My Little Dovahkiin: Wrath of the Damned

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.