Based on the Elder's Scrolls© game-series by Bethesda Inc.©
EVANORA
We were just packing up the last items from the armory that I wanted to take home with me onto the ferry that would bring me to Solstheim.
"Do you really need that much luggage?"
I raised one eyebrow at Almar, who was helping me out with the packing. "Some of these artifacts are of great value and are worth the research!"
He chuckled, "Just mocking; I never understood magic anyway."
"Don't worry, people got their talents."
Nobody said anything. It was one of those silent moments, shortly before leaving somewhere, where you just desperately try to think of something to say.
"Will we see each other again?" Almar asked carefully, as I was loading one of the five last crates onto the wooden deck of the ferry.
"I hope so...!" Actually, I was not sure whether I'll ever be able to find my way back here. But if father had been here regularly then mother should know how he got here despite not going with him even once. I knew how curious she could be.
"I do too. Things would not have been as easy without you. You made all of this worth fighting for." I felt getting a little red around the ears, heating up slightly.
"I very much cherish your words. I doubt that I would have been so brave myself if I hadn't had someone beside me."
The fight with Alduin turned out much better than I would have ever imagined fighting a dragon. He was now comfortably resting inside the ax that was bound to a leather strap on my back.
The Greybeards and Paarthurnax – actually everyone – had been deceived into thinking that he is dead. The civil war is still in motion, and I have once and for all decided never to mess with such things again. Especially when it has nothing to do with me.
The ferryman that had volunteered to take me to Solstheim – with a little golden motivation of course – was looking at us with crossed arms, impatiently waiting for me to finally say goodbye and leave so he could get the second half of his share.
"I gotta go, Almar. It was nice with you."
I leaned forward and placed a soft kiss on his now warm cheek. The sun was shining, and his body temperature was adapting. He looked me in the eye, while touching the spot where my lips had touched his cheek with his fingertips.
"I- "
"I know," I fell into his word and with one last smile, I nodded him goodbye and gave the signal for takeoff to the ferryman.
He began to shout around commands to his four-people crew and we were out of Windhelm's harbor in no time. Solstheim was located North of Skyrim and Morrowind; right between the two. As I was sunken in thoughts, I only realized with half a mind how Almar's waving silhouette became smaller and smaller, until the planet's natural round shape began to hide him from my sight.
I was absent-mindedly waving, long after that; smiling to myself in just a similar fashion as if I would never see him again.
The ash was already filling my lungs, long before we had reached shore. Morrowind was a wasteland really; not fit for ordinary humans or elves and so on to live there. The Dark Elves are the only race that was able to adapt to the given conditions of the province's harsh environment. The sky and therefore the environment was tinted in an apocalyptic red with flora and fauna equally strange to me.
After a while, we had reached the shore; it was a small harbor-town that rather reminded me of a customs office. We were greeted by a group of armored soldiers and a man that must have been the port's administrator. "What leads you to Solstheim, madam? You are aware that travels from and to here are currently restricted."
The sailors had already warned me about that before we had set off but I didn't want to listen. And I won't listen now. The Elder's Scroll is my only chance to go home, and I will most certainly not spend the rest of my life here, alone. I had not even said goodbye to my family.
"I am here on official imperial business. Lady Evanora, consultant of the High Emperor of Tamriel." I reached into my pocket and pulled out the official paper that proved my legitimacy. No matter how I had begun to dislike the Empire, I was still the royal consultant and this title proved more than useful in situations like this.
"Personally signed and stamped by the emperor. She is legitimate." The soldier with the chitin armor that had taken the paper from me passed it to the administrator who looked at it for a while, nodded and returned the yellowed slip back to me.
"What do you require, milady?"
"A scholar; the best one you can find. The matter can only be discussed with someone who has profound magical and historical knowledge." I stepped out of the boat and onto the thin pier. I turned towards the sailors and tossed them another sack of gold.
"If you would be so kind to unload my luggage-"
"We'll help you with that; you can store it inside for now. But regarding the scholar..." I darted around, giving the administrator a venomous look. "This might prove a little difficult. He got caught in the shrine's ban, last night while he tried to disable it."
The administrator pointed at a weird structure that seemed to have attracted not only their scholar. About twelve people were working on expanding the shrine's greenish black pillars.
