User blog:Psychomantis108/Story: Myths of Mundus: Dark Pilgrimage - Chapter 2: Orsimer Descending

Welp, so much for my 3 page per chapter rule, this one's more than twice as long as the first chapter but it does manage to set the scene quite well and majority of it is a flashback and a fight scene anyway. :D

I've had quite the challenge with this story of making sense of the original Myths of Mundus RP, trying to fit it into the Legend of Nirn continuity and also rewriting and redesigning a lot of aspects. I've changed the overall plot and set up, to give it some more direction as well as the character and appearance of the Daedra, since I didn't feel like his original description did him justice and I decided to give him a new image, which fitted better with his sphere of 'Necromancy.'

I've also changed the year that this is set, as this was originally set after Legend of Nirn but it was always treated as a prequel, it is now set during the two year timeskip in the original RP, for anyone who knows what that means.

One thing that I have to mention is that this has been kind of tough to do, probably due to the fact that my sleeping pattern is a bit messed up. I got a little sick of rewriting and rereading the same chapter, over and over again and just wanted to move on. I've done my best to comb through for mistakes of course but if I've missed anything or you spot any errors, please let me know. I've learned my lesson not to write beyond midnight. :<

Annieway, enjoy!

Arlas sat in her chair, literally tied up as she played Cat’s cradle, making a web out of the string that was carefully wrapped around her fingers. The Bosmer enjoyed stretching it and creating a variety of shapes, such as the soldier’s bed, the cat’s eye and then proceeding to attempt the clock. Sadly, none of these things were possible with just one person but it was better than doing nothing…

The Bosmer plucked away at the string, manipulating it into whatever shape popped into her head, until she heard her patient’s breathing pattern change.

It was… heavier, more sentient…

He was awakening…

The Bosmer lowered her hands and quickly released them from the trap, her fingers snagged on the string a few times but she was eventually able to free herself from it. As soon as she was free, she cast the bits of string to one side and stood over the Orsimer’s bedside, observing him as he woke. She expected a man, who had lost an ungodly amount of blood, who almost died less than twenty four hours ago, to awake slowly, dazed and confused.

However, Bologra was no ordinary man and he defied all expectations. He quickly threw himself upright, almost head butting her in the face as he sat up and immediately roared in fury.

“Grgh! Where is he!?”

Naturally, this startled Arlas and she quickly jumped back, changing her healing spell into a lightning bolt, which trembled in her hand as she watched the raging bull awaken. He panted heavily, covered in sweat as his face turned a darker shade of green to the rest of his body.

“Pussy daedric asshole! Where’d   is he!? I’ll tear him a new-“ Before the Orsimer could finish his vow, he found himself to be overcome with a magical effect, which completely paralysed him…

Arlas watched the frozen Orc, with a look of unease. She slowly approaching him as she discarded her, now useless, scroll, and stretched her hand out.

Her movements towards him were slow and incredibly hesitant as she expected him to snap out of status and burst into another fit of rage, when she least suspected it. Still, the Bosmer knew the strength of the paralysis spell and knew that he wouldn’t be able to move for some time. She eventually built up the confidence to gently place her hand on his left pectoral muscle and carefully push him backwards onto the bed and moving his arms for him, so that they were in a more comfortable position.

“Calm down…” She said, in a not particularly demanding voice, she was used to patients overreacting, just not on this scale…

“You’re safe now, in the Hospital, at the Temple of the One…” She whispered. Her coos seemed to be working as the Orsimer’s breathing had rapidly slowed down to a normal, less psychotically angry state as he became more relaxed. The Bosmer gave him a slight smile, to reassure him before realising that her hand was still on his chest, prompting her to whip it away, just as the paralysis wore off.

Bologra groaned, slowly bringing his hand to his forehead, his remaining hand that is. He gently rubbed his forehead and eyes as he pulled himself together, the reality of the situation slowly sank in…

“Urgh… Hospital?” He asked, rather drunkenly as he dropped his hand to his side, blinking repeatedly as the room came into focus as did his Bosmeri rescuer.

