Ray of Light Options

[Lucidarius]

This was planned as a prologue to my adventures in Oblivion but then it turned rather long so instead of a complete story about a major plot line, I’ve only finished the prologue up until the prison in the Imperial City. The goal was to understand my character’s motive and background for better immersion in the game.

This is my first try at writing fiction so any comments or thoughts are more than welcome. Thank you for your time.

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12 Last Seed 3E419
As all children living on the Bitter Coast Nienna had learned to swim almost simultaneously with learning to walk. One day they had been on the shore, Lila killing the big mud crabs and her daughter Nienna swimming and diving for pearls. The kollops around the coastline of Vvardenfell in the Imperial province of Morrowind seldom held any pearls. They had already been taken by the abundance of poor inhabitants.

Suddenly Lila realized she had not seen her daughter’s head above the surface of the water for quite a while. She resolutely jumped in with all her clothes on. When she didn’t see her immediately, she began to panic and even forgot to cast a water breathing spell so she had to surface to get air. Then she saw Nienna a good distance away and gestured to her to come back. Nienna complied immediately, swimming all the way back under water before joining Lila on the bank. Lila did not know what to do first, berate Nienna for swimming out so far or quenching her curiosity about how she could hold her breath for so long. First she hugged Nienna tightly, grateful that she had not come to harm. Before she could say anything, Nienna excitedly burst out:

“Oh, mama, I found out how to cast the water breathing spell, it’s wonderful, wonderful to do magic.” Nienna jumped up and down to expend some of her pent up energy upon discovering her new ability.

“I was out swimming as usual and then I saw an open kollop with a pearl glinting rather far away. Instead of just swimming as normal, I pictured my fingers closing around the pearl, daydreaming about buying you a new wool skirt for winter like the one we saw at the shop yesterday and a real doll for me with a dress and silk slippers. Then it happened. My lungs didn’t feel like they were under water anymore, but more like inhaling a very cold, clingy kind of fog. And I could swim, and swim, and swim. It wasn’t until my fingers actually touched the pearl that I felt the pressure of the water on my chest so I had to go up for air.” Nienna smiled happily, dancing about throwing sand and twigs up in the air, reveling in the discovery.

Lila was shocked to hear that Nienna had discovered the water breathing spell by herself – and at such a young age too. She was not even four years old. Normally, children in High Rock were tested for their magical capabilities at the age of six. Lila had been an unusual five years old herself when admitted to the Guild of Mages, but had intensely disliked the stuffy and old-fashioned teaching methods. She ran away when she was seven, doing the odd job for different employers while trying to learn as much about magic and different spells as possible. She was afraid that Nienna was too young to understand the powers involved in magic thus resulting in fatal consequences.

“Congratulations, Enna. This is a big day and cause for both celebration and contemplation,” Lila said in a quiet, serious tone. “Magic always consists of both sides: lightness and darkness, the power to heal and to destroy.”

“Yes, mama, but I didn’t do anything bad, I just swam underwater,” Nienna said, confused about her mother’s serious tone.

“I know, darling, it’s hard to explain what it is I mean. When you cast that water breathing spell, your only intent was to get the pearl and buy something nice for the money. This spell belongs to the school of alteration. Alteration means “change” and that is exactly the purpose of the spell, to change the way you perceive the water, the world and everything in it so that you can breathe longer and don’t have to surface to catch air. Until the spell runs out,” Lila gently pulled her daughter down beside her on the bank; this was going to take a while.

“When we change the physical world around us, we might get to a point where we forget that we’ve changed it but reality will always win in the end. No person can hold a spell indefinitely because the person would run out of either magicka or stamina. Just think about how fatal it would be if you were deep down in the ocean when suddenly reality came back and you had no more magicka or stamina left to prolong the spell. You’d die.” Lila had looked intently at Nienna’s face during her lecture to see whether her words had any effect.

“No, but I would not forget the real world, mama. I wouldn’t go down so far that I couldn’t easily come back up again.” Very little effect, it seemed.

Lila sighed, recognizing her own stubbornness and misguided pride in her daughter. She had been just as confident about her magical skills, and it was not until she had met Turamo and he had expanded her knowledge about magic that she had realized the prudence of humility. Altmers are known for their arrogance, and with reason; the only exception from it is magic. They view humility as the most important factor in successful application of magic as a whole. This means in alchemy as well as in the research and understanding of the six schools of magic: alteration, conjuration, destruction, restoration, illusion, and mysticism.

