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// Solstheim: The Ashen Island 
// Story: Skyrim: The Faces of Death 
// by Blackdrag-rose 
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Upon leaving the cave that contained the Oblivion Gate, which seemed to be the only one Dagon intended on opening at the moment, Amaryllis and the others returned to their carriage before heading back to the road, now joined by Tibetal and his adopted siblings, a fact that they were going to have to get used to, especially given what they had learned after the Gate to the Deadlands had been opened. While the others were coming to terms with more Demiprinces coming to aid them, as it was what Tibetal said a few minutes ago, Amaryllis was thinking about the existence of another Prince who was in hiding, or had fallen into a slumber to keep himself away from Dagon, a Prince that Wind reminded Tibetal of, meaning his Sphere had to go against Dagon's. Not a Prince of Creation, since that seemed to be linked to the Divines, rather she was sure that the figure in question must have been linked to Harmony in some manner, otherwise the statement wouldn't have been said, making her wonder if they could find him and convince him to lend him some aid as well, or maybe even give up the rest of his powers to someone else. Such a thing reminded her of Tiber Septim, the man who became Talos, a mortal who became a Divine, and of the Champion of Cyrodiil, another mortal who became a god by manteling Sheogorath, allowing Jyggalag to go free at the end of the last era, though to figure out if it was possible they were going to have to ask Ma'jera, which might be a bad thing in some sense.

In the end she sighed and focused on the task at hand, getting back to the fort and adding another Demiprince to the list of allies Za'kera had, not to mention an army that would be coming from Dagon's realm when he was ready, even though her mind turned to what could possibly require such a force to be formed in the first place, but speaking with Hermaeus Mora's daughter might shed some light on that matter as well.

It was noon when they arrived outside the fort, where Amaryllis found that their forces now contained people from all over Skyrim, plus the organizations that happened to rest throughout the land, as even the Companions joined them, lead by the new Harbinger, a male Nord who dressed like a wild beast and his chest piece seemed to be another daedric artifact, only for Tibetal to smile when he saw him. Sure enough the Harbinger was another Demiprince, Bjorn Wolfsblood, the son of Hircine, which made sense due to the wolf ears, tail, and his furred legs that ended in wolf paws, plus he carried a bow on his back with some good arrows, showing that he was a hunter, and he had a sword in case people got close to him, a fact he preferred to avoid. Bjorn also informed them that his sister, Dearola, would be coming as well, while he was also positive that they would be joined by Fa-Nuit-Hen, the son of Boethiah, and Darien Gautier, the son of Meridia, later, as the pair were currently on their way to Skyrim, not to mention all of the other Demiprinces and Demigods that existed in this world. Such a thing still worried Amaryllis when she realized how much stronger their forces were getting with every godly child that joined them, especially since each one seemed to have mortal followers who were eager to join them in battle, to earn honor or whatever their excuse was, and it made her wonder what sort of tool the Aldmeri Dominion had, as there had to be something that was causing the Princes to do this.

Ma'jera, on the other hand, wasn't too surprised to find that more of her kind were here, in fact it looked like she had been expecting all of them to arrive at some point, meaning she knew that they would fail to prevent the opening of the last of the Oblivion Gates and that the Liminal Barrier would be pierced in due time, but Za'kera, Amaryllis, and Wind joined her in the top of her tower for some time.

"With the civil war in Skyrim stopped, and the Jarls offering you their full support, it's time that we depart for Solstheim, as there is one last piece to our puzzle," Ma'jera said, where they found that she had been busy creating a magical portal to a realm that only she had access to, and those who were invited in could follow her, though it seemed like a pocket realm and not a plane of Oblivion, a private meeting chamber of sorts, and in the center of it was a map of Tamriel, where they found the island of Solstheim was highlighted, "namely Miraak, but while we're there I will be collecting the seven Black Books that were left behind... you might even score some allies at the same time."

