Into Oblivion

7

Xilivicus sat within a grand ebony cage. His body fully exposed before the Court of Dagon who surrounded him. He sat with a bowed throbbing head and a heavy black heart. His wrists were shackled together before him as were his feet. His eyes fell upon the tattoos on his arms and he flexed his muscles, watching them bulge and expand like pulling fabric and watching the weaves pull tight together. He sat in this cage for he was the prosecuted.

The Crime?

Love.

The Court who surrounded him were all hooded in long robes whose material was as fiery as lava and macabre as freshly drawn blood. His tangerine eyes narrowed as he looked up to see Dagon seated upon a grand throne on a pedestal. His Lord's eyes fell before him and he merely listened as the court was put in session. A Dremora rose and tilted his head up. His long spiked horns piercing through the hood. "Brother Xilivicus... Dremora Councilman... once prized Prince of Blood Well... you were summoned here on being accused of..." the Dremora tossed his eyes down to a golden parchment that lie before him. His lips pursed as his eyes lifted and he repeated from the lines written before him, "... falling in love... with a human girl... what say you to this?"

A few twisted whispers came from the lips of the court and Dagon merely leaned back and propped his jaw up with his knuckles. Xilivicus lifted his head high and snarled back at his brother Dremora, "I say... you are a liar."

The scene had melted away like hot wax dripping down a candlestick. Xilivicus closed his eyes tightly as a burning flame seemed to engulf him. The shackles dissipated into the air and he soon stood free in a rather cold environment. He heard the call of a lone wolf and he slowly opened his eyes to a great moon overwhelming the sky. His pupils shrank as the light surprised and almost blinded him. He lowered his gaze and tilted his head to a side allowing thick waved locks of orange fall into his face. He grunted and as his vision cleared he saw a robed woman approach him through a thicket of soaring redwood trees.

She glided upon the air with a beautiful snow white flower in her soft grasp. Her hood lifted and her beautiful eyes fell upon the Dremora. She held neither fear nor surprise for his shuddering appearance. Instead, she looked upon him with adoration and remorse. Her lips which were as red as rubies pursed and she called out in a melodic voice, "... I truly thought you would change your ways... my son."

Xilivicus furrowed his brow with a look of incredulity lingering upon his façade, "...Dibella?" He called out to her. Certainly not... or... was it?

Through the thicket approached another woman. She too equaled the beauty of the first. Her long golden hair was weaving together like the weaves of a basket. She held within her grasp two ropes that entangled in the middle; symbolizing two immortal souls locking together in a perpetual love. "We did what was for the best of you," her kind and gentle voice called out to him in the moonlit night. Her head bowed in sorrow as she continued, "... we truly thought you would change."

"Mara... Dibella?" Xilivicus muttered. "B-But how... why are you here?" Suddenly, his eyes iced over with hatred and he snarled with a clenched jaw, "and what the hell am I doing here with you?"

Dibella bowed her head. So much that he did not understand and there was such little time to explain. "Xilivicus... darling... you are dreaming. We have made ties with Vaermina to enable us to react with you in your own dreams... or nightmares; whichever you happen to be having at this precise moment in time."

Mara nodded and quickly continued, "Xilivicus... there is a great threat coming to your gate of Oblivion. Surely, we should not be here speaking with you if it was not for our own cause."

"We are not able to tell you specifically what is coming," Dibella added while caressing the petals of the flower, "but we need to warn you before it's too late-"