Shadows of Darkest Soul (An Elder Scrolls RP)

[AurianaValoria1]

Velanya Therys, Fort Floodgate, Southern Turret

 

The legionnaire jumped as Kriak suddenly appeared and inquired as to who she was looking at.

 

"Blades," she replied softly, "I'm pretty sure of it. Didn't Lecuaro mention something about a Captain Caretus coming today? I think that's her. In any case, she won't be pleased that Caius and the Commander aren't here to receive her."

[SoulofChrysamere]

Lecuaro Sulnair Marczon - The Ashlands, To Kogoruhn

 

 

Lecuaro leaned against the rock and spoke softly.

 

 

"All right, Caius. What's eating you?" He asked.

[AurianaValoria1]

Caius Cosades, the Ashlands, to Kogoruhn

 

The Spymaster closed his eyes, crossing his arms. He inhaled deeply and then exhaled, trying desperately to maintain a calm composure.

 

When his voice finally came out, it was frighteningly quiet.

 

"What's eating me?" he began, "I'll tell you what's eating me. It's not being able to stay on top. Not being able to get ahead of these vagrants. First we have some nutcase of a rebel trying to take over the the island, then I hear of a plot to kill the Emperor and his sons - which apparently I have absolutely no way of stopping according to that bloody woodsman - then we somehow become branded by the damned Daedric princes for their own cruel sport, and now I find out that the funds to pay these Blackwood louts is coming from within the Legion itself, maybe even Floodgate.

 

"Everything I have been trained to do is failing me. I can't get a lead and I can't get a jump on these crazies. Do you know what that means Lecuaro? It means I can't do my job! And on top of everything else, any time we come close to getting somewhere, a new conundrum raises its ugly head!

 

"We're outmatched and outnumbered, Marczon," he said, "Plain and simple. And everything we know is being destroyed right before our eyes."

 

He paused, the fire evident in his stormy eyes.

 

"And for the record, I don't regret what I did back there. Given the opportunity, I would do it a thousand times more - to him, and to every other traitor in this Empire."

[darkedge42392]

Adrynn Indarys, Ashlands, to Kogoruhn

 

Adrynn looked toward the distant hills where he knew Kogoruhn lay. It was a massive stone table with a large stone building and various small huts circling the temple. It would be difficult to get in, and much more difficult to get back out. But Adrynn knew that he had to find this False Nerevarine and end his life before Vvardenfell was ripped apart. His mission now was to do this. Azura had even thrown her backing to him and Velanya. He couldn't forsake his duty now.

 

He barely glanced over as Kriak disappeared. His mind was clouded with doubts and worries. Adrynn's brows knitted as his gaze fell on his sword. It had been a long time since he had taken the life of an unarmed prisoner before. But he had absolutely no choice this time. Not after what the Ashlander had said. He would have been a liability in Kogoruhn and a loose end that would have been more hassle than help. So he had acted on instinct.

 

His ruby gaze fell on Caius and Lecuaro a score yards away. They were deep in discussion. Adrynn could see the strain in the Imperial Spymaster's neck and shoulders, the blood coloring his ears a deep red. Rage was a rare thing for someone so composed. The Khajiit's revelation about the Legion had been shocking, but it wasn't completely surprising. Adrynn didn't put much stock in the officers of the Legion. Only Velanya and Lecuaro were those of a handful who weren't corrupt. At least in his eyes. He glanced between the few soldiers Lecuaro had brought. They hadn't said much since the attack earlier. They had said less when the prisoners were slain. He noticed that they were keeping a respectable distance away from him. He only smirked. He knew how he looked in their eyes. Suddenly, he realized he didn't care.

 

Oh well. The Redoran will always seem bloodthirsty during times of war. It's only natural.

[SoulofChrysamere]

Nenalaamo - Fort Floodgate Battlements

 

 

Nenalaamo quickly levitated away from the now-controlled breached wall and joined Velanya and, unexpectedly, Kriak. As he touched down, he saw the glittering Akaviri steel approaching in the distance.

 

"Well, it looks like Captain Caretus is he-"

 

Nenalaamo's voice stopped. Suddenly, he found himself above Velanya and Kriak. Then, he heard a metallic clattering next to them. He looked over and saw the corpse of an Aldmeri man, an arrow lodged in his left temple. A second later, Nenalaamo saw Velanya and Kriak look over at the same body. Velanya appeared to be saying something, but for some reason, he could not hear her.

 

Suddenly, Nenalaamo felt himself begin to rise. He looked up and could see a beaming, peach-colored light emanating from the sky. He tried to stop rising, but upon looking back down, he realized that he wasn't on the ground. Moreover, his feet, his entire body, was white and spectral. Nenalaamo wondered what was happening, but then he had a heartwrenching revelation.

