A Tale Of Three Worlds

by Sornos


the start of the tale

‘Why did khajiit have to help madman and Mad Prince of Maddness?’ A tiger furred khajiit named Qa’taro asked himself as he floated through a rainbow colored void. He last recalled speaking to a madman, sneaking into the Pelagius Wing of the Blue Palace in Solitude, getting warped into a dead man's mad mind, speaking with a mad Daedric Prince, solving some nonsensical puzzles, then there were those words. Those Divines Damned words, strung into a paragraph of horror.

‘You know, I like you. You seem like the kind of fella an old college friend of mine would like around. Tell him I said, “Hello!” then play skip rope with his tail...or was it his entrails? It doesn't really matter. Toodles!’

And just like that, he was suddenly hurtling through Oblivion, Aetherius, Agartha, Hades, Valhalla, etc. The only things he had on his person was his armor, clothing, weapons, his new staff (compliments of Sheogorath himself), and a few musical instruments. He had no gold to immediately speak of, nor any remaining family that would miss him. So...Sheogorath tearing Qa'taro from Nirn wasn't too big of a deal, but the fact he did it without any consent...to say that Qa'taro was upset would be a huge understatement.

Before he could contemplate his situation further, he was suddenly rocketed faster through the void, prompting a loud cat screech before he impacted a smooth surface. His consciousness faded to black as he slid down said smooth surface. When he awoke, he found himself on a cot in a prison cell...and he was literally stripped of all his clothes, armor, weapons, and possessions.

After talking a quick moment to tie the cot’s provided sheet around his privates, he walked to the cell door and gave it a few bangs. “Guard!” He shouted. “While this one appreciates these fine sleeping arrangements, he would at greatly appreciate it if he had clothes to wear.”

“Shut it, cat, and the princesses might be merciful!” The guard shouted back.

Qa’taro rolled his eyes. “Racial slur aside, could you at least give this one's current location in relation to Solitude or (Divines forbid) Skyrim.”

A roughly 4 foot tall quadruped pony in what seemed to be Moonstone armor walked into his view. “Did you hit your head too hard, cat? You should know that this is Canterlot in Equestria, and whatever Solitude or Skyrim is, I've never seen them on a map.”

Qa'taro backed away from the door with one part shock, two parts amazement, and three parts amusement. “Well, Sheogorath must have a bigger sphere of influence than most believed.”

The guard rolled his eyes. “You Abyssinians and your odd words,” he muttered.

A heavy door opening and closing caused the guard to tense and straighten up at attention. When a shadow began to cover him, he saluted. “Princess Luna! No offence, but why are you down here? The cat-”

“It’s khajiit, you miserable excuse of a horse!” The guard turned towards Qa’taro with a death stare at those words.

“What did you call me?!” He nearly bellowed. “I’ll have you know that I’m married and have not cheated on her at all during our marriage! You have no right-”

“To be judged by your standards,” Qa’taro countered. “This one is not from this land, let alone this world, so accusing Qa’taro of calling you a prostitute because of a minor word misinterpretation isn’t applicable.”

“Why you!” The guard went to unlock the cell door, but was restrained by a roughly six foot tall alicorn’s deep blue magic.

“Restrain yourself guard!” The alicorn bellowed, loudly enough to knock off his helmet. “Treat this...khajiit...with respect. He isn’t from here and can’t be completely judged by our standards and laws.” She set him down and gave him a glare. “Now return to the barracks and send down a guard who isn’t culturally insensitive...that is to mean one of my guards!” The guard scrambled off in fear, nearly forgetting his helmet.

The alicorn turned towards Qa’taro with an apologetic smile. “My apologies. My sister’s guards are rather green, and culturally insensitive. I blame the over thousand years of peace and most pony’s xenophobic tendencies.”

“Qa’taro is used to such racial bias, having lived in a land full of bigoted Nords, and supremacist Altimer,” he commented.

“Odd race names,” the alicorn commented to herself. “Racial problems aside, introductions are in order. I am Princess Luna, Diarch of Equestria, Queen of the Night, and the Guardian of Dreams.”

“If this one’s speech didn’t give it away, Qa’taro is the name this one responds to,” he told her. “Out of curiosity, with the whole cultural issues we brushed over, nudity isn’t taboo and therefore, those idiot guards confiscated my clothing thinking that khajiit culture followed same lack of a taboo.”

A bit of giggling came from both Luna and a new guard that came through the dungeon door. “All too correct,” the guard, a thestral, said. “With how stupid most of those guards act, I sometimes question if they had to go to school to learn how to be that stupid.” The guard then opened a hidden saddlebag and pulled out Qa’taro’s spare clothing.

“Agreed,” Qa’taro agreed, as he accepted his clothing and began dressing. “All nonsensical talk about arrows in knees.” He then sighs. “Aside from being an unknown, why is khajiit locked up like a war criminal?”

Luna sighed and gave him a sad look. “I am sorry that you are locked up like such, but Equestria has been threatened by an unknown power recently. Our security has been increased and as a consequence, unknowns are immediately imprisoned until the threat has passed.” She bowed her head in apology.

“Understandable, threats come about, something unknown shows up, keep it contained for safety,” Qa’taro commented. “Qa’taro will stay here and wait for my trial when it comes. Also, khajiit just wishes to know where his weapons and armor are, just in case.” Luna didn’t answer, but lit her horn and his mind was suddenly filled with information. With a nod, Luna walked off, followed by her guard.

“This one knows not why, but it felt like the power of Secunda and Messer was contained within that pony’s flesh,” he wondered aloud. Qa’taro then laid down on his cot and started to sleep, oddly dreaming of wheels of cheese. ‘Damn it, Sheogorath!’


Meanwhile

If one looks closely, light seems to bend around one spot. “Well, looks like I’m on some sort of other planet. This person seems important. I better keep an eye on him.” Seemingly nothing said softly. “Torrin out.”