Corrupted heart. Options

[jack cloudy]

Alas, I couldn't wait for Agent to finish before I began my next story. Oh, curse me, all of you whose blood shall be spilled before this story comes to an end.

Ahem, I don't expect my loyal readers to complain though. Heh, I hope I managed to portray the first of my main characters nicely. And one last thing that might be interesting to know. This story takes place before the birth of Luper. So yes, that means at least 23 years before any of my other stories. Now, without further stalling I present:


Corrupted heart.

Chapter 1: Among the cold dirt, the fallen lie.

Consciousness flickered, remaining just out of reach. His senses delivered their messages to his clouded mind, broken fragments of a greater whole. The sound of heavy boots hammering cold rock, the smell of dust in his nose, the feeling of being carried in a boneshattering grip. A taste, plaguing the tip of his tongue. Blood, his blood.

The feeling of movement stopped. Words now echoed in his ears, words he did not comprehend.
,,This looks good enough. Open the door.” The shriek of rusted metal being moved ripped through the haze clouding his mind. Now consciousness returned fully and with it, a chance. For a moment, he continued to feign unconsciousness. Long enough to hear more words, words not meant for him.
,,You, don’t move unless you want even greater problems.” The hands holding him pushed him along. His tail brushed against iron bars. Now was the time.

With the frightening grace of a natural killer, his muscles sprang back to full readiness. He used the body of his captor to swing around, somersaulting into the air and landing on the unfortunate man’s back. With a quick swipe, claws ripped out the man’s throat and crushed his neck. Even before the man began to lose his signs of life, the killer had leapt away. The next guard found himself smashed against the iron bars of the cell. Claws leaving a trail of blood in the air where the last thing the man saw before his eyes were removed. He too died soon afterwards. The whole event had taken less than a second from start to finish.

Breathing heavily from both his exertion and the rough treatment he’d received earlier, the killer stared down at his latest victims. In a slow symbolic movement, he raised his claws and licked them clean of blood, savouring the taste. His ears began to pick up the sound of distant boots coming steadily closer. A standard patrol. His hand snatched the nearby torch from the wall and he slammed the piece of wood into a dusty pool of water. There was a large cloud of smoke and then, darkness.

Even though there was practically no light left, his eyes still saw as good as if he was standing outside on a clear day. He quickly scanned the nearby cells. The one which had been destined for him was already occupied by the short stature of a Bosmer. The one directly on the opposite side of the tunnel was occupied by a muscular Dunmer who looked around warily, not seeing a thing. The killer took a double take on the two beings. While the Dunmer displayed all the expected signs of fear, the Bosmer surprisingly acted as if she hadn’t noticed the massacre at all. She just looked at the ground in front of her bare feet with a blank stare.
,,Must have lost its mind so deep underground.” The Killer concluded. He knew from experience that many Bosmer were extremely claustrophobic and hated being in a room without any windows or underground. A natural result from living in the treetops of Valenwood.

The boots had now gotten close. Soon, the owner of these boots would see the darkness ahead and know that something was wrong. By then though, it would be too late. The Killer crouched at the edge of the darkness, confident in the natural camouflage he had. Now the guard ventured into view and the killer’s heart skipped a beat. This was no guard. The fingers of fear reached out for him, embracing him with their cold touch. It was a feeling he hadn’t felt since childhood. The darkness in the tunnel was vanquished by a bright burst of light. With that same burst, the light in his eyes faded and he slipped into unconsciousness once more.

An armoured boot stomped on the ground beside his head.
,,You’ve missed your chance. Enjoy the blood you’ve claimed. They were your last kill.” A gruff voice said as the killer was picked up and taken to his cell.

[jack cloudy]

*Creeperlike voice* ,,I'm postmachining!"



Aran felt solid ground under his feet and more important, air. Instinctively, he jumped to the side though this action turned out to be unnecessary. Rajn appeared a few steps to his left.
,,Eww! I’m soaked! And it was such a nice dress. Given by a jerk, but still a nice dress.” She complained. The shiftgate had resembled a pool of water much closer than she’d expected. Marsh was the last to arrive, once again appearing several steps further towards the left. Somehow, the portal had flipped him over again so he landed on his feet rather than on his head. A cascade of water followed their arrival. Normal water.

,,Marsh-Speaker, what an unexpected surprise.” A voice spoke from somewhere behind them. They all turned as one, Aran gripping his spear tightly and Rajn still fuzzing over her dress. The owner of the voice revealed himself as an elderly Breton dressed in an expensive garb and with a small crown on his head. There was a woman at his side, a Dunmer who looked much younger than the king. Though as with all elves, it was hard to judge age on mere appearance.
,,King Eadwyre. Queen Barenziah. I see that you’ve made it to Wayrest safely.” The Argonian replied and bowed.

