Nightmare Moon Crashes the Oblivion Crisis

by Blackdrag-rose

2: Three Weeks

For three weeks Nightmare stayed in the area of the Arena called the Red Room, where, according to her team supervisor Owyn, almost all of the blood from the Arena dripped down the walls around her. She stayed down there, reading whatever books her team leader would lend her during her downtime, catching up on what was happening in the province around her. While she wasn't reading she was walking around the Red Room on her lower legs, walking on her feet as Owyn called them, and swinging her upper legs, her arms and hands as she learned. She knew that she needed to strengthen her body, so she wouldn't fall over if she ran too fast or tipped over by leaning more in one direction than the other.

When she wasn't reading or practicing she was actually in the Arena, swinging her ebony battleaxe at whoever the Yellow Team sent to do battle against her. Sure, it took her a good week and a half to get used to how her body worked, but once she stared the second week she felt much better when she moved. By the time the third week started she walked almost as if she had been born in this world, much to the amazement of her team leader and whoever was left on her team. The Yellow Team's champion, Agronak gro-Malog, the Gray Prince to the Arena fans, watched her every time she came down, almost as if she was after his title.

She had no desire to take over the current Champion's rule, but she had little choice in the matter as Owyn came to her with his 'ultimatum' as he called it. Either she fight the Gray Prince in the Arena, or he'd hand her over to the Imperial Guards and charge her with illegally entering the Arena and interrupting the fight she had been in. She knew that it was an empty threat, but, in case there was some weight behind his words, Nightmare had only agreed on one condition; if she won against the Gray Prince then she would be free to leave the Arena at long last. Owyn eventually agreed to her deal, though she was required to raise to the rank required to face the current Grand Champion, which she accomplished thanks to the match he sent her into after talking with her.

Once she was ready she had been forced to talk to an old nord women, the Battle Matron as Owyn called her, that served as the one who initiated the challenge to the current Grand Champion, only there was one thing she was missing. Apparently she needed her own name to properly challenge the Gray Prince, though she came up with something that stayed true to her roots.

"So, have you chosen your battle-name yet?" the old women asked, eying Nightmare as she approached her, "Something catchy, something that will make the people of Cyrodiil remember you when they tell tales of your glorious defeat at the hands of the Gray Prince."

"I have one in mind," Nightmare replied, knowing that no one in the Arena would expect her to survive her encounter with the Gray Prince, though she was aiming to prove them wrong, "the Queen of Nights."

"Oh, I like it," the old women said, chuckling to herself as she beckoned for Nightmare to depart, "The Queen vs the Prince. This fight should be interesting to watch."

Nightmare did not share the women's interest in the fight, but she made her way towards the Arena anyway and eventually came to the iron gate that she had to stand behind until the announcer told them to start.

"Good people of the Imperial City," the announcer called out, inciting cheers from the people sitting in the stands, "welcome to the Arena! Believe it or not, but someone has actually challenged the unbeatable Arena Grand Champion. But who, you might ask, could possibly be brave enough to face such a fearless foe? Who could wrest the title from our famed Gray Prince? Good people, I give you the Blue Team's latest Champion; a warrior of skill, strength, and determination!

Behold, the Queen of Knights!"

Nightmare groaned to herself, the blasted old women had gotten the title she wanted to use wrong, but one could argue that she should have been more clear when she had told the Battle Matron her title. Still, there was no way she was going to be able to correct the mistake, as now everyone that had been cheering for her before this match was calling out her battle-name. Though she had to admit it, being called the Queen of Knights sounded more epic than the Queen of Nights.

"Lords and Ladies, Citizens of the Empire," the announcer continued, speaking over the crowd, "I give you the battle of the ages! Combatants, steel yourselves! Lower the gates!"

Nightmare's ebony battleaxe was already in her hand the moment the announcer told them to steel themselves, though she could see her opponent, Agronak gro-Malog, doing the same. The second the iron gate lowered into the ground she strolled into the Arena, her wings beating just a bit before she calmed them down, not wanting anyone to know that she was, in truth, somewhat excited to be facing the Gray Prince. Over the course of her fighting career in the Arena she had little opportunity to train her magic, but a few of her enemies had used magic and she responded in kind, though she knew there was no reason to use her horn and magic in this fight.