 

Nenalaamo looked again on the High Elf body under Velanya. It was him...he was dead. He looked out over the fort and the battle outside the wall. He was able to make out one last company of archers among the meager remnants of the mercenary army. As he climbed still further upward, his heart heavied with regret. -- with self disappointment. Most of all, he felt like an imbecile for neglecting to put on his helm before sprinting outside.

 

The peach aura above him glowed brighter as he neared it. Voices, beautiful voices, began to chorus. If souls can indeed weep, Nenalaamo's certainly did that day.

 

"Damn..." - he thought as he passed into Atherius.

==========================================================================================================================================

 

Lecuaro Sulnair Marczon - To Kogoruhn

 

 

Lecuaro lisened as Caius vented his anger and frustration. He spoke the truth, of course. Hardly anything had gone as planned for them in the past three days. Now the new news of a traitor within the Imperial Legion, possibly even in Fort Floodgate itself, was just too heavy a blow. The old officer inhaled deeply as he formed his response.

 

He began to speak when suddenly, his entire body froze, his gaze fixed squarely on Caius's face. He felt an overwhelming sense of dread and anguish take him; he couldn't say why, but he knew that something very bad had just happened. Even worse, he could tell where it had happened.

 

"Something...something's happened. At the fort..." Lecuaro uttered weakly.

Edited March 31, 2012 by SoulofChrysamere

[AurianaValoria1]

Velanya Therys, Fort Floodgate, Battlements

 

"Nenalaamo!"

 

The Altmer was dead before he hit the stonework. There was nothing that could be done. Lecuaro's second-in-command was gone in an instant.

 

She knelt and instinctively jerked Kriak to his knees with her, behind the parapet, in order to protect the woodsman from any more arrows.

 

Boiling anger rose up in her cheeks. The Knight Errant pinpointed Sorinyarie and Faeryn in the courtyard, bellowing at them with unbridled rage.

 

"WHY AREN'T THOSE ARCHERS DEAD!?"

 

 

Caius Cosades, Ashlands, to Kogoruhn

 

The Spymaster's smoldering frustration immediately subsided as he witnessed Lecuaro's sudden weakness. He took hold of his old friend firmly by the shoulders.

 

"Marczon? You alright? What about the Fort...do we need to go back?"

 

Caius motioned to Adrynn, "Come on over here!"

Edited March 31, 2012 by AurianaValoria1

[SoulofChrysamere]

Nenalaamo's Spirit - Atherius

 

Nenalaamo drifted through the spectral currents of Atherius, mingling with the realm's other denizens. He was in a daze, trying to accept that he had fallen due to such a careless mistake. He knew his desire for protecting others often overrode his concern for his own safety, but...this just seemed like too much. He wondered how Velanya would cope once the battle subsided and the grieving began; he had really grown to like her in the couple of days that he had known her. More so, however, he wondered how Lecuaro would take it. If Kriak was going to teleport back to him and the others...Nenalaamo shuddered to think on it.

 

Despite the disappointment at himself, Nenalaamo somehow still felt somehow connected to the events below...like he could sense what was going on. He had heard that the dead still look after what they protected in life all throughout his time in Tamriel, but now he was experiencing that feeling. He was sad that he couldn't return to Mundus to keep defending the fort. He had always served the Legion faithfully, often sacrificing personal time and energy in order to further its goals. Through the tsunami of alien feelings, however, Nenalaamo could still feel an inkling connectivity to someone down on the battlefield.

 

Nenalaamo tried to tune in to the energy. It wasn't Velanya. No...it was brimming with magical power; it felt Aldmeri. Suddenly, Nenalaamo recognized the soul's signature. It was Sorinyarie.

==========================================================================================================================================

Sorinyarie - Fort Floodgate Battlements

 

 

Sorinyarie saw Nenalaamo go down. She was stunned. Motionless. Frozen in shock and horror. Her superior...her friend...felled by an archer's arrow. Angry and mournful tears welled up in her eyes. Her magicka levels fluctuated as fury and sadness tornadoed within her. She clenched her fists tighter than a mudcrab's pincers.

 

Then, the massive arcane reserves deep in Sorinyarie's veins spurred to life. Her magcka levels spiked and she was momentarily awed by the sheer, raw power that now coursed through her body. A strong aura of unbridled magical energy radiated from her, nearly overwhelming Velanya and Kriak. The fuming mage turned to face the archers, and as she did, large globs of white-hot fire, equally-white lightning, and large, frigid, deep-blue spikes of ice sprouted from her tensing hands. In one instant, the turbulent magicka forces within Sorinyarie reached a head. The next instant, she shot forth pure elemental fury directly at the enemy archers with a deep, bloodcurdling roar.

