The Equine Scrolls: SkyFiM

by FireOfTheNorth

Chapter 67: Forbidden Knowledge

Chapter LXVII: Forbidden Knowledge
“I am Hermaehorse Mora, guardian of the unseen, and knower of the unknown.”

After finishing our business with the Twilight Guardian, we returned to what we’d been doing before being taken off course. After a short trek down the mountain and across the snow-covered tundra, we made it to Winterhorn. Things seemed to be going fairly well in the tiny town. Construction of new homes farther from the College was underway, and students appeared to be helping here and there. So far the treaty seemed to be holding.

Stormcloud soldiers patrolled the town, replacing many of the guards that had died in the battle for Winterhorn just days before. The College now had its own guards besides Quicksilver patrolling in front of the College. They recognized us as we reached the base of the bridge and let us pass, even calling out a friendly greeting.

As we entered the College courtyard, I caught sight of ponies who were dressed in the robes of a mage. A unicorn and a few bat-ponies were being directed toward one of the many towers that surrounded the College. Apparently word was spreading that this was now a safe haven for non-earth pony races.

We headed straight for the library, Mystic leading the way. This time the vast room filled with books was not empty. Mages sat at the desks and on the floor, reading through books on magic and relics, apparently working to understand the Eye of Magnus. Refugees were here as well, taking advantage of the vast store of knowledge now at their disposal. The elderly Griffin librarian flapped across the room as we entered, landing in front of us.

“Mystic, so good to have you back,” he squawked, “With this sudden influx of ponies, I’ve been struggling just to keep up with their requests.”

“Thanks, I’ve missed you too Narickh,” she replied, “But I’m afraid I can’t stay. We just need to search the library for some information.”

“Oh, of course,” he grumbled, “Well, let me know it you need help finding anything.”

“All right,” Mystic said as he departed, flying back up to his perch above the library, “What exactly are we looking for.”

“Anything on the Dragon Priests, I guess,” I said.

Mystic cast her finding spell on the library, narrowing down the search to just a few books. We paged through them, searching for information on the Dragon Priests, but there was little mention of them, and if so it was in passing, with no locations described as their dwellings. We decided to broaden our search, looking at books about the Dragon Cult, and then the ancient earth ponies. Still, there was no mention of where the Dragon Priests resided, though they themselves did pop up from time to time. It was as if all mention of them had been purposefully left out of the books.

The search began to seem pointless after a while, as we flipped through book after book, finding nothing that could help us. Mystic spoke to Narickh, seeing if there were any other books he had on the subject. He flapped up to his private collection with Mephalda, Mystic making a short teleport to reach it. Steadfast and I stayed in the main library, searching for any books that could possibly hold the key.

“There’s got to be something here,” I said to myself as I replaced yet another book on the shelf.

Looking across the vast rows of books, I noticed a door in the wall I hadn’t seen before. When I stared directly at it, it disappeared, but out of the corner of my eye I could see the bookcases warp around a simple wooden door set into the wall. I approached it slowly, keeping it at the edge of my vision so that I could see it. When I reached it, I grasped the handle in my magic and stepped through the secret door.

However, it felt strange to stand within it, as if I wasn’t really in the College of Winterhorn at all, but “somewhere else.” The walls were stone, much like the College, but slightly different, and blocks were missing in places, filled with dusty old books instead. I pulled a few out and wiped their covers off before paging through them. They were interesting books, but nothing that would help us in our search for the Elements of Harmony, so I placed them back where they were.

In the center of the room, a simple pedestal rose up with a single book on it. Perplexed, I trotted up to it and examined the volume. The cover had no title, nor did it look like any cover I’d ever seen. As I picked it up in my magic, I realized the book was bound in patches of dried pony flesh. I tried to place it back where it was only to find that I couldn’t. My magic didn’t seem to want to let go of it.

{{{KNOWLEDGE TAKEN CAN NOT BE RETURNED}}}

I spun around rapidly, searching for the source of the terrifying voice. Directly behind me, right in front of the door, a tear had opened in space, darkness swirling around the edges. Sprouting from the center of it was a grotesque mass of tentacles, some with eyes on the end, slowly blinking as they sized me up.

