Zippy Zip-A-Long

[Maharg67]

COSMIC OPERA

CHAPTER TWENTY

 

Fortuna the pixie wrinkled her nose in disgust. "I could smell dremora, smell lesser daedra, through out the chamber. There was a dremora there. The Empress is treacherous."

 

They sat in a small tavern like chamber except it was secret and only for Blades and a few select allies. It was inside the huge complex that was the Imperial Palace. Blades were mostly resting, some in armour and some just in military tunics but also a few in civilian clothes who were working covertly.

 

It was well known amongst the Blades that the Empress was both a traitor and insane but also that she was not the Empress that the Eternal Champion spoke of when she mentioned the true ruler. Another daughter had been found, one who was a well trained and educated young noblewoman who was best classed as a moderate. She would support some constitutional reform, especially that which allowed nobility to have greatly unfair advantage with the law, taxation and political reprensation. That one even knew how to fight well. Guarding her now were Blades and Terrans, including battlemages and elite Terran martial artists.

 

The Eternal Champion sighed. "Empress Telena Septim is quite insane but we need to have compassion for her. When younger she was abducted by the Mythic Dawn to the realm of Oblivion where Jagrunes Dagon himself did terrible things to her. Her mind snapped. I did not truly understand just how far sick she has become until recently. Yet do not jump to quick conclusions. Her secret companion who is part human, part dremora, is actually deeply loyal to her and would give his life to protect her. He loves her deeply, though he would be slow to admit it, and would even turn against Jagrunes Mehrunes himself if his god threatened his Empress. Strange but true."

 

The pixie shook her head. "It does not surprise me for it is said that dremora are drawn towards the insane. Their chosen gods are normally so. True love is something of a surprise but though uncommon, not unknown amongst the dremora, especially the more hot blooded dremora women. What of the Empress' assassins?"

 

The Eternal Champion sighed yet again. "You mean those Mythic Dawn killers she hired who are actually Blade agents in disguise? They will pretend to have killed me, you and others, of course. The false Empress will be fooled for only so long. She is very intelligent, if warped. If I can, I will save her and have her safely locked away in some isolated luxurious prison cell of large size full of pleasant entertainments and other diversions. If not, I shall kill her and Jagana Wanades, her part dremora lover and bodyguard. I would be better to have him alive and in prison with her. That way she will be safer and happier."

 

TO BE CONTINUED

Edited July 13, 2010 by Maharg67

[Maharg67]

COSMIC OPERA

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

 

Prime Minister Winston Churchill stood in a fortified position on top of the White Cliffs of Dover and peered out through powerful binoculars towards the distant French Coast. He took a puff of his expensive Havana cigar and then, taking it out, exstinquished it and carefully put it into a pocket for later smoking. Good cigars were increasing hard to get these days, even for somebody like him. There was a fleet of Allied ships assembling out there and they were not just warships. Terrible news had come from Europe. The Allies were being pushed back by the waves of monsters coming out of unknown places in Germany. Fighting all the way, and now joined by former Axis forces, the Allies had been pushed out of much of eastern and middle France. The monsters cared nothing for neutrality and now Switzerland, Sweden and Spain were part of the war. Monsters were invading Swiss Territory where Swiss soldiers were fighting along side Germans, British Commonwealth and American forces.

 

The fleet was largely made up of transports, including ocean liners, to pick up refugees and the military forces if they were pushed against the coast. As it was the fortifications on the coast were being modified as quickly, and as much as possible, to defend any great evacuation if it happened.

 

The Prime Minister was a man of much bluster and some foolish ideas but he was the leader of the people. He had supported the grabbing up of German super-weapons and their importation to England where they were being put into programs run by scientists, engineers and other specialists. This included former Axis people. V1 buzzbomb ramps were being set up to use against monsters in France but the buzzbombs were improved V1A1 types with bigger bomb loads and better guidance systems. V2 missile sites were being constructed and improved V2 missiles were being constructed. German designed flying-wings, flying-saucers and jet fighters were also being prepared. Other projects of interest had arisen but the PM was not sure he was being told about all of them and this miffed him very much.

 

What he really wanted to do was make up some fine sounding moral raising speach and have it broadcast across the nation in his proud booming voice.

