Game Epic of Stories

[Maharg67]

One 22.2[33][41]

 

The 'secret ways' were the Waygateways, of the Waygates, as created by the long vanished Grand Aldmer and perhaps others also. Unfortunately, when the Grand Aldmer vanished, so did a mass of higher knowledge and more basic practical information along with such as artifacts. The 'loss' effected the understanding of all of the Grand Aldmer Grand Artifacts such as the Grand Aldmer Towers (the WhiteGold Tower being but one), the Waygates and the Grand Arenas (such as that in Imperiarna). Most were kept secret and not used; some were kept secret and carefully used by a select few; many could not be used and the number, of yet to be rediscovered, Grand Artifacts was unknown. The generally accepted, official histories, had become increasingly challenged as centuries passed. This was especially true of the Mythic Age (more formally known as the Merethic Age).

 

Captain Sasha Renault kept on talking. "Baurus, the Blade High Command fears you have become too close to the Venturers13 but some of us disagree; I am one of them but not just because we have been comrades since you became a fully fledged Bladeguard. Jauffre also supports you and that is most important."

 

Jauffre was one of the BladeMarshals of the Blades High Command and considered to be the second most high ranking of the five of them. Only the BladeHighMarshal outranked him and Stamatchas was far less popular both amongst the Blades and outside of that faction. Jauffre was also known as the GrandMaster of the Blades, an older title still used only for him.

 

Baurus frowned. "I suppose that Stamatchas was against me."

 

Sasha shook her head. "Though you are the son of Jauffre, the BladeHighMarshal supported you though it seemed that he did so half heartedly; or so did others at the meeting report. Stamatchas also sounded unhappy when the old fool announced his retirement from both his command and the Blades; he supported your father (Jauffre) to become BladeHighMarshal in future."

 

Baurus, and Glenroy, were understandably shocked.

 

Then Glenroy frowned. "This supports the idea that Stamatchas has been under the influence of some faction being powerful, and influential, outside of the Blades. Perhaps he has always been and was supported to become the BladeHighMarshal in the first place despite the strong opposition to his being so amongst the Blades?"

 

The BladeCaptain nodded. "I can now tell you that Jauffre has known, that to be the case, for many years. He, and others, have been trying to gather proof of this treason but only with mixed success. They thwarted two attempts by Stamatchas to have his cronies steal resources from the Blades to pass onto some unknown faction. His cronies have already begun to leave the Blades; they are smart enough to know what would happen to them if they staid; the only exceptions are three 'cronies' who have been Jauffre's agents."

Edited July 26, 2014 by Maharg67

[Maharg67]

One 22.3[34][42]

Baurus scowled softly. "What of Catkina who chose to be a 'very close' crony to Stamatchas?"

The other two Blades gave Baurus a look that stated that they could pick up the tension in him. Then Sasha spoke. "Catkina has vanished but she was one of four agents, sent by Jauffre, to spy on the activities of the BladeHighMarshal's cronies. Efforts to find your former wife-to-be have failed. Speculation is rife that she has turned traitor but Jauffre, and others, believe in her as I do. We suspect that she is continuing her spying mission and will make contact with a select few Blades when she can."

Baurus shrugged. "It was an arranged marriage to be and I have decided to ask that it be disallowed because of Catkina's disloyalty, her faithlessness. I am not so trusting of her, as my father is, and had turned against the marriage idea even before she became one of Stamachas' cronies. She always seemed to be in love with my father instead of me. I wish only to be with the Jorzi Girls of the Venturers13; I like them and can trust them more."

Renault sighed. "Your father has already had your arranged marriage sundered with out the need to blacken Catkina's reputation in such a dark manner as you have just proposed. One day, perhaps, you will speak openly of why you are really so hateful of her."

Baurus just shrugged and said nothing.

[Maharg67]

One 23.1[35][43]

When Glenroy was gone, when Sasha and Baurus were alone, Sasha spoke again. "Now that the ImperialEye spy is gone, from our presence, I can inform you that Catkina has become treacherous to both the Blades and the Empire. From what we have learned, she has come to serve one of the Grand Daedra. We doubt it is MehrunesDagon but we have no real idea who it is. You were right to be suspicious of her once you discovered her trying to steal a book from one of the archive vaults at CloudRulerTemple."