“Wha-What are you?” I stammered out.

{{{I AM HERMAEHORSE MORA}}} the creature replied, {{{KEEPER OF FORBIDDEN KNOWLEDGE, DRACONEQUUS OF APOCRYPHA}}}

“What do you want?”

{{{NOTHING, OTHER THAN THE SPREAD OF ALL KNOWLEDGE, WHETHER IT BE CONSIDERED GOOD OR EVIL. YOU SEE, ALL THAT MATTERS IS THE TRUTH, NOT WHAT BARRIERS YOU MORTALS MAY SET AROUND IT IN THE NAME OF MORALITY}}}

“Why can’t I put the book back?” I asked, changing the subject.

{{{I TOLD YOU, MY LITTLE PONY. ONCE KNOWLEDGE IS TAKEN, IT CANNOT BE RETURNED}}}

“What is this book, and why is it bound in pony flesh?” I asked, holding the tome as far from me as possible.

{{{THE OGHMA INFINIUM IS MY FINEST POSSESSION}}} Hermaehorse Mora boasted, {{{WITHIN IT IS CONTAINED ALL KNOWLEDGE. READ FROM THE INFINIUM, AND YOU SHALL KNOW EVERYTHING YOU WISH TO KNOW}}}

“There’s got to be a catch,” I accused, refusing to believe that a Draconequus would create anything like this without an ulterior motive.

{{{NO CATCH, ONLY KNOWLEDGE OF PAST, FUTURE, AND PRESENT. BUT BEWARE, THE TRUTH MAY NOT ALWAYS BE PLEASANT}}}

“So, that’s it, huh?” I said, “It will tell me everything, even things I would be better off not knowing? Well, thanks for the offer, but I think I’ll find where the Dragon Priests are dwelling some other way.”

{{{OH, THE INFINIUM CAN TELL YOU MUCH MORE THAN THAT}}}

“Not interested.”

{{{THE SECRETS OF THE COSMOS}}}

“Not interested.”

{{{THE TERRIBLE TRUTH ABOUT TALHOOVES}}}

“Not interested!” I said, preparing to slam the Oghma Infinium back down on the pedestal.

{{{WOULDN’T YOU LIKE TO KNOW YOUR DESTINY, WHAT YOUR CUTIE-MARK IS MEANT TO BE?}}}

“What?” I asked, pausing with the book held in the air before me still.

{{{WOULDN’T YOU LIKE TO KNOW?}}} Hermaehorse Mora said as he retreated into his void, closing it up behind him.

I was left staring at the door of the tiny room, the Oghma Infinium still held in my magic. Could what he said really be true? Could this book really tell me what I’d been searching for my whole life? And if it was true, was the risk worth it? I scowled at the Oghma Infinium for a bit before tucking it into my saddlebags. I wasn’t going to read it now, but maybe later.

I trotted through the door in the wall, closing it behind me as I returned to the College of Winterhorn’s library. As I looked back, I could no longer see it among the books. It seemed that the strange room had disappeared. I wondered, did it really exist or was it all a trick of Hermaehorse Mora’s?

“Bad news I’m afraid,” Mephalda said, landing beside me, “Narickh didn’t have any books on the Dragon Priests either.”

“All right,” I said, giving a sigh, “Looks like this trip was a bust. The only other place we could look would be the Mystic Archives, but that’s too far away.”

“So what now?” Steadfast asked.

“I don’t know,” I said, “We could always ask Faniar for ruins again.”

“Works for me,” my earth pony companion replied, “I just hope we get a chance to sleep.”

I agreed, inadvertently yawning. We hadn’t had a chance to sleep the night before, and could use a good night’s rest. We left the College of Winterhorn for Whitetrot, hoping to reach it before sundown. As we traveled, the Oghma Infinium weighed down my saddlebags.

◊◊◊ ◊◊◊ ◊◊◊

We managed to make it to the fortress city built on the Whitetrot plain before the sun set. We went straight to Breezehome as soon as we entered and got a good night’s sleep. We awoke feeling much better than we had in a long time, rejuvenated and rested. In fact, we felt so much better, we decided to stay in Whitetrot for another day to recuperate. Yes, time was short to find the Elements of Harmony and stop Alduin, and to end the Horizon Civil War, but we’d be no good at accomplishing either of those things if we were too exhausted.

