The Void
The Night Mother awoke with a sharply drawn breath. Long had she slumbered in the peaceful dark of her lord husband's demesnes, but her children needed her. A sharp cry had pierced her sleep and she had felt the torment of one of her own. Remorse, fear, and uncertainty haunted the dreams of one of her assassins. She didn't always hear the psychic distress of her children, but when she did she did as any good mother would do; she reached out to her child and calmed her. Be at peace. The young creature settled then and slept tranquilly. Her lord's work was harsh and destructive to the minds and souls of their children; it was her job to soothe their conscience, erase remorse and guilt, ensuring souls could be delivered without destroying the agents of change: the Dark Brotherhood.
This young one was particularly troubled. Assassination did not sit lightly on her shoulders as it did for many. The Mother's children should be recruited earlier and taught to kill without remorse. Once, a child as old as this one, would be turned away unless she had a predator's instinct, and this one did not. Not every child needed to be a killer to serve her and her lord; some served in other ways. Her Keeper, the caretaker of her earthly remains, for instance. She sighed thinking of the Keeper. He had gone quite insane, yet he was dedicated to his task with unmatched single-mindedness.
Night Mother sat up in bed, stretching and yawning away the residue of a long, peaceful sleep. There was work to be done: her lord's work and her own.
"She awakens!" A servant spoke the joyful words to another and soon the muffled bells were tolling throughout the Void announcing the Mother's awakening. Those sworn to serve her, attended her arising. A shimmering, silver-gray robe was wrapped around her slender form and her obsidian hair was brushed to gleaming perfection.
The Mother looked around her castle, admiring its subtle beauty. Many feared the Void as a place of nothing, but Sithis, her lord husband was the Creator and he had created this beautiful place for her. She slipped her feet into a pair of silk slippers and padded outside to her gardens.
This place shifted between twilight and night. The gaudy colors of a setting or rising sun never tainted its subtle beauty. Fireflies flickered like golden jewels at night. The moon was even mindful of shining too brightly. She crossed her gardens to the narrow bridge that spanned a dark, reflective lake and walked to the meditation garden. There a willow tree wept gray-green foliage gently touching the top of the glassy lake. A stone bench, covered with moss, waited for her patiently through the years. This place never changed as Sithis had promised her on the day they wed. She stared out over the lake.
"I've slept too long," she said. "My children have suffered, died, and now they forget me."
"True," a voice said and a black-skinned man with red eyes emerged from the shadows of the meditation garden. "Their leader has abandoned the ways and scoffs at your memory."
"Shadowmere," she chuckled quietly and made room on the bench for him. "It has been a long time, my old friend. Have you seen them?"
He smiled and nodded. "I have. They still do Sithis's business, but they do not follow the ways."
"Tell me of them," she commanded the Daedra.
"The leader disdains the tenets. Her husband follows her blindly as do many of the others."
"What of the girl?"
"The little vampire?" Shadowmere asked.
"No, the Nord girl," the Mother said. "I dreamed of her."
"Ah, yes. Her presence has changed everything. She doesn't know who she is," the Daedra said.
"Change," the Mother said, smiling to herself. "She does my lord husband's will then, for he causes change without design. Chaos."
Shadowmere nodded. "True, but there are others meddling with this one. I hear whispers amongst the Dadrae. Some of the princes wish to claim her."
Scowling, the Mother frowned and said, "Who dares? She belongs to Sithis!"
"Who doesn't? By the alphabet: Azura, Boethiah, Hircine…"
"Stop. Meddlers, all of them! We shall see about that," she said, a frown marring her perfect features.
"Even the Aedra wish to claim her, I hear," he drawled, amused. "Quite remarkable."
"Why?" the Mother asked. "You've met her, what is so special about this girl?"
Shadowmere smiled and blinked his ruby eyes. "Who doesn't wish to control a Dragonborn?"
The Night Mother delivered a sharp, vicious kick to Shadowmere's calf. "A Dragonborn! Couldn't you have come out and said so?"
He chuckled, his voice warm, rich and as dark as the night around him. "If you wish to have this one, you'd better act. There is prophecy at work here. What she does could spell the end of Tamriel or ensure the continued existence of the mortal plane."
The Mother tapped her teeth with a white fingernail and thought. Which would please Sithis more: all those souls? Or would he grow tired of the sameness of the void without the children of Tamriel creating chaos?
"I thank you, Shadowmere. You've done well keeping your eye on my children while I rested. Continue to do so," she said. She rubbed his forehead and patted him on the nose as if he were a horse.
"What, no sugar cube? No apple?" he said with a wry smile.
"Go. Keep an eye on them and tell me when the Keeper arrives. I think I shall perform some change of my own. Oh, the chaos! My lord will be proud."
Shadowmere bowed and departed, melting into the darkness of the Void.
~o~o~o~
Notes: I had unholy amounts of fun writing this. I can just imagine the jealousy, rivalry, and pettiness of a bunch of bored deities. Much like the Greek pantheon. They're probably betting on the Dragonborn.
Anyway, just a short update because this is really a complete chapter right here.
My thanks to Biff McLaughlin, Zevgirl, Heiwako for their wonderful support on Google+. Thank you: EllaBea, cromar21, Procrastination Possum, steffiii07 and TheOtherLachance for your reviews! Thanks also to those who favorite and follow both me and the story!