//------------------------------// // 52: Devastation // Story: Sunset's Adventure in Skyrim // by Blackdrag-rose //------------------------------// "Move it soldiers!" Delphine shouted, turning to her right and watching a group of soldiers haul a chest full of gear towards the dock, "We don't have time to waste! Get everything back on the ships and get ready to depart!" Sunset watched her Commander work as she whipped the soldiers into a frenzy to leave Solstheim, which had happened soon after she had told General Tullius to visit Raven Rock and tell the dark elves living there that they needed to leave as well. Captain Orak, on the other hand, had been assigned to visit the Skaal Village, where he could attempt to convince the people there that they needed to leave their home behind. She hoped that Frea would understand the message and could bring them to the fortress, where they all could get on the ships and leave before her enemy arrived. Thanks to Hermaeus Mora she knew that Solstheim was going to be destroyed in a few hours, there was no preventing that from happening, but she was going to make sure that Tirek paid for everything that he's already destroyed. Shortly after Delphine started shouting commands at the soldiers the seven Black Books, all of which Neloth had been carrying with him at the time, glowed for a moment before Miraak returned to the fortress, though he wasn't alone. Three dragons materialized in the air above the fortress, though Miraak informed Sunset that they were allies and that Hermaeus Mora had used some of his energy to allow them to return to Nirn with him. Sunset didn't know whether or not Alduin would be pleased with Miraak joining the army or not, but at the moment she was more focused on getting away from the island. "Dragonborn, we have come as you have asked," a voice said, just as Frea and the rest of the Skaal entered the fortress, "Tell me, is it true that your enemy will be coming here to destroy Solstheim? Can we trust what old Herma Mora told you?" "I have no reason to believe that the Daedric Prince was lying to me," Sunset replied, sighing as she cast another glance out to the ships as she slowly counted down the time they had left, "Tirek has destroyed Winterhold, ruined the Thalmor Embassy, and shattered the town of Falkreath, just to name some of the horrors he has committed. He's likely done other things that I'm not even aware of yet, so saying that he'd come here and destroy the island isn't a stretch for him." "Hermaeus Mora was not lying when he told her of the demon's plans to come here," Miraak spoke up, causing Frea to turn towards him once more, though that was when Sunset noticed that the anger she had seen in the nord's eyes had been replaced by concern for her people, "He will come here and destroy Solstheim... though if you want revenge against the demon for taking your home then you might want to get on the ships. I'm under the assumption that once we land in Skyrim we'll be getting the army together for what will likely be the last great war in all of Nirn's history." Sunset hoped that she had enough power to defeat the demon without risking everyone's lives, but knew that by working together they could overcome any obstacle. She had been thinking about the best place to conduct a battle with the demon, but every time she considered where to do it she continued to return to the plains around Whiterun. It was the perfect place to fight, but the only problem was that she was going to have to ask the Jarl to evacuate everyone before Tirek arrived, so they could avoid unnecessary deaths. She also took into consideration that the demon might also arrive and crush the entirety of the city without looking for her, giving her another reason to get the people away before he arrived. "Then its a good thing that I gathered up what weapons and armor we had before departing from the village," Frea commented, beckoning to the nordic weapons that the Skaal were carrying before tapping her own axes, "If this is to be a battle for all of Nirn, then by the will of the All-Maker we will stand beside you and fight this demon until we have breathed our last breath. We will see ourselves to the ships and make ready for departure." Sunset was, once again, amazed by how quickly the people around her were changing because of Tirek's presence and his constant desire to bring about the end of their world. "I hate to admit it Adril, but it seems that you were right," another voice said, causing Sunset to turn around and find a pair of dark elves, with two Redoran Guards standing nearby, at the fortress' entrance, "I am Lleril Morvayn, the Councilor of Raven Rock, and I have come to understand that you met Adril when you first arrived in our fair settlement. Your General, Tullius I believe it was, came to us and told us that we needed to evacuate the settlement before a 'demon' arrived and destroyed the entire island. We planned on coming here to learn the truth from you, but it seems that the Skaal had the same