//------------------------------// // 39: Darkfall Cave // Story: Sunset's Adventure in Skyrim // by Blackdrag-rose //------------------------------// When the group had slept for a few hours, as they had no idea if it was a new day or if it was still the same day thanks to the eclipse, they prepared a quick breakfast for themselves. Once the meal was finished they quickly gathered up their camping gear, made sure that they hadn't forgotten anything, and then made their way towards the exit. Before they left the Ancestor Glade Sunset turned around and took one last glance at the area, wondering if they would ever find something like it again. Then she nodded and followed her friends outside the cave, where they began the climb down the mountain and rejoined the road that they had traveled to get to Falkreath. While they began the journey to Dragon Bridge, where their path would lead off into the wilderness before reaching Darkfall Cave, Sunset's friends took a the time to ask her questions. "Seriously, what was that spell?" Fiona asked, not satisfied by the answer she had been given when they had been in the Soul Cairn, "I can understand that its a form of condensed magic, but it seems stronger than what the one you used with a sword. I know that your regaining the power to use the most of your magic these days, but I would have thought that firing more than two of those off in rapid succession would have weakened you, yet you show no signs of slowing down at all." "Its a type of condensed magic that only alicorns and highly skilled unicorns can pull off," Sunset finally said, knowing that Fiona would continue to ask the question until she caved and told them the answer, "Princess Celestia and Nightmare Moon were reported to have used these spells against each other, so much so that the entirety of the Everfree Forest was warped by the power they had given off. Some scholars have said that if Princess Celestia didn't use the Elements of Harmony on Nightmare Moon when she did, and continued using the high level spells that she did, that more of Equestria would have been warped by their battle." "These wouldn't happen to be the same Elements that we're supposed to be named after?" Bjorn asked, remembering how Cicero continued to refer to himself as Laughter, or Sunset as Magic, "The ones that the Listener of the Dark Brotherhood called us by when she sent Cicero to us, and the same ones that we're keeping secret least our enemies discover the names exist?" "Yes, I'm positive that we're named after the Elements from my home world," Sunset replied, noting the look of confusion of Serana's face as she spoke, "Laughter, Honesty, Generosity, Kindness, Loyalty, and Magic. These six Elements have defeated several of the most terrifying villains to ever appear in Equestria, either banishing them or turning them to stone. Last I heard the Elements had been returned to the tree they had been taken from, so the actual Elements are beyond are grasp at the moment." "But you have a plan to harness their power, don't you?" Serana inquired, knowing that harnessing the power of powerful magic artifacts would have serious consequences, "You don't have to lie to us Sunset, I know your planning on somehow harnessing the power of these strange Elements." "Harnessing the power of the Elements of Harmony, from a completely different world no less, would have serious, if not cataclysmic, consequences," Sunset answered, knowing from her experience when she had stolen the Element of Magic and brought it to a world without magic, "about the only thing I would ever consider doing is creating lookalikes of each individual Element. Right now we must focus on finding Auriel's Bow and stop Revan, and then focus on defeating Tirek." "Fine, we'll play your way for now," Serana commented, though her tone told Sunset that she would continue to pursue the possibility of harnessing the power of the Elements of Harmony, "but we will come back to this in the future." She knew that if she wanted to create lookalikes of the Elements of Harmony that she would need some gold bars to create the necklaces that held the stones. The only problem with that idea is that she had no idea if they could find any gemstones that were the size of the Elements, but she knew a spell that could actually help with that part. She could, theoretically, gather a couple of the same type of gemstone, say six or seven amethysts, and cast the spell that could potentially merge them into one solid gem. If she did the spell in the base of the necklaces, where the gems would be held, she could create copies of the Elements, though they would be without any special abilities and be mainly for show. She was sure that creating them would take a lot out of her, so using her magic to create them, when both Revan and Tirek were still out there, was out of the question. She needed to make sure that she had all of her power for when they found one of their enemies, so they could stop Tirek from getting his hands on one of the Daedric Princes. Though while they walked down the road she glanced up at the eclipse and had to wonder if they had been outsmarted by their enemy, because it made her worry that time was running out. Either way she needed to get the bow and then destroy Revan, otherwise he was going to cause untold problems for her and her allies down