Board Thread:Roleplaying/@comment-17114085-20150926134001/@comment-5583506-20151004040009

Cat woke up in a dark and damp cell. She could barely remember how she had gotten here. For a moment or two she wondered whether this was just another dream, but it didn't take long for her to realise that she had no control whatsoever of the enviroment she found herself stuck in. This was reality. And no matter how hard she tried to invoke her own abilities it was almost as if something or someone was holding her back. The memory slowly returned to her of the man she had seen outside of the cabin... The other child of Vaermina... Her half-brother... She couldn't fully remember what he had told her at the entrance, but she could well remember that he had immediately thrown her into one his nightmarish creations. One so appalling that she had fallen into a temporary shock.

''And here I thought that I had thought of the worst... turns out I was mistaken...''

The cell she woke up in looked as if it was located in some kind of cavern beneath a source of water, most probably a lake or a spring. She was not alone in the cell however. There were other people there with her. Most of them were women. They all wore the faces of someone who had witnessed true terror... true fear...

What could he possibly have done to them?

"Excuse me?" she carefully asked a young Nord woman with blonde braids. "Where... where are we?"

"We... we are in his domain..." said the Nord without even looking at her.

In fact she didn't even seem to acknowledge the fact that Cat was there. She seemed to be trapped in her own world... her own nightmare... She just stood there and stared apathetically into the cave wall without as much as a reaction to Cat's presence. The sockets were dark and her body seemed to be emaciated. The woman hadn't probably slept or eaten in days. She couldn't... Not while she was still trapped in there. In his nightmare...

"We are in his domain... where we are his cattle... There is no escape... I will never see Brynja again... Oh, my sweet. How I wished I could have bought you that horse... How I wish that I could have been around more often..."

Cat slowly backed away from the Nord. She felt somewhat traumatized watching the woman's lamentation. It told her something of the horrors her own abilities were capable of and how they could be used. She herself had made sure only to make use of her abilities on people she believed deserved it. That was first after the bandit gang she used to run with had exploited her powers to their own benefits to which she had willingly agreed. She hadn't liked it, but neither did she really care of how they wanted to use her. Back then she had been weak and lost. She hadn't really cared about herself nor the people around her. But after countless of victims tortured with hellish sights something had ultimately snapped inside her. Something that had made her see her own faults and the evil she was capable off, and the evil she had committed on the command of those bandits. She had unleashed her full fury upon them back then, watching them writhe in unimaginable agony, tearing themselves apart.

It was after that moment she had decided that her powers would only be restricted for herself and to protect those she cared for. If she had had anyone to care for back then... She had wallowed about Riften in her self-pity and pointless existence, believing that she would be better off without the world and the world would be better off without her. She had even had thoughts of ending it all by locking herself into a pleasant and eternal dream whilst her body in the real life slowly weathered away and died. But like a godsent from above Rikki had come. The curious girl was everything Cat wasn't. She was cheerful. She could see the light at the end of even the darkest of tunnels and not even a cut finger would spoil her day. Even when Cat had threatened the Khajiit to keep her distance Rikki had been able to see through Cat's disguise. She was the only person who had been able to see that Cat's offensive manner was strictly a harsh disguise woven by her yearning for pity, friendship... and love... And Rikki had gladly offered her all three with that triangular smile of hers. She had also been the first person to accept Cat for who she was. She hadn't seen Cat or her abilities as some hellspawn with no right to walk the Gods' green, good Nirn. She had shown no fear and tolerated Cat through and through no matter how many times Cat had tried to recreate her disguise. It was all rather endearing. She missed the Khajiit...

She also missed Pierre... Her first true love... She didn't know what to make of her feelings for him. She had always regarded the matter of love, courting and relationships as something weak. Or maybe she had just shunned it in the past because... she had been jealous? She had after all always considered herself to be the monstrousity the people around her had always claimed that she was. After being fed those opinions for so many years since the orphanage how could she believe any different than that it was the truth? And just because she had been that "horrible, little girl, who accidentally summoned monsters in the nursery", she reckoned that no one would ever come to love her. So if no one would love her why would she love anyone back? From those reflections had a sort of contempt for love grown and eventually she had just stopped caring about the matter altogether. But things were different now. She didn't know what had happened on that fateful day when she had woken up with Pierre on top of her, naked and sweaty. And even though she had temporarily slipped back into her usual, suspicious self, believing that Pierre surely must had taken advantage of her, she couldn't help but feel that... whatever it was that she had experienced together with him it had been for real. Deep down she knew that this was the way it was supposed to be. And that feeling had only grown stronger the more time she had spent with him. She felt a strange familiarity towards him. The same kind she felt from Rikki. He understood her. He didn't fear her or her abilities and he had accepted her for whom she was. He had even accepted her rose.