He nodded. "Yes, back when I was younger."

The Great Reformation, that had effected almost all of Tamriel, had begun soon after Uriel Septim VII was freed from the Mirrorlands, the Oblivion Realm of total reflections. It had surprising influences on many aspects of the Empire but also other aspects of Tamriel.

 

The Thirteen Divinities had come to be, as they were sometimes known, and the Nine Divines were reformed. Talos ceased to be one of the Nine Divines and became one of the new Hero Demidivines (Divine Demigods). Other Hero Demidivines arose and also other kinds of Demidivines; though a few represented the Empire, others represented other peoples including 'beastfolk' and Mers. An Aedra returned to existence, in Mundus, to become the Ninth Divine and she, Diannatia, had the responsibility of guiding, supervising, Demidivines of all kinds. A ninth Aedra planet joined, the other eight, in Mundus.

 

The Sixteen Daedric Princes had not escaped changes. Some of the more powerful Daedric Princesses became classed as true DaedraGods. New Daedric Princesses replaced them so the number came to sixteen again. New DaedraGods emerged. The Grand Daedra became, in number, 31. There were Sixteen Daedric Princes and Fifteen DaedraGods.

 

Most had no idea why the changes had taken place! Did it have something to do with the freeing of the real Uriel Septim VII from the Mirrorlands; the general consensus was that this was highly unlikely to be true; logically, what link could there be between the freeing of a 'mere lesser immortal' and the transformations of greater immortals?

 

Baurus spoke some more. "I will not spy on the Venturers13 for the Blades but I will become the envoy, for the Blades, to the Venturers13. They have been quickly growing in number since they gained the tritranscube along with the company of the three former necrogroms known now as the Exotic3. If the Venturers13 keep increasing, in number, as they have been they will become the Venturers13of13. That is a name that they came up with themselves."

 

The BladeCaptain did not look pleased. "From 13 supersoldiers, as they call themselves, to 169 supersoldiers; that is quite a force to deal with if they turn against us."

 

Jorzi04 stepped into the room, quietly and smoothly. "Firstly, we have become bonded to the CloneEmperor and would not do such a thing unless the Blades do something very foolish. Secondly, the one called Glenroy is dead. We found his corpse but no strong clues to who or what was the killer or how the murder was carried out. The dead body is unmarked. We even used one of our special multiple purpose rods to scan and probe the body with. The only clues are feint and indicate some kind of powerful, but subtle, psychic-spiritual attack has possibly been made against the victim."

Edited July 26, 2014 by Maharg67

[Maharg67]

One 23.2[36][44]

 

A strange chiming sound began to sound through out the Grand Imperial Palace. The sound was not disturbing but quietly demanded attention as it seemed to be uniformally well heard everywhere.

 

The Bladeguards both looked very concerned and the Venturer13 looked puzzled. Baurus spoke to her. "The Grand Aldmer created many exotic features, into the WhiteGoldTower, and an exotic danger dection-alert system was part of that. It indicates something is happening in the WhiteGoldTower that is a great threat linked with the Grand Aldmer in some fashion. The WhiteGoldTower Alarm has only been heard twice before in all of the recorded histories of the Empire though it may have happened and not been recorded or the records lost or destroyed; such has happened far too often in the Empire over the centuries and not just in the Septim Dynasty. We must go at once to consult the CloneEmperor."

 

So they did just that!

[Maharg67]

Zero [9][45]

Something, of unknown nature, had tried to break into the Core WhiteGoldTower but had failed. The CloneEmperor knew this, through his Dragonthrone, as did the MadEmperor through his Dragonthrone. The two communicated, with each other, as they sometimes did but neither had any real answers to the mystery.

MadEmperor Uriel Septim VII knew that there was something wrong with himself, deep down, but was also in a state of denial. He also suspected, deep down, that something was controlling him to a great extent but that he was fighting back; again he did not quite admit it fully to himself.

