The Saga of Vvardenfel, My fanfic, a conversion of Morrowind main quest. Options

[Gaius Maximus]

Well, this is my Morrowind fanfic, a story of my used-to-be minor now main character, Gaius Maximus. Since I didn't find it interesting to re-write the main quest of Morrowind, I decided to try it how I imagine it going after joining Imperial Legion and not touching the Main Quest for 6 in-game years. Any constructive criticism welcome.

The Saga of Vvardenfell
The Legionnaire, the Legend and the Island.

Grand Chapter 1: Every legend has a beginning...

Chapter 1: New Assignments.
Chapter 2: The Night before journey.
Chapter 3: Urshilaku Camp, part 1.
Chapter 4: Urshilaku Camp, part 2.
Chapter 5: Welcoming committee.

Grand Chapter 2: Closer to the Red Mountain.
Chapter 1: Odd Encounter.
Chapter 2: The Trial worth Our Hero, part 1.
Chapter 3: The Trial worth Our Hero, part 2.
Chapter 4: Veni, Vidi, Vici.
Chapter 5: Fire and Ice.

Grand Chapter 3: In the caverns of Vvardenfell.
Chapter 1: Dungeons, without Dragons.
Chapter 2: Dwemer Forge.
Chapter 3: Arming.

(Also note that I'm not sure if there are any more of the modern words left - do say if you see some. Help with that will be highly appreciated.)

Chapter 1: New assignments.

Gaius Maximus was a simple Imperial Legionnaire. Only possessions of his were the Divine Intervention amulet for quick escape, his Imperial steel armor and his broadsword, enchanted with his very own enchantment, made from a soul of a Dremora lord. The enchantment was pretty simple – it inflicted fire damage, along with a weakness to fire spell, which, combined with the steel itself, was pretty good for taking care of bandits, outlaws and other creatures, those native to the land of Vvardenfel.

Gaius was shipped to Vvardenfel 6 years ago, and the trip was quite interesting. During it, Gaius received a strange dream, about the troubles of Morrowind and Vvardenfel in particular, and how he was to save everything. Gaius never told anyone about it, as he later heard about strange dreams troubling people. He doubted they were different from his one, but he wasn’t able to ask anyone, as these so called ‘Dreamer’ and ‘Sleeper’ people would only ramble nonsense when talked to, if they wouldn’t attack him on sight.

Gaius lived in Gnisis, mainly in the Madach Tradehouse, where General Darius was taking residence. Darius would occasionally seek Gaius out, to give him harder assignments that other legionnaires couldn’t carry out. Like that time when he was assigned to rescue a priest from a Daedric ruin, in which he got that soul of a Dremora lord. Or when he was to investigate the mysterious happenings around a Dunmer stronghold, and ended up in a strange Dwemer ruin, fighting a creature called ‘Ash Vampire’. After a hard battle, Gaius beat the Vampire, and after coming back to Gnisis, he heard rumors about Red Mountain erupting and Blight Storms stopping for several hours.

Even now, Gaius was sitting at a table in the Tradehouse, with a bottle of Cyrodiilic brandy. Being rewarded quite healthy for all the special assignments, one would have retired from the Legion already if he was in Gaius’ place, but Gaius liked the Legion for some reason, and had no interest in retiring. As the assignments were given secretly, he never got a lot of promotions, as he couldn’t be promoted for what wasn’t a ‘Legion matter’ as Darius called it.

He heard news of some ‘Nerevarine’, a person claming to be an ancient hero reborn. Yeah, and I’m a trader. Gaius thought, taking another gulp from the brandy bottle. If he knew Vvardenfel right, the poor man would be executed by the Temple in a few days, if he was lucky, after a week. It was even a constant subject for bets in the Legion – how long would a new ‘Nerevarine’ last? They were just appearing out of nowhere – Ashlander tribes, guilds, Temple itself, Great Houses – or just freelancing adventurers, seeking for fame. Now that the Dagoth Ur problem was getting really nasty, everyone seemed to wait for the ‘Nerevarine’ to come, and rescue everyone.