“Y-Yeah…” Arlas replied, though she wasn’t even sure if this Orsimer had even heard of the concept of a hospital before. Though, then again, he did come here himself…

<p class="MsoNormal">“You came here, after you… lost your hand. You were in bad shape, so… My superior, Father Lorius, patched you up. I’ve been watching over you ever since…” The Bosmer explained, slowly pulling her chair over to the side of the bed and taking a seat on it, resting her right knee on her left one as she crossed her legs over.

<p class="MsoNormal">Bologra took that piece of information in before he smiled, with a sultry look…

<p class="MsoNormal">“Hehe… I think I’ve had this dream before…” He said, chuckling a little to himself as he did so, getting Arlas to raise an eyebrow in confusion. She soon cottoned on and frowned in disgust…

<p class="MsoNormal">Oh no… She thought, leaning back in her chair, rather uncomfortably…

<p class="MsoNormal">Please tell me that, that’s the blood loss talking…

<p class="MsoNormal">She slowly wrapped her fingers around another paralysis scroll, considering just using it to remind him not to get any funny ideas.

<p class="MsoNormal">“S-So… Erm… What’s your name, Orc?” She asked, hoping to veer the topic of conversation away from his delusions.

<p class="MsoNormal">“Bologra…” The Orsimer grumbled as he slowly sat up, rubbing his temples with his thumb and forth finger, as if he struggled to remember.

<p class="MsoNormal">“Bologra Blackbeard…”

<p class="MsoNormal">Arlas smirked at his name, finding it a little bit amusing to say the least as she leant forward.

<p class="MsoNormal">“Was your ancestor a pirate?” She asked, resisting the urge to chuckle, she could somehow imagine this Orc out at sea, waving a cutlass, yelling obscenity in pirate speak through scurvy riddled teeth.

<p class="MsoNormal">Bologra didn’t seem to understand this joke and honestly thought that it was a serious question, he pondered on it for a moment and realised that there were few, if any records of clan Blackbeard going out to sea at all…

<p class="MsoNormal">“Erm… My brother, Bugdul, once crashed his sledge into a pond. Does that count?” He asked, seemingly clueless and prompting Arlas to question as to whether or not he was joking…

<p class="MsoNormal">“Erm… S-Sure.” She then paused, realising that he had a next of kin.

<p class="MsoNormal">“D-Does your brother live in the city?” She asked, wondering if she should send him a letter to inform him of what had happened.

<p class="MsoNormal">Her question wasn’t met with an immediate response, Bologra just stared out, into space as his expression changed to a more sombre one…

<p class="MsoNormal">“He don’t live at all…” He replied, with a heavy sigh, looking down to the floor as it occurred to him that it was only a year ago that he was killed. Hunted, like an animal and left to rot in a field, the Orc was never fortunate enough to find out who did it but, then again, it did lead him to greater things as he was no longer in his brother’s limelight.

<p class="MsoNormal">“Oh…” Arlas whispered, seeming somewhat embarrassed for making assumptions but, then again, it was more realistic to assume that he was alive.

<p class="MsoNormal">“I’m sorry…”

<p class="MsoNormal">Bologra shrugged, looking down at the stump at the end of his wrist, with a heavy sigh…

<p class="MsoNormal">“First I lose my brother… Now my girlfriend…” He grumbled, gently waving the stump back and too as he began to chuckle, it was quite clear that he had an odd sense of humour, one that Arlas couldn’t help but be amused by as she couldn’t stop herself from laughing a little.