We relaxed for the day, catching up on some much-needed rest. At the forge, those of us who carried weapons repaired them, and we bought needed supplies from the shops, stocking up on the potions and bandages we were sure to need, as well as food for our travels. I also got a chance to read a bit more of Minotauran Inquiries; Vol. I. I was sitting in Breezehome, enjoying the fire and reading my book, when Steadfast stuck his head through the door.

“You might want to come out here,” he said before ducking back out himself.

Perplexed, I set down my book and followed him outside. Some of the ponies in the market were heading up toward the city’s square, so I followed the crowd. On the second tier was where all the action was. A crowd of ponies was gathered around the dead tree in the center of the square, where a few Vigilants of Steedarr stood.

“Ponies of Whitetrot,” one of them spoke, “We Vigilants have no quarrel with you, but with somepony in your midst we do. Somepony among you has an item we seek to destroy. The Oghma Infinium, foul book of the Draconequus Hermaehorse Mora. Surrender this book to us by the end of the day, or we will have no choice but to attack your city!”

The speaker jumped down from the soapbox she’d been standing on and led her fellows through the crowd. I watched them leave as they exited the square, heading for the city gates. How did they know I had the Oghma Infinium? It made no difference now. Either I gave the book up to the Vigilants, or they’d destroy the town.

As the crowd began to disperse, I followed the Whitetrot guards up to Dragonsreach. As I suspected they would, they reported to the Jarl immediately. He took the news that we were to be attacked surprisingly well.

“Darkfeather,” he spoke to his bodyguard, “Prepare the troops immediately to defend the city.”

“Sir?” she asked.

“If it’s a fight the Vigilants want, it’s a fight they’ll get.”

“Of course milord, right away,” Darkfeather said before galloping off.

“You intend to fight them?” I asked Jarl Valor’s Blade.

“They do not know with what forces they are dealing,” the Jarl replied, “These Vigilants must learn that they cannot simply show up at a town, threaten it, and get away with it. That may have worked for them in Unicornica, but here in Horizon things are different. Besides, if we can defend ourselves from the Imperial Legion, I think these Vigilants will be no problem.”

“Right,” I said, though I wasn’t sure.

There weren’t quite as many ponies defending Whitetrot this time. Most of the guards had returned to their posts near the border after the battle with the Legion. In addition, many of Whitetrot’s guards were now serving in the Stormcloud army and were posted far from here. And while the Vigilants of Steedarr weren’t exactly comparable to the Imperial Legion, I didn’t fancy facing a large number of them in force.

◊◊◊ ◊◊◊ ◊◊◊

The day passed swiftly as I agonized over what to do. The Oghma Infinium could hold the answers to everything I ever wanted to know, but it was putting the ponies of a town I was Thane of in danger. If the Vigilants got their hooves on the book, I could lose an opportunity of a lifetime, but if I didn’t, a battle would come to Whitetrot. Jarl Valor’s Blade was certain we could hold off the Vigilants, but ponies would still die if I didn’t turn over the book.

As the end of the day came, I decided what I had to do. The Oghma Infinium had to be destroyed, and I had to be the one to do it, that way I knew the job was done. I pulled it out of my saddlebags and threw it into the fire, watching as the flames licked over the pages.

But even though it was surrounded by fire, the book refused to burn. Using a ladle, I fished it out of the fire, and it tumbled across the floor, still in perfect condition. I picked it up in my magic, drawing out Dawnbreaker. I slashed my sword down at the Infinium, but even my Draconequus blade refused to slice through the tome.

“The Vigilants are here,” Mystic announced, stepping through the front door, “What is that?”

“It’s the Oghma Infinium,” I admitted, “I found it at the College.”

“Well, get it out here then,” she said, “The Vigilants are demanding its destruction.”

“It can’t be destroyed,” I said, “I’ve already tried.”

“There’s got to be some way,” Mystic said.