After living in Vvardenfel for 6 years, Gaius soon noticed that whatever the Temple said, everything was turning wrong, and getting out of hand. The Ghostfence was getting weaker, as Gaius noticed while traveling near it, Corprus beasts – more frequent, and assassinations on important people even more frequent than the beasts. The Tribunal wasn’t that much of a help, and more people turned on worshiping Daedra, as Gaius found out while wandering in the ruins.

Gaius was distracted from his bottle by a man walking up the stairs – it was the same Orc that seemed to spend his whole life in Darius’ office. As he walked up to Gaius, the Imperial sighed. No doubt, this meant work.

“General wants to see you. Now.” The Orc said. Gaius never really liked the Orcish names, so he couldn’t recognize them, but he was pretty sure every one of them included ‘gro’.

“Sure thing, officer gro-Mamblang.” Gaius said, and stood up.

“For the last time, my name isn’t gro-Mamblang! One more time you call me like that, and I’ll… I’ll…” The Orc stammered.

“You’ll stammer when speaking with me?” The Orc swore, and rushed off into Darius’ office, with Gaius close behind.

Soon, Gaius was inside Darius’ office. “What now… sir?” The Legionnaire asked, catching Darius’ glare.

“I have another task for you. This one, though, will be official, though it’s quite dangerous. You’re up to it?” Darius began. As if he needed to ask.

“Of course, sir! Which ruin am I going to now?” Gaius asked.

“No, you’re not heading for a ruin this time. I want you to do a harder task this time. It’ll be a really long task, and I could only entrust you upon it. I know this’ll sound weird, but…” The General said, and silenced.

“What is it?”

“I want you to make a go for the Nerevarine prophecy completion.” Darius said.

Gaius felt something blow up in him. For a moment, he almost thought it was his brain. The Imperial Legion wants him to make a go for the Nerevarine Prophecies? What the?! “Okay, is this a really weird kind of joke?” Gaius finally asked, hanging on his last hope. Unfortunately…

“No, I’m absolutely serious.” Darius replied, and raised an eyebrow.

“But… But why? You want to make a bet for how long will I last?” Gaius asked.

“Not funny, Trooper. The Emperor wants to prove to the people of Morrowind that the Empire – and it’s Legions – can offer protection to the people. With the Temple unable to do anything, it’s a perfect chance to gain the trust of the people. You won’t understand it, its political business.” The General said. “Now, I want you to finish off any business before I give you your first assignment concerning this.” With that, he released Gaius.

Gaius went up shocked. Next thing he wanted to do was head into the Barracks and speak with Irr’cah, an ex-thief.

End of Chapter 1.

This post has been edited by Gaius Maximus: Nov 18 2007, 12:41 PM

[jack cloudy]

Ah, witty sarcasm. Love it.

And who would that Ordinator be? I'm surprised he was around there cause if I'm right, Ordinators and Ashlanders are having an unofficial war. (Ashlander belief is considered heretic by the temple and we all know how fanatic the temple can be.)

[Gaius Maximus]

And who would that Ordinator be? I'm surprised he was around there cause if I'm right, Ordinators and Ashlanders are having an unofficial war. (Ashlander belief is considered heretic by the temple and we all know how fanatic the temple can be.)

Yes, the Ordinators are in an unofficial war with Ashlanders... But to everything its own time! And the time is not yet for this mystery.

Lucky me, this day wasn't the time for homework as well, so I was able to pull an update. Do note that this may lack the usual amount of humor in Gaius' stories, but this chapter has quite some important Gaius and Nerevarine-esque info.

Chapter 7: The Trial worth Our Hero, part 1.

“Well?” The Ashkhan was getting impatient. Gaius knew this would probably sound crazy to him, so he hesitated, but something had to be done with the current situation. Nothing would be learned while just standing here and enraging the chieftain of Ashlanders. Well, at least it was fun. And Gaius would miss having fun soon, given the events ahead of him…

“Well… I am… Lucillus Jullius, an ex-Legionnaire renegade. I have heard of the Nerevarine Prophecies, and want to know more. Rumors say that you know the most about them, so I thought I’d just come and ask.” Gaius didn’t know why did he lie, but something told him that telling his name right away might bring bad things.