"I might help. I have seen nothing like it before, but I managed to defeat a dragon most recently." Their eyes widening told me that I had played my trump card and that they'll let me help them without a doubt.
"Of course, do your best! But be careful... We lost five of our magicians to it."
"Don't worry; I'll manage."
The shrine was several feet away from the actual town and the closer I got, the heavier was the air. It was as if one was entering a room with steaming alcohol.
It was opiating fumes that robbed me of my consciousness and numbed all my senses. I knew what the administrator had meant by getting caught in the shrine's ban. I felt the sudden urge to pick up one of the nearby pickaxes and help the others finish the shrine.
I walked over to the tools and picked one up, slurping over to the middle pillar that was glowing ominously green. With strong strikes of the pickaxe, I began to break off pieces of the magical rock; attempting to carve something in it that I couldn't make out at all. It was like I said; all my senses were numb.
"Fight it!" I heard a voice say in my head. Alduin's voice. Yet I totally gave in and felt my sight go black for a second.
The marking I had laid into the stone began to glow though in a contrasting orange red. Began to pulse until it cracked the pillar in half, and it fell to the side, right into the black water that was located in a basin underneath the entire structure.
All senses returned to me and the others, as they began to look around frightened, wondering how they had got here and what they were doing. Perhaps the longer you are caught in the ban, the more you forget yourself and are the marionette of the shrine.
A smartly dressed Dark Elve with shaved head and thick mustache caught my eye immediately. He had fallen to the ground and was kneeling in it, taking samples in narrow glass vials and picking up pieces of the black rock. This must be the scholar.
"Are you the scholar of this town?" I asked the busy man. At first, he didn't seem to notice me. Probably the after-effects of the shrine but when I cleared my throat loudly, he jumped up on his feet.
"Yes, I am. Neloth. Who asks?"
"Royal consultant to the High Emperor. I am here on important business and require your assistance."
He raised his eyebrows and began to walk back to the town. "And what do you need my help with?"
I followed him to where the sailors and armored soldiers were unloading my artifacts, weapons and apparel from Alidon's armory. Wuuthrad was closely strapped to my back. I could not lose Alduin by any means.
"I am looking for an Elder's Scroll. A friend told me to find the last one here."
The scholar looked left and right. "And what is it that you want it for?"
"It is said that it can create a wormhole. And I need to return home to Oz; I am not from here."
"The Faraway Lands? That is a long journey from here. Now I see why you require and Elder's Scroll in specific."
We distanced ourselves from the people in order to stop whispering.
"It is rumored that the Elder's Scroll is located in Miraak's temple. A place I would hardly advise you to visit. It is where the pillars come from. This was only one of many."
I nodded in appreciation but had to scrunch together my eyebrows questioningly. "And who is this Miraak person?"
The scholar shook his head, "I don't know; nobody does. Nobody has ever seen him but his cultists are all over the place, stealing children from families and wreaking havoc in the small settlements. They always announce that they act in the name of 'Miraak – The True Dragonborn'."
Now that was interesting. Another Dragonborn and apparently the "real one". I have no doubts that his plans are closely related to the Elder's Scroll. I surely hope to deal with him swiftly. "I need directions."
The scholar nodded disappointedly. As if I would listen to him and get frightened by some self-proclaimed weirdo. "Head north and follow the trail of dead bodies and dragon bones. You will not miss it."
I thanked the scholar and was off without another word to the sailors, soldiers or the administrator. I wanted to get over with this as soon as possible and I needed the advice of Alduin. If not him, I had no idea who would know about Miraak and his still unknown schemes.
As I was walking up a narrow pathway towards the direction that the scholar had pointed me to, I unsheathed the ax from my back and held it with the blades flat in my hand. Through the screaming face in the middle of them, Alduin could speak to me. "What do you require of me, Lady Evanora? Are we there yet?"
It was as if the ax prison broke down the pitches of his thundering voice, only leaving some of them to pass into the real world. When Alduin asked his question, I imagined a strapping young man with perfect locks and a well-defined body, judging only from the voice.
"Unfortunately, we have not arrived yet and I doubt that we will anytime soon. The Elder's Scroll is located in the temple of someone called Miraak and I was wondering whether you know this person."
