Skyrim: The Faces of Death

by Blackdrag-rose

Dragon: Shocking Discovery

What Amaryllis and her companions discovered was that the lift that was near the chamber that the Elder Scroll had been hidden in brought them back to the surface, as in right outside the camp that had been built around the tower all of them had seen, though there just so happened to be a lever nearby and it allowed them to open the door that was right in front of them, though they were happy to be above ground again, before Ma'jera used her magic to grasp the lever and seal the door behind them, so no one could head into the depths and disrupt things. Of course such a thing would make one take a moment to wonder why she hadn't done that when they passed through this are previously, though Amaryllis knew that she wanted to make sure that the path Septimus had told them about lead to the area that held the Elder Scroll, instead of using the lift and possibly heading down to a part of the underground cavern that wasn't connected to Blackreach at all, so she said nothing as they headed up the path they had used to get to Alftand's entrance. They were heading back to the Nightgate Inn, because after everything they had been through it was time for a bit of a rest and some food, now that they didn't have to worry about Falmer sneaking up on them or Dwarven machines attacking them, before using the carriage they had claimed earlier to head back to Winterhold and bring part of this adventure to an end so they could focus on the next step, figuring out which path Za'kera wanted to take. Amaryllis knew that her friend had been determined to recover the Elder Scroll and use the quest to gain more insight before coming to a decision on what to do, though now that they had found and collected it, something they had to keep quiet about since there was a chance that thieves might come to collect it if they knew such a thing existed, it was about time for her to decide on what to do next.

As she thought about it, however, she called for everyone to stop and asked Za'kera if she wanted her to hide the Scroll in a chest that she could summon and dismiss, as she hadn't told anyone about the spell before this point in time, as it was a secret since she didn't want everyone to know about it, though Za'kera thought about it for a few moments before coming to a decision as she handed the Elder Scroll over to Amaryllis, who quickly summoned the chest with the spell, opened the chest up, and carefully stored it inside her container before dismissing it.

"It is always good to see someone else enjoying the Conjure Chest spell," Ma'jera commented, indicating that she knew the spell as well and could likely use it as well, especially given the fact that she seemed to knew far more about magic than all of the mages that Amaryllis had seen during her time in Skyrim, including Festus no doubt, though as she said that she just waved her hand and a dark green chest, which looked like a clam or a gaping mouth of some kind with an endless abyss inside it, appeared nearby, where she pulled the other staffs out and stored them inside it, before dismissing the chest as quickly as she had summoned it, "I find it easy to move items from place to place, though I keep most of my weapons near me, in case enemies decide to attack me or I need to defend myself."

As they walked Ma'jera revealed what her weapons were, she carried the Staff of Magnus, a powerful elder relic that used to belong to Magnus, the God of Magic, one of the Et'Ada who helped found this world without sacrificing his power like so many others, her shining blade was Dawnbreaker, the artifact of Meridia, the Prince of Life and many other things, while the mask she wore was called Morokei, one of the infamous Dragon Priests of the Dragon Cult, and her robes, of course, belonged to the Arch-Mage of the College, one of the more powerful mortal pieces she had found. The orb, however, was a relic of her own creation, which she called Infinity, a powerful magical artifact that was designed to significantly boost the powers of the mage who carried it, something that explained how she had smashed that Centurion with ease, though that only caused Amaryllis to wonder just how strong her base power was, without all of these relics to aid her, but she had the feeling that she would never answer that question. Ma'jera also explained that she had come to Skyrim for one reason, not to learn from the College, though apparently she had to be a student to be able to get to the Arcanaeum and figure out the lone piece of information she needed to obtain, but then she had met Wind Rose and decided that helping her learn and even master her new magic would be an interesting side project, especially since it turned into her taking a liking to her, as Wind was, of course, her apprentice. Of course the part she wouldn't talk about was what sort of mission she had set for herself, as it looked like she wanted to keep it a secret for a little while longer, where Ma'jera actually said that they would know her mission as soon as it was complete, as she was sure that they were getting close to finishing it, which told them that aiding Septimus also helped her out in some manner, to which everyone nodded and focused on heading down to the area that the inn rested in.

Upon arriving at the inn Za'kera purchased the rooms that were available, since there were seven of them, and made sure to get something for dinner, that way everyone had something to eat before heading to bed, which Amaryllis was fine with since they hadn't eaten anything since they departed from Ivarstead, though once everyone had something to eat they got some sleep as Ma'jera made sure no one came looking for them, since they would need their rest after their trek through Alftand and the enemies they had fought.

