Today in Cyrodiil, spoilers version, TES: 4 Oblivion character accounts & stories Options

[Renee]

Hello people, and welcome to the Chorrol > Oblivion Spoilers > Today in Cyrodiil thread, a place where one can write all about their charcters in TES: 4 Oblivion, and include spoilers in the story. I realized that the other Today thread is in General section, and this new character of mine is going to have a lot of spoilers in her story, so here goes.

Let's meet my new one!

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Morndas, 2:12 AM, Last Seed 27, 3E433

"Pale skin.... snotty expression," says the putrid voice of a dark elf, somewhere nearby.

The captive woman awakes slowly.



"Yo're a Breton", continues the voice ..."the masters of magicka, am I right? Hmm?"

"What?" the captive calls out.

"Yo're nothing but a stuck-up haahlot, with cheap pahlor tricks. Go ahead! Try yo'r magicka in here! Let's see you make those baahs disappear!"

"You know of my magicka? And how?" the captive is now confused. She does know some 'magic tricks', but her knowledge is limited to just a couple of minor spells.

"Ohhh what's the mat-ta? Not so powerful now, are you Breton? Yo're not leaving this prison 'til they throw yo'r body in the lake! Ohhh that's right, yo're going to DIE in here, prisoner. ... Yo're going to die!

Joan of Arkay, the aforementioned 'captive', begins to remember what happened to her. The faire she had attended. The challenge of her faith by a non-believer. The subsequent argument which had turned ... nasty.

"A Redguard had then come to my assistance," she remembers. "A sweet-talker, that one. Guards made a showing, the fight did gather with persistence..."

Beyond this, Joan cannot remember the rest. How did she wind up here? In a jail cell? ...

As she tries her memory, she suddenly hears voices. Footsteps. A group apparently is approaching her cell. "...we don't know that sire," says a woman's voice; a fellow Breton. "...the messenger only said .... "

"Nooo they're dead. I know it," says a man. His voice sounds deep and familiar.

"Whot's this prisoner doing here? This cell is supposed to be off limits!"

"Usual mix-up at the watch.... I ah..."

"It doesn't matter, let's get this gate open. Prisoner! Stand over by the window," commands the female Breton.

"I .. but I ..." Joan stammers.

"We won't hesitate to kill you if you get in our way!"

"But it was not of my intentions!" protests Joan. "I was merely one bystander caught up in needless challenge!" her voice is strong. Resilient.

"Prisoner, stand over by the window now," says a male soldier. "Do as you say, and you won't get hurt."

At these words Joan concedes, and finally does as she is told.

"Stay put, prisoner."

Joan of Arkay is not prepared for what is to happen next, as the Emperor himself enters her cell. Emperor Septim, leader of all Tamriel. His bearing so regal, his clothing so colorful. His presence both overbearing and unexpected, fills Joan's cell. She can barely breathe. Uriel Septim VII is in my jail cell? Joan of Arkay thinks she might be in one of her bizarre dreams, only this one's much more real.

"Yooooou", says the Emperor "I've seen you. Let me see your face," he says, getting closer to Joan. "You are the one from my dreams...."

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3:20 am

"... as for what you have done, that is not what you will be remembered for..."

The Emperor rambles about how he's seen her before. He seems to know her, and obviously, this leaves Joan stunned. Surprised. Surprised at this interruption of her jail sentence. The Emperor has apparently been targeted, she learns, and all his sons have been assassinated. A secret escape route which starts in her cell is being utilized, and the entire group now leaves her cell, after one of its stone walls slides into the floor.

"Stay out of our way, and you won't get hurt," says one of the soldiers as they all slip by.

Joan of Arkay initially obeys this command, even as the secret wall does not rise back up, leaving a large hole in the wall. I must serve my sentence, she thinks I should not leave. To end one's jail sentence early would not only be considered dishonorable, it would be illegal. But did not the Emperor himself provide every reason to doubt my captors? ... Hadn't he said (in so many words) that my sentence would now be pardoned? These are not ordinary circumstances, then.

