AN: A big shout for 'jack', 'Marius Arnesen' and 'Mehrdad Alizadeh Khorassani' for their support on Patreon. You guys are awesome
Also, I am sorry for not checking on Patreon lately because of technical internet issues in Egypt.
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I had to make peace with myself first before thinking of what really happened once again. My thoughts were all jumbled up because of what Nurina has just told me.
The 'Haven Cube' she said.
An artifact with a ridiculous ability that can be described as heaven-defying and earth-shattering. Not only a sub-dimensional storage but also a shelter.
No wonder Lord Fyr was reluctant to let me go with it at first.
Okay so let's sort things out.
A sub-dimensional storage is a term that can make the world go insane, if it was done by magic then people won't really think a lot about it as the mage who can just create that function by spell is just an entity one shouldn't mess with, but things will get a whole different turn when it comes to an artifact like the 'Haven Cube'. I dare to say that even Emperor Titus Mede II and the Aldmeri Dominion, as well as all the other powers and clans, will go after a weak character like me with all sorts of claims.
And that's just the start of it…
This is not just a sub-dimensional storage artifact, it is a shelter, a safe haven. Something that can be accessed with one's own body.
How ridiculous that is?
Well… it is very ridiculous.
The theory about it is probably very relatable to creating one's own realm like a Daedric Prince or and Original Spirit. Freaking Ridiculous!
And if that is not badass enough, then how about its size?
Nurina said that the inside of the Cube is 8000 square meters that can be divided into multiple floors and rooms. That's right, the owner can add and remove floors and rooms within those 8000 meters square.
Not enough? Then how about some history lesson?
This artifact was created by the one and only Sotha Sil, a ridiculous being among the ridiculous beings.
Who is the hell is Sotha Sil?
Sotha Sil, also called Lord Seht, was one of the members of the Tribunal, the divine rulers of Morrowind, alongside Vevic and Almalexia as the three were worshipped literally like gods.
For his feats, Sotha Sil was called an architect of time, a binder of Oblivion, and the Mystery of Morrowind. He is known by many other titles, such as the Clockwork God, Father of Mysteries, the Inspiration of Craft and Sorcery, the Light of Knowledge, Magus, Magician, Sorcerer, Tinkerer, and later a Saint of the New Temple.
He was said to be reshaping the world from his hidden Clockwork City, a mechanical city that was physically contained inside a person-sized Celestial-Drome.
Sotha Sil the Magus was the patron of artificers and wizards and the mightiest wizard and the wisest counselor of the First Council, and also spent time training the Psijic Order on Artaeum. According to the Tribunal Temple Cult, Sotha Sil was the Light of Knowledge and the Inspiration of Craft and Sorcery.
One thing to take note of was that Sotha Sil and Lord Fyr were best buddies, one was fond of puzzles and the other was fond of dungeons. For them to create a puzzle dungeon together and this humble Dragonborn beats it, I say I am going to brag about that in front of Alduin himself when I get the chance.
Putting all that aside, I kept looking at the Haven Cube while cleaning it with a cloth and laughing unintentionally, Jull and Wulf were looking at me as if I am sort of an idiot but I skillfully ignored them.
Oh, right! We returned to Winterhold and we held a meeting at my house.
"So, you went to Morrowind? Without me?" Jullanar didn't let one off.
"And met with your Grandmaster and Great Grandmaster who are some extreme beings." Wulf was also disappointed.
"Sigh! Wait until Alina hears of this, she will be heartbroken to not get that chance." Nurina was consoling them.
"Hooman, play with me!" and Nefertiti didn't let go of me since I arrived.
"I love this family atmosphere but can I please focus on how this thing works?" The Cube was left for me to figure out how it works so I took my time studying it, I mostly figured the whole idea about it but had to learn a few things first before fully utilizing it.
"I am afraid we are not that free. You have a meeting with the head of the Technology Department, Eliel. Then you will have to meet Elishka to sign the financial papers. Also, there is a shipment of horses that will be delivered by the Firemane's Skyfire Company. The Moonblades will send their people to talk with us regarding the future of Winterhold too. The most annoying thing you will have to deal with now is the Imperial Legion that demanded some supplies and the people from Solitude that accused us with tax evasion. The Construction Department wants to get some tasks too and there are some meetings you have to attend." Jull spoiled my mood by acting as my secretary.
"And we need some funds!" Wulf joined in.
"That too!" Jull confirmed.
I looked at them and felt how much they are happy at my misfortune, these cheeky brats were just at each other's throats a month ago.
"I think I created a department to manage all that stuff when I am not free." I said and returned to scanning the Cube.
