Sunset's Adventure in Skyrim

by Blackdrag-rose

28: Blade and Rose

Sunset and her band of companions, which included her friends and the leaders of the factions that had so far sided with her, walked through the streets of Whiterun as they quickly made their way to Dragonsreach, where Jarl Balgruuf was waiting for her. Both General Tullius and Ulfric Stormcloak walked beside her, though she caught several townspeople staring at Ulfric as they passed them by, letting her know that they still didn't trust him at all. Right now she really didn't care about that, as he had willingly helped her fight off the threat of the Forsworn army, even if it had meant fighting alongside his enemy in the civil war.

He had fought alongside her, without trying to kill her, her soldiers, or the enemy commander and any of his soldiers, which meant that she might be able to work with him in the end.

Many of the guards saluted her and her friends as they passed, as the majority of their good deeds were now known throughout the remaining eight Holds, though she was glad to see that the people cared about her work. It meant that she was doing something right, though she prayed that they would follow the example that the people that came to join her forces were setting. Everyone needed the opportunity to stand up against Tirek, to which she hoped that the possible threat of another army similar to the Forsworn would be enough for them to make up their minds. If they didn't want to fight the demon then she understood, as she was more than willing to let people decide which side of the conflict they'd rather side with for themselves.

When they entered Dragonsreach they found Jarl Balgruuf sitting in his chair, staring at a stack of papers that looked like they had been brought to him so he could focus on something other than the threat of war. As they approached the throne the Jarl sighed and set the paper he was staring at down on top of the pile, giving Sunset and her group his full attention, though Sunset could tell that he was annoyed with something, or someone.

"So, Dragonborn, it seems I have you to thank for saving my Hold... again," Jarl Balgruuf said, nodding to her for a moment, though she suspected that there was something else he wasn't saying yet, "Forgive me for what I'm about to say, I don't mean to sound ungrateful, but I was reviewing the papers Jarl Korir signed and I cannot find a mention of it saying that an army was going to be built in Fellglow Keep."

"That was not my original intention," Sunset replied, slightly surprised that he was even upset over the matter, but could understand where he was coming from, "Fellglow Keep was supposed to be a haven for those that were displaced by the demon Tirek, though as you can tell that quickly developed into what it is today. The Mages of the College of Winterhold, the residents of Winterhold, the Thalmor, the Blades, and a variety of others have come to the Keep, so they can join the cause to defeat the demon."

"What's the big deal about one dremora?" Ulfric asked, crossing his arms as he stood on Sunset's left, while Tullius stood to her right, "So someone summoned him and was slain in the process, I don't see why that would require you to build an army to defeat him. Just hunt him down and send his souls back to Oblivion, where he belongs with the rest of his demented kind."

"I'm afraid that it isn't as simple as that," Sunset said, turning to face the commander of the Stormcloaks, "Tirek is a demon that drains the power of those that willingly serve him when he dies, but the increase of his power is slowing down as he draws closer to full power. Trust me when I tell you all this, if Tirek gets one hundred percent then this entire world, from one province to another, will be destroyed under the weight of his power. Now, you are all likely asking yourselves how he's going to obtain his full potential, so let me tell you; he's planning on taking the Daedric Artifacts and draining whichever Prince he can get his hands on."

"Please, a dremora that can steal someone's power and then the power of a Daedric Lord?" Tullius asked, laughing as he turned to Elenwen, who had a serious look on her face, "Seriously? This is why you stopped coming to Solitude for the meetings? To play second fiddle to someone who thinks a wandering dremora requires an army to destroy it?"

"This is serious General Tullius," Elenwen calmly replied, though Sunset could tell that she was slightly annoyed, "this... demon... came to my Embassy with the intention to drain me, my guards, and my guests dry of our energy, but instead he used his power to flatten the area into the side of the mountain. He did the same thing to Winterhold, which was where the idea to fight him originated, and I'm willing to fight this demon before he gains the ability to shatter our world."

"Oh for the love of Celestia, this isn't going anywhere fast," Sunset moaned, heading towards the stairs before beckoning for everyone to join her, "Follow me and I'll explain what I mean in a very simple way."

