Skyrim: Secrets of the Moonby themonkeyknightChaptersMemory Lost, Companionship GainedPower of the MoonsThe Road to MarkarthVodremMemory Lost, Companionship GainedLuna awoke with a gasp, her eyes flying open. Her surroundings were unfamiliar; the iron bars did not comfort her, and she could feel the cold of the stone floor and wall against bare skin. Luna looked down at herself to better evaluate her situation. Midnight blue hair flowed down past her shoulders, the hair shimmering as though it contained some ethereal power. Her body was covered in a ragged dress, which stopped halfway down her upper legs. Ragged footwraps covered her two feet. She reached out to feel the material, and stopped, staring at her hand in a bewildered fashion. Luna raised her other hand up to the first. For some reason, it felt as though she was not supposed to have these. Shaking herself mentally, she examined her skin. It had a tanned tone, and was smooth, with no freckles or hair. She also took notice of the sizeable mounds hiding beneath the dress. This all felt very strange to Luna, who could not get rid of the feeling that something was wrong. She looked around the cell, and saw a little girl sleeping on a pile of hay. Luna considered waking the girl when a door at the end of the room swung open. A heavily built man wearing armor walked in, a sword strapped to his side, and a sneer on his face. “So, you’re the one my men found outside the redoubt.” Luna didn’t respond, for a distortion in the air behind the man had caught her attention, and even if it hadn’t, she felt nothing compelling her to answer him. “None of us know who you are, which means you’re only useful in one way.” He leered at Luna, a lecherous look spreading across his face. Luna’s lip curled, her disgust evident. “Oh, come now. Don’t look like that. One night with me and you’ll be begging-” The man was cut off as the distortion disappeared, revealing a bipedal lizard in hooded, black leather armor. The lizard forced the man’s head to the side, and then sunk his fangs into the man’s neck. After a moment, the lizard released the man, and before the man could turn around, the lizard drew a saber and thrust it through the man’s chest. The lizard removed the saber, multicolored energies flowing from the man into the lizard. Luna turned her head, sickened, but at the same time, grateful that the lizard had killed the man before he had done what he had been suggesting. The lizard searched the corpse, coming up with some lockpicks, a few pieces of gold, and the key to Luna and the girl’s cell. He moved quickly, unlocking the cell door. By this point, the girl had woken. “Who...who are you?” she asked. “Why are you here?” “Your father sent me. He didn’t mention that the Forsworn had captured another woman, though.” The lizard looked at Luna, tilting his head like a curious dog. His voice was raspy, and yet smooth at the same time. “What is your name, Breton?” Luna blinked at the strange word, and couldn’t help but feel like she should know it. She contemplated answering the lizard. He killed a man - possibly many others as well; “Forsworn” sounded plural - but at the same time, he was here to rescue this girl. Besides, he seemed nice enough. “My name is Luna. I-” She stopped. It was then that a realization hit her. Her name was all she knew. Her eyes began to tear up, and a sob escaped her lips. “I-I don’t remember anything!” Luna’s sobs grew, and the tears began to flow freely. The lizard raised his right hand, which became infused with a green light. He clenched his fist, and the light pulsated. The lizard then thrust his hand forward, palm out, and a ball of energy the same color as the light lanced out, surging towards Luna. It struck her, and her sobs quieted. Her tears stopped, though she still had to wipe her eyes. “Better?” the lizard asked. Luna nodded. It was a peculiar feeling, she decided, as she was still upset, but some unknown bravery overpowered the negative emotions, allowing her to focus on the situation at hand. “Good. My name is Mikal. I am here to help, nothing more.” Mikal stood aside, permitting the girl to leave the cell. Luna rose shakily, her legs weak. She managed to stand, but when Luna attempted a step, she pitched forwards. Mikal caught her, his scales surprisingly smooth. The black clad lizard helped her stand again, and then handed Luna a green bottle. “Drink that. Your stamina will return quickly.” She did so, gagging a bit at the taste, and strength immediately flooded her body. She tried walking again, and succeeded. Mikal had gone back to the corpse, and was again searching it. This time, he took an ornamentally carved knife, pale gold in color. He tossed it into the air, causing it to flip, and caught it by the blade so that the hilt was facing Luna. “Take it. You’ll need a weapon until we can restore your knowledge of magicks.” Luna tentatively took the knife, hoping she wouldn’t have to use it. Satisfied, Mikal turned to the girl. “Stay with Luna. Do not, under any circumstances, leave her side unless I tell you to. Okay?” “Okay.” “Good. Now then,” Mikal said. “Let’s get out of here. Your father is anxious to see you again, and he’s not the only one wishing you to return safely.” At that, the girl’s eyes lit up, joyous at the thought of seeing her papa again. Mikal led the two out of the room, his saber drawn and ready. Electricity crackled in his left hand, and he walked in a crouch. Luna and the girl mimicked him. As they went, they encountered more corpses, some of them female. At one of the female corpses, Mikal stopped and sized up the body, comparing it to Luna’s. He then stripped the armor off the corpse. “What are you doing?” Luna asked. Wordlessly, the lizard turned to her, the dead Forsworn’s armor in his arms. He extended the armor to Luna. She stared, mollified at what he was suggesting. “I know you don’t like it, but I have no other armor on me, especially nothing that would fit you. I can and will make you a better, proper set of armor, but until then...please. I’ve seen too many good friends die because they weren’t properly protected.” Luna hesitated, but conceded defeat, and took the armor from him. Mikal turned around, averting his gaze, and Luna removed the rags she was wearing. She slowly put the Forsworn Armor on, grimacing all the while. When she struggled with a piece, the girl helped her. Finally the armor was on, and Luna said so to Mikal. He turned back to the two, gave Luna a once over, and nodded in approval. “Perfect. Now come,” he said, crouching again. “We need to leave before more Forsworn arrive.” And so they went, lightning dancing in Mikal’s palm, and the saber glowing a deep blood-red. Eventually, the trio arrived at the main entrance. Mikal slowly opened the door, peering out, then swung the door open, standing up and walking out. Luna and the girl both followed suit, both ecstatic at being free again. Once they were all outside, Mikal took one last look around, taking in the cool night air. Satisfied that he could see no enemies, the lizard grinned at his companions, opened his mouth, and- -let loose a cry of pain as a Forsworn arrow pierced his armor and sprouted from his shoulder. He cursed, fumbling for the arrow. He had been careless, he should have looked up, he should have been more observant, he should have - the arrow! Grasping the arrow, he wrenched it out of his shoulder, grunting at the slight pain. “Do you know where Karthwasten is from here?” The girl nodded, fear in her eyes. “Then run! Take Luna with you. I’ll deal with these bastards.” The girl grabbed Luna’s hand and started running for her home. Luna stumbled at first; running was new. She quickly found her balance and kept pace with the girl, hoping that Mikal would be alright. Mikal watched the girls run off, then faced the Forsworn, who were standing at the top of a cliff in front of Broken Tower Redoubt, shouting curses at him. He would’ve scaled the cliffside, or shot at them with a bow, but they would have scattered by then, and he had neglected to bring a bow or crossbow. Besides, he had seen enough of the Forsworn for today. “You fools!” he shouted, letting the Thu’um carry his voice without any power...yet. “You do not know whom you challenge. Leave now, or suffer the consequences!” The Forsworn laughed and jeered at Mikal, believing themselves out of his reach. The Argonian smirked, and let the power of the Thu’um flow through him. He Shouted, and raw, elemental fury erupted from his maw in three words: “Strun Bah Qo!” Above them, the clouds swirled and thickened, growing dark. Lightning crackled and jumped from cloud to cloud. The Forsworn watched the skies nervously, and began to back away from the edge of the cliff. Mikal began sprinting in the direction Luna and Fjotra had gone. Storm Call was one of his more powerful Shouts, and while he had never been directly harmed by it, the debris sent flying from the destruction could certainly do damage to him. Behind him, the group of Forsworn began to flee to no avail, as nothing short of Armageddon rained down on them in the form of a lightning storm. Each pillar of lightning that struck the ground was thicker than the trunk of the Eldergreen and hotter than the surface of the sun. The Forsworn never made it back to their camping grounds. Once he was a good distance away, Mikal turned back to watch the carnage. Brilliant white bolts of sheer power continued to drop from the sky, and would continue to do so for awhile. The Argonian chuckled; even after exercising his Thu’um many times, he was still amazed by what it could do. He shook his head in amusement, and then placed two fingers to his mouth. Mikal let out a sharp, piercing whistle, and Shadowmere, faithful as ever, answered instantly, galloping out of the shadows. “Good boy,” he crooned, stroking Shadowmere’s muzzle. Shadowmere blinked and shook his mane, accepting the praise. “I met someone new today, Shadowmere. You’d like her.” Shadowmere snorted, causing the Argonian to sigh. “Yes, yes, I know. You make your own judgements.” Mikal climbed on top of Shadowmere, settling into the saddle. “Let’s go, boy. I do not want to return to Markarth empty-handed. He flicked the reins, and Shadowmere took off, adopting a steady gait. Mikal leaned forwards and whispered their destination in Shadowmere’s ear. Shadowmere snorted and shook his head, acknowledging the command. Exhausted, Mikal slumped in the saddle. He dozed off, knowing that Shadowmere wouldn’t let him fall. The dark horse trotted on, never tiring, eyes and ears alert for any sign of danger. Far, far above them, a serpentine figure flew on mismatched wings. “So this is where that thing sent Lulu. An interesting world, to be sure. So much chaos! Perhaps I’ll stay and watch a while longer…” The figure flew on, following the horse and rider to the woman who knew nothing but her name. Murky black water swirled around islands of books, the occasional Lurker surfacing to try and nab a Seeker. Above them, a grotesque mass of tentacles with a single eye stared at nothing in that world, and at the Argonian rider in his own. “Soon...the secrets of the moon will be mine!” Author's Note An idea that sprung into existence after realizing both Luna and Nocturnal had a connections to the moon. Enjoy! Power of the MoonsLuna and the girl ran until they could run no more, both of them gasping for breath. Luna looked