When morning arrived Za'kera made sure to purchase some food for the road before they headed outside, made sure the horse and carriage were ready to go, and then departed as soon as everyone was ready to depart for Winterhold, as it was time for them to return to the iceberg Septimus had built his camp in, to hand over the lexicon and see if he needed any further assistance to unlock that odd cube that had been trapped inside that iceberg, though once their preparations were complete they got on the carriage and departed for Winterhold. Amaryllis was interested in which path Za'kera would take once she returned to the Throat of the World, to speak with Paarthurnax, though she was hoping it would be taking down the Aldmeri Dominion and ending their threat to this world, since that seemed to be what Akatosh had been pushing for, or at least it sure seemed that way to her and might be due to her meeting with one of his fragments, before focusing on the information she had learned inside the Embassy. Elenwen had been looking to find and capture Za'kera, to eliminate her before her friend used her position as the Dragonborn to seize control of the Empire and lead them into battle, likely to take down her targets, though what interested her was the part of the conversation that was about the Snow Tower and a Stone that the Thalmor were looking for, possibly to destroy it for some reason, but even then she had no idea why the Aldmeri Dominion would be interested in something like that. As she thought about that, however, Amaryllis glanced over to Ma'jera for a moment and wondered if the Arch-Mage might know what Elenwen had been talking about, as she seemed far smarter than a simple mage and suspected that if she asked her the question she might get a decent answer, and it might also lead to Za'kera coming to a decision on which path she wanted to take.

"Hey, Ma'jera, I have a question," Amaryllis spoke up, deciding that asking the question now might be best, especially since it was going to take them some time to reach Winterhold and this allowed everyone to think about other things for some time, instead of whatever might be going through their heads right now, though she paused for a moment and waited for the Arch-Mage to glance in her direction, especially since she was still floating by the carriage, "When I was in the Thalmor Embassy I overheard Elenwen talking about the Snow Tower and the Stone that went to it, though I have no idea what she was talking about. What's so special about those two items?"

"The Towers are ancient structures of immense power that stabilize this world, and each one is powered by a Stone, an object of great importance, like the Amulet of Kings for example," Ma'jera replied, showing Amaryllis that her guess had been correct, it looked like she knew more about the Towers than what she thought she might, even though it did change her count from a single Tower to multiple ones, making her wonder just how many structures existed in this world, but she kept her mouth shut as they waited for the Arch-Mage to continue talking, "and when the Stone is destroyed it leads to the Tower it's connected to, like the White-Gold Tower to use my earlier example, to deactivate, weakening the stability of this world and leading to the eventual destruction of Nirn. There are eight known Towers on Nirn: Ada-Mantia, known as the Adamantine Tower and is located on the Isle of Balfiera, Red Tower, which is the Red Mountain in Morrowind, White-Gold Tower, which rests in the center of the Imperial City in Cyrodiil, Crystal-Like-Law, or the Crystal Tower of the Summerset Isles, Snow Tower, better known as the Throat of the World and just so happens to be in Skyrim, Green-Sap, located in Valenwood, Orichalc, a Tower that sunk with the continent of Yokuda, and Walk-Brass, or the Numidium, which was a massive brass construct created by the Dwemer. What you heard was that the Aldmeri Dominion are seeking the Stone for Skyrim's Tower, and if they were to get their hands on it you can be sure that they would shatter it, as they have been seeking the end of this world for a long time... in fact, upon thinking about the Towers and this world's history, I'm almost certain that the Aldmeri Dominion have been carefully deactivating the remaining Towers, even though they have no means to enter Ada-Mantia."

"So they're seeking to bring about the end of this world, without thinking of the consequences?" Za'kera asked, though as Ma'jera nodded her head, to confirm part or all of her statement, Amaryllis could see and feel the determination coming from her friend, as it appeared that her question and the answer might have persuaded Za'kera to pick a path, but they would have to wait and see what happened when they finally returned to Paarthurnax, since she might be saving it for the ancient dragon that had aided her in figuring things out.