For a short while only silence. I passed grey trees with reddish brown leaves and silver grass underneath them, as I was climbing a steep hill.
"I know him, yes. But I have no clue as to who he is, you know. He came to my attention as a tyrannical terrorist that was willing to do anything to ensure his title as true Dragonborn and ruler of this continent. I had, in fact, thought about enlisting his help but that was when your friend Almar surprised me, and I was forced out of Sovngarde."
Tyrannical terrorist suited this person right. Erecting pillars and shrines to enslave the island would clearly be something you'd expect from someone like this. Nevertheless, he had the last Elder's Scroll and I had to get it. Even if it meant stopping another threat. I was willing to do anything when it came to being reunited with my family again.
"Thank you, Alduin; that would be all. I will call upon you again once we reach our destination."
I returned the ax back in its sheath on my back and continued upwards, picking up my pace a little to reach the temple as soon as possible. And after another while of climbing the mountain with an increasing number of whole dragon skeletons lying about, I reached the temple which laid at the very top of the mountain.
It was a massive structure that strongly reminded of the shrines in terms of architecture and design only three times larger. I felt the dizziness come over me once more, yet this time I was prepared and cast a resistance spell that would last for at least fifteen minutes. I walked up the final steps to the shrine, stepping into the circle of water and pillars.
I was confused at first, as I saw no way into the temple or anything at all that might indicate that this was a temple. If it hadn't been for the water, I never would have uncovered the hidden entrance. As I waded through the shin-deep black liquid, the weight of my body was sending ripples and small waves through it. When it did, I could always hear splashing as if one was pouring water from at least three feet up.
I moved around a while, trying to locate the source only via the sound of splashing water. In no time, I found a hidden staircase leading below ground-level at the far edge of the circle. I placed my hands on this edge and with all my arms' strength, pushed myself upwards and over it, making me land at the exact middle of the staircase with a loud thud. I was drenched from this and now felt how cold Solstheim's air actually was.
At the very end of the stairs – my steps echoed between the walls more loudly, the deeper I got below – was a heavy stone door that reminded me of the typical Nord architecture seen in the tombs back in Skyrim. I pushed it in and the stone moved for me effortlessly, as if it was made out of Styrofoam.
The sight of the temple confirmed my idea. The typical mossy stone walls, cobwebs and torch holders of a Nord tomb. It was nothing special at all but this style of architecture had a certain distinguishing something.
I began to walk into the bowels of the temple, where it got darker and colder with each turn I took. Another characteristic of the Nord tomb was it being more of a maze than a final resting place.
The temple most certainly was. Two times I passed an exceptionally thick spider sitting in her slimy cobweb before I found the right path and instead reached a large, hollow space underneath the mountain that was structured like an amphitheater of sorts. It was like a mix of underground cathedral and catacomb, only much darker and by far creepier.
A group of people in long brown robes and masks carved of bone was sitting in a circle at the very bottom of the arena, each of them closing the circle with a wave of teal energy that was connecting and flowing between them.
In the middle of the circle was a creature that I had never seen before in my life, holding a large black book with only runes written within; at least as far as I could tell from my angle and distance. The creature looked grotesque; something I was entirely unfamiliar with. It was shaped like a mixture of Daedra – the demons of Oblivion, one of the nine circles of hell – and octopus, having a tentacle head with multiple eyes and numerous folds.
Beneath that, it had earthly green and ochre feathers and furs that covered its neck and most of its body, including the back. Two long and two shorter but still equally shriveled arms emerged from underneath the neck-furs which were holding up the black book with the strange runes in it.
Behind the arms was a skin-like membrane of ashen grey with a gaping maw embedded into it that had rows of sharp, rotating teeth within for the prey to be consumed more easily. Another set of tentacles emerged from below with green energy crackling between them, keeping the grotesquery afloat.
"Do not be afraid by my appearance. I am not as dangerous as I may look."
My eyes grew large and I was overcome with a wave of heat, knowing that the creature had spoken to me and had exposed me to the cultists. I was ready to fight back and thought of my most useful spells, yet nothing happened. The cultists didn't appear to have noticed me and continued to chant their own incantations.