back at where they had left Mikal and was surprised at how far they’d gone. The swirling clouds did worry her, though she didn’t know why. She turned back to the girl and saw her breathing had steadied. “Are you ready to go on?” she asked. The girl nodded. “My village isn’t too far from here. Come on!” The two continued up the path, walking now. Luna looked up at the sky, marveling at the stars moons, and shimmering ribbon of color...which made her wonder where that mass of clouds over the redoubt had come from. She was shaken from her thoughts when the girl called out to her. “Hurry, Luna! I can see Karthwasten!” Luna couldn’t help but smile. The girl was so joyous compared to before that she seemed an entirely different person. Luna ran to catch up to the girl. When they reached Karthwasten, Luna looked around at the empty village. Three houses and other buildings formed a semicircle, and up the hill was what appeared to be an entrance to a mine. At first she wondered where everyone was, then remembered; it was late, of course the residents would be inside. The girl ran up to a house standing in between the other two houses. Before Luna could stop her, the girl knocked on the house’s door four times. While the girl was waiting for an answer, Luna had moved so that she was standing behind her. After a time, the door opened, revealing a man in miner’s clothes and sporting a day-old beard. Hanging on his belt was a pickaxe. He saw the girl first. “Fjotra?” “Papa!” Fjotra wrapped her father in a hug. The miner, shellshocked, slowly returned the embrace, as though he couldn’t believe his daughter was back. Eventually, reality caught up to him, and he strengthened his grip on Fjotra, never wanting to let her go. “Oh, Fjotra! I never thought I’d see you again!” Luna watched the whole exchange, a smile on her face as she watched father and daughter reunite. The father finally looked up, expecting to see the fanged Argonian that said he would get Fjotra back. Instead, he saw one of the group that took his daughter. “Forsworn!” A whinny from Shadowmere roused Mikal from his half-sleep. He sat up straight in the saddle and looked around. Shadowmere had stopped on the incline that led to Karthwasten. In fact, they had stopped right outside the village. “Shadowmere, why…” Mikal’s voice died in his throat when his eyes fell on the reason for Shadowmere’s halt. Every man in Karthwasten was belly-down on the ground, each of them struggling to grab a weapon just out of reach. Crimson red energies assaulted their bodies, forcing them to the ground in a way similar to Dragonrend. Mikal spotted Fjotra trying to help her father to no avail. In the center of it all was Luna. She was floating a foot off the ground, surrounded by a pale green barrier. Her arms were flung out to the side, and her mouth was open in a silent scream. Luna’s hair looked like a piece of the midnight sky itself. What really caught his attention was her eyes. They were pure white, blank as the Void, and blazed with power. It was then that Fjotra spotted him. “Mister! Please, help my papa!”, she begged. “Fjotra, what happened?” “Papa saw Luna and thought she was with the people that kidnapped me!” Mikal blinked, then swore. Of course. The armor they had taken off the corpse. “He shouted at her, and then attacked her! She kept backing away, but he wouldn’t stop! Right before Papa hit her, she screamed and threw her arms out to the side. The next thing I knew, the moons were glowing, and -” Mikal cut her off. “The moons?” He looked up, and sure enough, the two moons were glowing. Mikal looked back to the the men, then to Luna’s barrier. The colors were the same as the moons’ colors. Was Luna...using the moons? “Stay with Shadowmere, hatchling.” He advanced, but as soon as he stepped inside the village, the red energies attacked him as harshly as the other men. Damn! She can’t tell friend from foe! Mikal fell to a knee and struggled to rise, visibly shaking with the effort. A Shout. I need a Shout. “WULD!” The Shout worked as intended, blasting him forwards, but the intensified pull of gravity on his body worked against him, stopping him all too soon. Unprepared for the sudden halt, he tumbled onto his belly. Once more, he struggled to rise, then Shouted again. “MUL QAH DIIV!” Ethereal Dragonbone Armor faded into existence around his body. He stood this time, albeit shakily. The Dragon Aspect’s power was giving him a dovah’s strength, easing the task of resisting the spell, and he slowly but surely made his way towards Luna. Luna found herself in what appeared to be a meeting room. In the center of the room was a table, and standing around the table were three horse-like creatures. One had a pure white coat and a mane flowing with color and power. The second had a pink coat and tri-colored mane of pink, yellow, and purple. The third and final had a lavender coat and violet mane with a pink streak. Each creature had a horn and wings. All wore some form of regalia. Judging by the body shape, were female as well. “I’m sorry, Princess Celestia. I can’t find any trace of the wormhole that opened up and took her.” The speaker was the third creature. For whatever reason, the fact that she spoke did not startle or surprise Luna. In fact, all three seemed familiar to her. “Discord’s dimension hopping, but we haven’t heard back from him yet.” “Shiny and I haven’t found anything either. We’re looking through Sombra’s journals and records; many dark creatures and beings are recorded in them, but none are like the one that appeared through the wormhole.” The white one closed her eyes, as though in thought. “I see. Cadence, Twilight, thank you both. Even though you haven’t found anything, you tried. That helps me greatly.” Now Luna had all their names. But what were they talking about? Someone was taken from them? “It seems now we are waiting for Discord’s message. Let me know when -” A flash of white energy cut her off. Floating above the center of the table was a scroll. The lavender one’s - ah, Twilight’s horn glowed magenta, encasing the scroll in the same color. The scroll floated over to her, and she unraveled it, reading its contents. “It’s from Discord. He’s found her, but because of some beings called daedric princes, he can’t snap her out of that dimension. She’s safe; a native named Mikal found her and is helping her. Discord says for now he’ll watch and listen, then ‘accidently’ run into them. Disguised of course.” “Anything else?” Celestia asked. Twilight read more of the scroll. “He says to say hello to Fluttershy for him.” Twilight quirked an eyebrow. “He also says that if a cyclops triangle appears and asks for him, the check’s in the mail and he’ll get his goat at the next Chaotic Beings Anonymous meeting.” Celestia laughed at Discord’s last written statement. “Well...if nothing else, she’s safe and Discord knows where she is. Go back to the Crystal Empire and Ponyville. Twilight, tell me when Discord sends in his next report.” Twilight and Cadence nodded, then left the room. As soon as the door closed, Celestia’s posture slumped, her head lowering and her smiling fading. Luna’s heart ached for the white equine. She may not have known exactly who Celestia was, but she wanted to tell her that everything would be fine, and that she’d find who she was looking for. “I swear...we will find you, sister. We will find you and bring you back home.” Tears gathered in her eyes. “We’ll bring you home, Luna.” At that moment, the room faded, and Luna’s vision went dark. “Mikal! I think she’s waking up.” The pale Argonian looked behind him to where Shadowmere was following. The dark horse’s steps were careful, making sure that Luna did not fall off, and Fjotra sat in front of Luna, holding Shadowmere’s reins. Sure enough, the Breton was stirring. Mikal stopped, Shadowmere drawing level with him then doing the same. “Nnggh...hm? Where…?” “You’re awake. How do you feel?” Luna looked down at the Argonian, who was regarding her with concerned eyes. “I’m fine.” She looked around. “Where are we?” “The road to Markarth.” Mikal crossed his arms and shifted his weight. “I must say, I am impressed. Most wouldn’t be conscious for far longer than you were.” “I was unconscious?” Mikal nodded. “For a day and a half. Enmon, Fjotra’s father, apologizes for attacking you. His wife, Mena, dressed you while you were out. Now only a complete idiot would call you a Forsworn.” He hesitated, looking away from Luna then back at her. “What do you remember?” “The last thing I remember was Enmon attacking me...and a dream of some sort. But it’s sketchy.” Mikal nodded, accepting her answer. “The body rejects any memories that it doesn’t like. Combine that with the backlash my Silence spell caused and the magicka hyperexhaustion you suffered from that spell...I thank the Divines you aren’t comatose.” “Is Luna going to be okay?” Mikal looked to Fjotra, then smiled at her. It seemed that Fjotra had taken a liking to the Breton. “As long as she doesn’t use any kind of magic for a day or two, she'll be fine. Now,” he said cheerfully. “Let us be off to Markarth.” Mikal turned back to the road and focused his magicka. A swirling sphere of darkness congealed in his left hand. Thrusting his hand forwards, the Argonian cast the spell towards the road. Bluish-white energy swirled in a sphere. It cleared, revealing an unearthly creature. A horse’s complete skeleton stood on the road. Its hooves and tailbone had fire surrounding them, and the same fire streaked from where its mane would’ve been. The eye sockets shone with an otherwordly light. Every part of the skeleton horse was a deep purple. “This is Arvak, a horse I found in the Soul Cairn.” Arvak turned to look at the others, and Shadowmere snorted in response, unimpressed. Mikal chuckled at Shadowmere, then climbed onto Arvak. He dug his heels into Arvak’s ribs, and the skeleton horse took off, Shadowmere following close behind. Not two minutes after they had left, a white-haired young man materialized into existence, right on the spot where the horses had stood. “Oh, poo. Missed them by a few minutes. Oh well. Guess I’ll explore for a bit, and who knows? Maybe I’ll find some chaos…or make some!” He cackled, then snapped his fingers and disappeared. A group of five traveled North towards Markarth. Their armor and weapons clanked and jangled as they went down the trail. All looked as though they were about to fight a powerful enemy. The one walking point remembered the instructions they had been given: Kill the Vampire Lord known as Mikal, whom was traveling to the Dwarven city. He looked at the sun. They would arrive at Markarth by sunset. Turning to the others, the group leader shouted at the others to keep moving, they were almost there. As they went, each of them mentally prepared for the battle. A group of five traveled North towards battle. Author's Note Goodness, I forgot how much my writing sucked...don't worry, it gets better, I promise! I am aware that there is no Silence spell in Skyrim. There really is no magic-nullifying spell at all, so it is now canon that Mikal traveled through other provinces before reaching Skyrim. The Road to MarkarthAs Arvak and Shadowmere trotted down the path to Markarth, Luna took in the scenery around them. The area, she decided, was as picturesque as a sculptor's carvings. Her thoughts were interrupted by a low growling sound. Luna looked around, alarmed, and