"The Management Department? Yes, but we are short on employees." Jull said.
"I am not talking about the Management Department…"
"Huh?"
"I am talking about the Mercenary Corps and the Security Department."
I don't remember what happened after that but I am pretty sure I was knocked down and got dragged all the way to the office.
***
[Three Nights Later]
Still, working.
***
[One Week Later]
"LET GO OF ME!"
"Back to your office."
***
[Two Weeks Later]
I was finally released.
"You may take my life, but you will never take my FREEDOM!"
"Quit screwing around! There is a report from 'Team 0'." Jull whispered to me.
"Oh! Something happened?"
"The person you were looking for has appeared in Winterhold."
Oh! 'Team 0' is one of the mercenary teams in the 'Dare Dragon Mercenary Corps', the new military contractor in Winterhold. Team 0 is my personal guards on the surface but they are also my best men and the Private Intelligence Agency that I personally lead. Jullanar is the head of the team of course.
And by the 'person I was looking for', it means that someone has finally appeared. It is an expert researcher at the matter of Soul Gems, Nelacar.
Nelacar was a minor NPC in the game involved in a quest or two. Apart from that, he was also a magic merchant.
I had some important business with him so I took a small bag from my desk and went directly to the Frozen Hearth Inn.
Lately, as I started walking through the roads of Winterhold, some people would gather around me and start complaining about all sort of stuff. I had to create a small office and for the complains and the requests but they never quit. Jull forced me to be accompanied with bodyguards since then.
I can just teleport, you know! Still, I was refused on sight. Women love to take care of every single detail, man.
Anyway, I started walking the street with my bodyguards lately and… Damn, it feels so good to be a celebrity. I looked like a Boss walking with some Mini-Bosses that one has to beat before reaching me.
Anyway, as I reached the inn, I called for Dagur the innkeeper and asked for Nelacar so I was guided to a room in the side.
Who I saw was someone as tall as me, a High Elf with golden skin and all, he looked rather old in age too.
"Hello, am I speaking to the Wizard Nelacar?"
"Who sent you? Was it the College? The Jarl? We had an understanding that there would be no more questions." The man spoke to me with disdain before I even say anything.
I sighed inwardly, High Elves are all pain in the ass… except for Faralda, she is cool.
"My name is Jon Dare…"
The elf looked at me with his brows raised, he clearly recognized my name.
"The new overlord of Winterhold, I have heard about you. What is it? You want to question my presence in this town too?"
"Eh, no! You must have taken it the wrong way, let me welcome you back to Winterhold on behalf of myself and the Dare Dragon Company. The presence of an Elven Mage like yourself in our town is a welcome occurrence in our town."
Nelacar paused what he was doing and looked at me closely.
"Interesting! I'll listen to you but let me tell you this first, you are not to stick your nose into my business and we will be fine." The Altmer said with all the arrogance in the world.
I smiled and held myself from saying anything, I really wanted to experiment how much can the dragon language affect the mindset of a high elf. I will do it but not now.
"Then I will cut straight to the chase." I took out the small leather bag that I carried and put it on the desk in front of him.
"This is?"
"Me interfering in your business in a very rude way that I hope you would forgive me afterward. But it's of urgent importance."
Nelacar looked at the bag and opened it emptying its contents on the table.
What he saw made him jump from his chair and run to the wall as far away from me as possible. I was about to laugh at the scaredy elf but I think I should keep it to myself.
"The Star of Azura? Gods! It's all finally coming back to haunt me."
His expressions were that of an absolute terror.
"Calm down! It is isolated and contained." I said and stood up to calm him down.
It took a few minutes to comfort him back to the right mindset.
"So you want me to fix it for you? Impossible!"
"Please, don't be unreasonable. You know very well why I came to you of all people. And I know very well that you would hate to see anyone doing it other than you. Isn't this the thing you always think of as your mistake?"
"This… thing! Do you even know what are you dealing with?"
"I have the general idea."
"Tsk Tsk! General ideas are not enough. What do you know about Soul Gems?"
"... I am Nurina Aren's son. I know everything there is to know about them."
"Oh! Nurina Aren, an elitist in the mage community, so you are the Nord son I heard rumors about."
"Naturally!"
"Good then, back to our topic. As you know, Soul Gems are used for Enchanting but the gem is always consumed. They're frail. Except for one."
"Azura's Star."
"Correct! Azura's Star, a Daedric artifact that allows any number of souls to pass through it. Some of us wanted to find out how. I was working under Malyn Varen, then. If only we knew what he was really planning."
"Immortality!"