"You are here for something, I believe... An Elder's Scroll?"
I relaxed. I should have known. Being absent from my fields of expertise, it's no wonder that I failed to recognize how the creature had not talked to me verbally but through the waves of my thoughts; something that mother wanted me to learn from her personally and in secret.
She called it a woman's weapon; being able to talk amongst ourselves without father or my sisters noticing. I had no particular explanation as to why I was favored over my sisters.
"Are you holding it? Whatever you may be."
"This is not an Elder's Scroll unfortunately, it's a Black Book. I am bound to it by means of dark magic and under Miraak's instructions. You have heard of him?"
"I have. It is rumored that he possesses the last of the Elder's Scroll." Talking psychically is by any means far easier than proper talking. The only thing you have to do is think.
"Yes, I have seen it. And by chance, I know exactly where to find Miraak. If you help me, I'll be able to help you find it. But you'll have to hurry; I won't be able to conceal my thoughts from them forever."
Looking at the creature down there, holding the so-called Black Book, surrounded by these cultists, I wondered whether it was trustworthy. It seemed so unbothered but again, thinking does not require a lot of effort; at least for most people.
"I don't know who or what you are."
"I am the Seeker and the only thing I seek is knowledge."
"'The'? Does this mean you are a Sovereign being?"
A rare discovery nowadays; these entities are even rarer than gods by now. The only other Sovereign being I know is the Whispmother and she is much more than a god. If the Seeker is one too, he'll prove to be a powerful ally. He replied.
"I am, Evanora of Oz. I know who you are and not only by your thoughts. The third eye told me that."
So a seer as well? The moment I wanted to know how he knows, he answered my question without me even thinking about it yet. If Sovereign beings were rare then seers were even rarer. Oz had one living there too but she was killed in a terrible accident, back during the crisis in 1913. The Oracle.
Humans think of seers as charlatans and frauds, yet they hold the most valuable of all magic; chronomancy. The ability to see through and alter time. It cannot be learned so either you are born with it or bad luck. Most Magicks never even meet one. They're fabrics of fiction and folklore to most.
"Alright, Seeker. I will trust your word and wisdom. What do you require me to do?"
"Touch the book. Then, I will be free." I nodded, only realizing afterwards that he probably didn't see that. For sure, he must have sensed my determination. I sheathed the ax and got ready to jump. It was a long drop, all the way down to the arena but the cultists were not supposed to sense me sneak up on them. Who knows what they are capable of?
A strong gust of air should help me leap over their heads and right in front of the Seeker where I would touch the book and it will be enough to break my fall. Two deep and steady breaths, before I pushed. Like an air-balloon, I shot up in the air soundlessly. I felt the breeze collecting beneath my hands and grazing my robe and legs before I let myself drop once, I was right above the Seeker.
The slipstream of air while falling, whipped hair and clothes around while the wind was whistling in my ears. With an energetic push downwards, I managed to land on my feet. The moment, the cultists realized what was happening, it was already too late. I had landed with my back towards the Seeker and only saw them stir up frantically before I darted around and touched the book.
What I had expected, I was unsure about but it definitely wasn't being sucked into the pages and becoming one with the black ink that began to move and glow a bright mint as I was absorbed into the runes.
I opened my eyes in total darkness. The place on my hand with which I had touched the book was throbbing and felt like my skin had been burned off with acid and my bones were being ground on the stone floor beneath me as I pushed myself upwards.
A quick look on my hand told me that it was just the magic's effect that made me believe that my flesh had seared off. Another look around told me that we were no longer in the temple but someplace even odder than the Seeker was looking.
It was a sea of what appeared like motor oil in water. I was standing on a stone platform among many which were placed into the dangerous-looking liquid; some of them connected via floating paper pages, some of them not. In fact, they were books and scrolls and papers flying around me, moving from stack to stack and into other floating shelves.
The sky was black with lime green auroras and weird holes out of which emerged slimy tentacles with eyes that appeared to be staring at me from everywhere. They were not like the Seeker's tentacles – his were like those of an octopus – but rather made out of a solid form of the liquid below.
Talking of the Seeker, he too was lying on the ground with his face down. I moved towards him to help him up and he was floating next to me within seconds.