 

The magical meteor exploded into the archers, the snow-white flames broiling them in their armor, the crackling lightning arcing throughout their ranks, and the freezing icicles whirling all throughout them, tearing right through the steel and shredding the mortal flesh therein. Within twenty seconds, the archers had all but vanished, their bodies vaporized and a mass of scorched, minced, and electrocuted steel in their stead. The magic had ballooned and had struck most of the other mercenary groups as well, although inflicting far milder damage. However, the ruthless and complete destruction of the last archer platoon, coupled with the frightening image of Sorinyarie atop the battlements struck catatonic fear into the remaining attackers' hearts. They immediately broke into a hasty, formless, full scale retreat, some of their horrified shrieks being audible up on Fort Floodgate's walls.

 

As the magic levels in her died down and her deep reserves closed up again, Sorinyarie still stood firm. Bitter tears still leaked from her paining eyes. She breathed deeply a few times. In time, she somewhat regained her composure.

 

The first thing Sorinyarie did was look at Velanya and Kriak. Velanya's countenance was indescribable. After all...how many people had witnessed what was possible when an Aldmeri mage of exceptional power even by her own race's standards become drunk with hatred and bloodlust and channel every last inkling of magicka in her being into a large, vibrant burst of pure, chaotic power and rage...and lived to tell about it?

 

Sorinyarie had to look away. She could feel the eyes of every legionnaire, mage and non-mage, at the fort on her. She could feel the hybrid awe and fear in them. She could only imagine how terrible she must have looked. After a few moments, gentler, mournful tears replaced the angry ones, and the drained battlemage fell to her knees, bent toward the ground and sobbing with regret.

==========================================================================================================================================

Lecuaro Sulnair Marczon - To Kogoruhn

 

The feeling of dread morphed into a sense of overwhelming magical power as Caius's climbing fury halted and he seized Lecuaro by the shoulders, concernedly asking what was wrong. Lecuaro had trouble responding.

 

"Uh...I...don't know. I just feel that...something horrible has happened at the fort." The Breton's face revealed a torn man. Half of him wanted to return to the fort to see what was going on, while the other half of him wanted to keep pressing on toward Kogoruhn. The latter half eventually won out, but not quickly. "But we can't just up and leave...they're counting on us to do this reconnaissance mission."

==========================================================================================================================================

Battlemage Mercando and Archer Cheriana Mondasten - To Kogoruhn

 

 

The pair had watched in stunned silence as the interrogations and executions of the two captives passed. Mercando had seen more than his share of violent, gory deaths in his life. He didn't relish them of course; violence and death was never a pleasant combination. Cheriana was much newer to it, though. She had always felled her targets from a distance with her bow and arrows or killed them quickly up close with precision slices and thrusts. She'd never brutally hacked or bludgeoned anyone to death, and she had rarely seen others do it. Her stomach flipped; she felt like she was going to throw up.

 

Mercando comforted her for a few moments, resting a remarkably tender hand on Cheriana's belly to soothe her writhing innards. Once she was better, the two Blades slowly and warily approached Adrynn as he headed toward Caius and Lecuaro. Mercando was the first to speak.

 

"Tell me, Redoran..." He began while walking in tandem with Adrynn, "...what do you think it is that separates a warrior of your Great House from the warriors of other factions and organizations?

Edited March 31, 2012 by SoulofChrysamere

[AurianaValoria1]

Velanya Therys, Fort Floodgate Battlements

 

Velanya stood in awe of the Altmer's power. Her magics were almost as frightening as those that had been unleashed by Adrynn - it was nauseating and wondrous at the same time.

 

The Knight Errant noticed the legionnaires staring at Sorinyarie, oblivious to the fact that the rest of the mercenaries were retreating.

 

Deliberately trying to redirect their attention, she cried, "Victory!"

 

That helped. The courtyard and battlements resounded with the soldiers cries and whoops of joy as they reveled in their success. But, their happiness would be short-lived...

 

After a few moments, she whistled sharply and claimed their attention once more. When all faces were upon her and all voices quiet, she knelt to Nenalaamo's body. She removed the badge of rank from his collar and held it aloft, "Our victory has come with a high price, however. Commander Nenalaamo, in service to his gods and Emperor, has fallen."

