorandto (Same guy, different alias)
Special thanks to Xeronightmere for pointing out a mistake in chapter five! Its been corrected :)
Cookin'
"Grimmolf, go take this paper to the Nismada'la. She should be in the courtyard." I instructed, grabbing the paper with my mediocre handwriting and holding it out to him. I had spent awhile in the fort commander's room, examining my wings while waiting for day to pass.
He took it and stood, hefting his hammer up with him. "Are you going somewhere?"
I answered with a nod.
"And that is?" Grimmolf needled, stepping towards the door to open it for me.
"The College. I would like to see if I could look into some of their magical tomes." Honestly, that and I just wanted to see how it changed. Winterhold changed so it was logical for the college to change with it.
Grimmolf nodded and swung the door open, revealing a Altmer woman wearing a white tunic and brown pants with brown shoes that went to the ankle. It appears the women had taken to raiding the rooms for clothing as they didn't really fit very well. She was standing there with her hands folded together, patiently waiting for us. Like Faralda, she had royal features. High cheek bones, perfect skin, well-kept golden blonde hair despite the situation, and sharp facial features. She appeared to be in her early twenties, but for an elf that meant nothing.
"Great Angel. I heard your intentions to freeze a room to preserve meat." She began, showing me her hands. Swirling energy gathered around her hands. Was that...magicka? It was...beautiful. The magicka glowed a light blue like ice spells did in game, but it produced an entrancing light here. "I learned the basics of casting from my mother as a young girl. I'm no master wizard, but I believe I can do what you require."
Well, that was certainly lucky as hell. I looked back at her face, recognizing her. She was the woman that Shit-Pile shoved in my way to try and delay me!
"That is perfect. I will be needing to take a trip into town for a time, but I will return shortly. I'll find you when I am back." I said with a smile. "What might your name be?"
"Sirilda, Great Angel." She answered, bowing her head in reverence.
"That is a fine name, Sirilda." I complimented easily while stepping past her and down the hall. Grimmolf's heavy steps clanked behind me. Her heartbeat sped up behind me with my words. She didn't seem to move as I left.
We walked together until we arrived at the entry hall. Thankfully the sun appeared to have gone down. The sharp tap of a blacksmith's hammer rang out from the courtyard. Seems the forge never rests. I stepped outside into the fresh air, taking a deep breath. I didn't need to, but it felt nice.
No one stopped me as I stepped up to the gate. It opened for me with a moment of delay and I set off for town. Grimmolf's steps had stopped at the gate behind me.
Snow crunched under my shoes softly, creating a nice background sound to the howling wind. On said wind was a scent of...filth? Must be the city. Dirt, grime, blood, and more. All sorts of smells mixing together to create that "city smell" that wafted towards me on the wind's currents.
I heard animals all around me, but none dared approach. They knew who was the apex predator here. Even the normally wildly aggressive snow wolves kept well out of my way. With my night-vision I could see them trotting around me in the shadows, their ears folded back. Perhaps taming them as beasts of war would be beneficial? Possible.
While I wasn't sure how long I walked, it was definitely a pretty decent amount. I couldn't recall when I left, but the clock on the system's map read that it was mid-night. That was more than enough time to visit the Arcanaeum, maybe even convince Urag gro-Shub to allow me to take a few tomes with me? It'd be nice. I didn't know how books would be studied in this version. Would they just poof out of existence and give me the spell, or did I have to actually study the tome and learn it?
My thoughts whirled with theories as the gates to the neighborhood part of Winterhold came into view. I stepped onto the road out of the brush, stopping right in front of the gate. It does seem to be manned right now. Tragic. I made a hard left and walked along the wall, coming to a stop on the left side of the wall in a patch of small trees that didn't reach over the wall. I pressed my fingers into the stone and pulled myself up silently. When I got to the top I peeked over the edge. Thankfully, no guards at the moment. Like a shadow I slid over the edge and jumped off the wall down into the town. I landed behind a house with no lights in the windows. Snow once again crunched under my feet as I stepped out of the person's backyard and onto the street. Not a soul was awake at this hour sans a few solitary guards patrolling. They paid me no mind though. Good thing curfew didn't seem to be a thing. That would have put a damper on things fast.
Since the roads were empty, it made it significantly easier to navigate to the college. The only person I saw that wasn't a guard was a group of Argonians attempting to fix a wagon's broken wheel. It was picked clean of alcohol as per usual. I gave them a polite greeting as I passed, one they returned.
Passing under the many colorful cloths of the market street was certainly an experience. One that was much better at night. Stars peeked down at me from between each covering. Shops were closed and their windows dark. Stands were bare of products. Guards stood sleepily at irregular intervals, sometimes in pairs, sometimes alone. A handful walked up and down the street. One was even on a sky-bridge between two buildings. Although, he looked to be resting his weight on the rail and sleeping with his head hanging.