questions that we had and learned the truth about our island's fate... something that I never would have ever dreamed possible." "And now that we know the truth we can begin evacuating people before disaster hits," Adril continued, though his gaze moved up into the mountains for a moment, "You know, I had always planned on roaming the wilderness of Solstheim and visit all of the ruins that it held - on the outside I mean - but then I became Second Councilor and focused on making this place thrive once more. Its kind of sad that everything is going to be gone in a matter of hours." Sunset nodded her head and allowed the four dark elves to depart from the fortress, allowing her to return to her work as she wondered when Tirek was going to arrive. ------------------------------------- Tirek grinned as the last of Hermaeus Mora's power was drained from his body, to which he dropped the tentacle he had been holding and stared at his hands for a moment. He knew that his horns had not grown very much over the last few Princes he had drained, but with his power at one hundred percent he could afford to overlook the medium sized horns. The only other thing that was left was the cuffs that wrapped around his wrists, a silent reminder of his time in Tartarus before he escaped when Cerberus left his post. The last item on his agenda was to show Sunset Shimmer his power, and crush her in the same instant, before he tore open a portal that would take him back to Equus... and to the Princesses that had defeated him. Still so confident in your ability to win I see, Hermaeus commented, weakly floating in the air as Tirek faced him, Sunset Shimmer is a force to be reckoned with... as you'll no doubt soon find out. "And I am constantly growing tired of you all saying that she has the power to defeat me," Tirek growled in return, turning back to the door so he could leave the storeroom, "I shattered an entire town before her eyes and she fled in fear. I have broken mountains and she has allowed despair to fill herself. Even her allies doubt her ability to defeat me, which only transferred to her over time." Ah, but that is where you are wrong, Hermaeus countered, a small chuckle echoing throughout the storeroom, She has defeated the emotions that have been holding her back this entire time, giving her the ability to command all her magic without her fear of you blocking the way. She has the ability, and the power, to defeat you and send you back to where you belong. "Then I shall simply destroy her before she has a chance to return to Skyrim," Tirek said, blasting open the door to the storeroom before walking outside, "and then I will tear this entire world to pieces." Tirek then burst into the air and turned in the direction of Solstheim, following the magical energy that he knew was now the result of Sunset fighting against her own emotions. He grinned as he traveled towards his rival's location, knowing that he would give her something new to fear before the day was even over... and cause her to fail the people she was protecting. Hermaeus, on the other hand, merely floated out of the storeroom and headed in the direction of Fellglow Keep, where he could join the other Princes and prepare himself for what was coming. Once a fool, always a fool, Hermaeus chuckled, though his foolishness will cost him greatly. ------------------------------------- By the time that all three of their ships were at the maximum number of passengers they could safely carry, counting the Skaal and several of the villagers from Raven Rock among their numbers, an hour and fifty minutes had passed. Once they were ready to go Sunset had given the command for them to begin the journey back to Skyrim, but she decided to stay for a moment so she could watch for Tirek. If the demon did arrive and destroyed the island she could easily flash through the air and land on one of the ships, so she wasn't concerned about escaping the island at all. Her flagship was the last of the three ships to leave the dock, though as she watched the ships move out to the Sea of Ghosts she felt something disrupt the magic in the air. It confirmed her suspicions that Tirek had deployed a spell to hide his power from her, though whatever he was doing had revealed himself to her. "Warlord!" Miraak called down to her, as he was flying on one of the dragon's back, Sahrotaar she recalled, "I felt that as well; the demon is accessing the Tree Stone that my Temple was built around. I don't know what his purpose is, but you have his location." Sunset nodded her understanding and watched Miraak fly out to the ships, before she turned around and flashed through the air, choosing to arrive at her destination quicker. As she traveled through the ash she spotted several of the native creatures running towards the water, almost as if they could feel that something terrible was coming and were wanting to be as far away from the event would begin. She quickly arrived at the temple, which was now clear of both the bandits that Miraak had controlled