 

He was alone in the concrete chamber apart from his personal bodyguard, a fine man who had been with him for a long time. He had wanted to be alone with his thoughts but now he sensed something wrong. More importantly his bodyguard did. The man leapt up and stood ready with his old fashioned powerful Webley revolver. Through the metal door came the muffled noises of shooting of submachineguns and pistols, of the screams and shouts of men, the scream of a woman quickly cut off and then there was a dreadful silence. Winston Churchill knew then, somehow, that he was finished but he was determined to fight to the bitter end. He took out a second Webley revolver pistol, he was a good shot, and he aimed it at the door.

 

When the werewolves came through the door, British werewolves controlled by a distant evil, one died when shot by both revolvers. It was false that werewolves and vampires could not be killed by normal means; they were just harder to kill that way than normal humans were. The the powerful, fast leaping hairy beasts were smashing into the two men and soon it was over except for some messy, bloody feeding.

 

TO BE CONTINUED

Edited July 13, 2010 by Maharg67

[Maharg67]

COSMIC OPERA

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

 

Los Alamos was being evacuated because the enemy was too close to where the atomic bomb was being developed but where to go? Trucks, jeeps, more trucks, cars, yet more trucks, buses and even more trucks were heading northwards in big convoys. Passing them the other way were trucks of hastily recruited and trained soldiers, many of them being women. With the trucks came armoured cars, half-track vehicles, tanks and other machines. Trains going both ways hauled much as did cargo planes.

 

Professor Von'Osmond, formerly from some odd little princedom near Transalvania, was nervous. He was standing by the car as military police hurried to change tires. It was getting dark and Von'Osmond could sense supernatural danger. The soldiers would not believe him but his companion, assistant and bodyguard, did so. He was in a business suit but he was armed with both a holstered Colt .45 semiautomatic pistol and a Thompson submachine that fired the same calibre of bullet. Except that his guns were loaded with electrum tipped bullets that killed vampires and werewolves even better than silver did. The young athletic man also had silverwood stakes, holy-water and garlic spray. Yet his strongest weapon was that he was a damphir, sometimes known as antivampires. The two MPs did not know this. Only a few people did.

 

The professor wanted to speak to his good friend Professor Exmen who was at the Oblivion Gates site or at least he had been. He and his group had fled the fighting as the daedra had come in force through all four transdimensional gateways. Communications had been lost and Von'Osmond feared the worst. But then three cars were halting close to his out of them clambered people that he knew. Soon Professor Exmen was being pushed towards him in his wheelchair. With him were three beautiful, cool young women who moved with fluid motion as if they almost floated over the ground, not quite touching it.

 

The two professors now faced each other.

 

Von'Osmond spoke now. "The evil influence has reached the USA. Now all the dark things here will either serve or fight the dark influence in far off Europe or they will go crazy trying to fight it. Vampires and werewolves are only the tip of the iceburg."

 

Exmen nodded. "We must find ways to deal with such threats. The atomic project has to be moved northwards to any big open desert that we can find. The other scientists and I agree now that underground testing might be better but we have to convince the politicians and the military. What we all agree on is that the atomic bomb will not be ready to be used against our enemies. I am not sure if that is a curse or a blessing. Work is going to go ahead on a new, huge underground base. It will be called the Hexagon. It will be a major place for research and development against the new enemies of the USA and its allies, which now includes our former enemies of the Axis and many nations that were neutral. We will both need to go there. It will be good to work with you once more, my friend."

 

Von'Osmond looked at the three women. "Your companions are..."

 

"They are angels. Apart from that they will say nothing much about themselves except that they have been sent to assist humanity against the evil that is threatening to engulf this world." Exmen shrugged. "I asked them why angels were not sent to fight the Nazis and all they said was that they can only intervene against external threats of a special kind except for special circumstances. Only God can decide otherwise and in some matters even God must follow the Way of All."

 

Von'Osmond sighed. "I more than believe it for when I was very young I met an angel."

 

One of the women spoke. "That was an angelic spirit. They are more common but less powerful than we true angels. We must leave here. Demonic spirits, vampires and werewolves are gathering. There are also Devil Cult worshippers." She turned and pointed her middle left finger at one of the MPs. At once he burst into flaming light, screamed briefly and was gone except that his clothes and other gear fell unburned to the ground. "A cultist and traitor who organised to have your tire burst with a clever little device he used."

 

The other MP stood up. He was frowning hard. "Never did like the guy but I never thought he was a cultist. Just goes to show."