the growl sounded again. Looking down, she found the source of the sound. It was her stomach. Ahead of her, Mikal snickered as he turned Arvak around to Shadowmere and the flustered Breton. “Hungry, are we?” Luna blushed, and Fjotra giggled from her spot in front of Luna. Mikal smiled and said, “I suppose we could take a break. Markarth is only an hour’s walk from here.” He climbed off of Arvak’s back. As soon as Mikal’s feet touched the ground, Arvak crumpled and disappeared, energy crackling for a moment, then dispersing. Luna gaped at the spot where Arvak had vanished. “What happened to Arvak?” “He returned to the Soul Cairn. He only stays here for as long as I use him for a mount. Now then, how about you get off of Shadowmere so he can rest his ancient bones, eh?” The aforementioned horse tossed his mane and stomped his hoof in anger. “They are too ancient! How long ago was it that Lachance rode you, hmm?” Shadowmere whickered softly and turned his head away. “ That’s what I thought.” The Argonian walked over to the sulking horse (There is no way that’s normal, thought Luna) and lifted Fjotra off of Shadowmere and onto the ground. He turned back to help Luna off, but to his surprise, she was already on the ground. “I see someone knows her way around horses.” Luna blushed again. “I don’t know how I knew what to do. It just felt…natural.” “Perhaps you used to work with or around horses. Even if you didn’t, at least we know your memory isn’t completely gone.” “Um…Mikal?” The Argonian turned to Fjotra, who was pointing into the woods with a scared look on her face. Peering in the direction of Fjotra’s gaze, he saw what had scared her. Wolves. Mikal swore under his breath…then an idea hit him. Drawing in air, his Thu’um touched the world once again. “RAAN MIR TAH!” A burst of golden energy flooded the area. When it faded, the three wolves were still there, but their stance was no longer hostile. The wolves regarded the group before turning and bounding off into the forest. Mikal turned to the bewildered females and grinned. “Taken care of.” Luna shook her head in bewilderment. “Is there anything you can’t do?” she asked. “Oh, I assure you, I am not infallible or invincible. There was a time when I would have had to kill the wolves.” Mikal strode up to Shadowmere and began rummaging through the saddlebags. “Now then, I believe we were about to eat?” One meal and an hour’s walk later, the group had neared the gates of Markarth. When the entrance entered her vision, Luna’s jaw dropped. The entrance was well fortified; being part of the surrounding mountain helped. She was shaken out of her shock when the two guards at the gate drew their swords. “Halt! Who goes there?” Signaling to Shadowmere to stay put, Mikal took a step forwards, hands raised to show they were empty. “Mikal, Thane to the Jarl of Markarth, with the new Sybil of Dibella and a champion of Nocturnal.” Underneath their helmets, the guards’ eyes widened. “Oh...forgive us, Thane. We were just following orders.” Mikal smiled in response. “Yes, you were. How unlike the last pair of guards you are.” The guards sheathed their swords and stood up straight. “Please, go on through. If you wish, we can get someone to take care of your horse for you.” “Thank you, but that won’t be necessary.” Mikal helped Fjotra off of Shadowmere again, and as before, Luna had already dismounted when he turned back around. Stepping around Luna, the pale Argonian dug through the saddlebags and came up with two pouches of gold, which he tossed to the guards. “Here. Consider it a reward for, ah...following orders.” Both of the guards caught the pouches. “Thank you, Thane.” Mikal nodded to them, then turned and whispered into Shadowmere’s ear. Shadowmere snorted and shook his mane, then turned back and made his way to the stables. “By the Eight, that’s a well-trained horse.” Smirking, Mikal strode past the guards, Luna and Fjotra following closely. “Not well-trained. Just intelligent.” As the three entered Markarth, Luna looked at Mikal questioningly. “‘Champion of Nocturnal?’” Mikal shrugged. “Would you have rather I said ‘Memoryless woman instead?’” “...You have a tongue of silver.” “I prefer to think of it as saying what people want to hear.” Luna shook her head. “You’re hopeless.” “No, I’m silver-tongued.” “Arrgh!” Discord grumbled to himself as he walked up the incline to Markarth. Thanks to a daedric prince, most of his chaotic powers were gone. All he could currently do were illusions and minor reality manipulation. Really minor. At the very least, he had managed to hide his tail, wings, and horns, as those showed even in his human form, and would have gotten strange looks...well, more than he had already received. By the standards of Skyrim, Discord’s entire appearance was abnormal. His skin was a pale grey, and his irises were red. His shaggy hair was pure white, and his snaggletooth still hung out of his mouth. A brown jacket hung open over a white shirt that read “CHAOS”. One of the jacket’s sleeves were yellow, and the other was gold. His pants were ragged, with a light brown left leg and a green right leg. His bare feet showed no signs of wear, and no matter what he walked on, sent no pain-filled signals. The first chance, I get, that Sheo-whatever is getting the thrashing of his immortal existence. Discord’s grumblings were interrupted upon reaching Markarth’s gates. Ahead of him, five armored individuals were talking to the gate guards. One of them handed a guard a piece of parchment. The guards read the paper, then nodded and let the group through. Curious, Discord walked straight up to the guard with the paper and plucked it out of his hands. “Hey, you can’t-” Discord snapped his fingers, and both guards stiffened, then returned to their posts. Now undisturbed, Discord read the parchment. “The Argonian known as Mikal has been summoned by the Jarl of Falkreath. The five carrying this parchment and its copies have been sent to retrieve him. - Jarl Siddgeir” A cold sense of dread ran through Discord. As a creature of deception, he could see through lies, and this note was one big one. The entire thing was forged, which meant that this Mikal was in danger...wait a minute...Mikal was the native that helped Luna! And if the armored group saw Luna as an ally of Mikal...they’d kill her, too. The draconequus-turned-human ran into Markarth. Luna was in danger, and he’d be damned before he let her get hurt. After all, she held the secrets of the moon, and no one could ever know them. Don’t you dare die, Luna. I haven’t shown you my latest design for the moon’s surface yet! Discord ran faster. Author's Note There is a blog to ask questions of the characters. find it on tumblr at brachybrofist. VodremMikal collapsed into a chair by the fireplace with a contented sigh. After taking Fjotra to the priestesses of Dibella, he had gone to the Silver-Blood Inn for a drink. As for Luna, he had given her directions to his house from the temple. “Why aren’t you going there too?” she had asked. “I need to stop by the blacksmith to check on an order,” he replied. “After that, I need a drink.” And so, they went their separate ways. When Mikal had gotten to the smithy, Ghorza presented him with the new weapons. “Don’t you dare end up breaking these, or I’ll break you.” Mikal chuckled at the warning and went to the grindstone to sharpen the blades. “Did someone stay up later than they should have to make these?” he asked. “Shut up, silver-tongue,” Ghorza snapped. “If you must know, it’s that time again. I am not in a mood to have fun either, nor am I prone to mistakes in forging.” “I had wondered where your assistant was.” Ghorza swore and chucked her tongs at Mikal, followed by ingots of varying metals. “DO NOT MENTION HIM!” Getting the message, Mikal quickly fled the smithy, his newly sharpened weapons strapped to his sides. Now he was warm on the inside from the drink and on the outside from the fire. The sound of footsteps filled his earholes, and he turned his head to see an old friend. “Ah, Cosnach!” “My favorite drinking buddy! How’ve ya been, lizard?” Mikal laughed. If anyone else called him a lizard, he took offense or ignored them, but for Cosnach it was friendly banter, nothing more. Of course, that meant Mikal could respond in kind. “Keep pressing your luck, Cosnach. Sooner or later, I will snap!” The Nord smirked and sat down in the seat opposite of him. “So, what’d you get back from this time? Slaying a daedric prince or summat?” “Rescuing a little girl and a woman without her memory from the Forsworn. Honestly, Cosnach, how many more times are you going to guess wildly?” “Until I’m right. Anyways, I’ve got somethin’ that might interest you.” Mikal quirked an eyeridge. “Oh? What is it?” “Some armored guys came into Markarth. About five of them. I think they’re mercenaries or something, ‘cause they’re looking for someone.” The Argonian rubbed his chin, looking thoughtful. “Do you know who?” he questioned. “Nah. Figured it’d be more for you than for me, so I left before I found out. Thought you could go and talk to them.” “Hmm. Perhaps I will. Thank you for the information, Cosnach.” At that moment, the door to the inn burst open, and a strange-looking man entered. “Is Mikal in here?” he asked. Mikal and Cosnach glanced at each other and nodded. The Argonian and the Nord rose from their seats. “Who’s asking?” (Line Break) Discord did his dead-level best to remain calm and collected. Thanks to some stealthy and well-timed illusions, he had managed to stir up the armored group into a frenzy by sending them on a wild goose chase throughout the city. Now that they were held up by the city guards, Discord made his move. It only took asking one of the guards not handling the group to find himself directed to the Silver-Blood Inn, where he hoped Mikal was. He entered the inn rather forcefully, and asked for Mikal without hesitation. It was quiet for awhile, but to his utmost relief, the same lizard-man he had seen riding the dark horse after the lightning storm stood up. “Who’s asking?” the lizard-man asked. Discord approached quickly, causing Mikal to reach for a jagged blade. “Now hold on!” Discord exclaimed, holding up his hands. “I’m not an enemy! Not to you at least.” Mikal didn’t move his hand from the blade’s hilt, which Discord expected. No doubt past experience kept the pale Argonian wary of people he didn’t know. What he didn’t expect was the whisper filled with power. “LAAS!” For a brief amount of time, Mikal’s eyes looked different. Before Discord could figure out what it was, Mikal blinked and his eyes were normal again. “Fine,” he said. “I will listen.” Thanking Laurfausta, Discord decided to be abrupt. “Luna’s in danger.” “What? How do you know that? How do you know Luna, for that matter?” “She and I are from the same place. I’m an...ally of hers, in a way. As for how I know, perhaps it’s because I read the paper that accused you and showed you as a criminal. If I’m right, then they’ll go after her too.” “Who will go after her?” Mikal asked. “Maybe the group of five heavily armed individuals running around screaming for your blood.” (Line Break) “Are you lost?” Luna blinked, then looked down at the source of the question. It was a little girl with blonde hair and a green dress. “Pardon?” “You’ve been standing there for a while, so I thought you might be lost and wanting some help!” “Oh...yes, I suppose I am," admitted Luna. "Mikal gave me directions to his house, but...well, I can’t remember them.” The little girl’s face brightened. “You know my papa?” “Your papa?” “Yes! Mikal’s my papa!” “Oh.” For an instant, Luna tried to comprehend how a bipedal lizard could have a human child, but quickly dismissed it. She could ask later. “Could you take me to your papa’s house?” “Yeah! Come on, it’s this way! I’m Runa, by the way.” Luna smiled warmly. “I’m Luna.” (Line Break) Shavee stirred the soup, making sure it didn’t burn on the sides on the bottom. She sighed, mentally taking role of the household’s occupants. ‘Alesan’s laying in bed, I asked Argis to see if the apothecary had any Cure Disease potions, Mikal….’ she sighed again. ‘...is hopefully alive and on his way home, and Runa is-’ “Mama, I’m home!” Shavee smiled at her daughter’s voice. “Hello, little one. Did you enjoy the temple?” “No, they didn’t let me in. The nice priestess said that no one could go in ‘cause they were training the new sybil.” “Oh. That’s too bad. Another time then.” To be quite honest, Shavee preferred her daughter stay away from the Temple of Dibella. After what Mikal told her about Helga, she wanted Runa to have nothing to do with the Dibellan priestesses. “I made a new friend, though! Say hi, Luna!” At this, Shavee finally looked up from the meal she was preparing. Sheepishly standing next to Runa was a female Breton with fair skin, which was lightly tanned. She wore fine blue clothes, and her looked to be a deep navy blue, which was uncommon, but Shavee wouldn’t judge. For some reason, her hair seemed to be shimmering with power. Luna waved. “Hello.” “Greetings, Luna. I hope Runa was not too forceful when she dragged you here.” Luna smiled. “Hardly. In fact, I meant to come here in the first place. Mikal told me to deliver a message to his wife, and I’m assuming that’s you.” “What’s the message?” asked Shavee. “That he is back safely. He also said that he would have told you himself, but decided to send me to you with a message, since he had to take the new sybil to the Temple of Dibella.” Shavee smiled and shook her head. “He thinks he know everything,” she muttered. “Thank you for telling me, Luna. Runa, go tell your brother to wash up for supper.” “Yes, Mama.” She ran off into the house. Luna fidgeted under Shavee’s gaze. “So, um...how-” “How do two Argonians have human children?” Luna smiled nervously. That had been exactly what she was going to ask. “They are adopted. Mikal found Alesan living on the streets of Dawnstar, and Runa was in the Honorhall Orphanage.” “But why no Argonian children? Didn’t you two have a, erm…” Luna blushed. “...honeymoon?” “Oh, we did. Believe me, we definitely did.” Shavee smirked as Luna’s blush deepened. “But it appears that one of us or both of us are infertile. It matters not. I love Runa and Alesan as though I had given birth to them,” Shavee stated. Luna’s blush disappeared, and she couldn’t help but smile. “Like my Children of the Night. They were orphans on the street until I took them to a special place. Discord helped me raise them until he turned...turned…” Shavee looked at Luna worriedly. Luna’s eyes were blank, and her mouth was slightly open. “Luna? What’s wrong?” “I-I can’t remember who Discord is. I can’t remember who the Children of the Night are.” Luna clutched the sides of her head, and tears started to stream down her face. “But I mentioned them! So why can’t I remember?!” Shavee moved forwards and enveloped Luna in a hug. Luna in turn wrapped her arms around the female Argonian, sobbing and clutching Shavee like she was her only lifeline. ‘This poor girl,’ Shavee thought. ‘Could things get any worse for her?’ As if on cue, an explosion sounded outside the house. It was a sound Shavee had heard before. Her husband was fighting. (Line Break) The moment Discord had described the armored group roaming the city, Mikal immediately stormed out of the inn, cursing Isran and the Dawnguard. He briefly registered Cosnach and Discord following behind him. ‘Damn those fools. I killed Harkon for them. I told them that I posed no threat to them. I explained my reasons to them. I even gave them the Shield of Auriel that I recovered from the Falmer! So why in Oblivion are they after me!?’ So engrossed in his thoughts was he that Mikal didn’t see the Dawnguard until it was too late. Giving up on their efforts, the Dawnguard had decided to wait on the road for Mikal to approach or leave Markarth. It was then that Nocturnal proved to be a fickle mistress, as right as Mikal left the Silver-Blood Inn, the Dawnguard crossed right in front of it. The Dawnguard member closest to the Argonian yelled at the others, and they all turned to see Mikal, who was now filling the air with every single profanity he could think of. Ignoring this, the group leader, a Nord, stepped forwards. “Mikal Dovahkiin, you are accused of vampirism by the Dawnguard. You can either come with us for a trial, or resist and be killed here. Your choice.” At this, Mikal snorted in amusement. “A trial? Sheogorath must have played with your minds if you think I’d go to one of your damn monkey trials in a kangaroo court.” The leader sneered at Mikal and drew his Dawnguard Axe, the others readying their weapons as well. “You’ve made your decision. Any last words?” Mikal shrugged nonchalantly. “Yes, actually. Tell Isran that he can take his ego and his axe and shove them both up his arse, along with the stick that’s been there ever since I turned.” The leader growled at Mikal, and raised his axe to strike. “Hold on. I have three left.” Mikal took a deep breath, and- “FUS RO DAH!” Near infinite force blasted from Mikal’s maw, and the Dawnguard went flying, one of them disintegrating into ash from the sheer power of the Shout. The four remaining Dawnguard got up, but before they could fully recover, Cosnach rushed in and slipped an ebony dagger in between the ribs of a Dawnguard Wood Elf. The vampire hunter fell to the ground, and his fellow hunter, a Dark Elf, turned on Cosnach with an enraged cry. Cosnach lept back and drew a slender saber that emitted chaos energy. It had been a gift from Mikal some time ago. From behind Mikal, Discord leapt at the Dawnguard standing next to the leader, a female Imperial, effectively rugby tackling her. This left only the leader standing, the Nord’s face registering shock that his two of his team had fallen so quickly. He gritted his teeth and howled, slashing and hacking at Mikal with his axe. The Argonian was prepared and drew his new weapons, a Daedric Sword and Daedric Dagger. Even though he had not enchanted either of them yet, they both seemed to sing for spilled blood. With great ease and skill, Mikal blocked the swings with the Daedric Sword, finally catching an overhead swing in the serrated edge of the blade. Seemingly of it’s own accord, the Daedric Dagger lashed across the Dawnguard’s armored chest. The deadly weapon cut through the armor like a hot knife through butter and into flesh. The vampire hunter fell to his knees, blood seeping from the wound. Mikal put the sword and dagger to the leader’s neck, and swung, beheading him. The Argonian looked over to Cosnach to see him finishing his opponent by running her through, then beheading her as well. As for Discord… “Sithis and damnation!” The curse lept from Mikal’s mouth before he could stop it, and for good reason. Discord’s opponent had been ripped to bloody shreds, barely recognizable as a human being anymore. However, Mikal had seen worse. No, what got to the vampire was Discord himself. Discord now sprouted wings, one reminiscent of a blue jay’s, the other of a bat. On his head was half a set of antlers and a goat’s horn. His left hand had taken on qualities of a bird of prey’s talon, and his right hand was similar to the paw of a sabre cat’s. Discord’s right foot had become green and clawed like a dragon’s, and his left foot looked hardened and brown, not unlike a cow’s hoof. Finally, a long red lizard’s tail with a feathered end sprouted from his waist. His hands and feet were bloodied. “My Thane?” Mikal jumped, whirling around. A guard had approached, and was eyeing Discord warily through his helmet. “The gate guards heard the commotion. They said that those people you just killed were here on official business. Even had a letter from Jarl Siddgeir.” Mikal frowned. “A letter? Let me see it.” The guard handed over a letter, and Mikal scrutinized it. Eventually, he swore. “This is a forgery. Siddgeir writes smaller so he doesn’t waste parchment.” He tore up the fake letter. “Tell the gate guards that they aren’t in any kind of trouble. They most likely haven’t seen enough letters from Jarls to tell whether or not they’re fake.” “Yes, Thane Mikal. What about the bodies of the people that attacked you?” “Dispose of the bodies. Spread the ashes around; sweep them into the river if you have to.” “And the daedra over there?” “A new type to be summoned for battle. Now, spread the word that this was an assassination attempt by the Dark Brotherhood dressed in Dawnguard armor. The reason was so that they could justify their kill by claiming vampirism on the target.” “Yes, my Thane.” The guard relayed the orders to the others, and they got to work. Mikal stalked over to Discord and put a finger in his face. “You. Clean up in the stream. Do whatever you did before to look human again. After that, you have some explaining to do.” (Line Break) Discord crouched down in the stream that ran throughout Markarth and sighed. This was that Sheo-whatever’s fault. If that idiot hadn’t taken his powers, then he wouldn’t have had to do that to the Dawnguard. Discord had no choice, though. With his magic as limited as it was, his only defense were his claws, hoof, and talons. After scrubbing the blood off of his appendages, Discord stood up and snapped his talons, hiding his animalistic features. Almost instantly, Mikal’s dagger was against his throat and his sword against his belly. “What in Sithis’s name did you do to that woman? What are you?” Discord smirked. The lizard had guts, that was for sure. “First and foremost, I am a draconequus, a being of immense chaos magic. As for what I did to that woman, well, it's not like I had many other options right then.” “Why?” “This person named Sheo-something drained me of my magic. He said that the story wouldn’t be very fun if I just did everything with a snap of my fingers. As it is, I have enough magic for illusions and minor reality manipulation.” Mikal muttered something under his breath about a mad god, then pressed the dagger into Discord’s throat. The jagged blade seemed to sing as it got closer to cutting Discord’s flesh. “And why are you here?” “Why to protect Lulu, of course! What kind of friend would I be if I left her all alone in this world, wallowing in her amnesia? Of course, it’s a good thing she has amnesia, otherwise she’d be dead already.” “What do you mean? Tell me!” Discord smirked again, and though Mikal couldn’t see it, he could feel Discord’s arrogance grow. “I can’t tell you directly, of course. But I can tell you this: Lulu carries information that she and she alone knows about. Or at least, she will once she regains her memories.” Discord’s smirk grew into a full-fledged grin. “A great hunk of knowledge that not even the gods that created this world know about!” The humanoid draconequus turned his head to look Mikal in the eye. “The Secrets of the Moon!” Author's Note Formatting is fun (not)!