I came to the entrance of the College. Faralda was no where to be seen. Understandable.
The sound of the wind was my only company on the bridge. A salty taste lingered in the frozen air while little water droplets whipped at my face. I came to the first bend in the bridge, stopping at the well of light in the center.
What even was this stuff? I had always been curious. I presumed it to be just liquid magicka, but I wanted to sate my curiosity.
I braced myself on the little wall holding the stuff and reached in slowly. The air felt more and more energized as my hand closed in. My hand was almost in the fluid before a dark grey hand grasped my wrist, halting my movement. My eyes trailed up the arm to the face of a pretty well aged Dunmer man with a long beard with a small braid at the bottom. He looked at me like a grandfather might a small child. One doing something they shouldn't out of curiosity. He released my hand once I retracted it.
"I'll have to ask that you refrain from sticking your hand into raw magicka. The effects could be...uncomfortable." He warned, slowly pushing my hand away. Standing in front of this man felt like being in a storm. So much raw magicka that I could feel it on my tongue. The air was practically charged with energy. Was...he the cause for the College's feeling? Maybe not solely, but it certainly seemed like he was a large portion. There was something bigger though, something that felt endless. A source of magicka that made even this man seem like a mere drop of water in an ocean.
"Arch-Mage?" I could stop myself from asking. Of course, the answer was obvious. I recognized him quite clearly.
A grandfatherly smiled graced his lips. "Why, yes. Yes, I am. Seems you did your homework."
"Hard not to recognize such a man. Being around you feels like the way a thunderstorm feels." The comparison came easily. Outside of the game, he was more than likely a force of nature.
Savos Aren laughed lightly. "I thank you for your admiration. Now, why might you be visiting the College?"
Hm, why would he care? While he had that genial expression, an itching feeling told me there was MUCH more to him. Though, it was more of a gut feeling than some logical worry. Like a primal instinct of sorts.
"I seek to learn from the College. There are people depending on me and magic would be immensely helpful in ensuring I can help them." I explained. That was just enough detail to satisfy curiosity but not give away anything truly important.
"And would that be your vampiric coven?" Savos asked, his expression not shifting. My blood would have ran cold if it ran at all. Of course I wouldn't be able to fool the Arch-Mage. It was a bit disturbing watching him level such an accusation with that friendly smile.
I shook my head vigorously. "No, I am the only vampire."
"Oh? Fascinating. I haven't heard of such a thing. Usually vampires stick to groups. Live together for protection and whatnot. The only vampires I've encountered that didn't follow this behavior were feral." He leaned down towards me, his red eyes scrutinizing my form. "But you aren't feral. And if you were turned by a vampire they would have ensured you joined their coven. You survived an attack, didn't you?"
He waited a moment, my silence answering his question. "You're an anomaly. Survived an attack and contracted vampirism. And going off your rather controlled demeanor, you're well-fed."
This man was extremely observant. I would have to be incredibly careful with what I said.
"I killed some bandits and drained them. It should hold me over until I can find more. But yes, I survived an attack." I explained slowly, picking my words carefully. It felt a little demeaning to be talking this slow, but I couldn't risk it. If he reported me to authorities and they dropped by, everyone would be at risk. Or, y'know, he would just simply vaporize me on the spot. Radiant magic existed in this universe under the Restoration tree of magic.
Savos hummed while nodding. I couldn't read his true reaction at all. "I see. In that case, I welcome you to the College. I doubt you wish to enroll given you have...is it a family? Given you have dependents, you probably seek to have some tomes and books on loan."
"That would be nice, yes." I answered. Maybe I could get a loan of some sort?
"Well, the Arcanaeum is within the Hall of Elements to the right. Urag would be more than willing to lend you whatever you may ask for.." Savos added briefly before turning around and beginning to walk away.
That was...odd. In-game books were not allowed to be removed from the Arcanaeum. What changed?
"Are you not worried about losing books?" I called out. The only explanation I could think of was that Urag had some sort of spell to summon all the books. Maybe there's some sort of rune inscribed on a page somewhere that ties it to the Arcanaeum?
Savos looked back at me, his eyebrow raised. "Now there's a question an apprentice hasn't asked in some time. Urag has painstakingly inscribed every single book in the Arcanaeum with a Rune of Returning. It's apart of the Spell of Returning. Put the rune on something and you can summon the object from wherever it may be. Of course, it can be tampered with but with Urag's skill, it'd be rather difficult to impede his work. So, to answer your question, no."
He nodded in approval after that explanation. "That curiosity is good. It will serve you well here. Most people presume a mage to only be as good as the fireball or lightning bolt he casts. In reality, what makes the mage is their cumulative knowledge."