Joan can see her jail cell (the iron door itself) is still locked, and she initially thinks of calling the guards so they can move her to another cell. But after much time, and a bit of hollering, no guards come. Nobody shows up. During all of this, the dark elf still stands in his cell across the hallway, silently watching her.

"What do you make of that?" Joan calls to him. "The Emperor and his personal guards just traipsed through my cell! ... How can this be?"

But he does not answer. Perhaps he is just as surprised as she is.

"Well, it cannot hurt if I follow a bit down this passage," Joan rationalizes. "If I get caught, so be it. The door is opened, as the expression goes. And did not the Emperor himself admit he had seen me within his dream?"

Dreams. The dreams. Had the Emperor been having the same dreams as she? Joan of Arkay's curiosity is piqued at this. She now makes her way out of her former jail cell, and down a dark, sloping passage towards her destiny.

This post has been edited by Renee: Feb 3 2021, 07:27 PM

[Lopov]

Lucien Lachance has been observing Raven ever since he had arrived to Cyrodiil. He knew more about his past than anyone else except Raven himself and he was also familiar with his father, Adalard Venderaux, who had been a powerful necromancer and a cruel murderer until his own son ended his life. His messengers told him about Raven's massacre at Hackdirt, murder of the bounty hunter close to Pell's Gate and other black deeds that Raven performed, convinced that he's doing it for greater good. But Lucien Lachance knew that Raven has a dark side inside him, only waiting to be waken and unleashed. And now the time to finally visit him, had arrived.



Not a sound could be heard when Lucien Lachance arrived to the deserted town of Hackdirt. All houses were in the dark except for one dim light coming out of the upper window at now abandoned Moslin's Inn. Lucien wickedly smiled, now familiar with Raven's whereabouts. Cloaked by his chameleon spell, he made his way to the inn, silently opened the door and went upstairs to Moslin's private room. Soundlessly, he entered the old room, careful not to wake Raven up. He saw him lying in his loincloth on the double bed but something was wrong...

...Raven's sleep was restless, he was tossing and turning in bed, mumbling some words that Lucien Lachance couldn't understand. As he stepped closer and looked at his face, he saw that Raven was sweating heavily and assumed that he had a fever. Then he saw a dark stain on his forearm and when he leaned closer to check it out, he saw a fresh, deep wound. Lucien Lachance was familiar with many different wounds and he immediately recognized this one to be from a zombie.

"Caught a disease, have you?" thought Lucien."Rockjoint? Astral vapors? Don't worry child, you'll survive it. I actually prefer you in your...weakened state."

He casted a frost spell in the air, chilling the entire room and then bursted a weak shock force to Raven's body, waking him up instantly. He quickly raised his head and stared at Lachance. His face was pale, his eyes blurred and he was breathing slowly.

"You sleep rather soundly for a murderer. That's good. You'll need a clear conscience for what I'm about to propose."

He looked at Raven and expected to see a surprise in his eyes but he didn't see any, the Breton was looking at him like he wasn't even sure whether he was an apparition or a real person. After a few seconds of silence, he slowly said:

"You...explain yourself" *exhales heavily* "Now."

"In due time, dear child. In due time. First, an introduction. I am Lucien Lachance, Speaker for the Dark Brotherhood. And you, you are a cold-blooded killer, capable of taking life without mercy or remorse. The Night Mother has been watching, and she is most pleased. And so, here I am. I come to you with an offering. An opportunity... to join our rather unique family."

Raven's head fell back on a pillow and he closed his eyes. Lachance at first thought that he had lost his consciousness but then Raven slowly turned his head against him and opened his eyes, his gaze still distant. This time he said nothing so Lachance continued:

"So, I have your rapt attention. Splendid. Now listen closely."

Lachance went on and told Raven about the Inn of Ill Omen ("I remember it, I've been there...Manheim...Minerva"), a man named Rufio ("unfamilar name"), kill Rufio ("kill? kill?"), initiation into the Dark Brotherhood ("Initiation? Why? No, I'm...")

"No!" shouted Raven and raised his head. His response surprised Lachance. "I'm...not...a murderer."

"No? The Night Mother seems to think otherwise. Allow me to grant you a gift, in case you reconsider."