"I know he sent cultists to kill me, but I have a feeling that this isn't about me anymore," Za'kera remarked, because with Amaryllis' thoughts on several manners in the past, what with the prophecy that concerned the Dragonborn and the one that was linked to Auriel's Bow, she had a feeling this would be less about her and more about them gaining power for the battle with the Aldmeri Dominion, especially Wind, the weakest in terms of abilities, "no, you want us to power up while we explore the island, preparing us for the war with the Aldmeri Dominion and whatever tool they have... I mean, there has to be something that is causing the Demiprinces, even Dagon for that matter, to ready themselves like this, since nothing like this has happened in the history of this world."

"Let me say this: if we fail to stop them, the upcoming Warp will be worse than the last one." Ma'jera replied, though while all of them had more they wanted to say on the matter, since there was too much for them to talk about, she held up her right hand and beckoned for them to get moving, hence why they left the chamber so they could head to the carriage, as it was time to head to Solstheim.

In that moment, however, Amaryllis and Wind glanced at each other, as both had read a fair number of books since they arrived in Skyrim and there was only one thing that Ma'jera's terminology could be referring to, the Warp in the West, as it was when the Numidium, a massive brass giant, was activated by several groups at the same time, how it was hard to tell since there was only one thing that controlled it. Supposedly both it, later called Anumidium, and the second one of it's kind, Akulakhan, had been destroyed at some point in the past, or at least Wind told her that much, but given the fact that the Aldmeri Dominion wanted to end the world she guessed it made sense that they might use a reality warping golem to break the remaining Towers of this world. In fact, as Amaryllis thought about it, she figured out what the real problem was, if their enemies were planning on using such a creation, no doubt reforged from fragments and pieces of both Numidium, and whatever notes they had on the Brass Gods, they would be sending it to topple the first of the Towers that rested all over this world, the Adamantine Tower. If such a thing came to pass, and the new Numidium destroyed the Adamantine Tower, it would likely unmake Nirn in a Warp that would rewrite all of reality, possibly even the realms of Oblivion given all the stories of the first Tower, and it suddenly made sense why even the Princes were getting in on this action, to ensure reality wasn't sundered on them.

She decided not to say anything, and Wind seemed to think the same thing, where they joined Za'kera, Lydia, and Ma'jera, as it was the five of them on this venture, as they headed to Windhelm to track down the boat that was used to bring that group of cultists to Skyrim, and she had a feeling that things would get interesting when they reached Solstheim.





By the time they got to Windhelm, found the boat that had been used by Miraak's cultists, and got to Solstheim, the last of those taking nearly nine hours, meaning it would be early in the morning when they arrived on the island, nearly an entire day had gone by since the opening of the Oblivion Gate, but that was the least of their worries, given the information that Ma'jera had given them earlier. Gjalund, who owned the ship that brought the cultists to Skyrim in the first place, wanted nothing to do with Za'kera when they arrived, though after a few moments he realized that bringing her and the others to Solstheim might clear up whatever was going on across the island, which meant Miraak was up to something, and they left Windhelm without wasting time. It gave them time to brush up on what they knew of the island, as Ma'jera didn't feel like sharing what she knew with them, which Amaryllis was fine with since she would be focused on dealing with Miraak when the time came, or so she hoped, meaning it was up to Wind to do that, all while the crew gave them some time alone and a red dragon seemed to be following them. Such a thing told them that Alduin was curious as to what they were doing, no doubt assuming Miraak had been slain at one point in time, but he wasn't sending a force with them, as he needed the rest of the dragons in Skyrim, no doubt to keep the army in line while Za'kera was absent, meaning their attention could be on this and nothing else.

Solstheim, as they discovered, was an island half covered in ash and half covered in snow, since Red Mountain was still erupting off in the distance, and their destination was Raven Rock, a Dark Elf settlement that had buildings that were small on the outside but went underground, not to mention protected on one side by a large wall of some kind, where Gjalund positioned them ship so they could reach the dock.