"I hope your prepared, Gray Prince," Nightmare said, holding her weapon at the ready as Agronak approached her, "because I will not be going easy on you."

"Fight and die well, Queen of Knights," Agronak replied, holding onto his sword and he raised his shield, "May the best fighter win."

Nightmare ran forward and immediately swung her battleaxe at Agronak, who pulled up his shield almost immediately and blocked the attack, though he frowned at her. That was because Nightmare had purposely hit him with the dull edge of the blade, to test if he was going to actually fight back and test how determined he was. From that one exchange she knew that he was definitely determined to fight to the death, which only made her jump back for a moment as she spun her weapon back to its original side.

Agronak came at her this time, swinging his sword at her as she ducked under it, though she had to pull herself back to avoid getting hit by his shield. She knew her horn could have pierced whatever material the shield was made of and puncture her opponent's hand, but that would have given her an unfair advantage. She maneuvered around Agronak and appeared behind him, though when she began to swing her weapon she had to pull back once more as she avoided the shield. She was beginning to sense a pattern to his attacks, though she needed to be ready to deal with the shield before it managed to deal some damage to her.

She lead Agronak back towards the center of the Arena, making sure to avoid the attacks that he made while keeping an eye on the shield, just in case he used it again. Once they were in the center she spun around and brought her battleaxe down, though instead of trying to disarm the shield she made sure the head of her weapon connected with it. The resulting impact shattered the shield, the pieces scattering across the ground while Agronak stumbled backwards, surprise filling his eyes as he tossed aside the handle that had allowed him to carry the shield around.

Agronak charged at her again, but this time Nightmare swung her battleaxe in reverse, using the bottom of the weapon to smash his hand and force him to drop the sword. As it fell to the ground she spun her weapon back around and drove the blade's head into Agronak's chest, cutting through the armor and digging into the skin. He pulled himself off the weapon and rolled across the ground, snatching his weapon and turning it on her as he tried to stop himself from bleeding out. He managed to pull himself back up onto his feet and held his sword straight, though Nightmare could tell that the cut had been much deeper than either of them expected. She also knew that he wasn't going to survive much longer, so she pulled her battleaxe close to her and prepared to finish the fight.

Agronak coughed up some blood and then came at her once more, though Nightmare merely dodged the incoming attack by allowing him to pass her before bringing her weapon down on top of him. She knew that she hit him hard enough to end his life and she was proven right, as he collapsed on the ground and laid there, as still as stone, as his blood built up around him. She ignored the announcer as he proclaimed her as the winner, resting her weapon against the ground while she gently removed Agronak's armor, as per the Battle Matron's orders if she had won, though she offered some passing words to him before she finished. Once the deed was done she picked up her weapon and rose to a standing position, hearing the chants of the crowd before her eyes zeroed in on three people not cheering for her.

One of them was another male orc dressed in metal armor, a male lizard-creature, an argonian she recalled, and a female breton, one that happened to be dressed up as an archer. The orc was staring down at her with a smile on his face, though she had no idea why he was doing so. She shrugged and returned to the Red Room, knowing that she'd be free from the city at long last.

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"Is she everything you had hoped she would be Rend?" the argonian asked, shaking off the last of the shackles that had been on his wrists and making sure that no one noticed them fall off.

"Aye, she is," the orc, Rend, said, watching the strange nord, who had a pair of wings and a horn on her head, walk back into the underbelly of the Arena, "and I can tell there's more to her than what we're seeing. We need to speak with her, before she vanishes."

"We should be off then," the third member of their group said, a chuckle escaping from her as she looked down at the fallen Grand Champion, "otherwise we'll all go mad from boredom."

"Pandora speaks the truth, if only in part," the argonian continued, shaking his head for a moment, "besides, we wasted precious time that cannot be recovered. We must spirit this Amulet away before the enemy knows we have it."