 

The angel turned her finger on the other MP and he burned away, his gear falling to the ground. "Yes, it just goes to show that a non-cultist traitor, taking money to pay off a gambling debt owed to the Mafia, need also be dealt with."

 

Professor Exmen sighed. "The angels do not believe in our justice system and, considering how corrupt and foolish it often is, who can blame them? We must go."

 

Another angel clicked her fingers and suddenly the tire was fixed and the wheel was attached properly. People clambered into cars. They were soon roaring off, convoy fashion, when the bigger convoy made room for them.

 

Some moments later a big ugly werewolf stuck his head out over a bush with much caution. He cursed softly. "Too late. Damned, there goes our bonus." Then he vanished back into the semiwilderness.

 

TO BE CONTINUED

Edited July 13, 2010 by Maharg67

[Maharg67]

Feedback?

 

Also please feel free to add a small story, a poem, a quote, a proverb or what ever.

 

:sweat: :turned: :tongue: :verymad: :biggrin: :rolleyes: :confused: :thumbsup: :whistling:

[species5478]

Fortuna was a planet from the Star Fox game...yeah, I still play my brother's old Super Nintendo...especially since he highjacked my PS3 and started playing God of War on it! Oh...sorry. Great Writing! Prime Minister Winston Churchill needed like...two steady girlfriends. You know like for extra drama. No? I've heard of Zen...but who, or what is it?

[Maharg67]

Species5478, Zen is Japanese Buddhism that is quite distinctive in many ways from other branches of buddhism. Focus is meditation and koans, a kind of 'working proverb' like 'what is the sound of one hand clapping?'.

 

About Winston Churchill, he suffered from depression, perhaps from bipolar, and often spoke of dealing with the 'black dog' of depression. Actually he had a wife, Clementine (Hozier) Churchill. Winston had enough drama even without two girlfriends.

 

Thank you for you feedback.

 

Hope your studies go well!

[Maharg67]

Just Some Thoughts!

 

The way to wisdom, to awareness, to enlightenment is inwards but not obssessively so for it is linked with awareness.

 

Gathering things, being given things needs to be balanced with giving things, with letting go of things

 

Meditation is good but the only way to understand meditation is to try meditating

 

One does not have to be a guru to meditate properly or to gain much.

Edited July 13, 2010 by Maharg67

[Maharg67]

COSMIC OPERA

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

 

The strange young man peered out of the cave opening at a typical Cyrodilin thick jungle type forest with small monkeys busy in the treetops. He was looking through a fine sheet of water for the window was at the edge of a waterfall but was hidden by a very ancient form of power that seemed like magic but which was not. Graham Maharg was in more than one place at once but he was quite used to such things and so was not really uncomfortable. The valley was in the mountains east of the Province of Cyri'Cheydinhal of the city of Cheydinhal but it was a secret place unknown to the rulers of either the Cyrodilin Empire or of Cheydinhal. The little people knew it but only those of good karma could enter it as did a few others who were Followers of the Way of All.

 

Graham Maharg wore saphron orange robes that were a little too big for him. He turned to look at the tall, elegant robed woman next to him and he spoke to her. "You can get the items to where they are needed?"

 

She nodded. "Yes, there are ways, but of course it depends on what is on offer. Of course much is needed right here."

 

Behind them in the big cavern chamber light came from glowcrystal growing across the ceiling. People were moving around a whole lot of well designed structures carved out of three rock walls. There were box formations with the roof of one building being the balcony of another. There were wide balconies and rampways. There were open and semi-enclosed platforms, often with greenery of her or food or decorative gardens growing there. All the structures were very big as was the great cavern stretching far off into the distance to far off buildings. The floor of the cavern was rocky in places but much of it was dark red earthy with grasses, bushes and trees. There were clusters of stone, wood, metal and glass buildings dotting the great cavern floor. There were also magical tree-homes for various magical entities.

 

He nodded. "Backpacks, one trade-credit each. Starting offer is credit of ten thousand trade-credits. Each backpack is a proper inner frame type, fully adjustable, carefully balanced with a special designed belly-belt. Each has a main holding area, a secondary one at the bottom, bindings to hold things to the top, side pouches and back pouches. They are what you are looking for if you want to send goods by convoys of loaded backpackers down to the foothills and to your people there."

