Nightmare Moon Crashes the Oblivion Crisis

by Blackdrag-rose

22: Sancre Tor

"I said that I need you to recover an artifact that belongs to one of the Divines," Martin said again, not understanding what was so hard to believe about his statement.

"And how are we supposed to do that?" Shadow asked, having snapped back to himself, "Because, last time I checked, the major difference between the Divines and the Daedric Lords is that none of the Divines have a relic that is associated with them. Personally, I'd love to use such a weapon against the daedra that are trying to break into our world, but no such artifacts exist."

"Actually, Jauffre solved it our problem," Martin replied, a smile appearing on his face, "The blood of Tiber Septim himself, who became the Divine known as Talos. This is a secret remembered only by the Blades, passed down from one Grandmaster to the next. Jauffre should tell it to you himself."

The trio turned to Jauffre, who was just standing next to the wall the entire time, listening to their short conversation, while Martin returned to his table and continued reading to determine what the third item they needed was.

"So, Martin wants you to recover the Armor of Tiber Septim?" Jauffre innocently asked, trying to cover the fact that he had been listening to them the entire time, "I wish there was another way. The Armor is in the Shrine of Tiber Septim, in the catacombs beneath the ruins of Sancre Tor. A holy place, once. But Sancre Tor became evil long ago. No one has returned from the Shrine of Tiber Septim for many lifetimes. I do not know such a thing is possible. The catacombs of Sancre Tor were sealed by the first Grandmaster of the Blades. The four mightiest Blades of Tiber Septim's day, Alain, Valdemar, Rielus, and Casnar, went to Sancre Tor and never returned. Here, this is the key to Sancre Tor's outer door. I fear I am sending you to your death, but we have no other choice. You must succeed."

Rend reached to take the key, but he stopped just short of Jauffre's hand and looked over at Shadow, silently asking him if he wanted to be the one to carry such an important key. Shadow simply shook his head and Rend nodded in return, taking the key not a few moments later and backing up to the rest of the group. With the key in hand Rend then beckoned for the trio of them to get some sleep, so that they could get an early start and make their way to Sancre Tor before noon was upon them. Luna stayed back with Shadow, interested as to what was so special about the armor of some nordic hero that became a Divine after he had died.

"It is an ancient relic of the first Emperor, who became the divine Talos, the patron of our Order." Jauffre explained the moment that Shadow began to ask him about the armor, "After the Battle of Sancre Tor, Tiber Septim gave his armor to the Blades in honor of our role in his victory. The Blades built a shrine in the catacombs of Sancre Tor, on the spot where Tiber Septim received the blessing of Akatosh. The Armor has been there ever since. Before evil came to Sancre Tor, this shrine was a place of pilgrimage for all Blades. But no one has visited the shrine and lived to tell the tale in centuries."

Shadow nodded and thanked Jauffre for telling him what he could about the armor, knowing that it must have been hard for him to give up the location of such an important treasure to the Blades. Luna watched him for a moment, to be sure that he was going to go to bed, but Shadow walked outside the temple and she immediately followed after him. They were greeted by several of the guards, to which they both waved back to, before they walked out of the temple grounds and continued down the path for a bit. Once Luna was sure that they were about a third of the way down Shadow stopped in his tracks and turned to look at her.

"Your hurt, aren't you?" Luna asked, causing Shadow to raise an eyebrow in surprise before a sigh escaped his lips.

"How do you know?" Shadow replied, though his hand reached for his neck as if he was covering something up.

"You were bitten by a vampire," Luna told him, not even bothering to tell him that she had seen the wound for a brief moment before he had covered it up while they were in the cave, "Shadow, you need to get that looked at before you become one of them!"

"In case you haven't noticed we don't have the time to search for a cure," Shadow replied, beckoning towards Bruma, "How long do you think it will be before one of the townspeople realize that someone important is staying at the temple and start to brag about it? How long do you think it will be before the Mythic Dawn hears about it and sends more agents to check and be sure that Martin is hiding out in this very temple? How long until they summon the Oblivion Gates and attack the town, knowing that it would be the only way to drive the last Dragonborn Emperor out of hiding so they can finish this game of theirs?

