Chapter 1: The Eye of Magnus
The snow under the Dragonborn's boots crunched beneath him as he made his way towards Artaeum. He could feel it: The Eye of Magnus. It felt so close, yet, at the same time, it never felt so far away. He knew he couldn't stop, that he had to keep going, otherwise Tamriel's nipping winds would freeze his heart for sure. He pulled his cloak closer to block out the freezing winds and locked his jaw. He used a free hand to conjure a Flames spell and sighed in pleasure as the warmth from the magical fire seeped through his skin and into his hand. He used this to warm his body up by holding it near his body, or casting it onto his toes in short bursts to keep them from freezing.
He thought about how far he'd come already. Artaeum had disappeared once again after the Psijic Order retrieved the Eye of Magnus from the College of Winterhold. It's power was too much for this world to handle; they weren't ready for it.
If that's the case, then what world IS ready? he thought.
Once they took it, the Dragonborn didn't think twice. After all, he had been given the wonderful honor of being deemed the Arch Mage of the College of Winterhold, so his mind was on other things. However, something started to tug at his heart. It had seemed -- to him at least -- that it was trying to pull him somewhere, somewhere far away and dangerous. He ignored it a while, but over time it festered and grew until it was absolutely unbearable. It had felt like hot daggers were poking into his chest and only by following his heart did the pain dull down to a throb, but it never did disappear.
He never thought he was being led to the Eye of Magnus, it was the last thing he'd ever guess his heart was yearning for, but the true meaning of this came to light when he had a dream while camping out in the frigid temperatures near Labryinthian. In his dream, he saw it. It was floating there, just out of his grasp in a plain of darkness. The only thing visible was the Eye of Magnus itself, and when he tried reaching for it, he'd fail every time. With every fail came a very deep and mocking laugh, one that made the hairs on the back of his neck stand up.
He had even tried to use the Staff of Magnus on it then, but to no avail. The ancient orb just hovered there, seemingly staring at him, mocking him...but calling him at the same time. He had reached for it one last time, and that's when it happened. An image, or images, were burned into his mind. No matter what, he couldn't get them to disappear. All he could see was a pair of red eyes, and a purple...horse thing. He couldn't pinpoint on the species of the animal, but it was close to a horse, or a unicorn perhaps. Then again, it had wings as well...and a crown.
Dovahkiin shook his head and brought the flame close to his face. It was both a unicorn and a pegasus, somehow. And those eyes...they weren't a human's eyes. In fact, they looked like the eyes of the...the purple pegasus unicorn thing.
He frowned and shot a fireball into a tree. It was probably the work of a potion he cooked up before hand. Frost Trolls were a nuisance and he attempted to make a health potion. With his luck, the ingredients may had affected his dreamscape. He never really mixed Daedra Hearts into potions before, so when he did that night, that might have been it.
As he stepped over a rather large rock, he felt something. It wasn't anything like a physical touch, however, he felt it nonetheless. His recent submersing in the magical field gave him a much stronger feel for it, much like a sixth sense. This, was just the same. It was powerful, immense, and foreboding in a way. The power sent a surge of mixed emotions through the Dragonborn. Curiosity, fear, and relief coursed through his being, and it brought a smile to his face. He had felt this power before, and it was this power that brought him here today.
The Eye of Magnus.
He quickened his pace, eager to find this long-gone relic. He looked around himself, but only saw a thick wall of falling snow. He sighed and cleared his throat.
"Lok Vah Koor!"
He bellowed his voice across the land, causing the air to still and the land to tremble. The snowing ceased and the rest of it fell to the earth, clearing the skies. He saw nothing but a never-ending blanket of snow and rock. There were no trees; he seemed to be in a dessert. He sighed in revelation that he still had a while to go, but the power he felt seemed to be too strong for the distance that he had yet to go to reach it.
Confused, but not deterred, he continued. He was determined to reach the Eye, and was convinced that it was his destiny to. He nodded to himself, almost assuring himself that this was fact, and smirked. He wanted to run to his destination; he wanted to sprint past these mountains and straight to Artaeum, but he knew not to get ahead of himself. He needed to pace himself and save energy in case he needed it. He looked up at the mountains and admired their beauty. The snow-capped rocky gargantuas watched over the dessert, vigilant, as if guarding an ancient secret that lie beyond their cold, hard, dense bodies. They were aligned in what would seem like a wall that blocked Dovahkiin's path, allowing entry to only those that were worthy. The sun, materializing through the clouds, silhouetted them, making them a dark set of rocky canines erupting from the Earth's surface. They bit into the sky, piercing and tearing any cloud that dared float into them.
He smiled and looked down ahead of him. He jumped back as he realized he had nearly stepped on a field of plain ice. Upon closer inspection, he noticed plants underneath the ice. He couldn't put his tongue on the names of the plants, but he knew that he used a couple of them in potions before.
"Hm...frozen lake...better watch it."
He put a foot on the ice to test it out. Hearing nothing, he put more pressure. Nothing. He shrugged and finished the step, putting his next foot on the ice cautiously. Again, he slowly applied pressure, but heard nothing. Feeling a bit more confident that the ice would hold his weight, he continued slowly, listening carefully. He made good distance, but stopped as he heard a quick snort from behind him. There was no wind, seeing as he cleared the air, so it was clear and crisp. It was obviously from an animal, but he couldn't place a species on it. He turned around, slowly, and sighed at what he saw.
