//------------------------------// // The Dark Brotherhood // Story: Student Six Watch Elder Scrolls Lore // by Rated Ponystar //------------------------------// Chapter 5 The Dark Brotherhood "Okay, I'm not the only one worried about this. Right?" Silverstream asked as everyone felt the entire room get thirty degrees colder when the video of the Dark Brotherhood started by showing one of their lairs, including a room with three flags of their black hand. "No, I get the feeling this one will be dark. Pun not intended," Gallus seconded, and he was soon proven right. The screen started dark but soon showed a glowing red door with a sinister-looking skull on the front as its design. Just by looking at it, you got the feeling that this was a gateway to a realm of danger and bloodshed. Whoever these Dark Brotherhood guys were, they were serious about the grim and macabre. A sinister sounding voice soon echoed that sent chills down everyone's spine: “What is the color of night?” And another voice answered. “Sanguine, my brother.” “Welcome Home.” “Home is apparently where the creepy live,” Gallus whispered as he wrapped a blanket around him.  The others were also doing similar means to comfort them as the music went darker in tone and atmosphere. Sandbar and Ocellus were wrapping themselves together in another blanket while inching closer to themselves. Silverstream was holding a pillow closer to her chest while Smolder was dragging just a bit away from the screen where she was and putting her own pillow between her and it as if a monster was going to burst out. Yona was the only one who hadn’t moved from her place, but Gallus could see her shaking a bit in her rear hooves. The screen soon faded into darkness before returning. Everyone got their first look at the home of the Dark Brotherhood. An underground series of tunnels and rooms housed by bricks and magic. The symbol of the sinister organization could be seen everywhere among the red and black velvet decorations. Small lanterns lit up the darkened corridors where cloaked figures of all sizes moved like shadows from one hallway to the next. Were it not for all the creepy factors in play, some of the six thought it was a nice place to have a home in. The narrator finally revealed just what the Dark Brotherhood was, and none of them were surprised that they were a group of assassins that had existed for centuries.  “You know? With a name like that? I’m surprised none of us guessed that was their occupation,” Sandbar said, which made the others nod in agreement. For as long as can be remembered, the Dark Brotherhood has been murdering targets that were too numerous in number to count. Anyone was a target so long as anyone was willing to contract them, and they were ready to target anyone in Tamriel or beyond. Even the Emperors of Tamriel were no match for the Dark Brotherhood, who had ended the lives of more than one in the past. However, their true origins were much earlier than the Brotherhood’s existence.  In fact, it went so far back that it went far beyond when elves, men, and beast roamed Tamriel. A time before the Aedra and Daedra played their roles in Nirn. A time before Nirn was even a thing. Where time, space, and reality were non-existent. This place was known as The Void.  “Creepy,” Yona said as the entire screen went pitch blank. The Void was the cosmic realm of nothingness. No light. No life. Nothing existed in The Void. Nothing but Sithis and the souls that were his to collect. Sithis was the god of The Void, or maybe he wasn’t even a god. Sithis has existed since before and will always live in the shadows. He was neither Daedra or Aedra. Not even these all-mighty beings knew what Sithis truly was, but whatever he was, he was just as powerful as all of them and sometimes more powerful than all of them.  A Dark Brotherhood Argonian, green in scale and cloaked in black with a hood over his shoulder, read from a book as his words appeared on the screen. “Who is Sithis you ask? Some call him the Dread Father. It was his terrible love that gave birth to the Dark Brotherhood, so very long ago.” - Teinaava, Shadowscale 3E "How could love be terrible?" Sandbar asked in confusion. "Maybe it's a twisted kind of love?" Ocellus reasoned. A glass mural of an interpretation of Sithis, made of a skull with horns, appeared before the group. Because Sithis predates Aedra and Daedra while being neither, the Dark Brotherhood worships him as the one true god of existence. He was first, and thus he will be last, and his might is more significant than all in their eyes. For it was Sithis actions that actually caused the birth of the Aedra and the Daedra. From them came the creation of Nirn and all that dwelled in it. If one wanted to get technical, it was thanks to Sithis himself that Nirn was created at all for his actions that sent the spark that brought life to the world. Ironic for a God of Murder and Death. "Hey? Mr. Sheogorath? Is this true?" Silverstream asked, looking up at the ceiling. “MAYBE IT IS! AND MAYBE IT ISN'T! MAYBE HE DOESN’T EVEN EXIST?! OR IF HE DOES, DO YOU THINK HE LIKES CHEESE?!” "Never mind," Silverstream said, rolling her eyes. I should have expected that as an answer.  Because of his association with death, it wasn't surprising to see that Sithis was portrayed as a skeleton. A very evil-looking one with horns on his head pointing downward and blood coming out of his mouth as smaller skeletons were positioned around him. Others portrayed him as having no form but as the incarnation of all evil in the universe. Some even believe him to be the very realm of The Void itself in a state that does not need a physical body but a mere presence that is enough to enact his will. It made everyone shiver at the thought of even meeting this freak of a skeleton, and all of them were finding the Daedric Prince of Madness to be a far better host than Sithis could have been.  