"Here we are... this is Raven Rock... can't say I'm happy to be back here." Gjalund said, speaking before they reached the dock, where only a single ship could rest based on what Amaryllis and Wind could see right now, though it was possible he didn't want someone to hear what he had to say, before he turned towards the group for a moment, "Good luck... maybe you can figure out what is going on, or do whatever it is that you came to do."

"Figure out what Miraak's doing, stop his plans, and make some allies," Za'kera replied, which was the basics of what they were here to do, since there was no telling what else might happen while they were on this island, and she didn't tell him everything due to the fact that they had no idea who was on their side and who might be against them, so this was mostly to prevent information from being leaked.

Gjalund said nothing as he nodded and brought them into the dock, his crew working to make sure they came to a stop in no time, without hitting the stone wall that served as the barrier of the dock, or whatever it was, though once they came to a stop Za'kera made sure they had their supplies before disembarking, as it was time for them to get underway and figure out where Miraak was hiding. While she did that Amaryllis found a number of guards, no doubt Dark Elves inside the odd bone-like armor that seemed to cover their entire body, making it hard to see who was beneath it all, watching them, as in at least three or four, and with one guard happened to be a rather important male Dark Elf, given the fancy brown attire he was wearing, like the Stewards of Skyrim. One thing she could tell is that he must have been expecting Gjalund to come back sooner than what he did, meaning he wasn't aware of the fact that the ship captain didn't want to come back to this island in the first place, but she and the others said nothing as the Steward talked with him, mostly since it seemed rather important for this settlement. From what Amaryllis learned there was something called a 'drake' that the locals used, or at least it sure sounded like it based on everything they were saying, but eventually the pair seemed to stop, after Gjalund telling the Dark Elf that the load he had brought with him had cost him double, blaming it all on the Empire, and the Dark Elf turned towards them without wasting time.

"I don't recognize you or your companions, outlander, so I'll assume that this is your first visit to Raven Rock," the Dark Elf said, his tone showing them that he might not be very hospitable, as in he might not like newcomers and that they would need to prove themselves before even bothering to care about all of them, all while Gjalund's crew carried off all of the supplies they had purchased in Windhelm, "State your intentions."

"We're looking for Miraak, or information on him." Za'kera replied, as while she knew that Ma'jera had to know where they needed to go, given that the figure in question was her father's current champion, or maybe a personal slave similar to Sharva, she also knew it was best to make sure the general public didn't see them as a threat, otherwise they would end up in jail before even finding their target, "Do you know anything about him?"

"Miraak... I... I'm... I'm not sure that I do." the Dark Elf answered, where it looked like he was in a trance for a moment, an odd thing for them to see though it told them that Miraak must have enchanted people to make sure they didn't discuss him without his consent or orders, before he regained himself as he stared at all of them, "Just remember, Raven Rock is sovereign territory of House Redoran. This is Morrowind, not Skyrim, and while you're here you and your companions will be expected to abide by our laws. Now, do you have any questions?"

"About Raven Rock, not right now. Like we said, we're looking for information on Miraak." Wind said, as that was far more important at this moment, even though she had a good idea of what the rules were in Solstheim since some of the various studies she had tackled involved learning the rules of the other provinces of Tamriel, and she was hoping that he might be willing to share information with them.

"All I know is that the name has something to do with the Earth Stone... I think." the Dark Elf stated, where he gestured to an area that was behind them and they turned to face it, finding that he was pointing at a large stone monolith, about as tall as two people, that rested on the outskirts of Raven Rock, though it had some sort of structure being built around it, a structure that the citizens of this place seemed to be working on.