The sound of sword strikes suddenly came from outside as the Vigilants attacked the Whitetrot guards.

“Let me try,” she said, taking the book from me.

Aiming toward the fire, she blasted the Infinium with pure magic. Intense energies slammed into the tome, yet it stayed in pristine condition. Mystic exhausted her magical reserves, and allowed the book to fall, unharmed, to the floor.

“Well, what do we do?” she asked.

“I don’t know,” I said, “I don’t want to give it to the Vigilants until it’s destroyed, or else they might try to use it. Limitless knowledge is dangerous.”

“You think they’ll really try to use it?”

“I don’t know. The Vigilants claim to hunt down the scourges of the world, but the stuff they do isn’t much better. There’s something off about them, and I don’t trust them.”

“All right,” Mystic said, passing the Infinium back to me, “We need to find a way to destroy this thing, but right now we should probably focus on the battle going on outside.”

I nodded and grabbed my sword, leaving my Twilight Armor behind for the fear the Vigilants would recognize it as Draconequus armor and start another feud. Outside Breezehome, a few Vigilants were rounding up the townsponies, searching them and their homes for the book I had in my saddlebags.

They noticed that Mystic and I were armed and redirected their attention toward us. As one brought her mace down toward me, I blocked with the Blade of Hoofingar. Dawnbreaker was strapped to my side, but like my Twilight Armor I didn’t want to wield it too openly for fear of starting another fight. I pushed her mace back, carefully hooking my ebony sword underneath the end. I blasted the Vigilant in the face with a Paralyze spell as I closed in on her, knocking her to the ground.

<<<FUS~RO~DAH!!!>>>

The group of Vigilants trying to storm us was suddenly thrown back. I paralyzed those I could before they closed back in on me, and cut through those I couldn’t. I didn’t want to kill these Vigilants for coming to get me, but if I had no other choice, I did. As I impaled one with my ebony sword, the last of the Vigilants inside the gate were taken care of.

“Where are Mephalda and Steadfast?” I asked Mystic.

“They got involved in the fight right away,” she said, “They must be up in the housing district.”

I nodded my understanding and took off for the stairs that led up into the second tier of the city. As I reached the top, a Vigilant jumped me, holding a sword to my throat. As I elbowed him in the stomach he pulled the sword back for a strike.

<<<FEIM~ZII~GRON!!!>>> I Shouted as his blade came down on my neck.

I suddenly took on my ethereal form, and his blade passed through my ghostly body, striking him instead. I retrieved my blades as he healed himself. Suddenly he was hit by a paralysis spell from Mystic, sending him tumbling down the stairs. As I returned to my physical form, we charged together past the houses to where the fight was taking place.

The fighting was thick here up in the housing district, Steadfast and the Whitetrot guards trying to hold off the Vigilants on the ground. Mephalda was in the air, dropping the pegasus Vigilants with shots from her bow and dodging the arrows fired up at her.

I charged in, slicing apart the bow one of the robed ponies was using. She drew a dagger on me and tried to slide it between my ribs. I blocked her stab with the Blade of Hoofingar, knocking her dagger away, and knocked her on the head with the hilt of my sword.

My hindleg was suddenly sliced open by the swipe of another nearby Vigilant. Grimacing with pain, I spun around, my sword meeting his. I slid my sword down his blade until I was able to swing it into his neck. I cast a healing spell on the gash and bound it before moving on.

As a Vigilant came at me, his battleaxe ready to swing down on my head, he was suddenly fried my Mystic’s magic. I stumbled over another Vigilant as Mephalda dropped him with an arrow, and found myself standing next to Steadfast.

“Glad you could join us,” he said as he smashed in the skull of one of the Vigilants closing in on us, “What was keeping you?”

“The Oghma Infinium,” I said as I knocked another of the ponies unconscious, “I have it.”

“Well then, give it to them,” he said, keeping a Vigilant at bay with his warhammer.

“It’s not that easy,” I said, “I tried to destroy it, but nothing worked.”

“So if they get it, they can’t destroy it either?”

“That’s right,” I answered, “And I don’t feel right just turning it over. What if they abuse it?”