 

The robed Mother of the Order of the Way of All, or just the Mother of the Way, frowned softly in thought. "So far no demonic spiritis, no dominated fiends, have managed to get to this area in any real force but we have to be careful. Yet convoys of backpackers are the only way we can secretly and fairly swiftly get goods down to Cyri'Cheydinhal proper. They can then ferry goods back up here that the growing population of refugees here need. We will buy one hundred of these backpacks."

 

Special refugees like the young Empress herself who the Eternal Champion and the Bladelord himself had sent there to the Order City! But not just there. People who the Mythic Dawn were hunting for, the sort of people who had strong knowledge of the daedra in general and the Dagon Dynasty of greater daedra in particular. Yet there were also others that the Mythic Dawn were hunting with out an obvious reason for doing so.

 

There were a few Terrans there now and they were both passing on knowledge of their home world and learning about that world that was called Nirn but mostly about Tamriel. There was the Mirror Continent on the exact opposite side of the world, the Forgotten Continent and the Forbiddent Continent but they were either only lightly talked of or not mentioned.

 

He nodded. "You have nine thousand, nine hundred tradecredits. Carpentry hammers with claw-backs, each with a special scabbard-pouch with storage pouch for nails, at the cost of one trade-credit each. Could come in handy constructing buildings in the expanding city here. How is the young Empress settling in?"

 

The Mother of the Way sighed. "She was bored at first but we keep her busy and she has become infatuated with a handsome young bard who is teaching her how to play the harp. We will buy one hundred of the hammers with pouches, of course."

 

Graham Maharg noted a wyvern, a dragon like creature but with only two limbs along with the wings, soaring above the edge of the valley. Wyverns were savage, barely civilised creatures but they helped to guard the valley against unwanted, especially dark karmic, intruders. In return the Order of the Way of All gave them rations, healing serums and other support. Now and then they would concede to carry a messanger or other person somewhere but this was a dangerous thing to do even with those empathic to the wyverns. At least to most it was. Graham Maharg never had any trouble with them and had arrived at the Order City riding one.

 

He nodded. "Nine thousand, eight hundred trade-credits left to spend. Fine steel forestry axes with fine wooden handles, each in a special pouch-scabbard, for one trade-credit each."

 

The taller figure responded. "We will buy one hundred axes! Order City is manufacturing more tools and weapons now, including guns. I am not sure I like this later production but we need such weapons, it seems. Our rifles, carbines and pistols are already reaching Legionaries and Blades in the Cyri'Kvatch Province as are the bullets and other items that go with them. We are using the same calibres as the Americans for now."

 

He nodded. "Nine thousand, seven hundred trade-credits remaining. I have heard that the various monster slaying groups are combining to form the Slayers Guild to take on the vampires, werewolves and similiar monsters arising that can conceal themselves amongst the human population to various degrees. But there is an issue of concern here. Not all werewolves are controlled by the darkness and some wish to serve the True Empress. Some vampires are going through the agonising process of become damphirs, a process that many will not survive. My people are supervising these and other groups, including former Mythic Dawn members who have turned to the Light. Oh, by the way, Mehrunes Dagon is on the Terran home world in a city called Washington DC, the capital city of the USA. The next item on offer is rope selling at one trade-credit for a coil of twelve metres, being a three metres bonus on the standard lengths offered. This is silverthine and, as you know, as many special properties."

 

The tall, elegantly beautiful frowned hard at him. "One thousand coils of the silverthine. When were you going to tell me about Mehrunes Dagon?"

 

Graham Maharg sighed. "I only just learned about it myself. The Daedric Gods are getting nervous. Mehrunes Dagon stirred up the pot badly enough in the realm of Oblivion but now it seems that his son, Jagrunes Dagon, is even doing worse. Some other greater daedra would love to destroy him but not only is he surprisingly powerful now, he has mysterious allies who are even more powerful than he is. Truth is a lot of the greater daedra themselves do not know what is going on. They do know that Jagrunes Dagon has swallowed up some smaller, weaker territories that once bordered his old home territories. Oh, you now have eight thousand, seven hundred trade-credits remaining. Good decision on the rope. Next offer is a sack of twelve lightglow burning torches, each for one trade-credit. As you most likely know, lightglow torches, once lit, emit much light but little heat, burn slowly and have other special features to them. The real bonus is that the undead get disoriented by the glow; the less powerful the undead, the greater the disorientation."

 

She frowned. "Considering the number of lesser undead that necromancers are raising in the darker places in these mountains, we will buy one thousand sacks of torches. Dwarves, gnomes, mountain tribes and valley clans are having increasing trouble with them. So Jagrunes Dagon is not the major player behind what is going on?"