While they traveled to Winterhold, and kept their eyes open for enemies, Amaryllis considered what she knew about this world and what Ma'jera had told them, especially since the Prophecy of the Dragonborn mentioned the downfall of a fair number of Towers, leaving three still active, to her knowledge anyway, and those were the Snow Tower, the Crystal Tower, and the Adamantine Tower, maybe more depending on what had happened to Green-Sap, since that seemed to be the only one not bothered by the prophecy. She was sure that Ma'jera might have more information on them than what she had shared, especially given all of the knowledge she had gathered over the years, though at the very least this did exactly what she wanted it to, it gave her friend more determination than before, meaning Za'kera was ready to do anything and everything to stop the Aldmeri Dominion, though she hoped that serving Alduin was out of the question. Other than that she found that nothing appeared on the road, no wild animals tried to eat their horse and no bandits came out to try and steal their valuables, especially since Ma'jera was floating nearby and might make people assume they had a lot of stuff in the carriage, though another thing she noticed while they traveled was that there were no dragons lurking around the rest of the landscape, which she was fine with since it meant Alduin wasn't targeting them yet. Of course that was assuming the powerful dragon wanted them dead, because so far it looked like all he was doing was reviving the dragons and sending one or two out to bother whoever lived in a certain Hold, though for now she kept her guard up in case enemies came at them, despite the fact that she had a feeling that they were going to reach Winterhold without running into trouble, which would be the best thing after everything that happened in Alftand earlier.

Sure enough they were able to reach Winterhold without anything bad happening, though like the last time they were here Lydia stopped the carriage near the bridge to the College and they headed down the path that would bring them to the ice fields, something Amaryllis, her friends, and their companions were able to cross in no time, allowing the group to find the iceberg that Septimus had built his camp in all those years ago, where they found the old man walking around the area in front of the large cube, causing Ma'jera to float down to the area he was in and caused everyone else to follow after her as they waited to see what happened next.

"Septimus, we've inscribed the lexicon with the information you asked us to recover." Ma'jera said, something that drew the old man's attention as soon as he heard what she had to say, though at the same time she raised her hand and they watched as the lexicon floated into the air once more, even though Amaryllis felt a shift in the energy that was in this part of Skyrim and suspected that they were doing the work of a Daedric Prince, as she had experienced the power of two and felt a bit of a third, Meridia, when she touched that stone beacon, but she remained silent as she waited to see what might happen once the old man had the lexicon.

"Give it, quickly." Septimus stated, his tone revealing that he was impatient now that the information had been recorded in a device that he could safely read at his leisure, though Amaryllis was sure that Ma'jera frowned for a moment before she let the lexicon float down to where the old man was standing, who grabbed onto the device and tapped it a few times, as if he was accessing the knowledge inside it, before he smiled as he found what he was looking for, or at least Amaryllis had to assume that was the case, which was when he reached into his pack for a few seconds, "Extraordinary. I see it now. The sealing structure interlocks in the tiniest fractals. Dwemer blood can loose the hooks, but none alive remain to bear it. A panoply of their brethren could gather to form a facsimile. A trick. Something they didn't anticipate, no, not even them. The blood of Altmer, Bosmer, Dunmer, Falmer, and Orsimer. The elves still living provide the key. Bear you hence this extractor. It will drink the fresh blood of elves. Come when its set is complete."

As it turned out the extractor was a device of Dwarven nature that had five cylinders that could be filled, no doubt with the blood of those that were required to complete this trick, though where he had gotten the device Amaryllis had no idea and didn't even want to begin asking Septimus how he had come by it, especially since it looked like someone had made this to unlock the cube at some point, though after Ma'jera collected the device the group headed for the entrance of the cave, so they could leave, only to find a mass of eerie green energy that reminded Amaryllis of the sentry snakes, not to mention a fair number of dark tendrils and eyes that seemed to have pierced the veil between worlds.

Come closer. Bask in my presence. the being said, speaking in a voice that radiated power, like a Daedric Prince, while at the same time using a slow manner while it said whatever was on it's mind, sort of like it was stretching out whatever it was saying, though this time around Amaryllis kept quiet and waited for the being to stop talking, as she remembered the consequences of being rude in Sheogorath's presence, which she was hiding with her powers, and suspected that if she ticked off another Daedric Prince she could kiss her life goodbye.

"Lord Hermaeus Mora, it is an honor to bask in your glory." Ma'jera stated, where she landed on the ground in front of the mass and bowed her head towards the Daedric Prince, or whatever he was using to peer into this world and see them, but at the same time Za'kera and the others remained silent as they watched what was going on, where Amaryllis found that a lot of things made sense now, that the Arch-Mage was a follower of the Prince of Knowledge and had to be how she was able to gain all of the knowledge and spells she had used so far, "What is your bidding?"

Your continuing aid to Septimus renders him increasingly obsolete. Hermaeus Mora replied, where Amaryllis had an idea of where this conversation was going, especially in regards to Septimus and his existence no doubt, but she kept her opinions to herself as the pair continued to talk to each other and just ignored everyone that was around them, though it did mean that none of them had to worry about talking to the Daedric Prince, He has served me well, but his time is nearing its end. Once that infernal lockbox is opened, he will have exhausted his usefulness to me. When that time comes, you shall take his place as my emissary. What say you?