But now they both felt so distance. At this dark place they felt so far away as if they were on the other side of the world... and in another era... Whatever her half-brother had brought her here for, it was quite clear that he had no intention of putting her through the same treatment he had shown these other women, otherwise she would already be like them; trapped inside a nightmare with no way out. But perhaps... just perhaps she was already in a nightmare of his creation? How could she be sure? She couldn't even use her own ability. Was any of this around her for real at all?

She shuddered at the thought and could oddly enough feel some sort of strange sympathy towards the bandits she had tortured with her creative mind. Horrible men as they had been, she all of a sudden knew that no one should ever deserve such a fate... For them their nightmares had been reality, while in the "real" reality they had just been writhing on the ground, screaming at terrors that didn't exist anywhere but inside their own heads. For them it had been real... Just like these caverns she was down in. Were they for real? There was no way she could possibly find out...

"Are you new?" asked a Dunmer woman.

Cat turned around to face her. She seemed to be just about her own age. "Y-yes, I am..." she replied vaguely, curious to learn more about her whereabouts. "Where are we exactly?"

"We are in his domains", said the Dunmer woman.

Normally Dunmer would have ashen grey skin, but this woman was as pale as a corpse; her red eyes fixed on Cat's face as if she had just seen an apparition.

"Who is he?" asked Cat.

"The Nightmare Man", whispered the Dunmer and swallowed hard. "But we are not allowed to call him that", she said with a shudder. "He hates that name. Poor Yveena had to learn that the hard way."

The Dunmer sobbed and drew for breath as if she was close to a breaking point when the memories of what had happened to her friend came rushing back to her.

"C-calm down", said Cat. "Where... uhm... where exactly is this man's domains located?"

"North", sniffed the Dunmer. "That's all I have been able to figure out. He brings us up to a cave overlooking a snowy landscape from time to time. Always five of us. Two of us must stay there with him, while the other three are to return down here..."

Cat lowered her eyebrows. "What happens to the two who remains with him?"

The Dunmer gave out a small shriek and crawled into a dark nook of the cell. "You... you don't know him... How could you possibly know him... You are new after all... He picks five of us... Three returns, two stays..." She looked at the Breton with panic seeping from her eyeballs that seemed likely to pop out from her skull at any moment. "He... He eats... people... He feasts upon them... O Nerevar, protect me! He... He feasted on Yveena! He slit her throat and sank his teeth into her breast, ripping the flesh from her rib cage! He was... He was..."

The woman gave out a scream and covered her mouth quickly with her hands, obviously in a desperate to keep herself quiet, lest she would attract the attention of the Nightmare Man. Her raging sobs and rugged breaths spoke lengths of the horrors she had witnessed.

Cat's eyes widened and she could feel her heart stand awkwardly still in her chest. Her half-brother... No... He wasn't even worthy of that title... He... It... was a monster... They called him the Nightmare Man by all right. He ate people, feasted upon them like they were his supper. Only Vaermina, their mother knew what sort of devilry grinded the inhuman gears inside his twisted mind. Cat didn't even want to speculate what sort of experiences had made him want to rely on cannibalism for survival. But in the end she expected that she would learn the truth. It all depended on what sort of fate he had planned out for her. These women were indeed cattle. They were being held here as his livestock. He brought five up to his own chamber to inspect them and only picked those whom he deemed worthy to satiate his voracious hunger for flesh. Two unlucky women would never see the light of day again while three others would have to return with the knowledge that they might very well be his next meal.

Suddenly she heard a cell gate open somewhere in the distance. The women who were not locked inside of nightmares all whimpered in fear and tried to blend in with the darkness in the cave as well as they could, leaving the others out in the open. A shadow seemed to emerge from the entrance of the cell. And there at the end he stood.

