Nightmare Moon Crashes the Oblivion Crisis

by Blackdrag-rose

29: An Order Reborn

Shadow and Nightmare breathed a sigh of relief when they emerged from Underpall Cave with the desecrated Sword of the Crusader in hand, because it meant that they were near the end of their mission. Their next destination was Cheydinhal, where there was a chapel to the Divine Arkay that they could access to restore the Sword to its holy purpose once again. Nightmare had the uneasy feeling that their enemy, Umaril the Unfeathered, would likely send some of his forces to attack the chapel before they arrived, something that Shadow agreed with as they swiftly returned to the road and started the journey towards the city in question.

Unfortunately the road seemed to be plagued with bandits, because they were attacked the instant they returned to the road and then attacked again not ten minutes later. Nightmare was fine with removing the bandits, as they were a plague on the fair people of Cyrodiil, but she was somewhat surprised by the fact that none of them were running scared at the sight of her. That was until she noticed a hint of magic around the eyes of one of her victims, which caused her to throw up a barrier around her and Shadow so she could investigate it in peace. She quickly discovered that it was a spell that was designed to get rid of fear and install a sense of courage, though she also noticed that some dangerous creature had to have created the spell.

That was before she dropped the bandit to the ground and turned to Shadow, who seemed pleased that she might have uncovered what was actually going on at the moment.

"They are all being mind controlled," Nightmare commented, waving a hand towards the bandits that were smacking her shield, "No doubt that our enemy is trying to stall us so he can destroy the chapel... which means that we must hurry."

"And how would we get around them?" Shadow asked, eying the bandits as they tried, in vain he mentally added, to breach the barrier that was surrounding them.

"I'll fly us to our destination," Nightmare replied, flexing her wings as she readied her magic to lower the shield, "Be ready Shadow, because the moment I lower this barrier they'll come at us like an angry tide."

Shadow recalled the last time that one of him and his friends got a ride from Nightmare, back when she and Pandora went to the Shivering Isles, so he knew that he was in for a ride. He made sure that all of the relics were either safely stored in his bag or attached to him in some manner, before he nodded to Nightmare and watched as the barrier came down around them. Before the bandits could reach them Nightmare grabbed onto the back on his armor and burst into the air, allowing them to get above their enemies in a manner of seconds. Once they were in the air, and Shadow made sure Nightmare was pointed at the direction of Cheydinhal, they got underway and left the mind controlled bandits behind.

Shadow had to admit it, but he could see why Nightmare had preferred to fly when she had first joined him, Rend, and Pandora at the beginning of their quest, because it almost made him forget that they were on a mission to stop both Umaril the Unfeathered and the Daedric Prince Mehrunes Dagon.

When they reached their destination, and landed outside the city of Cheydinhal, Nightmare gently set him down on the ground before landing beside him. Shadow could now see how Nightmare had managed to reach the door to the Shivering Isles and get back to Cloud Ruler Temple so quickly, though he knew that now was not the time to get distracted from their mission. Since they both shared the same feeling that the chapel they were about to visit was going to be under attack, and they were willing to bet that they were right, the two of them drew their weapons as they walked into the city.

The guards seemed to think that they were out of their minds, but when they realized that they were heading to the chapel, which was definitely under attack, they rushed in to help them. Nightmare found some familiar enemies waiting for them, the golden clad warriors they had fought earlier in Shadow's holy quest, so she grinned as she met them in the field of battle once more. She, Shadow, and the few guards that accompanied them fought against the servants of Umaril the Unfeathered, cutting them down one by one until they were sure that none of them were alive anymore. With the chapel saved the priests thanked them and the guards, who seemed happy to lend a hand as they slowly left the chapel, leaving Shadow and Nightmare to their task.

Shadow knelt before the alter and pulled out the desecrated Sword, to which he asked for Arkay to restore it to its former glory while Nightmare made sure that they were actually safe for the moment.

"The task is complete," Shadow said after a few minutes, turning to face Nightmare with the restored Sword of the Crusader in his hand, "Now then, we had better return to the Priory and see if there is anything else that must be done before we can stop Umaril the Unfeathered and his army of daedra."

Nightmare nodded, because she was eager to bring this quest to a close and because she really wanted to see how dangerous this Umaril was if it required Eight Divines to temporarily defeat him.

---

Night was slowly creeping up on the Priory of the Nine when Nightmare gently placed Shadow on the ground, as they had once again taken to using her wings to get from place to place and not have to walk everywhere, not when Shadow was carrying all of the Divine Crusader's Relics on his person. Time was of the essence now, because it was only a matter of time until Umaril the Unfeathered realized that Pelinal Whitestrake's weapons had been gathered together once again, and that he was truly no longer safe in whatever realm he was currently residing in. As the duo approached the Priory, however, they spotted one of the new Knights running towards them, as if he had witnessed their arrival and wanted to greet them himself.