"I am, and will always be, your servant, my Lord." Ma'jera answered, not even bothering to move her head or glance back at those that were behind her, though at the same time Amaryllis suspected that she did glance back at them for a couple of seconds, something they wouldn't be able to tell given the mask that the Arch-Mage was wearing, where she felt a bit of curiosity coming from Ma'jera and wondered what in the world might be going through her mind right now, "Father, I can tell that something is bothering you. Tell me what it is and I'll take care of it."

There is no need. I will tend to Miraak and his schemes. Hermaeus Mora said, something that caused Ma'jera to take a moment and tilt her head, showing that she might be considering his answer, even though it meant he knew where they could find Miraak and stop him from sending Cultists to harass Za'kera, despite the fact that Amaryllis felt that most of her group, save for Diane, was surprised by this information, and she was certainly caught off guard, For now, focus on that lockbox. Once that is done, we will move on with the rest of the plan.

Ma'jera bowed her head once more and the dark mass in front of them disappeared as quickly as it had appeared, which caused them to stand there for a moment as they stared at the Khajiit Arch-Mage that was standing near the exit to the cave that Septimus had set up his camp in, who turned once more and floated through the opening to head outside once more, showing that she was interested in opening the lockbox that Septimus was working on and collecting the item that was inside it, but such a thing caused Amaryllis to follow after her.

"So... your father is a Daedric Prince..." Amaryllis commented, as she was unsure what she could do with this information, because if she believed the tales she had learned there was next to no way for someone from Oblivion to reach Nirn, not unless they were summoned and it was near impossible for one to summon a Daedric Prince, though as she did that the rest of their group caught up with them and walked behind her and Ma'jera.

"Yes, and that makes me a Demiprince... basically half god and half mortal, and I'm not the first you've encountered during your time in Skyrim," Ma'jera replied, where she turned around for a moment and beckoned to Diane, who nodded not a few seconds after that happened, though such a thing explained so much to Amaryllis since she had always assumed that an Argonian with antlers was totally weird, before she lowered her arm and stared at them, "Diane is a Demigod, which is the Divine version of what I am, though she's the daughter of Kynareth, and you, Amaryllis, have already encountered yet another Demiprince, Durum Coles, the daughter of Sheogorath. All Demiprinces have their own domain, an area within the realm of their parent that they rule over while assisting their mother or father, like how I watch over the fragment of Apocrypha known as the Arcane Training Grounds, while Durum serves as the master of the Mad Bakery... there are more of us, both Demigod and Demiprince alike, but that's all you need to know for right now."

"I knew there was something odd about that individual." Amaryllis said, though while she had been expecting the Breton lady in Solitude to be someone tied to Sheogorath, like the man who set her on the path to meet the Prince of Madness, she was shocked to find that the lady was actually the daughter of the Mad God, as Sheogorath liked to be called, but the fact that there were more godly children made her wonder how many they were going to run into and if she's already run into any of the others that were out there.

"So... why are all of you in this world?" Za'kera asked, as that was the main thing she wanted to know, because it sounded like each Prince and Divine might have their own godly child, or even children in some cases, and that they might have asked or commanded their children to come to Nirn, depending on which godly being they were talking about, so this was to let her gain new information.

"Like I said earlier, mother asked me to come to your aid," Diane replied, where they continued to make their way across the rest of the ice fields and headed for Winterhold, even though she knew that Ma'jera was more interested in finding the blood she needed to unlock that lockbox, especially since it was a command from her father, before she turned to glance at Za'kera and Amaryllis, the two she was supposed to be assisting, "just as some of the other Divines asked their children to do the same thing, even though we haven't encountered them yet... the Demiprinces, however, were likely ordered to assist you, while working to fulfill a goal of some kind, like how Hermaeus Mora wants that lockbox open so something can be released into this world. Sheogorath, well, he probably didn't say anything to Durum, rather his daughter likely made this decision on her own and will no doubt reveal herself in due time, but the other Princes likely commanded their kids to come to Nirn and do something before offering you their services."