She remembered him well from when she had first opened the cabin door. He was certainly handsome, and reminded her somewhat of herself in appearance, although more masculine. Smooth-shaved and with a pair of somber, blue eyes and black hair, he radiated with authority and brilliance... and madness...

He stood in a regal clothing, pitch black with silver cuffs and lined with white embroidery. A long, flowing, black cloak hung over his shoulder and seemed to contribute to the shadow he cast wherever he went. Despite his handsome appearance there was no denying it that behind that pleasant surface beat the heart of a sadistic and ruthless maniac, and the mind of a pure monster... one that not even her imagination could create if she so had wanted to.

He smiled at her and held out a hand for her to take. "My queen", he said softly. "My beloved, little sister."

Cat eyed him with some suspicion. She was fully aware that his smile hid teeth that had recently been buried in human flesh. Could he be trusted? Of course not, but for now she chose to play along. Maybe in due time he would reveal a weakness she could exploit to find her way back to Pierre and Rikki?

"My brother", she sighed and extended her hand, taking his in her own.

He suddenly pulled her in close, wrapping an arm behind her back and gazing deep into her eyes, still smiling. "You do not fear me?" he asked. "That is good. It seems that we are already making some progress, sweet sister." He leaned in on her and pressed his lips against hers.

Cat strained herself and didn't resist, she just tried to imagine that this monster was Pierre and the whole would be over more swiftly and more painfully. But the idea that those lips had feasted on bodies sickened her to the bone. She didn't even want to touch this man with a five hundred yard long pole, and yet here he was; groping her...

His hand behind her back wandered down, firmly caressing her behind whilst his other hand found its way up to her chest, gently feeling on all her feminine features. He released himself from her mouth, breaking up their kiss, but still with a smile.

"You are well-shaped, my beloved sister. But it would be unethical for me to take advantage of those lovely shapes of yours at this moment, so please... do forgive me. A king should not see his queen before the wedding, after all..."

''Wedding? King? Queen? This man is out of his mind...''

"Might I ask what it is you desire of me?" she asked nervously, still unsure whether she would be eaten or not.

"I will tell you everything, my love. But first, let us find somewhere more comfortable. Do forgive me for putting you among the cattle, but it was my only way to make sure you wouldn't do anything... too drastic that might jeopardize our entire destiny."

Destiny?

As they left the cell Cat could hear behind her how the Dunmer woman started to wail in misery again. On their way through multiple cave sections, some of them even guarded by men who were all obviously put under the curse of the Nightmare Man's dreams, they finally found their way up to the top chamber. It looked as if it had been a part of one those old Barrows in which adventurers used to come across Draugr. But in this case it had been long since deserted by any kind of undead, and instead had been replaced by an even worse creature... The Nightmare Man.

The top chamber looked comfortable enough, for cave standards that was. Some old Nordic pillars and ruins were strewn across the stalagmites. Braziers were aglow in the corners. A great hole in the mountain wall allowed a view out over a snowy landscape, just as the Dunmer woman had told her. In a gloomy corner the walls were smeared with blood. Cat didn't even want to guess what sort of actions had taken place there. What was the point? She already knew the answer. In the central part of the chamber there were long tables made out of sturdy oak, filled with all matter of luxury food. But for what purpose? The Nightmare Man feasted on human innards and flesh. Surely he wouldn't find Sweetroll pie to be appetizing?

''Rikki would have loved being here... that is if we killed that horrible monster and set loose all those poor women and men in the dungeon section...''

The Nightmare Man smiled at her as he took a seat by the far end of the table, and invited her to join him with a friendly gesture. "Please, sit, my beloved sister."

Cat glared sceptically at him, but did as she was told. There was no point in arguing. "Why... why am I here?" she asked.

He seemed amused by her question. "Don't you know?"

"Frankly no. There are plenty of women out there, each of them far more beautiful than I am. Why not choose anyone of them to be your... uhm... queen?"

He shook his head in denial. "This isn't about beauty, my sweet, silly sister. This is about destiny."

Here we go again...

"Destiny?"

He nodded. "Long before you were born, sister, I lived a miserable life. I had the power to create entire worlds which my body didn't even have to share, only my consciousness. I was... by then the only living child of Vaermina. But despite all my power, I was unhappy. I thought to myself that such great powers that you and I possess, sweet sister, are meant to be shared. But only with the people we love. For years I pondered upon the meaning of my existence. Was I meant to create worlds that I couldn't share with anyone? Was that my fate?"

