My Little Dovahkiin: Wrath of the Damned

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.