My Little Dovahkiin: Wrath of the Damned

Chapters

Chapter 2 (R)
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14 (For real this time)
Chapter 1(R)

Chapter 2 (R)

Chapter 2

4E 202

The Rift, Skyrim. Somewhere southeast of Shor's Stone.

Barely 4 yards away from Isen, were 6 women. It wasn't the fact that they were women that surprised Isen, no, it was their clothes. Or lack of. These people were in the middle of the forest, naked. Pushing that fact aside (and at the same time trying to ignore the fact he was blushing a hot pink), Isen surveyed the 6 figures. They were sitting in a small clearing dotted with small amounts of shrubbery. The women themselves were quite unique as well.

The first one he sighted was about his age, maybe younger, and had dark indigo hair with pink highlights. Her eyes, violet in color, stared intently on a nearby tree; brow furrowed in a state of thought.

The next one had…wait a second. Isen rubbed his eyes and looked back at the girl. She had rainbow-colored hair! Who would have hair arranged in the colors of a rainbow?! Her eyes, at least, were a normal magenta. She also possessed long legs and, with the build and shape of her body, was definitely athletic.

The third one, leaning against a nearby tree, was tall. While the others reached the average height of an Imperial, this women was only 2 inches shorter than himself. The lady had blonde hair that was kept in a crude ponytail and was covered by…some sort of hat, he guessed? Her eyes were emerald in color, and her face bore hundreds of freckles. With the physical build of her arms and legs, she was a laborer of some sort.

The next one was probably the most beautiful women Isen ever laid eyes on. Her face was polished. Her Sapphire eyes held a seductive tone in them. Her curly, purple hair reached down to the small of her back. The curves of her body were just…wow!

Cursing silently, Isen slapped himself to get refocused.

The fifth girl was the most peculiar. Her hair was a solid, bright pink. Her eye color, however, was lost to Isen, as she continually skipped in a circle around the clearing. Drugs. Definitely some kind of narcotic was at work.

The last girl however, held his most attention.

She had beautiful teal eyes that shrank into pinpricks at every sound. Her flowing, pale pink hair draped over her left shoulder. She was very thin, with long arms and legs.

She was…beautiful.

Isen slowly started to approach when a sharp 'snap!' was heard. The 6 girls turned their heads at him, their brows raised in surprise.

'Well…damn.'

Twilight Sparkle was having a bad day. A really bad day. First, some weird portal appears in the middle of Ponyville. Next, the portal sucks in the surrounding objects. In this case: Twilight and all her friends. Finally, they all wake up in the middle of a forest in the bodies of sort of hairless ape. Now Applejack was having an argument with Rainbow Dash; Rarity was complaining about how the dirt would ruin her mane; Pinkie Pie was being…well, Pinkie Pie; and Fluttershy was cowering and on the verge of tears.

'Ug, why me of all ponies?' Twilight thought.

"Look, Twilight probably messed with another spell and transported us here." said Rainbow Dash, still carrying on the debate with Applejack.

Applejack frowned. "And Ah' say tha-"

Before A.J. could continue, a loud 'snap!' was heard from behind the girls. Everypony (Besides Fluttershy, who darted behind the nearest tree.) turned to face the source.

Standing before them was a figure clad in some sort of grey armor. From what Twilight could see, he was a hairless ape of the same species, be it burlier and larger. The majority of its face was covered by some sort of helmet with two horns spiraling downwards on the side of its head.

It was tall, even taller than Applejack, who, in her new form, was the largest amongst them. From beneath its helm she saw two dark blue orbs stared back in a state of surprise. Around its mouth, which was turned in a small frown, was what seemed to be a 5 o'clock shadow.

Then, the creature spoke.

"Well…damn." it said.

The girls, thinking it was talking to them, took offense. Applejack and Rainbow got into fighting stances while Twilight and the rest of the girls stepped back in surprise. It was, no doubt about it, sentient. And judging by the pitch and depth of the voice, it was male.

"Tell us who did this, pardner, and we'll take it easy on ya!" yelled Applejack, enticingly.

Rainbow Dash smirked and followed with, "Or are you too scared that we'll beat the hay out of you, ya oversized chicken?"

Before Twilight could warn Dash of the possible dangers, she noticed something. Looking over at the creature, she noticed its once confused expression went to one that produced giggling! Twilight had never known somepony who laughed in the face of Ponyville's two strongest residents.

Dash replaced her confidant smile with a look of puzzlement. "What did I say?" she asked.

The iron-clad figure then moved from giggling to straight out laughing! Twilight could hear Rarity ask, "What's so funny?"

The creature clutched his stomach as he looked at Pinkie. "It's just that all of you," he said gesturing to the six girls in front of him, "are out in the middle of the woods, butt-naked, I might add, challenging a complete stranger to battle without weapons!" At this, he started to cracking-up at the humor, doubling over and clutching his stomach.

As he continued to laugh, he failed to notice that Pinkie disappear in thin air and slowly rise from behind him.

"Hello! My name's Pinkie Pie! What's yours?!" Pinkie asked from behind the creature.

"BY THE EIGHT!" cried the surprised being, literally jumping a foot into the air, twisting to face Pinkie and pulling something off of his back in one swift motion. Twilight realized that it was a sword! He held at Pinkie in a threatening gesture, shaking rapidly in his grip. "How in Oblivion did you do that?!" he questioned her.

"Do what, silly?" replied Pinkie, still keeping on an innocent smile. She was just beaming at the hairless ape, which made Twilight more nervous every second.

Taking this as her cue, Twilight responded with: "It's just Pinkie Pie being Pinkie Pie. Don't worry." The ape slowly sheathed his sword and looked back at Twilight.

"Did you just say her name was Pinkie Pie?" It said incredulously. He started taking looks at the girls, probably making sure there was no real threat. He shook his head and muttered something along the lines of, "This day just keeps getting better and better."

Chapter 3

4E 202

The Rift, Skyrim. Somewhere southeast of Shor's Stone.

Silence was what followed. Isen was still suspicious of the women, but he decided to keep it to himself. The girls stood uneasily. The rainbow headed one shuffled her feet in the dirt. The blonde powerhouse whistled quietly and looked in every direction but forward. The purple-haired lady was looking over Isen, slightly frowning at intervals. The indigo one was most likely thinking about the current situation, trying to find a solution. The one referred to as 'Pinkie Pie' was still smiling, though she had taken a few steps back from him. The girl with the turquoise eyes was staring at from behind a tree.

Finally, the indigo-haired woman broke the silence.

"First off, who and what are you?" she said.

Isen was taken aback by this. How could these people not know what they were? Usually, narcotics only went as far as hallucinations. He couldn't pin it on alcohol. They would have to be more than just Sanguine Rose-drunk to forget what they are. He would know. And magic only went so far in the fields of memory loss.

"The name's Isen Storm-Rider. I'm a human, more specifically a Nord, just like you. Um…are you all right?" he responded. The other girls, turquoise-eyes included, began examining themselves in curiosity. 'I wonder what could do this.' He thought as he observed the girls' behavior. 'These poor women don't even know their own species.'

Looking back at Isen, the indigo-hair started biting her lip. "Well, 'Isen', could you perhaps tell us where in relation we are to Equestria?" she asked. Isen could tell she was uneasy, judging from both body language and the unsure look in her violet eyes.

"I don't know any hold or province in Tamriel by that name. You sure you're okay?" he said in a calming tone, trying desperately to calm the woman's tense nerves. He failed.

"WHAT!" she cried in fear. "How could you not know where Equestria is? I mean, come on! It's impossible for us to have transported to an entirely different dimen-!"

Before the rant reached its climax, the blonde lady interjected. "Could ya tell us where we are then, sugarcube?" she asked.

"You're in The Rift, the southeastern hold of Skyrim, which is the most northern province of Tamriel, the continent." He stated matter-of-factly.

The woman took this into contemplation. "Well, my name's Applejack. Pleasure to meet ya, Isen." She said. "Ya already know Pinkie Pie, the silly filly. Miss 'Fancy-Science' over here is Twiligh' Sparkle, and….well, Ah'll let the others introduce themselves."

Expecting this, rainbow-hair jumped at Isen. "My name is Rainbow Dash, the fastest thing alive!" she said smirking. As she approached, she tripped over a tree-stump, landing flat on her face. Isen stifled a laugh at the outtake.

'Dash' picked herself up as the purple-haired woman stepped forward. "My goodness, darling," she exclaimed. "You look absolutely dreadful in those rags. A strong…. well, whatever you are should deserve better garments. Oh, um, the name's Rarity by the way, dear." Isen flinched at this. Beautiful appearance, wealthy attitude, and a high-n'-mighty accent; she'd fit right in with the Imperial nobility.

The last girl was still hiding behind a tree. Doing his best not to scare her (She was obviously not a people person), Isen put on a reassuring smile and crouched down to eye level with the girl. "It's alright, friend. I'm not going hurt you. What's your name?"

The girl looked at him with fearful eyes, but after seeing his actions, eased up a little. She looked at the ground nervously and, in almost a whisper, said: "My n-n-name I-is Fl-fl-flutt…."

Isen slightly frowned. "I'm sorry, I didn't quite catch that. Could you say it again, please?"

"M-my name is Fl-fl-fluttershy." She repeated, this time ending it with a 'squee' sound.

Isen put his smile back on. "So your name is 'Fluttershy'?" he questioned. Fluttershy nodded in confirmation. At this, Isen stood up again and offered her a helping hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Fluttershy." He stated in a calm tone as to sooth her.

Fluttershy took the hand and was slowly raised to her unsteady feet. Still quivering, she walked over to her comrades while uttering, "Likewise."

Isen looked over the group. He was unsure what to do next. After a moment of thought, he made his decision. "Now that the formalities are out of the way," he stated. "How about we go back to my camp; get you girls something to wear." He pointed towards in the general direction of his camp. "It's right over there."

"And if we don't?" asked Twilight.

"Well, if the cold or starvation doesn't get you, then the wolves will."

As if on order, a loud 'howl' was heard.

After hearing this, Twilight visibly paled and took the other girls into a huddle, talking back and forth in hushed voices. Sometimes they would look at him or shift their feet. After a minute or two of this, they all faced him. "We'll go with you, but only if you answer our questions." said Twilight.

Isen gave a curt nod. Twilight gathered the 5 other girls and followed him as headed towards his campsite. Tonight was going to be a long night.

Chapter 4

4E 202

The Rift, Skyrim. Somewhere southeast of Shor's Stone.

Twilight and Isen exchanged questions and answers, respectively. What these appendages on their bodies were. What he was wearing. So on and so on. Twilight, however, kept two questions unanswered: Why they were no longer ponies and what could have brought them here. He wasn't ready to know the full truth.

'He'd probably freak out,' mused Twilight. 'Yelling about how we we're all mad.'

After a good hour's walk, they reached a small camp. Placed in the center of a small clearing was a large tent made of cloth with a single bedroll inside. In front of the shelter was a small campfire; stones arranged in a circle around a pile of logs. When they reached the site, Isen pulled off his iron helm and put it on a small boulder, revealing a head of midnight-black hair.

"I know it's not much, but it has been home for the past few days." He said, gesturing to the small setup. "Go ahead and make yourselves comfortable. I'm going to go see if I have any spare clothes; gets cold at night in these parts of the woods." At this, he entered his tent, leaving the 6 girls alone.

When he left, the girls took up seating arrangements: Twilight sat on a tree stump close to the fire; Applejack leaned back against a tree, lifting her legs against her chest, and pulling her Stetson hat over her face to catch a light snooze; Dash sat Indian-style on a boulder while surveying her new surroundings; Pinkie was skipping around merrily, occasionally saying something about 'parties' or 'cake'; Rarity took a seat cross-legged on the same boulder Isen had placed his helmet on, examining it from time to time; and Fluttershy, well, Fluttershy sat next to Dash's boulder while holding her legs up to her chest.

Twilight looked up at the darkening sky, wishing that she would get some real answers to her silent questions. She wished.

Isen looked over his belongings: A full set of Nordic steel armor (It was too small for him anyway), a set of hide armor minus the helmet, Novice mage robes that came with a hood and 3 pairs of leather boots, some travelling robes*, and a few clothes he had to change into. Satisfied with his inventory, Isen went out to give the girls their new wears. When he left the tent, he began to blush again. Giving clothes to a bunch of naked strangers was just too weird.

Starting with Twilight, Isen gave her the mage robes. It took a while to get a response from her, only getting one when he called her name. Next, he gave Rarity a white, long-sleeved shirt and a pair of stained black pants and boots. She opened her mouth to protest, but Isen threw her an 'I don't give a damn' glare, silencing her. He moved over to the still sleeping Applejack. He tried nudging her a few times to wake her, failing at each attempt. On the fifth nudge, she woke with a startled 'huh?' and regarded Isen for a second. He left the steel armor at her side as he moved on. Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash received the travelling robes and leather boots without as much as a reply.

Fluttershy was last. She looked up at Isen nervously. He regarded Fluttershy for a second. He didn't like the uneasiness in the air, but Fluttershy's fear towards him just made him feel uncomfortable. He handed her a pair of brown pants that reached to the ankles, a Forest green shirt, and some boots. She looked at him and put on a light smile. "Thank you, Isen." She said.

Returning the smile, Isen replied, "You're welcome."

Isen looked up at the sky. The sun was setting in the west, and the stars were just coming out. Walking over to the fire pit, Isen knelt down on one knee. He took of his gauntlets and stared at the logs before him. Tythis had helped a bit in his magic training, though he could work one spell. Clearing his mind, Isen saw miniature fire balls appear in both of his hands. Twilight glance at him for a second until she realized what she saw was really happening.

Twilight, along with the other girls, who had also noticed the fire, stared at Isen's hands with looks of awe. Focusing with all his might, Isen extended his arms as flames shot from his palms. The campfire cat light almost instantaneously, the air lightened up with bright orange flames, the logs crackling with heat. Silence then followed.

Twilight broke the mentioned silence with a look of surprise on her face. "Ho-ho-how did you do that?" she asked, her voice still yet to recover from the shock.

"Do what?" Isen replied.

"You shot flames from your hands!" chimed Rainbow Dash.

Isen got up, keeping his eyes on the Indigo-haired woman. "You asked if there was magic. You just saw an example." he stated.

"Do it again!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed. She was jumping up and down, giddy with excitement. The others slowly nodded their heads, sharing her enthusiasm.

"Sorry ladies, but my magicka's spent." he said frowning while he wiped sweat from his brow. Magicka was the main weapon in any mage's arsenal. From it, you could cast all sorts of spells. However, said magicka is spent easily with the most basic of spells. You could increase the amount of it in your body through either casting more spells or getting a seasoned mage to do it for you.

"What's magicka?" Applejack asked.

"I'll tell you some other time. Right now, we should eat; you girls look hungry." Isen replied.

Slowly, the crowd around the fire dispersed. Isen walked back to his tent. He had the provisions placed in a small knapsack in the far corner of the shelter. However, he didn't have any meat. He had to admit that he was a terrible hunter. He grabbed a few wooden bowls and the bag and returned outside.

Most of the girls had returned to their original sitting positions. Twilight was the only exception. She was staring intently at a small twig, arms extended as to reach out to it. She was trying to copy Isen's use of the flames spell.

He started approaching Twilight, as not to startle her. Beads of sweat were dripping down her face. As Isen got closer, he saw Twilight's brow furrowed in frustration.

"AARGH!"Twilight cried. "Why won't you light on fire? Just give me one stupid spark!"

"Calm down there, Archmage." Isen said as he walked up from to Twilight. "Magic isn't as simple as reaching your arms out and yelling 'burn!'."

Twilight gave him a pleading look. "Well, then how do I use magic?" she asked. "It's usually so easy for me to do. This is like when I first started learning how to use telekinesis, and that's probably the easiest spell to learn!"

Isen scratched the back of his head. "Well…I can only teach you the flames spell. That's about it."

Twilight nodded her head rapidly. Isen could tell she was more of the Mage type. 'Twilight would love to meet Tythis.' he thought. 'It would be like a bee to honey.'

"Okay, first," Isen began "close your eyes and clear your mind."

Twilight took a deep breath and did so.

Isen continued. "Now, picture a ball of fire in your mind. Feel its heat; its warmth. Imagine that you're in control of it, like you're commanding the flame."

Twilight flinched and a light frown formed on her face. Isen went through the exact same thing when he learned to cast flames. It was normal, but sometimes they thought a bit too hard. He still has burn marks from that.

Slowly, small sparks appeared in Twilight's hands. She felt the residual heat, and opened her eyes. She gasped. In her palms were swirling spheres of fire.

Isen smirked a little at the sight. The sheer pleasure in teaching someone a new skill overwhelmed him. No wonder Tythis became the Archmage.

"Thank you; thank you; thank you; thank you!" Twilight exclaimed, jumping up and down rapidly before Isen.

"No need to thank me. It's just one spell out of thousands of others." He replied.

He and Twilight made their way back to the campfire were the other girls were waiting patiently. Twilight joined them on the ground as Isen prepared a simple meal: Apple Cabbage stew. It wasn't the best dish out there, but it wasn't the worst, either. While Isen cooked, the girls would talk amongst one another. 'It wouldn't hurt to try some small talk' he thought, stealing a glance at Twilight.

"So," he began, catching everyone's attention. "What were you doing out here in the woods, scantily clad, might I add, with no weapons?"

Twilight looked at the ground. "If we tell you, do you promise not to freak out?"

"Why would I-"

"Do you promise?"

Isen sighed as he continued cooking the evening meal. He always kept his promises. It was something of a habit of his. He stared at Twilight, who was looking more uneasy every second.

"I promise." He said.

"Okay," replied Twilight, glancing at her 5 companions. "Well, the 5 of us come from a land called Equestria, where there are no humans, and is instead populated by ponies of three different subspecies: unicorns, pegusai, and earth ponies. Rarity and I are unicorns, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash are pegusai, and Pinkie Pie and Applejack are earth ponies."

Isen felt his heart skip a beat. They were what! He turned, prepared to accuse them of lying, but after seeing how serious they looked, he stopped. He couldn't find the right words to express his surprise. So, he had only one thing to say.

"Give me a second; I need some mead."

4E 202

Unknown location, Skyrim

The Dwemer. They were one of the world's greatest mysteries. These brilliant minds lived in huge underground cities, carving home out of the solid rock. But their greatest achievement was so much more impressive. They built giant machines of death, and small metal spiders to labor on for eternity. These metal monsters would protect their home with their lives. This made the dwemer city a grand fortress.

Or an impenetrable tomb.

This city, however, was the most remarkable. The city had been split in two by a large ravine. The rest of the city was covered in snow and icicles, as the cold had penetrated the great landmark through holes in the cave ceiling.

Down within the bowels of the great city, a lone figure stood, basking in the light given off by the torches that surrounded him. He was draped in a black cloak, his face hidden by a hood of the same color. The room was circular, the center shrouded in darkness, as the torches could not reach it. Behind the figure was a small alcove, also shrouded in an eerie shadow. This darkness, however, gave off whispers.

"Everything is falling into place, my faithful servant." said a deep, powerful voice.

The lone figure turned to face the alcove. The cloaked individual bowed, leaning his head downward as to not look at the alcove.

"Yes my lord. Your great plan is coming together. Shall I send out a detachment to retrieve them?" replied the figure.

A loud 'hmm' escaped the shadowed mass, the silence making it seem like it had come from everywhere at once. "No. Sometimes, my loyal servant, you must think much simpler. Send word to every bandit, necromancer, murderer, and assassin in the province. If they capture the package alive, then they are to be rewarded."

"My lord," said the figure, still bowing before the dark space. "If what you say is true, no normal mortal can capture them. It is impossible."

"Have faith in me, mortal. They are weak and pitiful. They will be easy to crush."

"Forgive me, my lord. I did not think. I shall send word." The figure replied, finally rising from his spot. It walked to the far side of the room and exited through a large metal door.

Once the servant had left, another figure appeared from the darkness to the alcove's right. It too was hooded, but glints of silver could be seen through the cloak.

"Nii Los Tiid, Kiir. Dreh Hin Heyv. Krii Fin Bron."

At these words, the other figure disappeared back into the darkness.

A while after the figure left, the alcove seemed to darken, whispers coming out more frantic and rushed then the last. "Yes," the voice said to no one in particular. "My plan is working. Where my idiot heir failed all those years ago, I shall finally succeed. The land shall quake. The seas shall froth. Everyone shall tremble and perish. Soon, I will succeed…and this time, no one can stop me." No sooner had he said this than deep, villainous laughter emitted from the alcove. The room shook, betraying its sturdy look and threatening to crumble, just how the world would crumble.

Chapter 5

4E 202

The Rift, Skyrim. At Isen's campsite.

Isen had come back with a couple of bottles of something he called 'mead'. Twilight was no expert, but she deduced that t was some sort of alcohol, as every time he took a sip, he would sway side-to-side for a second.

"Well," started Twilight. "I'll just start from the beginning."

Twilight then told Isen about the land of Equestria. How it was populated by three different species of ponies: Unicorns, Pegusai, and Earth ponies. She also told him of the lands rulers, Celestia, the Goddess of the sun, and Luna, the Goddess of the moon.

Twilight continued the tale by telling Isen of her adventures with the girls: The defeat of Nightmare Moon; the re-imprisonment of Discord, the spirit of Chaos and Disharmony; the banishment of the Changeling army; and last but not least, King Sombra's demise.

During the exchange, Isen paid rapt attention to Twilight's story like a school child. Her story seemed to peak the young Nord's interest significantly.

At the end of the tale, an uneasy silence fell over the camp. The girls glanced amongst themselves while Isen seemed to just sit there, staring at them as if they had grown a second head.

"Well," said Isen. "Had this been under…different circumstances, I would have called you crazy. But, after all the things I've seen, I can somewhat believe you."

"Then what'll make that trust complete?" replied Applejack.

"I have a friend," Isen said as he got up from his seat. "That runs a mage's collage, the 'Collage of Winterhold'. His name's Tythis Antioch. We've been friends since we were both children. If there is anyone who knows something about dimensional planes, it's him."

Twilight mulled this over. 'It would be nice to meet this guy,' she mused 'But then again, Isen seems a bit shady.' On one hand, she had the chance to experience foreign magic, but on the other, betrayal was always ever present.

After a while, Twilight stole glances to the other girls, who nodded their heads as if they had come to a silent agreement. They had made their decision.

"We'll come, but how do we now you won't try to harm us?"