A frost troll was stumbling at the edge of the ice. It kicked snow up and into the air, huffing and snorting at him. It bared its teeth, but would not step onto the ice. Slightly amused, Dovahkiin faced his palm towards the troll and out shot an ice spike. It embedded itself in the snow next to its feet and the troll jumped, howling in the process. This resulted in a chuckle from the Dragonborn and he turned to continue his journey, averting his attention from the now disgruntled troll.
The troll growled and stomped around, flailing its arms wildly and snorting in discontent. It eyed the ice and put a foot on it. Almost repeating the same process as the human, only a bit clumsier, it too realized that the ice was thick. As the troll put his full weight on the ice, it gave a slight, but low groan in protest. He put his other foot down, the ice continuing to groan, and he looked up at Dovahkiin. Now knowing that the ice wasn't a problem, he pounded his chest and bellowed a war cry.
The loud sound made Dovahkiin jump. He knew it was from a troll, but they only made that sound when they were about to...attack. His eyes widened as he saw the troll barreling towards him. Thinking quickly, he let go of his cloak and lit two fireballs in each hand. He combined them, watching as it grew bigger and brighter, and launched it at the incoming wall of muscle and rage.
The fireball hit with a loud explosion, causing the troll to fall flat on its ass. The sound of the ice cracking under the weight of the troll and the force of the explosion was masked from the sound of said explosion and the troll's cry of pain. It quickly got to its feet and pounded its chest again, its faced twisted in rage as it ran at him at top speed. The troll's feet hit hard on the ice, which now began to crack with every step.
Dovahkiin remained composure and charged another fireball, releasing it at the beast. This time, however, it did not falter. Its hair was ablaze, and it was in immense pain, but the determination in its eyes sent a shock down Dovahkiin's spine. Desperate, he started lobbing more and more fireball's at the troll, bemused at the effort that was needed. Fortunately, the bombardment made the troll slide and fall, slowly losing momentum. It covered its face while on the ice, and once idle, it balled up to protect itself and to prevent anymore of its skin from burning off.
Dovahkiin was beginning to feel relieved now. This particular troll was, for some reason, much more tougher than any other troll he had encountered, but he believed he had beaten it. He continued to hit the troll with fireballs, but there was a consequence to his actions he had not thought of. The ice.
The ice underneath the troll began to melt and become thinner. Soon, it began to crack under the troll's weight, causing a massive chain reaction. The cracks spreaded out, but didn't give in. Dovahkiin halted his assaulted as one of the cracks reached his foot. His eyes widened and his heart fell. He took a step back, and found that the ice behind him was still stable. He then quickly turned and began half jogging across.
The troll peeked out of the cover of his massive, scorched arms to see the Dragonborn fleeing. This angered him, and he rose up, oblivious to the weakened ice below. It roared and began sprinting after him, the sound of his feet hitting the ice louder than the sound of the ice cracking with him. He breathed hard and loud, winded, but full of adrenaline.
Dovahkiin turned to see the troll hot on his heels, literally. He did his best to charge a spell, but his concentration was interrupted when the troll unexpectedly tackled him onto the ice. The two slid a good ten feet, and as the troll raised a fist to pound Dovahkiin through the ice, Dovahkiin yelled.
"Fus Ro Dah!"
The force of his shout launched the frost troll high into the air. It flailed around, unsure of what to do, and once it reached its apogee, it began to fall. Dovahkiin saw this and quickly rolled to the side, attempting to get up but slipped and fell. He tried again, gaining some distance, but having to slide a few feet to gain his balance. At that moment the troll his the ice, hard. Blood splattered everywhere and the ice heaved and the troll broke through. The ice cracked and broke accompanied by a cacophony of loud snaps and groans from the ice. Dovahkiin tried to keep his bearings as he stood up and ran. The ice underneath him shattered with every step and soon, the entire lake was covered in tiny crevices and holes and irregular shaped pieces of ice.
Just behind him, the ice was giving away, breaking apart into smaller bits of ice and floating on top of the cold death that awaited below. He couldn't out run it, and decided to pull out another trick up his sleeve.
"Wuld Nah Kest!"
He propelled himself one hundred feet forward, well ahead of pursuing death, but not out of its grasp. He was still on the ice, but he was much closer to the mountains now. He frantically ran towards them, knowing that there lied land. He pumped his legs harder and harder, going faster than he had ever gone before. The will to live produced the adrenaline that coursed through his veins, fueling his muscles with natural steroids that enhanced their abilities ten fold, but also enhanced the pain that would come later by just as much.
His breath was drawing short and he found himself wheezing, desperate to provide his lungs more oxygen. His throat felt like he hate a handful of bear claws and fire salts, but he ran past the pain. His chest burned and his side felt like a sword had pierced it, but he thought nothing of it. Thinking of such meager things at the moment was distracting, and only once he was safely off the ice would he be content to worry about them.
He saw the shore, or what seemed to be the shore, and relief swept across him. He smiled, almost manically, and all of a sudden, there was a new-found energy. He ran right up onto the shore, which was really just a bunch of snow, and kept going until he reached the base of one of the guardians of the plain and lake. He hugged the giant rock and breathed hard. Thank the Divines...he thought..
He turned and leaned his back against the side of the mountain and slumped down, extending his legs and letting the snow fall on top of them. His lungs, throat, legs, and head hurt, but he had never felt happier. He took a handful of snow and began stuffing his shirt with it to cool himself down. He didn't escape freezing to death and drowning to suffer from Hypothermia, which was essentially freezing to death. He was going to make it to the Eye of Magnus, damnit, and he wasn't about to let Kynareth take him out yet.
