The Famous Five, Heroes and Villains of the Age of Martin Septim Options

[Ceidwad]

Welcome to my fanfic. I've been planning on posting this up for some time now. Now that I have the first 10,000 words or so down seperately, I feel ready to post some stuff up here. I hope you will all enjoy reading it as it develops. I haven't a clue how much I will write eventually, if I manage to finish it. But it will likely be very, very long. Indeed, there's an excellent chance that I'll finish writing a Skyrim fan fiction before (if) I finish this!

The Famous Five is an unusual fan fiction. It takes the form of a historical commentary/synthesised text written some 90 years after the events of Oblivion, and relies rather heavily on my own creative license to fill in some historical gaps in between 4E2, when the stories end, and 4E85 when the book is written (I should add, I have not read any Elder-Scrolls related lore works, such as the Infernal City).

This work weaves together the stories of five different characters that I roleplayed in Oblivion, and I hope to include some of my minor characters in it too. Subject to approval, it may also be nice to include some other chorrol.com members' fanfic characters in it too. It would be entertaining to see the outcome of a meeting between Luther Martinus (who you will get to know) and, say, Buffy or Teresa, for certain!

At present, I regrettably do not have screenshots; however, I hope to add some in future if and when I can get Oblivion for PC.

This is my first attempt at writing a fan fiction. I have thought about it for a while, though. I welcome critique of my writing as well as positive comments. I have not planned most of the fanfic, but have a general plan of how it will pan out. It will include actual in-game events, relationships and quests which inspired my roleplaying, and be supplemented with whatever ideas take my fancy at the time of writing.

Below is the prologue and the first entry. I plan to update every few days to a week, depending on how much I can write. This will vary. At times, I may not update for a while. I do, however, hope to persevere with this and update pretty regularly.

Happy reading!

This post has been edited by Ceidwad: Mar 26 2011, 05:00 AM

[Ceidwad]

mALX - Wow, I don't know who this Rumple is, but I'm glad this gave you a chance to reminisce! Glad you're finding time to read this. I wondered if people would really find the incest bit funny - it seemed a bit predictable to me, but I'm glad I posted it cause it seems to have done the trick!

Acadian - Glad you're enjoying the delays. They are partly there for character development reasons, and partly to stretch the story over a realistic period of time. In-game, of course, you can complete quest-lines and rise to the head of factions in perhaps a month of game days. I think this is wildly unrealistic and always roleplayed a bit of a gap when playing Oblivion. The exception being the Main Quest - I think the constraints there (i.e. Tamriel is burning) make it difficult to roleplay someone who dallies around for weeks between quests.

SubRosa - Oh, Mara's mercy, don't get me started on Kud-Ei's errands! I think I started that quest with one of my earlier characters but ended up reloading an earlier save after so much frustration trying to complete it. Suffice to say, Gwen won't be going there for a long time.

Thanks for those observations! You are indeed right about the Black Arts section foreshadowing future events. It would be stupid to have her talk about the Necromancers' Cult without any direct experience, so having her read The Black Arts on Trial (something I actually did in-game) is a nice way of breaking it in. Falcar is also introduced at this point, as you say just to lay the foundations and give a bit mor drama to the recommendation quest.

Next: How will things continue in Cheydinhal? Could be a tough one....

Midnight.

Oh, no. What am I to do? The recommendation task I have received from Falcar….could he really be trying to kill me? Did he kill another associate?* No, the guild could not possibly allow a murderer to lead the chapter. It must be in Deetsan’s head….and yet I must be prepared for the possibility. Did Falcar not say something about ‘being prepared’ himself? I must be ready to react if there does prove to be a threat to my life. Deetsan’s spell will help, I hope. But why would Falcar put his own Associates in danger? What would he gain? There is no reason for it. I’m sure it must be paranoia from Deetsan. But that Argonian seemed perfectly sane otherwise…..