Isen did a double take at Twilight's question. It felt…uncomfortable having someone not believe in his good intentions. However, he couldn't really blame them. Lydia is still pissed about him letting Sheogorath over for dinner one night. There are still some cheese crumbs in his boots.

"Look," Isen said, kneeling by the fire. "If I wanted to hurt you, I would've. But, above all things, I never hurt the innocent, no matter how much they deserve it. Unless they swing first, I don't swing back."

The only response the 6 women could give was a simple nod. After this, Rarity let out a quiet yawn.

"Well, if you're sleepy, you girls could have the tent. I'll…just find a soft patch of grass to lay on." said Isen.

Slowly, the girls all piled into the slightly cramped tent, leaving Isen alone in the night. He carefully extinguished the fire to avoid spreading any sparks. With the light source gone, the stars shined ever brighter, their majestic brilliance combing with the eerie green glow of an aurora borealis.

So, Isen unstrapped his sword and scabbard and placed them against the tree stump Twilight was lounging on. He soon found a soft patch of earth near the now ash-colored remains of the campfire and lied down. And, slowly but surely, the dreary darkness of sleep overtook him.

It was a beautiful morning in the woods. The birds were singing a grand tune; the sun shown in a majestic orange glow through the dense cover of pine trees; and the small, unimportant campsite was buzzing with activity.

Well, not so much buzzing.

Isen was darting left and right before the eyes of the 6 extra-dimensional women. At the moment, he was folding the tent into a small, enchanted, brown knapsack. 'Thank the Divines,' thought Isen, as he continued to pack the tent into the bag. 'That Tythis knows some good bag enchantments.' The pack, which indeed had been enchanted by the friendly Archmage to give to Isen as a birthday gift, had a unique bottomless-pit feature that allowed the user to stuff anything in there as long as it wasn't too heavy.

Breakfast had been served mere moments ago: a hearty meal of leftover apple cabbage stew and a side of somewhat fresh carrots. If Isen knew anything about horses…or ponies, in this case, was that they did not eat meat. Hopefully the girls wouldn't take it as too much of a shock if they saw a resident of Riften having a nice slice of venison.

Speaking of that, Riften was their current destination. Isen needed supplies if they were going to head north, and he was a bit short on food.

In almost no time at all, the merry party of 1 Nord warrior and 6 Nord/Imperial/Breton women were on the way to the capital of The Rift. All in all, the entire journey was taken in total silence. Only a few times did any of them speak, an exception being Rarity, especially Fluttershy, who just gazed around and admired the beauty of the forest.

'Aw, Riften,' Isen mused. 'Divines, it's been too long.' Having been born to a farmer, Isen would take regular trips to the Riften market to sell crops. He remembered that, one year, his father had bought an iron helm from the new smith, Balimund. It was too big for Isen's head, so it always flopped down over his eyes.

Memories aside, Isen was confident that they would reach the capital by noon.

However, Isen felt like something was wrong. He didn't leave anything at camp. So then what was it? He stopped, studying his surroundings with a scrutinizing look. The girls also stopped. Twilight approached Isen and put a tense hand on his shoulder.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"Something's not right. I don't know what, but I feel like something bad is about to just happened."

That left the girls in complete silence. The only thing the break the silent barrier was the howl of the wind and the song of nearby birds. Isen checked over his list. Wolves: no, they would have attacked already. A bear: he could have heard it a mile away. Bandi-

Isen's thoughts were interrupted by the sound of cracking branches. Instinctively, his hand tensed to his sword hilt, gripping it so hard that his knuckles were probably white from underneath his gauntlets.

"Well, look what we have here."

'Me and my big mouth.' Isen thought.

He whirled around in a blinding motion, his shield raised and his sword at the ready. The girls backed up. Before them was a tall male Redgaurd wearing hide armor and boots. He had a full-on black beard, hair tied in a loose knot at the base of his neck, green eyes, and a scar that ran over his left eye.

'Bandits'

Soon, other outlaws appeared from behind the pines. A short Bosmer wearing leather armor that had a long bow strapped to his back next to a quiver of arrows; a chubby Nord wearing a full set of armor similar to Isen, a large iron battle axe resting on his shoulder; and a dark-skinned Dunmer with a knotted, brown beard dressed in fur clothes and armed with an iron sword.

"I'll make you an offer Nord," the Redgaurd said, gesturing to his comrades. "Drop all your belongings, give us the girls, and we'll let you live."

Isen narrowed his eyes at the bandit. Four-on-one were not good odds for a normal man, but he was far from normal. "And I'll give you an offer, Redgaurd," he twirled Relentless in his hands with ease. "You leave, and I'll let you live."

The bandits gave off a hardy laugh. Here they were, 4 of them and one of him, and he threatened them? What an idiot!

Isen leaned over toward Twilight while the bandits continued their laughing fit. "On my mark, take the girls and run. Don't look back. Just keep going in south until you hit the roadside."

"But-"

"No 'buts'. I'll meet you at the road."

Twilight pondered this. This stranger had accepted the 6 of them with open arms, and they were going to leave him here to die? Twilight weakly nodded her head and rejoined the girls.

The bandit leader had recovered from his laughter and unsheathed his steel sword. "Oh, you have no idea what you've just done to yourself, Nord."

Isen glared at the outlaw, his dark blue eyes seemingly piercing the Redgaurd's soul. "Actually, I do have an idea."

In the blink of an eye, Isen spun around to face Twilight, and said one word.

"RUN!"

Rainbow Dash vaulted over another bush as she weaved her way through the undergrowth. She could still hear the sharp clanging of metal hitting metal in the distance. Hopefully, the noise would die down soon.

To Dash, it just felt wrong leaving Isen back there. He had been so kind to them, so generous, and now they were leaving him behind to his own devices.

'Pull it together, Dash!" she thought. 'The guy's probably got those bullies wrapped around his finger.'

Still, the constant argument in her head did little to calm her. She was the Element of Loyalty, darn it!

Soon, she finally made up her mind.

She went back.

Chapter 6

4E 202

The Rift, Skyrim. At the site of the bandit encounter.

Isen stood as still as a statue. His legs were spread to increase balance and equalize the pressure. His shield was held high so that his eyes peeked out from behind the shield. He experimentally twirled his sword around in his right hand, the iron gauntlet giving him a better grip. He could practically feel the adrenaline flow through his veins.

This was what Isen called, for a lack of better term, 'Battle sense'. At times, he seemed more aware in combat, and time would slow down when an enemy tried to land a deadly swing. He would usually blame it on his draconic soul, but until Tythis gave him a proper rundown, it was all just speculation.

The Dark Elf charged first, uttering a war cry as he raised his sword in the air. What an amateur.

Isen easily dodged the slow attack, hitting the Dunmer in-between the shoulder blades with the Relentless' hilt. The elf yelped in pain and dove straight into a tree.

Isen turned around just in time to see an arrow fly right by his face and impact a tree. The Wood Elf began knocking another arrow onto his bow. Isen capitalized on this and charged the short bandit.

The outlaw cowered in fear. Just before Isen could reach the Bosmer, the Redgaurd leader pounced upon him, knocking the Dovahkiin off his feet. He landed on the ground hard. The Redgaurd was just about to bring down his sword when Isen struck the bandit with the hilt of his sword.

While the bandit was stunned, Isen sunk his sword into the bandit's abdomen. A look of shock appeared on the Redgaurd's face. With a mighty heft, Isen kicked the dying man off of him, who hit the earth with a soft 'thud'.

Another battle cry sounded from behind Isen, and he turned in time to see that the fat Nord had decided to join the fight. Isen narrowly blocked the large axe as it came down on his head. The bandit charged Isen again, the top of the axe pointed forward. Isen tried to dodge, but he was too slow. He gasped as the blunt head of the battle axe hit his unarmored gut, his sword and shield flying out of his grip.

The Nord raised the battle axe above his head and brought it down in a chopping motion. In mid-chop, Isen grabbed the wooden shaft right below the blade of the axe. He huffed as he fought against the chubby Nord's strength. Isen reached out with his left hand and clocked the Nord in the jaw. Stunned, the fat man let go of the axe. Just as planned.

Isen took the iron-bladed battle axe in both hands, his grip firm. He then flipped the axe so that the spike opposite the blade was presented. Isen swung the blade horizontally at the stunned Nord. The bandit wailed in agony as the spike embedded itself in his left hip. Isen pulled the blade back out, flinging blood this way and that. He flipped the axe again so that the blade faced outward again. His swung again, this time hitting the bleeding man in gut. Isen didn't need to now the man was done for.

A sharp stinging pain shot up his arm. Isen turned around, finding an arrow lodged in his upper arm. Grunting, he pulled out the arrow, crimson liquid shooting up from the wound. Isen rolled to his shield and grasped the handle. In a quick motion, he not only deflected another arrow from the archer, but also an attack from the Dark Elf.

"FUS RO DAH!"

Applejack was searching all over for Rainbow Dash. The tomboyish Pegasus…wait, make that Nord, as Isen had once described, was always getting into trouble. The rest of the girls were stretched thin, also attempting to find the rainbow-headed Element of Loyalty.

Applejack had just finished another circle when a loud, thunderous 'boom' was heard, accompanied by the sound: 'FUS RO DAH.'

"Now what in the hayaaAHHHH!"

Applejack was interrupted as she was flung through the air at startling speeds. She continued screaming until her flight path took her into a tree. With a loud 'thump', she impacted the pine tree and hit the ground face first.

Applejack grunted and rubbed her head. 'Now what 'n tarnation was that?' she thought.

Concluding that Rainbow always went towards the action, she stood up went in the direction the force came from. Today was just frustrating.

The Dunmer cried in surprise as he was catapulted into the air and crashed into the Wood Elf. Isen quickly gripped the handle of his sword and charged at the dazed duo, stepping on the life-less form of the Redguard.

It was at this time that the Dark Elf decided to abandon his comrade, who shouted back at his fleeing friend. The Bosmer turned back to see the Dragonborn walking towards him. Reacting quickly, the elf pulled two iron daggers from the back of his belt. An un-foreseen obstacle.

While Wood Elves were known for their amazing archery skills, they also had unremarkable speed and agility. If the elf got too close to Isen with the daggers, he could be cut to ribbons.

Of course, that's just what happened…mostly.

Before Isen could raise his sword, the bandit was already upon him. The outlaw kicked at the bulkier man with ease and threw attacks that could barely be parried. Slowly but surely, Isen was forced back into a tree, giving him a small area in which to maneuver. The elf got below the Nord's guard and got a slice at the man's sword arm, leaving a long crimson trail up the forearm and close to the armpit, ignoring his opponent's heavily armored shoulder.

Isen yelped in pain and dropped Relentless onto the forest floor. The short adversary tried to capitalize on this, but found himself in a vice-like grip. The Bosmer dropped his daggers and clutched at his throat as Isen held the man with his bleeding arm. He reared back and sent the bandit into a tree, leaving the elf dazed.

Charging at break-neck speed, Isen slipped his hand out of the shields grip, and held it firmly by the iron rims. The Bosmer shook his head and looked up just in time to see a very angry Nord bring down his shield over the elf's head. Blood sprayed everywhere, coating dirt, rock, and wood alike in dark liquid.

Isen continued to bring his shield down on the unfortunate man. Blood spayed onto Isen's armor and helm, even temporarily blocking out his left eye. The short height of the elf kept the Bosmer from attacking Isen. Either that or the unbearable pain the elf was feeling. Soon enough, Isen heard the satisfying 'crack' of the bandit's skull caving in. Said man weakly clutched at Isen's boots until he stopped moving completely.

"Dear Celestia…"

Isen spun around to face the 6 un-deniably scared faces of his companions. Twilight stared blankly at Isen, tears running down her face. Rarity was sobbing into Applejack's neck, who was holding her odd hat loosely in her grip as she, too, cried softly; Pinkie Pie seemed darker and less…'bright', for lack of a better term as she stared at the Redgaurd's corpse. Her hair was no longer curled and fluffed up, and was instead completely straight, as if someone had deflated her. Rainbow Dash was trying, and failing, desperately to stop herself from crying.

But it was Fluttershy's look that broke Isen's heart. She was shaking violently as she surveyed the scene before her. She was gripping her upper arms so tightly that her knuckles were a bony white. She, unlike Dash, was crying openly, making Isen's heart almost stop.

Then, she bolted.

'I'll say it again: Damn.'

Fluttershy didn't stop running. She didn't stop when they called her name, and she didn't stop at the sound of twigs cracking behind her. All she knew was that she had to escape from him.

Fluttershy blinked away the tears clouding her vision. One false step and he would get her. She continued running through bush and bramble alike, tearing miniscule cuts through her brown pants and pricking her skin. She couldn't stop, so she could only wince.

Isen had seemed so nice at first. He gave Fluttershy and her friends food, clothes and even a place to sleep, and he had asked for nothing in return! He had stayed behind to protect them from those mean strangers, possibly risking his life in doing so.

But now Fluttershy had seen him differently. No longer was he a 'knight in shining armor' as she had heard Rarity had once quote. Now he was a monster.

He showed no sympathy for those strangers. He did not try to reason with them. He didn't even try to talk to them! Instead he…b-bu-butchered those nasty men like a lumberjack would fell a tree. He was brutal and efficient, killing them all like he had done it many times before. It seemed so easy for him to end those lives, lives that could have been reformed into good people.

Now Fluttershy saw him as a monster; a monster that killed like a machine, showing little to no emotion as he ended the lives of those who could be turned back to good, and Fluttershy knew exactly what to do when confronted with monsters:

RUN!

Chapter 7

The Rift, Skyrim.

"Fluttershy!" cried Isen. This seemed to snap the others from their stupor, as they soon began to piece this together. When Isen attempted to chase after Fluttershy, he was halted by Rainbow Dash.

"No way, pal! We're not letting you near Fluttershy!"

"I don't intend to hurt her!"

"Yeah, like you didn't intend to hurt them" Rainbow Dash hesitantly gestured to the dead bandits.

Isen held his resolve. "That was different! They attacked us! I was protecting you!" he replied.

Soon the other girls began to crowd Isen. Each one, except Pinkie Pie, were throwing him angry looks and yelling at him. Isen, meanwhile, was attempting to communicate with them, but was quickly shout out. Now, he was angry.

"EVERYONE JUST SHUT IT!"

The Nord's outburst fazed the women, and they backed away slowly. Isen resumed his chase with Fluttershy. That is, until he was stopped again by Applejack.

"Oh no ya' don't, pardner!" she cried. Swinging back her right leg, Applejack tried to deliver a solid kick to Isen's stomach. Applejack was the closest thing to a juggernaut a pony could get to. A solid buck from her could topple a tree. So naturally, what happened next surprised everyone.

In mid-swing, Isen caught A.J.'s leg like it was nothing but air, giving only a soft grunt when the kick's force transferred up his arm. Too stunned to react, Applejack was thrown to the ground unceremoniously, landing with a loud 'thud'.

The girls all gasped. It was…unnerving to see their strongest friend beaten by a simple catch. Applejack didn't even try to hide her surprise as she lay there, on the dirt, slack-jawed.

Isen bent down so he was in A.J.'s eyesight. He flexed his hands experimentally. "An advantage us humans have over ponies." He said dryly.

He took a quick glance at the girls and stood up. "Like I said back at camp," he said in a calm tone, "If I wanted to hurt you, I would have."

When he began to walk back into the undergrowth, Rainbow Dash didn't even try to stop him. Taking this as a sign of surrender, he frowned sadly, and bolted into the trees after Fluttershy.

Fluttershy was slowly running out of breath. Every step she took was more weighted than the last. She was sweating up a storm; she was practically swimming in her green shirt. Fluttershy dodged another pine in her path as she continued her sprint.

Her foot caught on a wayward root, and her vision flipped. Fluttershy yelped as pain cascaded down the side of her face. She clutched her head to ease the throbbing. Her hand came away bloody. Memories of the fight surged back to her conscious. The screams. The blood. Everything. How could anypony do such a thing? She felt a wave of sickness wash over her, and Fluttershy vomited bile onto the ground.

Sobbing quietly, she hobbled over to the nearest pine, and sat down, pulling her long legs up to her chest. Fluttershy just wanted to be alone for a while. Maybe the girls have come to their senses, and left Isen? She didn't know; the last thing she saw of them was Dash stopping Isen.

"Fluttershy!"

Isen, running at full speed, barreled into view. He was panting heavily, sweat running down his face. He surveyed the area until his gaze fell upon Fluttershy, who was quaking with fear. He stared at her. Fluttershy continued to stare back. No screams, yells, or whispers, just…a stare.

"Fluttershy…" Isen started.

Fluttershy shut her eyes tightly. "Why did you do it?" she asked in a voice barely above a whisper.

"Ju-"

Fluttershy glared at Isen, her teal eyes holding an angry stare at the Nord. "Why did you do it?'

"Well…," Isen took off his iron helm and placed it on the ground behind him. He dropped in a low crouch, getting to eye level with her. "Why do you think I did it? Tell me, Fluttershy."

"Because you like to…k-kill. You like causing pain to those who barely caused any to you."

Isen frowned a bit, looking at Fluttershy sympathetically. "You're wrong," he said after a moment, "I would never kill someone just because I can. I kill because this sick country makes me." Isen took one of Fluttershy's slender hands in his and squeezed.

Isen sighed and continued. "I know where you come from. From what I've heard, Equestria is the best gods-damned place anybody has ever heard of. No wars; no feuds; no political schemes. Any time something's gone wrong, six girls solve the problem just by wearing some jewelry. But this," he used his remaining hand to gesture to the forest, "Isn't Equestria. This is Skyrim, a land with more problems than the monarchy that once presided over it."

He stood up, dropping Fluttershy's hand. She looked up at Isen. "Why didn't you spare them? Why didn't you try to reason with them?" she asked.

Isen looked pained for a second, but was quickly replaced with one of hidden anger. "You can't reason with bandits," he said in an angry tone, "They are made by this country, same as I. They prey on the weak for gold and silver. They kill because they think it is fun, Fluttershy! My sister learned that the hard way!" he punched the nearest pine with all he had, making a small crack in the bark. He bellowed in pain as he grasped his sword arm.

Isen began to breathe deeply to calm himself down. He glanced back at Fluttershy, who was looking at Isen with fearful eyes. Isen crouched again and placed a hand on Fluttershy's shoulder.

"You can't spare them either," he said, "The second a bandit escapes, they think of what their next target will be. That's why I'm angry that one of them survived. I killed them because they were going to do worse to you and to the girls; things worse than death or any other punishment. And I was not about to let those bastards do anything to any of you."

Isen offered a hand to the pink-haired girl, who hesitantly took it. He raised Fluttershy to her feet and placed his hands on her shoulders. "Look at me."

Fluttershy looked up, and saw a look of determination on Isen's face.

"I swear," He said, "That if any sons of bitches try to hurt you and the girls, they'll have to go through me. I swear that if anything tries to hurt you and the girls, they'll have to mess with me. I swear that I will never, ever, hurt you and the girls for any reason whatsoever."

Fluttershy was surprised by this at first, but decided that it was better than to ask, and smiled. Isen smiled as well and patted her shoulder. His gaze then fell upon her head wound.

"You're hurt." He said.

"Just a bit. It's nothing, really."

"No, it's not 'nothing'. You could get infected." he replied. He took off his knapsack and began digging through it. Isen pulled out two glass bottles filled with a red liquid, stopped by corks. He handed a bottle to Fluttershy.

"Drink this." He said.

"What about you?" She asked, gazing over Isen's arm. In reply, Isen shook the other bottle.

Carefully, Fluttershy opened the bottle, and drank its contents. The syrupy substance tasted like moldy bread and sour milk mixed in a blender, making her gag a bit. Isen downed his concoction as well and coughed.

"I know it tastes like something from the Ratway, but look." He said. He pointed to his arm, where the wound was slowly closing up. Once fully sealed, Isen flexed his sword arm and winced at the slight pain. Fluttershy touched her head and gasped. Her wound was completely healed! Healing magic was one thing but this was something else. Isen smiled a bit and proceeded to pick up his helmet.

"Come on," Isen said "Let's head back."

Twilight was pacing back and forth like a madwoman. It had been a while since Isen had left, and Rainbow Dash was getting antsy. She, like the others, was not too keen on letting Isen go. When he got back, Dash was going to give him a verbal beat down.

"Enough," cried Dash, raising her fists to the sky. "I'm going after him. If he so much as poked Fluttershy, I'm gonna kick his flank!"

"Calm down, darling. I'm sure that she's alright. That…barbarian wouldn't dare to hurt her." replied Rarity.

"Um…girls…I'm right here."

At the sound of the voice, the six girls snapped their heads in the direction it came from. Fluttershy was standing with her hands behind her back, chin up with not a scratch on her. Pinkie Pie, in the heat of the moment, charged at her and took her in a bone-crushing embrace.

Fluttershy gasped loudly. Hearing this, Pinkie let her go carefully. "Glad to…see you…too, Pinkie." Fluttershy said between breaths.

Dash walked up to her old friend. "Where's Isen?" she asked cautiously.

"Right here."

Everyone, except Fluttershy, turned their heads to get a view of the speaker. Isen was standing completely still, muscles tense and ready if fighting were brake out. His face was a slab of stone, showing absolutely no emotions. Almost oblivious to the stares he was getting, Isen retrieved his sword and shield from the exact spot they were left at.

Dash pounced upon the man. The look on her face was clearly stating 'I'm going to kill you!' as she attempted to tackle the Nord, but was abruptly stopped when Fluttershy stepped between the two. "Stop!" she cried.

"But Fluttershy," pleaded Rainbow Dash, "This guy scared you half to death!"

"I know," replied Fluttershy after a moment of contemplation, "He scared me, but now I know why he was so…mean. Tell them Isen."

Said man repeated his entire speech, all the way from 'why' to 'whatsoever', only changing a few words to accommodate the others. Throughout the entire monologue, Isen's face remained stoic. The girls, however, were surprised that a po-…person that had killed three others moments ago, seemed so sincere. Of course, Dash didn't believe a word he said until he got the 'reasoning' part. She kind of lost her look when he said something 'bad' was going to happen to her and the girls. Dash and Applejack were the more protective ones of the group.

By the time Isen was finished, the girls were frozen in shock. They had been too presumptuous of the poor man, and had judged too quickly. As the saying goes, 'Never judge a book by its cover'. Twilight was the first to make amends.

"I'm sorry," she said. Twilight took a quick glance at the girls and continued, "We're all sorry. We were too quick to judge. We should have known it wasn't the same as Equestria, but we always hope."

"It's alright," Isen replied. He laid a gentle hand on Twilight's left shoulder, "People can be a bit ignorant at times. It's what makes us…sorry, bad example."