"You lied to me?!" I didn't bother communicating through our minds and shouted everything out loud directly.
"I did not. Miraak is here but he will not be alone."
"And what's that supposed to mean? Where are we, to be honest?"
"It means that he will have help and it'll be more difficult to deal with him. This is Apocrypha, the realm of Hermaeus Mora. I am yet unsure though what role he plays in this. The thing we have to focus on though is to find Miraak."
Hermaeus Mora? Wasn't this the Daedric Prince of fate, knowledge, and memory? It would make sense because of the books but it was odd for him to have any dealings with Miraak. But perhaps, the latter is a captive of Hermaeus Mora.
"Then let's go; we don't have much time!" We began to tread this weird dimension as carefully as we were able to; we didn't know what could lurk for us at the next corner. The only way off the platform was a bridge consisting entirely of loose papers. It was scary walking on them at first, one thinks that they'll break through at the first step but to my surprise, they were extraordinarily resilient.
Perhaps even stronger than the stones because of the magic that I felt they were imbued with. The Seeker, of course, didn't need to; he was floating.
After a while, I began running without even noticing. The tentacle eyes in the sky were still watching and following me, making me want to escape this place as fast as possible. We were running over more and more platforms, some covered by humongous stacks of books and papers, others having mazes of bookshelves on them. Perhaps the Elder's Scroll lay hidden amongst these stacks and shelves?
"You'll know it, when you see it," The Seeker's voice echoed inside my head. So it won't be that easy to miss, then. Made sense, given the fact that it was called Elder's Scroll; one would expect something unique and distinguishable.
After an especially difficult to come out of maze, we reached the end of the road. It was a platform, bigger than all the others and the only way off it was the way we came from. Yet even this path was sealed off, the moment we were both on the platform. The papers that formed the bridge dispersed and a shelf covered the opening through which the Seeker could have still floated through and escaped but didn't.
I unsheathed my ax and readied myself for Miraak. Through my peripheral view, I could see the Seeker charge himself with lime-green magic, just as ready for an attack as I was. In the distance I could hear the roar of a dragon and after a while, I could make out a spot on the green horizon. The closer it got, the more I could distinguish its features.
It was an eel-like lizard with dry-looking skin and no scales. It was a blue dragon, hence one of middle-class. On top of it was a man, holding a slimy scepter that was just like the tentacles and liquid. This must be Miraak, and he used Hermaeus Mora's power to control the dragon.
I grabbed the ax with both hands on the handle and spun it over my head, slashing as I moved it to the ground. Imbued with Alduin's soul, the nevertheless mighty Wuuthrad had become even more powerful. With the slash came an orange burst of energy out of the blade that moved through the air like a cut that grew, the longer it was in the air.
It sliced through everything in its path, including the dragon's flesh, leaving behind its filleted remnants. Miraak had managed to jump off the creature's back, landing on his feet right before us.
"Miraak, I presume?"
The only thing that gave him away to be the one I was looking for was a golden casing strapped to his back, embedded with beautifully carved gemstones that – I was almost certain – contained the Elder's Scroll.
Miraak wore black robes, reminding those of the Thalmor by design only slightly different. As far as I could tell, it was a Breton style of the middle class from High Rock. He had armored shoulders and a mask that looked like a Dragon Priest's one.
"He carved it himself and imbued it with similar magic, gifted to him by Hermaeus Mora."
We could only hope that Miraak couldn't read our minds as well. It allowed the Seeker and me to communicate without him even noticing. I had no idea what was going on behind the mask but the silence disturbed me.
"Who is asking?" He finally replied.
"No one of interest to you. The only thing I need from you anyways is the cylinder on your back."
Now, he too readied his weapon, prepared to defend himself and the scroll or attack us first. I doubted though that his slimy rod would be of much use to him, compared to my Alduin-Wuuthrad combination and the Seeker's apparent abilities.
"You will have to get it first."
He underestimated me; the one who killed his dragon with just one slice of my ax and without it even touching its flesh. I would not need to kill or defeat him though, the only thing I needed and wanted was the Elder's Scroll and we would get it, I was certain.