"You are well informed. Malyn wanted to alter the Star as he was dying. He thought he could store his own soul inside. Become immortal. It drove him mad. Students started dying. Eventually, the College exiled him. He took a few loyal disciples away and vanished. Look, I don't care how you found the Star but don't take it back to Azura. The Daedra are evil. They're the reason Malyn went insane."
"I understand, but what made him think he can alter the Star?"
"Sigh! Look, Azura is no ordinary Daedra. She commands an entire realm inside of Oblivion. The more Malyn worked on the Star, the more she was able to damn him. It started slowly at first. Malyn would see things that weren't there. Then he would yell at students over words they hadn't said. Then one day I walked in and Malyn had... killed a student, and in a horrific moment of inspiration, he started using her soul for his work."
"Hmmm! And now his soul dwells inside the Start, I thought if I isolated the star we can weaken him and cut his connection to the outside."
"Well done, you are not Nurina's son for nothing."
"So can you help me exorcize Malyn soul's away?"
Nelacar sighed and nodded.
"Maybe this is my chance to make things right. I can finish Malyn's work, the way we had meant to before his madness. It would mean cutting the Star off from Azura. Only black souls would be able to enter it once we finished."
"I understand, then let's hurry. Who knows if Azura is watching right now."
We both nodded to each other and started the preparations.
I was thinking of learning how to make some 3D animations and try to work on something for the novel but maaaaaaaaaan that was hard. I'll stick to writing.
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Nelacar put the Azura's Star on the table and started preparing some necessary scrolls to seal the room we are in and not alert anyone if anything gets out of hand. After that, he started analyzing the Star.
"These fissures and cracks aren't encouraging. Malyn obviously was growing more desperate once he left the College."
After more analyzing…
"He did it. He actually managed to trap his own soul inside the Star, but it's falling apart. It needs more souls to sustain itself… The Star is being used to sustain Malyn's soul. I can't fix it while that fragment of him is inside."
"Is there any other way to deal with him?"
"There is… but it's not as simple as enchanting Malyn away. He's put up barriers. Souls are only allowed in, not out. If we were to... somehow... send a soul inside the Star. One that was ready to overpower Malyn from the inside...."
Nelacar seemed a bit depressed while saying so. He is going to ask me to kill his friend.
"Is it possible?"
Nelacar sighed and nodded.
"He's already dead. Worse, the enchantment keeping him intact requires black souls. I don't know how many people he must have killed. If we don't do something, the enchantment will eventually fade, and the Star will slip back into Oblivion. Azura will have the last laugh."
"So…"
"I could soul trap you. Place you inside the Star. Then bring you back once Malyn has been dealt with… It is a special type of soul trap. Placing you inside the Star without fully killing you. Once Malyn has been dealt with, I'll bring you back."
I was waiting for him to offer me that.
"I guess there is no other way then."
"I understand if you need some time to prepare. Let me know when you're ready."
"No need for waiting. Let's do this."
***
After some time, I lied on a bed and Nelacar started preparing the spell. Once he cast it on me my consciousness faded and I found myself in a strange place.
This was probably the interior of the Star. It was a light-blue, surreal world with spikes and chiming sounds.
"That looks great."
{What happened here?}
For some reason, I heard the voice of The Augur.
"Oh, brother Augur, I woke you up?"
{I suspect you got your soul trapped in Azura's Star?}
"Yes, how did you respond so quickly?"
{It happens that we have an Astral Link together.}
"Oh, right!"
{What is your plan from this point onward?}
"Can you collect the Data from this small world while I get stall Malyn for some time?"
{I can do that! What kind of data are you after?}
"Anything related to the structure and the rules of this small world."
{Not anything special, I will finish and notify you.}
"Thanks!"
The Augur was still as emotionless as ever but the Data I am after is important to some extent.
My job now was to look for Malyn who was probably in the deepest part of the star.
On the way, I happened to meet up with some with some ghastly remains and daedric vistages. Some of them were Dremora that seemed to be allied with Malyn but I got rid of them right away.
Malyn himself was found in a haggard state after being isolated by me for some time. He has clearly become madder than before.
From that time since I took the Broken Star from his cult, I have kept him sustained on some animals and white souls. These were far from enough but they kept his soul from pershing away.
Now his soul was in front of me cursing and screaming while calling his apprentices the 'trashes who can't hunt a prey.'
Once his soul saw mine, it turned into a berserk state and tried to devour me with its all. I only overpowered him with my sheer Magicka and kept him at bay for a few minutes until the Augur finished what he was doing.
{I have what you need.}
"We are off then."
I overpowered Malyn's soul further with only Magicka and it broke right away.
So weak!