and the villagers that had been working on it, but landed at the steps so she could silently walk up and observe what was happening before charging blindly into battle. What she found was Tirek standing before the Stone in question and had his hand resting just above the pillar, though she quickly realized that there were small cracks beginning to form on it. "You arrived quicker than I thought you would," Tirek said, barely turning towards her as she revealed herself, "and I can see that Hermaeus Mora was not lying when he said that you conquered your fear... though I shall make an effort to remind you why you once feared me." "You might as well surrender Tirek," Sunset replied, quickly drawing her sword and summoning the Staff of Magnus, to which she pointed both at her enemy, "I'm not going to let you destroy Nirn." "Ah, but you know that commanding me to surrender wont work," Tirek said, turning to face her now, though his hand remained near the Stone, "You and I will clash before the end of this world, and I have accepted that we are destined to do that, but you wont survive what's coming, Sunset Shimmer. The Daedric Princes may say that you have the power to defeat me, but now that I have my pull power there is nothing you can do to stop me. Now watch closely and witness the power I command." Before Sunset could do anything Tirek summoned magic into the palm of his hand and then pressed it into the Stone, causing the cracks to continue to grow for a moment. After a few seconds, during which nothing else happened, Tirek growled and poured more power into the Stone, to which the cracks grew even more. Then, to make his point, Tirek drew his fist back and then slammed it into the ancient Stone, shattering the ancient structure and causing the ground to shake. The small scale shaking quickly evolved into a major quake, which told Sunset that Tirek had done something more than shatter the Tree Stone. "What have you done?" Sunset shouted, forcing herself to stay balanced as the earth shifted beneath her feet. "I have shattered all the Stones in an instant," Tirek replied, grinning as he teleported into the air, though by the way he was pointing Sunset could tell that he was preparing to depart, "and so this island will die, sinking into the sea with everyone that lives here. I'll see you in Skyrim, Sunset Shimmer." Sunset stared at her enemy as he departed from the island, but before she could follow him she felt the ground shake even more than the previous times, causing her to decide that leaving would be best. She got into the air and headed towards the ships, casting a look back at the island to be sure that nothing was rising into the air to block her path. It didn't take her long to find the ships, as the flagship was still the closest to the island, and she rapidly descended to the deck before turning and facing Solstheim. The middle of the island seemed to be getting bigger and bigger, but then it suddenly collapsed on itself and started dragging the rest of the island into the Sea of Ghosts. Everyone was helpless as they watched the island shatter under the destruction of the Stones that had kept the land together, sinking into the hole that the Tree Stone had made until there was nothing left of Solstheim. Sunset turned to Delphine and had them get underway, now even more determined to stop Tirek before he managed the same destruction to one of Tamriel's provinces. ------------------------------------- Getting back to Windhelm was easy, but when they arrived Sunset found that Jarl Ulfric and Elenwen were there to greet her and her ships when they arrived. Neither of them were pleased to hear that Solstheim was gone, destroyed by the demon no less, though they seemed glad that her trip was not wasted. Sunset was offered the chance to rest before they got underway, but she merely shook her head and started towards Whiterun, leaving behind an order for Delphine to get the soldiers prepared while she spoke with Jarl Balgruuf. Instead of wasting an hour on jumping from place to place Sunset used a small amount of magic and cast a teleportation spell, allowing herself to jump to Dragonsreach in a matter of seconds. Once she arrived in the building she immediately set out to convince the Jarl to evacuate the people who lived in the city, which was harder than she expected. "I'm glad that you returned Sunset," Balgruuf said, moving his right hand to his face for a moment, "but we simply cannot just evacuate everyone from Whiterun. We'd be sitting ducks for that demon to attack..." "He's only interested in me," Sunset told the Jarl again, "and there's plenty of room in the Fellglow Keep for people, be they sick or healthy, so you don't have to worry about them. I'm only asking that you do this as a precaution, as I have no idea if Tirek will destroy something else to make the point that he's at his full power. I'd rather not take the chance and have him fire an attack at the city." "And you're positive that he's coming to Whiterun?" Balgruuf asked, as