After a few minutes of catching his breath and calming his body down, he got up and continued around the mountain. He mentally prepared himself of the journey ahead when the powerful feeling of the Eye of Magnus came to him again. This time, however, it was much more prominent. This time, it hurt. He gripped his heart and winced. The pain was immeasurable and he attempted a healing spell, perhaps out of desperation, only to find that his magicka had been completely drained. He attempted to get up and try to ignore the pain, but he was being held down by a force that was beyond himself, an invisible power.
All of a sudden his vision began to warp and stretch forward, he began seeing things behind him and the things in front of him seemed further away. He reached out in a pathetic attempt to grasp on to something, but was of course met with the empty, icy air. His vision had then begun to fade. First they blurred so he couldn't make out each individual finger, then everything began to fade into black. He could see what looked like a black wall rushing towards him. His entire vision was covered sporadically with little dots, and as the wall came closer, it felt like his soul was being ripped from his very being. Gradually, the life force drained away from his body and his breath was caught short. Helpless, he watched the wall hit him, and felt it too, as all of his breath was forcefully pushed from his body and he lost all motor control.
He fell on the ground, immobile and not breathing.
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Dovahkiin opened his eyes slowly. His head was throbbing and he put a hand to it, using a Frostbite spell to cool it down. He rose up, but noticed that something was off. He looked around himself and that's when he figured it out.
He wasn't lying in a frozen tundra.
In fact, he was laying in the middle of a stone floor, the only light there being a small orb in the center of the room. He surveyed his surroundings, but found nothing of interest. It was merely a circular shaped mossy stone room with no obvious exits. He looked up, but he saw nothing but darkness. He assumed there was a stone ceiling as well, seeing how there was no light coming from up there anyways.
He got up and stretched, his bones popping while he grunted in effort to twist and bend his body in awkward positions to loosen his muscles and such. He let out a breath he had been holding in during the process and looked down at his body. He didn't lose any equipment, not that he was carrying much besides provisions, a few potions, and a sword.
He face-palmed as he saw the sword, almost ashamed for not using that when the troll had attacked. Nevertheless, he lived through it, and that was enough to content himself. Wasting time was not something Dovahkiin liked to do, and realizing better solutions to situations he had already dealt with made him feel stupid at times.
Dovahkiin looked back up and analyzed the room again, maybe to find something he had missed before, but was disappointed to find nothing of the sort. He decided his best bet would be to call for help, seeing how he wasn't going to be able to help himself at the moment.
"Hello?!" He shouted. "Is anyone there?!"
His voice echoed above him, indicating that there wasn't in fact a ceiling. He looked up into the darkness above curiously. Eventually, the echoed ceased and the room fell back into its still, eerie silence. Dovahkiin decided to try again, but louder.
"HELLO!? IS ANYONE THERE!? I'M SORT OF TRAPPED HERE! HELLO!?"
His voice bounced off the stone walls and up into the darkness, continuing up and fading out. He slumped his shoulders in defeat, but right when he was about to try and figure out another way out, a voice bellowed from above.
"Dragonborn. You are here. Why?"
He jumped at the sound and looked up into the blackness overhead. "Who are you?!"
"Does that matter? Perhaps I'm your only way out."
The Dragonborn snorted. "Alright then, I'll tell you why I'm here, if you get me out of here."
There was silence for a moment, but it was long before he was met with an answer. "We agree to your terms." All of a sudden, the Dragonborn felt his body twist and distort once more, except this time it was accompanied with an intense flash. He closed his eyes to block it out, but when he opened his eyes, he was met with a familiar face.
"Who are you?" Dovahkiin asked.
"Why are you here, Dragonborn?
"Um, I just asked who-"
"And I asked why you are here." The man narrowed his eyes and knit his brow.
Dovahkiin narrowed his eyes. "To find the Eye of Magnus."
The man's expression remained. "You won't find it here, now go!"
"Here? Where exactly is 'here'?"
"That is not for you to know, it does not matter, now leave!"
"Excuse me, but you're the one who teleported me here in the first place!" Dovahkiin took a step forward.
The man conjured a sword in his right hand, taking a small step back. "We did no such thing. One of our members found you lying on the ground, unconscious. He brought you here, and you were put in a place where we contain anyone or anything that might prove dangerous. The only reason you are alive right now is because you haven't tried to attack us."
Dovahkiin remained quiet for a moment, processing what he said. "Ok, two things. One, I wasn't teleported by you?"
The man nodded. "That is correct."
"Alright then, so, two, why do you keep saying 'us'?"
The man smirked and gestured behind Dovahkiin with a nod.
Dovahkiin turned to see a group of men behind him, all wielding magical spells. He realized that they were all dressed identical to one another; they all wore the robes of the Psijic Order. He turned back to the man in front of him; he wasn't wearing the robes. "...I'm at Artaeum...I'VE MADE IT!" His face lit up as he looked around him. "I can't believe I made it...but how?!"
The man in front of him dispelled the sword and crossed his arms. "Don't enjoy the stay, Dragonborn, you're leaving as soon as we figure out how."
Dovahkiin stopped. "What did you just say?"
The man looked him in the eye. "I said we don't know how to get you off this island. You think we would have just taken you in without question? Believe us, we tried to send you back, but it was obviously fruitless."
He turned to the man, smiling. A revelation had come his way, and it was glorious. "Perhaps it was the Eye!"
"Excuse me?"
"The Eye of Magnus! I felt it calling for me! I-I need to see it, now!"
The man broadened his shoulders. "I don't think we can allow that." The sound of armor spells were heard cast behind Dovahkiin.
"You've got to be joking! Please! You don't understand, I need to see it!"
"Dragonborn?" A voice said to his right.