With that, Savos turned back around and continued walking away, leaving me at the magicka well.
A completely new spell? I couldn't recall any sort of spell like that across the series. It sounded vaguely similar to the Mark and Recall spells. They let you place down a mark in a location and teleport to said mark respectively. That system made plenty of sense though. No way everyone in the College could just sit in the Arcanaeum all day everyday.
Doubly so if they weren't members. I personally would call it a security risk.
But either way, the opportunity to get my hands on spell tomes and more was definitely an amazing prospect. Just a handful of spells and I could pretty easily gain significant power. Even empower my allies as well!
My steps produced no sound as I carefully walked up the steps towards the College once more. Interestingly, the bridge wasn't damaged as it was in-game. Guess someone actually bothered to conjure up a hammer and fix the damn thing.
Regardless, now that I was actually close to the building though? It was massive. In-game, it was certainly a large structure. But here? It was far bigger than it originally was. It could have easily held the Palace of King's within its walls and had plenty of room left over. Hell, it was practically like a small town in of itself! I could see plenty of more doors and towers along the walls along with apprentices shuffling about. Some held different colored tomes in their arms. A few had ghostly familiars running around their legs. I even saw a wolf familiar with a book clutched in it's jaws!
I stepped inside, marveling at the architecture. It reminded me distinctly of Hogwarts actually, right down to building features that didn't seem physically possible. Towers that jutted out with little to no support, insanely top-heavy ones too, and the fifty foot tall statue right in the middle of the courtyard that had two swirling spheres in it's hands that glowed blue and red. The face was buried in a hood but I presumed it to be the first Arch-Mage.
Two apprentices in robes that looked exactly like the ones in game stood in front of the statue, looking up at it and discussing something. One held a book with an aged olive green cover and the other held a notebook of some sort. Probably doing some historical work.
Another pair were looking worriedly over a third apprentice who was prone on the ground in hot pink robes. Never heard of a spell dis-coloring someone's robes, but alright. There's a first time for everything.
The rest were generally just going about their lives. It was honestly really interesting to see. I wonder if there were like...scholarships or something for the College. Did one even have to pay to get in? I'd presume so. Magic robes cost a pretty septim in the games. It would be worthy of more investigation later. For now, I squeezed through the throng of students towards the Hall of Elements.
Towering doors laid wide open, allowing me easy entry. The well of magicka in the center of the giant room was just about the same as the game, just scaled up. It looked like I could have submerged myself within it actually. Various students stood around, some throwing spells at each other experimentally. That wasn't my business though.
I moved to my right, scaling up a wide staircase filled to the brim with students. I had to carefully shoulder my way through to reach the library, nearly knocking over some students along the way. Some people called to my back but I ignored them. Being so close to the large collection of magical tomes practically made me salivate. The air seemed to buzz like TV static as I arrived in the Arcanaeum.
The ceiling stretched so high that fog filled the air above me. Every single wall was positively packed to the brim with books of countless sizes, shapes, and colors. I could spend the rest of my life reading them and I wouldn't get to all of them.
Wait...I'm immortal.
I could spend centuries amongst these books. I could get to all of them!
My legs carried me deftly across the room. It was about double the width and length alongside a larger central study. Currently, only a handful of students were occupying the space
They were completely irrelevant though. Only one other person mattered in this room currently: the orc at the desk across the room from the door.
He looked up from his own book, his eyes looking over me briefly. Urag then looked back down to his book. "I don't want to see you treating any of these books poorly. Are we clear?"
I blinked at the perfect recital of the in-game line, merely staring for a scant few moments before coughing to cover up my mistake. "Yes, of course. Who'd do such a thing? These are precious sources of knowledge." It was genuinely my opinion on the matter, but I felt it'd earn be a few brownie points with the orc.
Urag glanced up, a more interested gaze this time. "I agree. Regardless, you want to take a book out of here like you were talking about with the Arch-Mage, you go through me, understand?"
"How'd you hear us?" I questioned. What kind of spell was that? Orcs didn't have enhanced hearing, did they?
"The higher members of the College are keyed into the Field of All-Knowing. So really the Arch-Mage, me, and a handful of senior teachers." He answered, waving his hand. "Its been here for longer than even I have."
I tilted my head in thought. That was yet another new thing. And what seemed like an entirely new way to use magic too.
Urag looked back to his book, seeing that I had nothing else to add. "Go grab what you want to borrow. If you want, you may borrow a small sack of holding to transport them safely when you check out."
I muttered quick acknowledgement as I stepped away, wandering along the walls, reading titles.
A lot of them were historical texts. Ones I knew from in-game. Others were novels or autobiographies.
