Helian had enough of it all, to clear his head he had decided to go down to the river to see if he could perhaps catch any fish. The Karth river streamed down a canyon so he would have to follow a narrow winding path down to a thin stretch of shingle beach that was rarely used by the locals. As such the way down was badly maintained and slippery. He used the fishing rod as a walking stick on some of the difficult bits yet sometimes he would slip and grumble.
This relaxing bout of fishing was off to a great start, he thought.
Finally he made it to the base of the cliff where he could sit on a vestigial pebble beach that would often disappear with high tide.
From the looks of it there was nobody here but himself. No Covenant, no Companions, no Keshik. As per usual they had arrived and made the locals feel uncomfortable. The whole situation was getting more and more tense.
Helian tried to put it out of his mind and once he had hooked up some bait, tossed the line into the river. He watched the water shimmer and found peace in the sound of it rushing past. It was loud in a good way. A white noise to drown out the worries in his head.
Unfortunately for the young cook, his peace of mind would not last long. From behind, he could hear a set of footsteps behind him, crunching against the rocks and leaves in their way. They came to a stop just behind him, and he then heard a deep laugh. “Interesting decision, to venture off on your own. You ought to be more careful, young hero… you’ve made too many enemies to be so lackadaisical.”
The young Imperial turned his head around, remaining seated where he was. Who in Akatosh’s name was bothering him here?
Standing behind Helian was a creature that was as black as night, which made the glowing-blue markings on his body stand out even more. Helian may have recognized it as the creature that appeared during Delusul’s last encounter, or as one of the creatures they fought in Elsweyr. It was clad in steel armor that looked almost Daedric in nature, with blue markings on it as well.
“Hi there,” Vahkesh grinned.
Helian let out a long whistle that reverberated on the rocks.
“What do you want?” he then asked, still not budging an inch.
“Well, I was sent here to kill you,” The creature said bluntly. “But now that I’m here, I must admit… I’m having second thoughts. It’s akin to being tasked with stomping on a puppy. I’m not sure if I could bring myself to kill something so… pathetic, and small.”
A cold shiver went down the young man’s spine. Helian’s eyes darted up a few times.
“You’re the one that disappeared with Delusul and his ghoul,” he stated, to try and dispel some of the mystery.
“Is Delusul the one who sent you?”
“Aren’t you a smart boy,” Vahkesh grinned, casually sitting down next to the Imperial. “You’ve really given that poor mage a headache, the way you’ve constantly eluded his little killing machine…”
Helian didn’t really feel remorseful about that. He looked up once more.
“Looking for your bird to come save the day?” The demon asked. “I wouldn’t worry about it. Trust me when I say that a wild animal like him ranks very, very low on the list of things that have tried to kill me.”
He looked up to the sky. “Is that bothersome to you? How you always need to look to the sky or to your friends and hope one of them happens by to rescue you?”
“Don’t have my bow with me,” Helian stated as the reason.
The demonic looking Khajiit was right about how he was looking for ‘his bird’’. Dancer soon came gliding down the canyon, screeching and casting a large shadow onto the both of them.
“Your bow,” Vahkesh laughed, glancing up at the bird creature. “Always ready with your excuses, aren’t you?”
Helian frowned. That was just the simple truth.
Dancer landed beside the young Imperial, looking majestic and tall. The landing itself had kicked up some dust too.The gryphon was the size of a large horse and they could grow a lot bigger still.
“So what do you want now?” Helian asked again. If it wasn’t to kill him then what was it?
The demon regarded the horse-sized gryphon with mild interest. “... Like I said, I had come here to murder you, but I prefer to get to know my prey before I sink my teeth in. If I want the full experience, I need to get to know the… the little emotions. The ones that hide deep inside your soul, you see? You probably don’t understand, and I do not have the time to explain.”
Vahkesh rose up off the ground and slowly approached the gryphon. “Such a fantastic beast. A pity that its long and storied life will be wasted as a common house pet.”
Helian couldn’t help but raise his brow skeptically. If Vahkesh lost fingers it would be his own damn fault.
“I don’t even have a house,” he retorted before addressing the point.
“Look, if you kill me. It won’t end well for you.”
It was an understated threat, but Helian meant it with every fibre of his being. Nyasia would simply eviscerate him. And there was also the fact that the world would end in a failed prophecy, but it would mainly be Nyasia feeding him his own balls that would be the thing to worry about.
“And how do you suppose that?” Vahkesh asked, going to the birds side and strategically moving away from its powerful beak. “I know what you are. You’re prophesied to stop the Daedra, and stop their conquest of Tamriel. I kill you, and the Daedra win. What exactly would I have to fear in that scenario?”
“So Delusul’s working for the Daedra? That’s good to know,” Helian scoffed. He had always assumed as much, but now this was confirmation in his eyes.