With that, Isen shooed the girls away and began building a funeral pyre. Sure, they were no good bandits, but it was the honorable thing to do. He grew up in a household that pretty much praised honor. To leave the bodies would be dishonorable…and might attract wolves.

When he was done, he heaved the three dead bodies onto the wooden altar. He took out a small prayer book out of his bag and summoned a ball of fire within his right hand. He set the pyre alight and said a quick prayer to Arkay, the God of Birth and Death.

After he finished, he rejoined the girls. They were uneasy, and Pinkie Pie was asking what the fire was for. Isen didn't give an answer. After a moment of reflection, he turned to the girls. "Any questions?" he asked.

"Ah have one, if ya' don't mind, Isen." said Applejack half-heartedly. The Nord nodded and asked her to continue. "Well, while Ah was searchin' for Dash, this here invisible force-thang threw me through the skah. Any idea wha' that was?"

Isen pondered this, and his eyes widened in shock as he hit a thought. "Might as well explain." He murmured. He sat down on a nearby rock and sighed. "I'm the Dragonborn. If I'm correct, I have the body of a mortal and the soul of a dragon. Having that, I can speak their language like you felt, Applejack. When a dragon breathes fire, it speaks. In Dragon, 'Fus Ro Dah' means 'Unrelenting Force.'"

The 6 women raised their eyebrows, and Applejack narrowed her eyes. She was the Element of Honesty, after all, and could root out the best of lies. Imagine her surprise when everything he said…was true! Isen took the silence as a sign to continue, and elaborated.

"At the moment, Skyrim is experiencing a small dragon problem, all the result of some Black-scaled dragon by the name of 'Alduin'. Apperently, I'm the only man that can stop him from enslaving all life in Tamriel."

"Why can't you just get along," asked Fluttershy, "Why can't…you know, make nice?"

Isen raised his hands, fists raised to the sky. "I don't have a damn clue," he exclaimed, "What we do to him?! What in the name of Oblivion did the mortals do to him?! I know that he's a dragon and all, but we did nothing!" Isen stopped his rant abruptly and contemplated something. "Oh," he said, "I just remembered something. The ancient Nords rebelled and tried to kill him. Please excuse everything I said earlier."

The 6 extra-dimensional females nodded slowly. Being a killer was one thing, but a complete nut? What have the girls gotten them into?

"Anyways," Isen said, "Riften shouldn't be too far off now. If we double-time it, we should make it there before half-past noon."

And with that, the small, dysfunctional party started walking.

Feykro Do Jun

The Brendon walked through the realm with a quick pace, the snow crunching under his heavy steps. The figure stood at and imposing 7 feet high and was covered in a black cloak and hood that encased his body in dark black cloth. The hands-or what was left of them- were what appeared to be covered in Daedric gauntlets, but on his right hand the metal covering the index finger and pinkie was crudely burned and gnashed at the lower part of the two joints, revealing bones the color of sand. In his hands, the man carried weapon of the unknown kind. It was odd looking, with the main body of an Ebony War hammer, almost the height of its user, and had what looked to be a single-edged blade made of Ebony attached at the top. The blade was completely straight, and, if one would combine both the length of the rod and blade, was 12 feet long. The man used the odd weapon like a walking stick.

The figure stopped and screened the area around him through the dark shadow of his hood. The Feykro Do Jun, or 'Forest of Light' in the common language, was a spectacular sight. The ground was covered in a sheet of the whitest snow, but small sparkles of blue and cold could be glimpsed through the thick blanket. The 'trees' were in the style of Eastern White Pine trees, with pale-white bark and crimson needles that almost resembled blood. It was an odd looking forest, but it looked normal.

It looked normal to the Brendon, at least.

Everywhere the figure looked, he saw tall pillars of light of different colors that stretched to the heavens. Some were thick and swirling, like a rampaging tornado ready to break loose at a moment's notice, while others were puny and thin but reaching for the sky none the less, like a taut fishing line.

For you see, this was no ordinary place. This was where it all came together; where the mages of Tamriel would draw their power, or at least some of it. The Forest of Light was the space between spaces. A land that doesn't exist, but at the same time, exists like a mortal exists. The pillars of fluorescent light were the Magicka 'fuel lines' of every man, woman, and child alive at the moment. When someone casts a spell, his or her Magicka line would light up like a roaring fire and send down a steady beam of the life-force to the caster for the duration of the spell.

That, however, was not why the Brendon was here. Julianos, the God of Knowledge and patron of mages, detected a disturbance in the western half of the Forest. The Divines may not know what it is, but the Brendon had a good hunch. When he came within sight of the area were the anomaly was detected, the figure spied a silhouette against a tall, thick pillar of Bluish-Gold light as the beam crackled and boomed like a thunderstorm.

'I knew it.'

The small clearing was dotted with small, red-leafed bushes and shrubs. The snow around the pillar had melted, revealing crimson grass. The figure was dressed in robes similar to the Brendon, only they were a red in color. The man was meditating, absorbing a sort of blue mist in the process. The mist would turn an eerie black as it reached the red-robed man, and disappear into the black, misty palm of the man's hands, which, along with the entire arm, was made of black fog.

"So the hunter has found the hunted." said the red-robed figure. The speaker's voice was like a thousand voices at once, all directed at the Brendon. The meditator hadn't even turned to face the watcher.

"So it would seem, but what sort of prey are you?" replied the black-robed man. His voice was deep and raspy, but his interrogative tone made it clear he was not here for a chat.

For what seemed like an eternity, the red figure slowly stood up. As he did, the crackling stopped, the blue mist retreated back to its source, and the red robes turned to face its counterpart. "A prey that could easily be your greatest enemy, should you continue to serve your so-called gods." the man said with venom dripping of every word.

"I told you before, cur," the black-clothed Brendon said menacingly, gripping his odd weapon with both hands as he did, "My duty is to protect, not to destroy, and I would most certainly not follow you, bastard."

The red figure waved one of its misty hands and made 'tsk-ing' noises. "Why serve when you could rule, Brendon. You could be in power once more. Rule armies like you did in the Time of Darkness. Or have the Chroniclers corrupted your mind with their vile lies?" he said.

"I reformed on my own free will. Those days are behind me, and I will never revert to those ways again."

The red man let lose a vile cackle with his multi-sounded voice. "You seem to forget that free will is weakness, my brother. The Master told you that, did he not?"

At the mention of the word 'Master', a violent wind blew through the forest and shook the trees to their roots. The black figure tilted his head slightly. "Who are you?" he asked.

"We go by many names, but one does come to mind. 'We are Legion, for we are many.'"

And with that, 'Legion' disappeared in a flurry of crimson robes and black mist, leaving the Brendon alone in a forest of White-barked Pine trees and pure white snow. The man shook his head slowly.

'Alone…always alone.'

Chapter 8

New Hierarchy, Aetherius.

The Brendon walked quickly through the great halls of the Hiemdok Ahrol Bastion. It was one of the man's favorite sights. The walls and ceilings of the repurposed castle were made of polished marble, accented with obsidian and gold pillars. He was fresh from the previous realm and he trailed snow through the hallways of the building.

Around him, Ikaris scribes conversed or sped off to their designated areas. The Ikarii were quite a sight. They could be classified as humanoids as they required oxygen, nutrients, and water and had hair, organs, et cetera. The Ikarii themselves, however, were identified as either 'Lesser' Ikarii and 'Greater' Ikarii.

Lesser Ikarii were around 6 feet tall and had…glowing skin. The color of said skin would vary from a grey-blue tone to bright gold, and, as mentioned, glowed somewhat like a fire. Most members of the subspecies are scribes and researchers, but a few could be seen in the army.

The Greater Ikarii held much resemblance to their genetic cousins. The difference being that the Greater Ikarii were 7 feet tall and had large, white wings on their backs that had an approximate wingspan of 6 feet. These Ikarii were most commonly placed in military service, as their strength was un-measurable compared to their lesser cousins.

Both of the subspecies had solid, glowing 'eyes' of many different colors, lived extremely long lives (Estimated to be about 500,000 years each), and would reach maturity at about 15 years of age. One of the most peculiar things, however, was that they did not have mouths. Instead eating normal food, the Ikarii absorbed magicka through parts of their skin. It was an odd way to get energy, but it sufficed.

Many of the scribes, dressed in dark-blue robes, glanced at the passing Brendon as strode towards the archives. He was an intimidating figure, no doubt, and the Lesser Ikarii would be no match to him. The guards, however, were a different story.

Each Ikaris warrior was heavily armored. It was styled after the Ebony armor the mortals forged, but was much bulkier and had a silver color. The gauntlets and boots were of the same make and color. On the right, left, front, and back of the waist line, the guardsmen had long, flowing pieces of white cloth, a foot wide, which reached to their shins. Grunts would usually have them bordered by gold, but ones worn by commanding officers would be trimmed with Navy-blue. The helmet was a more armored version of the Corinthian helms worn by the ancient Greeks of Earth, but devoid of the horse-hair crest.

Their armaments would commonly consist of a steel broadsword, a 7 foot spear, tipped with tempered steel, and a Navy-blue Kite shield that reached to the Ikaris' midsection. The soldiers were formidable foes, but still stood no match to the black-clad figure.

It was at this point that the man reached a two-way intersection, guarded by 3 Ikaris guardsmen, but one stood out from the 3. The Greater Ikaris blocking the doorway stood at 7 feet, and had a Navy-blue trim on his waist-piece and a Navy-blue horse-hair crest that ran vertically on top of the helm. It was an Ikaris Guardian.

'Shit.'

"Ifyou would ever so kindly get out of my way, Guardian Barkos, I'll try my best not to kill you." the Brendon asked.

Light-blue eyes stared from beneath the helm of the Guardian. "If I did that," the guard said in a deep, echoing voice. "I wouldn't get to watch you squirm. The only reason you're here, vermin, is because the old man wants to see you."

"You call Chronicler Ekar 'old man' one more time," threatened the Brendon, "and I'll rip out your heart and feed it to the Sabre Cats the next time I'm in Skyrim."

"You're as stupid as you are naïve, cur. Why I outta rip your eyes from their sockets." The soldier replied.

"Well, at least I don't have a brain the size of a cashew and job that has long hours, but at least doesn't pay in Horker testosterone. I still can't believe that you have problems getting girls. Perhaps of you weren't such a dumbass, you would have a lover by now. "

The man growled deeply and was about to upper-cut his opponent when a firm hand spun him around, and a sharp kick was delivered to his groin. As he fell to the ground, his massive build gave way to a Lesser Ikaris woman standing in the doorway. She was about 6 feet 5inches tall and wore the orange robes of a senior scribe. The woman had beautiful sapphire eyes and a light-pink skin tone. Her hair, dark-red in color, was shoulder length, and flung wildly in every direction.

"Guardian Barkos," the woman said in a light but commanding tone, "You were ordered to leave Brendon Dakarias alone. You are hereby relieved of your post and are to report to the Chief Medical Officer as soon as possible. You might want to get that wound looked at; I can deliver a strong kick."

Standing up slowly, and clutching his groin area whilst doing so, the soldier hesitantly saluted the woman. "Yes, ma'am," he said shakily, "I'll be on my way."

As the guard left, the woman motioned for Dakarias to follow her. The guards, afraid that they would receive the same punishment should they intervene, stepped out of the Brendon's way.

The senior scribe led the black cloaked man a good ways down the right hallway before stopping and staring into the black shadow of the man's hood. "Akrios," she said tiredly, "How many times have I told you to leave the guards alone?"

"Hey, there were three of them and one of me. It would have been a fair fight, considering they practice their sword-play often." Akrios replied coolly. "Besides, Kyla," he continued, "If I wanted to hurt them, I would have brought out Kythar."

"I still don't understand," she responded, "Why you name your weapon. Is it some sort of mortal thing?"

"A little bit. Now about earlier, that doesn't count as 'saving my ass', does it?"

Kyla contemplated this for a second before replying. "Well, if you count this," she pulled the collar of her robes down to reveal a long scar across the top of her chest, reaching to the shoulder, "As saving my life, then yes."

"Oh, come on! It wasn't my fault that Daedra almost gutted you. You're lucky that the other one was a terrible shot, or you would have lost an eye." the Brendon responded.

"Yes, and getting eaten whole by a Fire Drake and then having to cut your way out of the creatures stomach isn't bad? While I was dealing with that huge bastard, you were of killing Scamps, for Divines' sake!"

Akrios chuckled nervously and twiddled his thumbs. "Well, umm…you did volunteer to be the bait, so technically, it's not my fault." he said half-heartedly.

Kyla shook her head and lead Akrios to a large set of double doors. The handles were carved from gold, and the door itself was a dark marble color. Kyla opened the door and gestured for Akrios to enter. As he did, he was greeted to the sight of thousands upon thousands of bookcases lined up against marble walls. Each one was filled with hundreds of different volumes spanning from literature, poetry, history, and manuals. In the center hallway were sets of marble-topped tables with a single obsidian support underneath, which were also covered to the brink with books.

"Thank you, Miss Arrari, you may go now." boomed an old voice. As Kyla left, Akrios turned his head to the left and was greeted with an old, but familiar sight. A lesser Ikaris male, dressed in dark-green robes that were trimmed with gold, hobbled his way over-with the help of an intricately carved walking stick-to the hooded goliath. The elder stood at 6 feet 8 inches and had pale-yellow skin. His jade-colored eyes held much wisdom, and were almost hidden under a bushy set of eyebrows. Around were his mouth would be, the Ikaris had a long, white beard that reminded Akrios of the old Chinese emperors.

"Chronicler Ekar," Akrios said as he bowed slightly, "It has been too long."

The old man waved dismissively. "There is no need to address me as such, my old apprentice. We are no longer master and student, but two old acquaintances. But please, Akrios, there is no need for the hood when I am around." his voice was deep and raspy, like Akrios', but it held a commanding and inspiring aura that would put Talos to shame.

Akrios laughed a bit and swept back his hood. In an instant, the shadow spell dissipated, revealing a disturbing sight. A helmet, styled like that of an Ebony helm, sat atop the man's head. In the slits, two fluorescent-green eyes stared out, which released an odd, wavy smoke. The helmet was in bad shape; the right 'wing' was missing, the intricate silver carvings were tarnished and scratched, and a hair-line fracture ran down the left side of the helm.

"Oh, but you now the saying, Jeardah'han," the Brendon said in his raspy voice, "'Old habits die hard.'"

Indeed, it was a rare sight for the scribes in scholars in the library; a tall, threatening warrior speaking to an old man without worry. Jeardah'han Ekar was one of the prestigious Chroniclers, Ikarii men and women who devoted their lives to recording the history of all realms. Ekar was a learned scholar who paid great amounts of attention to the events in the realms of Gol and of Mundus.

"Indeed I do, but I did not summon you here to talk, Akrios. I did some researching on this 'Legion' fellow, and you would not believe of what I found."

Ekar led Dakarias through a labyrinth of bookshelves, turning this way and that until they arrived at a lone table in the heart of the Archives. The elder began searching through the nearby shelves, muttering to himself and throwing books this way and that. The Chronicler let lose a call of triumph and threw a book at Akrios, who caught it expertly. The Brendon stared at the cover of the leather-bound book and stared at the elder questioningly.

"The Christian Bible, sir?" he asked.

"Turn to the bookmark and start on the left side of the page, if you will." was the only response.

Doing so, the black-clothed man turned to a mark made out of green silk, and began to read. The man's eyes widened, and reread the page several times. "You have got to be kidding me, Jeardah'han." he said. The old Ikaris chuckled and took the book away from the man.

"In the Gospel of Mark 5:9, the Messiah, or Jesus Christ as he is commonly referred as, asked a man possessed by many demons his name. His reply was 'We are Legion, for we are many'. With this new evidence, I have come up with two theories. Either 'A', this 'Legion' fellow you encountered likes to read the Holy book or 'B'-" the Chronicler hinted.

"He knows of the other realms." Dakarias finished. Ekar nodded solemnly and put the book back on the shelf.

"If this man knows of the other realms, then we can be safe to assume that he has also visited them. Though in light of this new evidence, there arises another question: Why does this man bear such a name?" Jeardah'han asked.

"I guess you already have the answer?" the Brendon asked jokingly.

"Yes!" Ekar exclaimed. He motioned for Akrios to follow him as he led the goliath through yet another labyrinth till they came to a small circle in the archives. In the center of the space was a square obsidian table, about 2 feet wide and 3 feet tall, standing lonely in the middle of the arrangement. The two men took up spots on either side of the table, and Ekar took out a small, green vial, stopped by a cork, and placed it on the table top.

"This is a sample I had one of the new scribes collect from the 'crime scene.'" he said, and he un-stopped the bottle. From within the container came hundreds of small glowing strands of many different colors. Some were large, while others were like tiny strings. The lines seemed to form some sort of ball around five small spheres in the middle and orbited it like planets would around a sun. Akrios was left breathless, and Jeardah'han chuckled a bit before erupting in a coughing fit.

"This," the elder said, "Is a collection of magicka 'strings' that were found within the mist that Legion is made of. The center spheres, however, are binding stones." The Ikaris then proceeded to reach for the small central sphere, but was stopped as the every single ethereal string formed a 'wall' around Jeardah'han's supposed point of puncture. The Ikaris continued to try and break through the wall, but was repulsed every time. It was a solid wall of magic.

Nevertheless, the Chronicler took the vial in hand and summoned forth a ward spell in his remaining hand. The small ball of light erupted into a large shield, and the Ikaris attempted to force the mass of ethereal bonds into the bottle. He struggled momentarily, but was able to reseal the glass container with ease. Ekar turned to Akrios.

"At first, I thought we were going up against a possessed Ikaris. But by running that experiment, I came to a…troubling conclusion." the man said.

"And what is that, Ekar?"

The old Ikaris looked away from his old friend and steadied himself against a bookshelf. "We are not fighting a soul possessed," he said somberly, "We are fighting an abomination created by souls. No such body should exist in this realm. Such things are troubling."

The Chronicler looked toward his old apprentice, finding that Akrios was refusing to meet the old man's gaze. "Something troubles you, Akrios." Jeardah'han said tersely.

Akrios sighed, and glanced at his former master. "The construct…it talked to me before the encounter; in my mind. It asked me to betray you. I refused, and I thought I would never hear it again. But when I met it in the Forest, it…it knew of my past, Ekar; of Him."

A shocked expression took hold on the Chronicler's face. Jeardah'han Ekar stared at Akrios Dakarias with fear and shock in his eyes.

"Then we are not facing some Daedric Prince, Akrios. We're facing something worse…much worse. For the first time in many an age, we may have tampered with an enemy that we don't understand.

"That, my friend, scares me greatly."

Riften, Skyrim.

Isen and his six companions were now outside the gates of Riften. Isen smiled a bit as he remembered all the good times he had here. The bleak stone walls outlined a large oak gate guarded by two men. Next to the gate, two horses, corralled in a stabled, neighed and snort as their caretakers groomed them. The Dragonborn turned to face his fellow travelers.

"Now," he said, "Let's review: What are the translations for 'everypony, anypony, pony, ponies, and somepony in my world?"

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. "'Everybody, anybody, person, people, and somebody." she answered.

Isen nodded approvingly, and went on. "When someone asks you where you're from, what do you say?" he asked.

"Tha' we're a group of traders here ta' sell some sell some goods before we shove off ta' the next town." Applejack replied. Again, Isen nodded.

"What do you do," he asked, "If someone doesn't stop bothering you and smells like a shipment of Black-Briar mead?"

"Go tell a guard or find you." Twilight responded.

"Okay then, it looks like we're all set. When we enter the town, try to not talk to anyone unless you deem it necessary and don't ask someone what their Cutie Mark is. Never go into the canal, either; the place is crawling with lowlifes." Isen said as he led the girls towards the city. The body language of the guard indicated surprise, but they opened they opened the gate nonetheless, issuing their classic 'Welcome to Riften' line.

Inside the girls were greeted by the sight of a bustling town. The streets were crowded with merchants and traders selling all sorts of things: Armor, weapons, food, and clothes; you name it, they have it. People flocked through the streets, carrying bundles of who knows what in their arms. The building were all made of timber, and dotted the city here and there. One could see the Temple of Mara down their right, and the 'Bee and the Barb' inn on the other side of the canal.

Isen set the girls loose, and they dashed forward into the fray, but not before Isen told them to meet in the tavern (he pointed it out for them) before sunset. Rarity and Fluttershy, however, stayed at the Dragonborn's side.

"So," Rarity said, "Does everypo-one wear at this time clothes?"

Isen responded with a firm 'yes'.

"Well, is it common for one of you to not wear clothes? I mean, this stuff is just…horrid!"

Isen raised an eyebrow and cocked his head to the side. "Do the ponies of your world go around in the nude all the time?" he asked.

"Well," she replied, "We only wear clothes for special occasion; balls, parties, operas, and such."

Isen nodded and scratched his neck. "We do wear clothes when we leave the house, and we only take them off for only two reasons: when we bathe…" Isen blushed a bit before continuing. "Well…oh, how do I put this in the nicest terms…well…when a male and a female like each other very much…" he trailed off.

Rarity blushed fiercely before nervously giggling. "Oh…oh dear…well, I can see you're a bit touchy on the subject, but then why didn't you freak out when you first met us, darling?

"Because he's seen me in the nude enough times that he pretty much lost the will to care."

Isen, Rarity, and Fluttershy, who had stayed completely still and silent the entire time, turned to face a new figure. She was a tall Nord woman just under Isen's height with blonde hair and striking blue eyes. A discerning feature, however, was a bad limp in the woman's left leg. The Nord was dressed in the armor of a Riften guard: A coat of chainmail covered with a purple sash along the upper body, fur gloves and boots, and a shield, decorated with the Riften crest, strapped to her back. Isen smiled and took the Nord in a strong embrace, which she gladly returned. When the two pulled away, Isen laughed nervously.

"Ella," he said, "The only reason I undressed you those times was to save you from Hypothermia, Rockjoint, and various other illnesses. It was not my intention to undress you for the pleasure." he said.

Ella chuckled a bit before slapping the Nord's back. "I'm just messing with you, Isen. I still can't believe a single arrow could end my adventuring career."

"Well, surviving an arrow lodged in your knee and plummeting off a cliff into a river in the freezing winter at the same time is something to brag about in the gossip circles. Who could top that?" Isen replied jokingly.

"How about," Ella said while tapping her chin, "My cousin, who fought a Dragon near Ivarstead, my nephew, who made his family rich by going into that Nordic tomb, and my stepbrother, who experienced the same predicament as I?"

