Selena was left alone with her thoughts of escape as the hours passed, Ulfric had not shown himself since his revelation and the last guard to come by the cell had been at least three hours ago. All Selena could do was pace her cell and plot her escape, she studied the sigils and runes scrawled across the wall and wondered what must be powering them, sigils this powerful needed a large source of energy to draw from or they would diminish over time, and without knowing their source of power would make her escape much harder, though she remained confident. After all, she had been in tighter spots over her long life and she had always come through relatively harm free. After memorizing every sigil and every inch of her cell Selena sat down and realized her mouth was drier than the hay she lay on. The only thing she was given to drink was a tankard of water slid in through a small hatch she had missed at the bottom of the cell door. She knew not to trust the water, that it was more than likely drugged so she ignored it and continued to ponder her way out. The loss of her Voice had made the escape of this cell almost impossible and she knew not to bother with spells either, feeling a dull ache in her body, she knew that the room had also been warded.
Hours passed and Selena grew weary and tired, more tired than she had ever felt before. Her eyelids grew heavier as time passed and her stomach growled at her for some form of food, her limbs grew sore and her head rang. Selena wondered how she had become so tired, she remembered the times when she could easily survive on a cup of water every three days and a meal every five. She hadn’t grown old or lazy over the years and she hadn’t been using any magic at all, so she wondered what had made her so tired. She looked around the room for the tankard of water she knew was there somewhere and found it easily in the dim light of her cell. Light that came from the sigils on the walls around her, still pulsing, brimming with energy
“The sigils! Of course, very clever.”
Selena realized that the sigils must have been using her own power to fuel themselves. She scolded herself for not realizing it sooner, of course they would use her own power against her, keeping her weak while also reinforcing her containment. She grew content knowing something her captors didn’t want her to know, but also tired after realizing how much power they were draining from her and how much harder her escape had just gotten. Selena moved over to the tankard of water and submitted, knowing she wouldn’t be able to escape if she didn’t sustain herself somehow. As the cold liquid ran down her throat she stopped herself from drinking it all at once, she held onto the feeling as long as possible before she started feeling groggy and her mind grew hazy. Her assumptions were right, the water must have been drugged and she regretted drinking it now. She lay on the floor, feeling dizzy and staring at one of the sigils on the wall as her vision faded to black and she was consumed by dreams.As she slept Selena’s memories flooded back to her in her dreams, and she dreamed of a time long passed, of what people now called the Oblivion Crisis.
The year is 433 of the 3rd Era, Year of Akatosh. The Emperor Uriel Septim VII had been assassinated by The Mythic Dawn, a Daedric cult lead by Mankar Camoran who aimed to bring Mehrunes Dagon into Tamriel in his true form from his plane of Oblivion. Selena had just arrived in the Imperial City in Cyrodiil after she had murdered a clan of assassins plotting to aid Mankar Camoran. She spoke to Martin Septim, newly discovered heir to the throne, as they waited for the Hero of Kvatch to return from putting an end to the Mythic Dawn by travelling to Mankar Camoran’s plane of Oblivion and ending his life. Selena had been speaking to Martin about recruiting more men to account for the loss of town guards around Cyrodiil when The Hero of Kvatch came through the doors of the Elder Council Chamber and was straight to business as usual.
“Mankar Camoran is defeated, the Mythic Dawn shouldn’t be less of a threat to the world”
“Thank you Hero, I am in your debt, you’ve done us all a great deed”
Selena rested against a pillar as Martin and the Hero of Kvatch spoke to Chancellor Ocato, the head of the Elder Council, they went through formalities and spoke of the Mythic Dawn who hadn’t given up the fight to bring Mehrunes Dagon into the world, they knew there were some who knew Mankar’s plans and continued to put them into motion and were discussing how they would deal with the rest of them when a man came screaming through the doors of the Court. He wore the traditional armor of the City Guard, except he was missing his helm and had blood up the side of his face, everyone in the room tensed and drew their weapons as he ran into the room. He ran through the room towards Martin but fell to the floor screaming as a Daedric Scamp ripped his spine out. Selena was first to draw her Ebony Sword and drive it through the scamp’s throat, disconnecting its head from its body. Selena raised her sword towards the door and shouted to everyone in the room as guards ran to Martin’s side
“Daedra in the city! Everyone to your stations!”