 

He nodded. "No, it does not seem so but his mysterious allies may not be either. You have gained a bonus of three hundred trade-credits. Your balance became seven thousand, seven hundred trade-credits but is now eight thousand trade-credits. Do you wish to buy more of any of the earlier items that have been announced?"

 

The Mother of the Way shook her head. "What is next?"

 

He gave a mild grin. "Two litre waterbags that make and keep water cool. They are tough but surprisingly thin and light so that one can fold them up quite small. One trade-credit each."

 

At that she went to speak but paused before doing so. "Hidden attributes?"

 

He nodded. "Alerts to cursed or otherwise bad water and then purifies it."

 

"We will buy a thousand of them since somebody has been trying to curse and poison springs and wells." She frowned. "So many needs and so few resources to meet those needs with."

 

At that he nodded. "Your words did not fall on deaf ears but I would not play that game too often. You have gained a bonus of one hundred trade-credits. Your balance did go down to seven thousand trade-credits but has risen after that to seven thousand one hundred trade-credits. Next item on offer is. Well, that is interesting. A non listed bonus offer of a Thompson submachine kit, USA 1920s type with drum magazines. Each kit has a gun, spare bits, a repair kit, two full drum magazines and spare ammo plus a special scabbard with a big side storage pouch. Each comes at the price of two trade-credits. Oh, the calibre is .45."

 

She gave a mild shrug. "We will buy one hundred of these tommy-guns."

 

He arched his eyebrows at her, quick and subtle, a warning of sorts. She frowned softly and sighed. "We are grateful. Five hundred tommy-guns units. At least our immediate security will be greatly improved. Such weapons are very useful in cramped underground and highlands fighting."

 

Graham Maharg went "ow". Then he explained as he rubbed his forehead. "They did not appreciate the strong hint I gave you but you now gain a bonus of three hundred trade-credits. They gave you are generous bonus offer and you needed to show gratitude by taking at least some strong advantage of it. You will learn and hopefully with out me suffering any more mind spikes as punishment for helping you too much. Your balance went down to six thousand one hundred trade-credits but then went up to a balance of six thousand four hundred trade-credits. Oh, damned, the session is being closed after the next offer. The next offer is a ten standard person kit, human adult that is, of a tent and extras in a special carry-pouch. Extras include such as poles, ground sheet and thin, strong ropes plus other important items. Each costs ten trade-credits. Oh, the tents are very comfortable and weather proof if used properly."

 

She frowned softly, shrugged. "I will buy three hundred of them to house refugees and to serve other needs."

 

At that he nodded. "The balance is now three thousand four hundred trade-credits. Session is ended. The bought goods will soon appear close to us and there may be bonuses but no promises are made. I was thinking I would like to build my own home here in Order City. Of course I will use my own resources. It will be nice just to have a nice relaxing gander around these mountains."

 

The tall, elegant woman shook her head in a fashion expressing irony. "What ever you are really up to, I hope that you do not stir up too much trouble for us."

 

With a sparkling shimmer a great mound of goods appeared being stacked neatly and in an efficient manner. But near it were some things that were unexpected.

 

Six blue skinned, blue haired, blue clad warrior women in tight fitting scaled armour and with exotic swords, shields and other devices plus a blue horse with gear, including armour. The horses had panniers full of gear. The hair was darker blue than the skin, as were the eyes, while the armour and devices were of a different hue of blue. The colour of the skin matched that of the horses.

 

Twelve red haired, red skinned men in red armour, weapons and other gear, each with a hulking riding beast of dark red and riding gear. The hair and eyes were darker red than the skin and the armour and devices were of a different hue. The skin colour matched that of the hulkorses, the riding-beasts.

 

Five small dragons, five copper unicorns and six flesh golems were to the back with no visible equipment. The dragons were small only by dragon terms for each was three metres long. The horns of the copper unicorns glowed softly. The flesh golems were faster but weaker than the other kinds that could appear.

 

The three yellow-white light-elementals floated in the air throwing out radiances of yellow-white auric energies, of light. They were vaguely shaped like naked young women but in no fashion that could be considered vulger.

