//------------------------------// // Chapter 10: Nightmares // Story: Skyrim: tales of the Equestrian hero // by spawnzillafinalwars //------------------------------// Sahrot laid in his bedroll, contemplating about the things that have happened since he had gotten here. he had thoughts of how he was to get home to his wife and children, and how they must miss him. at this point, they might think he would be dead. 'hopefully that is not the case.' Sahrot thought to himself. 'Maybe my friends back in Skyrim is trying to find a way to get me back home as we speak.' he yawned loudly, getting up from his bed to relight the candle next to his bed. he then pulled out his journal from his pack. he had been writing about the events that occurred since he was here, and tonight he decided that it was going to be no different. as he started writing down the events that happened today, he heard a faint whisper. it was inaudible at first, but as Sahrot listened in, he could hear a woman's voice, speaking the words, "You will fail..." "You will give in..." "Your friends will die..." "Your family will die..." "Everyone will die...by your hand..." "And then, you...will die." Sahrot felt a chill running down his spine. the voice was familiar, eerily familiar, but he wasn't able to identify it. he rose from his bedroll, looking around in the faintly illuminated room, trying to find the source of the voice. "Who are you? WHERE are you?" he demanded, scanning the area for any indication. as he continued to search the area, the candle on the desk had been blown out, leaving the argonian in complete darkness. "If you think that I am blind in the darkness, you are sorely mistaken." Sahrot muttered. he drew forth his hands, slowly moving them through the air, summoning forth his power. when he was done, he casted the spell, allowing him to see perfectly. 'Good thing I had the Vision of The Tenth Eye, or this would have been difficult.' Sahrot thought to himself. he looked around the room again, but still saw nothing. "Fool. do you really I would reveal myself to you?" it whispered. "What do you want from me?" Sahrot growled, drawing out a sword. "What do I want, Dragonborn?" it said menacingly. "I want...to see you suffer." after it said this, Sahrot's body began to feel weak. he groaned loudly as he feel to his knees. he saw black spots forming in his vision, until finally, he laid to the ground, unconscious. nothing happened for a moment, it was complete silence. then, a voice could heard, laughing softly to itself, waiting to reap it's prize. ********** Sahrot had awoken with a start, looking at his surroundings. he found himself in what seemed to be a dense marsh, filled with all types of life. he spotted a narrow river that was running through the dense vegetation, brimming with a multitude of fish. he then realized where he was. 'This was my home...' he thought to himself. he looked down at his hands, and saw that they were smaller, and younger. he lifted his left hand to where his scar was, and felt...nothing. "H-how could this be?" he whispered to himself. "Am I in some kind of dream? but, it all feels so real. no, this is not real, but an illusion." he slowly rose to his feet, pushing himself up from the ground. "Whoever you are, I demand that you release me from this illusion, and to leave me be." Sahrot yelled. he waited for some kind of response, just anything at this point. what he didn't expect was all of reality to ripple, as a form slowly materialized from the environment. upon fully forming, Sahrot instantly recognized who it was. "Vaermina. I should have known." Sahrot growled. "How did you get here? you should still be in Oblivion." "Are you not aware of whom you are speaking to, worm?" Vaermina said. "I am the weaver of nightmares, the destroyer of dreams, the collector of memories. the realm of the mind is my domain, and I can traverse into anyone's mind through their dreams, and I have been in your head for some time now." "But why? why are you doing this? what have I done for you to do this to me?" Sahrot questioned. "Why?" Vaermina whispered venomously. "It is because you have rejected me. you have turned down my artifact, a chance to become my champion." "Wait a minute, you have gone through all of this, just because I did not wish to be your champion?" Sahrot asked, his anger starting to rise. what in Oblivion makes you think that I would even ponder on the idea of being your champion?! you are a Daedric prince, you are utterly evil! you are a cruel, heartless demon! what gave you the faintest idea that I would EVER serve you in any-!" before he could finish, something struck him from his right side, sending the argonian flying across the river, and landing on the other side. just as he was getting back onto his feet, another force struck him in the back, forcing him back into the ground. "You DARE speak to me in such a manner?! KNOW YOUR PLACE, YOU WORTHLESS LITTLE ANT!!" Vaermina screeched. she stopped her attack on Sahrot, and summoned forth a mass of shadowy tendrils, which latched onto the argonian. they held him down as Vaermina hovered over him. she hoisted him into the air, having one tendril wrap around his neck tightly. "Oh, I am going to enjoy tormenting you tonight," Vaermina sneered. "And the best part about this is, no-one will hear you scream." with that, she tossed Sahrot to the ground, grinning when she heard him cry out in pain. she then snapped her fingers, and the environment around them melted away, revealing a dark and twisted realm. the air seemed thick, and pulsating with darkness, while horrid monstrosities of the nightmare realm stalked the area, looking their next victim to prey upon. Vaermina smirked as the tendrils grasping Sahrot then formed into a massive hand of dark miasma, and started to slowly crush the argonian. "Welcome to Quagmire, mortal fool. here you will remain