Memory Lost, Companionship GainedLuna awoke with a gasp, her eyes flying open. Her surroundings were unfamiliar; the iron bars did not comfort her, and she could feel the cold of the stone floor and wall against bare skin. Luna looked down at herself to better evaluate her situation. Midnight blue hair flowed down past her shoulders, the hair shimmering as though it contained some ethereal power. Her body was covered in a ragged dress, which stopped halfway down her upper legs. Ragged footwraps covered her two feet. She reached out to feel the material, and stopped, staring at her hand in a bewildered fashion. Luna raised her other hand up to the first. For some reason, it felt as though she was not supposed to have these. Shaking herself mentally, she examined her skin. It had a tanned tone, and was smooth, with no freckles or hair. She also took notice of the sizeable mounds hiding beneath the dress. This all felt very strange to Luna, who could not get rid of the feeling that something was wrong. She looked around the cell, and saw a little girl sleeping on a pile of hay. Luna considered waking the girl when a door at the end of the room swung open. A heavily built man wearing armor walked in, a sword strapped to his side, and a sneer on his face. “So, you’re the one my men found outside the redoubt.” Luna didn’t respond, for a distortion in the air behind the man had caught her attention, and even if it hadn’t, she felt nothing compelling her to answer him. “None of us know who you are, which means you’re only useful in one way.” He leered at Luna, a lecherous look spreading across his face. Luna’s lip curled, her disgust evident. “Oh, come now. Don’t look like that. One night with me and you’ll be begging-” The man was cut off as the distortion disappeared, revealing a bipedal lizard in hooded, black leather armor. The lizard forced the man’s head to the side, and then sunk his fangs into the man’s neck. After a moment, the lizard released the man, and before the man could turn around, the lizard drew a saber and thrust it through the man’s chest. The lizard removed the saber, multicolored energies flowing from the man into the lizard. Luna turned her head, sickened, but at the same time, grateful that the lizard had killed the man before he had done what he had been suggesting. The lizard searched the corpse, coming up with some lockpicks, a few pieces of gold, and the key to Luna and the girl’s cell. He moved quickly, unlocking the cell door. By this point, the girl had woken. “Who...who are you?” she asked. “Why are you here?” “Your father sent me. He didn’t mention that the Forsworn had captured another woman, though.” The lizard looked at Luna, tilting his head like a curious dog. His voice was raspy, and yet smooth at the same time. “What is your name, Breton?” Luna blinked at the strange word, and couldn’t help but feel like she should know it. She contemplated answering the lizard. He killed a man - possibly many others as well; “Forsworn” sounded plural - but at the same time, he was here to rescue this girl. Besides, he seemed nice enough. “My name is Luna. I-” She stopped. It was then that a realization hit her. Her name was all she knew. Her eyes began to tear up, and a sob escaped her lips. “I-I don’t remember anything!” Luna’s sobs grew, and the tears began to flow freely. The lizard raised his right hand, which became infused with a green light. He clenched his fist, and the light pulsated. The lizard then thrust his hand forward, palm out, and a ball of energy the same color as the light lanced out, surging towards Luna. It struck her, and her sobs quieted. Her tears stopped, though she still had to wipe her eyes. “Better?” the lizard asked. Luna nodded. It was a peculiar feeling, she decided, as she was still upset, but some unknown bravery overpowered the negative emotions, allowing her to focus on the situation at hand. “Good. My name is Mikal. I am here to help, nothing more.” Mikal stood aside, permitting the girl to leave the cell. Luna rose shakily, her legs weak. She managed to stand, but when Luna attempted a step, she pitched forwards. Mikal caught her, his scales surprisingly smooth. The black clad lizard helped her stand again, and then handed Luna a green bottle. “Drink that. Your stamina will return quickly.” She did so, gagging a bit at the taste, and strength immediately flooded her body. She tried walking again, and succeeded. Mikal had gone back to the corpse, and was again searching it. This time, he took an ornamentally carved knife, pale gold in color. He tossed it into the air, causing it to flip, and caught it by the blade so that the hilt was facing Luna. “Take it. You’ll need a weapon until we can restore your knowledge of magicks.” Luna tentatively took the knife, hoping she wouldn’t have to use it. Satisfied, Mikal turned to the girl. “Stay with Luna. Do not, under any circumstances, leave her side unless I tell you to. Okay?” “Okay.” “Good. Now then,” Mikal said. “Let’s get out of here. Your father is anxious to see you again, and he’s not the only one wishing you to return safely.” At that, the girl’s eyes lit up, joyous at the thought of seeing her papa again. Mikal led the two out of the room, his saber drawn and ready. Electricity crackled in his left hand, and he walked in a crouch. Luna and the girl mimicked him. As they went, they encountered more corpses, some of them female. At one of the female corpses, Mikal stopped and sized up the body, comparing it to Luna’s. He then stripped the armor off the corpse. “What are you doing?” Luna asked. Wordlessly, the lizard turned to her, the dead Forsworn’s armor in his arms. He extended the armor to Luna. She stared, mollified at what he was suggesting. “I know you don’t like it, but I have no other armor on me, especially nothing that would fit you. I can and will make you a better, proper set of armor, but until then...please. I’ve seen too many good friends die because they weren’t properly protected.” Luna hesitated, but conceded defeat, and took the armor from him. Mikal turned around, averting his gaze, and Luna removed the rags she was wearing. She slowly put the Forsworn Armor on, grimacing all the while. When she struggled with a piece, the girl helped her. Finally the armor was on, and Luna said so to Mikal. He turned back to the two, gave Luna a once over, and nodded in approval. “Perfect. Now come,” he said, crouching again. “We need to leave before more Forsworn arrive.” And so they went, lightning dancing in Mikal’s palm, and the saber glowing a deep blood-red. Eventually, the trio arrived at the main entrance. Mikal slowly opened the door, peering out, then swung the door open, standing up and walking out. Luna and the girl both followed suit, both ecstatic at being free again. Once they were all outside, Mikal took one last look around, taking in the cool night air. Satisfied that he could see no enemies, the lizard grinned at his companions, opened his mouth, and- -let loose a cry of pain as a Forsworn arrow pierced his armor and sprouted from his shoulder. He cursed, fumbling for the arrow. He had been careless, he should have looked up, he should have been more observant, he should have - the arrow! Grasping the arrow, he wrenched it out of his shoulder, grunting at the slight pain. “Do you know where Karthwasten is from here?” The girl nodded, fear in her eyes. “Then run! Take Luna with you. I’ll deal with these bastards.” The girl grabbed Luna’s hand and started running for her home. Luna stumbled at first; running was new. She quickly found her balance and kept pace with the girl, hoping that Mikal would be alright. Mikal watched the girls run off, then faced the Forsworn, who were standing at the top of a cliff in front of Broken Tower Redoubt, shouting curses at him. He would’ve scaled the cliffside, or shot at them with a bow, but they would have scattered by then, and he had neglected to bring a bow or crossbow. Besides, he had seen enough of the Forsworn for today. “You fools!” he shouted, letting the Thu’um carry his voice without any power...yet. “You do not know whom you challenge. Leave now, or suffer the consequences!” The Forsworn laughed and jeered at Mikal, believing themselves out of his reach. The Argonian smirked, and let the power of the Thu’um flow through him. He Shouted, and raw, elemental fury erupted from his maw in three words: “Strun Bah Qo!” Above them, the clouds swirled and thickened, growing dark. Lightning crackled and jumped from cloud to cloud. The Forsworn watched the skies nervously, and began to back away from the edge of the cliff. Mikal began sprinting in the direction Luna and Fjotra had gone. Storm Call was one of his more powerful Shouts, and while he had never been directly harmed by it, the debris sent flying from the destruction could certainly do damage to him. Behind him, the group of Forsworn began to flee to no avail, as nothing short of Armageddon rained down on them in the form of a lightning storm. Each pillar of lightning that struck the ground was thicker than the trunk of the Eldergreen and hotter than the surface of the sun. The Forsworn never made it back to their camping grounds. Once he was a good distance away, Mikal turned back to watch the carnage. Brilliant white bolts of sheer power continued to drop from the sky, and would continue to do so for awhile. The Argonian chuckled; even after exercising his Thu’um many times, he was still amazed by what it could do. He shook his head in amusement, and then placed two fingers to his mouth. Mikal let out a sharp, piercing whistle, and Shadowmere, faithful as ever, answered instantly, galloping out of the shadows. “Good boy,” he crooned, stroking Shadowmere’s muzzle. Shadowmere blinked and shook his mane, accepting the praise. “I met someone new today, Shadowmere. You’d like her.” Shadowmere snorted, causing the Argonian to sigh. “Yes, yes, I know. You make your own judgements.” Mikal climbed on top of Shadowmere, settling into the saddle. “Let’s go, boy. I do not want to return to Markarth empty-handed. He flicked the reins, and Shadowmere took off, adopting a steady gait. Mikal leaned forwards and whispered their destination in Shadowmere’s ear. Shadowmere snorted and shook his head, acknowledging the command. Exhausted, Mikal slumped in the saddle. He dozed off, knowing that Shadowmere wouldn’t let him fall. The dark horse trotted on, never tiring, eyes and ears alert for any sign of danger. Far, far above them, a serpentine figure flew on mismatched wings. “So this is where that thing sent Lulu. An interesting world, to be sure. So much chaos! Perhaps I’ll stay and watch a while longer…” The figure flew on, following the horse and rider to the woman who knew nothing but her name. Murky black water swirled around islands of books, the occasional Lurker surfacing to try and nab a Seeker. Above them, a grotesque mass of tentacles with a single eye stared at nothing in that world, and at the Argonian rider in his own. “Soon...the secrets of the moon will be mine!” Author's Note An idea that sprung into existence after realizing both Luna and Nocturnal had a connections to the moon. Enjoy!