 

But stranger, in some ways, were the machines. Four big hulking tiptrucks with huge balloon tires as if they were designed to go over sand. Four four door sedan cars in varied shiny colours. Four big semi-trailer trucks, each with a big trailer on the back that was a mobile club (bar). Nine Robby Robots, one thick legs, with thick arms, tall and black metallic, stood and their pointe dome heads moved back and forth, lights blinking in the transparent parts.

 

The Mother of the Way turned to him with a very puzzled expression on her face. "What is this?"

 

He looked apolagetic and shrugged. "Seems some items were delivered to you by mistake. By Multiversal Law, they are yours now. Have fun with them. Those Robby Robots can do all sorts of neat tricks, they are good willed, friendly and can sense both evil and danger. Treat them like people and not like machines. All the others, well you will need to work out that with them. My part is done here. I am off to build me a home, a modest affair with only a few extras."

 

She frowned softly at him. "I know what your idea of 'a modest affair with only a few extras' is like, great grandfather. You will come and live with me at my place. There is a spare bedroom. Now, please come and assist me to talk with these others."

 

There was rock hard determination in her voice to get her own way so he sighed, nodded to his great grand-daughter and followed with obvious but false meekness. She was not fooled in the slightest.

 

TO BE CONTINUED

Edited July 13, 2010 by Maharg67

[Maharg67]

COSMIC OPERA

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

 

The Knights of the Light met with the Eternal Champion close to a long abandoned Ayleid (Wild Elf) city buried underground. The Knights of Light came through a gateway from the medieval world of Kamelot where they had been hunting the Dark0ne but the Dark0ne had come now to that continent of Tamriel of the world called Nirn. There the Knights, including others who travelled with them, gathered in a large grassy clearing with a hamlet of wall encircled buildings to one side, both of which were hidden from evil by magic. But others had also come through to the meetings, Knights of Light from another world with jeeps, trucks and other vehicles including some tanks, AA-tanks, APCs, AFVs and others on the backs of semi-trailer trucks. Yet there were also turbine helicopters, a three of them, that looked much like American Hueys, These vehicles were all electric with multifuel generators and solar-panels. Yet they sared parts in common with American ones.

 

The older Empress, the one under dark influences, was not to be allowed about this small but powerful army as yet. This military force would strike hard at a large enemy force of daedra that was on its way, secretly, to infiltrate into the ancient Ayleid city that had been buried for goods reasons. It was not enemies of the Ayleid who had done so but the greater Ayleid against one darker faction of their own people. For the one had worshipped not the Daedric Gods but the Dark0ne.

 

The Eternal Champion brought with her folks who came with food and drink for a small feast along with healers and others to assist the Knights of the Light who had chased the Dark0ne. The Dark0ne had left many deadly traps, cunning and evil, along the way and the Knights and their people needed attention.

 

Then came others out from the forests, allies against the Dark0ne, such as brownies, pixies, nymphs and many others. They wanted to help fight the Dark0ne but they also wanted the Cydrodilin Empire form a special treaty that would protect many areas of forest, marsh and other wilderness for both the magical folk and for the flora and fauna. That is protected from exploitation and thoughtless damage from an industrialised humanity as the Empire now promises to become more industrially modern.

 

It was going to be diplomatically difficult but the Eternal Champion promised to support these new allies.

 

The Eternal Champion stood alongside Knight Marshal Kovin and Paladin of Stars Felina. While her age was a mystery, the other two were very old immortals, each having lived for at least a thousand years. All three were amazingly powerful but the Eternal Champion far more so.

 

Kovin was a tall hulking man in magical Knight of Light armour. He spoke in an oddly gentle rumbling voice. "We are close to the mountain foothills leading to Order City and to where the real Cyrodilin Empress is hidden. Are you positive the enemy is just heading for the secret Ayleid city?"

 

The Eternal Champion nodded. Cupped in her hands was a bronze, leather clad cup of hot percolated coffee. She took a sip of it in the cool and brightening morning air. Then she spoke. "The Cyrodilin Empire means little to the Dark0ne. He wants the dark instrumentalities that were stolen from him a very long time ago. The first of those instrumentalities he has already taken. The second lies in that buried Ayleid city that attempted to exploit the second dark instrumentality and paid for it in a most horrific manner. Those who survived and escaped warned the rest of the Ayleid who then buried the city. They did so only after sending in a large well armed army. Only a few surviving warriors returned. It is said that so many elite Ayleid warriors were killed and so much of other fighting resources destroyed, that this helped the humans destroy the Ayleid Empire in the end. As much as you could call Ayleid society an empire, that is. The city is called Yushinavel, an odd name even by Ayleid standards, for it was a special city of research and development. Its loss crippled their science, another reason they lost to the humans. I am going there alone, first. None of you will try to follow until I send for you. I can not explain why this is so."