ImperialFist battlemages, and warriors, searched through the Inner WhiteGoldTower. Core WhiteGoldTower was at the center of the WhiteGoldTower but not in a conventional 'sense' and the same was true with the Inner WhiteGoldTower being at the 'center' of the Outer WhiteGoldTower that most assumed was the real tower. The ImperialFist came up with nothing even when their numbers were reinforced with summoned divine, and elemental, magical entities along with golems and golemites.

The MadEmperor had started to doubt the very basic logic of his plans to conquer the whole of Mundus. He decided that even to conquer Tamriel, let alone Nirn, would be hard enough. He would settle for just expanding the Empire, across Tamriel, and not just through military means.

The dark voice, deep in his mind, laughed cruelly at him and yet it did not question his changing direction of thoughts. Nor did it really attempt to torment him, soon becoming broodingly quiet. When he had come out of the Mirrorlands, it had come with him; he had come to doubt that it was a coincidence.

Edited July 26, 2014 by Maharg67

[Maharg67]

One 24.1[37][46]

The exotic alarm had not been meaningless but no threat arose in the Outer WhiteGoldTower so soon everything had returned to some kind of normality.

The throneroom was partly full of an area of tables, chairs, special slanted reading desks, bookcases, books, journals, scroll-racks, scrolls, scholars, fewer sages, and much else. The effort there was to chart the interior of the Outer WhiteGoldTower and the rest of the Grand Imperial Palace that flowed out from it. The big surprise was that some kind of change had been happening to the Outer Grand Imperial Palace, that is outside of the WhiteGoldTower. It was as if the general palace had been somehow influenced by the WhiteGoldTower.

Janni08 spoke to the CloneEmperor, from where she sat on his lap. "Sire dad, the very structures of the Outer Grand Imperial Palace have become stronger, more enduring, more resistant to a wide variety of attacks including magical. Troves of good have been shifted into strong vaults. Spaces have been adjusted for greater efficiency of layout. Magic-mechanical elevators have been added along with glowglobe lighting, message air-tubes, better plumbing, ventilation ducting, true-mirror communications and some other systems. This has been happening since the real Uriel Septim VII returned from the Oblivion Realms but we do not know if he is behind the transformations."

 

The CloneEmperor sighed. "The MadEmperor is behind the changes but is not in total control of them. He has been guiding the changes as driven by Grand Aldmer trickeries that he activated by using his Dragonthrone. I have been feeling much stronger since I began using the new serum that has been invented for my use."

 

Janni08 smiled. "We tracked down a genius, of an alchemist, named Norm Sinderion who has been busy developing what he calls his 'elixir of exploration'. Many believe that he is best botanist in Cyrodiil though he, himself, questions that reputation. He was doing research in a basement of an inn, in the Imperial City Skingrad. He is now visiting the palace to assist more with even more effective healing serums. Sinderion intends to return to his beloved Skingrad fairly soon, and to his beloved family."

 

The CloneEmperor nodded. "I will need to make sure that he is allowed to go home and that overly enthusiastic followers do not try to keep him here, against his will, for my sake."

 

Janni08 nodded with obvious satisfaction at the Emperor's words. "Sire dad, we have been using the magiputer, the device we found some days ago, to compute data that we have been taking in from numerous sources. The Grand Imperial Palace is being redesigned, it appears to be, as a special central command complex for a more powerful, larger and wealthier Empire."

 

The CloneEmperor looked deep in thought. "Please stop wriggling around so much, beloved daughter, it is distracting."

 

Janni08 looked puzzled. "Sire dad, of course I will do so but why?"

 

He sighed. "Because, my sweet daughter, you may be nine and a quarter years old but you have the body of a attractive, sexy, eighteen and a half year old."

 

Janni08 smiled richly. "Sire dad, you say the nicest things."

 

He sighed and brushed silken hair back from her face, from her eyes.

[Maharg67]

One 25.1[38][47]

The MadEmperor had come to like his new name, that Baurus had first used, though he was not sure why. He studied the big tilted map of Tamriel, of the Empire, that was dotted with small flags and other feature markers. The Legions were carefully arranged across the Empire but one was returning to Cyrodiil from Skyrim, was making its way along one of the Grand Imperial Highways.