The Nightmare Man's gaze was constantly fixed on her, as if he observed her as some sort of book which chapters he was trying to read.

"But one fateful night a dream was granted to me by our mother dearest. A vision, if you will. A vision of me as a king in realm created by my imagination, spanning well over into the real world. Imagine, the entire world's populace, participating in the same eternal dream in perfect harmony. But I knew that my powers were inferior to that creation. Never could I single-handedly be able to create such a marvel. That's when our mother showed me the vision of a woman, ruling beside me. My beloved queen. Only with our powers combined could this created realm bear fruit and be sustained. The woman she showed me was you, sweet sister. But the problem was that you were not even born yet."

Not even born yet?

Cat found the whole idea of her being some sort of predicted queen of the world to be rather unnerving as well as it was fascinating. But the only fact that disturbed her more was that this man seemed to be about her own age, yet he spoke of her as if she was far more younger than he was, which led her to question herself just how old he truly was and whether his handsome appearance was just another of his succesful creations? If that was the case, his powers far exceeded her own. She needed to be careful around him...

"Me?" she said and didn't even have to pretend to be shocked. Her reaction was authentic. "But... I... I can't be... I can't be your queen. I don't even know your name!"

"It's Sidion", he said with a warming smile. "But once we are man and wife, king and queen, god and goddess over Nirn, we will have to name ourselves to something more becoming for divinehood, no?"

"Listen, Sidion. This... this is all rather flattering, but... what makes you think this will be a good idea?"

He arched his eyerows. "How could it not? You haven't seen my creations yet, sweet sister. Well... you have... back at the cabin... I am sorry for that. I will never lay my creations on you like that ever again."

''Thank the Gods for that... ''she reflected.

"But the point is", he continued, "that once you see what my powers are capable off, you will also come to your senses of just how we are able to create this world into a better place. A world in our own image. A world shaped after what we would like it to be. But you will also see that despite my supreme powers, there is something missing in my creations."

He leaned closer in over the table. "The warm touch of a woman", he suggested jokingly with a smirk. "Jokes aside, my creations are all unfinished. They are filled with gaping voids not even my powers could fill, and even if I were to try, the strain might ultimately be too much for me so that I would die."

Shame that you don't try it more often then...

He suddenly took her hand. "But with you as my queen, and as a woman sharing my powers, you would be capable of filling those voids. With our powers combined we could create entire universes within our minds and spread them across the world, letting everyone and everything share the view of our creations."

She slowly pulled back her hand. He noticed the gesture with an expression of dismay. "Why are you eating people?" she asked lowly in an almost threatening tone, staring at him with lowered eyebrows. "Why would I ever want to help and marry a man who is apparently so mentally fucked up in the head that he believes people to be a good source of nutrition?"

Sidion's eyes flickered as he observed her under silence for a good while. He didn't even move an inch and frankly it made her feel rather uncomfortable where she was sitting. All the time she was expecting him to lunge out for her and sink his teeth into her flesh at any moment. But then he just smiled again and suddenly burst out laughing. It sent chills down her spine hearing him laugh. He sounded so mature... too mature for someone looking her age. The laughter was so rough and turbid it might very well have come from an old man of seventy years.

"There are things I can't even share with you yet, sweet sister", he said as he tilted his head to the side, looking at her. "But I promise you that in due time you will come to see things my way. And then I will tell you everything." Then his smile faded and his face turned grey, hard and gaunt like a piece of chiseled marble. "But until then you better watch that tongue of yours, unless you want your king and husband to force a dream into your mind in which don't even possess a mouth to scream with..."

He motioned for some of the nearby guards to come to the table. "Escort my sister back to her cell. Give her some time to think about what she just said."

The men just nodded, with eyes staring blankly out in front of them. "Yes, mylord", they said in unison, as they hooked onto Cat's both arms and carried her off back into the dark dungeons.

And no matter how hard she tried to enter their minds and change their world view she realised that it was hopeless. She couldn't tell whether Sidion had somehow bereft her of her powers or if she was indeed locked inside of a world of his creation, in which she couldn't make use of them...