until I have broken you mentally, until you are but an empty husk, with no thought or feeling." Vaermina said, cackling. "Once I am finished with you, then I shall have all of Equestria bask in my terrible glory!" Sahrot can only watch with growing fear as the Daedric Prince of nightmares planned to unleash it's greatest nightmare upon him. ********** Twilight had been wandering through the hallways for a little while checking in all the rooms to see if they are alright. when she had reached the door leading to Spike's room, she gently knocked on it, just to see whether he's asleep or not. when she opened the door, she found the young dragon sound asleep in his bed. she smiled as she closed the door, happy that the dragon was able to sleep. she then walked over to the door that led to Sahrot's door. when she knocked on his door, she heard nothing. it was strange to her, since he was here, he was always up at this hour, either reading a book, writing in his journal, or meditating on his 'magicka flow'. she decided to investigate further by opening the door and peaking inside. besides the light emanating from outside, it was pitch black in Sahrot's room. she had to use a light spell in order to see in the dark, and what she saw made her very worried. in the center of the room was Sahrot's body, which was slumped over and motionless. Twilight quickly ran to the argonian, shaking his body in order to wake him up. "Come on, Sahrot, please wake up." She said urgently. she went to touch his head, but instinctively pulled it back when she found out it was ice cold. "Oh no, Sahrot, what happened to you?" she asked worried. "There has to be something going on here. wait, maybe Luna might know!" with a new sense of hope, she quickly wrote a letter to the princesses, urgently asking them for their assistance. 'I just hope that they can help, I don't know what to do.' she thought herself. an hour had passed before both princess Celestia and princess Luna had arrived. they walked into the room Twilight and Sahrot were in, already sensing the urgency of the situation. "What has happened here, Twilight?" Luna inquired. Twilight looked up to her with worried expression. "I-I don't know, just found him like this, slumped to the ground, his head freezing cold, I don't know what's going on." Twilight replied. "I was hoping that you would know what to do." "I'm not sure if I know of this ailment myself, but I will try my best to lift him from it." Luna said. "The only problem is, I can't reach his mind, for something is preventing me from doing so." "Then, how can we possibly help him, if we don't even know how to?" Twilight asked, starting to become fearful. they thought solemnly of what to do, and how they would be able to help the argonian. they didn't think on it much, however, when they noticed a faint glow coming from Sahrot's pack. curious, Twilight went over to investigate, rummaging through his pack until she found the source. "Wait a minute, this is that sword that Sahrot talked about, Dawnbreaker." Twilight said, pulling out the blade with her magic. it was now shining brightly, the gem in the guard of the blade shimmering with a fierce light. "I wonder why it's like this. Sahrot said it only glowed brightly when undead creatures are nearby." Twilight thought aloud, holding the sword in her hooves now. 'That may be, but undead are not the only beings that are tainted by darkness.' a voice spoke. Twilight looked around the room wildly, trying to pinpoint the source of the voice, confusing the princesses in the process. "Who are you? show yourself!" Twilight yelled. 'I am nowhere in this room, Twilight, or this realm, for that matter. I am speaking to you through this very sword.' it replied. 'The others in this room cannot hear me, unless they too hold the blade.' "So, who are you supposed to be?" Twilight inquired. "Twilight, who in Equestria are you talking to?" Celestia asked, getting worried. "Oh! right, sorry. apparently somepony is communicating with me through this sword, though I really don't know how." Twilight said quizzically. "Wait a minute, somepony is communicating with you through that sword? what is he or she saying?" Luna asked. "You can find out if you grip the sword with your hooves." Twilight replied. the two princesses looked at each other with uncertainty, before slowly moving to where Twilight is, and gripped the blade. 'Good, now that I have all of your attention, introductions can be made.' it said. 'I am Meridia, the Daedric Prince of Light.' "Meridia? as in one of those god-like beings that Sahrot talked about?" Twilight asked. "Well, at least you're one of the good ones, at least as far as we know." 'Indeed, and do not worry, I am here to help.' Meridia said. 'There is an evil presence here, and that is the the power of another Prince.' "Another Daedric Prince is here as well? is it one of the evil ones?" Luna asked nervously. 'One of the most evil Princes. her name is Vaermina, and she is the Daedric Prince of Nightmares. she relishes in tormenting mortals with nightmarish apparitions and evil omens.' Meridia said seriously. Luna's heart grew cold with fear at what she said. she had dealt with nightmares throughout her life, but to know that there is a god-like being that creates nightmares to terrify people, just for amusement, was too much for her. "And she is what is plaguing Sahrot's mind, making him like...this?" Celestia inquired, pointing towards the argonian. 'Yes, she has been in the mind of my champion for some time now, planning on seeking vengeance against him.' Meridia replied. "But why? what did he ever do to her in order for her to seek revenge?" Twilight murmured. 'He has essentially rejected her offer to become her champion, and has thus angered her. now she wishes to torture him, until he has gone insane.' Meridia responded. 