He looked to see Quaranir walking towards him.
"What is the meaning of this?!" Quaranir asked.
"This is the man that appeared on our island, Quaranir, the Dragonborn. He believes the Eye of Magnus has sent him here and he demands to see it."
"Do you not know who this man is? He is the one who vanquished Arcano and stabilized the Eye of Magnus in the first place."
The man tensed. "I-I did not know..."
"Let's also not forget that he is Dragonborn; this man deserves respect, not to be treated like some peasant!"
"Right, sorry Quaranir," The man hung his head.
"Get back to your studies, student. I will make sure Iachesis hears of your disrespect and ignorance. And where are your robes? The Divines only know how you became a student in this school," Quaranir groaned.
The man slinked out of the room and through a door that Dovahkiin hadn't noticed before.
"The same goes to the rest of you!"
The other students all shuffled out of the room, pushing and bumping past each other to get to their destination.
Quaranir looked at Dovahkiin. "My apologies, Dragonborn. The students can be miscreants."
He shook his head. "It's quite alright, but may I please see the Eye? It's important."
Quaranir scratched the back of his head. "As much as I respect you, Dragonborn, it is not in my power to allow such a thing. You see, this is a very peculiar situation; we did foresee this."
"What do you mean?"
"We have the power to foresee the cause and effect of events, which you could say is seeing into the future. Because of this, we are never unprepared for dramatic changes or events, much like this one. However, this time, it seems our foresight has failed us."
"Could it be the Eye?"
Quaranir pondered this. "Hm...Perhaps. It would prove to be the only reason, would it not?"
"May I see it?"
He frowned. "I'm not sure. If it was the Eye of Magnus that brought you here and clouded our vision, perhaps it is best that you don't go near it. If it's acting up, who knows what could happen?"
"It did bring me here, so there must be a reason," Dovahkiin countered.
"True, but that is yet to be proven. Maybe once I receive evidence of such a reason, then I may be able to request you access to the chamber. Until then, I have a room for you to stay until we get things sorted out. Need not to worry about clothes and such; I have managed to bring all of your belongings into your room."
"Thank you, Quaranir," Dovahkiin bowed.
Quaranir responded with a bow. "May the Divines watch over you."
"The same to you."
Quaranir nodded and gestured to a reddish door adorned with decorative golden flowers. "Through there you will find your room."
Dovahkiin nodded and walked to the door.
"Oh, and by the way, Dragonborn, try not to upset any members of the Order. We're already stressed as to what has happened, we don't need anymore."
"Of course."
"Great, goodbye then," He turned and walked away as Dovahkiin pushed open the door and walked through, shutting it silently behind him.
He saw a very tidy and lit up stone hallway. There was a red velvet carpet with yellow strings on the side stretching down the corridor. There was two doors on the left side, one at each end, and one on the right, in the center. At the end of the corridor was a black iron door with spikes protruding from it in an "X" formation. The look of it sent shivers of curiosity and fear down his spine. He decided it would best not to enter, seeing how he was already proving to be a bother to the Order and he had only talked to two.
He looked at the doors and frowned. Quaranir hadn't told him which room his was, so he decided to check for himself. He opened the first door. It was tidy, and overall and average room. There was a bed, a wardrobe, an end table, a chest, and a weapon plaque. He looked into the multiple compartments to look for this things and, after not finding his them but managing to find a nice plump coin purse to take, he moved to the room on the right side of the hall.
As soon as he opened up the door, he knew it was his room. Random pieces of equipment fell out of the door and spilled into the hallway. Dovahkiin was up to his ankles in it, and he groaned. 'Yeah, he got my belongings alright, but he didn't bother to organize them. Thanks, Quaranir. I appreciate it.' He thought. He began picking things up and putting them in specific spots: Light armor goes into the cabinet, heavy armor goes into the drawer, jewels, dragon bones and scales, and gems go into the table, and weapons into the chest. After about a few hours work, and everything was organized, he grabbed a pendant to increase magicka regeneration and his Archmage robes.
Once equipped, he stood there, thinking about what to do with himself. He didn't know why the Eye had brought him here so he had nothing he could do besides wait, and wait he did. He sat on his bed, making his pet bee and torchbug fight. In order to give the torchbug a chance, he conjured a little stinger on it too, and in order to keep the bee from dying when stinging, he put a shield over the stinger so the stinger itself wouldn't suffer any damage. After watching both insects go at it, and constantly healing them, he got bored and floated the torchbug out of the jar that was their arena, and into its own jar. Almost immediately they began flying around, doing their thing.
The sound of a door slamming in the hallway made the Dragonborn jump. He looked to his door, and as he did, it flew open with Quaranir in a sweat. He was panting heavily and his face was hot.
"Dragonborn...the Eye...Staff of Magnus...Hurry!"
Dovahkiin got up, smart enough to understand that he needed the Staff of Magnus, and opened his chest. He pulled it out and looked to Quaranir. "Where to?"
"Follow...Follow me!" Quaranir turned to run, but had to support himself on the wall.
"Why don't you just teleport us?"
Quaranir shook his head. "It drained our powers...We can't even cast a simple Flames spell."
Dovahkiin visibly winced. "Alright, here," He handed Quaranir a green bottle. "Drink this and you'll become invigorated, it helps me when I'm out of breath."
Quaranir took it and gulped it down. Immediately he jolted up and smiled, but it was brief. He turned to Dovahkiin and beckoned for him to come with. "Let's go!" He rushed out the door with Dovahkiin close behind.