"It would be my pleasure!" We attacked; the Seeker from the distance and I swinging the ax at Miraak from up close. He was a skilled fighter, effortlessly parrying my blows and attempting to strike me. Again, I was deprived of the weapon that I was most skilled in: a polearm or staff.
Instead, I had to torture myself with the heavy ax which was therefore slow and unpredictable. I could not parry Miraak's strikes but had to evade which proved difficult as well due to the ax's weight. But I only had to take the Elder's Scroll from him and the fight would be over. I just had to steer him into one of the Seeker's blows.
The Seeker was either hurling paralysis spells or shouting at Miraak in Dovah. One time, I was almost hit by a spell as I tried to push our opponent into it but eventually, we managed to go through with our idea.
I had raised Wuuthrad to strike from above my head and dropped the ax towards Miraak's face. He pulled the staff towards it, holding it with both hands; one at each end so that the blade hit it right in the middle with a slimy gurgling sound. We were competing for footing, both of us pushing against the other and trying to get them to the ground.
At first, it seemed like he was winning but I felt the energy radiated from Wuuthrad, just as I was about to fall backwards. Alduin's flames engulfed us, not affecting me at all. Yet, Miraak seemed to be melting underneath his long robes and metal mask. He was moaning and screaming from the pain of the heated mask, making him lose his footing and stumbling right into the Seeker's paralyzing spell.
As he crashed to the ground with a thud and a clank from the gold casing of the Elder's Scroll, his staff left his hand and the mask slid off his face, revealing the red imprint of it on his once pale skin.
"Quick! The spell will not last long."
I hurried towards the stiff body of Miraak, pulling the scroll of the leather strip on his back.
"The scroll will create an Infinity Corridor through which we can walk. You will just have to picture your destination very carefully."
Now, even the Seeker didn't bother to communicate psychically. His voice was the sound of rattling pipes and whistling wind. An eerie sensation that was sending shivers down my spine. Similar to the Whispmother's, only that her voice sounded like the soft morning winds.
I grabbed the wooden rod that allowed for the scroll within to be unfolded and pulled. It was a single piece of paper that had a strange circular rune drawn onto it and across the entire page. Only little notes on the margins and in the corners told me what the rune meant. It represented the Infinity Corridor which was something I had never heard of before. Once we got home, maybe mother would know. So many questions and no answers...
To our left, something stirred. Miraak was slowly pulling himself up on his feet, gently running his gloved hand over the probably agonizing burn.
"You may have won now, no-one-of-interest-to-me but this won't be the last you hear of Miraak! Once my preparations are finished, I'll go to Skyrim to find this legendary Dragonborn and kill it. There can only be Miraak – the true Dragonborn!"
I looked the Seeker in his white eyes, but he urged me to hurry with a gentle roar from his scary mouth. I looked at the rune, imagining the Emerald City and all its streets, the plaza where the Yellow Brick Road ended in a perfect circle, the ornate lanterns and idyllic water fountains, the many shops and community buildings.
And most importantly, the Emerald Palace with its green and golden hallways, huge windows and many rooms with burgundy carpets and the Emerald Gardens. My reading corner and the book I could finally finish with a steaming cup of oolong tea in my hand, sitting by the crackling fireplace with my family chatting in the background, occasionally offering me a biscuit or two.
The ink on the scroll began to glow blue and the more I pictured the beauty of home, the brighter it became until eventually, the Seeker and I found ourselves within a circular tunnel that glowed in all colors of the rainbow. The gateway behind us closed before Miraak could do anything else and we began walking in the direction of the lights.
"I have things to pick up from Solstheim!" I remembered but before the Seeker could say anything, a slit opened beside us and I saw my crates and bags full of artifacts, potions, weapons and recipes foreign to Oz. As if it heard me, every chest and bag flew up in the air and into the Infinity Corridor. He was holding them up telepathically and we continued forwards.
The journey through the Infinity Corridor was over faster than it had begun, as we began to near the end of it, revealing the blooming poppy fields of Oz, whose scents I could already feel tickling my nose from a distance. I began to run and the Seeker followed me closely until we were out of the corridor and standing on the Yellow Brick Road. The Seeker gently dumped the luggage beside me and I slowly turned to my right, where the Emerald City was standing tall and making my eyes water. I was finally home...