The false Jadekia stood there in a rather skimpy leathery outfit, for his pleasure, that showed off much of her attractive, youthful, slimly muscular body. She hated him but had also become infatuated with him since he had changed; she was the real Empress Caula Voria but was dressed like an expensive prostitute carrying out the unsavory desires of a wealthy client; the irony was that there was some truth to that idea.

She spoke. "Sire, please return me to a youthful version of my old self. 'They' have discovered my true identity though I do not know how. My people have found hints of somebody called 'Mahargiata'."

The MadEmperor clicked his fingers and Caula Voria shimmered to look like a young woman version of her real self but she noted, with bemusement, that her breasts were larger though she still wore the same skimpy leathery outfit.

She half smiled. "Sire, thank you, but did you really need to make me so large?"

The MadEmperor grin-smiled. "You can alter your body at will, including your breast size, but it will take practice. You are now a limited shapeshifter. If Mahargiata is involved, he being an aspect of the Eternal Guardian, then matters have become far more tricky. If there is Mahargiata, then there is also Mahargiana and others. Stay as you are, for now, so that the Imperial Court can admire your new 'stature'."

She sighed and tried to smile warmly with some success; there was no point in doing anything else and it might make him angry; he could be far more dangerous than the PreOblivion Uriel. "I have heard of the Eternal Champion and the Eternal Warrior but none others. Some say the two are the same being."

He shook his head and returned to examining the map carefully. "No, they are not! The Eternal Guardian has always guarded ancient artifacts, areas, entities and other 'things' left over from the Mythic Era and the First Age. What has been inherited, from the Grand Aldmer, is only a small part of it. Real history is greatly more complicated, subtle and extensive than the vast majority of people know. Even we, the True Septim Emperors, have never fully known the truth. I want you to seek out the Eternal Guardian so that I can speak with her, or him, or it."

[Maharg67]

One 25.2[39][48]

The glowing orb appeared only briefly, floating fairly high in the air. It spoke with a sexless, cool, almost metallic voice. "I am Mahargiaza, an aspect of the Eternal Guardian! It is not yet time for you to meet the Eternal Guardian. Firstly you must learn, relearn, some important lessons and become truly free once more."

Then it was gone!

Uriel sighed. "Damned the Eternals and their games! Empress, you may get out of that leather garb if it annoys you so much to wear it."

Caula smiled and slipped out of the leather thing to stand there naked in all of her imperial glory. "Sire, thank you, it was not greatly comfortable to wear."

Taken by surprise, the MadEmperor stared at her in wonder for a moment, as did others in the court. Then he laughed. "You have outdone me again, my beautiful Empress but now you must remain that way, for now. The 10th Legion is traveling from Skyrim to the Imperial Citadel Gloriana. ImperialEye Agents have picked up information indicating it may be under some kind of threat of ambush. I have made contact with its commander, warning her to be more careful, and the Blades are assisting. I very much doubt that the MythicDawn has the power to threaten a whole Legion and so the question is, who-what is the threat."

The Empress sighed. She had intended to show the MadEmperor that she would not be taken for granted but now she was going to be bare, for the whole Imperial Court to ogle, for some time to come. "Sire, we have learned of something called the TrueLife Cult of necromancers and also some kind of very secretive cult based on necromagery, on the use of necromage magic-tech such as reanimation vats. The name of Necrowizard Frakenstane has come to be noted strongly as has the term Genius13."

 

He snapped his fingers and she was suddenly wearing fairly modest gear though it was silken and semitransparent in places. It was better than being naked, in the middle of the MadEmperor's Court, but she wished it was not so small a garb and was more opaque. She wondered when he would truly forgive her for how she had treated him before he had been trapped in the Mirrorlands.

 

[Robert55]

One 13.1[20][25] :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :psyduck: So far so good, keep it from getting to complicated and it should be fine!

[Maharg67]

One 26.1[40][49]

"SantaClause, EasterBunny and ToothFairy are modern mythological figures from common culture of Earthriel." Jonni01 sat on the CloneEmperor's lap and did no wriggling. "Sire dad, the former necrogroms somehow picked up on knowledge from the cultural history of, not just Earthriel, but the OldEarth. It turns out that before they became necrogroms, their dark rogue souls being trapped into activating those monsters, they were villains in Earthriel."