After all, they could have had worse powerful beings controlling them. Things got even darker when the screen showed three beings tied up in a shack with bags over their heads and struggling in their bonds. Unsurprisingly, Sithis was appeased by death, strife, suffering, and pain. Killing in his name pleased him, and in the eyes of those who worshiped him, this was considered the natural way of life. Death was the prime purpose of existence; all of it was to end one day and return to Sithis. In the eyes of the Brotherhood, conflict and strife made the everyday life of Tamriel, so why not find the worship of it to be true? "Okay, these guys are freaking insane," Smolder whispered in disbelief at the thought of anyone performing worship like this. "I don't think we even saw anything like this back in the Wasteland." "Yeah, I mean, take Caesar's Legion, The Master, and The Enclave," Sandbar pointed out as the focus was on him. "Say what you will about all three of them, but they at least wanted to build something that they thought was better for the entire world. The Master wanted to create a new race that wouldn't repeat the mistakes of humans. The Enclave wanted to restore their nation to its glory and start again. And Caesar's Legion, twisted it is, has at least a desire to do away with the old world and start an empire that would shape humanity into something stronger. In theory, at least." "Yeah, but these guys make it sound like the only purpose of life is just to die. Like death is the greatest thing in the universe, and they worship a guy who pretty much embodies it," Gallus pointed out with a disturbed snarl. "Almost makes you wonder if these guys are a bunch of necrophiliacs." "Considering that there is a cult that eats corpses, I guess we can't rule it out," Smolder grumbled. Revered as an actual father figure, Sithis is the highest authority and is worshiped in the Brotherhood as their only god. However, Sithis is not the sole authority that the assassins hold the word of because there is an organization behind the ancient cult of killers. After the authority of Sithis comes the authority of his personal prophet, The Night Mother. "Dread Father. Night Mother. Sounds like a creepy, messed up family of psychopaths," Silverstream said with a shiver. "Yona happy her parents not named such sinister sounding titles," Yona claimed. Once again, the Argonian assassin appeared, and this time, was telling a female blond human about the Night Mother as his quote appeared on the screen. “The Night Mother is the Dark Brotherhood’s Unholy Matron. She guides our actions, just as the Dread Father Sithis once guided hers.” -Teinaava, Shadowscale 3E According to the Dark Brotherhood’s lore, Sithis himself once visited upon a Dark Elf woman and bedded her. She gave birth to five of his children, which made everyone watching looking at each other in surprise. After all, this was the god of a cult of assassins who performed horrible acts of murder and death. To hear him come into the room of a single mortal woman, make love to her, and give her five children to raise sounded entirely out of character. It didn’t even sound like the attempt was forced, as it was with Molag Bal and the creation of the vampires.  Was it possible that even evil could love? Years later, as the children grew up, the Dark Elf woman heard the voice of her lover in her ear. He spoke to her and said he wanted to be reunited with his children. The woman, in love with Sithis, granted him his request by doing the only action known as she appeared with a bloody knife and was drenched in blood. “...No....No no no no!” Sandbar screamed as the others went pale, and the realization hit them all. “She wouldn’t! She couldn’t! They’re her children!” She murdered them all. One by one, she killed them and sent them to their father, who was waiting for them in The Void. “You sick bucking bitch! What the hay is wrong with you!” Sandbar screamed in rage as tears dripped down his eyes. The others were just as horrified and outraged, with curses and screams echoed in the room. Never had they heard of something so horrible, sick, and evil in their entire life. For a mother to kill her own children was so heinous of a crime that none of them, deep down, wanted to see this woman live on.  Even such a crime back in their world would warrant a death sentence. Not even the ponies of Equestria would give mercy to such a horrible evil being.  “The way she’s smiling,” Smolder hissed in disgust. “The way she’s acting so proud?! If I ever meet this Night Mother, I will burn her to ashes and piss on them for good measure!” The residents of the village held similar thoughts. For a woman to kill her own children was so evil and act that, regardless of the world, there was only one kind of justice to be delivered. The entire town descended upon the woman in an angry mob seeking vengeance for the children she was supposed to love and protect, but slit their throats in a maddening state to satisfy an evil being. They brutally killed her and then burned her body in the house where the atrocity occurred. None of the six sympathized with her and were glad that such a thing had happened to her. For a moment, they wondered if their teachers would disapprove of such thoughts before dismissing them. Each of them would react with a similar level of disgust for such a crime, especially Professor Applejack, who preached the importance of family. Not even Professor Pinkie Pie or Fluttershy would want to see the child-murdering mother get off without some punishment.  