"You beat me…again."

Ella laughed heartedly and held the bridge of her nose. "Don't I always? Anyways, this Argonian is looking for you. He told he was friend of yours. He's over by Grelka's shop."

Isen thanked Ella before she went off, and strolled down to the main market area. It was a circle of five or so shops around a well, selling many different goods. Isen spotted a lonely beggar, and gave the poor man a fat coin purse before heading over to Madesi's jewelry stand. The Argonian was a cheery fellow, with green scales and yellow feathers rising from his head. Isen introduced the good merchant to Rarity, who, despite the man's odd appearance, hit it off as the two discussed the finer points of jewelry.

He asked Fluttershy to stay with Rarity for the moment, and then proceeded to Balimund's forge. The Nord was strongly built, with long blonde hair and Hazel eyes. The Blacksmith was dressed in simple pair of black pants and white shirt, accompanied by a black apron. The man's face was covered in soot, and his even skin tone made him appear nightmarish. The smith noticed Isen as he approached the forge and shook the Dragonborn's hand vigorously.

"Well," the smith said cheerfully, "Look what the Sabre Cat dragged in."

"It's good to see you too, Balimund. Is my order ready yet." responded Isen.

The forge master motioned for Isen to enter the shop. If Isen knew anything about Balimund, he could get more work done in less time, but with the same, if not better quality, than other smiths. When Isen exited the shop, he looked completely different. He was covered in shining steel armor, pauldrons and all. The gauntlets and boots were cuffed with fur, and had intricate carvings on them. The only thing he had kept the same was the iron helmet on his head.

Finally, Balimund handed the Nord a steel shield, braced with wood, and smiled. When Isen went to reach in his bag, the smith stopped him. "It's on the house, Isen. Besides, that iron set will fetch quite the price once they find out it was worn by the Dragonborn." the Blacksmith said. He glanced around the shop once more, before setting his gaze upon Isen. "Anything else?"

"Actually," Isen said slowly, "I'll take two steel swords."

Once Balimund retrieved the swords, the Dragonborn paid in gold and stuffed the weapon in his bag. Isen thanked the smith before heading back into the market, passing Rarity and Fluttershy, and stopping by a Lone figure. It was a male Argonian, clad in armor similar to Isen's, whose head was covered by a blue hood, revealing a green-scaled snout. Sheathed onto the Lizard's back was an ancient Nord Claymore, shining brilliantly in the light. On the creature's belt, two ancient Nordic daggers sat unused.

"Well, well, well," the Argonian said, "So the Dragonborn does do social work."

"Shut it, Connor."

Connor O'Drake simply chuckled and looked over the railing on the canal. "I was wondering when you would show up. The boss is getting antsy about her lack of outside intelligence."

"I thought she had a few more of you assassins covering Eastmarch and Haafingar?" Isen replied.

"She does," the Argonian said, leaning against the wooden railing, "But the boss can't spare enough men for the other holds. After what happened at Helgen, a lot of our guys shit their pants and left the country. You should have seen the boss when she heard this. Half of the base is in ashes and the new boys have the 'thousand-yard' stare"

Isen chuckled. "Well, how's business going at the moment?"

"Not good, but it could be worse."

"How so?" Isen asked.

Connor elbowed Isen's armored side and smiled, revealing two sets of sharp, white teeth. "Well, there could be fewer women."

The Dragonborn just sighed and shook his head. He did not doubt the Argonian's effectiveness in combat, but his lack of professionalism was concerning. "So, is Trinity in the know of this conversation?" he asked.

"My friend," Connor said smiling, "She's always in the know." And with that, the assassin leapt over the railing and into the lower canal.

Isen stayed there near the railing, gazing out towards the street. He loved this city. It was his home away from home. If he had one, that is. Fluttershy, always the quiet one, joined Isen at the railing and took in the Dragonborn's new gear.

"Um…Isen," she said in almost a whisper, "Before, you mentioned that you had a sister. Could you tell me about her…if that's alright?"

Isen frowned a bit and faced the girl. They had told Isen everything about them, so why not return the favor?

"Her name was Scilia. She was my older sister. Had short black hair, brown eyes, and was as sweet as honey." Isen smiled as he remembered her. How she always had a bang covering her right eye; how she would get the two of them food and money when their parents died. "Scilia was always the smart one. She was a good mage, too. What puzzled me was her sense of generosity. She used to be a healer in the city of Whiterun, and whenever she was done with a patient, she wouldn't take the payment. When I asked her why, she told me that 'my payment is the joy I see on their faces.'"

"Where is she now?" asked Fluttershy.

Isen gripped the edge of the railing so tight his knuckles turned a ghostly white. "She was killed when bandits raided the town she was staying in."

Fluttershy gasped and laid a hand on Isen's shoulder. He could feel a tear form in his eye as he recalled the funeral. He stayed at Scilia's grave for two days straight before the guards had to force him inside.

"I would have done anything to get her back," he said solemnly, "But part of being a man is to accept fate. If you try and force it, you'll face the consequences."

'And sometimes, those consequences can be too much to bare.'

Chapter 9

4E 202

The Rift, Skyrim.

"Do you like parties?"

"No."

"Do you like cakes?"

"No."

"Do you like surprises, because this one time-"

"For the last time girl, no! Would you please stop asking me?"

Isen sighed loudly as Pinkie Pie continued her relentless pestering of Sigaar. The carriage driver was on the brink of insanity after three hours of Pinkie's pleas for conversation. The small party had left Riften not too long ago, and Sigaar had been kind enough to take the seven of them to Shor's Stone. Not much had been said during the trip, besides the occasional conversation between the girls and Isen, or with the dour carriage driver.

The sun was glinting over the Birch trees as the carriage rocked on the gravel road. The horses, as Sigaar insisted that two horses be hitched, neighed and snorted in response to the slow turns of the reigns. It had taken awhile for the girls to get used to the horses, but they managed. Rainbow Dash and Applejack had fallen asleep half way through the journey, and Rarity was on the verge of sleep as well. Fluttershy was uncomfortably squished between Isen and Twilight, who was unceremoniously dragging Pinkie away from the driver. Fluttershy paid no mind, though, as her teal eyes scanned the forest, trying to spot any of The Rift's woodland creatures

Isen, on the other hand, was quite tense. Shor's Stone was not his favorite place to dwell. Two months ago, the town was assailed by a dragon, a Blood dragon to be precise, while the Dragonborn and Lydia were passing through. Isen managed to escape with only minor burns and gashes, but Lydia…

Well, the housecarl was lucky she could keep her leg.

Isen shivered as he pushed the memory back into the recesses of his mind. Such things were unpleasant to think about. Besides, he wouldn't want to jinx himself-

The horses stopped abruptly, neighing loudly and stopping their hooves on the gravel. Sigaar yelped and pulled the reigns hard. The girls were shaken from their stupor, and Isen quickly got out of the carriage, followed by the six women.

Isen put a hand on the hilt of his sword, the black leather cool to his touch. "What's wrong?" he asked.

"I don't know. The horses must be getting bothered by something." Sigaar answered worryingly. The driver scanned the tree line while Isen, most importantly, searched the sky.

Pinkie Pie then, to the amazement of the two Nords, began twitching rapidly. The eyes of the onlookers widened, and Twilight gasped loudly.

"Oh dear…" she whispered.

Isen crept to Twilight's side and removed his helmet. "What's she doing?"

"Pinkie sense." Twilight responded. She looked for a second longer before locking her violet eyes with Isen's dark-blue ones, "Something's going to fall."

CRACK

Isen and his seven companions cast their gazes to the sky as they beheld a truly frightening sight: a massive pine tree falling from the heavens. The Dragonborn threw Sigaar to the side and used his shout to move the girls away from the carriage, before pulling of his shield and crouching before it. The great pine crashed violently into the carriage reducing the wagon to splinters. The horses, somehow unharmed, broke free from the wreckage and sped off into the forest, their driver not far behind. Isen's shield was pockmarked with splinters. The Nord got up cautiously and unsheathed his sword.

"RWAAAR!"

Isen's heart sank into his stomach. Once again, he yelled for the girls to run, before a plume of earth and ravel erupted from behind him. Isen gulped loudly and slowly turned to his rear. Two green, reptilian eyes greeted him.

A dragon, a Blood dragon, Isen observed, breathed deeply as it raised its head upward. The beast was a massive figure of green scales and sharp teeth, filled with the almost primal urge to kill. The fin that ran across the beasts head was torn, and its scales were blanketed it scars. The dragon began to laugh before preparing to attack the Dragonborn. It reared its head, about to strike-

"STOP!"

Both Isen and the dragon froze before turning their heads to the side. Fluttershy was standing firm on the side of the rode, giving the creepiest glare Isen had ever seen to the gargantuan beast in front of him. To Isen's amazement, though, the Blood dragon actually whimpered!

The beast began to back off under Fluttershy's withering glare. It seemed genuinely frightened by the girl, and Isen stood still in shock at the revelation.

"What gives you the right to attack my friends and scare off the driver?" Fluttershy questioned in a voice that sounded nothing like an angry soldier, as Isen had predicted, but more like a mother scolding her child.

The dragon said something in its language and looked to the side for a moment. Fluttershy seemed undeterred. "But what gives you the right to attack my friends?" she asked.

The beast closed its eyes before muttering incoherently. It yelled ferociously and opened its eyes. The once green spheres were now a completely black, like the eyes had been taken from their sockets. That's when Isen heard it. A sound he heard whenever he fought these creatures, the absence of air in front of the Blood dragon's gaping maw.

'Fire breath.'

Isen ran full tilt at Fluttershy before knocking her out of the dragon's range. The Nord raised his steel shield before the creature let loose its flame. Isen could barely hold back the raging tide of fire. His feet slid on the gravel as he struggled to find his footing. Sweat beaded down his face. The intense flames were burning the shield up!

The monster finally relented and roared louder. Isen found himself just outside the creatures range and came up with an idea.

A terribly unorthodox idea.

Isen raised his shield once more as his battle sense once again flooded through him. A slim grin was plastered on his face as he yelled one quick word.

"WULD!"

Isen was catapulted forward, the land around him blurring as he accelerated towards the Blood dragon. A forceful impact shook the Nord to his core, and he was thrown backward by the blast. The dragon was rearing its head back in pain, blood flowing freely from its nostrils. The dragon's nose was obviously broken by the impact, and Isen used this confusion to his advantage.

Running forward, Isen was about to jump upon the beasts neck before being hit by its tail. The steel armor did little to keep the wind from being knocked of Isen, and he connected fiercely with a tree. Isen's ears were ringing and his vision swam. It wasn't too serious of a wound, he knew that, but it didn't mean it wasn't painful. When he regained his vision, Isen saw the dragon's head flying forward, mouth open, revealing two sets of steel-sharp teeth. His sword and shield lay somewhere on the road, and he had yet to recover from his last shout, so the Nord had only one option.

Meet the dragon head-on.

Uttering the fiercest war cry he could muster, Isen charged forth toward the monster made of bones and scales. The beast roared with renewed vigor and accelerated its charge, its black, empty eyes reaching into its opponent's soul. Isen, however, gave no sign of fear as he charged, doubling his speed as well.

At the last moment, Isen vaulted over the dragon's nose and hung on to the beasts head fin. The Blood dragon tried to shake the Dragonborn off, but Isen held on with all his life. Pulling himself up, Isen moved onto the top of the dragons head. The creature roared louder and continued to shake, and it did just what Isen predicted. With a great heft of its wings, the dragon rose into the air the way a hawk would do. It soared ever higher as Isen's grip grew tighter.

"OH, BY ALL THAT IS HOLY, WHY?!" screamed the unfortunate Nord. The single passenger struggled to find purchase on the dragon's smooth, green scales, but was able to grab onto the beasts fin once more. Isen was the least courageous member of his family. By Oblivion, he could go as far as saying his old horse was braver then him! Besides, how can you be a hero when you're afraid of heights? With this sudden revelation, Isen yelled at the top of his lung and did another stupid act: he began punching the dragon's right eye. Isen had lost all notions of logic, basically running on adrenaline and blind fear. The dragon hollered in pain and wavered at every punch. It struggled to keep its flight path but to no avail.

The Isen reared his fist back and committed the last of his strength to a haymaker; a powerful haymaker. The dragon's eye caved in under the power of the attack, and the black abyss exploded in blood and gore. The creature hollered in agony and began descending at a rapid pace to the ground. It was at this moment, and no moment before, that Isen finally realized his grave error. The dragon was going to fall to the earth, and with all likelihood, die. In addition, Isen so happened to be riding said dragon. The same dragon that was about to fall to the earth…and die. So, what was the genius and devilish idea that first came to mind in the hero's head?

'Oh shit I'm going to die.'

His screams synchronizing with the great dragon's cries, Isen held on for dear life as he rode, for a lack of better term, the beast into the ground. Time seemed to slow down as the duo began reaching the tree line, and at the sudden, jolting impact, Isen's world went black.

Twilight Sparkle was known for her relative calmness under stress, and was always a rational thinker at times of great panic. However, this was not one of those times. She and the girls had watched the exchange between Isen and the dragon until they both disappeared into the clouds. The beast wasn't as large as the dragon's in Equestria, but it possessed not only its own language (which Twilight would waste no time deciphering at the soonest possible moment), but also, somehow, has the ability to resist Fluttershy's infamous stare.

Studies aside, Twilight also saw another example of Isen's shouting abilities, orThu'ums as they were technically named. This one was quite different than Isen's previous shout, and instead of forcing enemies away, catapulted the user forward. It was puzzling to her that one shout contained three words and the other had only one. Perhaps they were attained in the physical realm, and not the magical void.

The most alarming thing, however, was that Isen had disappeared into the clouds with the dragon. If Isen was a Pegasus, he would be able to achieve such a feat, but according to the dreadful screams and the apparent lack of flight for any of Mundus' humanoid life, Isen was in quite the situation.

As the screams began to grow louder, the six women looked to the sky in hope to find their friend. They all gasped, though, when they sighted both Isen and the dragon plummeting to the ground.

"What was he thinking!" exclaimed Rainbow Dash, worry evident in her voice.

"Twiligh', can ya' use one a' your spells to stop them?" questioned Applejack.

"Isen only taught me how to use the flames spell," cried Twilight, "We never got to telekinesis or anything else!"

"Well wha' about-"

Before Applejack could finish the thought, the ground shook as if an earthquake had pounced upon them. The earth a few yards before them erupted in a pillar of dirt, leaves, and gravel. The ground had turned into dust that loomed over the crash site like a storm. The six women could feel their hearts jump into their chests as they awaited either Isen's tall, brawny build, or the green-scaled mass of the dragon.

An echoing 'boom' resounded through the trees, and a cough was heard in the distance. The girls looked at the cloud of dust. Chest plate scratched and splattered with blood, dented helmet in hand, and limping terribly, Isen shambled over to the small group. But that was not all. Following the Nord were six tendrils of orange and blue, twisting and twirling through the air before rapping themselves around Isen in an aura. As the dust cleared, Twilight spotted the dragon, or what remained of it. Gone were the piercing black eyes, green scales, and large tail, and was instead a pile of bones that lay motionless on the ground. It looked as if it was never alive to begin with.

Isen slowly got to the group before falling into the arms of his six companions. The odd aura that had surrounded the Nord was gone, and the Twilight could get a better look at the mess Isen had become. His face was bruised in multiple areas and showed weariness like Twilight had never encountered. A trickle of crimson ran from the top of his forehead to the corner of his likewise bleeding mouth. His armor was spattered with blood-be it Isen's or the dragon's, Twilight couldn't be sure-and was dented in many areas. The Nord's helmet was missing a horn, and was dented and worn. At the sight of the poor Nord, Rarity and Fluttershy had almost fainted, had the adrenaline of the encounter worn of.

"Now," said Isen, catching his breath for a mere moment, "Let's get going."

Night was the most peaceful time of the day for Isen, though it was as cold as an Ice Wraith's innards. All he had to do was rest and relax. He and his small party had made camp near one of the hot springs close not far from the Black River. Here the girls had spent the rest of the day taking a bath (or as Rarity called it, a 'spa') in the warm water. It didn't really bother the Nord that much, but they could have at least warned him. Isen didn't know what was more awkward: being a hero to an ungrateful bunch of revolutionists, or traveling with the least decent women in Skyrim.

However, Isen had more things to worry about then his indecent company. His leg had been broken by the rough landing, and after teaching Twilight how to cast a quick restoration spell, was now as dead as a log. It at least numbed the pain, but it didn't heal the leg. His helmet was now just scrap, and his shield was half melted by the intense heat of the fire. The only metals that survived were his sword and his steel armor.

Pulling the red-wool blanket closer, Isen bent over the tree stump he was currently using as a table. Before him lay his trusty map, which had surprisingly come out unscathed by the dragon's attack. With a lantern in hand, he studied the route he and the girls would be traveling. Hugging close to the Velothi Mountains to the east, the small band of travelers would cross at the mouth of the White River before the Stormcloaks could make notice and would follow the Northern coast until reaching Winterhold.

There were, however, many dangers still on the path. After purchasing all of the necessary supplies, the Nord had already identified every possible danger, but had two main scenarios. Stormcloak patrols had been cracking down in the east since the dragon's showed up. They were not overly friendly to Isen, and since that little accident in Dawnstar…

Well, it was just and unpleasant thought.

The next, and most dangerous, were dragons. Since the whole black-eyes encounter, Isen had become a little paranoid. If dragons could now do that, what other tricks could they perform? That dragon was the strongest Isen had faced in months, and if that new power could be used by the larger variants, then the Dragonborn would be in for a ride.

Perhaps the oddest sight however, was Fluttershy's simple but effective tactic. Not only had she understood the dragon language, something that the Dragonborn could not, but scared it into submission for a short time. Isen quietly reminded himself to not get on Fluttershy's bad side again.

Isen heard a rustle in the dark, and he sighted Fluttershy tip-toeing towards him. She was dressed in her brown pants and green shirt Isen had imparted to her, and was cloaked in a blue-wool blanket similar to Isen's. Fluttershy had been the most worried of the girls about Isen's condition (as well as the angriest, as he had actually killed the dragon). To an extent, she even helped with his injuries, as Fluttershy had helped treat the smaller cuts and bruises with a natural solvent, instead of healing potions.

"So, what are you doing…if-if you don't mind telling me." Fluttershy asked sheepishly.

Isen chuckled a bit at his companion's antics before turning his attention back to his map. "At the moment, I'm laying out the route for the rest of the journey."

He traced the path with his finger to demonstrate, but Fluttershy remained a bit confused. "Why don't we pass through these mountains?" she questioned, pointing to a strip of land north of Whiterun that went to a mountain range near Windhelm; the White Shore.

"Because," Isen started, "It's the main roadway from here, Whiterun," he pointed at the horse-head sigil of the trade city, "To Windhelm." He pointed at the bear-head coat-of-arms of the port town. "Right now, Skyrim is imbued in a civil war because Ulfric Stormcloak, the Jarl, or governor, of Windhelm, killed High King Torygg, the ruler of Skyrim, in a challenge of leadership. After the king's death, the Empire, the main governing body of Tamriel, moved in to restore order to the province. Some of the Nord's opposed the Empire, and formed under Ulfric's banner to create the Stormcloak army. If we move through the White Shore, not only will we face dragons and bandits, but possibly Stormcloak and Imperial troops as well."

Fluttershy wore a face of understanding. It was all new to her, but she caught on pretty quick. "So," she said slowly, "Whose side are you on…if you don't mind."

"No one's side, really. I agree that Skyrim should be free, but not under them Supremacist rule of Ulfric. He believes that, and I quote, 'that Nords, and Nords alone, deserve Skyrim. We fought, bled, and died for this country, so why should we give others shelter if they took no part?'"

Isen sighed as he recalled all the 'alluring' recruitment slogans he heard in Winterhold. He really disliked Ulfric. Isen didn't hate the man's premise, just his beliefs. "As for the Empire," the Nord continued, "My father left the Imperial army after the Great War and the signing of the White-Gold concordant. He actually met my mother during the battle of Bravil…sorry I went off track there. Anyway, my dad was never a Talos worshipper to begin with, so I could care less about that, but when the Imperials aligned themselves with the Dominion, who are a bunch of elven supremacists, my parents took great offence. I was raised, pretty much, on an anti-imperial life."

Fluttershy pulled her blanket closer as she pondered the information, and looked back at Isen. "What were your parents like?"

Isen felt his heart sink into his stomach at those words. He didn't really like the topic, as his parents had died years before. However, if he was going to gain the trust of the six girls, then he would have to give up some secrets.

"W-well," Isen stuttered, "My father's name was Halkir, and he was a soldier through and through. He joined the Imperial Legion when he was of conscripting age. When the Great War, a war between the Aldmeri Dominion and the Empire, came about, he was rushing to the front lines before detachment formed up; he even met General Jonna himself, the lucky bastard. Well, when the Nord Legions took Bravil, which is a town, my father saved an Imperial by the name of Giovanna Morelius from a Thalmor attacker. After the war ended, my father left the Legion and reconnected with Giovanna, and a couple years later, they got married. They were the nicest parents a child could have: loving, understanding, but a bit too overprotective and biased when it came to elves. However, one day, they never came home."

Isen's face grew glum and morose in the light of the lantern. "Some guards found their bodies in the lake a couple days later. My sister and I ran away and met up with Tythis and his parents, and we lived with them."

Isen looked up at Fluttershy to see her reaction, and was met with a sad sight. Fluttershy was sniffling a bit, and tears were starting to form in her eyes. "I'm sorry I-I asked, Isen." she said softly.

"Hey, it was never a problem. It's just a bit…tense, if you know what I mean."

Instead of getting a reply, the Nord felt a quick peck on his cheek. Isen looked up in surprise, and saw Fluttershy's face turn the same color as her hair. She quickly retreated back into the darkness of night before Isen could respond.

Said Nord could hardly believe it. He could expect being kissed by his mother, his sister even, but a stranger he met a day before? It was unwonted sure, but in way, Isen liked it. He smiled a bit before looking back at his map. Then, his lantern went out.

'What the-'

And a flash of blue and brown was the last thing Isen saw before the darkness consumed him.

4E 202

Velothi Mountains Outpost, Skyrim.

With unmatched haste Connor O'Drake barreled past any and all obstacles in his path. The assassins around him looked on with curiosity as the Argonian sprinted through the hallways of the repurposed castle nestled into the Velothi mountain range.

He could hardly be blamed for the incident. Connor was tired, and he only closed his eyes for a moment, but sure enough, they were gone.