Just then the Council doors flew open and two Dremora Valkynaz came charging through the door, their black armor shimmering with blood. Selena muttered to herself
“Valkynaz! They’re the highest of the Dremora! What’s going on?”
She charged forward, driving her sword through the Dremora on the left, and spinning away from his attack, swinging her sword into his heel and dodging out of the way of the falling demon. As he fell to the floor, she plunged her sword into his chest and the Valkynaz melted into the floor, its soul returning to Oblivion. The Hero of Kvatch had taken care of the second Valkynaz just as Selena had expected him to and they stood together and took down a third coming through the door. Blades entered through unseen passages, the best trained Imperial Guards in all of Tamriel, flanking Martin as he gave orders to everyone in the room telling them to gather in the Courtyard outside and determine the source of the Daedric attack. As they left the safety of the Council they realized that the streets were plagued with Daedra wreaking havoc upon the city, Scamps destroyed market stalls and attacked citizens while Kynval and Valkynaz warriors fought with the city guards, taking them down with ease. Selena saw that the floor of the city had been littered with bodies, more human than Daedra.
A guard ran towards Selena and Martin screaming warnings as a Scamp chased him down, Selena dealt with the Scamp easily but not before it cut through the guard’s calf. The guard screamed as his leg started melting, eating his leg away before continuing up his body. Selena knew he was done for
“Where are they coming from!? Tell me quickly”
The guard spat a stream of blood and died at Selena’s feet
“The Scamp’s claws are poisoned! I wouldn’t doubt that the blades of the Dremora are poisoned too! Take extra care”
The Hero of Kvatch took the lead as the group moved through the city, killing any Daedra that crossed his path with Selena’s help. It was slow movement but eventually they discovered that the Daedra were coming from the Temple District of the city, so they fought their way through countless Daedra to find a way to stop the Daedra at their source. They battled to the gates of the Temple District and were surrounded by dozens of Daedra, Selena knew that without her power they would all fall eventually, she dropped her sword and drew on the magic she had been holding back until now, knowing how much it wore her out. She unleashed a blast of fire from her chest smothering and disintegrating several of the surrounding Daedra, turning them to ash and sending them back to Oblivion. Selena knew she could have destroyed all of the Daedra in the area, but would have taken up too much of her energy so she limited her power use to keep herself useful. The Hero and the guards were left to deal with the dozen left, it took some time but soon enough the area was clear of Daedra. Martin came to Selena’s aid as she dropped to her knees
“Thank you Selena, but we must continue onwards”
“I know, I’m not going to be able to do that again for a while. I’m sorry”
Selena picked up her sword and struggled to her feet, ignoring the pain that shot through her and deciding she would deal with the consequences of her magic use after the battle was over. A guard opened the doors to the Temple District and Selena and her group was greeted by fire and destruction.
Daedra were everywhere, and they had destroyed the Temple District, some statues remained untouched, though not for long and the only building that had survived was the Temple of the One, the Daedra seemed unable to enter. Scamps ravaged corpses and Dremora warriors still fought the City Guard but that wasn’t what caught Selena’s eye. Out of the ground rose a pool of lava and out of that rose a colossal red hand. Mehrunes Dagon had achieved his goal, Selena realized as the Daedric Prince rose from the ground and stepped into the land of Tamriel.
