Skyrim: The Faces of Death

by Blackdrag-rose


Interlude: Aftermath

Amaryllis was pleased with herself, as she had done what many had deemed possible, she stopped the genocide of the Altmer race, given that many wanted to punish them for plotting to destroy the world by wrecking all of the Towers and using the Numidium to destroying the main one. After Za'kera marched on Alinor it was all over, the Dominion and the rest of the army had no hope left in them, not when they had to worry about the Demiprinces and Princes of Oblivion, not to mention everyone else that was gathered in one spot. Losing Morral had broken them, an unexpected side effect she hadn't been anticipating when she decided to go forward with using Sylvanna's form to gain access to their enemy's base, and as such Pellinar and the other leaders of the various branches followed Amaryllis as she surrendered to the Empire. She had been expecting some sort of reaction to her waving the white flag, but in the end everyone understood her reasoning, that there was no hope of survival for the Dominion if they waged war with this mighty force, so they followed her into the tent and listened as the war was brought to an end.

The terms were simple, the Dominion would cease hostilities and accept that Talos was, in fact, a Divine, which they had all the proof to back since he was willing to talk with them and he even had a Demigod son who didn't like the Altmer, while also accepting an offering from King Abiru, which they, and Amaryllis, accepted without much delay. Such a thing meant that the people of Alinor would be liberated from the Dominion's grasp and none of the racism would remain in them, or at least it would take some time for it to disappear entirely, and she was fine with that. Pellinar seemed surprised by how simple the demands were, even though Amaryllis said that she would have to move the official office of the Dominion to Tamriel, due to foster good faith with the Empire, though she would be assigning someone she trusted to watch over the Summerset Isles while she was gone. It was basically a way for her to justify not remaining on the island all the time, given her new role, and she intended on coming back at random intervals to surprise the people who now worked under her, which she didn't tell Pellinar about, just to make sure they had no idea when she'd return.

With the conversation done, and the Altmer knew that they might have gotten off easy, even though Tosh Raka would no doubt have words with them on how they would be repaying the attack on his domain some time ago, the General left with his group as Amaryllis remained near Za'kera, under the guise of speaking more about their plans, and once they were alone she let out a sigh.

"I cannot believe this... you did it. You really did it!" Za'kera said, keeping her voice low so only Amaryllis, Zoravoir, and Ma'jera would hear what she had to say, even though many of the leaders likely knew what was going on right now, due to many knowing about Amaryllis' powers, but she found it hard to contain her excitement.

"No... WE did it, your majesty." Amaryllis replied, where the shadows shifted for a moment, her way of watching the tent's entrance in case someone came their way, as she shifted into her base form again, while keeping Sylvanna's voice, just in case someone was listening, and if they had a guest she'd shift back instantly, "We were brought together to save Nirn, as that is the true meaning of your prophecy, and your army has done it, convincing the unconvincible to bend the knee... a wonderful display of power, worthy of an Empress."

"And with the world secure, the Demigods and Demiprinces, as well as our parents, will return to our realms... for a time, anyway." Ma'jera said, where she found that Za'kera, Amaryllis, and Zoravoir turned to look at her, showing her that they were interested in what she had to say, even though one had an idea as to what she meant, "We only allied ourselves with you to knock the Dominion into submission and secure this world... now that your goal has been realized, well, there is no reason for us to stay in this world. We will leave you alone, for a time anyway, but know that with the Liminal Barrier left in its current state there will come a day when one of the Princes will come and ruin the Fifth Era, just like how Molag Bal set his Planemeld plan into action in the Second Era and Mehrunes Dagon ushered in the Oblivion Crisis in the Third Era... so while we might have been allies today, to save this world, we might be enemies tomorrow."

"So, what... save the world to destroy it later?" Zoravoir inquired, though it sounded like one of the Princes had something planned for the future and didn't want the world to be wiped out by the Dominion, even though that seemed to be what all of them did from time to time, plotting to use the mortals for their own gain.

"Maybe. Depends on the Prince." Ma'jera said, where she shrugged, as if she didn't care about Tamriel or the mortals she had worked with during her time in this world, which was understandable given who they were currently talking to, before she collected her staff once more and headed for the tent's entrance, where she stopped for a few seconds, "Such as how Dagon would seek to end this world, Molag would seek to make it part of Coldharbour, or Meridia, for example, might seek to make you servants of her light... time will tell, and I don't think Akatosh will tell you anything this time."

Amaryllis understood the situation, the fate of this world was up in the air, as the Princes only helped them to keep their playground intact, while she knew the Divines had aided them to save their world, but now they were on their own, for a time anyway, so it was only a matter of time before another disaster arrived. At the same time, however, she knew that it wouldn't happen for some time, probably a few years at the very least, and given the amount of time since the last event she had to guess they would have a hundred years or so before the next Prince made their move against this world, just like those who came before them. At that point in time she and Za'kera would be gone, leaving the Empire to her friend's descendants, since she would need to have some to preserve her lineage, though there was no telling what the future held and they would have to take each year as they came at them. She was sure that they would come up with something in due time, depending on which Prince came at them, though the only good thing was that they had Zoravoir as an ally, a very important one at that when she thought about it, and it might be the key to whatever event was in the future.