One title caught my attention though. It was a small book labeled "Alduin is Real." I pulled it off the shelf, flicking the aged cover open to reveal...something near unreadable. The grammar and spelling was positively atrocious. I could hardly understand the first sentence, much less the rest. The handwriting got progressively worse as it went on. The next few pages were more of the same writing.
I knew this book from Skyrim. The extra pages seemed to be other stories the author, Thromgar Iron-Head, had heard from his mother. Some rudimentary sketches of draconic symbols and their pronunciations littered the borders of the pages. One on the first page was "Drun Do Oblaan-Tiid."
I racked my brain for the translation. I never spent much time on the fan pages for the individual languages in the Elder Scrolls, but given the context and what little I could recall, it loosely translated to Bringer of End-Times. So just another title of Alduin's.
The book slid back into its place smoothly and I kept walking, another title catching my eye. This one was unfamiliar. It was tucked away, being pushed behind the main row of books. The only reason I could see it was that someone had taken a few books from this row that were in front of it.
"The Biology of Magicka, huh?" I read aloud, pulling it from the shelf. It was nearly six inches thick and quite broad. The title on the deep purple cover was emblazoned in silver. Below it was what I presumed to be the title again, but in some Elvish language. At the very bottom of the book was a name that took me a moment to recognize: Karethys, a character from Daggerfall.
I blinked slowly as I read the name. Wasn't...wasn't her sub-sect in the Mages Guild in Daggerfall literally just a brothel? I mean, she was the second in power of the guild overall, but still!
The cover opened to reveal an introductory paragraph.
"To the reader of this book, I am Karethys, the Count Sorceress of Wayrest. Within this tome you will find my cumulative research into the more physical side to the nature of magicka rather than the abstract. If you are reading this, I have likely perished in some way. I ask you preserve my work to be passed onto the next generation of mages. Such knowledge would not due to be lost. That said, use this knowledge responsibly and good luck my fellow mage."
The writing was loopy and elegant, precisely how I presumed an elf would write. It was also sorely lacking in personality.
I flicked to the next page, scanning the text. She mainly wrote about the origins of her findings. A doctor in town had performed a surgery of sorts on a divination mage and discovered a sort of pearl in his heart and requested a high-level mage to take a look. It was about the size of an oyster pearl and looked like glass. Within swirled a wispy blue fluid like oil in water almost. Holding it in place was a collection of veins, sinew, and a thin membrane. Interestingly, the veins were a sort of pale blue.
When she examined it, she realized it was very slowly drawing in the magicka passively residing around it. Not long after it was extracted from the heart though, it rapidly deteriorated and turned to dust. Soon after, the man on the table perished. She noted that under view of mage sight, the man was entirely magickaless, something thought to be impossible. Typically after death, there's some residual magicka for a time but it was as if the man's magicka was entirely stripped from him.
This led her to study other mages and their own heart pearls.
After a few pages of introducing the new organ, a diagram appeared on the seventh page. It was actually a cross-section. Apparently it could be sliced open, but it typically led to death as one's magicka would leak out before the pearl could heal itself. So it was not the act of damaging the organ that killed someone, but the leakage of magicka.
The fluid inside typically vaporized soon after touching anything outside of the pearl's confines.
I squinted at the diagram, running my fingers over it. The only reason I could think of that would delay its discovery was restoration magic. Mages haven't needed surgery of any kind. The fact its in the heart doesn't help either. Who has open heart surgery with this tech level? Why was that even a procedure?
Regardless, it didn't matter. The next question was why wasn't this more widespread knowledge.
I looked around for a moment, returning to Alduin is Real and flicked through the thin book, spotting a sigil on the inside of the back cover. It was shaped like an infinity symbol but with a break in the middle and surrounded by various star shapes. It glowed a vague purple.
I then flipped to the very back of The Biology of Magicka, seeing there was no symbol.
My eyebrow furrowed in confusion. Why wasn't this marked? And why had someone pushed it to the back of the shelf?
"A good find I guess." I murmured, tucking it under my arm and continuing to peruse the shelves.
A few more titles caught my eye, but they were a bit irrelevant. Alteration for Dummies, Cryokinesis: A Beginner's Haven, Mystic Arts of the Mind, and Mysticism: Way of the Psijic. I'd get more, but I didn't want to stretch myself thin. This much was already a bit ambitious.
I lugged the books over to Urag who raised one of his eyebrows in mild curiosity. "You'll have two months with these. After that, I'll cast the recall part of the rune and they'll be gone, got it? You can come back to check them out again if you'd like."
"Yeah, I understand. Thank you, sir." I inclined my head briefly in a show of respect. The librarian blinked uncertainly, seemingly unused to it. He straightened and squared his shoulders, clearing his throat before replying.
"Yeah...I am a 'sir'." He hummed to himself before blinking again, as if surprised I was still there. I looked at him blankly. Our eyes met briefly, prompting him to point to the large door on the other side of the room. "Alright, now get out."
