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

[Renee]

Now here is the second part of Joan's Tutorial story. Turns out the writing was going well for me detail-wise, which means there will be a Part III as well.


Morndas, 1:57 PM, Last Seed 27, 3E433



Stone walls, cool air, and darkness. It is so dark down here. Joan of Arkay sneaks slowly down a passageway, over some stairs, and emerges into a larger chamber. The sound of the people who just passed through her cell? These sounds can no longer be heard. Joan simply walked out of her cell, by means of a large hole in the wall; a hole opened by one of the soldiers who passed through.

As she sneaks along, her mind is confused and scattered, trying to make sense of it all.

Am I free from jail? Am I really free?

She does not remember why she was incarcerated in the first place. Probably, it had to do with an altercation she had with another citizen. This 'altercation' (an argument of faith) is the last thing Joan can remember before waking up in jail.

Might I need to serve the balance of my sentence? Whatever it may have been? And what of the soldiers up ahead? What of them? They are guiding the Emperor Uriel Septim through some sort of 'escape route'. ...And I am to follow them, with casualness and ease?

Joan's term had only consisted of a few minutes before the Emperor and his posse showed up.

They did not just make a showing, though, the Emperor stopped on his rendezvous. Stopped and had a chat. A chat with little ol' me!

The Emperor said many things to Joan, while the guards could barely hold their patience. A couple of these guards seemed ready to pounce upon her, should Uriel give his command. They wanted to kill her, she could see it in their eyes.

As Joan sneaks further and further into darkness, the air becomes cooler. Eventually she senses the presence of danger up ahead. A skittering of feet upon the stone floor. Wearing cheap clothes with no weapon to speak of, she readies her fists, and focuses her mind upon one of the only spells she knows.



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3:16 pm

SHING!

"Protect the Emperor!"
"OOOF! OOOH AAH!"

There's a battle up ahead! Joan hides back behind a wall for a moment, lest she be caught. But nobody notices her. They're too preoccupied by what appears to be an ambush of some sort. Red robed figures challenge the Emperor's guards, and these figures fall one by one. As they do so, Joan notices puffs of red mist burst into the air, as their spirits are claimed by Arkay.

"HAAA!" *clink!* "Jaaah!"

Suddenly, its over. The commotion is done. The Emperor and his guards gather for a moment and discuss their next move.

"We must keep going, sire!"

"Captain Renault... she's dead. I'm sorry...." says one of them. And more words are spoken while Joan hides in shadow, words that she can't hear from her hiding spot. Then, they all decide they'll press on ahead.

"They won't be the first to underestimate...." a Redguard's voice trails off.

"I'll take the front. Let's move!" says an Imperial.

Joan spends a moment cowering in the darkness. She's only wearing jail clothes and a pair of cheap sandals, after all. But she eventually gathers her courage, and sneaks forward once more. Then, a problem: one of the guards is up ahead, causing her to freeze.

Has he noticed her? ....Apparently not. After a minute he or so, he decides to move on.

squeak SQUEAK!

But Joan has other problems: the sound of a sewer rat up ahead, for instance. The guard may have missed her, but these rats do not. Stepping out of her crouching position, Joan readies one of the only spells she knows, and throws it.. FFFFWUUMM! ...she manages a direct hit on the first rat, killing it instantly. She misses the second rat, though.

SQUEAKSQUEAKSQUEAK

The rat jumps upon her shoulder, biting bare flesh.

"AGH! UGH!"

But after a few blows with her fists, she manages to kill the heathenish creature.

Joan leaves her fists bared, ready for more, but they do not come. Apparently, she is now alone. She puts her fists down, and crouches once again. But then, she remembers the other spell she knows from her schooling, one which would heal her back to full health. She focuses on this spell in her mind's eye, and nurses herself back with Mara's love.

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4:41 pm Joan comes upon fallen bodies, and finds several items she thinks she might need, just in case more enemies lie ahead: potions carried by the red-robed ambushers, and a torch as well. She'll definitely need this torch.

She also initially grabs an Akaviri-styled sword which must have belonged to the dead guard, "Captain Renault" had been her name. The craftsmanship of this particular sword is ornate, Joan can see. This isn't just a cheap item forged in an hour, whoever made it took some time.

"Purely pretty, stones and city, Arkay watcheth over thee. Can take ye a yard, take ye a mile. Buried, safe, and free"...

...Joan says, waving her hands in prayer over the fallen guard. Was this one of the guards who had wanted to kill her only an hour earlier? ... She doesn't know, and it does not matter now. After saying prayers, Joan places the guard's sword into her arms, and instead takes a lesser shortsword (one which had perhaps been forged in an hour) from this guard's belt.

5:31 pm
The torch she's found immediately comes in handy; Joan lights it and snuffs it, as situation calls. She comes to a door straight ahead, but this door is locked. The Emperor's crew must have gone through already, leaving her behind.

"Drats. What now?"

After wondering (once again) whether she should just go back to her cell, she notices a break in a nearby wall. It's a fissure that's been blasted through at some point, and Joan sees another chamber lies beyond. She manages to squeeze through the fissure, then quickly lights her torch, scanning the room for enemies. Not seeing any, she notices a low chest on her right.

This chest yields a small amount of gold and an axe. Joan takes the gold, but leaves the axe behind, already preferring her iron shortsword. After another rat-attack, she finds more items of use: a leather cuirass, armored boots, a gemstone, and several lockpicks. Joan barely knows how to use these devices of thievery, but she takes them anyways.

As she comes to a doorway, she finds something she's only read and heard about, but never seen: a goblin. Thank goodness he is not a live goblin; he looks as if he would have been fierce and merciless, had he been alive. Joan finds a key on this goblin, and takes a couple magical scrolls as well, just in case.

"Am I making this official, my break from jail?" Joan asks for guidance, still concerned about her sentence. "Here goes".



Joan opens the door, and steps through to darkness.

This post has been edited by Renee: Feb 3 2021, 07:36 PM