 

The two nodded. She was their mother, after all, and their matriarch.

 

Other allies were arriving on the scene.

 

Elves moved in the distance being of the postive mer, the nature loving Gaiier, in woven armour of metallic silken leaves and carrying individualistic bladed weapons of the same sort of materials. Beyond them were a small brigade of Ayleid of the Ayleid Reformation People, who had come from an Alternative Earth where the Ayleid survived in Tamriel a finer civilization. Amongst them were human and orc citizens of their civilization, equals to the Ayleid. While they would fight, these Ayleid Imperials were there to help with knowledge to get the Eternal Champion into Yushinavel; they would not be going with her.

 

Except that somebody special would be.

 

Fortuna the pixie would be but this time she would be going as her true self.

 

And then, there might be another, if he showed up.

 

Then he showed up, or at least one of him did. The strange little man himself, Graham Maharg, came striding over the clearing leading a small army of protectron robots, magical golems of varied kinds be they iron or... and Brothers of Steel in power armour, fifty of them, plus techs, medics and such like in lighter armour. Carry-robots with equipment and supplies followed them. Then came others, a curious mixture of exotic others.

 

TO BE CONTINUED

Edited July 13, 2010 by Maharg67

[Maharg67]

COSMIC OPERA

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

 

155mm howitzers were blasting away at the enemy from their sandbagged emplacements. The big guns thundered.

 

US Marines had joined the fighting in New Mexico who had been due to be moved out to the Pacific Islands War. The Japanese Imperial Forces were focused on defending the Japanese homeland from monsters. They had abandoned most of the territories they had conquered, even China and Mongolia. The Allied Forces in the Far East were now being mostly pulled back to fight the new Nazi threat or the direct invasion on US territory. Yet more of the previously unthinkable was also happening with Japan; Allied forces were going to help defend the Japanese Islands and the Japanese were welcoming them.

 

The daedric invaders had pushed much deeper into New Mexico for a while but then had been pushed back aggressively. Part of this was because a large army of Mexican, Cuban and Central Amercian fighters was pushing from the south. Another was that the US Army Airforce was doing a series of bombing, strafing and rocket attacks on the daeda who were not used to such attacks or really equipped to deal with them.

 

What the lesser daedra had done with captive humans was soon discovered as ranches, towns and other sites were retaken by the Terrans; it had been sickening, had been torture and murder ending with the devouring of human meat.

 

In the small town of Stop Over Rock, little more than a truckie and coach stop-over next to a great bi red-brown boulder, it was never really busy but now it was uncannily silent. When the Sheriff Deputy's car from Three Rock pulled up and he saw the dead bodies of people sprawled out at the petrol station, he slid up hiw window. The coach was empty except for bodies. Clearly the coach had stopped partly to let on or off passengers but mainly to get its tank refilled and to allow its passengers to have a much needed break.

 

But the deputy had been too slow to put his window up. Something small and deadly had flown into the cabin with him, something small, winged and daedric. Cursing, he tried to duck and to strike at the small thing with his torch as it buzzed sharply around him. It was like some monstrously distorted mosquito combined with bee and things more ugly and exotic. Then it landed on a bare area of his left arm and bit. He cried out in agony, shuddered and then collapsed. He did not died instantly but very quickly as the alien bug drank fresh red blood from his body.

 

The music of Elvis Pelvis drifted from the jukebox at the cornershop. A large dog, sore from a mosquotra bite, but still very much alive, was eating the body of a human in a fashion most ravenous and its eyes glowed softly red.

 

The Dark0ne came out of the desert, tall and cloacked black, his black boots leaving amazingly few traces behind of his passing. He smiled as he saw the first of the dead bodies. The mosquotras did not go near him, indeed the monstrous creatures fled from him. The red eyed dog, though, came to him and stood waiting for its first orders.

 

The Dark0ne tilted back his hooded head and from his pale white, albino like face came a great howl of twisted pleasure at the sign of suffering and horror that he had come upon. The malignant noise echoed through the desert air as wildlife fled from it.

 

TO BE CONTINUED

Edited July 13, 2010 by Maharg67