[Lucidarius]

Jack Cloudy, yes, ambition can be good, but overambition can make you wish for more than you can chew.
Minque, people will be people - needing to escape past deeds or circumstances.
Metal Mallet, Lila tries her best. In the end, that's all we can do.

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Even the Orc holding Nienna focused more on Lila than on his captive. Nienna had readied her weak ‘fireball’ spell if the right moment should arise. Since Vanomerus had made her reflective, she would not be affected by any spells cast at her. Instead, she intended to cause some commotion by casting the fire spell and prayed he hadn’t silenced her.

The wind started to blow, chasing the leaves on the ground hither and dither, faster and faster. Nienna thought she could smell some distant putrid odor like a rotting guar left out in the heat of the summer. The odor grew more and more intense. A transparent kind of fog had gathered in the centre of the pentagram, getting steadily greyer and then black, quickly evolving into the big shape of a humanlike monster standing on two legs and with a fearsome visage.

“Who dare summon I, Mehrunes Dagon, the God of Destruction, the Lord of Ambition?” the Daedra prince boomed in a deep bass growl that made the earth rumble.

“I, the sorceress Lila Silven, have called you forth from Oblivion, on behalf of this Imperial male, Kretilian Vanomerus, my lord,” Lila shouted into the raging wind and the putrid smell blanketing everything in the vicinity of the summoned prince.

Mehrunes Dagon looked at Kretilian Vanomerus who knelt before him, raving his thanks to the god. “What does the groveling Imperial want?”

“He offers himself to you to take back to Oblivion,” Lila chokingly said, the wind had died down but the odor was overwhelming, exuding from the Daedra. Immediately thereafter she cast a protective shield on herself but since she had used almost all her magickal energies to reach into his realms Deadlands in Oblivion to pull back the Daedra prince, the shield had a low protection and short duration. Then she retreated from the pentagram.

A few seconds went by before Kretilian Vanomerus snapped out of his obsessive joy with the revenge over his old enemy. Those precious seconds were enough for Nienna to cast the fire spell but the Imperial must have slipped in his concentration in keeping the reflective spell constant so now she burned the Orc instead. The spell was not strong but enough to give him burn marks on the upper body, especially the hands and chest where she lay against him. He dropped her immediately from the surprise and the pain, and she ran to her mother.

Kretilian Vanomerus shouted for Bagram gro-Razbak to protect him, and the Orc went into combat raising his two-handed axe glittering with enchantments. Nienna sensed that the enchantments were strong but could not discern the effects. Mehrunes Dagon drew his own double-bladed axe, a weapon so big that the Orc’s axe looked like a frail kid’s toy in comparison. He was three times taller than the Orc and with two extra arms. The clanks of weapons resounded through the evening. Gro-Razbak was certainly not a novice in combat and his huge muscles bulged in the fight, attesting to a high level of strength.

Mehrunes Dagon jabbed the hefty axe directly down towards gro-Razbak’s crown, but he dodged quickly out of the way simultaneously heaving his own axe into the left hip of the Daedra. Mehrunes Dagon merely grinned at this wound, kicking the Orc in the side with his foot. The kick was so powerful that the Orc tumbled sideways, a loud crack announcing the snapping of one rib. The Daedra lord turned quickly for one so big to deliver the killing blow.

Gro-Razbak realized that he did not have time to get up. Instead, he rolled under the Daedra and hacked his axe down hard in the Lord’s right ankle, severing the tendons. Now, the Daedra was limping and he furiously shifted the weight to his remaining good leg while grazing the right cheek of the Orc with his blade. Almost escaping it, the Orc jumped to his feet a little distance away. The two combatants stood watching each other, assessing the strengths and weaknesses of the opponent.

During the battle of his mercenary, Vanomerus had intercepted Nienna on her run to Lila, and now he pressed the tip of his blade into Nienna’s throat, ordering Lila to send the Daedra prince back to Oblivion.

Lila concentrated on doing as ordered but her magicka and stamina were almost depleted from her summoning. Gro-Razbak was still fighting the Daedra and that helped her in her task. Mehrunes Dagon struggled against Lila because she tried to trick him out of the promised mortal. In his bloodlust, he eradicated their hut with a single blow and snapped the neck of the cowering slave with another. Then he went back to resisting Lila and fighting the Orc with renewed vehemence. Nienna screamed with sorrow and rage when she first saw their hut and later the Argonian erased from the face of Mundus.