if he was deciding whether or not he should move his people, "Or, as you have told me, the plains surrounding my city?" "The plains are the most logical place to have a fair fight," Sunset replied, tapping her staff once while she spoke, "its mostly an open area, with a few places to hide, but for the most part it would be the two of us fighting in the open." The two of them stared at each other for a few minutes before Balgruuf sighed and nodded his head, as if he was admitting defeat and knew that Sunset's plan would ensure that his citizens would be safe from harm. He then started issuing orders to Irileth, who would oversee the relocation of the citizens of Whiterun to Fellglow Keep, giving Sunset time to prepare for Tirek's arrival. She knew that he would come here, though she didn't know if he'd stop somewhere before attacking the city or if he came straight at her with the intent on crushing her in battle. While she waited for her enemy she stood in front of the statue of Talos, going through each and every spell she had used throughout her life and the few that she had only read about. She needed a plan of attack for when Tirek arrived, something that would catch the demon off guard and give her a fighting chance at besting the demon. She also considered pouring every ounce of her power into her attacks and wear the demon down until she could win, but she merely waited as the people around her made their way out of the city. ------ An hour passed after her arrival in Whiterun before anything happened, as the moment the sixtieth minute had passed there was the sound of stone cracking as something landed hard on the walkway near the statue. Sunset turned to her left and found Tirek standing there, though it was clear that he was looking around for other people to kill before they got started with their fight. She sighed for a moment and then picked herself off the ground, dusting off her armor as she turned to face the demon, while drawing her sword in her right hand. That was when she noticed that he, too, was carrying his own ebony sword, something that she wasn't expecting from the demon, as all of their clashes had been spell against spell. "I see that you moved everyone out of the city," Tirek commented, a grin appearing on his face as he turned to face her, "well then, we had best get started... and don't bother asking me to move someplace else. Only those who have the power to move me can tell me where we will fight." "Is that right?" Sunset asked, though she was as calm as she could possibly be as she looked at the demon, "Well then, I guess its time we got started." Before Tirek had a chance to move Sunset flashed in front of him, grabbed his face with her left hand, and burst into the air, sailing through the air to the west for a moment before tossing Tirek straight at the ground, hard enough that he created a small crater when he landed. As he picked himself up, with a look of sheer disbelief on his face, Sunset lowered a bit and looked down at him, wondering what his next move would be. "I see that your training has done you some good," Tirek laughed, as if the fact that Sunset could move him actually excited him, "but now its time to show you my true power!" Light blue magic rippled across his body before he disappeared from where he was standing, only for him to reappear not a few feet behind Sunset. He then swung his arm at her and released the energy stored within his sword, causing an intense wave of energy to head right for Sunset, who merely turned around and summoned a shield to block the attack. The moment that the two spells collided the area around them was flattened, as the rocky ground had been turned smooth under the pressure of the attack. Sunset was surprised that he was copying her own attacks and using them against her, but she refused to show any emotions during this fight. "You must be surprised by the power I command," Tirek stated, as if he expected her to be surprised by the collision of their spells, "The last time I fought a creature worthy of equaling my power we shattered the very ground we fought on, though it seems that this time I'll be the one doing the breaking. You, on the other hand, shall provide me with the perfect opportunity to test my powers before I open the portal to Equus." From that point on Tirek went on the offensive, throwing mockeries of her condensed energy wave at her as they battled in the air, while Sunset stuck to using her defensive spell. Each time the wave met one of her shields the ground beneath them was flattened, creating a smooth area to walk on while crushing anything that happened to get in the way. One time they happened to be close to a large hill when the spells collided, causing about half the hill to disappear into nothingness as it was flattened. When the next one came at Sunset she tried a different method and teleported away for a moment, appearing at the top of the watchtower she killed her first dragon at. Her plan to get some form of attack in her mind ended