Za'kera said nothing as she nodded her head and let the Dark Elf speak with Gjalund once more, no doubt about another topic they needed to talk about, though as he did that she and the others stepped off the boat they had used to get to the island, allowing them to stretch their legs for a time. Once that was done she walked over to the Earth Stone, finding that Amaryllis had slipped into her favorite Khajiit disguise and Wind had become a Breton with her odd hair style, something they had done before they even reached Windhelm, though she turned her attention to what was in front of them as Lydia kept her battleaxe at the ready and Ma'jera floated nearby. As they walked out of Raven Rock she discovered a Dark Elf in rather elegant looking robes, like a pale of some kind with bronze markings and a red scarf of sorts around the neck, who was in the middle of observing the people that were working on the structure. Given what they knew about Solstheim, or what Ma'jera wanted to share with them, Amaryllis and the others knew that the wizard wasn't responsible for what they were seeing right now, as it was Miraak's handiwork, though the sound of them walking on ash caused him to turn for a moment and see that he had guests.

"You there... you and your companions don't quite seem to be in the same state as the others." the wizard observed, as if he was studying each of them for a moment, and it became true when he stared at Lydia and prodded her udder for a few seconds, no doubt curious about who she was and why she was like this, "Very interesting. May I ask what it is you're doing here?"

"We're looking for someone named Miraak, or information on him." Za'kera replied, though she was pleased to see that Lydia had restrained herself when the wizard poked her, as the last thing they needed was for the people of Raven Rock to be mad at them for one of them hurting a resident of this place.

"Miraak... Miraak... the name sounds familiar but I cant quite place..." the wizard said, showing them that he was taking a few moments to consider the information he had been given, even if it was only a bit since they were clearly hiding things from him, before he realized something that might aid them, "Oh, wait, I know why it sounds familiar... but the first part of your answer makes very little sense, as Miraak's been dead for thousands of years."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Amaryllis asked, once more figuring that if they kept their information to themselves, as in not shouting that they knew about a topic and sharing everything they already knew, they might be able to learn a piece of information or two on the matter, though at the same time she had a feeling that this wizard was going to be difficult in some manner.

"I'm not sure, but it is fascinating, isn't it?" the wizard replied, where it was easy for Amaryllis and Wind to figure out that he had to know more about the topic than what he was currently saying, just like they were, meaning he had to know, or at least suspect, that they weren't telling the truth either, before he considered something else, "Perhaps it has some relation to what's going on here. Quite unexpected, but I'm afraid that I can't give you any answers... however, I do know that there is a ruin of an ancient temple of Miraak's toward the center of  the island. If I were you, I'd look there."

Za'kera thanked him for the information and let him return to his studies as she headed for the other side of Raven Rock, though as they did that she asked one of the guards if it was possible to acquire a map of Solstheim and he handed her one without saying anything, allowing her to see a path leading out through the Bulwark, as that was what the name of the large wall, that might bring them to the temple. With that done she resumed walking, after thanking the guard for his aid, and quickly found that everything on the other side of the Bulwark was covered in ash and even the ramp leading out had been dug out recently, though further ahead of them they found a Dark Elf fighting what appeared to be humanoid beings made of ash. As such Amaryllis loosed an arrow through the air and pierced one in the heart, Wind combined her lightning with Ma'jera's to blast another one down, and Za'kera stabbed her target with both blades before Lydia smashed it with her battleaxe, but once that was done she talked with the Dark Elf and found that he was dealing with the Ash Spawn, in fact he and two others had come and he was the last one standing. Amaryllis ended up finding a letter on one of the fallen enemies and discovered that it was a declaration of war, though upon showing it to the Captain of the Guard he asked the group if they could take care of it, where Za'kera said they would, figuring that she could have Amaryllis sneak into the old fort that was mentioned in the note and kill the leader.

With that done they continued following the path in question, finding that there were a few camps scattered around part of it, Dark Elf bandits, there was one Dark Elf trying to get into a buried ruin, and there happened to be some Nords living in the wild, before they stopped at the base of the mountain that held the temple and braced themselves for what might happen next.