All seven of them.

'By Stendarr, Trinity is going to kill me for this.' He mused as crashed through the large double doors at the end of the hallway. Inside the room sat another Argonian with green-blue scales with black scales around its searching eyes. It was taller than your average Nord, and had a lean build that stood out on the figure.

Connor rushed past the Argonian before he was stopped by a strong hand. "Hold it there friend," the tall Argonian said calmly in a deep voice, "What's your business with the boss?"

Connor stared up at his kinsman with steely eyes. "It's my business, Komodo, not yours."

Despite this, Komodo stared with renewed power at the smaller lizard. In a flash, Komodo's eyes widened and his jaw fell. "You have got to be kidding me…"

Connor broke eye contact with the larger assassin and sheepishly twiddled his thumbs. "The Stormcloaks got Isen."

Chapter 10

4E 202

Eastmarch, Skyrim.

Isen groaned as he regained his vision. He felt something cover his mouth, and was unsure of his surroundings, but one thing was certain: his leg was healed. Pain no longer coursed through, and was instead replaced by a drought of stiffness and numbness. He must have been paralyzed with Frostbite venom.

The next thought that raced through his mind was the girls. Had Isen's captors also got to his companions? Did they somehow escape? Isen didn't know, but the fact that he wasn't dead meant that he was of use to his captors. As his vision stabilized, Isen found himself gazing down at a stone floor, covered in soot and dirt. Looking to his immediate sides, he found two men dressed in chainmail covered by a dark-blue sash. Their faces were hidden by guard helmets.

'Oh no.'

"I was wondering when you would wake up, Dragonborn." said thickly-accented voice.

Now, Isen had made many an enemy in his lifetime. Perhaps it could have been the Dark Brotherhood, or maybe the Vampire of Brittleshin Pass, but only one sick son of a bitch held the most annoying voice Isen had ever heard:

Ulfric Stormcloak.

Twilight Sparkle was a living legend back home. She had faced the Queen of Darkness, the spirit of Chaos, and the Empress of Deceit. Ponies would say that she wasn't afraid of anything; that she was invincible, but there was one thing Twilight had found both new, and incredibly terrifying:

A hostage situation.

When Twilight had woken up, she found herself in a dark, reeking room that smelled of week-old garbage, a gag across her face. Her hands and feet were tied to a simple wooden chair, as were her friends, whose chairs had been arranged in a circle. When they woke (and inevitably caused a commotion), three big, burly men in guard armor stalked over to them, their expressions hidden under helmets. At first, it wasn't too bad; they taunt them a bit and inspect them. Son, more guards came over and mingled with their comrades…

And that's when trouble started to brew.

The guards started messing with Rarity's hair, and said seamstress screamed indignantly through her gag, but was overall ignored. Applejack had delivered a solid head-butt when a wiry captor tried to touch her, and was given a painful broken nose in return. Some of the guards began placing bets to see who would get the 'first go' at her. Rainbow Dash tried feebly to break through her bonds, muttering every swear word she knew, but stopped her attempts when a huge captor stared down at her. Fluttershy was perhaps the most pitiful. She had begun whimpering when she woke up, and the newfound attention brought by the men made the shy mare break. Pinkie Pie had attempted to make conversation with the captors, but was harshly silenced by one of them.

The twenty or so guards then began to shout at each other over 'who would get who', and started attacking their friends with whatever was available: fists, shields, even a sword on occasion. Too busy watching the mass brawl before her, Twilight missed Dash look to the ceiling and let out a muffled gasp. Landing as silent as a cat, a tall, armored figure dropped down in between the girls and the fight before them. The first thing to catch the librarian's eye was the fact that said figure had a green tail. It looked like a male, but most of its figure was hidden under a weirdly-styled set of armor made of grey shards and brown cloth.

The newcomer whistled loudly to get the attention of the guards, who froze in whatever position they were in. "Now boys," the he said menacingly, "I suggest you walk away before someone gets killed."

The fighters, not getting the message, charged at the trespasser with their makeshift weapons and dove upon him. Said trespasser charged as well, unsheathing two odd-looking daggers as he did. He ran into the midst of the guards and disappeared from Twilights sight. Fearing the worst, Twilight looked away from the fight, but her gaze was forced back at the fray when a blood-curdling scream reached her ears.

The newcomer was holding his own against the swarm of guards, his daggers inflicting wound after wound upon them. Twilight could now see that the combatant resembled something like a dragon from Equestria, but shorter and wingless. The girls were mesmerized by his fluid motions, once vaulting over the wiry guard that had punched Applejack and using the poor sob as a meat shield to absorb the blows; gruesome, but effective.

Now there were only three guards remaining, the others having fallen to the lizard-like creature's blades. The large guard that had intimidated Dash charged at the lizard-man with a heavy battle axe. As the guard swung his weapon down, Bill (Twilight decided to name the creature 'Bill') grabbed the axe's shaft by both 'claws' and tripped the larger fighter by kicking into the back of the guards knee. The unfortunate fighter fell to the ground with a mighty 'thump' and yelped. Bill swung the axe down on to the man, lobbing off the head in a single swing. It took every ounce of Twilights will to not puke. The second guard uttered a war cry and charged at Bill while his back was turned. Unsurprised, Bill threw down the axe and countered his opponent by grabbing the challenger by the belt and collar, and driving him into the ground. A wet 'snap' was heard, and the guard fell lifeless to the floor. The last guard standing looked nervously at his fallen comrades dropped his tiny dagger made for the doorway, flailing his arms about as he did.

Bill chuckled and looked at the five (Fluttershy was too busy cowering in fear) wide-eyed girls before him. "Sorry about my less-than perfect entrance, ladies. Komodo's the name," he paused for a second before taking his one of his daggers and throwing across the room into the back of the fleeing guard. 'Komodo' cracked his knuckles and looked back at the girls. "And getting you out of here is my game."

There he sat; Ulfric Stormcloak, the usurper king, king slayer, and stout Nordic rebel. His chestnut hair was braided and swooped back and his goatee was prominent on his face. Ulfric wore his trademark grey fur coat with black undergarments. His blue eyes shined like pools of water. Next to 'his majesty' was Ulfric's lapdog, Galmar Stone-Fist, standing erect and alert, brandishing his battle axe.

Isen struggled against the grip of his two handlers and swore, but his muffled curses fell on deaf ears. Ulfric flicked a braid of his long hair behind his ear and tugged on his fur coat as he stood up from his throne. "You know, deep down Isen, we are kindred spirits you and I."

'You wish milk-drinker.'

"We both hate the Empire-"

'But I don't condone violence against them.'

"We both want to see an independent Skyrim-"

'Not under your rule, I don't'

"And we both fight 'til the end, just like your father."

Isen yelled another insult at the usurper through his gag and slumped down. Ulfric's grin widened and he continued his speech. "You see Isen, we can work together. We can rid Skyrim the Empire and install a new power that will rival even Talos' kingdom. Join the Stormcloaks, and we can see that happen."

Isen shook his head furiously and looked around the room for any points of escape. Ulfric frowned and knelt down before Isen. "I was afraid it would come to this." he said, "Since you don't seem to care about the greater cause, I guess your friends are of no use to me."

Isen's eyes grew to the size of saucers and he looked at the now smiling Ulfric Stormcloak. "Oh yes," Ulfric said, as giddy as a child, "Your little friends are here too, and if you don't help me…well, the soldiers do need someone to produce a suitable heir for them."

'Oh you-'

Isen screamed out in rage and yanked against his captors, cursing now that the bastard had gone back to his throne again. One of the guards hit Isen in the back of his unarmored head, and he was dazed for a second. However, out of the corner of his eye, Isen spotted something unusual. The guards near the left wing hallway were slumped up against the wall like ragdolls. Come to think of it, they didn't look like they were even slumped against the wall. Isen pondered this for a second before smiling under his gag. Ulfric frowned slightly and sat forward on his throne, wondereing what Isen found humorous. His question was soon answered.

In a blink of an eye, the two bodies were thrown to the side by an invisible force, and steel arrow's seemed to grow out of the necks of Isen's handlers. Afterwards, two figures materialized in the spot the disguised guards once 'stood'. One figure Isen recognized as steel armor-wearing Connor, the Argonian proudly wielding his ancient Nordic. The other Isen did not now. It was a woman 5' 9'' in height, her lithe form betraying her gender. She wore a black hood and cape, and her face was covered by a black mask, revealing only two blood-red eyes. The female assassin wore a black, short sleeved tunic and form -fitting black pants that led down to steel boots like Isen's, but were instead made of black steel, repeating on her gauntlets as well. . A bandolier ran across the woman's chest, holding several daggers and a quiver for steel arrows at her hip. In her hands was a simple long bow, the string drawn back and ready to fire at any moment.

Connor moved to intercept the other Stormcloaks by the main door, crashing one onto the long dining table and beheading the other. Isen removed his gag and took in a deep breath as the female assassin shot Ulfric in the shoulder and repeated the courtesy to Galmar. When the two failed to respond, Isen saw the woman drop a small green vial to the floor as she turned to help Connor.

'Paralysis poisons.' Isen deduced. Whoever these were, they didn't want the rebels dead.

Isen turned back in time to see an unfamiliar Argonian in strange armor throw Isen's sword at him. Isen caught the scabbard of Relentless and proceeded to black the downward-striking swing of a Stormcloak soldier. Drawing his weapon, the Nord thrust his sword into the Stormcloak's unarmored side. The man cried out in pain as the steel bit his flesh, and slumped in Isen's grip. The new Argonian came back with the Dragonborn's shield and knapsack, an Isen equipped them with haste. Out of the corner of his eye, the Nord saw the happiest thing in his life: the six unharmed (but most likely mentally scarred) women whom he was charged with. With renewed spirit, Isen called for the girls and beckoned them to follow him. Their smiles were of great relief to him, and he charged out to fight the Stromcloaks by the door. Connor and his counterpart shredded through the rebel defense, and they soon cut a way through to the large double doors. Spotting the escape route, the female assassin withdrew two small spheroids from her bandolier and hurled them to the floor.

In an instant, Isen's vision was replaced by grey smoke. He coughed violently before he felt someone grip the collar of his armor. He was then hurled through the air and into the double doors that blocked their escape. Cold air rushed to meet Isen as he crashed through the entryway and onto the stone street. Being grabbed again, Isen was forced onto his feet and saw the new Argonian towering over him. The assassin flashed him a toothy grin and ran to a concealed alley on the left. Connor, his associate, and the six panicking girls followed shortly after, and Isen sprinted after them when a patrol of guards coming his way.

Isen found himself on an overpass in the Grey Quarter of Windhelm, his allies holding off guards while the female archer set light to an oil-covered arrow. Hearing footsteps behind him, Isen turned to face the patrol he had ran from and stood ready to attack. One guard tried to slash at Isen's shoulder, but the attack was blocked by Isen's shield. The attacker was stunned for a moment, and Isen used the confusion to stab the Stormcloak in the neck, blood gushing from the wound. Isen glanced back in time to see the woman fire the flaming arrow into the grey morning sky. He couldn't look on though, as another guard came to engage him. The war hammer-wielding assailant sent a jolting strike down onto Isen's shield. Isen felt his arm almost break under the attack, but it held firm allowing him to parry a second attack. The soldier thrust the butt-end of his weapon into the Isen's knee, forcing the Nord to tumble. His allies could not help him, and his arms were pinned by the soldier's superior strength. As the hammer was reared back, Isen tried a last ditch effort.

"FU-"

Before Isen finished his shout, he noticed that the guard was stationary. The guard made no signs of movement. Then the Nord saw the miracle that saved him. A steel arrow was lodged in the side of the guard's neck, blood dripping from the wound. Isen rolled to avoid the falling corpse and saw that the other attackers were similarly dead.

He stood up and expected to face the female assassin that had rescued him, but was greeted by empty air. Instead, Isen spotted the three assassins and his six companions running along the Grey Quarter rooftops. Before them, on top of the west wall of the city, were five hooded figure with bows, sniping nearby guards. As arrows whizzed by his head, Isen began to run as well, hopping along the wooden roofs like a rabbit. Arrows continued to fly near him, one pinging of his armor. When Isen came close to the wall, an assassin reached out his or her hand. Reacting quickly, Isen took it and was pulled over the stone barrier. Then Isen found himself plummeting to the snowy ground. As he rushed to the ground, he felt a calm aura wash over him, like a river flowing over a rock.

Then, his vision went black.

Northern Eastmarch, Skyrim.

Twilight had been sitting in the spacious, damp cave for nearly an hour, and Isen had yet to wake up. Fluttershy had been checking up on him few times, but nothing seemed to stir the unconscious Nord. Reactions to the rescuers among the six were pretty mixed: Applejack had been keeping up a conversation with Komodo for a while now, the farmer usually questioning the lizard-man about how he was so strong for a pon-person with his build. Rarity, who had spent most of the time complaining about the current conditions, took to criticizing their attire. Rainbow Dash was in an 'arm-wrestling' competition with a grey-skinned humanoid and had lost all but two rounds. Pinkie Pie had been insisting on hosting a 'Thank you for saving us' party for the people, but was turned down. Meanwhile, Fluttershy was in a discussion with a short woman about the healing qualities of potions.

The saviors themselves were quite odd. They wore apparel that exposed them to the cold elements outside and were armed to the teeth. Seven of them had bows and another nine had what Twilight guessed were short swords, but they all carried a curved blade that reminded her of the katanas worn by the guards in Neighpon; the only difference being that all of them were black hilted and were in a black scabbard.

Instead of asking them about it, Twilight busied herself with an interesting conversation with whom Twilight assumed to be the leader.

"Illusion magic is unique in its own way." The woman said through her thick accent. Twilight couldn't read the woman's expression through her mask, but the two red eyes showed focus. "It takes more training than Restoration and is not as easy to learn as Destruction. It took me five years to learn it by myself, but it paid out in the end."

"Why by yourself? Was there no one to teach you?" Twilight questioned.

"Yes. I was in captivity for most of my childhood, but after five years of experimentation, I mastered an invisibility spell. One day, when a guard came to feed me, I snuck into a corner and used the spell. As he came in to fine me I snuck up behind him, grabbed his sword," the woman made a slashing motion across her neck, "And cut his throat."

"That's probably the weakest guard I've heard of." came a tired voice. Everyone it the room turned their heads to see a fatigued Isen stand up from his spot. His head was wrapped in bandages and his arm was slumped at his side. He looked at the woman next to Twilight and smiled.

"So who may I thank for the rescue, because Connor couldn't have possibly have staged that."

A short lizard-man objected and sent the whole room into a fit of laughter. When it subsided, the leader stood up and moved toward Isen. "You can thank me." The woman said as she removed her hood and mask.

She was a strikingly beautiful woman. Her auburn hair reached to her shoulders and covered most of her left eye. The most noticeable feature though was the strange markings surrounding her right eye. It showed a circle with the head of an eagle, lion, and dragon at intervals, like a snake eating itself. Over each head was an arrow of a different color; gold, blue, and red, respectively. A line formed a circle that meted up with the base of the arrows, making a double image.

Isen chuckled and went to shake the woman's hand. "Never pegged you as the leading type, Trinity." he said.

Trinity shook her head and held out her hand. "Payment first, reunion later." was her short reply. Isen rolled his eyes and reached into his knapsack. Twilight expected gold to be exchanged, and was earnestly surprised when Isen pulled out a knife! The Nord removed the steel gauntlet from his right hand and cut the bare flesh in a quick stroke. In an act that shocked the girls, Trinity took hold of Isen's hand and began drinking the blood from the resulting wound. After a few seconds, Trinity stopped and licked her lips. "Ren himmel." she said after a few moments.

"Still speaking old Nordic, I see."

"Always have been." replied the woman.

It was at this point that Trinity noticed the confused looks of the looks of the six women spectators. She smiled sheepishly and wiped some blood from her mouth. "I almost forgot to introduce myself. The name's Trinity Bjornstad, leader of the Kommendera av den Blӧdning Ek," Trinity smiled widely, revealing two sharp teeth on the top of her mouth, "And deadliest vampiric assassin this side of the Jerall Mountains."

"Vampire!" cried Rarity. The other girls seemed equally as worried. Having a killer amongst them was a big no. Isen saw the worried looks on the girls and stepped in to reassure them.

"Hey, she's not going to hurt you. She helped us get out, so the least you can do is hear her out."

"B-but she drank your blood! What keeps her from drinking our blood? And she killed all those people. Why didn't she reason with them?" rebutted Fluttershy, who was now hiding behind the tall form of Applejack. Trinity rubbed her eyes and gritted her teeth. She huffed indignantly and started shaking. Isen cursed himself; she was having a temper flare.

"Because they were more likely to rape and kill you than to actually listen to some gud-tuomita kadotukseen reason!" she screamed. Fluttershy whimpered and ran behind Rainbow Dash.

Dash, quite pissed at the way Trinity replied to Fluttershy, responded. "Hey! That doesn't give you the right to-"

She wasn't able to get far in her argument when the angry assassin turned to her. "Oh, it gives plenty of tuomita kadotukseen reason to be angry," yelled Trinity, "I am a vampire. That means I can't stand in the sun, go near garlic, and now I have to drink blood to keep me from going rabid! So don't tell me 'I have no right', because I have plenty of-" before she could go any further, Isen violently spun her around and punched her right in the nose. Her head flung back and she went limp for a second before regaining her footing. Trinity cracked her nose, which was most likely broken, and took in a deep breath.

"Sorry about that." She said sadly, "I have anger management issues." She sighed and looked at the blank-faced Nord before her and smiled sheepishly, flinging a stray hair out of her eye.

"So," the vampire said, "Where were we?"

Unknown, Skyrim

Legion paced wildly around the small room he called home. It was a tiny little area that had once been a Dwemer library, but most of the books were in tatters. It suited Legion as it constantly searched for knowledge. This desire puzzled the construct. It always wondered why its thirst was never quenched.

"Oh, who knows?" Legion whispered in his multi-voiced tone.

The doors to the small chamber were then opened by a hooded figure. It kneeled before the construct and looked up at its crimson figure. "The dragon was unable to defeat them, my lord. The Nord with them is the Dovahkiin of legend." the man spoke frantically.

"I know, Yahkiil. It was merely a test. A wise man once said that 'If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat.'"*

Yahkiil showed no signs of understanding and instead pressed the argument. "Because of that little stunt, Nachtmar has been severely weakened! It will take weeks for him to recover!"

Legion grabbed the man's neck and lifted the mortal off the ground. The construct closed the distance between them until it could see the mortal's terrified face. "Do you take me for a fool?! I knew the risks well before you did. I will secure the Bearers by any means necessary, even if it means sacrificing Albtraum's powers!"

Legion dropped the terrified man and waved a black, misty hand toward the door. On cue, two guards in silver Daedric armor moved behind Yahkiil. "Now," said the construct, "Prepare the Black Sacrament. The Brotherhood is our best chance of success now."

Yahkiil stood up slowly and bowed before his master. "But my lord, who will be the sacrifice?" he asked nervously.

The sick laughter of a thousand voices filled the small room as Legion raised an open palm in the air. "You will suffice." Legion said as it closed its palm. Yahkiil screamed one last time before his world was darkened forever.

Chapter 11

4E 202

Winterhold, Skyrim.

Twilight cautiously stroked the mane of her mount. The 'horse', as Isen called it, was surprisingly similar to an Earth pony, but was larger and less intelligent. Her mount was a grey stallion with a beautiful black mane. Learning how to ride the creatures was the greatest challenge. Every time Twilight had made an attempt to mount the beast, she either fallen off or gotten on backwards.

The rest of the party was also mounted. Isen and Trinity rode at point, the two 'Argonians', Komodo and Connor, at the flanks, a short assassin at the rear, and the six girls in the center. It was difficult riding in the north, as fast winds and cold temperatures made the life of the riders terrible. The unfortunate group had been caught in a mid-day blizzard not far from their destination, a town called Winterhold. From what Isen had told them, the college there was institute of magic, and the Archmage there would be most likely be able to help.

Speaking of help, Trinity and her colleagues agreed to help the six lost girls. The vampire was indeed informed of the…'situation' at hand, and after an uncontrollable bout of laughter, offered her services for the duration of the crisis. Now all they needed was the Archmage.

Twilight could hardly believe a place a college could possibly be out here on the frozen tundra. If there where mages here, like Isen had said, how come they couldn't control the weather? Twilight understood the fact that there were no Pegasai in Tamriel, but why couldn't the mages wizards here find a way to control the elements? It seemed silly just to let such a feat slide by.

"We're here!" Trinity's voice rang out.

Twilight looked up and scanned the horizon, hands tight on the reigns. As far as the eyes could see was the cold embrace of snow and ice, the rest shrouded in the Blizzard. What was the vampire talking about?

As Twilight continued riding, she noticed a faint light up ahead near the point riders. As the mage got closer the faint glow became a lighted lantern held by an unseen arm. The lantern moved toward Isen and Trinity, revealing the wielder of the light.

It was a figure, dressed in robes much like Twilight's, only navy-blue in color with a brown border. The arms were covered in a layer of chainmail and the hand holding the lantern was donned in steel plate. The figures head was covered with a fur –lined (Twilight suppressed a shudder) hood and a bandana covered most of the newcomer's face. Isen chatted with the figure until the lantern keeper pointed in the general direction the party was going. Isen thanked the figure, and they went on.

Now the group came up on the ruins of a house. Then another, and then another. Soon both sides of the road were scattered with ruined homes and buildings. It was as if a fire had run through the town, and left nothing alive. However, as the party moved onward, they came across an unscathed building to their left. The group stopped, and Trinity conversed with Isen for a moment. The two nodded, and Trinity and her assassins dispersed. Isen beckoned for the girls, and they moved onward.

The remaining riders dismounted near an inn-like building and tied their horses to a post (Fluttershy refused at first, but ended up tying her horse as well). The seven people then began a slow walk away from the inn. Twilight noticed that few citizens were out, and those who were looked suspiciously at her friends. Every stare disturbed her.

Not long afterwards, the party reached what looked like a large stone archway. Under the arch stood a tall woman with olive skin dressed in dark black mage robes. Twilight remembered how Isen described the different elves in Skyrim, and how a few resided in the college.

"I seek passage to the college." Isen said to the elf. She looked over Isen and the six girls behind him.

"For what purpose?" was her reply.

"I have business with the Archmage, Tythis Antioch."

"I'm sorry to say, but the Archmage is busy, and does not take un-appointed visits." the woman replied resolutely.