I nodded quickly, grabbing one of the small burlap sacks. The fibers were frayed and aged, but the bag held together. It was about the size of my torso. I placed each book inside, the weight seemingly a fraction of what it actually was. Once placed inside, there was a small lump about the size of my fist at the bottom of the sack...fascinating. Must be some form of thaumaturgy.
"Thank you, sir." I repeated before hurrying off. I had to make the most of this time.
And by that, I meant I was going to have some of the women copy down these books so I could study them more leisurely. I considered myself pretty damn smart, but I simply didn't have the time to truly comprehend each of these tomes in the allotted time. That meant getting home as fast as possible.
I looked around briefly, sniffing the air as well. No one was around me, at least in visual range. I heard a few slow heartbeats in the house to my right and one up in one of the towers along the wall, but they were obviously all asleep. Thus, I had no issues with scaling the same wall I'd entered over and left the city, beginning the walk back.
The snow crunched under my feet, the sound echoing out into the dark of the night. It seemed to wrap around me, as if trying to welcome me, to beckon me. It was a nice feeling. I never liked the darkness in my old life- either of them. One due to the dangers it presented, the other due to the crippling loneliness that lurked.
But here?
Here, the dark felt like an old friend.
"Heh, I'm going crazy already." I mused with a somewhat wild grin. My voice carried into the still howling wind. The cold whipped at my form, but didn't bother me in the slightest. Quite honestly, it was a nice environment to relax in. I felt like I could take a nap in one of the snow drifts. Maybe if it was only I in the world, I would, but that wasn't the case.
My thoughts drifted to the fort I was trekking towards and its inhabitants. Despite not being with them more than a few days, I felt incredibly attached to them. They were valuable to me. They wanted me around. They gave me precisely what everyone in my old life had failed to do. I had essentially been abandoned- by circumstance or willfully.
Man, this sounds like a cheap romance flick. Lonely guy suddenly gets a giant group of hot women to fawn over him! Yeah, maybe some trashy erotica or hentai.
As I closed in on the fort, the sound of nervous chattering reached my sharp ears. I was still out of sight, but I could hear them?
And why were they nervous?
"I have been sent to apprehend those responsible for the invasion and subsequent take-over of this fine establishment and execute them." A greasy voice called out, cracking towards the end. Just hearing the man made me feel dirty. "That seems to be you and these...bitches you have recruited."
Wait, execute?
"Silence, cur. This fort is under the protection of the Great Angel. Kneel and pray he does not kill you where you stand." Grimmolf's voice called back, the threat carried to me by the wind.
I crested a hill about a football field away. So maybe three hundred feet. No one could see me, but I could see them thanks to my natural night-vision. A large group of easily forty mercenaries in plate armor were standing behind a fat man on a brown horse with more grouped behind the crowd of men. He was wrapped in many expensive furs and wore a rather stupid looking hat. It was ridiculously tall and adorned in various medals and jewels. His black hair was laid flat and oily on his scalp alongside a cartoonishly evil mustache.
Two slave girls were pulled alongside his horse by chains. They seemed to be Nords by the looks of them. Relatively young too. Both blonde and horribly skinny, basically just skin and bones. The girls were sloppily covered by furs that didn't fit them. I reckon it was only due to their race's natural hardiness to the cold that they were even alive that this point.
"Hoh? Well, if this Great Angel exists, why has he not struck me down yet? Surely he would for threatening his chosen, no?" The fat fuck grinned arrogantly. I couldn't leave his challenge unanswered and I had just the tools to make an entrance perfect for intimidation.
I popped my neck, dropping my transformation. My shirt ripped from my wings, but that didn't matter right now. The great wings fixed to my back stretched out wide, reaching a massive sixteen feet from wingtip to wingtip with tatters of my shirt fluttering down to the snow. My wings blended in near perfectly with the light snow around me.
"Alright, first time for everything..." I muttered, psyching myself up before taking a great flap of my wings.
"WOAH!" I exclaimed as I shot up into the air, rising nearly fifty feet above the ground. My limbs flailed on instinct, searching for something to grab but not finding any handholds. My best guess was that my vampiric strength also enhanced the muscles both within and supporting my wings. Did that mean I could carry multiple people now?
I hovered for a moment, my wings seemingly working off instinct apparently planted within my brain. I leaned forwards a bit, moving towards the fort. My body wobbled for a moment, teetering side-to-side as the rest of me got used to the sensation.
A nervous chuckle left my lips as I leveled out, soaring towards the place I now called home. My body orientated parallel to the ground, becoming more streamlined.
I passed above like a shadow, swooping down without a sound and dropping my sack of holding within the walls. It landed in a pile of snow. I could grab it later.