“The Nerevarine Prophecies?”

The Ashkhan frowned heavily. Apparently, he wasn’t going to give any information right away, and Gaius wasn’t even expecting that. Should that have happened, the legionnaire would’ve been stunned. He would probably need to perform something for the Ashlanders, like Darius guessed. Problem was Gaius had no idea what will be asked of him, if something is going to be asked at all.

“Uhm, yes, you’ve got it correctly. The Nerevarine Prophecies…” Gaius sighed, seeing as the Ashkhan frowned even more. Irr tugged him – that most likely meant ‘it’s time to leave… He’s getting grumpy, come on… While it’s not too late…’

But the Ashkhan began speaking, and it was too late for the pair to retreat:

“You are not yet worthy in my eyes to hear anything about the Nerevarine Prophecies. You must speak with our Wise Woman, my advisor. Talk with her, tell her anything that you think indicates that you and gain knowledge of our sacred Prophecies. Then, return to me. I will have a trial for you ready by then, and you will be able to prove yourself.”

With a bow, Gaius and Irr left. The first one was concerned about this objective, as well as the ‘Wise Woman’ of Ashlanders, while the former was instead worrying about what heck has he gotten into. Outside, the Ash storm has already began, so Gaius took out a Steel Helmet that would cover his whole face up from his bag.

The Ashkhan was by far not picking an objective for Gaius, or Lucillus, as he knew him. Instead, he opened a hatch below himself. The passage was completely distinguished, so not even Irr could spot it without looking for something of the like, and that meant something. Below was a very cramped space, in which, a shadowy figure sat.

“Have you heard it all?” The Ashkhan asked.

A moan came from down the space, accompanied by a very odd voice: “Yess… I sshalll delliverr evverythingss to massterr…”

“Well, then get up here. I don’t have whole day, come on.” The Ashkhan grumped, reaching out into the darkness. As he pulled the figure out, Gaius could’ve immediately recognized who it was, was he present.

The strange person had the overall appearance of a Dunmer, though with one slight difference – his eyes were cut out, only a large hole was visible. This indicated a servant of Dagoth Ur, an Ash Zombie, the lowest ranking one of Corprus Monsters.

As the Ash creature was finally pulled out, he muttered a spell and disappeared, having Recalled back to… Where? One of the numerous Sixth House Strongholds? Red Mountain? Perhaps even Ald-Ruhn?

Gaius, meanwhile, having no idea about treachery behind his back, was looking for the Wise Woman’s yurt. He assumed that it was the largest one in the camp (Besides the skin-yurts), which had several odd things scattered around – shells of something that Gaius assumed to be an animal, or a large bug, exclusive to Ashlands, tools, broken jars, and the like. A thick, strong smell of something that Gaius believed to be herbs and plants from the Ashlands was present, distinguishing even the smell of Guars.

Irr didn’t make a comment about the Wise Woman, and thus, Gaius proceeded inside. When he removed the cloth covering up the interior from his way, a bell ringed softly, though the Legionnaire himself couldn’t spot it – either it was magic, or the bell was simply hidden. The bell alerted the Wise Woman of his presence.

Gaius could immediately see why she was called ‘the Wise Woman’. Even though the woman he faced now didn’t bear something that indicated a powerful magician, there was something that indicated that the Wise Woman possessed much… wisdom. Quite self-explanatory, though our legionnaire knew not one instance of titles by which people called themselves be completely wrong.

There was nothing of note to her physical appearance – a quite old Dunmer female, the Wise Woman – who was given the name Nibani Maesa – wore a simple brown robe with a degree of fur on it, as well as various bones and the like. Earrings hung from her ears, with several fringes on them.