They ran through multiple doors, corridors, and stairs. Dovahkiin didn't know exactly where they were going, only that he was supposed to follow the man in front of him, who was a lot faster than he would have guessed.
They reached a rather long set of steps that seemed to go down forever, and Dovahkiin felt winded. He continued, however, making sure drink the potions regularly and to pass some to Quaranir on occasion as well. As they descended down the stairs, Quaranir shouted words from a language that he didn't recognize and all of a sudden, a rift, or portal, opened up at the bottom. Through it, Dovahkiin could see the Eye and all its glory, surrounded by numerous Psijic Order members.
When they ran through the portal, Quaranir instructed the Dragonborn to use the staff on the Eye. He nodded, but when he pointed the staff at the Eye, a feeling crept into his heart. It was that same feeling of longing that he had back at the College of Winterhold. It told him not to use the Staff on the Eye, but to touch the Eye instead, to connect with it, to become one. The feeling was powerful, and even though he fought the thought, he couldn't help but wonder what would happen if he did touch it.
Primitive curiosity took over the Dragonborn, and he dropped the staff. He began walking towards the ancient orb, slowly, cautiously, reaching a hand out to it. The members of the Order yelled in protest, but he had long since tuned them out, focusing all his attention on the relic in front of him. As he drew closer, the power radiating off of it burned his skin. It hurt, but he saw it as an obstacle, a test, and he pushed forward. His vision began to flash and he saw various images. These images were very colorful and cheerful. He saw the purple unicorn/pegasus again, but her eyes were bright. They glowed with an intense light that both intimidated and enticed him. She was smiling, almost beckoning, for him to come closer. He obeyed, and smiled, the magical heat burning his lips and teeth.
The unicorn/pegasus was smiling and was immensely close, close enough to touch. As he reached his hand out further, he saw her close her eyes and nuzzle his hand. He let out a small chuckle and put her mane, her beautifully colored and manicured mane. She drew closer, her face close to his, and as she was nearly an inch from him, his vision flashed again. Now he saw the pair of blood-red eyes, staring right into his soul. They seemed to bore through him, sharply glaring at him. He tried to back away, but realized he wasn't in control of his body anymore. His hand reached out further without his consent, and as it did, the deep laugh rung in his ears, deafening him.
He went to close his eyes, but being unable, he was forced to watch his hand start to disintegrate. It started at his fingers, breaking apart into small little particles that only at first was he able to see. It slowly continued downwards, taking away his hand, and then his arm. He looked up at the eyes again, and found that a smile had appeared, a very sharp, toothy smile. It seemed to be amused, and as his arm disintegrated, his vision began to fade to black. The last thing he saw before he fainted, was the cocky, sadistic grin of a monster. The last thing he thought of, was the purple unicorn/pegasus.
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A hint of consciousness tugged at Dovahkiin's brain. He wanted to open his eyes, but they felt too heavy to lift. He decided to leave them closed and tried to get up, but his body felt even heavier, so he rather lay there to let his body recover.
He sniffed the air, taking in fresh and calm air. A vague scent of flowers and grass tickled his nostrils, and for a moment, it made him smile. He stretched out his hands to feel soft blades of grass slip in between his fingers and tickle his palms. Knowing now that he was in grass, he noticed the little pricks in his neck that the grass was causing, but he didn't mind, it was almost relaxing.
A gentle breeze wafted a warm blanket over him, making him throw the cold down his spine. He could feel his heart beating, a rhythmic and soft pounding in his chest. For once, he felt at peace with himself, in body and in mind. For once, he didn't feel like he had to keep his guard up all the time. For once, he could relax and enjoy the world around him.
But he couldn't just lie there, he had to find out where he was.
He sighed at the thought, which was right. Something happened to him when he touched the Eye and he had to figure out what it was and where he was. He tried to open his eyes again and found that it was a bit easier than the first time. There was still effort to be put, but he managed to pry his eyes open enough to see an open, light-blue sky above him. Sporadic, wispy clouds complimented the peaceful ambiance of his environment and expelled any sense of danger that he may have subconsciously felt. Again, he felt at peace, but he knew that it was going to be short-lived.
He implored for movement in his limbs and they granted it reluctantly. He reached out, stretching his muscles and let out a small grunt of effort. He stopped with a sigh and pushed himself upwards, but he was too quick and caused himself to feel light-headed. His head throbbed for a bit while the blood attempted to distribute itself throughout his body. He sat there, taking deep breaths, while his head slowly cleared back up.
Dovahkiin got to his feet, stretching each muscle before looking around himself. He was in the middle of a clearing inside of a forest. The twisted trees and branches each darkened the inside of the forest with ebony colored bark. The underbrush, wild, sharp, dark, and dead, contradicted the clearing's grass which was exactly opposite: manicured, soft, bright, and lively. He saw no flowers within the forest, let alone creatures, and all of a sudden, he felt scared. Of what he had no clue, but the peaceful atmosphere he had admired only moments before faded away, leaving him lonely and frightened.
He looked around the edges of the forest, hoping for a trail of some sort, but failed to find anything like it.
"Hello?" The question was hollow and didn't have a target, but he felt compelled to ask it anyways. He felt something was watching him, and only by a small tinge of hope of whatever it was being friendly did he risk making the noise.
The feeling of danger crept up his spine and licked his neck. He turned, but found nothing. He looked up at the sky and noticed that the clouds above him were converging together, blocking the sun. As if the clouds dumped water on a fire, his vision turned black. There was no light to be seen besides on the very edges of the horizon, but even that light proved insufficient enough to see into the black, foreboding woods before him.