up failing, as it turned out that Tirek was skilled at reading where she was teleporting to as he appeared above her. "You cannot run from me Sunset Shimmer," Tirek shouted, swinging his blade at her, but as the energy tore into the tower and crushed it into the ground Sunset appeared near Fort Greymoor for a moment. Tirek appeared close behind her and swung his sword at her, though as Sunset noticed that it wasn't designed to release the energy this time she blocked it with her sword and pushed to keep the demon's blade from reaching her. The result of their blades connecting was the creation of a swirl of dust, pushing all the smoke and dust from the area as the two of them stood there and stared at each other. ------ Balgruuf and his army, perched on the road behind the Honningbrew Meadery, watched the fight unfold before their very eyes, though as they did so he had to wonder if Sunset had a chance at winning this. Irileth seemed positive that Sunset could win the fight, so he sighed and watched the event unfold before his eyes, wincing when the watchtower was completely destroyed. He was waiting to see if there was a chance that he and his forces would be needed for this fight, but as they waited he spotted a massive caravan stopping near him, to which he spotted Delphine and her army. "By the Divines, its already started," Delphine almost cursed, spotting the destruction that Sunset and Tirek had already caused, "I guess all we can do is wait until we're called on." "And if the Dragonborn falls?" Balgruuf asked, not that he was crazy about fighting the demon now that he had observed his power. "Then Nirn will fall with her," Delphine replied, beckoning for her soldiers to prepare for their attack if they were called upon, "but not before we give the demon a piece of our minds." ------ "You know, I figured something out from our exchange," Tirek commented, still trying to press down on Sunset's blade and snap it, who was defending to the best of her ability. "Oh?" Sunset stated, not sure what he was talking about, but decided that if it opened a weakness for her to use then she might as well let him talk, "And what would that be?" "Despite the amount of training you put yourself through we're still on two separate levels," Tirek told her, his grin returning now that he had determined that she was weaker than he was, "And, if I will it so, I could apply enough power to my blade and snap your pathetic weapon before your very eyes!" Tirek pulled his arm back for a moment, as if he was pouring more power into the blade, before he swung his sword at Sunset again, but this time Sunset summoned a shield that stopped the sword dead in its tracks. The energy from the blade rippled behind the shield and struck the fortress, which shook under the pressure from the attack and had its structure shatter into pieces. Eventually the entirety of the fortress was scattered across the ground, but all Tirek could apparently do at the moment was stare at the shield that had blocked his powerful attack. "Why are you so surprised?" Sunset asked, curious as to why he was staring at the shield like he was, "Every unicorn that has trained under Princess Celestia studies both offensive and defensive spells, both of which I'm quite skilled in if you hadn't noticed. In fact there's one shield spell that catches weapons and stops them dead in their tracks... oops, you've already seen that spell now..." "It seems that I underestimated your abilities," Tirek said, drawing his blade back as he leapt backwards a couple of feet, remaining in the air like Sunset was, "but that will soon come to an end. During my time in Tartarus I picked up on several spells that the Wardens used to seal prisoners away, mostly to prevent any of them from escaping... though thanks to Cerberus leaving his post, and them scattering about to keep the other prisoners in line, I managed to make my escape. I used several of these spells to keep the Daedric Princes from leaving my presence once they were summoned, but now its time that I used the most powerful one of them on you!" Tirek summoned a sphere of green energy into his left hand before holding it towards the sky, to which Sunset noticed that the air seemed to grow heavier all of a sudden. "The unending crest of eternity, stripping away one's power," Tirek intoned, his voice louder than it normally was as the pressure increased with each word, "The arrogant bonds of torment, binding one into place. Bring forth Tartarus' Flames and inscribe the power of Space and Time. Unite! Take form! Fill the air and lock this one out of existence! Sealing Spell Number Five, Prison Sphere!" The air around Sunset shimmered for a moment before green energy erupted from the air beneath her feet, circling to the area above her horn and creating a spherical structure around her. She stood there and watched as the area between each of the bars sealed itself with the same green energy, while using the pressure she was feeling to keep her in one place. Sunset understood why