Power of the MoonsLuna and the girl ran until they could run no more, both of them gasping for breath. Luna looked back at where they had left Mikal and was surprised at how far they’d gone. The swirling clouds did worry her, though she didn’t know why. She turned back to the girl and saw her breathing had steadied. “Are you ready to go on?” she asked. The girl nodded. “My village isn’t too far from here. Come on!” The two continued up the path, walking now. Luna looked up at the sky, marveling at the stars moons, and shimmering ribbon of color...which made her wonder where that mass of clouds over the redoubt had come from. She was shaken from her thoughts when the girl called out to her. “Hurry, Luna! I can see Karthwasten!” Luna couldn’t help but smile. The girl was so joyous compared to before that she seemed an entirely different person. Luna ran to catch up to the girl. When they reached Karthwasten, Luna looked around at the empty village. Three houses and other buildings formed a semicircle, and up the hill was what appeared to be an entrance to a mine. At first she wondered where everyone was, then remembered; it was late, of course the residents would be inside. The girl ran up to a house standing in between the other two houses. Before Luna could stop her, the girl knocked on the house’s door four times. While the girl was waiting for an answer, Luna had moved so that she was standing behind her. After a time, the door opened, revealing a man in miner’s clothes and sporting a day-old beard. Hanging on his belt was a pickaxe. He saw the girl first. “Fjotra?” “Papa!” Fjotra wrapped her father in a hug. The miner, shellshocked, slowly returned the embrace, as though he couldn’t believe his daughter was back. Eventually, reality caught up to him, and he strengthened his grip on Fjotra, never wanting to let her go. “Oh, Fjotra! I never thought I’d see you again!” Luna watched the whole exchange, a smile on her face as she watched father and daughter reunite. The father finally looked up, expecting to see the fanged Argonian that said he would get Fjotra back. Instead, he saw one of the group that took his daughter. “Forsworn!” A whinny from Shadowmere roused Mikal from his half-sleep. He sat up straight in the saddle and looked around. Shadowmere had stopped on the incline that led to Karthwasten. In fact, they had stopped right outside the village. “Shadowmere, why…” Mikal’s voice died in his throat when his eyes fell on the reason for Shadowmere’s halt. Every man in Karthwasten was belly-down on the ground, each of them struggling to grab a weapon just out of reach. Crimson red energies assaulted their bodies, forcing them to the ground in a way similar to Dragonrend. Mikal spotted Fjotra trying to help her father to no avail. In the center of it all was Luna. She was floating a foot off the ground, surrounded by a pale green barrier. Her arms were flung out to the side, and her mouth was open in a silent scream. Luna’s hair looked like a piece of the midnight sky itself. What really caught his attention was her eyes. They were pure white, blank as the Void, and blazed with power. It was then that Fjotra spotted him. “Mister! Please, help my papa!”, she begged. “Fjotra, what happened?” “Papa saw Luna and thought she was with the people that kidnapped me!” Mikal blinked, then swore. Of course. The armor they had taken off the corpse. “He shouted at her, and then attacked her! She kept backing away, but he wouldn’t stop! Right before Papa hit her, she screamed and threw her arms out to the side. The next thing I knew, the moons were glowing, and -” Mikal cut her off. “The moons?” He looked up, and sure enough, the two moons were glowing. Mikal looked back to the the men, then to Luna’s barrier. The colors were the same as the moons’ colors. Was Luna...using the moons? “Stay with Shadowmere, hatchling.” He advanced, but as soon as he stepped inside the village, the red energies attacked him as harshly as the other men. Damn! She can’t tell friend from foe! Mikal fell to a knee and struggled to rise, visibly shaking with the effort. A Shout. I need a Shout. “WULD!” The Shout worked as intended, blasting him forwards, but the intensified pull of gravity on his body worked against him, stopping him all too soon. Unprepared for the sudden halt, he tumbled onto his belly. Once more, he struggled to rise, then Shouted again. “MUL QAH DIIV!” Ethereal Dragonbone Armor faded into existence around his body. He stood this time, albeit shakily. The Dragon Aspect’s power was giving him a dovah’s strength, easing the task of resisting the spell, and he slowly but surely made his way towards Luna. Luna found herself in what appeared to be a meeting room. In the center of the room was a table, and standing around the table were three horse-like creatures. One had a pure white coat and a mane flowing with color and power. The second had a pink coat and tri-colored mane of pink, yellow, and purple. The third and final had a lavender coat and violet mane with a pink streak. Each creature had a horn and wings. All wore some form of regalia. Judging by the body shape, were female as well. “I’m sorry, Princess Celestia. I can’t find any trace of the wormhole that opened up and took her.” The speaker was the third creature. For whatever reason, the fact that she spoke did not startle or surprise Luna. In fact, all three seemed familiar to her. “Discord’s dimension hopping, but we haven’t heard back from him yet.” “Shiny and I haven’t found anything either. We’re looking through Sombra’s journals and records; many dark creatures and beings are recorded in them, but none are like the one that appeared through the wormhole.” The white one closed her eyes, as though in thought. “I see. Cadence, Twilight, thank you both. Even though you haven’t found anything, you tried. That helps me greatly.” Now Luna had all their names. But what were they talking about? Someone was taken from them? “It seems now we are waiting for Discord’s message. Let me know when -” A flash of white energy cut her off. Floating above the center of the table was a scroll. The lavender one’s - ah, Twilight’s horn glowed magenta, encasing the scroll in the same color. The scroll floated over to her, and she unraveled it, reading its contents. “It’s from Discord. He’s found her, but because of some beings called daedric princes, he can’t snap her out of that dimension. She’s safe; a native named Mikal found her and is helping her. Discord says for now he’ll watch and listen, then ‘accidently’ run into them. Disguised of course.” “Anything else?” Celestia asked. Twilight read more of the scroll. “He says to say hello to Fluttershy for him.” Twilight quirked an eyebrow. “He also says that if a cyclops triangle appears and asks for him, the check’s in the mail and he’ll get his goat at the next Chaotic Beings Anonymous meeting.” Celestia laughed at Discord’s last written statement. “Well...if nothing else, she’s safe and Discord knows where she is. Go back to the Crystal Empire and Ponyville. Twilight, tell me when Discord sends in his next report.” Twilight and Cadence nodded, then left the room. As soon as the door closed, Celestia’s posture slumped, her head lowering and her smiling fading. Luna’s heart ached for the white equine. She may not have known exactly who Celestia was, but she wanted to tell her that everything would be fine, and that she’d find who she was looking for. “I swear...we will find you, sister. We will find you and bring you back home.” Tears gathered in her eyes. “We’ll bring you home, Luna.” At that moment, the room faded, and Luna’s vision went dark. “Mikal! I think she’s waking up.” The pale Argonian looked behind him to where Shadowmere was following. The dark horse’s steps were careful, making sure that Luna did not fall off, and Fjotra sat in front of Luna, holding Shadowmere’s reins. Sure enough, the Breton was stirring. Mikal stopped, Shadowmere drawing level with him then doing the same. “Nnggh...hm? Where…?” “You’re awake. How do you feel?” Luna looked down at the Argonian, who was regarding her with concerned eyes. “I’m fine.” She looked around. “Where are we?” “The road to Markarth.” Mikal crossed his arms and shifted his weight. “I must say, I am impressed. Most wouldn’t be conscious for far longer than you were.” “I was unconscious?” Mikal nodded. “For a day and a half. Enmon, Fjotra’s father, apologizes for attacking you. His wife, Mena, dressed you while you were out. Now only a complete idiot would call you a Forsworn.” He hesitated, looking away from Luna then back at her. “What do you remember?” “The last thing I remember was Enmon attacking me...and a dream of some sort. But it’s sketchy.” Mikal nodded, accepting her answer. “The body rejects any memories that it doesn’t like. Combine that with the backlash my Silence spell caused and the magicka hyperexhaustion you suffered from that spell...I thank the Divines you aren’t comatose.” “Is Luna going to be okay?” Mikal looked to Fjotra, then smiled at her. It seemed that Fjotra had taken a liking to the Breton. “As long as she doesn’t use any kind of magic for a day or two, she'll be fine. Now,” he said cheerfully. “Let us be off to Markarth.” Mikal turned back to the road and focused his magicka. A swirling sphere of darkness congealed in his left hand. Thrusting his hand forwards, the Argonian cast the spell towards the road. Bluish-white energy swirled in a sphere. It cleared, revealing an unearthly creature. A horse’s complete skeleton stood on the road. Its hooves and tailbone had fire surrounding them, and the same fire streaked from where its mane would’ve been. The eye sockets shone with an otherwordly light. Every part of the skeleton horse was a deep purple. “This is Arvak, a horse I found in the Soul Cairn.” Arvak turned to look at the others, and Shadowmere snorted in response, unimpressed. Mikal chuckled at Shadowmere, then climbed onto Arvak. He dug his heels into Arvak’s ribs, and the skeleton horse took off, Shadowmere following close behind. Not two minutes after they had left, a white-haired young man materialized into existence, right on the spot where the horses had stood. “Oh, poo. Missed them by a few minutes. Oh well. Guess I’ll explore for a bit, and who knows? Maybe I’ll find some chaos…or make some!” He cackled, then snapped his fingers and disappeared. A group of five traveled North towards Markarth. Their armor and weapons clanked and jangled as they went down the trail. All looked as though they were about to fight a powerful enemy. The one walking point remembered the instructions they had been given: Kill the Vampire Lord known as Mikal, whom was traveling to the Dwarven city. He looked at the sun. They would arrive at Markarth by sunset. Turning to the others, the group leader shouted at the others to keep moving, they were almost there. As they went, each of them mentally prepared for the battle. A group of five traveled North towards battle. Author's Note Goodness, I forgot how much my writing sucked...don't worry, it gets better, I promise! I am aware that there is no Silence spell in Skyrim. There really is no magic-nullifying spell at all, so it is now canon that Mikal traveled through other provinces before reaching Skyrim.