Isen sighed and scratched the stubble on his face. "Tell him Isen Storm-Rider needs to see him."

The elf's eyes widened to the size of saucers and she disappeared under the archway. Isen returned his gaze to the girls and sighed again. "Seeing how Tythis is usually teaching the novices, it may take a while for him to come out."

"Well then what are we supposed to do until then?" Rainbow Dash asked.

Isen pondered this for a second before reaching into his knapsack and taking out two scabbards and tossing them to Dash and Applejack.

"I'm going to teach you how to swing a sword."

For the better part of an hour, the travelers had been out in front of the archway. The group was immensely bored; Isen's sparring lessons had finished long before. Applejack and Dash were quite feeble adversaries compared to the trained and experienced Nord, but they were getting there.

So to pass the time, Twilight began contemplating why the town looked like it had seen the bad end of Discord's wrath. What kind of disaster could cause such devastation? It might have been dragons, but they were too small to cause such devastation…weren't they?

As Twilight continued to her mental investigation, the elf from earlier ran from beneath the archway and said something to Isen that she Twilight couldn't hear. The Nord nodded curtly, and turned to face his bone-chilled companions.

"Tythis is ready to see us. All we need to do is cross the bridge." Isen said, pointing to the archway.

With that, the group made their way to the archway, half blinded by the fierce wind. The elf came along as well, a pure-white light in appearing in her hand as they neared. Twilight hesitated for a second. What magic could this be? Was it illusion magic, like the 'calm' spell Trinity had used to knock out Isen, or was it destruction magic, similar to the flames spell Isen had taught her? The elf paid no mind and proceeded to walk into the dimming blizzard. She appeared seconds later by a well-like structure, bathed in light like the one that had been in her hand.

'Oh,' mused Twilight, 'It's an illumination spell.'

The group moved passed the light and turned abruptly at a rise in the path. Upon reaching it, the elf mage moved ahead of the group and cast another light spell. Said light then floated into another basin, illuminating the rest of the path. The mage peered forward to an area the group could not see through the snow, but the woman held one of her hand's appendages, a 'thumb' if Twilight was correct, and proceeded forward. The group again moved forward, but they all froze in fear when they saw what lay in their path.

The 'bridge', if you could even call it that, was but a few feet wide. The sides lacked railings, and were thickly covered in ice. The land below the bridge was shrouded in the blizzard, but it was clear that it was a long drop to the bottom. In a fit of fear, Rarity sprang into Isen's grasp and wrapped her arms and legs around him like a damsel in distress.

"I am not going across that bridge. Not for all the gems in this accursed world!" Rarity cried over the wind. The others feebly nodded their heads in agreement. Isen rolled his eyes and, with much difficulty, pried the terrified seamstress off of him.

"Look," he said calmly, "This is the only way across the chasm. If there was another way, I would take you to it, but there isn't."

"Why can't we get a mage to, like, float us across?" rebutted Rainbow Dash arrogantly.

Isen rubbed his temples and cracked his neck. "Telekinesis here is not the same as yours. It would take about ten mages to lift one of you, not to mention all of us. If you want to go ahead and try, I'm sure one of the novices will be glad to help." he responded dryly.

Dash huffed and began scanning the bridge. As the girls began arguing with the Nord, Dash took a hesitant step onto the path. Then she took another step, and another, and another. By that point she was already half way across and smiling widely.

"You go Rainbow Dash!"

The rainbow-headed tomboy had just enough time to whirl around spot a cheering Pinkie Pie before slipping and losing her footing. Rainbow yelped indignantly and flailed about with her eyes closed. It was at this point that she felt a strong grip on her collar. Opening one eye, she saw the elf from earlier, with a hand clutching tightly to the collar of Dash's robes.

Dash let out a sigh of relief and gazed back at the terrified faces of her horrified friends. "It's…kind of safe, guys." She then turned to the elf woman holding her. "Thanks."

And with that, the girls began the harrowing (as Rarity put it) trip across the bridge. One by one they left until only Fluttershy and Isen were left on the other side.

"Come on, Fluttershy, you can make it across. Just don't look down." Isen said reassuringly to the pink-haired woman beside him.

"B-but it's so h-high and i-i-icy!" hastily replied the shy girl through teary sobs. Fluttershy was, out of the six, the easiest to scare. The Nord thought for a moment before putting a calm hand on Fluttershy's shoulder.

"What if," Isen rebutted, "I help you across? Just hold my hand and follow my lead. If you don't look down, you'll be fine."

After a moment, Fluttershy nodded hesitantly. Isen smiled and took her hand in his. Carefully, he walked to where the stone path met the ice-strewn bridge. He checked his rear to see that Fluttershy was ready, and began the slow trip across. Fluttershy clutched tightly to his hand like a lifeline, showing no signs of letting go. She was glad that Isen had offered his help, but it was still terrifying to the woman.

In fact, Fluttershy wasn't just glad, but was overjoyed by the Nord's help. Sure, her friends would do just the same, but the fact that this 'relative' stranger, whom she had only met days before, would go out of his way of saving this world to help her friends get back to theirs. Maybe Fluttershy had misjudged Isen after all.

Deep in thought, Fluttershy didn't notice how close she was to the edge of the bridge. The pink-haired girl suddenly felt the grip slip from beneath her and paled. With an ear-splitting scream, she slipped from the path and dangled in mid-air. Isen felt the sudden lack of tension on his arm the just as sudden pull on it. He swung his right back and caught hold of Fluttershy's right arm. The Nord grunted as he tried to pull up the woman, but could only bring her up about a few inches.

The girls attempted to rush forward, but one look from Isen froze the group in their place. The Dragonborn knew that there wasn't enough room for all of them, and if another one of them slipped…

Isen then felt his feet slide ever so slightly towards the edge and grunted louder as he re-doubled his efforts. However, as he tried for another pull, he noticed Fluttershy's hand slip ever so slightly.

"Fluttershy, I'm going to need a bit of help here." he said through breaths.

Fluttershy just whimpered and shut her eyes. "I-I-I don't w-w-want to f-f-fall."

"You're not going to," Isen replied roughly, "I just need you to grab my arm. W-When you open your eyes don't look down. Look right at me, just me. Don't look at the bridge or the ground, just me. Can you do that?"

After a moment, Fluttershy raised her head, opened her teal eyes, and nodded feebly. She reached out her other hand, and Isen grasped it with his gauntleted hand. He looked at the other side of the bridge, where the rest of the group watched nervously. A gust of wind smacked his back with an icy blast, but he kept his grip and balance firm.

"Now Fluttershy," he said to the pink-haired woman, "I'm going to try an idea, a really stupid idea, but you have to trust me. Can you do that?"

The girl gulped loudly and nodded slowly as another gust of ice and snow washed over them. Isen nodded in return and shifted his lower body to face the end of the bridge. He lowered his body and tightened his grip on Fluttershy's cold hands. Isen took a deep breath and swallowed.

"WULD!"

The two flew ahead to the waiting girls at the end. Using his forward momentum, Isen swung Fluttershy forward. She crashed into the arms of the capable Applejack, who almost squeezed the life out of the poor girl. Isen, using his untamed speed collided with another illuminated well. The Nord felt his head smash into the stone side, and his body fell into the fluorescent blue goop at the bottom.

Isen blinked the black dots out of his vision, and clenched and unclenched his fists to check for any broken fingers. Luckily, there were none, and the Nord lazily pulled himself from the blue slime that clung to his armor. He clutched what he thought was the rim of the well, and was met with the tear-filled face of Rainbow Dash. Isen couldn't react in time before he was lifted into the air by a stronger force. As soon as the Nord was lifted, he was assaulted by bear hugs from the six exasperated girls.

Even through his steel armor, Isen could feel the breath being squeezed from him. Over the howling of the wind, he could hear the cheerful cries of the six girls. He huffed vigorously to draw their attention, and succeeded soon enough. Isen took a moment to catch his breath, and then pointed to the Iron Gate with an eye sigil upon it.

"Can we go in now?"

Twilight stared in awe at the College as they walked toward the set of double doors at the end of the central courtyard. In the middle of the courtyard was a magnificent pillar of blue light reaching to the heavens. Behind it stood a statue of a hooded figure, arms outstretched and palms upright and open.

Few people milled about in the space, but they all talked in hushed voices and shot a glance at the seven newcomers. Such scrutiny unnerved Twilight, but she tried her best to ignore them. The college seemed rife with mistrust, but if there was a chance for the Archmage to help them, she would surely take it.

It was at this moment that the group reached the large set of double doors. Isen took one of the doors iron knockers in hand, and banged upon the wooden entry. In response, the door was opened by a peculiar fellow.

The Nord (if Twilight was correct) was old, extremely old, and his wrinkled face and steel hair seemed to mimic the fact. He had a long, bushy beard that covered his mouth in grey, and his hair was braided in several ties on his shoulders. The elder Nord's deep emerald eyes portrayed a sense of kindness and wisdom fit for his age. He wore a set of robes very different from the other residents, black and light brown in color.

"Ah," said the old man in a light but raspy voice, "Tythis has been expecting you to show up sooner or later."

"He always does, Tolfdir," replied the younger man, "But this isn't some old burial site issue like last time."

"Well, you'll have to take it up with him, but do come inside; it's freezing out there." Tolfdir replied.

The seven travelers made their way into a bland foyer-like space that featured doors on both left and right sides and a gate leading to a central auditorium. Tolfdir closed the large door behind the group, and the wizened man then seemed to notice the six girls with Isen.

"Oh, dear." the old Nord said rapidly. He hastily straightened his robes and coughed lightly to draw the girls' attention. The six looked at the man with questioning glances before providing their full attention.

"I apologize for not introducing myself; I am Professor Tolfdir, Master Alterer and Master Wizard at the college. Here I teach defensive spells, and as Master Wizard, I am the right hand of Archmage Tythis." the senior mage said with a slight bow.

"Master Alterer?" Twilight questioned.

"Yes," the wizard replied, "I am an expert in Alteration, a form of magic that manipulates the space around you. It's not used as often as the other forms, as it's not that 'palatable' to the...tastes of Nordic mages."

Tolfdir then saw a certain look in Twilight's eyes. The violet orbs seemed to just absorb every word that the older mage said, like it they were continuously processing the information over and over to gleam every bit of detail; it was the look of a scholar.

"Tell me," the wizened mage questioned, "Are you, by chance, a mage yourself?"

"Yes!" Twilight almost shouted. She regained her lost composure and bowed slightly to the wizard. "Twilight Sparkle, at your-"

Twilight did not get any farther, as an animalistic screech broke the calm atmosphere. Then, bounding through one of the wooden doors, the group saw a terrible sight.

The monster was much like a Timber wolf in appearance, but it lacked the natural look of the forest creature. The 'thing' was five feet long with almost translucent fur. The ghost-like creature had two golden eyes that radiated pure, animalistic rage. The ghostly animal set its eyes upon the form of Rarity, who had not moved and inch since the creature's arrival. It bounded forward with its jaw open, snarling viscously. Isen moved to intercept, and Rarity screamed like a banshee as the monster neared. The rest of the girls also moved to intervene, but they were moving too slow.

"MAGNUS!"

The creature stopped dead in its tracks and dropped to the stone floor. Rarity fainted dramatically into Applejack's waiting grasp, and Isen shook his head lightly.

Twilight then gazed at a figure that was now coming through the same passage the ghost-wolf had arrived through.

The figure paused before the doorway for a moment. "Magnus, sit." the figure said in a heavily drawled accent.

The spectral hound whimpered and did as he was ordered. Pleased the figure walked into the light of the foyer.

As Twilight saw, the 'elf' was around a height similar to Rarity's, but shorter than both Isen and Applejack. He (if Twilight saw right) had dark-brown hair that was tied back above his head, and a beard that was similarly tied close to the end. From his pointed ears to his hoo-hands, the elf was covered in skin the color of aged ash, and a dark complexion that gave the look of a sinister creature. Upon closer inspection of the elf's face, Twilight noticed that his eyes were a light maroon in color, and seemed to glow in the light of the room. The cheek bones were very high on his face, and his nose stuck out like a beak. The elf was draped in burgundy robes with a bright green trim, a look much livelier than the rest of the college.

As the elf moved his gaze from the ghost-wolf to Isen, a devious grin settled upon his face. Isen rushed forward and enveloped the smaller elf in a bone-crushing hug. They were in contact for only a mere moment before the two separated.

"Well, look at what the Sabre cat dragged back from the dead!" the elf said joyfully.

"It's good to see you too, friend." Isen responded.

"The feeling's mutual, ya' stupid bastard." the elf replied. He took a glance back at his hound and flicked his wrist whilst snapping his fingers. The ghost-wolf whimpered momentarily before it literally disintegrated in a puff of blue smoke. He grinned and then noticed the six women with Isen. The elf's grin widened and he bowed.

"Tythis Antioch, Archmage of the College of Winterhold and travelling scholar, at your service." he said cheerfully. Tythis scanned the girls for a moment and turned his attention to the passed out woman on a bench. "It seems you met Magnus already. He didn't get too physical, did he?"

It took a moment for Twilight to process the information before she answered. "No, Rarity's fine, Mister Antioch. She just got a bit scared when the…thing attacked her."

"Good; for a second there I was worried. My damn familiar is a bit too friendly to new people, even if they mistake it for violence. And please, call me Tythis."

Tythis kept up his thin grin and leaned over to Isen and hastily whispered something in his ear. Isen replied quietly, and the mage seemed happy with the answer. The Archmage coughed and raised out his hand.

"As I have already introduced myself, who might you be?"

Twilight hesitantly shook the elf's hand with a weak grip, and her arm flailed about in the iron-strong clasp of the grey-skinned elf's hand. "M-my name is Twilight Sparkle, the one with the hat is Applejack, Rainbow Dash…well, she's the easiest to pick out, Rarity is the passed out one, Pinkie Pie has the solid pink hair, and Fluttershy has the pale-pink hair."

Tythis' eyes widened, but his grin never faltered as Twilight introduced her friends. He gave every one of them a curt nod and a firm hoo-handshake (though Pinkie Pie bear-hugged him, and Fluttershy just said 'hello'), but seemed a little less composed than before.

Finished, Tythis sighed and took a purple bottle out of the fold of his robes. "None of you are from Tamriel, are you?" he stated whilst un-corking his bottle.

The girls looked around a bit, averting their eyes from the elf's gaze. It took a moment before any of them answered.

"That's correct, Tythis. We're in a situation tha' has need of yer expertise." Applejack responded.

Tythis nodded and drank the contents of his container. He shuddered a bit, and was instantly back to staring down the six girls. His gaze was trained on them for seconds, and then his serious look was replaced with the carefree grin from earlier.

"Well," he said while handing some golden coins to the smiling Nord beside him, "This is certainly interesting."

Twilight followed the elven mage up a flight of stairs and to a plain a plain wooden door on the third level of the building. She had volunteered to answer the Archmage's questions concerning the six girls. It unnerved Twilight how giddy he seemed when she had agreed. Still, Twilight saw this as an opportunity to learn a trick or two from the seasoned mage.

Tythis pulled out a key from his robes and unlocked the door. Both he and Twilight entered and came upon a large, spacious entrance hall. When Twilight looked to her left, her jaw dropped.

It was a large, circular room, strewn here and there with book manuscripts. In the center stood a large a leaf-less tree, surrounded by a variety of flora of which Twilight had never seen before. There were odd orange roots growing on rocks, and mushrooms that had a fluorescent to them. Behind the garden was a wall adorned with banners portraying the eye sigil.

"Welcome…to my quarters. If I was expecting company, I would have cleaned up a bit, but your arrival was surprising." Tythis said, removing some books from a modest wooden chair and motioned for Twilight to sit.

"I really don't mind at all-"

SWOOSH!

Twilight stopped herself when she noticed that no one was there. Tythis had just vanished into thin air. Twilight bolted from her seat and craned her neck in every direction to pot the wizard.

"What?"

Twilight stopped her search and saw the mage sitting down in a chair, a leather-bound (Twilight shuddered again) journal in his lap, along with an inkpot and quill. He wore a look of impatience on his face, and his eyebrow was raised to similarly portray his want of progress. But it was, in fact, Twilight that was more confused.

"How did you-"

"Disappear in thin air for a couple seconds and reappear before?" Tythis finished. Twilight only responded with a slow nod.

"Well, it's similar to teleportation in a way. Do you have in your world?"

"Yes," Twilight answered, "But you can usually see the spell be performed, or hear the cast."

"Well, this type of teleportation has neither." the Archmage said calmly, "In fact, it's not really teleportation at all. All I do is open up an Oblivion portal, step through, and appear at my prescribed destination. It takes a considerable amount of time and concentration to open the portal, and even more to do so stealthily, but the payoff is extraordinary. Think of it as a doorway; when I open it, I enter a different place, and vice versa."

"Oblivion?"

Tythis sighed and scratched his chin. "I'll explain it to you later. Right now I want to get this interview done with."

"How many times have you done this?"

"Well, there were two Werewolves, a Werebear, a Redguard vampire, about three guardsmen from Mournhold, a lost spirit, and a Telvanni mage. That makes nine, okay?"

Twilight nodded and sat back down in her chair. She was heavily confused by this place. Every time she thought she figured something out, it turns out she only scratched the surface.

"Now," Tythis said, giddy as a schoolchild, "Please state your name, age, race, country or region of origin, official occupation, and any other titles of interest for the record."

"Twilight Sparkle, age 25*, youngest child of Orion Sparkle and Velvet Sparkle, from the land of Equestria. Member of the Equus ferus caballas, or 'pony' species, specifically the Unicorn subspecies. I am the owner and sole employee of the Golden Oaks Library in Ponyville, Equestria. I am the bearer of the Element of Magic, one of the Elements of Harmony, and Princess Celestia's personal student."

"With that out of the way, would please describe the events that led up to your arrival in Skyrim, or Tamriel, specifically." the Archmage asked whilst furiously scribbling down the information into his journal.

"Well, it all started when Princess Celestia sent me to Ponyville…"

New Hierarchy, Aetherius

Akrios dodged another snap from the jaws from the large Chimaera†. The beast, a hideous mix of a goat, lion and a snake, was not the most powerful of the arena's inhabitants, but it was the cleverest of the selection. The Brendon certainly liked the challenge, but doing so in hand-to-paw combat was a daunting undertaking…

For a mortal.

Akrios jumped high into the air, dodging a quick charge meant for him, and landed directly behind the creature. He delivered a swiping kick, flinging sand into the lion's eyes. The beast roared in agony and stood upon his hind legs, his paws flailing this way and that. Akrios slid between the two massive paws and grabbed ahold the Chimaera's tail, which was the body of a snake.

It hissed as threateningly as it could, but the Brendon's only response was to rip the tail from its body. The Chimaera hollered even louder, and twirled around to face its opponent. However, Akrios had already soared into the air by that time, and, in a flurry of black cloth, landed on the monster's back.

The goat head, which lay in the center of the beast's spine, cried out in alarm, but was silenced when a gauntleted hand broke the growth's nose. In tandem, Akrios grabbed one of the goat's horns, and tugged with all his might. The horn gave little resistance, and in a gory display of blood and brain matter, pulled free the horn and impaled the goat's head upon it.

The lion, aware of the pain in his back, rolled over in hopes of dislodging his opponent. Akrios, though, had already moved free from the Chimaera's now bloodied back. With the goat horn in hand, Akrios charged forward at the creature, who reared back onto its hind legs in response. Before it could fall back down onto its four feet, the Brendon lodged the goat horn into the Chimaera's midsection.

It roared in pain, but could not react fast enough before Akrios gutted the beast. Intestines and undigested food, mixed with flesh and blood, poured onto Akrios like a morbid waterfall. In its death throes, the monster fell upon the sandy floor of the arena, its eyes glazed over, but still holding its look of rage and agony.

Akrios sighed and brushed a piece of the Chimaera's smaller intestines off of his cloak and made his way to the arena armory. The arena was an open air building based off of the Roman Colosseum, but with a more stylized look. It was originally built thirty years after the Oblivion Crisis, but it was burned in Mehrunes Dagon's assault upon New Hierarchy.

As he walked through the tunnel toward the armory, Akrios spotted a flash of orange in his sight, and stopped.

"You know," he said "We're alone now."

Kyla pounced upon the Brendon, caring not for the gore that adorned him. The smaller Ikaris enveloped him in a tight bear hug, which Akrios gladly returned. Kyla pulled away and 'eww-ed' as she brushed a piece of Chimaera flesh from her robes.

"How come every time we meet on personal business, you're covered in someone else's innards?" the senior scribe asked.

"Hey, beggars can't be choosers." Akrios said jokingly as he put an arm around Kyla's waist.

"And since when was I a beggar, you milk-drinker?" Kyla replied, punching the Brendon's shoulder…hard. A snap was echoed through the tunnel, and Kyla winced as she heard the damage of her handiwork.

"…Are you kidding me?" Akrios dead-panned after a moment's silence. Kyla looked away sheepishly, her cheeks turning a darker shade of pink.

"I'm sorry about that, Akrios. You know how hard I can punch." the scribe said hesitantly, "But I didn't come here for nothing. Chronicler Ekar…Jeardah'han needs to know your answer."

"My answer's simple," replied Akrios as he tried to reset his broken arm, "The Dovahkiin."

Kyla's eyes widened. "WHAT!" she hollered, "You're trusting that wreck with this information? The poor Nord has enough things to worry about as it is, but adding 'Kill a Daedra-forsaken soul monster before he does something evil' would give him a heart-attack!"

"I know the risks, Kyla, but he is are best hope. Legion has entire Dremora armies at his disposal, and it's not that unlikely that the Dark Brotherhood is with him too. He's our last chance."

And so Akrios and Kyla stood silently within the arena tunnel, unaware that darker forces were brewing, and that Legion had already made his next move.

'All the better, you armes Schweins, all the better."

And with that, one of Legion's many souls withdrew from Aetherius, away from the heavenly sights of New Hierarchy, past columns of fire and brimstone, and into the depths of Oblivion.

It was time to ring up some family.

Chapter 12

(Small edit to fix some things)

Chapter 12

4E 202

College of Winterhold, Skyrim.

"…And that's how we got here."

Tythis scribbled down Twilight's words carefully, and bit his lip. Twilight raised an eyebrow and cast him a questioning glance.

"Something wrong, Tythis?" she asked.

"Well," the Archmage replied, "It's not so much wrong, it's more…disturbing."

"What?"

Tythis sighed and stood from his seat. He took forth from his robes a silver amulet, centered with a vibrant sapphire. "You're ruling class." he said simply.