He lit his hands up with magical fire, illuminating the immediate area around him, and a surge of relief coursed through his body. He remembered of his Magelight spell, and cast it. He could see the edges of the forest now, and even though he could see, he still felt scared, almost more so.
Manning up, he swallowed thickly and headed into the forest, two Lightning Bolt spells at the ready. He felt confident he could take a bear, seeing how he was only walking through a forest, and a troll wouldn't be that bad, but what did strike fear into his heart were the woods themselves. They projected a sense of foreboding and evil, a sense of malice and corruption. He was tense and expected something to jump out at him at any moment.
He made his way through the flora, pushing small branches out of the way and stepping over an occasional rock. He had to jump down a few drop offs, nearly twisting his ankle once, but had an overall uneventful trip out of the forest. He had even begun to feel in tune with the trees so the sense of danger seemed to dissipate.
Dovahkiin didn't know he was watching his feet until he smacked his head against a branch. This, of course, halted him in his trek. He put his hands to his head, rubbing the pain from it before looking up. Much to his surprise, he could see a clearing through the normally thick branches and leaves. He ducked under the rather large branch and ran through the underbrush to burst out of the forest completely. He smiled at what he emerged to see.
A village.
"Oh, thank the Divines!" He sighed, and began running towards it, but he stopped in his tracks as a rather small, mint green pony walked around a corner of one of the buildings. It's mane and tail were both a combination of two colors: White and a light-bluish grayish. It's iris was a brilliant gold, but that wasn't the weirdest part.
It had a horn. One horn. On its forehead. It was a freaking unicorn.
Dovahkiin's eyes widened as he watched the creature. It didn't seem to notice him as it walked along a blazed walkway and to a bench where it sat down. He furrowed his brow as it floated a harp up from behind the bench and to its hooves. Then, it began playing a beautiful song. It was sweet, and passionate; the melody was very soothing and he probably would've passed out had the music not been interrupted by the sound of brass hitting stone.
He had closed his eyes to listen, but with the abrupt stop, he opened them and his heart sunk. The pony was looking straight at him, a sense of...wonder... plastered onto its face. Its eyes and mouth were widened when he lost balance and had to catch himself. It got up and began shaking, not taking its eyes off of him.
'This is so creepy...' Dovahkiin thought, meeting its gaze.
It slowly approached him, hunkered down. It made its movements slow and precise, as if not to frighten him. Dovahkiin didn't feel threatened, but all of a sudden, he felt like he was the creature now, not the other way around.
The pony was about ten feet from him before a pale yellow pony with a curly pink and blue mane and tail walked up behind the green one. It poked the green one's side, causing the green one to turn jump and turn around. The pale one laughed, but the green one quickly put a hoof over its mouth and shushed her.
"BonBon, be quiet!" The green one said in a soft whisper. "There is a human over here."
The pony's expression dropped from surprised, to annoyed. It attempted to speak, but the sound was muffled.
"Oh, sorry," said the green one, and she took her hoof back.
The yellow one sighed. "Lyra, you have got to get some help. There's no such thing as a 'human'. I don't even know where you got the idea."
The green one, presumably Lyra, huffed. "I don't see why you don't believe me, there's one right there," She pointed towards the bushes Dovahkiin was still hiding in.
"Lyra, there's nothing over there, watch." Dovahkiin saw the pale yellow one, presumably BonBon, confidently stride over. She reached into the bush and pulled it apart to reveal a sheepish grin of a human.
"Um, hi there?"
BonBon jumped back like the bush had bitten her. "Wha-What?!"
Lyra beamed. "YOU SAW IT! YOU SAW IT! YES! I TOLD YOU I WASN'T CRAZY!" She ran over and pulled the bush open. "HELLO, HUMAN!"
Dovahkiin was taken aback as he stared into the eyes of the pony. He didn't say anything, merely stared.
Lyra frowned. "What's wrong?"
Dovahkiin felt like this question should be answered. "I...er...you can talk?"
Lyra clopped her hooves together in glee. "Oh he can talk! Ok, um, yes, I can talk. And you speak my language?!"
"Um...I guess so?" His heart was beating on his ribcage.
She reached toward him. "Let me help you out of this bush."
He shook his head and got up. He noticed now that the pony's heads were about at his stomach. They weren't very tall.
"Whoa..." Lyra looked up at him. "You're tall!"
"Um...yeah."
"Are all of the humans this tall?!"
"Er...I guess size can vary?"
Lyra's ear flicked. "Was that a question?"
"I guess size can vary," He said with a bit more strength.
"Oh, ok! Are you nervous?" She smiled at him.
"I'm more... confused."
"Eh," she waved her hoof. "You'll get used to it. Besides, everypony around here are really nice, they'll help you feel comfy."
"Every...pony?"
"Yeah, every pony in Ponyville. Everypony."
'Divines, help me please...' "Ok then...wait, there are more of you?"
"Yeah! This is BonBon!" She gestured towards a rather horrified and confused BonBon.
"Um, nice to meet you," He offered his hand.
BonBon shook her head and stepped back. Lyra, on the other hand, took his hand and looked it over. "You have fingers and everything!"
"Yeah...wait, where am I?"
"This is Ponyville," She gestured toward the aggregate of varying sized hay-roofed cottages. He hadn't actually noticed the village before; he was too focused on the scene at hand. Now, he looked around himself. He was in what seemed to be a park; benches, a walkway, a pond, a bridge, and numerous accounts of wildlife: butterflies, rabbits, birds, and various insects. He turned back to the spot where he emerged and noticed that there wasn't a forest there, just a bush. He could've sworn he stumbled out of a forest, but from what he saw, the forest wasn't anywhere close.