With my hands free, I halted in the air before flapping high above and positioning myself just between the group of mercenaries and the walls of the fort. It took a moment, but I willfully halted my wings and rapidly began to drop to the ground. Forcing myself to fall took some solid willpower. Actually, it sounded like peeing your pants on purpose.
A collection of gasps reached my ears as my wings flexed as I was about thirty feet off the ground, catching me. From there I drifted safely to the ground, landing softly. They tucked behind my back neatly as I looked at the fat man on the horse who was a scant few paces away.
"Y-you...how..?" He croaked uncertainly, mouth gaping. The women on the walls of the fort had gone silent, certainly in awe of my newly revealed form. Across from me the mercenaries stirred uneasily. Mutters went through their ranks.
"He wasn't lying..." One said, gripping his greatsword nervously. He was wearing iron plate with some sort of red gambeson beneath. Interestingly, it bore the mark of the Fighters Guild. Seems they expanded to Skyrim in this universe. That was useful information. If I recalled correctly, there was a sort of moral compass required to join. Surely someone of good moral standing wouldn't help sex slavers, yes?
Another coughed. "Reckon he's blessed by the divines?"
"Surely..." A third replied, obviously in awe.
The fat man on the head shook his head, features twisting up in a nasty scowl. "NONSENSE!" He declared boldly, pointing a fat hand adorned with rather pricey rings. "REMEMBER WHO MAKES YOUR PAYCHECKS, YOU IMBECILES! KILL HIM AND THEN KILL THE ONES IN THE FORT!"
That seemed to shake the men from their stupor, causing them to begin walking forwards. They seemed reluctant though. I could smell their uncertainty. Their...fear.
Something brimmed beneath my skin, something...primal. Like a wild animal.
"Who do you think slaughtered the animals in this fort, hm?" I began casually, baring my fangs. The men who had managed to come within ten feet of me scrambled back upon seeing my vampirism on blatant display. "I massacred every man in this place. I tore them limb from limb like a child with a doll. I devoured them. They were not my chosen."
Notifications popped up in the corner of my vision as [Predator's Presence] activated. A wave of fear ripped through the crowd. Men backed up further, leveling their weapons at me, but their hands shook like leaves in a storm. A handful I counted even dropped their weapons and fell on their asses, clawing their way from me. The horse reared up, neighing. Evidently he was terrified. Normally I'd laugh to see the man be bucked off, but the girls were attached to him and he'd no doubt drag them along.
The fat man grunted, struggling to control the panicking animal beneath him. "K-kill him! Do it you dumb bastards!" He screamed, pointing at me again, this time more wildly.
[Vampiric Command] took effect, this time aimed at the man and his horse.
"Halt." I intoned, the power washing over the animal and its rider. Both had their eyes glaze over. The horse stilled, simply staring blankly ahead at me. My voice carried a weight to it, like a god had delivered the instruction.
"Rider, dismount your steed and approach." I ordered, gesturing the man to come forth. Without his own conscious control, his body moved perfectly in response to my command. Mutters of surprise and dismay ran through the men, staring in disbelief as the fat man complied without a word of protest. It took a moment but he reached me, the crowd parting for him.
"Prostrate yourself." The men were entranced as their employer simply obeyed me without hesitation. He dropped to both knees and fell forth, putting his hands out to my feet and planting his head on the ground. Silence followed as I allowed the moment to sink in. A silence I soon broke.
CRUNCH!
I raised my foot and stomped on the fat man's head, easily popping it like one would a balloon. Blood sprayed everywhere, including all the way up my right leg. Some grey matter splattered on my cheek. I wrinkled my nose as I brushed it off, the tissue landing in the now bloodied snow with a wet splat. The heartbeats all around me spiked in response to the sight. I saw a few pupils dilate as the men stumbled back, staring at me like I was a monster.
'They aren't wrong.' The thought came to me in a small bout of morbid amusement.
Silence reigned supreme as I looked to the men around me. A large smile took over my face, warm and inviting, like I was welcoming family. [Vampire's Seduction] activated, producing even more notifications in the corner of my vision. This situation could turn out quite well in my favor.
"Tell me, you are all members of the Fighters Guild, yes?" I questioned, my vision sweeping over the men. They all flinched as my gaze landed on them.
It took a few moments but one brave man, seemingly one of the associate rank. Glancing around briefly revealed no one above journeyman.
The man shook but stood tall as he addressed me. His voice was quite pitchy, like a teenager's. "Yes, my lord. We are all members of the Fighters Guild."
I nodded as I nudged the corpse aside with my foot. The fat on the body shook in response as it rolled over onto its side. "Are you aware of this...corpse's former occupation?"
The associate, a man fully covered in iron plate armor and a yellow gambeson shook his hesitantly after a few moments. "N-no, we are not, my lord."
