The Story of Taillus, The Finale Options

[Taillus]

Five pages on Microsoft word for your reading pleasure. I decided to post this in two chunks and I am sorry if this makes for a lot of reading but I need to keep up to my playing time in Oblivion so I can create the story of Xander (In the game world he just hopped into his first gate! Im so proud!) Here is the finale of the Story of Taillus, for those that have missed it, read Chapter 1 for the final fight!

“From here on is common knowledge. Everyone knows that Xander Moorcroft had tried as hard as he could to stop Taillus. He rallied troops in Ebonheart that were from all over Vvardenfell. With the help of the mages guild and the fighter’s guild the generals of Ebonheart had brought together an army that that could conquer whole cities. There were soldiers from all walks of life and they all were willing to lose their lives in hopes that they would see their swords in the flesh of Taillus.

This night was going to decide the fate of the people of this continent. Would they all become prisoners of Molag Bal? Or would they overcome the monster that Taillus had become and thwart the plans of the evil Daedric Prince?”

“I am very glad that you are willing to do anything to stop this madman Xander but you cannot just come in here and take the wheel from the captain of the ship! You may be used to ruling your men under your order in the Blue Lions but this is a far larger scale. I cannot let you just come in and take over.” States the Duke of Ebonheart.

Both men sit at a large table as they discuss the plans for stopping Taillus. Duke Vedam Dren knows the urgency of the situation and was the one who ordered Sellus Gravius to get Xander from the frozen north. He knew why Taillus was so strong and knew that there was little that they could do but he still wanted to plan for a full frontal attack.

“If you take the troops I have rounded together for you I am sure you can lead them to victory. We have more then enough men waiting for your order and surely they can slay this monster of a man.” The Duke asks, obviously puzzled as to why Xander suddenly wants to stop these men from attacking Taillus.

“We need the men to guard Ebonheart, if you send them all headlong at Taillus he will definitely cut through them like a knife through soft bread. You have no idea what this man is capable of and don’t act like you do!” Xander shouts as he angrily gets to his feet.

“I would appreciate you having some respect Xander, Remember the chain of command goes as such: The Emperor, Myself, then you. I would hate to see you chained up in holding at a time like this. Now can you explain your logic for why you do not want those men to be launched in a frontal attack?” The Duke asks.

“It will be hard to explain to someone who is more concerned with his status being regarded then the safety of his own people. Leave those poor men to guard the castle walls and I will deal with Taillus myself. Clearly I am in the presence of a man who doesn’t even know which end of a sword to grab.” Xander growls as he turns to leave.

“Xander my patience is wearing thin! Take those men and kill Taillus! That is an order! No man can withstand the force of a battalion such as that. Taillus will fall in minutes and you will return to my chambers to apologize for your disrespect.” The Duke hisses back.

“I will report the casualties to you if I manage to survive Dren. Then we can think about a second option for taking this demon down. I suggest you stay away from the heat of battle and go into hiding. I can bet he will have great pleasure in taking you down.” Xander says before slamming the door behind him.

“Lord knows that I wouldn’t mind doing so myself as well.” Xander says to himself as he walks quickly to leave Castle Ebonheart and see his new battalion.

Outside the gates of Ebonheart stand an ocean of men and women alike, from every corner of the continent and from all walks of life. All ready to square off against one man. He can see it in how they stand, how they talk to one another. Xander knows that they underestimate Taillus and they have no idea what they are up against.

Xander exits as the gate closes behind him. Luckily everyone had enough common sense to keep some soldiers inside the gates just in case, not like anything will matter. Taillus would surely stomp through here much the same as he did in Balmora, Seyda Neen and everywhere else his feet had led him.

Meanwhile, Taillus had used his seemingly infinite pool of magicka to carry him just outside of Ebonheart. He wanted to watch from a distance. He wanted to see how many people they had lined up for him. He wondered how long it would take him to cut his way through every single one of them as he looked at the imperial legion soldiers with their cookie-cutter armor and weapons.