It took a moment for Twilight to process this, and when she did, she casted a cautious glare at the elf. "What's wrong with the princesses, then?'

"Like I said, nothing's wrong…but it sort of disturbs me that you're monarchs are pretty much using you and you're friends. Every time an ancient evil returns, they go immediately to you instead of actually trying to get rid of it themselves."

Tythis walked over to a bookshelf overflowing with manuscripts and scrolls and began plucking some almost at random. "Now," he said as he picked up an aged scroll, "I don't really much blame Princess Luna, as she barely has any influence in the Royal Court, which also disturbs me, but Princess Celestia uses you and your friends whenever a situation presents itself."

Twilight seemed undeterred by the elf's comment, and strengthened her glare. "Princess Celestia does that so-"

"And don't give me that 'Lesson in Friendship' bullshit," he interrupted, "She trusts you with the fate of entire nations, Miss Sparkle. Now, I can commend the fact that their immortal, leaving no room for wars of succession, but I utterly condemn the fact that they rule together."

"How would that be-"

"It's impossible to effectively rule a country with two monarchs. No matter how good it looks at the moment doesn't matter, because sooner or later, the ideologies and ambitions of the two rulers clash. This could lead to bloodshed, and possibly open war.I believe you and your friends already saw the result of that?"

Twilight gulped and averted her gaze to floor. No matter what she said, the Archmage always had retort. This was argument she wasn't going to win.

"Oh, well," said the elf after a moment, "Let's get on with this, shall we? I believe you wanted to know about Oblivion?"

Twilight raised an eyebrow and scowled. "I believe so, Archmage." she replied bitterly.

Either completely oblivious to Twilight's bitterness or choosing not to notice it, Tythis casually walked to an odd rune-strewn table covered in lit candles. Tythis proceeded to extinguish the flame from a number of the candles in what looked like a random order, and in response the table opened up in a gust of dust and soot. Coughing, the elf reached into the space and took out the strangest book twilight had ever seen.

The cover of the book was midnight-black, and an odd red symbol was on the front cover. It was most like two letter 'T's joined together at the head, but the one on the right was slightly bent inward. In the center of the odd shape was a glowing dot, pulsating with every step Tythis took, almost synchronizing with Twilight's heartbeat. Then odd voices began to speak in Twilight's mind, telling her of secrets kept hidden for centuries, of knowledge kept secret from the world, just waiting to be reclaimed. Of offers of knowledge that could be hers if she just-

Then, with a flick of Tythis's hand and a small popping noise, the voices ceased. Twilight became aware of the world around her and cast a curious glance at Tythis, who just smirked in response.

"So the old bastard still works, eh?" the Archmage began. Twilight just raised her eyebrow again.

"You had dilated pupils, my otherworldly acquaintance. That means that old Hermaeus still has some influence on this damn book. I cast an old ward on the room for a moment so we could read in peace."

Tythis handed the book to Twilight, who heaved at the unexpected weight of the tome. When she finally gained control, she made a motion to open it, which Tythis gestured to do so. Opening the front cover, Twilight sensed an odd magical aura settle in the room. It was a strange feeling, much akin to the feeling of weightlessness a Pegasus might feel when freefalling, but more spiritual than physical. Then, in a sudden surprise, the book leapt from the woman's hands and between the two mages, floating freely. The lights in the room then extinguished, leaving only an unsettling purple glow coming from the…book?

Tythis paid no mind to the odd actions of the tome, but instead walked before it and hovered his hand over it. When the mage slid his hand to the right, the pages of the tome until it stopped at a symbol similar to the one at the front.

"This," the Archmage began, "Is the Tomb of Exile, volume thirteen of a fifty-book volume. It contains much of the knowledge accumulated over the ages of history relating mostly to the studies of magic and other studies like it…such as other dimensions."

At this, Twilight's head perked up at the mention of the subject, but when she saw the solemn look on the elf's face, she kept herself from speaking. Undeterred, Tythis continued.

"I…'acquired' this book, along with five others, from Apocrypha, the realm which the good prince resides in. Many of the chapters are warded with a maddening spell laced within the text, but some chapters containing insensitive information are unprotected."

The mage then flipped to a page covered in glyphs and symbols of odd shape and size, prompting Twilight to yet again raise a questioning eyebrow at the Archmage.

"Why not just tell me about Oblivion instead of getting this out?" she questioned.

"Because it wouldn't be as fun."

Tythis flipped the page once more, and the parchment turned a fiery red. The book began emitting a blistering heat into the space around it. Twilight jumped back in shock, but Tythis remained in place. The elf chuckled and snapped his waved his hand yet again, but instead of the page turning, a flash of white erupted in the mage's hand, and the book seemed to cool down. As Twilight inched closer, she noticed that the glyphs on the page turned into normal letters.

"Oblivion", Tythis started, "Is a sort of prison realm that houses the Daedra, sixteen god-like entities whose abilities depend on the power they control. In reality, the Daedra can take on any form, but are usually referred to as 'princes'. They are very...interested in mortal affairs, some to the point of causing international crises."

Before Twilight could respond, the ground beneath her feet began to shake and rumble, throwing her off balance. Looking down, she noticed the grey stone floor darken to the color of scorched wood. Cracks and ruptures appeared all over the floor, revealing bright orange light and unbearable heat.

Twilight looked around, and was met with a horrid sight. The land around her was of a scorched plain of rock, broken by seas of lava. Pieces of what once were buildings covered the expanse, but the land was dominated by a huge black tower off in the distance.

Suddenly, a huge geyser of lava blasted through the earth, launching molten rock everywhere. Twilight screamed and shielded her face as the lava began plummeting to the ground. However, instead of feeling an unbearable burning sensation on her back, she felt almost...cold? Looking up, Twilight saw Tythis lounging in a pool of lava, sipping on a purple bottle. Puzzled, Twilight approached the pool and stared cautiously at the Dunmer mage.

"Come on in," he said jokingly, "The lava's fine."

Confused and a tad bit scared, Twilight slowly placed her foot into the molten rock. The pool of lava was now more like a cold bath than a hazard. Tythis continued for Twilight to settle in, and she sat down. Tythis flashed his hand again and the pool heated up ever so sighed in pleasure, enjoying the spa-like experience.

"This," Tythis gestured to the apocolyptic land around them, "Is a realm of Oblivion known as the 'Deadlands'. This realm is inhabited by the Daedric prince of Change, Ambition, Revolution, Destruction, and Energy. He is usually associated with natural disasters, and is quite the important deity in Morrowind."

"However," he continued, "You may call him Mehrunes Dagon."

At the sounding of the name, a chill ran up Twilight's spine, freezing her in place. Over the sound of the wind, Twilight could hear a ferocious roar in the distance, followed by great rumbles that shook the ground.

Turing around, Tythis cupped his hand around his moth and stood up. "Oh, do shut up, you overgrown bastard!"

Sitting back down, the Dunmer leaned back and continued his lesson.

"Most of the Daedra are quite vile, and cause problems on a daily basis, like Mr. Dagon. However, there are a few Daedra that are not as evil, though the only I have come into contact with is Azura."

"Azura," the mage said, "Is the Daedric Prince of Dusk and Twilight, much like your princesses. Now, don't mistake her for being good, as she will do things that are...unfitting of a true good person. However, she is one of the Daedra that is worshipped, being that she has a unique position and all."

"Now, the other Daedra I have had contact with is the worst of the worst. Molag Bal, the Daedric Prince of Domination, Slavery, Corruption, and Vampirism. However, he is most noticed for being the King of Ra-"

Suddenly, Tythis stopped himself, remembering that he was in the company of a lady. It would very inappropriate to mention that in Twilight's presence.

The mage looked back at Twilight and put on a sheepish smile. "Well, I believe that should be enough learning for now."

With those words, the world around the two began to fade, replaced by a black void. Startled, Twilight jumped from her position and spun around wildly.

"Tythis, what's going-"

But that was far as the woman got as the Archmage too disappeared. Twilight, alone and frightened by her new surroundings, backed away from her current position ever so slightly. Then, it happened.

Twilight felt dizzy all of the sudden, and clutched her head to steady herself. The, she felt her head begin to throb uncontrollably, like an uncontrollable heartbeat. The woman grunted in pain as the throbbing continued. Then, the throbbing became stronger and faster paced. Twilight's eyes widened in shock.

"AHHHHHHHH!"

The next thing the violet-haired woman knew, she was on the ground, being caressed gently by some...thing. Twilight wanted scream, to turn her head and confront the new arrival, but she couldn't. She was paralyzed in both mind and body, unable to control her actions. Then the 'thing' came into the woman's sight.

It was a tentacle.

Twilight seized up as the tentacle brushed through her hair. The appendage moved this way and that over her head, leaving a slimy substance behind. Twilight tried her hardest to struggle out of her captivity, but was unable to mover her body.

"Be still, child. Struggling will only prolong the pain." boomed a voice so loud Twilight flinched at every syllable.

And with that, Twilight found herself back in control of her own body, and spun to face her attacker. The woman was met with a startling sight.

Before her was a writhing mass of black tentacles covered in a dark green slime, creating a lake of appendages before her. Also within her sight, Twilight spotted several piercing grey eyes sprouting from the mass, watching her every move.

Suddenly, the mass of tentacles launched itself at the woman, surrounding her body in green slime. She felt the paralyzing effect take hold once more, and she fell to the ground as the appendages took hold of her legs. However, before the effect fully took over, Twilight did what was the only thing she could do at the time:

She screamed.

Tythis didn't know what went wrong. Out of all the times he did this, the mage could only remember one occurrence when this happened.

'When I first read the book.'

After Dunmer had closed the book, Twilight had frozen upon her meta-physical consciousness' return to her body. Tythis thought it was just a rookie experience, but had been alarmed when the girl had started screaming. This of course attracted the attention of her friends, who had promptly stormed in to see what caused the commotion. Now, Tythis couldn't blame them, but they can be very arrogant when they want to.

As of now, Ms. Dash and Ms. Applejack were nursing their now numb arms and legs (respectively), and were grouching over near the Enchanting Table. Fluttershy had taken to getting Twilight into the Archmage's bed, helped of course by Isen, and was now checking for any physical wounds upon instruction from Tythis. Rarity and Pinkie Pie had taken to reading (or on Pinkie's part, 'trying') to read some of the books the mage had left out.

Said mage already knew what Twilight had experienced. The book had been retrieved from the depths of Apocrypha, realm of Hermaeus Mora, the Deadric Prince of Forbidden Knowledge. Even with the dozen or so enchantments and spells on the book, the Daedric Prince could still use his influence beyond his that said, he could also use that influence to capture and absorb information from the consciousness's of those reading the book.

Tythis had been able to resist the first time around, but it had taken him all of his energy to do so. Twilight was merely a novice in the ways of Tamrielic, or Mundusian*, magic, and had been helpless to the Prince's attack.

Now, she was stuck in a state of limbo until her mind could recuperate form the assault. Tythis had himself to blame for this. He had put an innocent in harms way, and said innocent had paid the price. The Dunmer wasn't going to take anymore chances, which also meant not using the book to help the girls. Now, he needed to think of an alternate way to help them.

And he knew just what to do.

"Now," he stated cautiously, "I am sure you all have some questions..."

"Like hay we do!" cried Applejack from the corner.

After shooting the woman a glare, Rarity turned to face Tythis from her seat. "Yes we do, Tythis. Most specifically, what happened to Twilight."

The Archmage could the restrained anger in her voice, but chose to ignore it. "You see, Twilight had asked me to teach her a bit about some ancient history, mostly over an old realm of existence that has caused the mortal world some trouble. I...decided to have a bit of fun with it, and used that book I previously had out to show her some things."

"However," he continued, "The former owner of the book dropped in during the end of the lesson, and mentally attacked Twilight. There are no physical wounds, but when she wakes up-"

It was at that moment that a piercing scream sliced through the air, interrupting Tythis' sentence. Isen ran from behind the dividing wall separating the main room from the bedroom.

"She's awake."

Wasting no time on ceremony, the four women and one elf rushed into the bedroom. Isen and Fluttershy were in the in the middle of trying to hold down Twilight, who was shaking uncontrollably in the bed. Pushing the two away, Tythis put two fingers by the woman's neck, and did so again on her wrist.

"What's wrong with her?!" cried Rainbow Dash, trying to get a better look at her friend.

"She's having a heart attack."

Before anyone could respond, Tythis' hands began glowing a light blue, and soon lightning came flowing off of his fingertips. Startled, everyone but Isen and Fluttershy jumped away from the mage. The mages actions only seemed to hold the shy woman in place, and gave more cause to squeeze Twilight's hand harder. Isen, catching onto his friend's intentions, pried Fluttershy away from the struggling victim.

With the pink-haired girl gone, the Archmage jumped upon the bed andopened up Twilight's robes to where the top of her chest was bare. Tythis thenbegan rubbing his electrified hands together, producing waves of crackling energy from his fingertips. After doing this several times, he raised his hands above his head and decreased the amount of magicka being put into the spell.

"CLEAR!"

Tythis brought his electrified hands down onto Twilight. As his hands impacted her chest, bolts of lightning danced across the woman's body. Her body erupted into spasms as the magicka-induced lightning tried to restart her light show lasted for only a second, but it didn't had the desire effect. Twilight kept still, no efforts of movement made.

Tythis repeated the process over and over. To the girls, it was a very frightening experience, having their friend shocked over and over again with blue lightning. To Isen, on the other hand, it was both tense yet frustrating. The entire 'shock therapy' technique Tythis had developed was an unorthodox procedure that he had come across during his career at the College.

It helped, sure, but it got bloody annoying when he used it on Isen for the first time.

On the mage's fifth attempt, Twilight was finally revived, but had a very...violent reaction. Upon returning to the land of the living, the first thing Twilight saw was the panic-fueled face of Tythis, and screamed in surprise. Almost comically, Twilight's left leg shot and hit the Archmage's crotch, and her right fist collided with the mage's face. The others, stunned by Twilight's reaction, just stood by quietly.

A sharp crack was heard when the young woman's fist broke Tythis' nose, blood oozing from the wound, and was sent flying from the bed. Unfortunately, instead of landing softly on the carpet, his body was bashed against the cold stone immediately moved to help his friend up, and the elf was hoisted to his feet.

Meanwhile, Twilight spout out a jumble of apologies until Tythis raised his head. "It's...nothing, my dear. Nothing's t-too fatal." he said as he reset his nose with a sickening pop.

"Anyways," the elf continued, as if he had completely forgotten about his injuries, "Now that I know Mora is still in the book, I can't use it to help you."

At this, the expressions of the six women darkened. Seeing this, Tythis began formulating his next move. With the book out of the equation, he now needed an alternative option. Digging through his robe pocket, the mage withdrew from it a purple bottle. Unstopping it, he took a swig of the brew, and sighed in pleasureas his senses slightly dulled.

'What to do, what to...'

Tythis stopped for a moment and snapped his fingers. He spun around and began walking out of the room, stopping only to turn around to face his companions.

"Well, come now, I have an old friend you need to meet."

To say that Isen was excited to meet this 'Augur of Dunlain' would be an overstatement.

The Nord was entirely fed up with having to deal with spirits of any kind. He wasn't prejudiced or anything, but when you have to fight your way through an entire tomb filled with Corrupted Shades that will pop out of nowhere, you can get pretty annoyed by the undead.

Still, Isen donned the new Iron helmet Tythis found lying around in storage and strapped Relentless to his waist. Isen knew what was down in the Midden, specifically Draugr and Frostbite Spiders. Tythis had warned everyone to stay alert while they were down there, and to stay close. The underground catacombs below the College were a vast Labyrinth of hallways and chambers, and it was easy to get lost.

Isen knew that there was trouble down there, but Tythis' gear would make it seem as though the party was embarking to Labyrinthian. The mage now had chainmail and Steel armor set in scaled pieces** beneath his robes, and at his waist were three Elven daggers, each glowing with an enchantment. Steel Plate gauntlets protected his hands, and a crimson bandana covered his face.

"Tythis," Isen said to the Dunmer, "Why in the name of Oblivion do you look like you're about to go into Morrowind?"

The elf pulled down his bandana, revealing a look of annoyance. "Just because I've cleared most of the Midden out does not mean there aren't any dangers. I like to be prepared."

Rolling his eyes, Isenmade his way to Twilight, who was sitting quietly on the entrance hall bench. The poor woman was visibly shaking, no doubt traumatized by Mora's psychological attack. She doing an admirable job of hiding it, but she was nonetheless terrified.

Isen put his hand on her shoulder and put on a reassuring smile. "It's alright, Twilight. Mora can't get to you outside of the book."

"B-but," she began, "I was so afraid. I couldn't do anything, Isen. I couldn't stop him from doing..."

Whenthe woman began to cry, Isen hugged her gently trying to calm the poor girl. "It's not your fault. You couldn't do anything, Twilight, so there's no one to blame but Mora."

A subdued cough from Tythis signaled that the group was ready to go, and Isen left Twilight with words of encouragement before heading to the rear of the group. Next to Fluttershy.

"D-d-do we really have t-to go down there?" she questioned in a bare whisper. The group was now descending into the underground set of caverns and catacombs. Isen and Fluttershy were the only ones who had not yet entered.

"The Augur probably wants to see all of you," Isen replied, "Tythis wants to get this right in one go."

"B-but," Fluttershy stuttered, "It's so dark!"

"Don't worry, Fluttershy. I'll be right with you every step of the way."

And reluctantly, Fluttershy climbed down into the abyss. The Archmage and the rest of the gang were waiting below, a magelight cast above them to light the way. The rest of the group now present, Tythis led the way through the caverns.

The Midden wasn't as sinister as it was made up to be. The walls were large expanses of ice, and the ground was covered in snow. It was only when the group entered the artificial part of the catacombs that trouble began. Bones decorated the ground beneath them, and webs were strung up around them.

Tythis let out an audible gulp and Twilight put her hand on the mages shoulder. "What's wrong?"

"Spiders," the mage replied, "There are Frostbite Spiders here."

"You're afraid of spiders?" asked Rainbow Dash.

When Tythis gave a conforming nod, Dash doubled over with laughter.

Unamused, the mage grabbed Dash by her collar and raised her to her feet. "Spider hatchlings," Tythis began, spreading his arms to the size of a small table, "Are this big, Miss Dash. Pray to the Divines you don't meet a adult female."

That put the girls on edge as they continued through the bone-strewncavern. The group passed unchallenged for some time until they reached a large chasm. The two sides of the large chasm were connected by an earthen bridge, whilst the chasm itself was cloaked in darkness.

It seemed safe enough, but as they began crossing the bridge, a scuffling noise was heard. Tythis stopped dead in his tracks and raised his hand. The party stopped as well, and began searching their surroundings fro any sign of danger.

And suddenly, a huge spider, easily the size of a carriage, descended from the ceiling...accompanied by six other arachnids. The spiders had a brown exoskeleton that covered all eight of its legs and its abdomen. Each creature had a huge pair of fangs that were dripping with venom, ready to sink into the flesh of the eight humans.

While the seven other travelers froze in place, Tythis began hyperventilating, his chest rising and falling with every second. The spiders watched their prey for sometime, waiting for the time to strike. However, the Dunmer mage had other plans.

"Die, you Daedra-cursed spawn!"

In an act of panic, the mage summoned two large Fireballs in his hands and casted them to the smallest arachnids. In a blinding flash, the two spiders were set alight by the magic flames. This prompted the others to act. Isen and Applejack went on the medium-sized creature to the groups rear, Rarity (who just stood and watched),Dash and Twilight attacking the one to their front, and leaving Tythis and Pinkie Pie (who also mostly just stood and watched)to fight the larger attacker.

Isen narrowly dodged the airborne venom of his target, the green liquid covering the nearby wall with poison. Applejack, equipped with only her sword, tried desperately to cut off one of the creature's legs, but the spider dodged every attack. Meanwhile, Twilight used the Flames spell to keep the spider at a distance while Dash attacked it from behind.

Rainbow brought her sword down upon the creature's thorax, emitting a sickening squelch from the dying beast, and it thrashed to and fro in agony. Tythis was now duel-casting both Lightning Bolts and Fireballs, but the spells continuously missed the huge spider. Said spider was now using its web to ascend and descend in the air, dodging all of the mage's attacks.

Isen shield-bashed the creature once more before it fell into the abyss. He gave Applejack a pat on the shoulder and congratulations for her first fight, and turned around to assist his friend. However, Tythis was more than capable of handling the final spider, as proven by the flaming body of the beast.

However, out of the corner of his eye, Isen spotted yet another spider, this one using its web to catapult towards-

"Fluttershy!"

The Nord attempted to put himself between the spider and the pink-haired woman, but the momentum of the arachnid sent both him and Fluttershy off of the bridge. By the time the others were able to respond, the two were already gone.

Isen woke up to the sound of muffled grunts. The Nord strained to get up, but was able to get to his feet nonetheless. Looking around, Isen saw nothing but stone and ice decorating every expanse of his surroundings. The room was lighted by holes in the cave's ceiling, which was something Isen did not expect.

He then spotted the form of Fluttershy, who was trapped beneath the Frostbite over, Isen lifted the corpse of the arachnid off of his friend and helped Fluttershy to her woman quickly rapped the Nord in a bear hug before letting go and surveyed their surroundings.

"Isen," she began in a faint whisper, "W-where are we?"

"Don't know," he replied, "I'm surprised we survived the fall, though."

Indeed, they seemed to be at the bottom of the crevice they had encountered earlier, though how the two survived the fall was a mystery.

Isen took another sweep of the place and turned back to his companion. "Well, we better find a way-"

A slight shuffle of feet stopped the Nord in midsentence, and prompted him to grab Fluttershy by the back of her collar and drag her behind a nearby boulder. Joining her, Isen grabbed his sword and shield from the ground (how in Oblivion did they get down here too?) and readied himself for a confrontation.

If the Dragonborn knew anything about the dark expanse that was the Midden, he knew that it would take hours for one to get this far down inot the caverns. Tyhtis and the others were most probably dealing with more spiders (Tythis can't control his panic reflex), so the only possible conclusion would be that there were...

"Qiilaan Us Dilon!"

Draugr

Peeking out from behind cover, the Nord spotted the undead beasts as they too, in an odd sense of intelligence, surveyed their surroundings. There were about six of them, five being Restless Draugr armed with a variety of axes and swords, and the final one being exactly what Isen did not want to face:

A Draugr Deathlord

Sure, Isen had only heard of them in stories, but he knew a Draugr Deathlord when he saw one. Its leathery skin drooped upon its bones like a cloak, and the dark armor it wore radiated a feeling of dread and despair. In its hands was large battle axe almost as tall as the undead. However, something was off about the cursed corpses, as Isen had seen enough undead to know their attributes.