“Puts us in a bit of a tight spot, doesn’t it?” he commented.

“Yeah,” I answered, blindly swinging my sword and taking a Vigilant’s head off, “Unless you’ve got any ideas on how to destroy it.”

“Well, we could burn it in the Skyforge,” he offered, knocking a unicorn into a house before she could launch a ball of flame from her horn at us.

“I tried burning it,” I said, shaking my head, “And Mystic tried it with magical fire.”

“Well, the Skyforge might still work,” he said, “There’s no hotter and purer fire in all the Northlands except for the Red Mountain, and going there could be a problem.”

“The Skyforge it is,” I said, slicing through a Vigilant’s foreleg, “Lead the way.”

Steadfast began to carve a path toward Jorrvaskr using his warhammer. I followed behind, blasting the Vigilants he missed with a Paralysis spell, or slicing into them with the Blade of Hoofingar, depending on the circumstances.

“Where are we headed?” Mystic asked, catching up with us and sending a blast of fire behind to keep the Vigilants from closing in on us.

“The Skyforge,” I answered, “Steadfast thinks it might be able to destroy the Infinium.”

“I sure hope he’s right,” Mystic said, “There’s more Vigilants here than I’ve ever seen before, and I don’t think we can hold them off forever.”

Eventually, we made it to the central square of Whitetrot. The Whitetrot guards were busy leading a valiant last defense before the Vigilants pushed past them and ascended the steps to Dragonsreach. As we wove through the fighting, I tripped and the Oghma Infinium spilled from my saddlebags.

“It’s the Infinium!” one shouted, spotting the book as I picked it back up, “Get it!”

The Vigilants that weren’t occupied with the fighting all turned to us, charging toward us with weapons raised. We galloped up the stairs to Jorrvaskr as quickly as we could, Mystic sending spells back from time to time to hold the Vigilants off. As we reached the building, the Companions began to spill out, prepared to defend their mead hall from the attacking ponies.

We galloped ahead, following Steadfast as he hung a left at Jorrvaskr, heading toward a jutting peak of rock upon which a giant eagle was carved from the rock. The light of the Skyforge illuminated the statue and propelled us onward as we climbed the steps. As we neared the Skyforge’s fire, I pulled out the Oghma Infinium and held it high in the air.

“I am destroying the Infinium!” I declared to the Vigilants who were trying to fight their way up to us.

Many of them paused in their fighting to watch as I threw the book into the fire. I prayed it would work as the flames began to pass over the tome’s cover. Slowly at first, then with increasing rapidity, the cover began to blacken and the pages began to combust. Sickly green flames burst up as the black magic in the tome was consumed. The Oghma Infinium burned, a screech beginning to sound from the book as all its secrets and ancient powers were consumed.

The Vigilant who’d declared war on Whitetrot in the square that morning trotted up next to me, watching as the Infinium was consumed completely, turning to ash.

“It is destroyed!” she confirmed for her followers before motioning for them to depart the city.

The Vigilants began to trot off for the city gates as if nothing happened. The Whitetrot guards weren’t going to allow that and surrounded the Vigilants, relieving them of their weapons and forcing them to march up to Dragonsreach, where Jarl Valor’s Blade would deal with them. As they were led off, a courier trotted past Jorrvaskr and met us at the Skyforge.

“Message for you,” she said, pulling one out of her saddlebags, “What happened here?”

“Bit of trouble with the Vigilants,” Steadfast answered as I took the letter, “But it’s over now.”

“Well, serves them right if you ask me,” the courier said as she watched the robed ponies get led up to the keep, “Always sticking their noses in everypony’s business.”

“Well, what’s the message say?” Mystic asked after I opened it.

“It’s from Jarl Stormcloud,” I said, “He wants us in Windhorn tomorrow. The war’s coming to an end.”

Level Up
Health: 330 Stamina: 320 Magicka: 310
New Perk: Gallop to Glory [Light Weapons] -- Any power attacks with light weapons inflicted after a sprint now do triple damage.
New Quest: Stormcloud’s War -- Travel to Windhorn and receive your orders from Jarl Stormcloud.