With the conversation done Amaryllis changed into Sylvanna's form and left the tent with Za'kera, making it look like they had been talking for some time and that everyone would be interested in what they had to say later, though what Ma'jera had told them might unite the people of the world for some time. She honestly should have seen this coming, that most of Oblivion was only helping to save Nirn so keep their playground safe and sound, so whatever plans they were setting up would be able to bear fruit in due time, but she had been so focused on stopping the Dominion the thought never crossed her mind. She knew that Za'kera hadn't considered that information either, that Ma'jera and the other forces of Oblivion would be temporary allies, save for Zoravoir anyway, so if things went bad she guessed they might find sanctuary in the realm she had recreated some time ago, if she still cared about mortals when that time came. She also knew that her days of being an assassin would be limited, since she was taking over the role of the Dominion's leader thanks to her ploy, but with her powers she was sure that she would be able to find a way around that problem.

After that Za'kera informed her allies that the war was over, they had convinced the Dominion to surrender in the face of the massive army they had gathered, something that, as Amaryllis was expecting, called for a celebration to be held, which caused them to spread out around the camp and party. Given that it had been started by Sanguine and Sheogorath, well, there wasn't much they could do about it and simply went with it, though the Altmer of the Dominion were wary of this as some joined the event, mostly because of the fact that two Princes had started it. From what Amaryllis saw everyone was happy to have the war come to an end, even though some had been hoping for more damage to be done to the Dominion or the Summerset Isles, but now that they knew that the forces of Oblivion would turn against them in the future, be it in the near future or the far future, having more allies was for the best. Sakaia and the other types of Khajiit were happy to welcome the liberated Altmer into the fold, even though it would take some time for everyone in Alinor to follow suit, but at the very least the city knew that they had been saved from a terrible fate and might work towards a better future now, or at least that was her hope on the matter.

As the celebration went on, however, she found an odd scene, Sheogorath was chatting with someone she wasn't even expecting to see again, a chimera creature made up of many species of her home world and who could snap his fingers to do whatever he wanted, which meant he had to be Discord, the Spirit of Chaos and Disharmony. The reason no one was freaking out was because he had appeared near the Prince of Madness, so many assumed that he was a new creation or a long lost creature that had returned to its master, even though the reality was far different than what they knew. Based on what she was seeing it looked like they might have been friends in some manner, making her wonder just how strong the Spirit of Disharmony actually was if he knew Sheogorath, but decided that she didn't want to know, as it would just drive her mad if she kept thinking about it. Of course she found that Discord, Sheogorath, and Durum, the latter having joined her father as soon as the war was over, turning their magic on an Altmer for fun, where the two denizens of the Shivering Isles showed off the new Moomer race they had created, where Amaryllis was glad neither looked in her direction since it was something she'd rather forget about, and sure enough it got Discord laughing.

After a few minutes she found that Discord was done talking with Sheogorath, for the time being no doubt, and he walked over to where she was standing, meaning he likely saw through her guise and knew who she was, though she leaned on a post and watched the others celebrate their victory over the Dominion.

"It seems you and your friend have done well." Discord commented, keeping his voice low so only she would hear him, all while confirming that he knew about Zoravoir, meaning he must have been watching them for some time, even though she found that her friend was talking to some of the other Princes, no doubt about some of the races that called her new realm home.

"Well, we believed that travel between Nirn and Equus was impossible, so we worked hard to save this place." Amaryllis quietly replied, which was the truth, for her at the very least, and despite the fact that Discord was here, meaning he had to have a way back to their home world, she found that she didn't want to do home, as this was her home now, "I know what you're going to ask, and the answer is no. We're just fine with our lives in this new world."

"I was going to ask if you want to come back and check up with the rest of the Displaced, but it seems I have my answer... a lot sooner than I expected, anyway." Discord said, where he shrugged for a moment as he started to step away from the area she was standing in, though his words told her that there were more like her and Zoravoir out there, lost among the stars of their vast universe, and the Spirit of Disharmony was, interestingly enough, the one seeking them out, "Aren't you a little interested in the others, like Princess Twilight for example?"

"As tempting as it is, we'll be too busy to justify heading back." Zoravoir stated, as she had sensed that Discord would want a word with them and she happened to share Amaryllis' thoughts on the matter, hence why she moved over to make sure he knew their opinion.

"Oh well, I guess I'll spend a little more time catching up with Sheogorath," Discord replied, where he shrugged for a few seconds and turned, showing that if they weren't willing to come with him then he was going to leave them to their own devices, "we haven't seen each other for years... or has it been decades... and this was the perfect opportunity to catch up before I track down the next of the Displaced."

Amaryllis said nothing as Discord walked away from where she was standing and focused on the celebration, as her worry was on what the future of this world held for her and her friends, not what the other lost souls were doing right now, and she let a small smile appear on her face as she waited to see what the future held for them.