Maybe they would not wish for her to die, but they would not cry about it, were it to happen. Usually, it would be the end when a person was killed by an angry horde of villagers and their corpse burned in their home. However, much to the six’s disbelief and fury, it was not. Thirty years later, the voice of the Night Mother (the woman believed to have died) echoed in the head of a disturbed man, much like how Sithis talked to her in the past. She named him Listener and thus was born the first Dark Brotherhood member. “That might have been one of the most bucked-up things I have ever heard in my entire life,” Ocellus whispered as she rubbed her face. “This world may not be like the Wasteland, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t have its own dark issues.” “I’m starting to think that we really are that blessed for the world we live in if so many other dimensions are like this,” Sandbar grumbled as he shook his head in pity for all worlds that couldn’t experience true friendship like theirs could. The video wasn’t done showing disturbing sights as the next scene showed a young boy in an abandoned house stabbing a dagger between the bones of a skeleton and what looked to be several organs with flowers. While doing this, he repeated the same thing: “Sweet Mother, sweet Mother, send your child unto me, for the sins of the unworthy must be baptized in blood and fear.” It was this ritual that the boy was doing that was the means of summoning the Dark Brotherhood. Every day, all across Tamriel, the Black Sacrament was done to seek death upon one victim per summoner. It was not known precisely how the Night Mother could do this (save for it just being through the power of Sithis), but she would be the one to hear the ritual and its contexts. This dark prayer allowed the Night Mother to tell her children, the assassins of the Dark Brotherhood, who were the next to die and join The Void.  A pale-faced human in black hooded robes and a golden pendant around his neck spoke on the screen to explain more.  “The Night Mother speaks to only one member of the Dark Brotherhood--The Listener of the Black Hand. And when Our Lady speaks, death follows.” - Vicente Valtieri, Dark Brotherhood 3E The Listener is the highest rank in the Dark Brotherhood, for they are the only ones who can speak to the Night Mother. They are the only ones who can hear her deep inside her large sarcophagus. The Listener was not voted or rewarded but chosen by the Night Mother herself. To become the Listener was the greatest of all honors and one not to be taken lightly. The other duty of the Listener was to be the leader of the Black Hand, which was composed of the Listener and four Speakers who were second-in-commands. Their symbol was the black hand that had been seen many times before. "A black hand of death," Smolder said with a snort.  The Speakers were the ones who had made it so that Dark Brotherhood assassins appeared in nearly every corner of Tamriel. A dark blond Nord woman was looking over a map of Skyrim deep in her sanctuary. The objective of the Speaker was to operate the various sanctuaries used by the Brotherhood to rest, restock supplies, gather information, or wait for a new job with a new target in mind. The Dark Brotherhood also constantly trained in the various ways to kill someone. Some trained in stealth and others in direct combat. Poison was an option, as was creating an accident. It didn't matter how your target died so long as they were dead and their soul was sent to Sithis. So, it was always in the interest of everyone to share their various talents and secrets with their fellow assassins for success. "How is it that nobody has managed to stop these guys? I mean, I can't imagine these guys getting away with murder for so long without someone attempting to end it," Sandbar asked in disbelief. "I guess it's a combination of bad luck and too many people wanting their service," Gallus suggested with a grumble.  Once someone is marked for death by the Dark Brotherhood, there is nowhere to hide, run, or even attempt to stop the contract. The Dark Brotherhood will send assassin after assassin with no end in sight until the poor soul is dead and sent screaming into The Void. Once you are a target for the Brotherhood, you are a target for as long as you live. The said assassins were the last and most of the cult's members. From there, it was only by seniority and the successes of your kills that made you stand out among your peers.  To keep the organization's ranks in control, the Brotherhood obeyed what was known as the Five Tenets. These five rules were from the Night Mother herself; thus, all were supposed to worship them. To even break a tenet was unthinkable. The Five Tenets are:  "Tenet Number Six," Smolder joked with a big smile. "Never snore so loud that you wake up the entire dorm. To do so is to invoke the wrath of Sithis." "Heh," Gallus chuckled before winking. "Tenet Number Seven. Never leave the toilet seat up. To do so is to invoke the wrath of Sithis." "Ohh! Oh!" Silverstream waved her hand before getting the sign to go on. Happily, she said, "Tenet Number Eight! Never forget to hug your best friends every day! To do so is to invoke the wrath of Sithis!" Sandbar grinned and chuckled. "Tenet Number Nine. Never forget to tip at Sugarcube Corner. To do so is to invoke the wrath of Sithis." "I got one!" Ocellus stated. "Tenet Number Ten! Never forget to return your library book! To do so is to invoke the wrath of Sithis!" "Yona have one! Tenet Number Eleven!" Yona then raised her hoof