As Nibani saw Gaius, she shifted her head to right slowly, apparently thinking. After failing to recognize him, she spoke:

“You I have not seen. Who are you, and why are you here? I can tell you’re a foreigner, and one with those who you call ‘Empire’.”

Gaius sighed. There goes the introduction again. And since he took up lying now, he had to pull it until the end – the Ashkhan would probably counsel with his advisor, and Gaius’ state wouldn’t improve should his stories didn’t match up.

“I am Lucillus Jullius, an ex-Legionnaire. Your Ashkhan has sent me here after I asked him of the Nerevarine Prophecies, of which I have heard a lot.”

Nibani frowned slightly. Many outlanders came to her these days, asking about the Nerevarine Prophecies, though this pair was different from all others. The Khajiit bore a touch of… something, perhaps magic of some sort, while the Legionnaire… He was completely different from any of his kinsmen Nibani has ever seen. He had a touch of noble blood, and a touch from the Gods, though didn’t know about either. Only time would tell was this true, and would he learn about that himself.

“The Nerevarine Prophecies? Yes, we know them well, for we are the ones trusted to guard them, and present to those we think worthy. And why do you seek them? Are you just a questing adventurer, seeker of fame, or are you thinking that somebody has told you so? Have you thought you saw a sign from the Gods?”

“Erm, perhaps, if dreams count. I have received an odd dream during my trip to Vvardenfel.” Gaius replied; he slightly disturbed by the way the Wise Woman spoke. The last time he checked, that kind of trusting in Gods came from monks only, or so he thought…

Nibani was beginning to fell interested by this. “What kind of a dream?”

“Well, it happened several years ago… Though I can recall it clearly even now. At first, I heard a voice speak to me. Then, as the voice told me to not be afraid, I found myself on a slope of a hill… Ash was blowing into my face strongly, and I could barely see anything more. The voice spoke to me more – it explained about the Mad God, Dagoth Ur, and his wicked minions. While it spoke, I felt my legs carry me on the top of the small hill, only to discover a chain of mountains, colliding with an odd wall, made out of rippling energy. On one of the pillars, I could see three odd faces, and the voice told me these were the Tribunal – Living ‘Gods’ worshiped by the Temple. Suddenly, the Ash storm stopped, the sun set in lighting speed, and moon rose up in a similar way. I was waked up to hear that the ship has arrived to its destination.”

When Gaius finished, Nibani remained quiet for a while. This was an interesting bit of information – perhaps it was the sign of the true Nerevarine? Or perhaps this was a vision from Dagoth Ur himself? There was much to think, and the decision couldn’t be made now. She had to pray for enlightening, until Nibani could decide about this outlander.

“I cannot say anything to you now. Go to the Ashkhan, and tell him I need more time for my dreams to show me the truth. Tell him to test you – if your intentions are true and pure, you shall prove yourself worthy, and survive to hear my judgment on your dream. If you do not, we shall know you were not ready for this.”

Upon hearing the decision, Gaius controlled the uprising urge to yell ‘Come ON! What is it with you people?!’, and instead only nodded. “I will go to the Ashkhan and prove myself. Farewell, I hope to see you again soon.”

Nibani only nodded, as the pair left her yurt. Interesting…

Very interesting.

After a short walk to the Ashkhan’s yurt, Gaius was again in front of the chieftain. He told him the words of the Wise Woman, to which the Ashkhan frowned. It seemed to be the custom of these people – whenever they were told something, they would proceed to frown… Quite annoying in the Legionnaire’s opinion... But he had to cut his thoughts short – the Ashkhan began speaking:

“So, she and I share the need to test you. Very well – I have a test ready for you. It will test your strength, mind, and power of your will.”

Mind? Will? I hate it when things go that way…

“I need you to venture to Ald-Ruhn, and bring me three items – meat of a Corprus monster, goblet of the Redoran, and a piece of skin of a man sick with Blight.”

Gaius managed to nod and leave the tent before a loud curse left his mouth, held back since his first moments in this camp.

End of Chapter 7.