The sound of four hooves and turning wagon wheels slowly condensed into the ether. An ephemeral sense of 'being', weakly materialized thereafter.
I have eyes.
She opened them. Colors, in unrecognizable shapes filled the void.
Where am I?
Looking down, two shapes resolved into two hands. Looking up, she realized the colors were changing form and place.
I'm moving.
The girl attempted to move and briefly discovered two legs. They were unequal to their masters will and so became formless once again.
I'm sitting.
"Hey you, finally awak... ou were trying to..."
A voice seemed to echo from deep caverns... caverns which she suddenly realized were filled with the deafening roar of bees.
It's so loud.
She closed her eyes to shut out the moving shapes and the incessant noise only to find scattered thoughts and feelings of immense anguish filling the void.
Why do I feel this way?
A voice replied from the darkness. '...ye are all brothers and sisters in binds...'
She wondered at the strange thought.
It spoke again. '...this can't be happening. This isn't happening...'
What wasn't happening?
'...last thoughts should be of home.'
Home brought with it memories of resentment and anger. She saw a family living in grotesque and dark prison cells. She reached out to them with... love, but could not reach them. Their love lay in shadowy corners, pulling away into other corners when she approached.
One of the cells contained an Old Man, lying beaten and battered.
I can't reach them. I'm... too weak.
In another room sat an Old Crone whose face was a shadowy mask. Hidden beneath was a strangers voice, 'Shor, Mara, Dibella, Kynerath, Akatosh. Divines, please help me!'
She recoiled in horror at the plea.
Looking up, she saw the Divines straddling clouds and mountain tops. They seemed to look down at her, pointing her to a rocky path, laughing at every stumble that they knew she would make.
I'm weak... aren't I.
The sensation of moving stopped and the bees grew less incessant. Someone was calling to her. She saw herself lying down on a warm bed, her father gently resting her head on a warm pillow, a dragon behind him looking down from the heavens.
A dragon?
A brilliant light suddenly exploded in her mind. The thousands of bees that had been deafening her suddenly ricocheted down her spine and spread out to every corner of her being giving shape and weight to a body. The tingling sensation made her realize she was in pain. The pain made her realize she was lying on the ground.
Someone was yelling at her. "Hey you! Get up! Come on, the gods won't give us another chance!"
Nephili looked up to find a Nord struggling to pick her up with his bound hands. She stumbled onto her own footing and fell after him while all around, men could be heard grunting and yelling, boulders of fire shaking the ground and filling the air with screams.
By the Nine! I'm in Oblivion!
They ran into a tower. Some Nords were about, a few dead, others alive. Looking around, she saw a spiraling staircase and tripped up the stairs towards the first landing. Someone was tugging her tunic from behind. She looked behind her when the wall above the landing exploded; a flurry of mortar and bricks rained death on everyone below while a firey roar scorched the upper walls. Turning to look back up, she saw the head of a massive dragon framed by the opening before it retreated into the sky.
Nephili stood transfixed by the mythical beast.
A dragon! What is going on! Where am I! Is this really Oblivion?
Pulled up to the landing by the Nord, she could see a burning town with people running in every direction now. Just below was a gaping hole in an adjacent roof. The Nord spoke, "See the Inn on the other side? Jump through the roof and keep going!"
Racing past her second thoughts, she jumped into space and landed twelve feet below with a thud, floor boards jumping and buckling under the sudden impact. Running through the rooms, she suddenly fell through the floor and landed on a table, the bees inside stinging her ten thousand times in anger. Rolling back onto her feet, Nephili stumbled out through a devastated wall. A soldier spotted her and motioned for her to follow, yelling something at her as the dragon roared fire overheard. She followed him, running past burning buildings and desperate soldiers and townfolk, praying to the Divines for a miracle. They entered a courtyard as the dragon picked off some of the soldiers on the walls. Seeing the entrance to the keep ahead, the Breton girl ran in after the soldier to escape the roars and the blaze, and the screams and her nightmares.
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