"He's apart of an organized ring of sex slavers. This fort is...was...used as a facility to capture women and...break them in order to sell them to the highest bidder." I enlightened them, gesturing to the corpse of the fat man in the snow.
A wave of revulsion went through the crowd, their fear momentarily overtaken by the disgust towards the man.
The associate dropped to his knees, prostrating himself much like the fat man did before I killed him. His voice rang out shakily, very clearly hoping to not be killed.
"My lord, please! We had no knowledge of this! Spare us! PLEASE!" He groveled desperately, not daring to look up at me. The men in the group began dropping, copying the man who first spoke. I couldn't detect a lie. But with how nervous this man seemed, I doubted he could possibly lie to me right now, under both duress AND [Vampire's Seduction].
I reached a hand forwards towards the first man, my smile unwavering. "Join me, dedicate your skills to me. I could use you all as soldiers. Spend your lives in my service and find peace in valor in my name."
My skill washed over them, easily taking advantage of their fear and vulnerability. They seemed to respond, raising their heads unsteadily.
All except one.
One of the men closest to me looked around for a moment before rising, seemingly not caught by my skill. Oh well, an example would do nicely.
"B-but...y-y-you're a vampire! Monster!" He shouted, turning to flee. My smile didn't waver as the other men slowly looked to him, not quite understanding him. They were deep under the effects of my skill. They simply couldn't process the implications of his words.
I strode forwards as the man attempted to run, picking up the pace as he looked over his shoulder at me. "LEAVE ME ALONE, MONSTER!"
My hand rose lackadaisically, palm out towards him. Suddenly, I became hyper-aware of the blood around me, the life liquid in everyone's veins...
...including the fleeing man's.
[Polarizing Pull] snatched the man clean off his feet, launching him towards me. His frightened screams were like music to the animal within me. A sick satisfaction overcame me, as a slasher-smile did I'm sure. His helmeted head landed in my open palm which swiftly closed, easily pulping his head in my hand. The metal crunched much like a tin can. Blood spurted out between my fingers, decorating the snow a crisp red. The life liquid leaked out of my closed hand as I brought the dead man to my mouth. I shifted my grip as to better access his neck and began to take my fill.
It took a few moments but I enjoyed it, satiating the thirst with a huff of satisfaction, my breath forming a cloud in the freezing air. The body fell to the ground with a dull thump, skin pale and wrinkled from lack of blood.
"With that taken care of, those who wish to join me, rise, enter my fort. Those who would refuse my gift, stay on the ground and I will grant to the mercy of a quick death." I offered. Taking the hint, the women opened the gates, watching the mercenaries carefully.
Much to my satisfaction, they all jumped up with their gear and hauled ass into the fort. Seems they were unwilling to die by my hand.
I sniffed the air, looking towards the still charmed horse with the two slave girls anchored to him. Seeing that I spotted them, they seemed hesitant, but they reached out to me as I neared, embracing me as soon as I was in reach. They were covered in bruises and scars. Seems this particular slaver was a big fan of sadism.
"Angel." One croaked lowly, slowly falling to her knees, quietly sobbing into my leg. The other was wrapped firmly around my left arm, sobbing into my shoulder. I didn't mind at all though. I knew what they'd been through. My left arm snaked around the standing woman, rubbing her back soothingly while my right patted the other woman on the head. It was the best I could do at the moment.
"Did the mercenaries know of your predicament?" I questioned lowly, giving them their time to gather themselves for a response. They couldn't have been much older than fourteen.
The standing one shook her head. "No...the ma-...the man...he threatened us. Told us to stay quiet. Told them we were simply...into odd things and were his wives. Told them to shut up and take the coin."
I clenched my jaw, tight. So tight I might have damaged my teeth if I weren't super-naturally enhanced by my vampirism.
"Go, to the fort. They will care for you within." I instructed, not allowing my anger to leak into my tone. My right hand went to the kneeling woman's slave collar and easily pressed through the lock and opening it. I did the same to the one on the left as well, ushering them along. They walked shakily, leaning on each other. Given they looked similar, I'd wager they're siblings.
A set of steps approached from the fort. From the sounds of it, Inigo and the Bosmer women who were in charge of hunting.
"We'll corral the horses." Inigo promised, grasping at the reigns of the lead horse. I released my hold over the animal as I walked away, leaving them to handle the horses. Probably the best choices honestly. The Bosmer women began conversing in their language, Inigo once in awhile replying with broken sentences.
As I walked, women on the walls stared, looking as though they've just seen an angel-
Oh, wait, they have!
I heard the voice of Nismada'la from the other side of the group of men. She was ordering them around, assigning them roles. For now, it seems they were all guards. Probably for the best. It was unlikely any of them were really exceptional warriors, but they were all well-equipped and that was good enough.