<p class="MsoNormal">“You’re… A strange man…” She concluded, leaning back in her chair, smirking lightly as she shook her head, not doing a very convincing job of pretending that she wasn’t amused. Still, the accusation of being strange probably didn’t mean much coming from her as she was neither normal for a Bosmer or a Priest…

<p class="MsoNormal">Bologra shrugged as the colour slowly returned to his face as he propped up his pillow and fell back, he didn’t exactly feel well enough to stand…

<p class="MsoNormal">“My Sister-in-law used to tell me that all the time…” Bologra shrugged, with a smirk as he slowly turned his attention over to the young Bosmer Priest…

<p class="MsoNormal">“I’ll bet…” She giggled, bringing her hands together and resting them on her stomach, falling silent and creating a vacuum in the atmosphere as the two of them ran out of things to talk about.

<p class="MsoNormal">Well, except for one thing, the most important thing…

<p class="MsoNormal">“Wh-What happened?” Arlas asked, realising that she wasn’t being very specific, he’d told her a lot over the past ten minutes or so…

<p class="MsoNormal">“T-To your hand, I mean…”

<p class="MsoNormal">Bologra, still silent, began to dwell on it a little, it was still a little fuzzy to him but the pieces were slowly forming together…

<p class="MsoNormal">“Well…”

<p class="MsoNormal">With an almighty ‘whack,’ which echoed throughout the White Gold Tower, Bologra’s challenger, a Vampire Lord Nord, went flying across the chamber. The beast went flying, head first into a wall, with enough force to crack the stone before falling back down and landing with a thud. Without the strength to power it, he slowly reverted back to his human form…

<p class="MsoNormal">A smirk soon swept across Bologra’s face as his cheeks filled with laughter and he eventually exploded into a dark and yet hearty laugh…

<p class="MsoNormal">“That felt good!” He cried, quickly spinning around and raising his hand, clutching it into a fist as he imagined his enemies being crushed at the center of it.

<p class="MsoNormal">“Next!?”

<p class="MsoNormal">After lingering for a few moments, the Orc noticed a few ripples in the air, causing his smile to quickly fade as his face expressed his shock, the ripples soon expanded into a large net of purple energy and at the center of it materialised some sort of being…

<p class="MsoNormal">A large, twisted creature, seemingly undead and deformed, appeared before Bologra. It slowly descended from its portal as it chuckled, seemingly amused by the spectacle. Its laughter sending shivers down the spines of the other two contenders, due to its inhuman, metallic voice…

<p class="MsoNormal">“Now… You just need to fight me…” It informed him, sounding very confident in its own abilities, something that made him and Bologra an even match as the Orc had no doubts, that the Daedra would be eating his shit eating grin, along with his own foot.

<p class="MsoNormal">Before the Orsimer could say anything, he noticed that some sort of purple, telekinetic energy surrounded him, tossing him up into the air. The creature threw him upwards, with a great deal of force, into the ceiling of the Elder Council Chamber.

<p class="MsoNormal">The Orc clashed with the stone ceiling, fracturing it on impact as he gave off an almighty ‘oof.’ The blow probably would have killed lesser men but Bologra’s size, stature, muscle mass and freakish nature, meant that this was but a minor annoyance.

<p class="MsoNormal">Bologra wasn’t given much time to adjust to being thrown like a ragdoll before he was thrown back down to the floor, with just as much force as he was thrown upwards and crashed into the round, stone table at the center of the room…

<p class="MsoNormal">The table shattered on impact, breaking up into four large chunks of rock, with a large Orsimer warrior lay at the center… Bologra stirred and grunted and groaning for a few minutes as he tried to process what had just happened to him, rubbing his head as he slowly sat himself up.

<p class="MsoNormal">“You… Cheatin’… Boot licker!” He grumbled, building up his rage until he unleashed it in the form of a growl.