Mehrunes Dagon stood in the Temple District, taking in his surroundings. The Daedric Prince stood at a height of sixty feet and raised his four monstrous arms into the air, letting out a shrill screech. Selena watched as the Prince stretched out, he held a large battle axe in one hand, and a colossal sword in another, claws protruded out of his empty hands. The demonic creature’s skin look as though it was coated in a thick layer of blood and his entire body looked as though it had been scarred and tattooed with Daedric symbols from head to toe, six horns protruded out of Dagon’s bald skull and sharp fangs line his jaw. Selena noticed that he wore a loin cloth and an armored neck brace around his shoulders, both had Daedric symbols engraved into them, matching the tattoos adorning the Princes skin. With a single swoop he picked up a marble statue half his size, throwing it into the walls of the city with ease, the impact of the statue shaking the ground beneath Selena’s feet.
The Hero of Kvatch made his way to Dagon, cutting down Daedra as he moved. Martin’s guards formed a tighter circle around him as the Daedra legions attacked in waves, Selena shouting at him while dodging an incoming attack and cutting down an advancing Dremora
“Martin! Tell me you have a plan!”
“I think I might! You need to get me to the Temple of the One”
Selena looked across the district to the Temple, countless Daedra lay between them but Selena knew it was their only option. Selena charged through the swarm of Daedra, following a line of bodies and catching up to the Hero of Kvatch, Selena diving along the floor and swiping the legs out from underneath a Dremora as the Hero lodged his sword into its head
“Thank you Witch, what’s the plan?”
Selena gathered her breath and tried to be as simple as possible, as she cut through more Dremora
“Get Martin to the Temple! I’ll take care of Dagon!”
Without a second thought the Hero of Kvatch sliced through three Daedra and began leading Martin to the Temple. Selena focused her eyes on Dagon as he picked up a group of City Guards and devoured them whole and noticed Martin running through the crowd towards the Temple. Dagon was advancing towards their only hope of survival! Selena thought out her options and raced towards the Daedric Prince, dodging through the legion between them. The ground crunched beneath Dagon’s feet as he chased after Martin and the Hero, and Selena ran up a piece rubble and launched from it onto one of Dagon’s feet, digging her sword in for grip. Dagon took no notice of the Witch and crushed the roof of the Temple in one swing of his axe and crushed the wall in front of him with his foot, the foot that Selena happened to be hanging on to. As Dagon’s foot made contact with the roof, Selena withdrew her sword and hopped onto the roof, rolling gracefully and looking up at Dagon, wondering how she could take down such a demonic giant.
The Daedric Prince looked down at Selena and she knew she had to do something to distract him from killing Martin, she gathered her courage and launched herself off of the roof at Mehrunes Dagon’s thigh, lodging her sword as far into his thigh as possible and swinging her entire body downwards, ripping through his muscle and tendon. The Daedric Prince cried out in pain as Selena stopped at his knee, pulling out the sword and falling several feet before thrusting her sword into his calf and once again ripped through his muscular figure. Dagon’s leg dropped out from underneath him, Selena tried to land gracefully but was flung into the side of the Temple, the impact knocking the wind out of her as she landed on her back and she hoped she had done enough to give Martin the time to put his plan into motion. Dagon screamed in agony and slammed his gigantic fist into the ground, causing tremors throughout the city, he lost all thought of Martin and instead centered his gaze on Selena, barely up of the floor. The Prince swung his clawed fist at her and she only barely managed to jump the gap between his claws by slamming herself into a wall of broken rubble, the claws missing her by an inch and digging into the wall of the Temple. Dagon was stuck, the marble of the Temple was holding his fist in place!
“I will destroy you maggot! I will torment your insignificant soul for all eternity!”
The Princes voice was loud as thunder as he picked up his battle axe and thrust it downwards on top of Selena and she knew there was no way to move out of the way in time. In the split second before her demise she sent out a prayer
“Akatosh, please help me”
As she spoke the prayer the marble behind her blasted outwards, sending her flying through the air and out of the axe’s path but now she was directly underneath Mehrunes Dagon. As she gathered herself in the dust beneath the Daedric Prince she caught sight of what had saved her. A magnificent golden dragon had caught Dagon’s axe and crushed it instantly between its shimmering claws. Selena jumped to her feet and scurried away from the two colossal beasts as they battled with each other, she didn’t enjoy the idea of facing death another time today. With the mightiest roar the shining dragon blasted Dagon with golden flames, Dagon fought against it, punching the dragon in the jaw and pushing it away from him. Dagon stood up and studied the dragon as it recovered, and as he realized what he was looking at he gave screeched
“Akatosh! I will erase you!”