Sunset was used to most people outright ignoring her when she tried to explain what Tirek was currently capable of, and what he would be capable of if he reached his full potential, so she decided to use a certain spell Princess Celestia had shown her at one time. It was a powerful spell, similar to the one she had used to stop the civil war, but this one would be more draining on her actual energy than the previous one. She walked out onto the perch area of Dragonsreach, looking around as she took the entire area in, knowing that it was the perfect spot to reveal what Tirek was capable of at the moment.

She directed everyone up to the walkway that rested above the perch's floor, patiently waiting for them to get into position before she started the show. Once they were in position she tapped her staff against the stone floor and summoned her magic around her, sifting through her memories until she found the one she was looking for. The moment she had the desired memory she channeled the spell into the area around her and watched as a certain scene constructed itself all around her. It was the very moment that she had discovered that Tirek had been behind everything that Ancano had done to the College, before she had defeated the deranged elf and witnessed the complete and utter destruction of Winterhold.

Congratulations, Archmage Sunset Shimmer, past Tirek called down to past Sunset, You managed to defeat another of my pawns, but now it is time for me to show you the fruits of their labor.

Past Tirek leapt down to where past Sunset and Tolfdir were standing, causing the two of them to leap backwards and prepare for combat with the demon. The two parties stared at each other, giving the past Sunset time to study her enemy and come up with a plan, before the horrible truth of what she saw before her revealed itself. The past Tolfdir also prepared himself accordingly, unaware that his Archmage was beginning to dread what was coming from their enemy.

How much power have you consumed? past Sunset asked, nearly shouting the words at the demon, How many people have died to do this to your body?

Ah, I am at thirty-five percent of my former power, past Tirek answered, his answer installing fear into the past Archmage while her companion prepared for battle, and I could name just a few people that you would know whose powers I now possess; the Caller, the Augur of Dunlain, the previous Archmage, Savos Aren, and let's not forget Ancano. But this is not enough for me to return to Equus, as I require my full one hundred percent for that to happen...

What happened was a short exchange between the past Sunset and Tirek, where the past Tirek gathered his power into his hand and climbed onto the magicka well that stood before Archmage Shalidor's statue. Then, in the moment following when past Sunset and Tolfdir began their retreat, the demon swung his fist at the well and the calamity started anew. Sunset watched as the city of Winterhold was destroyed, reliving the pain she had felt at the time, before the destruction moved onto the College itself. It was then that the College was cracked into pieces and claimed by the sea around it, displaying the power that Tirek had at the time to everyone around her.

Once the deed was done Sunset cancelled the spell and made sure that her staff was propped up against something, to combat the wooziness that came with using the spell. She took a breath and steadied herself, bracing herself for what the others were going to say about what they had seen, especially what Jarl Balgruuf was going to say.

"That's the destruction of Winterhold in a nutshell," Sunset said, raising her voice so everyone could hear her, despite the fact that they were coming back to her anyway, "thirty-five percent and Tirek shattered the entirety of a city, sinking it and the College into the ground. At fifty percent he flattened the Thalmor Embassy into the mountain, but what comes between fifty percent and one hundred I have absolutely no idea. Once he reaches his full potential he'll destroy all of Nirn, which I am trying to prevent at all times."

"All of Nirn?" Ulfric asked, where for the first time Sunset could hear the fear on the nord's voice, though she nodded to him anyway, "Well then, I do believe we know what to do next. Wouldn't you agree, General Tullius?"

"I daresay that your right," Tullius replied, though it was clear that he didn't like agreeing with his enemy, "for the greater good of Skyrim, and all of Nirn, both the Imperial Legion and the Stormcloaks will cease hostilities with each other and focus on finding Tirek's base of operations. Hopefully we can take his focus away from you and your mission of gathering the Daedric Artifacts long enough for you to banish them all to Oblivion once more."

Sunset was very pleased with the outcome of this venture, as it meant that the civil war was paused until she could find Tirek and send him back to Tartarus. The only thing she had to do now was simply ask Jarl Balgruuf for the Ebony Blade, take the artifact away from the city, and start her hunt for the Sanguine Rose. She patiently waited for the Jarl to come down and speak with her, allowing her body to recover from using the spell as her friends came to a stop around her. Elenwen, Jarl Korir, Delphine, and Tolfdir waited by the door, knowing that their leader had something else to do in the city before they retired to their keep.