the road. The she would find Tirek and battle him, where she hoped that she and her alliance could shatter the demon and send him back to Tartarus, where he belonged. ------------------------------------- Getting to Dragon Bridge had been harder than the previous times that they had made the journey, as the wild animals now wanted them dead and struck at them every chance they got. They passed by several locations where bandits used to reside in, but now were empty thanks to Tirek calling on the majority of them to destroy Whiterun with the Forsworn. Cicero and Raja made several stops in the various camps they passed, rapidly searching each camp for any pieces of treasure and weapons that they could use later on. When the two of them were done they would return to the group and continue along the road, where they eventually reached Dragon Bridge at what they assumed was near the end of the day. The only difference between this visit and their previous visit was that the entire town had been destroyed by an army of skeletons, ones that were walking around with a evil red glow in their eyes. That was before Sunset spotted someone, a woman she realized, standing at the top of the hill, overlooking the destruction her forces had caused with a look of joy in her eyes. She was dressed in what Sunset assumed was a fine robe and had a circlet around her forehead, though it was clear that she possessed enough power to call forth so many undead to form such an army. "Another necromancer?!" Lydia exclaimed, annoyance filling her voice as she drew her battleaxe, "And here I was thinking that we had destroyed all of the ones that resided in Skyrim. Come my Thane, we shall deal with this enemy." "That's no necromancer," Raja commented, having stolen a book that mentioned this very figure once upon a time, "That's Potema, the Wolf Queen herself... She's one of the strongest and most evil necromancers in all of Skyrim's history, but she should be a pile of bones at the moment and not a walking body." "We don't have time for this," Sunset said, sighing as she debated between the using the staff or her sword to shatter their enemy, "We also can't leave her alone to do whatever she wants, which I'm assuming is whatever Revan or Tirek want her to do. So how should we get rid of her?" "I'd suggest having a necromancy battle, but she's taken all the corpses in the area," Serana replied, an annoyed tone filling her voice for a few moments, "So just go destroy her so we can move on." Sunset detached herself from the group and approached the burning town, noting that the skeletons that were walking around stopped and stared at her, as if they were trying to figure out if she was an enemy or not. Several of the undead were freshly killed, as she spotted several necromancers that must have hidden themselves away when they realized that their army had been flattened. It made sense that they would try to resurrect one of the most powerful necromancers in all of Skyrim's history, as she might also be persuaded to join Tirek's forces for some time. As she approached Potema, however, she drew her ebony sword and let it hang by her side, slowly drawing her magic into the blade so she could catch her undead opponent off guard. "Ah, so your the upstart that's upsetting the Master," Potema commented, watching Sunset approach her with a slight smile on her face, "True be told I don't see why Master Revan and Lord Tirek are so threatened by you. Nor do I see how you could have managed to summon a massive army of Draugr to protect Labyrinthian from your foes. Yes, you have power inside of you, but even I can tell that a good portion of your power is still locked deep inside yourself, blocked off by your fear and your anger." "I don't know what your talking about," Sunset fired back, noting that magic was starting to take shape around her sword, "I have fought both Revan and Tirek several times already, I'm not afraid of either of them." "You can lie to yourself as much as you want child, but I know the truth," Potema replied, a full blown smirk appearing on her face, "You have yet to face Lord Tirek at his full power, something that you know that you are ill prepared to face should it come to pass. You can gather all of these people into one fighting force with the promise to save this pitiful world, but in the end all your really doing is leading everyone to their deaths. Once Lord Tirek has his full power back he'll tear open a rift between Nirn and Oblivion, erasing this world as he leaves to his own home world, leaving whatever world that comes after this for those that still follow him. I will be the Queen of the New World and, with Master Revan at my side as the King, we shall rule over the world until the end times come again... only we'd be completely prepared for them." "Why is it that everyone who joins Tirek end sup completely insane?" Sunset asked, holding out her sword as the magic ignited, wrapping around the blade as she prepared to let the energy fly, "He's going to destroy this world and kill everyone that's around him, regardless if they're on his side or are fighting to protect the world. Your helping a monster because he promised you the world that might come after Nirn, but all you'll really be getting is death... just like everyone else that's decided to side with that monster so far." Before