Meanwhile Dancer’s eyes followed the Khajiit intently.
“Hardly. Delusul thinks he’s using the Daedra to his advantage. Countless years, he’s deluded himself. He thinks he’s fooling Sheogorath into handing over the secrets to the mind and soul,” Vahkesh shook his head, slowly stroking his hand over Dancer’s back. “You’re right to not fear him. He’s an utterly incapable fool.”
Vahkesh’s beady eyes focused on the Imperial now. “But the one thing he did right was let me loose. I’ve watched this covenant from the eyes of Shrava for some time, you know. I’ve seen and heard every little squabble, every little conversation. Some of you, I consider threats. Your betrothed, for example, she is quite a force. But you, well… I don’t need to worry much about you.”
He smirked. “See, where as most of the Covenant have the tendency to stand up and fight when they’re cornered, you have a tendency to… preserve your own hide. You like to cower and flee.”
“Am I fleeing right now?” Helian retorted flatly.
“Hm, a fair point,” Vahkesh said. He turned his attention back to the bird and uttered a curse, and the ground beneath the bird suddenly opened up. Chains shot from the ground and wrapped around the gryphons neck, limbs, and wings, anchoring it down to the ground and not letting it move an inch
Dancer yelled out as the cold ethereal steel covered and trapped him. Helian felt his own anxiety rise as a result, bound as they were.
The gryphon fought the chains, trying to pull himself free from them, while Helian yelled at Vahkesh to stop it.
“You didn’t need to DO THAT! Dancer, are you okay?!”
The gryphon’s only response was to continue screeching and flailing.
The chains dug tightly into the Gryphon’s flesh. The more he struggled, the tighter the grip became.
“If you can tell that thing what to do, caution it to stop squirming,” Vahkesh said smugly. “It might strangle itself if it continues.”
Helian saw he didn’t have much of a choice.
“Dancer! Stop fighting it, you’ll only make it worse. Please, don’t fight it. Be calm.” he urged as he approached to place a hand on the beast’s beak.
It didn’t work immediately but soon Dancer was quiet. The poor thing’s heart was pounding hard… As was Helian’s.
“Happy now?!”
“Well, now that you have an understanding of what I am capable of… yes,” Vahkesh nodded. “Not so confident now that your pet is out of the equation, are you?”
“Look, I’ve been having a REALLY bad time of late. I don’t need your bullshit on top of that!” Helian lashed out.
Vahkesh only laughed at Helian’s outburst. “This is my point. Strip away the swords and the magic from the others, and you are still left with a strong will. Strip away the backup from you, Helian, and you are but a small, whining child, desperate to prove that he is a man.”
The Dro-m’athra leaned up against the side of the canyon walls, arms folded. “The same little boy that abandoned his poor mother, to go be a big man, sailing the seas. The same one that left her to rot from disease, so that he could chase a hopeless romance. Even I’m struggling to figure out what fool conjured up a prophecy that would include the likes of you.”
Helian felt white hot rage boil up inside him. If he had a weapon he would’ve attacked by now.
“So that’s it then. You’re just here to rub it in?”
“... Yes, actually,” Vahkesh checked his fingernails. “I can stand here and hit you with every conceivable insult known to man, and you just have to stand there and take it. Because you know there’s very little you can do right now.”
Vahkesh shrugged. “But I do like that anger. I can feel that, deep within you. When I hunt my prey, I like to do it when they’re filled with rage. Anyone can kill a being that’s afraid or weakened, but killing one at it’s most infuriated… those feel earned. I savor those.”
He walked around Helian again, laying a hand on the ensnared Dancer. “Think of this as me… fattening you up like a prized pig. Getting you worked up, adrenaline coursing through your veins, and once I feel you’ve ripened enough…” He dragged a single finger across his throat. “You see?”
“You just watch yourself,” Helian threatened. He hated that there was nothing he could do.
“It is not I who needs to be watching himself, little one,” Vahkesh said. “I will be seeing you.”
The creature then appeared to fold in on itself, disappearing as a black mass enveloped him whole. The chains around Dancer receded back into the ground, allowing him to move about now.
Dancer gasped, creating an unsettling, guttural sound that could make one’s stomach turn. Helian quickly came over to pat and stroke his friend but the beast beat his wings in an attempt to get space for himself after being cooped up.
“I’m sorry! I… I’m sorry!” the Imperial said as he tried to smooth things over but Dancer was already taking off and flying back up, leaving Helian all alone again.
The peace returned. There was only the sound of water rushing by.
Helian however was anything but peaceful. He was incredibly angry. Angry enough to pick up his fishing rod and throw it into the river in a fit of rage.
He yelled out before collapsing on the shingle beach, crying.