Crystal Fire, A Backalley Story Options

[Priest of Sithis]

Introduction:

In the days of Uriel Septim, there was a family living near the capital that would grow the finest vegetables this side of Vvardenfell. These vegetables, however, weren't widely known. The family was content, and the mother and father were proud of their son and daughter.

There came a day around the son's seventeenth birthday, that the father decided to share something with the family. So, that night, near their small fire, the family listened to what the father began to say. "It began as a competition," he said, "a competion, among gods. You see, the gods grew tired of their planes of Oblivion, and the Aedra were inquisitive as to how the Daedra were doing. So, before the creation of mer, the gods walked Mundus." The daughter was spellbound by the story, and the son cocked his head in interest. The mother smiled and lay back, closing her eyes in imagination.

"When the gods met, there was confusion, because the gods had no way of distinguishing who was better. They thought, Should the Daedra rule Aetherius, and the Aedra Oblivion? Who is to keep these boundaries in check? So they talked and schemed and one god, a certain Prince of Oblivion decided to make material objects to allow the borders never to be questioned." The father looked around, and each member of the family looked back at him.

"The gods wanted their own planes to themselves, but they wanted to be able to govern the soon to be mer, so they created Crystal Fire." The father emphasised the two words, and astonishment was written all over everyone in the family. "Crystal Fire allowed the gods to travel to any realm they desired, but, it was dangerous. So dangerous, that they had to hide it. An evil entity not part of the Divines or the Princes emerged, and he wanted Mundus for himself." The daughter asked, "Who emerged, father?" And the father simply replied, "Sithis."

"Sithis brought with him the Void, which swallowed everything into it. The gods were worried that Sithis would destroy everything that they had created, so they used Crystal Fire to seal Sithis off from Mundus. The rumor is, Sithis is circling just outside the stars, right now, ready to swallow you into the Void." After the last word, the father sprang at his daughter, and she jumped, then giggled as he hugged her close.

"You see, the gods were smart, even though they couldn't get along. They stopped an evil that could threaten everything." Then the father smiled and stopped. But the son, who was still interested, asked, "What did the gods do with the Crystal Fire, father?" The father looked back at his son and then looked at the fireplace. "Some say the gods destroyed it, but that wouldn't go with the story, now, would it? No, I believe the gods hid it on Mundus so Sithis would never find it and threaten the gods with the Void."
The father then said, "It is late, time to sleep," And he laid his daughter down by the fire. "I will see you all in the morning for your chores and breakfast. Goodnight," And he kissed his daughter on the forehead and went to sleep next to his wife.

[Priest of Sithis]

Chapter 3:
An In Between and a Promise

Brake shuffled down the stairs, and he started to fall. Catching himself, he slowly eased down into a lying position. Coughing and groaning, Brake tried to relax. First thing was first though, and he tried to remove the arrowhead from his back. It felt like fire running through his veins, and the pain lessened as more of the tip was removed. After removing the whole tip, the cold air blew against the open wound, and Brake grunted with pain.

About an hour later, Derrick returned back to the bookstore. Elle had worked famously, and had even succeeded in getting the guard's purse. The guard had asked her on a second date, and she said she was leaving town. At the guards' house, they talked in the hallway while Derrick "relieved" the guard of all his monetary possesions. Derrick had to stiffle his laughter at the weak attempts to get his sister into his bed. Elle played the innocent girl, and allowed the guard to kiss her. Derrick gave her the signal when the guard was pouring drinks, and Elle rendered the guard unconcious with a simple Sleep spell. She left him on his floor, wine spilled everywhere.

Elle told Derrick outside that she was going to stage the death of her character so the guard wouldn't be suspicious. Derrick muttered his compliance and said he was going to check on Brake back at the bookstore. If he wasn't there, he would go to Guro's. She kissed him on his forehead and they parted ways. Suspicion arouse in Derrick, however, when more guards that usual were in the streets, prowling around. He even noticed, by sheer luck, a camoflagued Agent from the Imperial Office snooping around the bookstore. Derrick stashed his clothes and walked up to the entrance of the bookstore.

Derrick was stoped at the entrance by a very mysterious looking guard. He had the Sigil of The Empire around his neck, and his sword was made by an expert craftsman. Derrick knew this was no time to fool around, so he laid the bag of "hot items" down at his feet and asked the guardsman the reason for the inquiry. The guardsman just looked at Derrick, told him this was no night to walk the streets alone, and bid him Emperor's grace. Derrick breathed a sigh of relief and entered the bookstore.

Brake was unconcsious when Derrick got to him, so Derrick laid Brake in his bed and went to find his sister, who was the magically oriented sibling. Derrick noticed the ring Brake had on, and it was the Seal of the Emperor, and Derrick gasped. This was no Ring of Forebearance, Brake had stolen a ring from the Emperor himself! Derrick began to panic and tried to wake Brake, but he could not. Derrick forced open Brake's mouth and poured a healing potion into Brake. Massaging Brake's throat to make him swallow, Brake's wounds closed up and the bleeding stopped. However, Brake still remained unconcious. Curious as to the condition Brake was in, Derrick donned a spare set of Nightcrawlers Brake wove and Derrick slipped into the night.

Elle found herself stopped by Imperial guards, and without a decent excuse for being out so late, found herself encarcerated. She was to be held there until the "vile scum" who stole the ring was hung. Elle moaned and pleaded, but nothing convinced the jailor. Deciding to force her way out, Elle froze the guard in ice and opened the locked door. Elle ran out of the jail into the night, and on her way out, set the building on fire. The jail was only a small wooden shack, and it burned with intensity. Elle then made a promise never to kill an innoncent upholder of justice again. She cried for the jailor, then ran off into the blackness.