<p class="MsoNormal">“I’m gonna kick you so hard, that your balls are gonna go into your lungs!” The Orc blustered, glaring upwards as the creature approached him, walking out of the shadows and stepping into the light, which illuminated his form. He appeared to be clad in, what looked like, bonemold armour, except it looked incredibly ancient and seemed to have a decaying twist to it…

<p class="MsoNormal">His lower body consisted only of robes, old, torn ones that looked like velvet drapes that had been left out in the rain. His head was noticeably adorned with a bonemold crown, seemingly carved into the shape of a skull of an unidentifiable creature, a creature that is methodical or possibly even extinct, save for that bonemold smock…

<p class="MsoNormal">“Cheating?” It asked, laughing faintly at the accusation as it drew its swords, two katana blades, carved out of bone.

<p class="MsoNormal">“How does one bend rules that do not exist?” The Daedra mocked, slowly examining his blade, for a moment before turning his attention back to his foe. As he turned his head to Bologra, his face was revealed to be that of a skull, or at least a very decayed face. Baring his teeth, without lips and two red, burning eyes that looked human, compared to his skull-like nose and mouth but still looked decayed, like that of a zombie or a late stage vampire.

<p class="MsoNormal">Bologra grimaced as he reached for his axe, slowly drawing it as he did so, trying to pull himself to his feet as his body was aching all over.

<p class="MsoNormal">“Q-Quite easily… I-If you’re a pussy…” The Orc groaned, slowly pulling himself up and staggering, until he was upright, prompting him to raise his axe as he got into his usual stance. He’d fought tougher men in the past but he was having a hard time recalling as to when he had fought something as insanely powerful as a daedra before.

<p class="MsoNormal">The Daedra didn’t respond and simply got into its own stance, lifting off of the ground and levitating a few feet away from his opponent, taking a tight grip on his swords as he stared him down and a small, villainous smirk made its way across his lips…

<p class="MsoNormal">“You have lost, like all who oppose me, you were fated to perish from the moment that you drew your blade, mortal!” The Daedra replied, raising its right katana blade in triumph. The Orc’s eyes widened as he saw this but quickly narrowed, nobody talked down to a Blackbeard and lived!

<p class="MsoNormal">The Orc began to snarl as he drew his leg back before slamming his foot, straight into the Daedra’s shin. This caused it to stumbled back, responding with a simple ‘oomf!’ as it did so, giving Bologra the chance to reach for his axe.

<p class="MsoNormal">“D-Die, you cheatin’ asshole!” He roared as he slowly pulled himself up, swinging around twice before driving his axe into the daedra’s waist. It was a clean chop, with a heavy swing behind it and it would have split him in two, had he not teleported a split second before.

<p class="MsoNormal">The Daedra vanished before Bologra’s eyes, exploding into a ball of energy, which rained down tiny sparks, leaving the Orsimer bewildered…

<p class="MsoNormal">“Wuh…?” He asked, slowly relaxing and dropping his stance.

<p class="MsoNormal">“Grrr… More cheating!”

<p class="MsoNormal">As Bologra said that, he found himself engulfed in a red aura, which slowly began to pull at his body, lifting him up into the air, sending small energy bursts through his body that stopped him moving his limbs.

<p class="MsoNormal">The Daedra watched the suspended Orc for a moment or two, somewhat amused by this turn of events as he approached him from behind. The Daedra took two, rather loud, steps before stopping…

<p class="MsoNormal">Bologra, frozen on the spot, could only wonder what he was doing… Sizing him up? Looking for a good place to strike? Staring at his ass!? Whatever it was, as soon as he was free, he was going to give him an enema with his own katana!

<p class="MsoNormal">However, Bologra’s bravado driven determination soon faded as he heard the daedra give off a dark chuckle… Before he could ask what was running through this daedra’s twisted little head, he felt a surge of pain shoot through his arm, which shot through his entire body. He gasped as the shock hit him and his hand flew off, spraying an unholy amount of blood in its wake.