Potema could make a response Sunset pulled her arm back and swung her sword as hard as she could, letting the wave of energy erupt from the weapon and surge towards her target. The necromancer either didn't have enough time to get out of the way or just didn't care, as she took on the full force of the attack and was consumed by the explosion that followed. Sunset knew that something was up the moment she noticed that the skeletons around her didn't go away, in fact they all stared at her and started to laugh. She didn't like the sounds of their decayed laughs, but she turned back to the small crater she had made and watched as a form appeared in the dust. Her eyes widened as the spirit of Potema lingered in front of the crater for a moment, before strands of magic began to piece together the form that she had originally wore. "Did you honestly think that your puny attack would kill me?" Potema asked, laughing as she approached Sunset, who stood her ground and prepared herself, "Foolish child, I am the Wolf Queen. I let my guard down once and it was my destruction, but I have learned from that mistake and have ensured that I cannot die ever again. So go ahead, strike out at me with whatever fury you can muster, because I will continue to reform myself until I have slaughtered you and your friends. I will not rest until the souls of everyone in your pitiful alliance are transported to the Soul Cairn and their bodies are raised to fuel the destruction of Nirn!" Sunset, now annoyed with her enemy, allowed her anger and her magic to pool around the ebony sword, gathering into a mass far greater than what she had used against Tirek the very first time. Then, when she was sure it could hold under the pressure, she twisted the blade and send the energy right at her enemy, allowing a second energy wave to contact with Potema and consume her in a fiery explosion. This time she watched the skeletons, watching for something that might tell her how Potema was rebuilding herself after such an attack, before she spotted one of the skeletons turning into pure dust. That was before the dust from her attack blew away and made her face Potema once more, with her body completely recreated yet again. "How many times must I tell you that you're not going to kill me?" Potema asked, a hint of annoyance in her voice, "You can exhaust yourself if you wish, but no matter how many times you do the same attack I shall continue to get back up each and every time. I will outlast you... mortal!" "I don't think so," Serana said, walking up to Sunset with a red crystal in her hand, "Recognize this little beauty? You should, because the reason you haven't died from any of those attacks is because of this. Its where you chose to hide your soul, but you kept it close in case you needed to restore your body or escape a losing battle, which is now your undoing. The moment I break this you'll have one last life to live, which will shortly be destroyed by Sunset, so I'd start running now if I were you." As Potema debated what to do Serana dropped the gem onto the ground and then brought her boot down on top of it, shattering the red stone and causing the Wolf Queen to briefly hold her heart with one hand. Sunset, seeing what the vampire was doing, channeled more power into her sword, to which Potema flinched and turned tail to run back up the hill behind her. Sunset sighed as she brought her arm back, taking aim at the retreating undead necromancer for a brief moment, before swinging the blade and releasing the energy, creating a third wave that tore through the air and struck Potema in the back. The moment the wave connected it produced an explosion that tore into the road, which Sunset knew she was going to have to tell General Tullius about, but as the dust cleared, and the skeletons collapsed to the ground, it was clear that the Wolf Queen was finally dead. "Thanks, I was getting tired of her," Sunset told Serana, to which the vampire merely shrugged and beckoned for them to get underway once more. With Potema taken care of, and her army destroyed, the group resumed their journey, heading into the mountain side as they neared the location of Darkfall Cave. They soon discovered that the cave lived up to its name, as the moment they entered they found that it was difficult to see where they were going at times. The only creature that was even aware that the group was there was a frostbite spider, which emerged from its little hiding spot and leapt out at them, but Lydia raised her battleaxe and sliced it in half while it was in the air, letting the pieces fall to the ground behind them. They then came to what appeared to be a wooden bridge leading across a large gap, but the moment they crossed to the other side they discovered that there was nowhere else to go. "I'm guessing that we're supposed to head into the water below," Serana commented, though as she looked down there she noticed a few spiders lining the walls, "This ought to be fun." Sunset sighed and prepared herself for whatever was waiting below them as she threw herself off the bridge, hitting the water moments later before it carried her to an area where she could stand again. As she got on her feet she noticed that a few spiders had followed her as well, so she summoned her magic and blew one of them up almost immediately. Her friends shortly followed