The Daedra commented: “You are a resourceful opponent, little Orc. It shall be my honor to slay you and get yet another scalp for my minions to play with.”

“Thank you for compliments, lord Daedra, but you wrong. I slay you and honor mine,” gro-Razbak responded in his native Orcish way.

Mehrunes Dagon had been holding his axe in one hand, now he threw it at the Orc with a twist of his wrist. Gro-Razbak had not anticipated a thrown weapon of this gargantuan size and weight but his reflexes were quick and he dodged it. Mostly. The blade was enough to stop his evasion and pivot his body to the side. The impact was strong enough to go right through his armour and pierce his shoulder.

“Never listen to flattery from an opponent, stupid mortal.” Mehrunes Dagon smiled at his success in distracting gro-Razbak. He retracted his axe by telekinesis.

Meanwhile, the Orc kept a close eye on Dagon’s movements, gathering his remaining strength. Gro-Razbak’s grip on the axe was less steady since the shoulder and broken rib obviously hurt immensely. But Orcs are a hardy race, and the mercenary gnashed his teeth together to bite back the pain.

Vanomerus watched the fight, sweating profusely and accidently pressed the blade a little deeper into Nienna’s skin. Small drops of blood trickled down her throat.

Already frightened beyond rational thought, the blade prick was the final straw. Nienna experienced a vibrating or humming sort of concentration. She had the feeling that she could reach out with her mind and reshape the material that the world consisted of. The feeling was so intense that she was fascinated but at the same time frightened because it grew and grew as of its own accord. She felt she would loose control any moment now. The humming and vibrating stillness inside her mind was almost tangible, but it was also on the verge of breaking loose like a tremendous elemental force causing a barrier to collapse.

Instinctively, she pushed the stillness away from herself, willing it to materialize in front of her. Materialize it did, into a semi-transparent person, showing only an upper torso and blurry face and hands. The apparition looked like a person seen from far away on a hot summer day, where the sight is hazy and no details are discernible. After she had pushed the stillness outside herself, she felt a pleasant and unobtrusive tingle through her entire body.

Meanwhile, the apparition quickly cast a fireball at the Imperial, resulting in a nasty burn on his hands and face; thereby effectively drawing his attention away from Nienna. He drew his slender, bejeweled sword and attacked the apparition, revealing great sword skill. For a second, she watched in astonishment as the apparition and Vanomerus fought. Then she ran to her mother.

Gro-Razbak moved towards the prince. Instead of using the axe against the broad expanse of Daedric chest, he feigned a slash to it but brought it down hard on his left ankle like he had done with the right, thereby removing the Daedra’s ability to place body weight on any leg. Mehrunes Dagon was momentarily distracted when the Orc severed the tendons in his left ankle. He doubled over but recovered enough to fall on his knees. Now the prince still towered over the Orc, but much less so than before and he hammered his axe through the Orc’s neck with a curved underarm swing. The skewered body of gro-Razbak fell to the bloody ground with several crashes and clanks because of the heavy armour.

Nienna huddled close to Lila, watching the fight from behind her mother. When Lila saw the Daedra double over, she knew this would be her only chance of success. Breathing raggedly, she concentrated and expended her very last energy and magicka reserves to paralyze Vanomerus. He had just succeeded in dispatching Nienna’s conjured apparition and was stalking towards them. However, Lila’s unexpected tactic worked and he was stopped in mid-stride. Mehrunes Dagon snatched up the paralyzed man. When a summoned Daedra receives his promised gift or accomplishes the task he has been set, then he has difficulty remaining in the Mortal Plane. Lila spoke the incantation that banished him back to Oblivion, and the Daedra was forced to comply. His putrid odor lingered on for many hours afterwards.

The fight had drained Lila’s health, leaving her on the threshold to death.

“Mama, mama.” Nienna frantically cast her health spell until she did not have more magicka. All the restore health potions and healing ingredients had been destroyed when Mehrunes Dagon eradicated their hut. The power of Nienna’s spell was only enough to make her mother regain consciousness.

“Oh, mama, you’re alive, you’re going to be well again, please, don’t leave me,” Nienna cried, hugging her mother very carefully so she did not hurt her.

Lila looked at her daughter with regret and love. She knew her death was imminent. “I’m so sorry, Enna my child, that I couldn’t save you.”