<p class="MsoNormal">The Orc immediately went dizzy from the shock and slowly felt the wet blood dripping down his wrist. He listened out as his hand hit the floor, with a light thud, where it was showered in the thick red blood that was pouring out of his arm…

<p class="MsoNormal">Unable to think or feel, due to the blood loss, he began to grow light headed, his vision darkened and voices began to echo inside his head…

<p class="MsoNormal">Within seconds, he passed out…

<p class="MsoNormal">“Next thing I know…” Bologra grumbled, scratching the whiskers on his face as he realised that he had ran out of story…

<p class="MsoNormal">“I woke up here…”

<p class="MsoNormal">“So…” Arlas frowned, unsure as to what this meant, if Bologra was telling the truth, then there was a pretty powerful daedra responsible for this and if that was the case, then…

<p class="MsoNormal">They needed to warn the authorities that it was using the Whitegold tower as the base of its operations. It could be up to anything in there…

<p class="MsoNormal">“A Daedra is responsible for this? He did all of this inside the Elder Councillor’s chamber?” She asked, she didn’t doubt the Orc’s story, not yet anyway… The evidence would be quite easy to find if such a clash did take place…

<p class="MsoNormal">“Yeah! The bastard rented it out, to fight all of us… Well, when I say ‘fight,’ I mean test his Daedric boy toys on us, like a pussy but you get what I mean.” The Orsimer shrugged, seemingly not as bothered by the revelation as she was…

<p class="MsoNormal">“Actually, the Elder Chambers are open to the public, when the council isn’t in session but they would never allow fighting in there. Are you sure that it was the Whitegold Tower?”

<p class="MsoNormal">“Yes!” Bologra snapped, reaching into his pocket and drawing a letter out, shoving it into her face.

<p class="MsoNormal">“It says so on here!”

<p class="MsoNormal">Arlas jerked her head back as the sheet was shoved into her face; she frowned in confusion and gently took it out of his hands as she began to examine it…

<p style="line-height:16.75pt">Bologra Blackbeard,

<p style="line-height:16.75pt">If you want to prove your superiority as a warrior, come and test your metal against me at the White Gold Tower… 

<p style="line-height:16.75pt">Come alone, tell no one of this meeting…

<p style="line-height:16.75pt">Jorane Lorwel…

<p style="line-height:16.75pt">“So… There really is a Daedric prince, loose in the White Gold Tower…” Arlas whispered in disbelief as she slowly pulled the letter to her face. There was still the possibility that this was an illusion of some kind, maybe a mage or a group of mages. But… Why target this Orc? He wasn’t powerful, influential, rich…

<p style="line-height:16.75pt">He was a skilled warrior, according to himself and the letter but there were surely more skilled warriors out there. In the Arena perhaps?

<p style="line-height:16.75pt">Maybe it was because he was expendable? Maybe…

<p style="line-height:16.75pt">Arlas just sighed, so many ‘maybes’ and few solid answers… She knew that the only way that they would find the truth, is by searching for it. She slowly handed the letter back to its rightful recipient and sighed…

<p style="line-height:16.75pt">“So… What do you plan to do now?” She asked, not knowing if the Orc wanted to pursue this or not. Of course, it was a bit of a stupid question, for such a proud and aggressive warrior…

<p style="line-height:16.75pt">“Now?” Bologra asked as he slowly rose up from his bed, an intense fire in his eyes, which flickered like embers from the warrior’s fire that burned in his heart.

<p style="line-height:16.75pt">“I’m gonna find that… Lawrence prick and I’m gonna show him why no one screws with Bologra Blackbeard! I’m gonna tear his head off and shove it up his ass and then drag him, up to the top of his precious tower and throw him off of i-“ Sadly the Orsimer didn’t get to the end of his inspirational speech as he was quickly blasted with another paralysis spell, to prevent him from breaking something.

<p style="line-height:16.75pt">Arlas sighed and looked away from the now suspended Orsimer as she slowly stood up, scratching the tuft of hair on the back of her head, which prickled her finger tips. It was one of the things she loved most about having her hair the way that it was…

<p style="line-height:16.75pt">“Or… We could go down to the Palace, without making a scene…”