“Look at them Taillus, over one hundred souls practically lined up and ready to be taken. It is like a farm of sorts isn’t it? What do you say to a little pre-battle battle? You should summon some of my followers to scare them straight, make them fear us Taillus. Let their blood boil in terror before we steal the life from their worthless bodies.” Molag Bal whispers to his war machine.

Taillus lifts his hands into the air as magicka swirls around him while increasing numbers of bloodthirsty daedroths materialize almost out of thin air. Taillus simply points to Ebonheart and the demons sprint towards the men.

Taillus licks his lips in anticipation and sprints across the the grassy field and charges into battle. The Daedroths seem to enjoy ripping though the chain-mail parts of the Imperial armor revealing tender flesh underneath. The number of crocodile-like Daedra quickly make short work of soldiers but not quicker then Taillus.

Taillus was able to send men through the air with only one swing of his dastardly mace. With the power of more then fifty souls at his disposal as well as the mace itself Taillus was invincible. With each swing, one soldier or more lost their life and debris from splintering armor and shards of metal from breaking weapons flew through the air.

Time seemed to move in slow motion but Taillus himself seemed to move at a normal pace. The Imperial soldiers were almost helpless as their flailing bodies were either sent upwards for a few feet before landing lifelessly on the ground or sent backwards reeling into crowds of other soldiers. A white haze filled the battle area as the souls of the fallen make their way to the evil Daedric Soul Gem.

It didn’t take long for Xander to fight his way to the front of the field where he met once again with Taillus. Just like before, he stood with a full suit of steel armor branded with the crest of the Blue Lions, his cape was shortened for battle and he had removed his helm to allow better vision. He stood before Taillus who was upset that he was unable to finish Xander off last time.

“You do not deserve to stand before your men, Breton! You should watch me kill your entire squad before I kill you like the coward you are. Get out of my face and let me fight a real hero!” Taillus shouts as he swings his mace again. Xander can feel it connect with his shoulder sending him up into the air before landing hard and away from the battle. He fights to get to his feet but the mace had badly broken his already injured arm and the fall had finished off the rest of his shattered ribs as well as taken a toll on his knee.

[Taillus]

Edit - About the size of the batallion (Maybe a better word should have been used) Vedam Dren was thinking that 100 men would be more then enough to take out Taillus so in his eyes, that was a huge squad to be using.... but you're right 100+ men is a very small batallion.

Xander could only watch as the brave soldiers fell in great numbers before Taillus. Xander agreed with what Taillus had said in the fact that all of those men and women were far braver then himself. They would all rather die a bloody death then leave their comrades to fight alone. They did so good, but no one could stand toe-to-toe with that man and live for very long.

Within only a few minutes, Taillus had reduced the entire squad to less then half its original size and Xander laid in the grass trying to repair his badly broken body. He was going to have to act quickly so that he could save as many soldiers as possible. He quickly mended his bones and aching wounds with a restoration spell and thought of some other spells that would aid him in taking Taillus down.

Xander sprints back into the heat of the battle as Taillus continued to shatter armor and completely decimate anyone that got within arms reach of him. Xander knew that he would have to act quickly or else every single soldier would die. He concentrated some magicka within his hands and was instantly rewarded with a large, Bound Daedric Longsword. He also cast another spell quickly to help give him more strength and he closed his eyes for one fateful swing.

He opened his eyes to hear the sound of Taillus yelling, his voice alone almost scared people to death. Looking forward, Xander could see that the blade of the daedric longsword was buried deep in Taillus’ upper back. Blood dripped from underneath the blade but Xander’s celebration was cut short by Taillus quickly turning and removing the blade.