"Was there something else Dragonborn?" Jarl Balgruuf asked, knowing that there was some other reason for her to still be standing there, patiently waiting for him.

"I would like to request that you hand over the Ebony Blade," Sunset stated, causing the Jarl to raise an eyebrow at her, "Look, the reason the Forsworn came here is because one of Tirek's underlings figured out that the Ebony Blade, the artifact of Mephala, is inside the city. They came here to slaughter your forces, and those of whoever else was here, and burn the city to the ground, all so they could get their hands on that artifact. I'd like to take it off your hands and secure it with the others."

"I feared that someone would come for that dreadful weapon," Jarl Balgruuf finally said, sighing as he reached into his pocket and withdrew an iron key, a key that he handed over to her, "Take this key, open the ancient door, and take that dreadful weapon away with you... I will not have it in my city after hearing why the Forsworn came here."

Sunset nodded and headed out into the throne room, where Fiona took the lead and showed her the way to the door that the Jarl had been referring to. It was definitely an old door, that much Sunset could tell just by staring at the rotting wood, but she could also feel a faint energy behind the door. She reasoned that it had to be the Ebony Blade and that the only reason she could feel it was because she had handled the other artifacts she had collected, though that the only reason she could come up with. She briefly inserted the key into the lock and threw open the door, where she found a long ebony blade sitting on a table with a journal sitting next to it. She sighed in relief and collected the weapon, before heading out into the throne room to rejoin the rest of her friends and companions, arriving in time to see General Tullius and Jarl Ulfric preparing to leave.

It was then that Sunset thought of something that she hadn't considered before, something that could very well help them find Tirek and whoever else was under his influence.

"I do have one suggestion for you two," Sunset spoke up, causing the two men to turn towards her for a moment, "One faction has control over the Reach, while the other has control over the Rift. I have the feeling that there may still be some remnants of Tirek's forces hiding out in either of these Holds, so I suggest that you start your searches in those areas. If you come across some information that may be beneficial to the other faction's search than I do hope you share it, instead of keeping it to yourself. But if either of you happen to find Tirek's base of operations I expect that you'll share its location with me first, that way we can come up with a plan of attack."

"As you wish Archmage," General Tullius replied, bowing slightly as Jarl Ulfric merely nodded his understanding, "As I said, you and your allies now have the full cooperation of the Imperial Legion, and the Stormcloaks as well, aiding you in your search for the dremora called Tirek. Go do what you must to keep Nirn safe."

Sunset nodded and her band left Dragonsreach, where she was kind of surprised to find that it was already the evening and was slowly giving way to the night. She reasoned that there were a few hours of daylight left, though not nearly enough for them to immediately start the hunt for the Sanguine Rose. She decided to return to her base of operations and share the good news with the people that called the keep home, before grabbing some dinner and heading to bed later that night. As she and her band left Whiterun she heard a roar and looked to the sky, just in time to see Alduin and the other four dragons heading back to Labyrinthian.

It merely reminded her that she needed to go back there to begin her Dragon Priest training, which she decided would give her some new Shouts to use in case they came across an enemy that required such power to defeat it.

When they returned to the keep Sunset was glad to find that they had, somehow, managed to survive the entire battle for Whiterun without losing a single person. Her army was whole and, upon hearing of the alliance they had secured with both the Imperials and the Stormcloaks, they cheered for their success. Granted her original plan was to wait until she had secured all the artifacts before asking for such a meeting, but she was still fine with this outcome. What she didn't expect to find when she returned to her base, however, was a small group of orcs, roughly fifteen she counted, waiting for her outside the outer walls of her fortress.

She also didn't expect that she would have ever seen Atub, the orc she had given some ingredients to so she could obtain Malacath's artifact, after she had left the stronghold behind. Yet there she was, standing with the rest of her tribe, all of whom looked like they were exhausted after a long trek to reach this destination. Sunset also discovered that they were carrying tools, ores, weapons, armor, and a variety of other items with them in their wagons, though she could guess what happened to them.