We need to move fast and make sure that we can construct our own portal to Mankar Camoran's Paradise before he and his followers figure out that Martin is still alive and come here to look for him. I would gladly become a vampire, if it meant that we would be able to do our duty to this great Empire that much better. Who knows, maybe the Divines intended for me to become one for some part of my future to come true."

"Very well Shadow," Luna sighed, turning around so they could walk back to the temple and get some rest, "I shall let you do what you wish, but I would tell Rend of this decision of yours so he knows that you willingly became one for the sake of the late Emperor's quest."

Shadow waited there for a moment, silently debating whether he was making the right choice in the end, but decided that his mind was already made up and followed his companion back to the temple. When they reached the temple they found that Rend was waiting for them, but he simply beckoned for them to join him before they made their way to their beds. Luna made a note that their sleeping arrangements were simply bedrolls, but even as she did she heard Nightmare growl at her in reply. Luna had to stop herself from chuckling, as it seemed that her other personality had no sense of humor or even cared for some of her small remarks.

Eventually the trio of them turned in for the night, so that they could rest and get an early start on their next adventure.

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Morning, as it turned out, really didn't bring them any new developments. So, once the morning meal was finished, Rend, Shadow, and Luna bid Martin and Jauffre goodbye and, once again, made their way down to Bruma. The moment they reached their steeds and exited the city Shadow pulled out his map and pointed to an area that was to the west of their current location. It told Luna that he had, after she and Rend had gone to sleep, asked Jauffre where the ruins of Sancre Tor were located so they didn't get lost searching for it. Shadow recommended that they follow the road, until they reached the immediate area that their destination was in and Rend was quick to agree with his idea.

As they traveled towards their destination Luna kept her eyes out for any enemies that wanted to hurt them, like when Nightmare had traveled with Rend, Shadow, and Pandora towards Cloud Ruler Temple. Eventually they reached the ruins, where they quickly dismounted before stepping inside, though before they could get very far they found a bunch of skeletons rising from the ground. Rend and Shadow pulled out their weapons and approached the skeletons, smashing their weapons into them as Luna blew some other ones to pieces with a lightning spell.

It was a simple matter to find the main door that went into the depths of Sancre Tor, though Shadow and Luna defended Rend from whatever skeletons remained as he unlocked the door. The moment it was open the trio advanced inside, leaving whatever skeletons were left to do whatever they wanted until they returned to the surface. They advanced down the hallway that they found themselves in, weapons at the ready as they looked out for more of the undead and any clues as to how to move on. The chamber they came to was nothing to laugh at, but as the trio walked around they found several more undead that wanted them dead, which they put down quickly.

They eventually walked into a second chamber, but Luna held them back and pointed at a wandering undead, one that was wearing a suit of Blades armor and carrying an Akaviri katana, though Luna was sure that it was enchanted. Rend approached the undead Blade and caught the incoming attack, deflecting the blade and swinging his own sword back at his opponent, to which the skeleton raised its shield and blocked him. Rend leapt back and then tried again, spinning around with his blades and catching the undead Blade in the side, where the force of his attack separated his opponent into two halves.

The moment that the undead Blade was dead, again Luna mentally added for Nightmare's clarification, the area in front of Rend shimmered and a ghost appeared before him. The ghost claimed to be the ghost of Rielus, one of the four Blades that had come to the temple a long time ago and never returned, and thanked them for releasing him. Then he disappeared, though his voice echoed that he'd return to the barrier and remove one of the seals that blocked them from continuing onward. As they moved onward Rend knelt down to the Blade's broken body and collected the weapon, no doubt to give it to Jauffre when they returned to the temple.

The next area they came to was a large open cavern like area that appeared to branch off into three separate directions, excluding the path in front of them that would lead to the actual tomb of Tiber Septim.

"Three different areas," Luna commented, looking at their options for a moment before returning to her companions, "and each of them will have another of those undead Blades somewhere inside. Now here's the question; do we separate into single adventurers for the moment and divide and conquer, or do we do this as a team and knock each one out together?"

"I propose that we split up," Shadow said, glancing down at the door that was on their immediate left, "If we divide and conquer then we can save some time, because as each of us releases one of the Blades we can simply return to the center of this area and wait for the others to show up."