"Lord Crusader! The Prophet is here -- he's just arrived!" the knight, Sir Thedret, exclaimed the moment he was standing before Shadow, "He seemed to know you were coming... told me to wait for you. And here you are! Come. He is preaching to the assembled Knights in the Chapel. You should speak to him at once."

Nightmare wasn't surprised to find that she was ignored by the knights, though her reasoning was because she didn't actually worship the Nine Divines or something like that. She was, however, surprised to hear that the man that had gotten Shadow started on this quest, who told them to go on a vision quest of sorts, was here and that he was waiting for Shadow. Apparently Shadow was surprised as well, but he merely nodded his head and the three of them quickly made their way to the restored chapel, where they would discover what their next plan of action would be. The Prophet just happened to be wrapping up his speech when Shadow and Nightmare walked in behind Sir Thedret, though he seemed quite pleased to see them again.

Shadow decided not to waste any time and approached the old man, wondering what he had to tell him before they planned out their attack on wherever their enemy was hiding, though as he did so he pulled out the Helmet of the Crusader and, at long last, slipped it on over his head.

"You have stepped from the humble shadows of obscurity and into legend." the Prophet told him, to which Shadow took off the cloak the had been concealing the Divine Crusader's armor and revealed it all for the assembled knights to see, "No feat you have accomplished in your life compares to what you have become. You are an embodiment of Pelinal Whitestrake, the bane of Umaril the Unfeathered. The time has come for you to fulfill your destiny. Umaril lies hidden in the ancient fane of Garlas Malatar. You must go there and destroy him."

"Am I ready then?" Shadow asked, wondering if he was now destined to meet the same fate as Pelinal did, though he would gladly give his life if it meant that Umaril the Unfeathered would have to wait until he could try his invasion again.

"No. Should you face Umaril, you would suffer the same fate as Pelinal." the Prophet replied, though it was clear that something had occurred to him that might aid Shadow in his quest, "But times change and even the shape of the divine itself must change with it. Where once there were Eight, now One more now stands with them, and they have become Nine."

"Talos... of course!" Shadow said, not believing that he had forgotten about the man turned Divine whose armor he, Rend, and Nightmare had recovered some time ago.

"Aye." the Prophet said in agreement, clearly pleased that Shadow was paying attention to what he was saying, "With the apotheosis of Tiber Septim, the face of the divine was transformed. Talos ascended and the Eight became Nine. So, although you wear the armor of the gods, it is incomplete --- a relic of the old ways and the old gods."

"Then how do I destroy Umaril?" Shadow asked, though he was getting the feeling that the old man was deliberately not telling him anything so that they could have one last conversation before they went off to war.

"As a proven guardian of this realm," the Prophet replied, as if he had been expecting that sort of reply, "and a warrior the likes of which have not been seen in millennia, Talos grants you his sacred Blessing. With the ancient gifts of the Eight, and the new gift of the One, you are ready to face Umaril. The Blessing will allow you to follow Umaril into the spirit realm upon his death. It will allow you to destroy him, body and soul, utterly and for all time. You must first kill his living body. While beyond the power of most mortals, this is only the lesser of your two tasks. His Daedric nature allows his spirit to escape into Oblivion after death. This is what Pelinal Whitestrake learned upon defeating Umaril the first time.

But you can do what Pelinal could not. The Blessing of Talos will allow you to follow Umaril's spirit when it leaves his body. This you must do, and you must not fail. You will not, for the Nine fight with you."

Shadow nodded and turned to Nightmare for a moment, though they both knew what their next task was, as this was the one they had been expecting the entire time. Now it was finally time for them to take the fight to Umaril the Unfeathered, strike down him and the soldiers that were under his command, and then slay him so his spirit could be destroyed forever. Shadow knew that it sounded like a lot for him and the other knights to accomplish, but with Nightmare at their side he knew that they could reach their target without any problems. He truly almost felt sorry for the daedra that were waiting in Garlas Malatar, but then he remembered everyone that they had killed up until this point and decided that now wasn't the time for him to get emotional.

Once Umaril was dead, and his spirit completely destroyed, Shadow knew that they would rejoin Rend and continue their efforts into figuring out how they were going to recover the Amulet of Kings so they could stop Mehrunes Dagon... before he brought about the end of Nirn.

Comments

[Sonata Blaze]

Finally. Its time to take the fight to Umaril the Unfeathered... which means the story is nearing its end.

[Snow]

+1 upvote for Dagon not just waiting politely while the Chosen Hero of DESTINEEZ goes fishing for sidequests.