He then looked at the scroll in his hands. While he was soaked just like everyone else, the scroll had miraculously remained dry.
,,I sought counsel at the blind monks. They deciphered the words on an Elder Scroll before……before they gave their life to ensure our survival.” Upon hearing that, Eadwyre and Barenziah lowered their heads, a silent gesture of respect to the monks who’d fulfilled their task till the very end.
,,We see, that is terrible news. We’ll hold a meeting to discuss the contents of your scroll, after you’ve dried up together with this mess.” Eadwyre spoke and ordered a few servants to take care of the guests.

Three hours later, they’d come together again, seated at a table.
,,Now Marsh-Speaker, bring us the news we’ve asked for. What happened to the Champion?” The elderly king asked straight to the point.
,,As with the monks, he died. Ria Silmane died as well, her final death. Only this scroll knows if their sacrifice was worth it.” Marsh answered and laid eyes on the monk’s words for the first time.

Eight defiled under cold earth
Scorching light signals era’s end
Threads severed, vessel cast adrift
Heart corrupt, dragon’s blood in land with no name
Through water, the fire is lit

He who lives by the life of someone else
Unbound eye
Tooth of chaos
Ten suns of darkness
Mask of shame
Father of time’s flame
Wandering soul
Corrupted heart

Eight lands, eight destinies
Land of sand
Land guided by the moons
Land of roots
Land separated from all
Land at world’s end
Land of ice
Land uncharted
Land of curses

All come together, in the land of dragons
Divine chaos united
From lowest depth to highest top
Unnamed land given name

Marsh looked up from the parchment and his gaze travelled across those who were seated at the table. Rajn blinked, Aran frowned, Barenziah tapped on the table with a finger, Eadwyre played with the rings on his hands. In short, no one had a clue what he’d just said.
,,I believe we can safely assume that the message is a riddle.” Marsh spoke with a shrug. He pushed the scroll across the table so the king could see it for himself.
,,Yes, that’s quite a safe assumption. Now most is beyond our grasp, as I’m ashamed to admit, though it does seem to us that the section of the lands is a list of locations.” Eadwyre spoke as he unrolled the scroll and read it.

Rajn poked Aran who was sitting next to him.
,,The guy must be wacko. He keeps talking as if he’s two persons.” She snickered which gave her a stern look from ‘the guy’ and everyone else.
,,What?” She asked with feigned innocence.
,, Land of sand, Land guided by the moons, Land of roots, Land separated from all, Land at world’s end, Land of ice, Land uncharted, Land of curses. Eight in total. Nine if you count the unnamed land. All nice, but what do they refer to? What does the word ‘land’ refer to in this case?” Marsh repeated, ignoring the Bosmer.

,,Oh, I know. I know!” Once again everyone looked at Rajn.
,,If this is about our manner of speech, we would request that you remove yourself from this meeting at once.” King Eadwyre spoke with a sour expression.
,,That’s Valenwood!” Rajn said, not even bothering to try and translate what the old man had said.
,,Valenwood, how?” Barenziah joined the conversation, her curiosity triggered.
,,Simple. Land of roots. Valenwood is one big forest. Lots of plants not to mention big trees. Plants have roots, simple.”

Marsh gestured towards the king who gave back the scroll. The Argonian’s eyes flitted across the cryptic words.
,,Land of roots, Valenwood. That seems to fit. Each land refers to a province. It’s like a puzzle. Land of Ice, Skyrim. Land uncharted, that must be Argonia where no road survives long enough to be charted. Land of sands, Hammerfell or Elsweyr. All the others I don’t understand right now.” He spoke, drawing the link between the words and their meaning.

His eyes had now reached the paragraph above.
,, He who lives by the life of someone else, Unbound eye, Tooth of chaos, Ten suns of darkness, Mask of shame, Father of time’s flame, Wandering soul, Corrupted heart.” He mumbled. This paragraph was easier for him.
,,He who lives by the life of someone else. That’s me.” He revealed, closing his eyes.
,,Ria, I’m sorry. It should’ve been me who paid the price, not you.”

,,So, this is a list of the people involved? Too bad that there’s no ‘weird mumbler’.” Rajn said out loud.
,,That’s enough! Remove yourself, at once!” Eadwyre shouted, his patience had worn out. When the girl stood up, Aran reached out with his hand and pushed her back into her seat.
,,No, she stays.” He said, opening his mouth for the first time.
,,I know that she is hard to bear for you, king. That is intentional. She is bored and wants to leave. However, I think that she has a role to play here.” He continued, allowing no argument.
,,What, how? Let me go.” Rajn asked him, trying to break free from his iron grip. On the other side of the table, Marsh nodded.
,,Unbound eye.” He hissed.

This post has been edited by jack cloudy: Feb 24 2007, 09:22 PM