"Atub, what's wrong?" Sunset asked, knowing that it was polite to ask what the problem was, before jumping to conclusions and making herself look like a complete fool, "Did something happen to Largashbur?"

"Malacath sent me a vision yesterday," Atub replied, sighing as she turned to look at Sunset, "not a vision of prophecy, like those that Azura gives to her followers, but a vision of truth, of what's to come and of what could happen. I was shown the destruction of Largashbur, and the death of my tribe, at the hands of the dremora that you and your allies seemed to call 'Tirek'. I did not wish for my tribe to die in such a cowardly way, when we weren't able to fight and die with honor, so I spoke with the Chief and we made preparations to leave our home behind. We took all that we could from the stronghold before making our way here, but I stood back on a nearby hill to wait and see if I had been shown the truth.

The... the dremora appeared out of nowhere and assaulted our stronghold, using his terrible magic to tear our gate asunder and crush our Chief's hunt under a rockslide. Once the entirety of our home was either burning under his magic or ripped apart by the earth itself the dremora disappeared, as if he had never been there to begin with. I painfully rejoined my tribe as they marched from our home to this location, only to feel the destruction of Malacath's shrine not ten minutes later. The orcs of Largashbur came here for one reason; we came to join forces with the one person who seems to have a chance at defeating this vile creature.

Our smiths and warriors stand at the ready, if you would give us a chance to fight the creature that took our stronghold, and our way of live, away from us."

Sunset could see the determination on Atub's face as she spoke, as she was furious at the destruction that she had witnessed, and felt that she spoke the same words that anyone from Winterhold would have said, if she had asked them.

"Elenwen, we've still got some unused plots of land correct?" Sunset asked, turning to face the altmer for a moment, wondering where they could place the displaced orcs.

"Yes Archmage," Elenwen replied, beckoning to an area across the small river and then to one that was near the base of the river, "We've got plenty of room for more expansion, though I don't know what the Jarl will make of us if we continue to grow like this."

"I would be honored to accept you and your people Atub," Sunset told the orc, seeing a smile appear on many of the orcs' faces, "Come inside the walls for the night, we'll figure out where your new home will be located in the morning."

As Elenwen and the rest of her band escorted the orcs inside the walls of her fortress Sunset spotted a Courier standing nearby, but she didn't see a package or letter for anyone. If anything the nord appeared to be frightened about something, though she wondered what could have made him shiver and shake as he was. She sighed and approached the nord, also wondering what type of mail he had to deliver and who it had to go to, though she had a suspicion that it was for her.

"I've, um, got a message to deliver to you," the Courier quickly said, his eyes darting to the sky, almost as if he was fearing that something was going to come down and eat him, "from a, um, rather large and intimidating dragon. He said to tell you that, ugh, the 'other five' have begun their march and that they'll be at their base in a few days."

It took Sunset a moment to understand what she had been told, but when she got the message she simply nodded her head and allowed the Courier to go about his business. It was just like what happened with Rahgot, she realized, but this time the five remaining Dragon Priests were waking themselves up and gathering their armies. It was almost as if they could feel the threat that Tirek posed to all of Nirn and were rising from their slumber, so they could lend their strength to the cause. She grinned for a moment, pleased that she didn't have to use some of her hard earned time to hunt down and awaken the other Priests herself, before heading into the fortress to share the good news.

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When morning arrived Sunset was pleased to see that the orcs of Largashbur were already settling into their new home, as some of them had gone to the smithy to work wonders while the warriors were training. Their Chief, however, had decided that, seeing how they weren't in a stronghold, that they would fall in with her forces, living with equals under their Warlord. Sunset didn't know if she liked being called a warlord, but if the orcs wanted to call her that then she supposed that she had better grow to like another title. Though as she walked around her fortress she noticed that more orcs were occasionally showing up, each telling her about Malacath calling them to action against Tirek.

Apparently all of the orcs in Skyrim wanted a piece of Tirek, so Sunset figured that she'd give them their chance and those that came to her fortress immediately fell into a routine. It was another one hundred to one hundred and fifty soldiers to add to her forces, in addition to whatever the Imperials and Stormcloaks brought with them.

Once she was gone walking around the outer wall of her fortress she returned to the center, where she found Delphine talking with Fiona about something.