"Very well then," Rend replied, tightening his grip on his swords, "then that is what we shall do. I only ask that you make sure that you release the spirit of the Blade trapped in your area and collect their weapons, as they deserve to be returned to the temple with the others."

Shadow nodded and headed for his chosen door, while Rend and Luna traveled to the other two, where Rend stopped at the first one and let Luna have the last one. The three of them opened their doors at the same moment and prepared to face whatever challenges their chosen area had in store for them.

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Shadow walked into the hallway and looked around, searching for any clues that would either reveal any traps that the untrained eye would miss or tell him where something was located. While he searched it gave him some time to consider why Luna would suddenly suggest that they could split up and tackle their own areas of the ruin, when they were a formidable team. At first he wondered if it was simply just her way of wanting to save time, as if she had suddenly felt that her time on Nirn was running out or something similar, but then he decided that it had to be about their conversation.

He sighed as he walked further into his area, wondering why he had not brought up the fact that he had been bitten by a vampire, while doing something for a Daedric Prince no doubt, to Rend while they were traveling.

He then came to a chamber that had one of the former Blades standing guard, though he was in no mood to be playing games with the dead and drew out his weapon and shield. The undead Blade noticed him approaching and did the same thing, its akaviri blade and shield appearing in its hands as it readied itself for his arrival. As Shadow stepped into the open chamber he noticed several more undead rise from their graves to join the fight, almost as if something else was commanding them to fight as well. He even spotted one of them carrying a large two handed sword, the only problem was that it didn't look like it belonged with the people that had died down here.

"So, you've got backup," Shadow commented, preparing himself as he stepped closer to the undead Blade, "am I supposed to be impressed? I have allies as well, but they are not like the allies that you have. My allies are the Nine Divines, each of whom give me the strength to face the Daedra that threaten our world and protect those that call Nirn home. Come and feel Arkay's embrace once more!"

The skeletons charged at him, but as they neared Shadow blocked some of their attacks immediately and replied with his own attack, his weapon smashing into one of the skeleton's heads and crushing it into pieces. Two more came at him the moment their ally fell to the ground, but he raised his shield and allowed their weapons to hit the edge, where he spun around and cut the two of them in half. As they fell to the ground he spotted several more of them trying to flank him, while there was several more advancing from the front and trapping him by forming a circle. The undead Blade, he briefly noted, was simply watching and waiting, in the off chance that the other skeletons failed to take him down and forced it to do battle once more.

Shadow smashed his weapon into the skeleton that was carrying the two handed sword and turned around to cut down another one, but as he did so he found them swinging at him, forcing him to bring up his shield to block them. The great thing was that he managed to stop them in their tracks, but the downside was that they put enough power into their attacks and their blades cut into his shield. He grunted and tossed his now ruined shield forward, forcing the two skeletons backwards and making them pry their weapons from the shield before they could come at him again. He then tossed his ordinary sword into the body of one of the undead, breaking through the rib cage and scattering its bones everywhere, before he backed up and grabbed the greatsword.

Before that day he had never tried to use one of the two handed weapons, though when he lifted the greatsword he swore that one of the Divines was aiding him as he stood confidently before his enemies.

The remaining enemies, apparently growing tired of this game, charged at him at the same time, where Shadow swung his new weapon and smashed one of them in half before turning it around and shattering the chest of a second. The undead Blade, the final enemy in the area, approached him, but he immediately approached it and swung his new weapon at it, catching the edge of its own weapon and knocking it backwards. He then spun around, the blade cutting through the air as he took the hand of his enemy, his sword scattering down the hall while the Blade knelt on the ground. Before the creature got back up Shadow removed its head, allowing the ghost of the ancient Blade that had been sealed away in death to rise again and thank Shadow for rescuing him, before disappearing once more.

"Great Divines," Shadow said, collecting the Blade's sword, as per Rend's request, and sheathing his own weapon, "I thank you for the aid once more."

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Rend walked into the hallway he had chosen and held his swords out, his eyes scanning for any enemies that wanted to prevent him from freeing their souls and reaching his target. As he looked around he noticed that he was in what appeared to be a prison area, which told him that there had to be a Warden walking around with a key that he might need. The first chamber he came to was pretty much empty, but as he waited he spotted an undead appear, wandering into his sight for a moment before spotting Rend. They stood in their respective places, staring at each other for a few moments, before the undead pulled out its weapon and began to walk over to Rend.