At this point, Nelacar pulled me out.
***
"So, the Star cleansed itself?"
"Yes! You've changed the fate of a Daedric artifact and lived. Congratulations! And keep the damn thing, I'd rather put that chapter of my life behind."
"Thank you, Nelacar. If you ever want anything, you can find me right away. I will also notify my people to help you in any way they can."
I bid Nelacar farewell and left the inn in a hurry with the Black Star at my hand. It really has no use for me now so I'll just keep it as a trophy or whatever, after all, the real work starts now.
"Brother Augur, still with me?"
{Yes!}
"Can you please help me review the date from the 'White Phial' file and the date from the 'Black Star' file."
{Both the 'Sealing Enchantment' from the Black Star and the 'Absorption Enchantment' from the White Phial were analyzed. What kind of an Item you want to use on them?}
"... A Soul Gem!"
{Are you trying to create another Unbreakable Soul Gem? No… that makes no sense!}
"Fufu! So even you can be ignorant sometimes?"
{I am purely interested in what new ideas can an otherworlder like yourself can come up with!}
"Haha, you can't just admit it, can you?"
The Augur didn't replay and seemed to be inwardly cringing at me.
"Fine! My project right now is called the [Magicka Reactor]. By using part of the enchantment from the White Phial, that one that absorbs Pure Magicka from Heaven and Earth to convert it later into matter. I only took the Absorption part as you know. The other thing I needed was a material that was able enough to store Magicka and nothing can do that except…"
{A Soul Gem!}
"50 points for Gryffindor… I mean you are right. Anyway, I wasn't sure how will the Soul Gem react at first so I needed an insurance and that was a way to Seal the energies inside a Soul Gem which you kindly provided when we were at Azura's Star. What we lack are some Dwarven Metal Wires which I already asked Wulfur to make we will get to do our sweat research right away."
{... A Magicka Reactor, huh? That seems promising.}
"I know right… To be able to Absorb Magicka and store it from anywhere, this is exactly the function of the Human Flesh and how it provides the Astral Body and the Soul with Energies."
{It is indeed promising.}
"Sure, there will be no need to kill any creatures and people to trap their souls anymore. I dare to say that if we succeeded, then the age of Soul Trapping is coming to an end."
I couldn't help but make an evil laugh even though I was doing something not evil.
This will be Epic!
***
Winter is over but it is still snow in Winterhold.
A few weeks have passed since I started my damnable research. Jullanar and Wulfur have given up on me and took Nefertiti away. The last thing I heard was them was that they got invited by Alina to the Moonblade Clan.
I also receive an invitation but I will go join them once I am done.
More or less, I am done. Most of the prototypes are working but they overheat and explode. I need a material to prevent the soul gem from overheating and I sent a ship to Solstheim to get such a thing.
There was a material that was called the Stalhrim that can only be mined from there but it was expensive. The only way was to hire some people from the Skaal, a very old and respected hidden clan that has good relations with the Firemanes.
I hoped that everything goes smoothly but Ongeim got a bit late, he sent a word that there are some troubles in Solstheim and it is very hard to find the material we need.
The Stalhrim is a rare form of enchanted ice found only on the island on Solstheim. Throughout history, it has served various uses. Originally it was used in the burial rituals of ancient Nords. The deceased would be encased in the material as a form of protection, a privilege that was typically reserved for Nordic individuals. It has also served as a crafting material and, with the proper tools and techniques, can be used to create weapons, armor, clothing, and even jewelry.
Stalhrim armor, and sometimes called ice armor, can be light, medium, or heavy in weight. It is very protective and is often made with steel or quicksilver. Due to its innate properties, frost enchantments placed on items made of stalhrim are more potent which will serve me very well in fighting the overheating problem in the 'Magika Reactor'. Also, in its raw form, it can be used as an alchemical ingredient that induces paralysis and inflicts frost damage.
Stalhrim is often described as being hard as iron and impossible to break by conventional means. The only known way to mine it is with an ancient Nordic pickaxe, made from superior craftsmanship. It has been described as a rigid, blue-white crystalline metal, faceted yet smooth, and unnaturally cold to touch. Working with stalhrim is much like ebony smithing, and can only be performed by a skilled blacksmith.
This all made my life go a few times harder, the 'Magicka Reactor Project' is the hope of Winterhold and the Dare Dragon Company. It will be a new source of energy that can probably be better and cleaner than anything the modern Civilization of Earth came up with.
But good research time can't go smoothly unhindered. This morning, I received some terrible news…
Alina, Jullanar, Wulfur and Nefertiti, four of the most important people in my life, have all disappeared!
Some development! Finally...
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