ToothFairy, looking eccentric in a magical leather armor with fairy wings, a head-ring and a wand, took over speaking. "We are not here by mistake; karma, destiny, has drawn us here. We were all members of the Genius13 before we were disagreed with working with an ancient, powerful, dark force that had been exiled to the NullVoid an amazingly long time ago by very ancient deities of vast power. We did not learn much about the Great Enemy of Life except that it was a creation of living-death foolishly made by some of those deities who exiled it to the NullVoid. In the NullVoid the Great Enemy is powerless to do any harm and is surrounded by extremely exotic entities that basically ignore it because it can not touch them."

She sighed with her sparkly dull silvery face in a half smile. "We do not know if the 'Great Enemy' that was exiled into the NullVoid is the same 'Great Enemy' that the ETEs suddenly went off to fight, in their advanced globeships. If so that is bad news for it means, of course, that the Great Enemy has escaped from the NullVoid. We were Martane, Terriad and Rachella; I was the Great Genius Rachelle, the ice cold torturer who did much evil to the innocent in the same of scientific research. Now I give copper imperials to small children, in exchange for their fallen out child teeth, and I do dental healing. I can do other things also."

Jonni01 spoke. "What do you know of the three, former members of the Genius13, who returned to Earthriel?"

The Toothfairy nodded. "Calane, Vuwee and Hanzel! Like us they turned against the idea of serving the antinatural darkness of the Great Enemy but, unlike us, they did so later after the Genius13 had reached Tamriel. They are genuine though none are great people. We do not have any more valuable information except that the Necrowizard Frankenstane is of the Genius13 but he joined them in Tamriel, replacing one of the six of us who were killed or escaped. He was born a citizen, of the Grayaland Kingdom, in the Tamriellan Underlands. He worked, on reanimating patchwork corpse monsters, in his inherited Castle Frankenstane. What information we gained, during the testing, was carefully chosen to pass onto you."

The CloneEmperor nodded, with a smile. "Your appearances, across Imperiarna, to give children coins in exchange for baby teeth has caused a wide range of reactions amongst the citizenry. A majority are pleased but some are suspicious and the Divine Templedom wants you to be checked out in case you are some kind of blasphemous deity. The same is true of SantaClause, with his small practical gift giving, and EasterBunny giving away rich nutritional chocolate eggs. Perhaps you need to be accepted by the Thirteen Divinities, by one of the Nine Divines, as divine followers of special status."

ToothFairy smiled. "We have been so by the Divine Diannatia, she who mentors all Demidivines of all kinds and now other special entities serving the Nine Divines."

 

It was then that the ghosts began to emerge from one of the walls of the throneroom. They were representative of a wide range of individuals from the long history of the palace but also before the palace. There were Imperial humans, earlier humans but also Ayleid and other folks. They all wore grim expressions on their face; such were typical of the dead, who had not passed beyond the veil of death, but more extreme than stories normally spoke of.

 

Emperor Uriel Septim III, the ghost of the infamous imposter ruler of the Third Era, spoke out. His face was worn, cracked, and strangely broken to look upon. His imperial robes were burned in places and stained with dried blood in others. "I was denied entry through the veil because of my many crimes, including the murder of Empress Kintyra II. I seek repentence by giving you the following information. A great army of living-dead monsters, and necromage mechanisms, is ready to strike at the 10^th Legion as it travels from Skyrim to the north of the Grand Imperial City. Even with the help of the Blades, the Legion can not hope to survive while on the march. It must halt and dig in at a strong defensible position."

 

The CloneEmperor spoke. "Why choose now to come forward?"

 

Emperor Uriel Septim III shrugged sharply. "For we fear that our souls, if not passed beyond the protection of the Great Viel, will be captured and used by the Necrowizards of the Genius13 or worse. All of us have been too powerful to be trapped in soulstones, or in other such ways, but the necrowizards are using dark trickeries that even we can not fight." Then he vanished away with a soft shimmer.

 

One by one the other ghosts gave up information, all of interest but only some of immediate value. Still it was all carefully recorded for the Grand Imperial Archives.