Forgotten Heroes: The Black Star

• Posted by Valierus February 9, 2017 - Filed in TSC: Skyrim - 1,381 views

     Arise, you must awaken. A voice speaks out of the  champion, or the girl will be lost to the planes of Oblivion. Arise! 

   

     I force myself up into a sitting postion, and leaning against a wall behind me I survey the room I'm in. Its a small cramped cell tucked away in the corner of a Forts prision. A small cots pushed against the wall next to me, but thats all thats in the room. "Whose there?" I mutter.

   

     A figure in loose black robes, shimmers into existence in front of me. Her robes have both the sun and the crescent moon shimmering against its fabric. In her right hand, on the side of the moon she holds a gleaming silver blade. Its edges have words of unknowable origins engraved, and the sword seems to gain power from its surrondings.

     You have awakened. The voice whispers, becoming more apart of this realm with every second. "But it may be too late, the girl is almost gone. She calls your name. Can you hear her?"
  

   

     "Who are you? What do you mean?" I ask her. With every second I can feel more of my strength returning.

   

     "Someone who needs your help." She glances behind her into the prison main. "It would appear that you need my help as well. She is fading fast. Take up my blade, my symbol of power, and use it to save her. Or, stay here and let her die. Your choice." She turns and walks away, leaving behind the blade, balancing on its edge on the brick tiles.

   

     I rise to my feet and slowly approach the blade. "What is its name?" I mutter to myself.

   

     It has none. Name it as you will, but in this form it is nameless. One day I'll have you perfect it, but for now you have more important concerns. The voice replies, an image flashes through my mind. Elwyn laying on a sacrificial altar surronded by a blue glowing field. The field however is under constant strain from blasts of fire, ice, and storm. As I watch the shield begins to crack and fracture.

   

     I quickly snatch up the blade and the cell door bursts open with a clang. A wieght appears on my back, a quick check proves it to be a sheathe. I rush out of the cell and into the guard room. There are three other cells but only one other is occupied. Its occupant grasps the bars of the cell and beseeches my aid. "Please, set me free." The occupant is instantly recognizable as a girl, about as old as Elwyn. She wears fancy robes that seem impractial in Skyrims landscape. Her black hair falls down to her midback and frames her glowing green eyes.

   

     "Who are you?" I ask for the second time in as many minutes.

   

     "Adalicia La Veregena. Don't you recognize me, Valierus?" As she speaks I instantly realize what was so familiar about her. She was an old acquantince of mine from Cyrrodil.

   

     "What are you doing here?" I move to the cell door, and instantly dismiss the idea of picking the lock. It glows from the light of an intrinsic rune, tha I find impossible to decipher.

   

     "I heard rumours about the College of Winterhold and thought it would be a great place to learn more about Magic." She shrugs ruefully, and gives me a small smile. "Of course, I ran afoul of some Necromancers and ended up here. They said they were going to sacrifice me, but then they brought you in and I overheard them saying they had found a better sacrifice."

   

     Only Adalicia can sound wounded about someone else being chosen to be sacrificed instead of her, I think. "How do I open the cell?" I direct my question to the room at large, since I actually have very little expierence with magic.

   

     "The rune protects it against magical intereference as well as lockpicks, but it shouldn't protect against brute force." Adailica says backing away from the gate. "Just hit it as hard as you can with that sword of yours." I give her a doubtful look and raise the blade hesitantly. I bring the sword down full force, it connects with  the rune and catches for a moment. The rune flashes red and seems to be absorbed into the blade, suddenly the sword flashs through and cuts through the lock with barely any effort on my part. The gate bursts open and the door glows bright red as if heated. "Well, that was unexpected... Is the blade enchanted?"

   

     "I-I don't know." I stammer surprised. Adalicia steps up beside me and surveys the door. "Are you going to be of any help to me?"

   

     She glances over at me and raises an eyebrow questioningly. "What help do you need? I do know a little bit about magic." A ball of fire bursts into existence in her right hand, it dances with a devilish delight before vanishing. "Shall we go?"

   

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     Beings of Fire, Ice, and Storm circle a shield of blue energy, while assulting it with constant bursts of magic. The shield cracks and fractures, under the assault. In mere moments, the entire shield cracks and appears moments away from shattering entirely. Right before it can do so however, a door on the far side of the chamber explodes inwards.

   

     I charge into the room leading with the blade given to me by the spirit. A ball of fire whizzes past my head and slams into the Frost Atronach. I ram my sword into one of the necromancers, coating it and the floor behind it a film of blood. I duck beneath an Ice Spike and dodge a slamming attack from the burning Frost Atronarch. I whirl aside and slash at another conjurer parting his head from his body. At this point the Storm and Flame atronarchs have vanished, as their summons have been slain. The necromancers in the room finally realize that I'm not one of their own, and summon wolf familiars and raise up thralls to kill me. Before they really have a chance to strike at me, Adalicia sends a bolt of lightning at the ceiling above the necromancers. The roof crashes down, killing the whole group instantly.

   

     "That was easy." Adalicia says daintly, stepping into the room as the dust settles. She brushs the dust off her robes and points at something near the shield. "What are you going to do with him?"

   

     I turn to look at what she indicated, and spot a conjurer cowering fearfully. I move towards him and he yelps fearfully and cringes away, pressing against the shield. "Give me one good reason why, I shouldn't kill you?"

   

     "I- I know how to get through the shield without harming her!" He cries quickly. I frown doubtfully and he quickly moves to end all doubt. "Its easy! The shield is meant to protect her from any who mean to do her harm. It should allow any she considers to be her friend through!" I brush past him and place my hand against the shield. I take a deep breath and step forward. My hand pass through with a feeling of being submerged. The shield ripples around my hand giving the whole orb the appearance of being made from water. I continue to move forward, pausing only when  my face is barely a breatheswith from the shield. Steeling my courage I step through the shield entirely. I look around, taking in the view from the inside of the shield. Everything outside the orb seems distant, and remote.

   

     A growl emanates from the altar at the center of the orb, I turn and find myself face to face with the angry growl of a small fox. Before it can register to me the situation I'm in a voice speaks up, "Calm down, little one. He's a friend." The pup quiets and curls up in the lap of the speaker. She rubs the foxs head and smiles happily up at me. "I knew you'd come."