First off, the six corpses showed an uncanny sense of intelligence, coordinating with the Deathlord and actually speaking between each other. Another oddity was their eyes. Instead of having their normal (yet quite creepy) cyan eyes, they possessed soul-wrenching white eyes. This in itself slightly scared the Nord, who properly slunk down behind his cover.

Apparently, Fluttershy had the same idea, and Isen could plainly see the terror on the woman's face. "W-w-what are those t-t-things?"

"Draugr," Isen replied plainly, "Undead bastards who kill anything they see."

Isen peeked at the patrolling undead before facing the pink-haired girl. "Okay, if we move silently, we should-"

But that was as far as the Nord got when the silence was smashed by a loud sneeze. Fluttershy, said sneeze's owner, covered her mouth almost instantly, but it was already done. Isen could already hear the Draugr lurch over to their position. Cursing violently, Isen withdrew his sword and hopped upon their small piece of cover. The undead had already drawn their weapons, and the Deathlord was ordering his minions to restrict the Nord's movement.

"HEY!"

Instead of going into the throes of battle, the two parties froze when the surprisingly strong voice of Fluttershy reached their ears. To Isen, it was the same voice that he heard whenthey confronted the dragon in The Rift. To the Draugr, it was but just a noise, yet it carried just as much authority as their leader.

"What gives you the right to come down here and act all mean? Answer me!"

"Fluttershy..."

"What?"

What Fluttershy failed to notice was that she had involuntarily walked up to the Deathlord, who was now staring at the woman with a blank expression. Isen id however notice the Draugr's eyes flash a bit, going from its odd white back to cyan. This did not last, however, and what came next came to suddenly for anyone to react.

"Dir Volaan!"

In a flash of blood and steel, the Draugr's axe came down upon Fluttershy, who was frozen with fear and unable to move. The heavy axe sliced through the woman's chest, leaving a long gash that barely missed the neck. Fluttershy screamed in agony as she fell backwards, only to be caught by Isen, who after setting the bleeding woman down rushed to his attackers.

Isen pushed the mounting dread of his friend's wounds to the back of his mind. If anything, the wound looked worse than it really was, but that didn't ease the Nord's mind. Now he had to face six heavily-armored Draugr in combat. He had faced the undead before, but not in this many numbers all at once.

The Draugr made the first move, one armed with an ancient sword and Iron shieldcharging forth, attempting to use its momentum to land a heavy blow. Isen, however, used said momentum against the undead, crouching and bringing up his left arm as the attacker was about to land a blow. The Draugr flipped through the air and landed roughly on the ground, only to be stabbed by the steel blade of Relentless.

Unfortunately, Isen didn't notice anther Draugr come up from behind and cut a gash in Isen's shield arm. Almost instantly, the Nord dropped his shield and grunted in agony, but was able to bring his sword back around to cleave the Draugr's head off. Isen then narrowly missed an arrow heading towards his face only for it to gouge out the eye of yet anther undead.

Taking advantage of the wounded corpse's distraction, the Nord pain-stakingly brought up his left arm and grabbed the back of the Draugr's head, and forced its body upon Relentless. The creature struggled against the steel blade, but slumped in death soon enough.

Almost like a routine, Isen spun both him and the dead undead (does that make sense?) around again, and another arrow was lodged into the Draugr's corpse. Knowing that the archer would most likely continue this routine, the Nord charged forth in the Archer's general direction with the Draugr still on his blade. When he heard the unmistakable sound of the Restless Draugr, Isen kicked the corpse off of Relentless and swung his blade in a downward stroke to catch the archer's bow arm. Said arm was quickly separated form the rest of the body.

Before the Draugr could return an attack, Isen thrust his blade into the undead's midsection and pulled upward. Though the armor stopped Isen from completely gutting it, dust poured from the Draugr's wound. Said undead fell and writhed onto the ground. Ignoring it, Isen now faced the other three Draugr, who quickly charged him.

"FUS RO DAH!"

The undead were sent flying as the powerful Thu'um smashed into them. The Deathlord was able to use its axe as an anchor, but the other two were launched into the cave wall. As they collided with the rock, a sharp snap echoed through the chamber. The two Draugr fell to the ground, their necks broken.

'This is too easy.' Isen mused.

As Isen neared the Deathlord, he prepared to thrust his blade into its exposed shoulder. However, the undead popped up at inhuman speeds, battle axe in hand, and bashed the Nord with the staff. The Deathlord brought its axe down upon the stunned Nord but the attack was parried by a blind swing from Reletnless.

Isen stumbled back to his feet just in time to block another strike from the Draugr. Unfortunately, his sword was stuck in between the upper part of the staff and the axe head. Isen tugged on the blade, but the Deathlord started to rotate the axe towards itself. And, in a sharp clang of steel, the broken pieces of Relentless fell to the ground.

While the Nord was busy staring at the broken blade of his sword, the Deathlord rotated the axe handle to were the spike faced outwards. In an instant, the Draugr's axe spike was in the Nord's midsection.

The world seemed to freeze for a moment. Isen could feel the searing pain in his unarmored gut. He wanted to scream, to cry out in pain and anguish, but no words could leave his mouth. To the wounded Nord, all he could here was white noise. He couldn't hear the lightning bolt as it flash-fried the Deathlord in instants. He couldn't hear the sob-filled cries of Fluttershy has she cried into the Nord's armored chest.

And he couldn't feel his heart stop as his eyes closed.

Unknown, Oblivion

Legion stepped carefully stepped through the ash covered ground of the realm. The Reaver hated having to visit this literal hellhole, but He demanded it. Hopefully Akatir was in a better mood than he was earlier.

Narrowly dodging a falling chunk of an Atlantean palace, Legion went on its merry way through the ash-covered suburbs of Pompeii. WhyAkatir decided to make his realm of Oblivion a huge wasteland covered with relics of disaster was questionable, but the ruler of this realm was powerful enough for Legion to not care.

A slight landslide sent a house form the Winterhold collapse perilously close to the Reaver, but said soul abomination was unfazed by the close encounter. About midway through the scorched building of 19th century London, Legion froze.

"Well, what do we have here?"

Turning around, Legion was greeted with the sight that would send most creatures to their deaths with a simple stare. Before Legion stood a humanoid figure wreathed in shadows. His 'hands' were instead large claws that were as long as sword blades. Were the head would be was replaced with nothing but darkness, but two void-white eyes peeked out from it.

"Hello again, brother." Legion replied in his thousand voices.

The humanoid 'rolled' his eyes and walked passed the crimson-cloaked Reaver. "How many times do I have to tell you I'm not your brother?"

"Please," Legion responded, "You helped create me, you helped teach me, and you protected me. I may not be able to call you my father, but I still see you as a brother."

Akatir simply walked passed Legion, a cloud of fog at his heels, and sat down in an ornate chair. Soon enough a the remnants of a table fell before the shadowy figure. Another chair appeared on the opposite side of the table, and Akatir motioned for Legion to take a seat.

"I trust the operation went well?" Legion asked as it sat down.

"Not as well as I hoped."Akatir said, a tea cup of what looked like human blood appearing in his claw, "The pink-haired one- Fluttershy, if I remember correctly,- is quite powerful. You say she stared down Albtraum?"

"Indeed."

"Hmmm."

Legion laid its palm outward to its friend, who promptly put away his drink. "Do you have the blood?" Legion questioned.

In response, Akatir pulled two vials of crimson liquid and gave them to Legion. The Reaverstuddied the contents of the vials before putting them away in its robes.

"Why does He need the blood anyway? I understand the blood of the Dovahkiin, but the blood of a nobody?" asked the shadowy humanoid.

"Because", Legion replied, "With her blood, He can resist her 'Stare', as they call it."

And with that, Legion left without another word. It didn't walk away, or leave really, but it disappeared into nothingness. Ignoring it, Akatir acquired his cup of blood once more and took a sip. If His plans were to be finished, Akatir would need to start now. Sure, he was missing a few key parts, but he could still accomplish most of the work without the Daedra...

...or the six women.

Chapter 13

Chapter 13

4E 202

College of Winterhold, Skyrim

Applejack had to admit: Nirn was a confusing place.

Equus boasted a fairly diverse population. There are Dragons, Griffons, Ponies, Changelings, Hippogriffs (or so Twilight said; Applejack had never seen one herself) and many others. On the other hand, Tamriel alone housed the Redguard, Nords, Imperials, High Elves (or 'Altmer', as Trinity referred to them as), Wood Elves (Bosmer), Dark Elves (Dunmer), Bretons, Argonians, and something called a 'Ka-jit' or something like that. And that was only those currently present!

Coupled with that, there was also the forms of government. Now, Applejack wasn't an expert on the Equestrian governemnt, but she knew it was a monarchy, that's for sure. They still had that here on Nirn, but they had many more as well. The Argonians operated on Tribal system like the Buffalo, with a tribe commanded by a single chief, and multiple tribes under the command of a High Chief. There wasn't much on the other races, but one book said Skyrim and 'Cyrodiil' operated on a system similar to Equestria's, but also different in a few ways.

Then there was the 'Thalmor', the ruling body of this 'Aldmeri Dominion'. Again, there wasn't much on hand, and what was there was at least a few decades old. They were apparently some radical group that took power in their homeland, the 'Summerset Isles', a few hundred years ago. They also provoked the Empire into declaring war upon them, and even though the Elves were pretty much defeated at one point, the Empire surrendered. A whole bunch of 'unfair' conditions were forced on the Empire, which resulted in a rebellion currently waging here in Skyrim.

That was a lot to take in.

"Still reading that biased garbage?"

Applejack looked up from her current read, 'Pocket Guide to the Empire Vol. 1', and turned around. The 'Arcanaeum' ( what the hay is that supposed to mean?) was empty, save for Applejack and the new arrival. It was semi-spacious room, filled to the brim with books, tomes, and scrolls of all varieties, though the clusters of dusty books made walking from one end of the library to the other a hazard.

Trinity, still dressed in her black attire with her cloak and hood still on, stood in the doorway to the room. Her gauntlets remained off, revealing large serpent-like tattoos that ran up her arm. The long bodies of the serpents twisted and turned unto each other, ending in heads that looked like a Dragon's. Tearing her eyes away from the tattoos, Applejack spotted some sort of...instrument in her hands?

Trinity noticed the raised eyebrow before A.J. even noticed she had one, and rolled her crimson eyes. "What?" she asked.

"You never seen a lute before?"

"No. I'm just surprised you play one," Applejack replied.

Indeed, the instrument was a far cry form the ones travelers would bring into Ponyville. Instead of the polished wood and intricate carving on the wooden body, it was just a crude oak creation with a long, thin neck and eight strings. Trinity rolled her eyes and took up a chair at A.J.'s table.

"Don't judge a book by its cover, farmer," the assassin replied. "That book may come to break your skull open later."

Applejack rolled her eyes and shut the book. Trinity always had a demeaning attitude towards her, but this was going a bit far. "Oh, and would that book happen to be a no-good backstabbing vampire?"

The assassin donned a look of fake shock and placed her hand upon her instrument. "You wound me, farmer! To think that I would just waltz right up to you and place my dagger in your back?"

Trinity strummed several cords on the lute in rapid succession. "Besides, I'd need to be paid first."

Tythis couldn't stop shaking.

He'd been through six bottles of that stuff he had, but his nervousness wasn't going away. The elf just sat in his chair, fumbling around with an empty bottle. No, he wasn't checking up on Fluttershy, or pondering over notes on Isen's condition.

He was just drunk.

"Seriously, Tythis?" Twilight hissed. "This is all you're going to do?"

The Dunmer said nothing.

"Hey, I'm talking to you-"

Tythis raised his head, and Twilight let a out a muffled gasp. His crimson eyes were now a concerning bright red color, and large bags lay under his eyes. His eyes were filled with sadness, loss, and most notably, anger.

"Oh, will you just shut up already?!"

Twilight was shocked speechless, and the Archmage continued on.

"I have no idea what in the name of Azura Isen is being afflicted by, and I feel helpless! Nothing works, no matter how strong the potion or spell is."

The mage plucked a bottle of mead from the table and chugged down the alcohol faster than one would care to try. He pulled the bottle from his lips with a gasp, and threw the bottle at the wall, sending shards of glass everywhere. Twilight leapt from her chair on reflex, and Tythis wheeled around again.

"I've tried so hard," Tythis seethed. "I don't want to lose another!"

A pregnant silence followed. No one moved an inch, and the only sound was Tythis' heaving breathing. Finally, Twilight broke the silence.

"Another?"

The Archmage's breathing stopped suddenly, and his head jerked upwards at an unnerving speed. He stared at Twilight for a moment, no longer, and buried his head in his hands. Soft sobs fileld the room, and Twilight noticed the elf was crying. The cynical, sarcastic mage who had trash-talked the entire Equestrian monarchy, was crying. That...was new.

"D-do you know how old I am, Twilight?" Tythis asked in a bare whisper. When the violet-haired mage shook her head, Tythis looked up at her. "I-I'm...sixty years old starting next week. And I've never had a moments rest over those years."

Twilight's eyes widened. Sure, she didn't know much about elven physiology, but the Archmage didn't look a day over twenty-five, at the least. There was no graying of the mane-hair, and nor were there any wrinkles on the elf's face. How was that possible.

"I-I was born the bastard son of a Telvanni mage in Mournhold," the Dunmer continued. "I never knew my father, and after years of ridicule by others of the household, I went searching for him."

Tythis dragged himself over to a stack of books near the large garden area in the center of the room. He kicked the stack over, shuffled through it, and acquired a journal bound in red leather. It was worn from years of harsh treatment, and the spine looked ready to break at any moment. The librarian in Twilight made her want to gag, but she held a straight face.

Tythis flipped through the journal. "I journeyed from Valenwood to High Rock, from the great Alik'r Desert in Hammerfell to Lilmoth in Black Marsh. I could never find him, but after finding information on Solstheim, I sailed to Skyrim hoping to find my father."

Tythis stopped on a particular page, and brought out a...necklace. It was nothing special, just an iron chain with a single red gem the size of an eye. However, with the way Tythis was handling it, it was of value to him.

"Along the way," the elf said with a sob. "I met a dark-haired Nord barely past his fifteenth winter. He was brash, arrogant, and stupidly brave, but he had a good heart and a just mind. I respected that, so one day I approached about my problem. He promised me that if I joined his band of mercenaries, he'd help me on the search for my father."

Tythis returned to his chair. At first, Twilight was a bit stunned. Sure, mercenaries appeared some times in Canterlot, claiming some bounty or another. But Isen? No, it just didn't look right. The mercenaries that came to Canterlot were always some scarred, serious warriors that decked themselves in second-rate armor. Isen, however, was just too nice for a hired sword. And already a fighter at fifteen years old? Not even Shining Armor was that into the guard.

Tythis twirled the necklace around his hand a few times before catching it back in his open palm. "For the first few days, I acted prickly towards the others, taking no solace in the sell swords with me. 'Mercenaries only give their loyalty to the highest bidder', my mother told me. This was my outlook on Isen's company for a while."

A faint smile graced the Archmage's face, but it disappeared just as quickly as it had arrived.

"And then I met his sister."

Trinity had to hand it to the farmer: she was a killer pugilist.

The assassin had been duking it out with the blonde for about fifteen minutes, yet neither one showed signs of stopping.

That was good. Trinity liked it when her opponents could keep up with her. However, now as a very inopportune time for a confrontation. The vampire's little jab had pissed Applejack it bit more than she had thought out, and now the two were boxing in the middle of the College's main hall.

Trinity cartwheeled backwards, barely missing a right hook from her enraged opponent. It was sloppy, but it had enough power behind it to crack the stone of the pillar Trinity had been using as cover. She didn't have the sheer brute force Applejack had, and a full on confrontation would be suicide. Instead, hit-and-run attacks would suffice. Only if she could get close enough.

The vampire rushed forward and pushed off of the well in the middle of the hall. Applejack brought her arms up just in time for her steel gauntlets to block Trinity's drop-kick. Before the assassin could react, the farmer grabbed Trinity's ankle and swung her around. The assassin was surprisingly light, and when Applejack let go Trinity went flying into another pillar.

The force of the impact felt like Trinity was hit by a horse, but despite the probably fractured rib and bleeding nose, she struggled to her feet. Applejack rushed forward, trying to take the assassin by surprise. Trinity expected this and stepped to the right just before the armored fist of the farmer hit home on the pillar. Applejack grunted and held her forearm, and stepped back just in time to dodge another one of Trinity's kicks.

The vampire cursed in some unknown dialect and pressed her attack. A flurry of jabs and kicks descended upon Applejack, barely giving her time to raise her guard. The steel armor she wore was enough protection in some areas, but the joints were vulnerable to Trinity's quick attacks. Three minutes later, Applejack had lost all the feeling in her left arm, and her legs felt like jelly beneath her weight.

Seeing her opponent's weakness, Trinity sprinted towards Applejack. In defense, Applejack sent forth a sloppy haymaker with her right fist. Trinity easily side-stepped the attack and seized the farmer's arm before chopping at her neck. Applejack reeled backwards from the attack, gasping for air, but the assassin was already upon her. Trinity gripped her opponent's shoulders and forced her down, and the vampire's knee collided with Applejack's gut.

Applejack collapsed to the floor, the breath knocked out of her by the final attack. She gave a grunt and attempted to rise to her feet, but Trinity planted her boot on the farmer's neck before it could be accomplished.

"My master taught me many things, farmer," Trinity said. "He taught me and my brethren how to kill, steal, and torture those who would get in our way."

Applejack scowled and tried to force the boot off her, but Trinity just pressed down harder on her neck.

"But he also taught us that there is honor in murder. Honesty within lies. Heroism in villainy."

Trinity removed the boot from Applejack's neck and pulled the woman to her feet. "Remember Applejack: not all heroes dress in gold and white, and others must become monsters to save you from monsters."

With that, the assassin simply left Applejack there to contemplate those words. In truth, her master had said none of that. He was a mute vampire much like Trinity, but that didn't make him unreadable. A one hundred and thirteen year-old assassin with the face like a young adult was a very emotive, and in the end that was is downfall.

Trinity dreaded the day such a fate might befall her. You don't live two hundred years as a hired killer just to fall on some vampire hunter's sword.

Outside of Dawnstar, Skyrim

Uriel Servetus.

Legion disliked the name. I fact, it disliked the entire body he had chosen, but Akatir had suggested doing the deed in the flesh. Legion didn't trust its subordinates with the exchange and had opted to take a mortal form instead. Sure, Legion's normal form could withstand the cold a thousand times better than this form, but that form was too conspicuous.

Legion was entirely covered by a thick black coat that reached down to its ankles, which were submerged in a snow drift that reached its knees. This was where they had agreed to meet, but where were they?

'Ask, and you shall receive.'

The snow drift before Legion erupted in a cloud of white, and in response Legion rolled back. Its hand darted to its belt, were a Ebony War axe dangled from the hip. It was tempting to draw it, but he needed to see what opponent lay before it. A bear or sabre cat would be easy to deal with, but time-consuming in Legion's current state. Of course, if it was one of them...

The cloud of snow finally parted, revealing Legion's goal in its entirety. The lithe form of a Khajiit came first into its view, followed by the black and red attire of Legion's contact. The Khajiit, female, if Legion was at least a bit competent in Khajiit physiology, had tawny fur with black embellishments across her face, which was hidden by the black hood of her clothes.

The yellow feline eyes of the Khajiit settled on Legion.

"What is life's greatest illusion?" the Khajiit asked.

"Innocence, my brother," Legion replied. Even in its mortal form, the thousand voices still rang out. The Khajiit stepped back at the foreign sound of her contact's voice, but regained that step with a faint smile on her face.

"Are you Dar 'Setha's contact?

Now it was Legion's turn to crack a smile, revealing a row of fangs. "Indeed. I have the down payment right here."

Legion reached into its cloak and withdrew a coin purse the size of its hand and threw it at the Khajiit. At the sight of the coin, Setha's tail twitched, and she the caught the bag with ease.

"Remember," Legion said to the Khajiit. "I need the six women alive. Anyone that gets in your way is fair game."

The Khajiit nodded and left Legion there in the snow. Besides, she had and her brethren had a Nord to kill.

Chapter 14 (For real this time)

Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.

Chapter 1(R)

Chapter 1

MY LITTLE DOVAHKIIN: Wrath of the Damned

Chapter 1

4E 202

The Rift, Skyrim. Somewhere southeast of Shor's Stone.

Birds were chirping in the warm, evening air. Leaves rustled as they caught the wind in their branches. Insects buzzed around in the air as they searched for their next meal. These were the sound of The Rift's northern forests.

And these were the reasons why Isen Storm-Rider hated being in these woods.

Sure, being a hero, this was probably in the job description, but spending 2 whole weeks in the forest with nothing but your own belongings and whatever the wilderness had to offer in the variety of game and fruit? That irked Isen. Those damned Wood Elves could have their damn forests.

Isen was an average Nord. He was about 6 feet high with a strong build and sinewy arms. His face was well rounded despite the usual wear-n'-tear of his homeland. His hair was midnight black, covering most of his forehead but only fell half an inch over the back of his neck. He sported a thick 5 o'clock shadow; the only thing that wasn't covered by his iron helm. He was still young, but Isen's dark blue eyes held the look of loss and sadness.

He, as he had found out with personal experience, was the Dragonborn. He possessed the body of a mortal, yet had the soul of a dragon. He really didn't believe it either. That is until he killed his first dragon.

Passing a small creek, Isen surveyed himself. He wore a set of Banded iron armor, complimented by his iron helm and shield. Strapped to his back was his steel sword, Relentless. It was a simple, straight broadsword about the length of his leg. The hilt was wrapped in black leather, though it was slightly worn.

He continued on his merry way. Near the foot of a hill, he saw something out of the corner of his eye. Instinctively, he took cover behind a small tree and readied his sword.

He took in all the variables. Vampires: not likely. Hunters: not in this part of the forest. Cultists: damned to Oblivion they might be, but not this close to civilization. Bandits: probably. Skooma dealers were pretty desperate to make a profit, so having shipments protected by outlaws are common. As quick as any hare or fox, Isen darted from one tree to the next until he was only a couple of yards from the voices.

Then, he realized that the voices were all female. Not a lot of women took up raiding as a profession. Ever so quietly, Isen slowly stood up and peeked out from behind his cover.

And next was what he listed as the weirdest sight in his life.