Something hit him as odd now, as he looked around. He couldn't see anything off, however. The pond was normal, the water underneath the decorative bridge was normal, the animals didn't act out of character, and the wind seemed rather calm. There wasn't anything out of the ordinary that he could see...
...see...
His heart was struck with a hammer as it hit him. He could see. It was just night, and the clouds had been darkened before. Was he dreaming? How long did that trek take? Exactly where was he?
"Hello?"
Dovahkiin looked back at the mint green pony. "Huh?"
"Are you alright? You look like you're trying to solve the meaning of life," She smiled.
"Oh, uh, no, I'm alright... but, wasn't it just dark a minute ago?"
"Excuse me?"
"Well, I had woken up in that forest..." He looked for the forest, and when finding it realized that he was at least a hundred yards from it. "...and it was dark. I made my way through the forest and I ended up behind that bush," He gestured towards his previous hiding spot.
"You woke up... in the Everfree?" Her eyes widened.
"Wait, what?"
"The Everfree Forest. That's what that forest is called. It's filled with dangerous monsters and stuff, no pony wants to go in there."
He remained silent a moment, processing that. "Why did you build a village next to such a dangerous place?"
This time Lyra was struck mute. She opened her mouth to speak, but shut it again. She tried once more, but was silent. "I have no idea. Perhaps you should ask the princess?"
"Princess?" He asked, intrigued.
"Yeah, Princess Twilight. She's around here somewhere..."
"Wait, a princess? Like, royalty and regality and stuff?"
"Well, she's made a point not to be...worshipped. So we don't treat her like the other princesses."
"There's more?"
"Yeah, we have Celestia, the Goddess of the Sun, and Luna, the Goddess of the Moon. We also of Twilight... but I'm not sure what she is goddess of... If she's a goddess at all."
"Where is she?"
"Follow me, but stick close!"
"Will do."
Lyra led the way through Ponyville with Dovahkiin right on her tail, literally. There were multiple occasions when he nearly tripped over it, but she never seemed to mind. She also never seemed to mind the looks from all the other ponies they walked past.
Dovahkiin, on the other hand, seemed rather nervous. He wasn't typically, but he had never seen something like this. These ponies didn't act like animals at all, they acted more...civilized; like humans, only ponies. Brightly colored, flamboyant ponies. He didn't like the way they stared at him though; like he was some sort of monster.
They made their way through town square, past Town Hall, and down a street towards a treehouse. Lyra smiled and picked up the pace, which Dovahkiin matched.
Once they reached the treehouse, Lyra knocked at the door, still beaming. Soon after, the knob shook and the door was opened, but only slightly.
"Hello?" A tired and slightly impatient voice asked.
Lyra almost bowed, but caught herself. "Um, hello, Princess Twilight. I have somepo - er - someone who'd like to talk to you."
There was a brief silence before the voice spoke again. From the pitch, Dovahkiin deduced it was a female; that and Lyra had said "Princess Twilight", which in itself was a feminine name to begin with. "What?"
"Just look at him and you'll know what I'm talking about," Lyra said with a confident grin on her lips.
The door opened a bit more and the being behind the voice appeared. It was another pony except with a light purple coat and violet eyes. Her mane was a mixture between pink, purple, and a violet and covered her left eye. She had a horn that matched the color of her coat, and when she looked at him, her expression was very dry. But slowly, her eyes widened and her jaw began to drop until her face seemed to take up the entire doorway.
Dovahkiin gave a sheepish smile. "Hi."
Twilight's jaw snapped shut and she looked to Lyra. "Where did you find it?"
Dovahkiin protested. "Hey, I'm not an-"
"I found him at the park. He was hiding behind a bush."
Twilight looked Dovahkiin up and down before whispering something to Lyra, who didn't care to speak in secret.
"What?...Well, no, I never checked...Because I've studied them!..." She giggled. "I don't think I'm wrong...Why are you so afraid?...Yes you are, you're whispering everything into my ear..." She stepped back, leaving Twilight hanging halfway out of the doorway and staring at Dovahkiin.
An abrupt sense of familiarity hit him when looking at her. 'I swear I've seen her before...but where?'
She gave a sheepish smile and a nervous laugh. "Um, hello...human?"
"Um, hello...pony?"
Twilight looked around. "Both of you, come in," She quickly went back into the house, leaving the door ajar.
Lyra looked to him and smiled, gesturing for him to go first.
Dovahkiin shook his head. "Ladies first."
Lyra giggled and headed in with Dovahkiin right behind her.
Almost immediately he was hit with the smell of dust and fresh ink. The entire trunk was hollowed out and made to service as a library. There was a fireplace across the room, but it wasn't lit, and there was a staircase to his right that led up to an unknown portion of the tree. The only light that he could see from was the light coming in through the two windows downstairs.
He heard hooves against wood somewhere in the room, and seeing how Lyra was standing still, he assumed it was Twilight. His assumption was confirmed as an orange glow from the fireplace began to gradually light up the entire room, giving light to the rest of it. He saw a shadowed image of Twilight leaning over a podium. She was glued to it, and as the room began to brighten, he saw a pen scribbling at the top.
A group of books floated over to her and her horn brightened. She began reading the books, one of which Dovahkiin was able to see the title of: "Rare creatures of Equestria".
She continued to read, and occasionally muttered to herself, while writing down on a piece of paper Dovahkiin had yet to see. He wondered, judging by the quick and rapid movements of the pen, if it was even legible.
"Dangit!" She stamped her hoof. "I can't find anything on humans..."