Rend, on the other hand, sighed and dropped down into the area that the undead was in, swiftly approaching his enemy and swinging his swords at it. The skeleton raised its weapon to block him, but Rend pushed and forced his enemy to back up, repeating the process until the creature was up against the wall. Once that was accomplished he spun his blades around and cut the Warden into pieces, scattering the bones everywhere and dropping a key to the floor. He scooped the key up and approached the iron door that stood in his way, opening it immediately so he could face whatever madness was waiting for him.

He walked around the area, cutting into each and every undead that he saw and searching each chest for anything that would be of aid to him, until he returned to where the Warden had been.

"Wait a minute..." Rend said to himself, turning around and looking for a hidden path, "...where's the Blade I've been searching for?"

He retraced his steps, keeping an eye out for the one skeleton that would be wearing a set of Blade armor, until he, once again, returned to where the Warden had been defeated. He sheathed his swords and traced his steps once more, running his hand over the walls until he finally found a hidden area that he had missed after he had entered the area the first time. It was tucked out of the way, so he drew his weapons and walked into the small area, where he finally found the Blade that he had been searching for the entire time. The undead Blade turned around and looked at him, his weapon at the ready, but Rend merely sighed and pulled his own weapons out in response.

His swords clashed with the Blades own weapon, sparks flying as they battled each other, but neither Rend nor the undead Blade were willing to give the other any ground. That was until Rend pushed the former Blade back and cut into its leg, causing it to stagger for a moment before he drove his swords into the chest. Then, to be sure that the deed was done, he pulled them out sideways, scattering the bones like he had done to the Warden and ending the fight in an instant. He sheathed his own swords and collected the fallen sword, where he found the ghost of Valdemar standing before him, giving him the same thanks that his companion had given him earlier.

With the deed done he turned towards the hallway that would lead him out and began the trek back to the middle area, where he knew his companions would be waiting for him. If they weren't then he hoped that they were doing just fine in their perspective areas.

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Luna walked into her area and sighed to herself, wondering why she had decided to mention that splitting up would have been a good idea for them to consider. Her companions had decided to split up rather suddenly, barely giving the idea any thought, but where they would be alone in their areas Luna was not. Thanks to her constantly sending thoughts to Nightmare, so they could best decide how to do something, her other persona had taken it upon herself to finally reply in full force. The only reason she had waited until now was because they would be alone for the moment, though Luna suspected that she would recede the moment they were in the presence of their companions once more.

So, Nightmare said, what did I miss?

"Just looking for the armor of Tiber Septim," Luna replied, glancing around for enemies as she walked, "and yes, that means that we're searching for the armor of a mortal that became a Divine. Oh, and Shadow got bit by a vampire."

Seriosuly? Nightmare exclaimed, as if she didn't believe it, Why has he not gone to a temple and asked one of the Divines to cure him of his ailment, or just drink a potion to be rid of it?

"He doesn't want to waste time on himself," Luna told her other persona, summoning her lightning and smashing a skeleton to pieces, "He's content to become a vampire, so long as we continue the mission that the late Emperor gave him, Pandora, and Rend before he died."

I guess I can believe that... Nightmare sighed, though Luna shivered in the process, Still, neither of us would have asked any of our servants or warriors to carry such an ailment while on one of our missions. Granted we sent our soldiers out at night and made sure that they were well hidden during the way. We should try to talk some sense into him before he fully becomes one of them.

"Already tried that," Luna said, jumping back while throwing another spell at her enemies, "and I just told you what his response had been. Now I need to concentrate, otherwise I'm bound to miss..."

That was before one of the undead, one that had more armor than the rest of his brethren and a more sinister looking weapon, appeared by her side and swung its weapon at her. She expected the weapon to hit her hard and send her into the nearby wall, but instead she found an ebony battleaxe blocking the weapon in its tracks. That was moments before a shadowy version of Nightmare appeared beside her, forcing the offending undead backwards and causing the others to back up for a moment. Luna also noticed that the shadow was attached to her in some fashion, which likely meant that she'd return to her body once the battle was over.