this was a spell that the Wardens of Tartarus would use, as the intense pressure she was feeling was designed to keep her in one place while the sphere sealed itself around her. It would then give the caster the ability to move her wherever they wanted... or in Tirek's case keep her sitting there as he broke open the portal to Equus and destroyed all of Nirn. As the sphere closed around her Sunset also noticed a flaw in the workings of the spell, something that would allow her to show Tirek just how wrong he was. Once the sphere was locked up, and the area around it had returned to normal, Tirek grinned as he marveled at the fact that his foe didn't have a spell for countering his own. With his work done he turned towards the eclipse he had created and began to gather the power necessary to tear open a portal that would take him back to Equus. Not a few seconds later he heard a cracking sound, causing him to turn around in time to see Sunset shatter the Prison Sphere with the Staff of Magnus. He stood there with his mouth wide open, wondering how such a spell could have worked on his fellow inmates and yet fail against a mere unicorn. "Your spell is designed to work against those that are weakened from their time in Tartarus," Sunset told her foe, sighing as she looked at her sword for a moment, "not against someone like me. Now, I do believe its time that I return the favor." Sunset flashed through the air and appeared in front of Tirek, but this time she swung her sword and it bit into his chest, cutting him front his left hip and going all the way to his right shoulder. The moment the blood started dripping he disappeared from where Sunset was standing and appeared above what had been Fort Greymoor, all while making sure that the wound wasn't going to make him lose the fight. Then, after a few seconds of studying the attack, he growled and turned back towards Sunset, wondering how a mere unicorn could block his own attacks, shatter one of the strongest sealing sells that he had, and then wound him like she had done. "Are you pleased with yourself?" Tirek shouted, anger filling him as his magic flared all around him, "Are you pleased that you managed to stop every one of my attacks? Are you pleased that you managed to shatter my Prison Sphere? Are you pleased that you managed to wound me?" Sunset had to wonder if Tirek was actually losing his mind, because while she was happy that she was actually holding her own against the demon she would only truly be pleased if she actually won the fight. She had also seen something like this when unicorn's got extremely mad, as their bodies turned white and their manes and tails caught on fire, so she had to wonder what was going on. After a few seconds she began to notice the energy gathering around Tirek, but as she was about to say something he grinded his teeth before finally snapping. "Don't be so conceited," Tirek snapped, his anger going over its boiling point at that moment, "UNICORN!" Tirek cuffs shattered in an instant before he was absorbed by a massive pillar of terrible red energy, one that ascended towards the sky and rocked the ground around them. Sunset stood her ground and waited for whatever was happening to stop, so she could figure out if her foe was still alive or if his anger had forced him to explode. When the pillar finally died down Sunset's eyes widened as she spotted Tirek standing in the same position he had been in before his anger broke, but he had changed. His arms were red colored, his chest was black, and his lower body was grey colored, but that was before she spotted that his horns were much longer than they had been before and that his feet had been replaced by hooves. That was before Sunset noticed that Tirek was now three times as tall as he had been before the pillar had appeared, turning him into a giant of sorts. "I must thank you, Sunset Shimmer," Tirek said, his voice sounding more powerful than it had previously been, while red magic arched into the area between his horns, "for without you overpowering me I would have never discovered that I was never at my full power. Now, allow me to truly show you what I cam capable of." Before Sunset could even lift a finger a sphere appeared between Tirek's horn, before he turned in the direction of Whterun and released the magic. The sphere surged towards the city and only stopped when it hit its destination, the Gildergreen Sunset was able to make out, before the following explosion rocked the entire area. She had to close her eyes and hold her ground as the wind whipped around her, but when it finally died down she opened her eyes and her mouth widened when she witnessed the destruction Tirek had caused. The entirety of Whiterun, everything from the bridge that was used to access the main gate to Dragonsreach itself, was gone, erased from Skyrim in a burst of energy that left a smoking crater in its place. "Now then," Tirek said, a grin appearing on his face as Sunset turned towards him, "I do believe its your turn to get hurt."