the other spiders, to which they attacked them the moment they landed and cleared the area within seconds. They took a moment to make sure that they had everything before moving on, leaving Sunset to wonder how they'd get out of the cave if the only way down to this part was behind them now. After a few minutes they came to what appeared to be a bloodied campsite, one that had a couple of corpses lying around and had two paths laid out for them. Sunset knew that they could take the path that was leading upwards and return to the surface, which had answered her thought about that question, but also knew that the path leading downwards was the one they needed to take. They rested by the fire for a couple of minutes, getting as much of the water out of their clothes and armor as they could, before picking up their gear and continuing down the hill. They were careful to avoid the rock trap that had been set up, warning them that there was something they needed to watch out for, and they progressed as silently as they possibly could. It was moments like this that Sunset wished that she knew what had become of the Skeleton Key, because sneaking wasn't something she could excel at and the disappearance of those abilities really hurt some of her friends. They then entered an area that had two trolls waiting around for travelers to come this way, though the two of them weren't very hard for them to defeat thanks to Lydia's hunger for battle. As her friends made sure that there was nothing else that was going to get in their way, not that Sunset expected anything at the moment, she did take a moment to observe the simple shrine with a makeshift camp that was at the end of the cave. There was a rather tall elf, one with pale skin that reminded her of the Falmer they had fought before and wearing armor that she had never seen before, standing near the golden shrine, though he didn't seem hostile towards them. In fact there was one moment where Sunset swore that the elf was beckoning the group to approach him, as if he had an urgent matter for them to attend to. Once her friends were ready Sunset approached the elf, though Serana immediately followed her and stayed by her side as they stopped near the shrine. "Ah, good, you have arrived," the elf said, grateful that his gesture managed to bring them closer to him, instead of making them stay on the opposite side of the cavern, "I am Knight-Paladin Gelebor, Sentinel of the Chantry of Auri-El. Please, do not be alarmed. I know you have come seeking Auriel's Bow, but first I require your assistance." "And what would that be?" Sunset asked, curious as to what the elf needed them to do in exchange for the legendary bow. "Its quite simple actually," Gelebor told them, a sad expression appearing on his face for a moment, Gelebor replied, "I simply need you to kill my brother, Arch-Curate Vyrthur. The beings you call the Falmer swept into the Chantry and slaughtered many of my people, but they stormed into the Inner Sanctum and somehow corrupted him. He's no longer the brother I once knew, as all he does these days is stare at the Betrayed and watch whatever horrid act their committing. Getting to the Inner Sanctum will not be easy, as all you need to do is follow the Initiates footsteps and visit the Wayshrines that dot the Chantry. The first of which lies at the end of Darkfall Passage, which the shrine behind me will allow you to enter." "So let me guess," Serana said, shaking her head at the elf, as if she was anticipating what he was going to tell them next, "We're going to carry a water pitcher across this Chantry, fill it at all the Wayshrines, and then we'll gain entrance to the Inner Sanctum?" "With this ewer," Gelebor clarified, picking up a nearby silver ewer and handed it over to Sunset, who was somewhat amazed by the craft on the item she had been handed, "Now, allow me to show you the Wayshrines that you'll need to visit." The moment the words left his mouth he cast a spell at the structure behind him and the entire area began to shake, before the structure began to rise from the ground until it nearly reached the ceiling. There were six sides to it, one side opened so they could enter, four of them looking like normal stone walls, and one that was glowing like it was a portal. Sunset could see that the open portal lead to another cave, though she was simply amazed that such magic could still exist in Nirn and began to wonder if she had found the answer to her getting back home... once Tirek was beaten. "This structure is known as a wayshrine." Gelebor told them, while the entire group crowded around to see the structure, "They were used for meditation and for transport when the Chantry was a place of enlightenment. Prelates of these shrines were charged with teaching the mantras of Auri-El to our Initiates. Once the Initiate completed his mantras, he'd dip a ceremonial ewer in the basin at the wayshrine's center and proceed to the next wayshrine. The only way to get to my brother is by following in the Initiates' footsteps and traveling from wayshrine to wayshrine just as they did. The first lay at the end of Darkfall Passage, a cavern that represents the absence of enlightenment, though there are five in total you must visit. Once you've located a wayshrine, there will be a spectral Prelate tending to it. They will allow you to