Rend reached into the pocket of his armor, touching the special Amulet that had been given to him by the dying Emperor not an hour or two ago, which was moments before the three of them had been tasked with delivering it to someone else. He believed that he could convince the strange nord, Nightmare Moon as she called herself, to join their cause, if only to go as far as the drop off point. He beckoned for them to follow him, knowing that he'd need to watch out for the nord and someplace safe to talk to her.

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Nightmare stood at the edge of the river, having spent the last hour trying to escape the annoying fan that apparently had come with becoming the Grand Champion of the Arena, which explained why Agronak never left the place. With the night closing in on the world and people would going to sleep she knew that, if she so desired, she could impart some nightmare into the fan's mind to get him to stay away, but she eventually tossed the idea away. She had stared a fire earlier, but it remained mostly forgotten as she considered what to do with her limited freedom now that Owyn wasn't hounding her anymore.

"See? I told you she was here!" she heard a voice say behind her, causing her to turn around and find the three from earlier standing near her fire, "Convince her fast, before we all go mad!"

"Forgive us for intruding Miss Moon," the orc said, placing his weapons, a pair of swords, on the ground before approaching her, "but I have to say that the way you fight leaves me with hope for our future."

"Its Nightmare Moon, not Miss Moon," Nightmare replied, though she laid her weapon on the ground and walked closer to the orc, "and i have no idea what you are referring to."

"Emperor Uriel VII and his sons are dead," the orc said, moving a part of his armor to reveal a glowing gemstone before covering it back up, "He tasked the three of us with the delivery of this to someone named Jauffre at Weynon Priory. I was hoping that you would consider coming along with us, just in case the assassins that killed him come looking for us."

"I have nothing better to do," Nightmare shrugged, just as a thought crossed her mind, "though, if I am to travel with you for some time, I would like to know your names. Even if this is temporary I'd like to know anyway."

"With pleasure," the orc said, placing his hand, now in the shape of a fist, above his heart, "I am Rend Org'resh. These are my companions Shadowscale, or Shadow as he continues to tell me, and Pandora Silverarrow. Unfortunately, none of us have an interesting title to tell you, like your Queen of Knights title."

"Look, normally I'd laugh at something like that," Nightmare replied, stretching her arms as she picked up her battleaxe, "but I am too tired from the busy day I have had. I suggest that you all get some sleep so we can leave earlier in the morning, I'd like to be as far as I can from this city before the sun reaches the tower."

Rend nodded his understanding and began to talk to the other two behind him, who began to move around and set up their various bedrolls, though Nightmare really didn't care at this point. She sat by the tree and had made her set up this camp and rested herself against the wood, allowing her eyes to close at long last. She knew she'd need her energy for the following morning, having no idea what she had stumbled onto the moment Rend and his friends showed up.

Comments

[HB_DS2013]

Nice to know the beginnings of Nightmare Moon's friendship with Rend and Shadow.

[LuftRaptor]

And so it begins...

[Sonata Blaze]

6228556 Yeah, though she doesn't to like/hate them yet...though I have to wonder who the breton is...

[Sonata Blaze]

6228559 Yep, now the real fun begins.

[TheKableGuy]

Door to hell here we come!!!

YEEEEEAAAAAH!!!!

[Sonata Blaze]

6229598 Soon the daedra will learn not to mess with Nightmare, once she reaches Kvatch that is.

[friday13]

Bretons. Are not. ELVES.

[Blackdrag-rose]

6248301 Whoops, that would be my mistake. Thanks for the catch.
Pandora WAS a breton, so that was just a case of my brain getting ahead of my hands.

[Vigilant of Stendarr]

Ah, the prophesied heroes have been revealed... Let the adventure get underway.

[Snow]

+1 downvote for naming the Argonian 'Shadowscale' which is the Argonian brand of assassin.
+1 downvote for Nightmare Moon breaking the Spellbreaker, which is the shield the Gray Prince uses in the Arena. That's a Daedric artifact by the way. This would be an upvote but no mention is made of such an accomplishment.