up. "Never love Sithis! To do so is to invoke the wrath of Sithis!" "That would be funny to see someone in the Brotherhood try to do," Sandbar joked as he shook his head. "Don't show love to the guy you are supposed to love, or else you get his wrath for it." After their fun, the six returned to watching the video. The Dark Brotherhood has operated for centuries while pulling off some incredible high-risk assassinations of various essential figures in Tamriel. But their most infamous one was the death of Tiber Septim's own grandson, Pelagius Septim. During the third year of his reign as the second Emperor of the Empire, the Dark Brotherhood stabbed the Emperor in the back as he prayed in the Temple of the One, as shown in the video. The assassin stabbed him in the back and then slit his throat for good measure before leaving him to die in one of the holiest places in the Empire.  It sent a message to all of Tamriel. The Brotherhood could kill anyone and anywhere. Even in a holy temple where the one murdered was anointed by the top god Akatosh himself. The Dark Brotherhood is no mere guild or cult but one of the most influential and dangerous groups who ruled Tamriel's shadows while watched by their ever-hungry void god. Their influence and power grew, especially in places like High Rock and Hammerfell, to the point that both provinces had all their cities as sanctuaries for the cult of assassins as countless souls fell into The Void by their hands. "... Let's hope we never have to deal with such an organization for our rulers," Sandbar said as the ideas of Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, Princess Twilight, Princess Cadence, Prince Shining Armor, Princess Flurry Heart, Dragon Lord Ember, King Thorax, and Queen Novo being killed by these murders made everyone's heart sink.  If even the Emperors protected by divine power could be killed by the Dark Brotherhood, what hope did their rulers have? Trouble did eventually come to The Dark Brotherhood, but from inside of all places. A vampire assassin named Greywind claimed to hear the voice of Sithis in his head. He began a bloody crusade to eliminate all non-vampire members of the guild, with his statement being that it was the will of the Dread Father to turn them all into vampires and purge those who were too weak. Whether this was true or not, it turned the Dark Brotherhood into a state of civil war. While vampires had always been part of the Dark Brotherhood thanks to their dangerous abilities, they were now used as minions against them by Greywind. Greywind, fanatical in his beliefs, believed he was the purest of both vampirism and the Dark Brotherhood. He formed a new organization inside the Dark Brotherhood. One made of vampire assassins who worshiped Sithis and saw Greywind as the true prophet of the Dread Father even over the Night Mother. This organization was called The Crimson Scars.  "Hopefully, they both destroyed each other," Silverstream wished, but sadly she didn't get her way. One of the Crimson Scars betrayed Greywind to the Black Hand, who quickly had their forces murdered all of them, but the fate of Greywind and his lair remains a mystery. With the Crimson Scars no longer a threat, the Dark Brotherhood decided it was time to deal with the only other organization of assassins that were their closest equals: The Morag Tong.  The Morag Tong was an assassin guild even older than The Dark Brotherhood but only truly operated in the lands of Morrowind, specifically Vvardenfell. When the Dark Brotherhood attempted to gain a foothold in their territory, it sparked a war of shadows and death. The two sides killed many of their members, but in the end, the Morag Tong defeated the Dark Brotherhood and drove them away from Vvardenfell at the cost of their leader, who was killed by them. The Morag Tong might have claimed their dominance over the Morrowind, but that was still nothing compared to the Dark Brotherhood, who could claim all the other provinces. "Two assassin groups are killing each other, and I don't know who to root for," Gallus said. "At least the Morag Tong don't worship an evil god!" Yona pointed out with positivity. "They're Dark Elves, right? That means they worship the Daedra," Ocellus pointed out from her notes. "Never mind." The failure to defeat the Morag Tong was only the start of a collapsing power struggle for the Dark Brotherhood. Many more problems arose, including betrayal from within the ranks. The Great War also destroyed much of their sanctuaries as both The Empire and the Altmari Dominion sought to have them destroyed equally. Despite their near extinction, the Dark Brotherhood still exists and is slowly recovering its power. Only Sithis knows when they will rise or fall, but regardless of how far the Dark Brotherhood falls, it will always remain in the shadows that cannot be put out. For evil, no matter how much it is defeated, cannot fully ever be destroyed and will always find a way. "If there is one group that does need to be wiped out, it's these guys," Smolder said, which made the others nod in agreement. A question was pondered by the narrator. If Sithis was the one who directly influenced things to create life for Tamriel, does that mean he has the right to snuff it out? "NO!" The six said at once. Such a question was not talked about or even mentioned since most cultures in Tamriel ignored or outright banned the talking of Sithis. Most cultures, but not all. One of them did it freely, and they were the reptilian people of the Black Marsh. Ones who had been around long before man and elves and were protected by forces far older than most on Tamriel.   But that was a story for another day.