Seriosuly? Nightmare exclaimed, smashing her battleaxe into the skeleton, Watch what your doing next time Luna.

"You kept distracting me!" Luna shouted back at her other persona, watching one skeleton scratch his head in confusion, "I was trying to fight my way to the undead Blade that I'm supposed to free, but you just had to ask me questions to sate your curiosity. I have shared everything with you anyway, so why would you bother with asking me questions?"

Honestly, I missed most of it. Nightmare replied, glancing at the undead and finding the target in seconds, I wanted to sleep and only woke when you shared something interesting or needed my advice on something.

Luna sighed and spotted the undead Blade that Nightmare had spotted, lightning coursing around her hand as her alternate persona swung her battleaxe around. Even without the appearance of her other side Luna would have been able to smash the undead easily, but now that Nightmare was out for the moment they trashed them completely. Nightmare surged forwards and smashed her weapon into several of the skeletons, scattering the bones while more of them came at her with their weapons drawn. Luna, on the other hand, stepped towards the former Blade and let her lighting surge forward, though it moved to the side and her attack collided with the wall.

It went like that for a few minutes, where Nightmare finished up her enemies and watched Luna, who was having trouble hitting an enemy that wouldn't stand still. Eventually Luna snapped and stopped using lightning, switching to a much darker magic that she had learned from one of her friends, who she and her sister missed with all her hearts. Dark energy rolled out of her eyes as the darkness in the ruin came to life, stretching outwards until the entire room had been swallowed by the darkness. The undead Blade stumbled backwards, giving her the opportunity to wrap the shadows around it and crush its body into pieces, scattering the bones before stopping the magic.

Oh nice, Nightmare grinned, just as the darkness returned to its natural state and Luna's eyes returned to normal, I didn't know you still cared to use Somb...

"DO NOT SAY HIS NAME!" Luna shouted, turning to face her alternate persona, "My heart is in pain because we lost him, because we did not see how dangerous Discord's influence could be on someone who controlled Dark Magic. My pain is only a fraction of the pain that our sister feels, caused by our own betrayal and by the loss of a pony that she loved with all her heart. I will not have you opening any more old wounds right now, Nightmare."

Nightmare was used to being able to chill the air with a simple change of her tone, but to have someone, even her original persona, use it on her was unsettling. She could have sworn that Luna was assuming some aspects of her own form, such as the tone, almost as if they were becoming more alike then she was willing to admit. She floated before Luna for a moment, wondering if she should just assume control again, but sighed and sank back into nonexistence, returning back to a voice in Luna's head. Luna, once the deed was done, collected the fallen blade of her enemy and exited the area, wanting nothing more to do with this section of the ruin.

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"Luna!" Rend said, standing next to Shadow and watching their companion return to them, "I was beginning to wonder what happened to you and worried that we'd have to come looking for you."

"I... I am fine," Luna replied, beckoning towards the final door, "Shall we acquire Tiber Septim's armor and get out of here?"

Rend nodded and they began the journey to the final door, where they found all four ghosts standing their ground, moments before they knelt towards the final coffin. The shimmering barriers that were protecting the coffin from everyone phased in and out for a few moments, where the three of them wondered if they were going to fall, before they disappeared. With the deed done the trio walked towards the coffin, silently waiting for anymore enemies to appear and attack them, but as they approached their target they found nothing like that.

Luna had to admit it when she saw the armor of the mortal turned Divine, the golden armor with the symbol of the Empire, but she was impressed by what she saw. It reminded her of her sister's golden armor, to which she mentally heard Nightmare gag, while the only difference was that this armor was more decorated. Rend gently lifted the armor off of its resting place, waiting for enemies to appear, before he sighed and smiled to his companions.

"Success is ours," Rend told his companions, "Now let's get out of here and get this to Martin at once."

Comments

[Sonata Blaze]

That was certainly interesting. And is that a reference to Sombra and his story I see there?

[HB_DS2013]

Meeting Shadow in the Dawnguard arc makes so much sense now.

[Sonata Blaze]

6749268 It sure does. I'm glad that the author decided to write this part of the story as well.

[Vigilant of Stendarr]

Ah, the Armor of Tiber Septim.... nice to see that this piece has been picked up.