“You cowardly little speck! How dare you slice at me with my back turned, now you will watch as I eradicate these soldiers as well as the entire city of Ebonheart! You pestilent little sewer rat! I will leave you for last and deal with you once you have stood and watched your friends die!” Taillus screams as an aura of Magicka swirls around his body.
“Watch in horror as all of your men die! I will take great pleasure in saving you for last though so don’t worry. You will get to see all of your friends die before you!” Taillus shouts as the aura of magicka grows in girth as well as intensity.

Xander can only hope to find a way to save them. There were still more then fifty men that were busy fighting off the Daedroths and there was no way that they would all die at the hands of Taillus if Xander had anything to say about it.

“Taillus! Can you not defeat me without adding more souls to fuel you? Do you really need the power of that many people to bring me down!? Let us take this where you cannot feed on souls and I assure you I will spill your blood. If you are as powerful as you say you are then this should be a simple choice.” Xander yells at the monster of a man.

Taillus turns to the Breton with a spark in his eye. He had never seen someone that was so foolish. This man wanted to fight him one on one? It seemed like such a waste of time but the man’s determination intrigued him.

“You have your wish, Breton. Repair your sword and meet me outside of Ebonheart. I will be waiting for you. Do not disappoint me and die too quickly though” Taillus grins as he lifts into the air before soaring out of sight.

Taillus knew that Molag Bal would be furious for letting those soldiers live for the moment but Taillus just couldn’t resist. This Breton had a fire in his eyes that burned more intensely then his own. This man was fighting for the complete opposite reasons as himself and he knew that he would not give up until his heart ceased to beat.

He was also very powerful for a mortal man. Xander reminded Taillus of himself when he was fresh to this land. So full of vigor and so full of life that Taillus couldn’t wait to meet him in battle again. Taillus soared above the water just beyond the docks of Ebonheart. He would have to construct a true battle ground for them to fight, one where Taillus would see himself in history books.

He lifted his hands as his potent magicka consumed them. Raising his hands using telekinesis made a large pillar of rock burst from the surface of the water. Taillus continued to move large boulders, placing them carefully until a massive stone podium was created.

It stretched quite high into the air and was completely flat on the top to allow them space to fight. It was perfect, and when he killed every man, woman and child in Vvardenfel he would use his daedroth followers to construct a massive statue of himself at the top immortalizing himself.

Meanwhile, Xander had equipped himself as best he could for the fight of his life. He knew Taillus’ tricks and his most commonly used spells and he hoped that he had suited his equipment to take advantage of said spells. He checked his own spells as made sure that they were on top of his mind so he could chant them quickly and effortlessly and hurried to meet his maker.

As he was about to leave, he was stopped in the main room of Castle Ebonheart by Duke Vedam Dren. The man stood before the door with his arms crossed. Xander had no time for this man’s insolence and was still upset over their conversation from before. Xander watched as the man’s face went from a stern look to that of a man that was sick with worry and desperation.

“Xander I know that you may fall to Taillus tonight but before you go I want to apologize. In the heat of the moment, I may have said some things that were inappropriate but when a whole continent might expire, well a mind doesn’t exactly think as clearly as one would hope. You are the bravest man that I have ever met and you are a hero to every one in Vvardenfel. You have the blessing of all of us as well as our prayers.

I want you to take this sword Xander. Hide it beneath your robe and may it bring you luck. Remember to keep your wits and I know that you will slay that monster.” Vedam Dren states as he extends a hand.

Xander forgives the man and shakes his hand before taking the blade. It turns out that he did know which end to grab a blade after all, Xander thinks as he chuckles to himself. Xander bows and slides his gift blade underneath his robe against his back. He looks up at the Duke once more, getting a nod of approval and he walks out of the castle.

The sight before him was as if out of a sadistic dream. Taillus stood on a massive rock construct off the coast and was waiting for him. The clouds were dark and a storm was in the works. All of this just added to the intensity of the battle to come and Xander swallows hard as he makes his way to the docks………

This post has been edited by Taillus: Apr 10 2006, 07:44 PM