Lachance handed him the Blade of Woe and Raven managed to gain enough strength to sit up. He looked at Lucien, confused, and then slowly took the blade in his hands. With one hand he held its pommel, with the other one he was slowly and gently feeling its sharp tip.

"His dark side is waking up, I see it... I feel it," thought Lachance.

"It is a virgin blade, and thirsts for blood. May it serve you well, as does your silence. Now, I bid you farewell. I do hope we'll meet again soon."

Raven looked up at Lachance and saw two faces resting on his shoulders. The face on his left was the face of his father Adalard, who smiled at him. That's odd, since his father never smiled.

"Go on, son," said his father and nodded. "Go on. You thirst for blood. Your body thirsts for blood. Make me proud."

Then Raven looked at the other face, this one of a woman. She was pale and had long black hair that were hiding most of her face. Raven knew why...she was hiding her bruises. And although he couldn't see her face clearly, he saw tears running down her cheek.

"Your path is clear. Send Rufio to his death, and the Dark Brotherhood will embrace you as family," said Lachance and both faces suddenly disappeared. Then he cloaked himself and headed out of the room. As he put his hand on a doorhandle, he felt someone grabbing his shoulder. He turned around and saw Raven, his eyes blurred...but there was something else, something that Lachance couldn't see yet.

"Do you have more questions, dark child?" asked Lachance and wanted to remove Raven's hand, but he grabbed him even stronger.

"This blade...it is still virgin...you say?"

"That it is, my child. It is only but waiting to be covered in blood."

"Then..." said Raven and Lachance didn't like his gaze anymore, it seemed like his eyes were becoming more focused. "...then let's it make it lose its innocence!"

With a powerful swing Raven stabbed Lahance into his chest but magical robe of the Speaker sustained a lot of damage.

"That was your last mistake!" shouted Lachance and pulled out his silver shortsword. "Prepare to die, traitor!"

"Traitor?" Raven and staggered back. "I'm not a traitor. But you're a murderer and a coward. And you called ME a murderer. That was YOUR last mistake."

"You see yourself as a saint, Venderaux? Ha, you have evil running through your veins! Written in your blood! Your father and your grandfather..."

"That is past! And you shall be past too!"

The battle between Lachance and Raven was fierce and at first it seemed that Lachance won't have any difficulties defeating him. Being still weak from the disease, he was often missing and his fingers felt too numb to cast a simple spell. As Lachance was inflicting him a wound after a wound, the face of the black-haired woman appeared again. This time there were no tears but a smile... a kind, warm smile.

Whether was it this smile or whether the disease-curing potion finally began to effect, Raven could feel energy returning to his fingers. He dodged Lachance's attack and touched him with his hands, unleashing his shock fury to the Speaker. Lachance was surprised and stepped back, and for the first time in many years he felt fear. Fear, because there was a slight chance that he won't be able to cope with Raven's magical talents. And he was correct.

Although he successfuly cut Raven a few more times, the Breton eventually sent sparks to his body again and Lachance felt powerless. He dropped the shortsword and fell on the back, knowing that he had only a few seconds before he'll join the Night Mother. Raven was standing above him, Blade of Woe still in his right hand, blood dripping from its tip and a victorious and angry look in his eyes.

"It can't be," whispered Lachance, "it wasn't supposed to end like this. You...you could achieve a lot, I saw it. You have it in your blood..."

"Nonsense! Time to end this little game" and Raven plunged Blade of Woe through Lachance's heart, ending the life of the infamous Speaker.

...

He didn't know how many time had passed while he was crouching next to Lachance's body, thinking of his deeds, his father and his future. The future which finally didn't seem so dark. For the first time Raven felt that he defeated something inside himself. Something dark, something malicious - by disobeying his orders, he finally defeated his father.

Although he still felt weak and his joints hurt badly, he decided to head back to Chorrol to heal himself properly. He slowly put on his clothes, took his stuff from the drawers and headed out of the inn, gasping for fresh air. As he was stumbling towards Chorrol, he looked in the sky and instead of Masser and Secunda, he saw two faces. While angry man's face was slowly fading away, the woman's was getting more intense and Raven could see her smile again.

"Thank you...mother."