'Which is why I have revealed myself to you through this blade. it has the power to banish any darkness, and it will help you to enter his mind, for Vaermina is keeping you out. but hurry now, for even Sahrot himself cannot hold out much longer from Vaermina's nightmares.' with that, the blade glowed even brighter, as it spewed forth a beam of energy into Luna, who stepped back in shock. 'I know that you are the one that has dealt with nightmares before, therefore I have given you the power required to lead them through Sahrot's mind. Vaermina will be significantly weaker, as it has taken a lot of energy for her to remain in Sahrot's mind. be wary, though, for even I do not know what dwells within his mind, and Vaermina is slowly gaining her strength.' Meridia explained. Luna nodded solemnly, before turning to the argonian. "Alright, now that I have the power to go into his mind, I must tell you that if you wish to enter, then be prepared, and stay close to me, for those who know little of mindscaping can easily get lost, possibly forever." Luna stated. Twilight gulped out of fear, but nodded in understanding. Celestia nodded as well, and Luna looked towards Sahrot again. "Now, I will bring us into his mind. our physical bodies will remain here, but our mental forms will travel into his mind." Luna said. she then charged up a spell, as Celestia and Twilight drew closer to her. then, pure white tendrils of energy sprang out of her horn three of which attached to the foreheads of the princesses, and a fourth linking them to Sahrot. then, with one final burst of light, the minds of the princesses were pulled out of their bodies, and into the mind of the argonian, leaving four bodies lying unconscious. ********** Twilight found herself surrounded by darkness, unable to see anything, despite using her magic to cast light. "Hello? is anypony out there?" Twilight called out. for a few seconds, nothing happened, but after that a bright flash of light appeared before her. she shielded her eyes from the light at first, but lowered them, now able to see again. she saw the princesses in front of her, Luna's horn glowing brightly. "Apologies, Twilight, but this new power seemed more difficult than I thought." Luna said glumly. "I'm just glad that you were able to find me. where was I, by the way?" Twilight asked. "You were in the part of his mind that functions only when conscious. since he was not, then all would be is pure darkness." Luna explained. "Now that we have found you, I believe we should be off." Twilight nodded in agreement, and they then walked further down the other direction, Luna taking the lead. they had walked for what seemed like an eternity, with the area around them constantly shifting. they would often see huge swamps, forests that ran for miles, endless deserts, and icy tundras, and it felt as if they were actually there. "These must be the places he's been to." Twilight thought aloud. her theory had been proven correct, as now they were in what seemed to be the Everfree forest. "That would be because we are traveling through the area of his mind containing his memories." Luna said. "Wait, so we're traveling through his memories?" Twilight inquired. "Yes, that would be the case." Luna responded. "Are you certain that he would be alright with us wading through his memories?" Twilight asked. "The memory banks are the fastest route to the Dream Realm." Luna replied. "Dream Realm?" Twilight asked. "It is what I call the section of the mind responsible for conjuring dreams," Luna began. "And the fastest and most direct path there is through his memories." "Well, okay," Twilight murmured. " But what do we do against this Vaermina? I mean, can we even beat her?" "I...am not certain that we can," Luna began. "But even so, we mustn't lose hope. the best we can hope to do is seal her away from Sahrot's mind." "Hmmm...alright. now which way do we go from here?" Twilight asked, looking around their new environment. they were now on the very top of a mountain, with wind-swept snow blowing across their faces. "We must keep moving downwards fro-GET DOWN!" Luna yelled, pulling the other two to the ground. they were about to ask why, until they heard a roar overhead. they looked up to see a massive jet-black dragon with glowing, crimson eyes. it landed just in front of them, staring intently at another figure. when they focused their vision on the figure, they found out who it was. "S-Sahrot? is that you?" Twilight called out "No, Twilight, this is another memory of his. we should simply move on." Luna said, standing up. Twilight looked at the memory once again, seeing Sahrot and the dragon now fighting. she then turned away, and continued to follow Luna. "We are almost there, I can sense it." Luna stated, picking up a faster pace. the others followed her closely, and walked for several minutes. the environment shifted again as they walked, this time in the outskirts of the Crystal Empire. still, they continued southward, until they arrived at a barrier of darkness that separated the memory banks from the Dream Realm. "This is it. this is the place where Sahrot and Vaermina are." Luna began, turning to princess Celestia and Twilight. "This can be very dangerous, for as soon as we enter in, it will take a long time for us to leave, and I don't know what horrors Vaermina has. so be on your guard at all times." "Okay, princess Luna, we'll do our best." Twilight said, smiling. "Lets just find Sahrot and rescue him. then we can deal with Vaermina." "Do not forget what Meridia said, Twilight." Celestia stated. "Vaermina's strength is growing, even as we speak. she may be weaker now, but we do not know if we are even strong enough to face her head on. we must formulate a plan once we enter inside." Twilight nodded solemnly in agreement, and the three prepared themselves for the worst once they passed through the barrier, and into the unknown realm that awaited them.