"I see you've revealed your true nature." Grimmolf commented, stepping up to my side when I crossed through the gate. "Way to go with your speech. You've managed to seriously convince them. Though, killing their employer and that man might have helped a little too."
The women watched me pass reverently, eyes on my wings which were proudly displayed on my back. Yeah, they were one hundred percent going to form a cult. I'd bet my left wing on it.
My shoulders raised in a shrug. "It came naturally. It seems to be...an ability of mine."
"Alongside killing in the bloodiest way possible?" Grimmolf countered, the raised eyebrow practically audible.
"Hey! Not my fault they break so easily." I scoffed with a chuckle, flicking my right hand to shake some of the blood off. It would disappear in the snow.
The sound of rapid steps behind me caused me to turn, spotting someone I was wishing to see actually. "Great Angel! Your bag! I saw it fall."
"Sirilda, I thank you. I would have placed it down more gently but I had business to attend to obviously." I smiled at her, accepting the burlap sack in her hands.
"You...your wings." She noted, looking just above my head. With a small grin, I flexed the wings, the appendages stretching out mightily. The moonlight appeared to reflect off of them. As I predicted, she gasped, a grin forming on her face. "They're beautiful, Great Angel!"
"I'm flattered, Sirilda." I chuckled lightly, reaching into the sack. When I looked back, her face was painted with confusion.
"You...remember my name?" She questioned slowly, as if not comprehending the fact. I suppose she hadn't quite heard me address her before. Or maybe she was distracted by my wings.
I tilted my head. "Should I not? Is there something wrong with it? Should I call you something else?" I listed off, keeping eye contact. I had read somewhere that people liked that in conversation, not quite sure where though. Couldn't hurt.
"No, its just that none have bothered to remember my name before, at least, no one aside from my fellow women." She mumbled, looking away for a moment. At this point, I offered the book on cryokinesis I grabbed from the Arcanaeum, Cryokinesis: A Beginner's Haven. That was an interesting tidbit I would need to investigate, especially if I wanted to genuinely help all of these women.
Sirilda's eyebrows furrowed, attention drawn to the book. "My lord..?"
"For you. Along with the others. I'd like to take a look at them too at some point, but that is a secondary concern. Please find someone to assist you in transcribing these tomes to paper for us to keep. I plan to form a collection of magical tomes to keep here for our use." I explained, then offering the sack. "A sack of holding."
Seeing her hesitation, I slowly moved my hands back to my body. "Unless they aren't to your liking? I figured with your mention of learning the very basics from your mother, you'd be interested in expanding your training."
As I predicted, her eyes nearly bugged out of her skull as she shook her head vehemently. It felt a bit manipulative, but again, obsession had to be managed carefully. "No! Any gift from you is the greatest in all the lands!"
She took the items, cradling them as if they were the most valuable objects in the Nirn. "Great Angel, I shall get right to the assigned tasks."
"Also, they need to be all done within two months, that's when they'll be teleported back to the College in town." I added, pausing as I recalled The Biology of Magicka and its lack of a spell marker. "There is a title in there, 'The Biology of Magicka'. Put that in my room. That one I intend to study independently. After all of that, please find a room within the fort to clear and cover the surfaces within with ice. Come find me when that's done"
Sirilda nodded rapidly before bowing slightly at the waist. "Of course, Great Angel." With her last affirmation, she strode off towards the bowels of the fort.
I rubbed my eyes, looking around for a moment. Oddly enough, I felt a bit...tired? Not physically, but mentally. I didn't know vampires could get tired. Perhaps it was just a bit of mental fatigue?
"Grimmolf, I believe I will attempt to get a bit of rest. I feel...mentally tired." I hummed, striding towards the fort.
"Vampires get tired, hm?" He questioned curiously. People parted for us, well, mainly for me.
I pursed my lips. "I am unsure. It feels mental, as I said. Maybe its some mechanism to retain my humanity, or maybe its just my humanity showing through. I'm not a doctor, so what can I say?"
Grimmolf nodded. "As good an answer as any I suppose."
"That and there isn't much else to do. Sleeping is a way to pass the time." I added more as an after-thought as I navigated through the fort. There was a bed with my name on it just for me!
Wait, how would I sleep with my wings?
Ah, transform! A wonderful little tool, that.
HAPPY HOLIDAYS AND MERRY CHRISTMAS! This is my little gift to y'all!
I really went on a writing spree. Four thousand words of this were written within like four hours. Goddamn. Nice long chapter for you guys to chew on until I upload next (cough cough another two months cough cough)
Anyway, as always ladies and gentlemen, leave reviews with your thoughts and stuff. Love all of y'all! Happy holidays!
Join the Discord! It'd be a nice gift to me for the season guys :)
Invite: T9sPwzGbMp