That told Amaryllis all she needed to know, as in none of the godly children would have bothered to join them if Za'kera decided to fight Alduin and destroy the dragon in battle, though since she was considering the option of recruiting him as an ally for another war, all thanks to what she had said back in Sky Haven Temple, it appeared that the children were now being told or asked to aid her friend in taking down the dangers of Skyrim before focusing on the Aldmeri Dominion and what they were doing. As they walked, however, Za'kera mentioned that they were going to have to find a camp for their forces, as she had a feeling that, based on what she had learned from both Diane and Ma'jera, more reinforcements were bound to show up and that they had to be ready to receive them, where Wind wondered if they could use one of the old ruins that she and Ma'jera had cleared out. The area in question was called Fellglow Keep, where Urag had told them that one of the other apprentices had run off to with a number of library books, tomes that she and Ma'jera recovered as they cleared out all of the mages that were inside the ruin, mages who had been working on a dark ritual, or at least preparing for it, but thanks to their actions such a thing would never come to pass and they had recovered the tomes Urag said had information on the Eye of Magnus, before they knew it by that name. Ma'jera claimed that it would be a good location for them to set up a camp in, as it was a good distance from Whiterun, as in an hour or two by walking and half an hour with a carriage, while also being surrounded by a number of peaks, meaning that if someone put in some work they would be able to make a camp that would be hard to breach, even though setting up a base and filling it with the start of their army might cause Jarl Balgruuf to wonder what was going on in his Hold, but Amaryllis knew that it was more of an intimidation tactic to stop the war before more lives were lost.

As they walked, however, Ma'jera had them pause as they found something interesting, there were five individuals nearby who appeared to have fought and killed each other before she and her group arrived in this area, though Amaryllis was sure that Hermaeus Mora was watching over them as she found an Orc, Altmer, Bosmer Dunmer, and a Falmer resting in the area the Arch-Mage had discovered, meaning four of them must have fought and died to the last one, though as they stared at what was in front of them Ma'jera gathered the blood she needed. With that done she turned around and made her way back to Septimus' camp, causing Amaryllis to sigh as she and the others followed after her, mostly because they were interested in what she might find inside the lockbox, though to save time Ma'jera levitated all of them and caused them to follow after her with ease, not that Amaryllis was even surprised at this point. Thanks to her spell they were able to reach the camp in question and she set them down before heading inside, where they found the old man pacing once more as he mumbled to himself about something he had learned, though when Ma'jera informed him that they had the blood he required he seemed pleased with them, so much so that when he took told of it he brushed part of the chest area of his robe aside. In that moment he stabbed himself in the chest, injecting the five types of blood into his body in a matter of seconds, mixing them with his down doubt, before he withdrew the device and discarded it before turning his full attention to the lockbox, something that was followed by the circular locking mechanism to awaken before their eyes as the rings started to move in an unlocking motion, before eventually stopping when everything was centered, though it was in that instant that the rings moved backwards and revealed a tunnel that lead to their prize, like the lockbox was far larger on the inside than what was on the outside.

In that moment Amaryllis found that their prize was a large tome that looked like it's cover was made out of several parts of other books, an odd thing to be sure, though as Septimus approached it he voiced his displeasure over the fact that the prize of the lockbox was actually a book and not the destroyed Heart of Lorkhan, but as he said that he seemed to gain a new sight as he was lifted into the air, like he was ascending or something, even though it ended as quickly as it had begun as his body was reduced to ashes.

"While his body is no more, Septimus lives on... as an acolyte of my domain," Ma'jera commented, something that made Amaryllis wonder what her school was like, since it had to be a school of some kind, before deciding that maybe she was better off not knowing the answer to her new thoughts, though as she said that the Arch-Mage floated over to where the book rested and picked it up, where it left her hands and floated in the air as well, all while she opened it and maybe let a smile appear on her face, as Amaryllis could tell that she was pleased with something, "but now the Oghma Infinium is in my possession, just as father wanted, and it's knowledge is mine to use as I see fit, even if it will take some time to study everything that's inside it."

Amaryllis said nothing to that, mostly because she was expecting Hermaeus Mora to show up again and talk to them for a few moments, since his daughter had claimed his artifact, but nothing happened and that meant Ma'jera likely knew what to do next, to which she sighed as she, Za'kera, Wind, and the others departed from Septimus' camp and headed back to Winterhold for real, as it was time for her friend to make a decision and she hoped that it was the right one, even though it would be some time before they learned what her choice was, since Za'kera wanted to speak to Paarthurnax first, and she had a feeling everyone was going to be excited by her news.

Comments

[Night_Moon60606]

huh, u can also just go to Liars Retreat, u can pick up most of the blood samples needed there, save for Altmer. however, that sample can be found in an unmarked Shrine to Talos near Helgan, theres a number of dead worshipers and priests as well as a dead Thalmor agent with a random leveled magic item...watch out for the nearby bandit camp though...

[PrismStrike]

well that is interesting. Children of the Divines and Daedric princes. That was unexpected. Also Durum Coles... absolutely priceless. Of course Sheogorath would name his child that. For any of you wondering its latin. Google translate will appease any curiosity about it.