"I don't know where he came from," Delphine calmly said, though Sunset could detect some anger in her words, "but he's in the tavern, spouting some nonsense about a stolen rose and some stupid mages."

"It sounds like Lord Sanguine found us before we could find him," Fiona commented, just as Sunset came to a stop near them, to which the vampire looked over at her, "So, shall we go see what the Daedric Lord of Debauchery wants of us?"

Sunset nodded and followed the two of them to the tavern, one of the first buildings that had been built, where she found a nord sitting in a chair with a cup of mead in his hand. To her it seemed like an ordinary nord, though when it came to dealing with the Daedric Princes she knew that she had to expect anything and everything. Once they neared the nord he turned around and looked at them, taking a moment to study them before a sigh escaped his lips and he set his cup down.

"So, your the one that's been collecting the Daedric Artifacts," the nord said, though Sunset could almost feel the power in his voice alone, "I am Sanguine, the Daedric Prince of Debauchery. Yes, I know, the barrier between Oblivion and Nirn should prevent me from appearing here, in my true form, and you'd be surprised to hear that it does. I'm currently possessing this poor soul that was drowning himself in mead everyday, though I'm somewhat ashamed to admit that my artifact has already been stolen. I'm not sure who stole it from me, but I do know that whoever stole it has gone to Morvunskar to sacrifice it, and the mages that call the fort home, to your enemy, the demon Tirek."

"Am I to assume that I can keep the Rose after I recover it?" Sunset asked, curious as to whether the artifact would be sent back to Sanguine's realm or if it would remain on Nirn.

"Sure, sure," Sanguine replied, waving his hand as if to dismiss her, "Just go to the fortress, kill whoever you find inside, and recover the Rose before your enemy gets his hands on it."

Sunset nodded and headed outside, where she and Fiona quickly gathered the rest of their friends before they departed from the fortress, leaving it in capable hands. As usual Sunset noticed that none of the wildlife wanted a piece of them, to which she now knew that Hircine wanted them to kill Tirek, thus his interest in keeping them alive. Her friends were also glad to not be in the middle of a battlefield, so they spent some time talking among themselves as they journeyed towards their destination.

When they arrived at Morvunskar, located close to Windhelm, Sunset noticed that the mages that were supposed to be guarding the walls were hanging over the edge, lifeless and broken. She sighed and drew her sword, choosing to keep her staff hidden for the moment as they ventured into the actual fortress and began their search for whoever stole the Sanguine Rose. The further they investigated the fortress the more bodies that Sunset discovered, leading her to worry that whatever ritual that Sanguine had mentioned may have already taken place and that the thief was already long gone.

"This isn't a good sign," Fiona commented, constantly looking at the broken bodies of the mages that had called this fort home, "this really isn't good for us at the moment."

It took them a few minutes to reach the inner sanctum, where they found someone, an orc Sunset realized, that was sitting in the chair with a wicked looking staff, the Sanguine Rose, in his left hand. Sunset held her hand up to stop them from continuing into the chamber, clearly intending to smash the orc into the wall and recover the artifact as fast as possible. As she stepped into the chamber the orc lifted his head and stared at her for a moment, before he pulled himself from his chair and walked down the steps towards her. As he did so he grabbed the head of one of the bodies, an altmer Sunset noticed, and dragged it closer to her, allowing her to see the shriveled body up close.

It was the telltale sign of one of Tirek's followers, but she had been beaten to the punch as the entire fortress had been slain by someone, who she suspected was the orc in front of her.

"Here, I know you've been hunting for this," the orc said, handing her the Sanguine Rose, just like that, "I came here seeking the demon, but I was wrong... he was not here. His underling was here, but now he's dead."

"If your looking to fight Tirek then head to Fellglow Keep," Sunset said, somewhat surprised to find such a person alone at this point, "there's an army gathering to fight against the demon. I'd love to have someone like you in our ranks Mister..."

"Orak," the orc replied, a slight grin appearing on his face, only for it to disappear, "Orak Heavy-Heart. I would like to see this... army... of yours in person."