"There won't be anything about them, Twilight," Lyra chimed in. "They are an extinct race, and have long since been forgotten about."
'Is she saying humans existed in this world once?' He thought.
Twilight stopped. "Lyra, how are you so sure of this?"
She smiled. "Because my family has studied them for centuries. I'm sure Celestia and Luna know about them."
Twilight frowned. "Wouldn't they have said something?"
Lyra scratched her mane. "Um, well, probably not. I mean, the matter was never brought up, y'know?"
"I guess...Alright, I'll send them a letter."
Lyra nodded. "You know, Twilight, I expected you to do a lot of tests or something on him. After all, he's his last of his kind, and we barely have any information on humans."
"Honestly, Lyra, I'm not sure I'm even awake right now. The only thing keeping me from attaching wires to his body is that I don't know if he's dangerous or not."
"Are you sure that's it? You seem...a bit tense."
"I'm fine, Lyra. However, I was awoken at a very early time; I hardly got any sleep last night as it is."
Lyra looked down. "Oh...I'm sorry, Twilight."
Twilight shook her head. "Don't worry about it, I'm glad you did. I'm curious about him, and as to how he is even existing right now."
Lyra nodded. "I'd like to know too."
Twilight nodded and looked back to her podium. She pulled a clean piece of paper from behind the first one and placed it in front. She began scrawling a quick letter to the princesses.
Lyra turned to Dovahkiin. "I have to go and see if BonBon is alright. Will you be ok if I leave you here?"
Dovahkiin looked to Lyra and nodded. "I'll be just fine."
"Ok, I'll see you later."
"Maybe." He smiled.
Lyra looked him in the eye. "No, I will see you later."
Dovahkiin's eyes widened. "Um...ok then?"
She smiled and trotted out of the house.
"Aaaannnd...there. SPIKE!"
As if on command, a small, purple dragon ran down the stairs and up to Twilight. "Yes, Twilight?" He asked, his voice fitting his size.
"Send this letters to the princesses, please. It's important."
"Sure thing, Twilight!" She held the now rolled up piece of paper in front of him and blew fire on it, sending a cluster of green, sparkly dust out of the window.
"Thanks, Spike," She smiled and patted the top of his head.
"You're welcome, Twilight." He smiled back, not noticing the creature behind him.
"How about you go ahead and rest today? You've worked pretty hard recently."
"Really?! Wow, thanks, Twilight!"
She giggled. "Sure thing, Spike."
With that, the purple dragon ran up the stairs, a wide smile on his face.
Twilight looked at him, then around him. "Where's Lyra?"
"What? Oh, she left."
"Why?"
"She had to take care of BonBon."
"Alright then..." She looked him up and down. "You don't seem...Afraid..."
He shrugged. "I'm more confused than I am scared. I've seen weirder things than this, just nothing...like this."
She rose a brow. "You have?"
"Yes, I come a different world."
"Wait, what?! How did you get here then?"
"I'm not sure, exactly. I was trying to calm an ancient relic back in my world, The Eye of Magnus. When I touched it, I was teleported in that forest nearby. I walked through and ended up in the park where Lyra sniffed me out."
"Sniffed you out?"
"Well...I wasn't hiding very well, I guess."
"Well, anyways, tell me more about this relic. Maybe that's the reason you got here."
"I could safely assume it is." He scratched the back of his head.
She blinked at him.
"Ok, ok. The relic...well we found it in the ruins of an ancient Nordic city called Saarthal. It has immense power, so the Psijic Order took it; the world wasn't ready for it."
Twilight waited for more, so remained silent.
"That's all I really know about it. It is a mystery to you, as it is to me."
She put a hoof to her chin. "Let's go talk to the princesses. They'll know what to do." She walked past him, and he couldn't help noticing the symbol on her flank.
"Uh, were you branded or something?"
She stopped and turned to him, her face twisted in disgust. "What did you just ask me?!"
He put his hands up in front of him. "The mark on your flank! That's what I was talking about!"
She looked back and nodded, her expression changing to a state of relief. "I thought you were implying I was one of those ponies."
"What do you mean?"
"Just...Nevermind. I don't even want to talk about it," She put a hoof to her flank and walked out into the street. "Oh, here." She turned to him and her horn glowed. He was wrapped in a group of blue tendrils. They closed around him, tightly squeezing his human body. Magic began to flow into him and behind this blue cocoon, he was transforming. He could feel his hands and body shrink. He tried to close his fists, but was horrified to discover that he lost feelings in his fingers. He even felt his face distort and stretch.
He began to scream; it was too much to bear. He could feel his muscles and bones bending and shaping themselves into something, something that he didn't think was worth the pain. Then, all of a sudden, just when he thought he couldn't take anymore, the spell flashed, leaving himself and Twilight blinded.
A moment later, Dovahkiin could see, except things were a bit different. Everything seemed a bit...taller. He looked at Twilight, who was now eye level with him.
"Uh, what happened?"
"I cast a spell on you; now you're a pony. Other ponies won't freak out when they see you now."
"Wait, what?!" He looked down to see a pair of dark gray legs with black bottoms. He looked behind him and saw a long black and brown tail.
"Hey, you don't look that bad, just chill out," She smiled. "Come on, let's go talk to the princesses."
"Uh...Sure..." He said, still in shock. He tried to walk, but fell. "Well, maybe not." He said, defeated.
Twilight giggled and helped him up. "Am I going to have to teach you to walk all the way there?"
"I guess so, I don't know how to use these."
She nodded and began to lead him towards Canterlot. She had already sent them a notice of their arrival.