“You did everything you could; I just want you to get healthy again. Can’t you heal yourself?”

“No, my injuries are too numerous and my magicka reserves are depleted. I will go to your father tonight, blessed be Kynareth.” Lila looked up at Nienna; she could not even lift her hand to caress her daughter’s cheek for the last time. “You conjured your first ancestral guardian. I am very proud of you and always will be. Remember, summoned beings, Aedra, and Daedra are neither evil nor good, they just are. Instead, you should be wary of the mortals who summon them and their purpose,” Lila was almost out of breath now, her internal injuries causing her acute pain.

“Vanomerus was an Imperial, but one person doesn’t equal a whole race. Don’t let revenge eat your heart; you’ll only loose yourself and become a replica of your enemy,” she was whispering now.

Nienna wanted to argue. She wanted revenge over the unscrupulous Imperial and the destructive Daedra prince. She wanted to howl with the pain of loosing her mother. She held back her protests. Her mother was on the brink of death; this was not a time to be argumentative.

“I promise, oh mama.” Nienna took her mother’s left hand and put it on her cheek, holding it there with her own hands.

“I love you, Enna, and I will always be with you just like your father,” Lila smiled faintly, then she closed her eyes and let her soul join her husband.

Nienna had lost everything that was important to her: her mother, her home and their whole life together. She sat beside her mother’s lifeless body, bending slowly over it with salty tears running down her face, at first without a single sound. She hugged her mother so tight that the muscles in her arms began to quiver with the strain. Then she fell down crying, more and more loudly, for hours it seemed.

Meanwhile Teldrisa and Grohen came running to her. Teldrisa tried to hug Nienna, take her away from the body but Nienna would not let go of her mother. Instead, Teldrisa put her arms about Nienna’s shoulders, stroking her on the head until she merely sobbed.

Nienna felt so tired as if she had not slept for weeks. No more tears were left in her. Silently, she prayed to Arkay, the god of the cycle of birth and death, to wish her mother a good journey into his hands. Then she turned into Teldrisa’ comforting arms, her mind a blessed blank and fell into a long, restless sleep. Teldrisa carried her into their shack and put her in a hammock. She slept for two days with frequent nightmares where she called for her mother, thrashing, turning and crying again without fully waking up.

In the meantime, Grohen cleaned up thoroughly after the fight, telling the officials and everyone who enquired that it was a freak of nature that had killed the Breton woman, Lila Silven. He carried Lila’s body to the Imperial Cult to cremate, only removing the small, exquisite locket and clasped it around Nienna’s neck while she slept. Later they received an urn with Lila’s ashes, which they put in the Common Ancestral Tomb with her name and dates, a public tomb for all the paupers and commoners. Only the wealthy were able to afford a family tomb where members of the particular family were allowed to have an urn.

Among the native Dunmer, there was the exception of the strong and powerful individuals whose bones were used in either the family’s ghostfence or in the Dunmer temples of the Tribune, the Tribunal Temple of Almalexia, Sotha Sil, and Vivec as defence and revered relics. Until the blight ended in 3E427 the bones from heroes were also put into the defence in the giant ghostfence surrounding Red Mountain.

Some people disputed this native tradition of the Dunmer, relating it to necromancy. Dunmers were outraged at this comparison since they abhorred necromancy. To reanimate dead bones, making them work as skeletal defenders or mindless slaves were only done by evil necromancers and had absolutely nothing to do with the godfearing Dunmer tradition.

When Nienna finally woke, she lay in the hammock staring at the ceiling for several hours, neither speaking nor eating. Then she got out of bed, walked directly to the desolate area of her former hut, looked closely at everything but did not talk about that fatal day to anyone. She searched in the bushes some paces away and found the ancient book her mother had used to summon the Daedra, wrapped it in several pieces of cloth and put it in a hollow tree she had used as a crude hiding place for her childish treasures. She threw out the beautiful stones, the pearl-glinting shells and the small stick dolls her mother had made from scraps of cloth to make room for the book.

One day she would retrieve it, learn how to use it and then she would revenge her mother. Pray tell, how does one exact revenge on a dead man or an immortal god? She would have to accept that she could not achieve her revenge over the dead Imperial, Kretilian Vanomerus. Ironically, his death at the hands of the Daedra whom he had himself ordered to be summoned was a fitting end. But she felt utterly resentful of not being able to kill him herself. At least, she would find a way to punish the Daedra prince.