The Hero of Kvatch had found Selena amongst the carnage of the battlefield that was once the Temple District, she had been propped up against him and gasped at Dagon’s revelation
“Akatosh! It can’t be!”
As Selena spoke she realized how wrong she was, the dragon reared back on its hind legs, its glorious golden wings shining and shimmering in the sun light. The Amulet of Kings, the blood of the Dragon God of Time Akatosh and lord of the Aedra, lay in the middle of the dragon’s head. Selena turned to the Hero of Kvatch, who had been with Martin and the Amulet
“What happened? How is Akatosh here?”
“It was Martin, he did something with the Amulet and exploded with light, next thing I knew all of the Daedra dissolved and there Martin was gone and Akatosh was fighting Mehrunes Dagon”
It was then that Selena realized the legion of Daedra were gone, leaving the battlefield empty as their Prince fought with the God Dragon Akatosh.
Mehrunes raised his sword as the God Dragon reared back, golden fire streaming from its jaw, but the Prince’s sword glowed a blood red as it cut through the fire and caught Akatosh in the side. The great sword crashed against shimmering golden scales and Akatosh stood unfazed and bit into Dagon’s wrist, drawing a black goo from his skin and making the sword fall to the ground. Akatosh growled as the black goo covered his jaw and let off a steamy black substance, Dagon let out a laugh and wrapped his three free hands around Akatosh’s long golden neck, pushing the dragon up against only unbroken wall of the Temple, crashing through it. As Akatosh fell to the ground Dagon scooped up his fallen sword, raising it above his head and bringing it down on the fallen God with a force that caused Akatosh to let out a roar of pain as the blade crashed against his soft underbelly. Selena saw the way this fight was going and knew she had to intervene or Tamriel would be destroyed. Selena’s feet were moving before she actually knew what was happening, she moved across the destroyed battlefield towards the Daedra and the wounded Aedra, running along a fallen pillar to gain some height. She summoned the power dwelling within her, as she leapt from the end of the pillar towards the Daedric Prince, letting the Power of the Voice come up from within her
“Fus Ro Dah!”
As she spoke the words, the force of her spirit sprang forward, knocking the Prince back onto his injured leg which Selena now clung on to. Pain coursed through his leg which collapsed beneath him, making the Prince fall to the ground. Akatosh saw his chance and took it instantly, stamping his golden claws into Dagon’s chest, digging his sharp teeth into the Princes chest and letting forth a stream of Golden Fire. Dagon dug his fingers into Akatosh’s skull, trying to pry him off but the God stayed where he was, covering the prince in more Golden Fire. The Prince screamed as Akatosh sent him back to Oblivion and Selena panicked as she realized that she was going with him, the world of Tamriel fading out and the realm of Oblivion fading in.
Selena awoke on her cell floor sweating, the panic of her dream had been too real. She sat up and pushed herself against the stone wall and calmed herself, she smiled to herself remembering her time in Oblivion and the years it took to escape Mehrunes Dagon’s realm. She remembered tormenting the weakened Dagon and making his realm her own plane of destruction and carnage, destroying whatever the Prince sent her way and tormenting him more than he ever thought possible. She knew that in his weakened state he had no power over her and used this to her advantage, tormenting him until she could leave and when she did she left behind a destroyed and broken realm. Selena had been lucky then, but now that Mehrunes Dagon was recovered and held his true full power, she knew he would stop at nothing to give her the same torture. This cell was only the start of it.
(i hope everybody is enjoying the story so far, i would love to know how many people would like me to continue this series ? sorry about part 2 taking so long but it has been a busy month for me and my editor. Once again all feed back is welcome)
The Immortal Witch TOC