Why, oh why, did I leave Alinor? Was it only so I could end my life here? In a well in Cyrodiil, another forgotten Altmer who failed to make the step into maturity? No, Gwen. Calm down. Practice your spell. Let the magicka flow from your hand, gently altering the properties of objects….manipulate the flow with your mental focus. Good. The silver tankard seems lighter. Now, bring the water to your lips and put some in your mouth. Yes, I am doing it! I can breathe the water, if only for a short while. I do not even know how I am doing it. Deetsan just told me ‘believe, and rely on the magicka within, associate.’

I cannot possibly sleep. The well awaits. I will see if Deetsan’s fears were true! If I fail to emerge alive….forgive me, mother and father.

*Editor’s note: In fact, not only did Falcar almost certainly deliberately kill the unfortunate associate, but two further associates were reported as missing to the Council of Mages during the two years that the Altmer headed the Cheydinhal chapter of the Mages Guild, as official records attest to. It is clear that ‘recommendation’ tasks assigned to Mages Guild associates were often far from benign.

First Seed 29, 3E430 – Cheydinhal Mages Guild

4 P.M.

It is resolved. I live to cast another spell, obtain another recommendation, perform another deadly task. And Falcar has left, to an unknown location. Deetsan’s fears were correct, and more, and it is only thanks to her wise instruction that I live on. The other members of the guild have expressed their great relief that I am safe. Eilonwy and Orintur embraced me upon finding out that I was alive, and Trayvond offered words of comfort and a sweetroll, which I gratefully accepted. Many of the mages were unsure if I was unharmed as a result of having been gone so long.

Last night, having left the guild hall shortly after my last entry, I could not face the well immediately and walked around town for nearly three hours gathering my composure. As dawn approached, I finally worked up my courage, spoke a silent prayer and put the key to the lock on the well’s grate.

All that I could see inside was darkness. I recalled a silent incantation I had learned at a very young age to see in the dark. I then dropped my robe at the well entrance and very cautiously stepped in. All the while, I was rehearsing the procedure for the spell Deetsan had taught me, which enabled me to simultaenously breathe in water, and carry additional weight. I cast the spell and submerged. I am a poor swimmer, so I must have been fumbling around like a fool. It is difficult to recall one’s precise technique when one is paralysed by fear, however.

Then, I saw a body. This must have been the associate Deetsan and Falcar had told me about. The ring would not budge. I began to panic, and tried to cast the spell Deetsan had taught me. But to my horror, it failed. I tried again. Once more the water filled my lungs, and the ring held me in place with its magic. Desperately, I cast it a third time. Success! I breathed as naturally as though I was in the fresh air of the courtyard in the palace of Alinor, and slowly fumbled my way to the surface. I emerged into faint sunlight, silently thanking Azura and trembling, partly because of being wet and cold, and partly because of fear.

After this ordeal, I was so exhausted that I could not face returning to Falcar. After all, what if he had planned to kill me? Would he now try to attack me? Thoughts raced through my mind at the time, although I now know I am safe. I ended up eating a breakfast at the Cheydinhal Bridge Inn. The proprietor there stared at me as I gnawed uncertainly on a loaf of bread, allowing what had happened to sink in.

I returned to the guild hall at 10 A.M., feeling wary. Trayvond greeted me. He said that Falcar had left during the night, but he had no idea why or where he went. He suggested I talk to Deetsan. After speaking with her, it was clear that she had confronted him. She said that she told Falcar she would report him to the council, upon which he left in a blaze of curses and threats.

It would seem we have found the reason for the death of the other associate and also Falcar’s motives. Two black soul gems in his study desk prove that he practices the dark arts. I shudder as I ponder the thought that my soul might have occupied one of them. Deetsan has asked me to remain in Cheydinhal to give testimonial evidence to a member of the Council of Mages, who will arrive tomorrow. The soul gems and the Ring of Burden will form the other part of the evidence, as will the associate’s body, which will then be buried in the graveyard of the chapel of Arkay here.

I have learned that the life of an associate is neither pleasant nor safe. What will be next for me?