Sunset smiled with the prospect of finding such a warrior all alone, much less one that wanted to bring the end of Tirek like everyone else she was meeting. She considered herself lucky that he was on her side, otherwise she could have lost the Sanguine Rose, and all of Nirn for that matter, without realizing it. With the Rose in hand the group of seven left the fortress and began the journey back to Fellglow Keep, where they would plan on how they would recover the remaining two artifacts.

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Tirek smiled as he walked around the master chamber of his base, staring at the various ingredients he had assembled and the vital main ingredient, the corpse in the center of the room. He had to admit, he was slightly pleased that he had minions that managed to dig into a collapsed dwarven ruin, remove the boulders that had been in the way, and recover the body he had requested. That was before he had drained them the moment they had completed their task, so he could focus on what he was going to do next. He came to a stop near the main entrance to the chamber and summoned his magic, allowing it to gather around the corpse as he called on the powers of necromancy.

He was also extremely fortunate that he had absorbed the power of thirty necromancers, to which he mentally thanked his enemy for delivering their power to him.

"Mercer Frey, I call your spirit back to this world," Tirek said, magic gathering inside the body before him as he brought life back to it, "I call you back to this pitiful world, to offer you a deal that you cannot refuse. Come Mercer Frey, hear my words and return to your body."

The body convulsed for a moment, giving him a sign that something was happening, before a white specter appeared on the other side of the chamber. He could tell that it was studying him, but he glared at the specter and held his gaze, telling it that he wouldn't be intimidated by anything. A few minutes passed before the specter turned to the corpse and entered the body, breathing life into it for a couple of seconds before it hit the ground. With the deed done Tirek cut his magic off and stared at the former corpse, watching the arms move around as the hands gripped the chair behind it and pulled itself up into a sitting position.

Tirek smiled as he studied his work; Mercer Frey, the former Guildmaster of the Thieves Guild, had been brought back to life with the sole purpose to exchange his information for whatever Tirek had to offer him.

"You mettle in forces that you do not understand," Mercer spat, clearly getting his speaking functions back due to his anger, "Nocturnal will know of this and inform her new Nightingales of what you have done."

"I called you back for one purpose, worm," Tirek said, magic pulsing around his body for a moment, "You give me the knowledge you have on the Twilight Sepulcher, and the Skeleton Key, and I will restore your body so you can do whatever you were doing before your downfall. What do you say, partner?"

Tirek held his hand out for Mercer to take, knowing that when he got what he wanted he would destroy the reanimated corpse and absorb him like he had done to the others. Mercer looked at him for a moment, clearly weighing his options, before a sigh escaped from his broken body and he shook Tirek's hand, unknowingly sealing his fate once more.

Comments

[Tunefulsubset72]

Mercer you done goofed

[Nova Blaze]

I almost feel bad for the fool. He's screwed either way, he just thinks he has a chance.

[Heidao]

Living version of a game, with stupid AI locals...

[Sonata Blaze]

At least Tullius and Ulfric were willing to look the other way and join forces with Sunset, otherwise I'm sure a three way war would have ripped Skyrim to pieces... without any hope of it being put back together. Now that we're nearing the end of the Daedric Quests one has to wonder, will Sunset do the Dawnguard DLC, or will she head to Solstheim and deal with Miraak?

[Sonata Blaze]

6984753 Yeah, well, now I'm wishing that Karliah had recovered the body so she could have burned it to ashes and scattered them so there was no chance of this happening. Mercer is, literally, about to undo all the work that Sunset put into building her army and recovering as many artifacts as she has at this point.

I hope Nocturnal gives Tirek a run for his money when he comes to consume her.

[Vigilant of Stendarr]

Well, at least Sunset recovered the Ebony Blade and the Sanguine Rose... but Mercer Frey just screwed her over right there.

[HeartfireFirebrand]

Apparently all of the orcs in Skyrim wanted a piece of Tirek, so Sunset figured that she'd give them their chance and those that came to her fortress immediately fell into a routine. It was another one hundred to one hundred and fifty soldiers to add to her forces, in addition to whatever the Imperials and Stormcloaks brought with them.

That is a lot of orcs.

[erictheblue]

oh...is Tirek planning to use the Skeleton Key to steal the artifacts from Sunset's magic chest?