 

 

Faeryn Sethandas, Fort Floodgate Courtyard

 

His companions had rallied back around him, and they stood in solemn silence as Velanya delivered the painful news of Nenalaamo's death. Even though he had only known the Altmer for a few hours, he felt that he had been a noble and courageous man.

 

"Let us pay homage to the fallen," he said softly.

 

With that, the Indoril soldiers silently drew their weapons and laid them on the ground, settling on their knees and bowing their heads in respect.

 

 

Caius Cosades, Ashlands, to Kogoruhn

 

The Spymaster knew that Lecuaro was concerned for the Fort. But he also knew to trust the Breton's judgment. If Lecuaro felt that they should keep going, they should keep going.

 

"Right, then," he said, clapping his hand reassuringly on the Commander's back, "let's regroup."

Edited April 1, 2012 by AurianaValoria1

[Zephyr2011]

Kriak, Fort Floodgate Battlements

 

It had happened in a blur, Kriak had magics in place that kept him safe from arrows, excepting those with inherent magical properties like silver, elven, daedric, glass and magical enchantments. Unfortunately, he had no enchantments in place to warn him when his wards were triggered, he had never needed to worry about it, he could sense magical arrows incoming but not the ones his wards would deflect, it was too much energy to constantly expend. He hadn't even realized they were being fired upon when Nemalaamo was levitating towards them. He had a sudden sense that something was very wrong, he caught sight of the arrow as it soared towards Nemalaamo. Kriak had no time to stop the arrow but he had managed to reach into a satchel on his armor before the arrow struck Nenalaamo. Bastards aren't getting away with this that easily, He thought grimly.

 

Kriak was already jumping towards Nenalaamo as he fell and Velanya brought her arm up to force him into a covered position. He felt idiotic for not anticipating an attack like this, he had placed a few simple wards on Velanya and the others that were key components to their journey but he hadn't thought of an attack on the fort while they were away. He should have protected the upper echelons of leadership at the fort as well.

 

He felt the energy before he saw it. The other Altmer torrent of magical energy, Kriak wasn't surprised but raised an eyebrow slightly out of habit, he was curious how it felt to feel such surge of power from extreme emotions. He had never had such an experience, perhaps only certain races did, he felt surges of power from much more...morbid things. But while she had tears streaming down her face and while the archers were decimated and all eyes in the fort were on her, Kriak's eyes were intent on Nenalaamo's body. Kriak felt the spark still close by, it wasn't too late, he withdrew one of his realm's soulgems from his satchel and muttered a quick incantation. Nenalaamo's physical and magical manifestations were placed into a single gem while an additional facet of the gem that was separated from the other portion was calling for a piece of his soul so that he could mentally be with the comrades on their journey. Lucky for Kriak, Nenalaamo deigned to occupy Mundus for a time, he could leave on a whim but his physical and magical capabilities which made him so formidable in life would remain in the gem for a time of great need, like that of when Kriak had first arrived and, with Adrynn's help, obliterated the ashlander army.

 

The soldiers of the fort and Velanya were celebrating victory now, Kriak still felt great trepidation though, the worst was yet to come, for this day at the very least. He whispered to Velanya, "We're not out of the woods yet, be prepared. But we do have a little friend still here." With his last words he spoke to Nenalaamo mentally, asking him to speak with Velanya briefly to remind her of his presence. At least we have this advantage now, he thought.

[darkedge42392]

Adrynn Indarys, Ashlands, to Kogoruhn

 

Adrynn had turned and started moving as soon as he heard Caius's worried voice. His eyes found Lecuaro and saw the nausea and immediate worry fill the Breton's body. The ebony bound toes of his Bonemold boots kicked up fine clouds of ash as he moved quickly to the Legion Commander and Spymaster. Something happened.

 

"Tell me, Redoran..." Adrynn heard behind him. He was suddenly aware of the two Blades that had accompanied them following him, a wary distance still between them, "...what do you think it is that separates a warrior of your Great House from the warriors of other factions and organizations?"

 

Adrynn didn't waste time in responding. "We fight for our home, our families, our House. Not for gold or glory, but to protect the honor of our race and our homeland. We always have. And we always will." Adrynn glanced to the two Blades. "Those in the Legion, like Lecuaro, or my cousin Velanya, fight to protect the glory and esteem of the Empire and their holdings. And those mercenaries, like those in the Blackwood Company who attacked us, fight only for the gold and glory and to have a great name. We of House Redoran live to protect Morrowind, we are her defenders and her champions."

 

Adrynn glanced back again as the trio reached Caius and Lecuaro. "Don't forget that, Blades." His crimson eyes found Caius's blue ones. "What happened, Spymaster?"