draw the waters from the shrine's basin as if you've been enlightened. Now that I have given you all the aid that I can, which I'm afraid is all of my knowledge and the ewer, all I can do now is grant you my hopes for a safe journey." Sunset nodded her understanding to the elf and approached the open portal, knowing that her friends wouldn't be far behind her, before she stepped through and journeyed to Darkfall Passage, where they would begin the hunt for the five wayshrines and, ultimately, Auriel's Bow. ------------------------------------- Aetherius, the Immortal Plane. The Palace of the Divines, a place where not even the most honored of the mortal races would see, despite their best efforts. It was a simple place with nine chairs that surrounded a table that allowed them to view anything across Nirn, though these days it was tuned into one creature. It was set to keep an eye on Tirek, the demon from another dimension, as he worked his wicked schemes and twisted the people of Skyrim against each other, until Sunset Shimmer created the Alliance to fight him. Then the truth of his schemes was revealed and they had to watch as the Daedric Princes were slowly drained of their powers, one by one until they would all be gone. "I cannot stand watching this happen," Talos shouted, crushing the golden drinking cup he had been holding in his hand the entire time, while spilling a few drops on his armor, "Akatosh, you must let me do something about this demon. Allow me to go back to Skyrim and take this demon's head, so that I may present it to you all on a platter." "No need to be so brutish Talos," Julianos replied, looking up from the book he happened to be reading before he looked at the Mortal turned Divine, "and besides, even if we could send someone down to take out Tirek, such as yourself, we'd only be handing him even greater power for him to do what he wants. He's managed to absorb quite a few Daedric Princes and may have gained the ability to fight one of us, should we choose to appear in Skyrim to fight him. No, we need to think this through and figure out something that we actually can do, besides bickering between ourselves." "Can we not call on Alduin to assist us?" Dibella asked, moving a piece of hair out of her face as she glanced back at the table, causing the scene to shift to the dragon in question, "He's got an army of undead that are willing to follow whatever his orders are, and he has plenty of reason to hate Tirek at the moment. Akatosh, do you think its possible for one of us to tell your son where Tirek is located and make him head there with his army, so he can possibly rescue the Daedric Princes that have already been caught?" The other seven turned towards their Chief, who happened to be sitting on his throne and staring at the table the entire time, either watching Tirek, his son, or Sunset Shimmer. They could understand why he was silent almost all the time, as he was busy considering the consequences of any action that any of the Divines made. He had told them not to tell anyone about Tirek for fear of the entire world going to war with itself to find him, but now he was looking to see what might happen if he told his son where the demon was located. Even as he considered what the possible consequences all he could see was giving Sunset more time to do what she needed to do, which he was fine with giving her. He sighed for a moment and placed his hands on the sides of his throne, where he pulled himself up to a standing position and stared at the table, much to the surprise of the other Divines. "I shall tell Alduin where Tirek is located," Akatosh told the other Divines, "and hopefully he'll force the demon to move... or completely destroy him altogether." ------------------------------------- Alduin, somewhat tired from flying around and resurrecting a few of his kind from their slumber, was resting his head on one of the stones near Labyrinthian. He was also waiting for Sunset Shimmer to arrive and begin her training, but so far she appeared to be busy hunting down another one of the demon's underlings. He was willing to forgive that at the moment, as long as she came back to them when the moment was right and unlocked her true potential as a Dragon Priestess. He knew that her power might actually be unrivaled when she learned all they had to teach her, but he waited for that day to come and rested near his army. As he rested he heard the voice of his father enter his mind, snapping his eyes open as the image of a fortress appeared in his mind and the name followed it. Then the piece of information he was waiting for came, the verification that the demon known was Tirek was located at Fort Neugrad, which roused the dragon from his rest. "Nahkriin," Alduin roared in the Dragon Tongue, getting into a standing position, "I summon you to my side." A few minutes later the Dragon Priest in question came floating to where he was waiting, though he seemed indifferent thank to his undead status. Once he was close to his Lord he got on the ground and knelt before him, eagerly awaiting what commands his Lord had to tell him to carry out. "Prepare our army," Alduin growled, a small grin appearing for an instant, "We're heading to Fort Neugrad so we can completely and utterly destroy Tirek... and save the pathetic Daedric Princes that he's apparently caught."