The Road to MarkarthAs Arvak and Shadowmere trotted down the path to Markarth, Luna took in the scenery around them. The area, she decided, was as picturesque as a sculptor's carvings. Her thoughts were interrupted by a low growling sound. Luna looked around, alarmed, and the growl sounded again. Looking down, she found the source of the sound. It was her stomach. Ahead of her, Mikal snickered as he turned Arvak around to Shadowmere and the flustered Breton. “Hungry, are we?” Luna blushed, and Fjotra giggled from her spot in front of Luna. Mikal smiled and said, “I suppose we could take a break. Markarth is only an hour’s walk from here.” He climbed off of Arvak’s back. As soon as Mikal’s feet touched the ground, Arvak crumpled and disappeared, energy crackling for a moment, then dispersing. Luna gaped at the spot where Arvak had vanished. “What happened to Arvak?” “He returned to the Soul Cairn. He only stays here for as long as I use him for a mount. Now then, how about you get off of Shadowmere so he can rest his ancient bones, eh?” The aforementioned horse tossed his mane and stomped his hoof in anger. “They are too ancient! How long ago was it that Lachance rode you, hmm?” Shadowmere whickered softly and turned his head away. “ That’s what I thought.” The Argonian walked over to the sulking horse (There is no way that’s normal, thought Luna) and lifted Fjotra off of Shadowmere and onto the ground. He turned back to help Luna off, but to his surprise, she was already on the ground. “I see someone knows her way around horses.” Luna blushed again. “I don’t know how I knew what to do. It just felt…natural.” “Perhaps you used to work with or around horses. Even if you didn’t, at least we know your memory isn’t completely gone.” “Um…Mikal?” The Argonian turned to Fjotra, who was pointing into the woods with a scared look on her face. Peering in the direction of Fjotra’s gaze, he saw what had scared her. Wolves. Mikal swore under his breath…then an idea hit him. Drawing in air, his Thu’um touched the world once again. “RAAN MIR TAH!” A burst of golden energy flooded the area. When it faded, the three wolves were still there, but their stance was no longer hostile. The wolves regarded the group before turning and bounding off into the forest. Mikal turned to the bewildered females and grinned. “Taken care of.” Luna shook her head in bewilderment. “Is there anything you can’t do?” she asked. “Oh, I assure you, I am not infallible or invincible. There was a time when I would have had to kill the wolves.” Mikal strode up to Shadowmere and began rummaging through the saddlebags. “Now then, I believe we were about to eat?” One meal and an hour’s walk later, the group had neared the gates of Markarth. When the entrance entered her vision, Luna’s jaw dropped. The entrance was well fortified; being part of the surrounding mountain helped. She was shaken out of her shock when the two guards at the gate drew their swords. “Halt! Who goes there?” Signaling to Shadowmere to stay put, Mikal took a step forwards, hands raised to show they were empty. “Mikal, Thane to the Jarl of Markarth, with the new Sybil of Dibella and a champion of Nocturnal.” Underneath their helmets, the guards’ eyes widened. “Oh...forgive us, Thane. We were just following orders.” Mikal smiled in response. “Yes, you were. How unlike the last pair of guards you are.” The guards sheathed their swords and stood up straight. “Please, go on through. If you wish, we can get someone to take care of your horse for you.” “Thank you, but that won’t be necessary.” Mikal helped Fjotra off of Shadowmere again, and as before, Luna had already dismounted when he turned back around. Stepping around Luna, the pale Argonian dug through the saddlebags and came up with two pouches of gold, which he tossed to the guards. “Here. Consider it a reward for, ah...following orders.” Both of the guards caught the pouches. “Thank you, Thane.” Mikal nodded to them, then turned and whispered into Shadowmere’s ear. Shadowmere snorted and shook his mane, then turned back and made his way to the stables. “By the Eight, that’s a well-trained horse.” Smirking, Mikal strode past the guards, Luna and Fjotra following closely. “Not well-trained. Just intelligent.” As the three entered Markarth, Luna looked at Mikal questioningly. “‘Champion of Nocturnal?’” Mikal shrugged. “Would you have rather I said ‘Memoryless woman instead?’” “...You have a tongue of silver.” “I prefer to think of it as saying what people want to hear.” Luna shook her head. “You’re hopeless.” “No, I’m silver-tongued.” “Arrgh!” Discord grumbled to himself as he walked up the incline to Markarth. Thanks to a daedric prince, most of his chaotic powers were gone. All he could currently do were illusions and minor reality manipulation. Really minor. At the very least, he had managed to hide his tail, wings, and horns, as those showed even in his human form, and would have gotten strange looks...well, more than he had already received. By the standards of Skyrim, Discord’s entire appearance was abnormal. His skin was a pale grey, and his irises were red. His shaggy hair was pure white, and his snaggletooth still hung out of his mouth. A brown jacket hung open over a white shirt that read “CHAOS”. One of the jacket’s sleeves were yellow, and the other was gold. His pants were ragged, with a light brown left leg and a green right leg. His bare feet showed no signs of wear, and no matter what he walked on, sent no pain-filled signals. The first chance, I get, that Sheo-whatever is getting the thrashing of his immortal existence. Discord’s grumblings were interrupted upon reaching Markarth’s gates. Ahead of him, five armored individuals were talking to the gate guards. One of them handed a guard a piece of parchment. The guards read the paper, then nodded and let the group through. Curious, Discord walked straight up to the guard with the paper and plucked it out of his hands. “Hey, you can’t-” Discord snapped his fingers, and both guards stiffened, then returned to their posts. Now undisturbed, Discord read the parchment. “The Argonian known as Mikal has been summoned by the Jarl of Falkreath. The five carrying this parchment and its copies have been sent to retrieve him. - Jarl Siddgeir” A cold sense of dread ran through Discord. As a creature of deception, he could see through lies, and this note was one big one. The entire thing was forged, which meant that this Mikal was in danger...wait a minute...Mikal was the native that helped Luna! And if the armored group saw Luna as an ally of Mikal...they’d kill her, too. The draconequus-turned-human ran into Markarth. Luna was in danger, and he’d be damned before he let her get hurt. After all, she held the secrets of the moon, and no one could ever know them. Don’t you dare die, Luna. I haven’t shown you my latest design for the moon’s surface yet! Discord ran faster. Author's Note There is a blog to ask questions of the characters. find it on tumblr at brachybrofist.
VodremMikal collapsed into a chair by the fireplace with a contented sigh. After taking Fjotra to the priestesses of Dibella, he had gone to the Silver-Blood Inn for a drink. As for Luna, he had given her directions to his house from the temple. “Why aren’t you going there too?” she had asked. “I need to stop by the blacksmith to check on an order,” he replied. “After that, I need a drink.” And so, they went their separate ways. When Mikal had gotten to the smithy, Ghorza presented him with the new weapons. “Don’t you dare end up breaking these, or I’ll break you.” Mikal chuckled at the warning and went to the grindstone to sharpen the blades. “Did someone stay up later than they should have to make these?” he asked. “Shut up, silver-tongue,” Ghorza snapped. “If you must know, it’s that time again. I am not in a mood to have fun either, nor am I prone to mistakes in forging.” “I had wondered where your assistant was.” Ghorza swore and chucked her tongs at Mikal, followed by ingots of varying metals. “DO NOT MENTION HIM!” Getting the message, Mikal quickly fled the smithy, his newly sharpened weapons strapped to his sides. Now he was warm on the inside from the drink and on the outside from the fire. The sound of footsteps filled his earholes, and he turned his head to see an old friend. “Ah, Cosnach!” “My favorite drinking buddy! How’ve ya been, lizard?” Mikal laughed. If anyone else called him a lizard, he took offense or ignored them, but for Cosnach it was friendly banter, nothing more. Of course, that meant Mikal could respond in kind. “Keep pressing your luck, Cosnach. Sooner or later, I will snap!” The Nord smirked and sat down in the seat opposite of him. “So, what’d you get back from this time? Slaying a daedric prince or summat?” “Rescuing a little girl and a woman without her memory from the Forsworn. Honestly, Cosnach, how many more times are you going to guess wildly?” “Until I’m right. Anyways, I’ve got somethin’ that might interest you.” Mikal quirked an eyeridge. “Oh? What is it?” “Some armored guys came into Markarth. About five of them. I think they’re mercenaries or something, ‘cause they’re looking for someone.” The Argonian rubbed his chin, looking thoughtful. “Do you know who?” he questioned. “Nah. Figured it’d be more for you than for me, so I left before I found out. Thought you could go and talk to them.” “Hmm. Perhaps I will. Thank you for the information, Cosnach.” At that moment, the door to the inn burst open, and a strange-looking man entered. “Is Mikal in here?” he asked. Mikal and Cosnach glanced at each other and nodded. The Argonian and the Nord rose from their seats. “Who’s asking?” (Line Break) Discord did his dead-level best to remain calm and collected. Thanks to some stealthy and well-timed illusions, he had managed to stir up the armored group into a frenzy by sending them on a wild goose chase throughout the city. Now that they were held up by the city guards, Discord made his move. It only took asking one of the guards not handling the group to find himself directed to the Silver-Blood Inn, where he hoped Mikal was. He entered the inn rather forcefully, and asked for Mikal without hesitation. It was quiet for awhile, but to his utmost relief, the same lizard-man he had seen riding the dark horse after the lightning storm stood up. “Who’s asking?” the lizard-man asked. Discord approached quickly, causing Mikal to reach for a jagged blade. “Now hold on!” Discord exclaimed, holding up his hands. “I’m not an enemy! Not to you at least.” Mikal didn’t move his hand from the blade’s hilt, which Discord expected. No doubt past experience kept the pale Argonian wary of people he didn’t know. What he didn’t expect was the whisper filled with power. “LAAS!” For a brief amount of time, Mikal’s eyes looked different. Before Discord could figure out what it was, Mikal blinked and his eyes were normal again. “Fine,” he said. “I will listen.” Thanking Laurfausta, Discord decided to be abrupt. “Luna’s in danger.” “What? How do you know that? How do you know Luna, for that matter?” “She and I are from the same place. I’m an...ally of hers, in a way. As for how I know, perhaps it’s because I read the paper that accused you and showed you as a criminal. If I’m right, then they’ll go after her too.” “Who will go after her?” Mikal asked. “Maybe the group of five heavily armed individuals running around screaming for your blood.” (Line Break) “Are you lost?” Luna blinked, then looked down at the source of the question. It was a little girl with blonde hair and a green dress. “Pardon?” “You’ve been standing there for a while, so I thought you might be lost and wanting some help!” “Oh...yes, I suppose I am," admitted Luna. "Mikal gave me directions to his house, but...well, I can’t remember them.” The little girl’s face brightened. “You know my papa?” “Your papa?” “Yes! Mikal’s my papa!” “Oh.” For an instant, Luna tried to comprehend how a bipedal lizard could have a human child, but quickly dismissed it. She could ask later. “Could you take me to your papa’s house?” “Yeah! Come on, it’s this way! I’m Runa, by the way.” Luna smiled warmly. “I’m Luna.” (Line Break) Shavee stirred the soup, making sure it didn’t burn on the sides on the bottom. She sighed, mentally taking role of the household’s occupants. ‘Alesan’s laying in bed, I asked Argis to see if the apothecary had any Cure Disease potions, Mikal….’ she sighed again. ‘...is hopefully alive and on his way home, and Runa is-’ “Mama, I’m home!” Shavee smiled at her daughter’s voice. “Hello, little one. Did you enjoy the temple?” “No, they didn’t let me in. The nice priestess said that no one could go in ‘cause they were training the new sybil.” “Oh. That’s too bad. Another time then.” To be quite honest, Shavee preferred her daughter stay away from the Temple of Dibella. After what Mikal told her about Helga, she wanted Runa to have nothing to do with the Dibellan priestesses. “I made a new friend, though! Say hi, Luna!” At this, Shavee finally looked up from the meal she was preparing. Sheepishly standing next to Runa was a female Breton with fair skin, which was lightly tanned. She wore fine blue clothes, and her looked to be a deep navy blue, which was uncommon, but Shavee wouldn’t judge. For some reason, her hair seemed to be shimmering with power. Luna waved. “Hello.” “Greetings, Luna. I hope Runa was not too forceful when she dragged you here.” Luna smiled. “Hardly. In fact, I meant to come here in the first place. Mikal told me to deliver a message to his wife, and I’m assuming that’s you.” “What’s the message?” asked Shavee. “That he is back safely. He also said that he would have told you himself, but decided to send me to you with a message, since he had to take the new sybil to the Temple of Dibella.” Shavee smiled and shook her head. “He thinks he know everything,” she muttered. “Thank you for telling me, Luna. Runa, go tell your brother to wash up for supper.” “Yes, Mama.” She ran off into the house. Luna fidgeted under Shavee’s gaze. “So, um...how-” “How do two Argonians have human children?” Luna smiled nervously. That had been exactly what she was going to ask. “They are adopted. Mikal found Alesan living on the streets of Dawnstar, and Runa was in the Honorhall Orphanage.” “But why no Argonian children? Didn’t you two have a, erm…” Luna blushed. “...honeymoon?” “Oh, we did. Believe me, we definitely did.” Shavee smirked as Luna’s blush deepened. “But it appears that one of us or both of us are infertile. It matters not. I love Runa and Alesan as though I had given birth to them,” Shavee stated. Luna’s blush disappeared, and she couldn’t help but smile. “Like my Children of the Night. They were orphans on the street until I took them to a special place. Discord helped me raise them until he turned...turned…” Shavee looked at Luna worriedly. Luna’s eyes were blank, and her mouth was slightly open. “Luna? What’s wrong?” “I-I can’t remember who Discord is. I can’t remember who the Children of the Night are.” Luna clutched the sides of her head, and tears started to stream down her face. “But I mentioned them! So why can’t I remember?!” Shavee moved forwards and enveloped Luna in a hug. Luna in turn wrapped her arms around the female Argonian, sobbing and clutching Shavee like she was her only lifeline. ‘This poor girl,’ Shavee thought. ‘Could things get any worse for her?’ As if on cue, an explosion sounded outside the house. It was a sound Shavee had heard before. Her husband was fighting. (Line Break) The moment Discord had described the armored group roaming the city, Mikal immediately stormed out of the inn, cursing Isran and the Dawnguard. He briefly registered Cosnach and Discord following behind him. ‘Damn those fools. I killed Harkon for them. I told them that I posed no threat to them. I explained my reasons to them. I even gave them the Shield of Auriel that I recovered from the Falmer! So why in Oblivion are they after me!?’ So engrossed in his thoughts was he that Mikal didn’t see the Dawnguard until it was too late. Giving up on their efforts, the Dawnguard had decided to wait on the road for Mikal to approach or leave Markarth. It was then that Nocturnal proved to be a fickle mistress, as right as Mikal left the Silver-Blood Inn, the Dawnguard crossed right in front of it. The Dawnguard member closest to the Argonian yelled at the others, and they all turned to see Mikal, who was now filling the air with every single profanity he could think of. Ignoring this, the group leader, a Nord, stepped forwards. “Mikal Dovahkiin, you are accused of vampirism by the Dawnguard. You can either come with us for a trial, or resist and be killed here. Your choice.” At this, Mikal snorted in amusement. “A trial? Sheogorath must have played with your minds if you think I’d go to one of your damn monkey trials in a kangaroo court.” The leader sneered at Mikal and drew his Dawnguard Axe, the others readying their weapons as well. “You’ve made your decision. Any last words?” Mikal shrugged nonchalantly. “Yes, actually. Tell Isran that he can take his ego and his axe and shove them both up his arse, along with the stick that’s been there ever since I turned.” The leader growled at Mikal, and raised his axe to strike. “Hold on. I have three left.” Mikal took a deep breath, and- “FUS RO DAH!” Near infinite force blasted from Mikal’s maw, and the Dawnguard went flying, one of them disintegrating into ash from the sheer power of the Shout. The four remaining Dawnguard got up, but before they could fully recover, Cosnach rushed in and slipped an ebony dagger in between the ribs of a Dawnguard Wood Elf. The vampire hunter fell to the ground, and his fellow hunter, a Dark Elf, turned on Cosnach with an enraged cry. Cosnach lept back and drew a slender saber that emitted chaos energy. It had been a gift from Mikal some time ago. From behind Mikal, Discord leapt at the Dawnguard standing next to the leader, a female Imperial, effectively rugby tackling her. This left only the leader standing, the Nord’s face registering shock that his two of his team had fallen so quickly. He gritted his teeth and howled, slashing and hacking at Mikal with his axe. The Argonian was prepared and drew his new weapons, a Daedric Sword and Daedric Dagger. Even though he had not enchanted either of them yet, they both seemed to sing for spilled blood. With great ease and skill, Mikal blocked the swings with the Daedric Sword, finally catching an overhead swing in the serrated edge of the blade. Seemingly of it’s own accord, the Daedric Dagger lashed across the Dawnguard’s armored chest. The deadly weapon cut through the armor like a hot knife through butter and into flesh. The vampire hunter fell to his knees, blood seeping from the wound. Mikal put the sword and dagger to the leader’s neck, and swung, beheading him. The Argonian looked over to Cosnach to see him finishing his opponent by running her through, then beheading her as well. As for Discord… “Sithis and damnation!” The curse lept from Mikal’s mouth before he could stop it, and for good reason. Discord’s opponent had been ripped to bloody shreds, barely recognizable as a human being anymore. However, Mikal had seen worse. No, what got to the vampire was Discord himself. Discord now sprouted wings, one reminiscent of a blue jay’s, the other of a bat. On his head was half a set of antlers and a goat’s horn. His left hand had taken on qualities of a bird of prey’s talon, and his right hand was similar to the paw of a sabre cat’s. Discord’s right foot had become green and clawed like a dragon’s, and his left foot looked hardened and brown, not unlike a cow’s hoof. Finally, a long red lizard’s tail with a feathered end sprouted from his waist. His hands and feet were bloodied. “My Thane?” Mikal jumped, whirling around. A guard had approached, and was eyeing Discord warily through his helmet. “The gate guards heard the commotion. They said that those people you just killed were here on official business. Even had a letter from Jarl Siddgeir.” Mikal frowned. “A letter? Let me see it.” The guard handed over a letter, and Mikal scrutinized it. Eventually, he swore. “This is a forgery. Siddgeir writes smaller so he doesn’t waste parchment.” He tore up the fake letter. “Tell the gate guards that they aren’t in any kind of trouble. They most likely haven’t seen enough letters from Jarls to tell whether or not they’re fake.” “Yes, Thane Mikal. What about the bodies of the people that attacked you?” “Dispose of the bodies. Spread the ashes around; sweep them into the river if you have to.” “And the daedra over there?” “A new type to be summoned for battle. Now, spread the word that this was an assassination attempt by the Dark Brotherhood dressed in Dawnguard armor. The reason was so that they could justify their kill by claiming vampirism on the target.” “Yes, my Thane.” The guard relayed the orders to the others, and they got to work. Mikal stalked over to Discord and put a finger in his face. “You. Clean up in the stream. Do whatever you did before to look human again. After that, you have some explaining to do.” (Line Break) Discord crouched down in the stream that ran throughout Markarth and sighed. This was that Sheo-whatever’s fault. If that idiot hadn’t taken his powers, then he wouldn’t have had to do that to the Dawnguard. Discord had no choice, though. With his magic as limited as it was, his only defense were his claws, hoof, and talons. After scrubbing the blood off of his appendages, Discord stood up and snapped his talons, hiding his animalistic features. Almost instantly, Mikal’s dagger was against his throat and his sword against his belly. “What in Sithis’s name did you do to that woman? What are you?” Discord smirked. The lizard had guts, that was for sure. “First and foremost, I am a draconequus, a being of immense chaos magic. As for what I did to that woman, well, it's not like I had many other options right then.” “Why?” “This person named Sheo-something drained me of my magic. He said that the story wouldn’t be very fun if I just did everything with a snap of my fingers. As it is, I have enough magic for illusions and minor reality manipulation.” Mikal muttered something under his breath about a mad god, then pressed the dagger into Discord’s throat. The jagged blade seemed to sing as it got closer to cutting Discord’s flesh. “And why are you here?” “Why to protect Lulu, of course! What kind of friend would I be if I left her all alone in this world, wallowing in her amnesia? Of course, it’s a good thing she has amnesia, otherwise she’d be dead already.” “What do you mean? Tell me!” Discord smirked again, and though Mikal couldn’t see it, he could feel Discord’s arrogance grow. “I can’t tell you directly, of course. But I can tell you this: Lulu carries information that she and she alone knows about. Or at least, she will once she regains her memories.” Discord’s smirk grew into a full-fledged grin. “A great hunk of knowledge that not even the gods that created this world know about!” The humanoid draconequus turned his head to look Mikal in the eye. “The Secrets of the Moon!” Author's Note Formatting is fun (not)!
