1) This is IMPORTANT, guys. I made a big mistake! That's right, Don Dokhmesy made an Oopsie Doopsie. My Elder Scrolls calendar was a bit off and I kept writing (4E 197) while it should have been (4E 198) ... Jon was born on 181, one year after the Second Treaty of Stros M'akai. He was conscious of the reincarnation on 182, left Riften at 196, now it is 198 and he is 17, the game starts on 201 when Jon is 20. I will go and edit it later.
2) This is the chapter! Don't hate me after it. There is a catch for everything.
3) Big thanks to @Coffee_Fiend
~~~~~~~~~~
The sky, lit; the land, scorched; corpses, charred and trees, burned. The scale of destruction was massive and the damage was fatal.
Jon landed beside the black sphere made of [Greed] and put his hand on it drawing it back to himself. Under it, there was Nefertiti in Beast Form and Wulfur in a bloody form.
"Doing good, man?" Jon asked.
Wulfur looked at the crater that Jon created with his attack and gulped hard. Just a moment ago, there were tons of Foresworn and many things around here and now it is just... well, let's just say that nothing will grow in this place for at least 50 years because of Magicka anomalies. Master-Class spells were nothing to scoff at, only a level below the Forbidden Spells and can pretty much be described the same.
"Yeah... Jon, our people. They..."
"I am sorry for your loss, Wulf. Truly, it was you or nothing."
"Yes... Yes..."
Wulfur was still in shock and seemed to be developing a trauma. Jon took his hand and started healing him to the best of his healing skills. Nefertiti looked around and saw something strange.
"... Look!"
She pointed at the ground where some tree started to grow in the crater. The three were taken aback as there was no tree that can grow this fast in reality but one was actually doing so.
Jon sensed something bad about to come and took the front.
"Nefertiti, my sword."
Nefertiti carried the [Cube] with her and from it, she took out [Bloodskal] giving it to Jon. He held the sword tightly and urged them to retreat.
Once the tree grew large enough to be almost seven meters tall, it started to transform and take shape as a humanoid tree with an animal skull as a head. The energy of that tree creature was eerie and dark.
"What in the..." Jon said.
"No! It is that thing!" Wulfur seemed on the brink of losing it. "Jon, kill it before..."
Just as he was about to warn Jon, the ground shook and roots came up from the ground like nothing the ever saw before.
A bunch of roots targetted Nefertiti and tried to form a prison on her but she sank in the Shadow and dodged the attack while growling at the Leshen. Wulfur was also targetted but already knew how to dodge the roots and kept dodging in zigzags. Jon's leg was caught by a root and thorns tried to penetrate his skin but the didn't do much damage, he just let out his Aura and obliterated the root and the ones that followed after it.
"Come out." Jon spoke in an angry matter towards the one who tried to control the Leshen and sneak attack them.
The Leshen stopped attacking and from the hole it grew from, a few figures came out. They were total of thirteen as signals as Jon detected. 11 Hagravens, 1 Foresworn and 1 freak looking thing.
"Okay, a cursed spriggan of sorts, some hags, a midget and... a cyclops?"
Jon's tone carried a hint of mockery but he was actually at a wrathful state.
"Him! It is him!" One of the hagraven pointed at Jon and said or rather screeched with her voice that sounded like a tacking raven or a very broken radio.
Disregarding their hideous appearances of one of those super ugly storybook witches, Jon spoke rather carefully.
"Excuse me, young ladies. Mind telling me who am I again?"
The hagravens were shooting resentful looks at Jon, he wasn't sure if it was the way they look or they are ready to suck his ghost out and trap it into a jar or something.
"It is him."
"Yes, him."
"The cat-thing told us."
"It did! It did!"
"Hunt him down, devour his flesh."
"Leave his head. His head is a trophy."
"But strong... too strong... Cat-thing didn't say that strong."
"11 of us. Only him."
"No, he has a spirit. A young fey."
"The other man-thing is also strong."
"Not strong enough. Only him."
"Hunt him down, take his head."
Trying to make sense of the conversation of the hagravens, Jon realized that someone came to the hagravens to deal with him. It was a 'cat-thing', probably a Khajiit. His head is wanted as a trophy for the kill too. Someone wants him dead badly, mostly Erikur but none in Erikur's syndicate is a Khajiit. They are not allowed in towns especially Solitude.
This eliminates some options but if a Khajiit wanted him dead then the Thalmor has a hand in it. Why? Elswyre is part of the Aldmeri Dominion and Khajiit do the shady work for the Thalmor.
As Jon was realizing that, Alaric who saw Jon for the first time realized something. He looked at the hagraven and asked.
"Wait! Matron, did you just say that someone wanted this man dead and we had to lure him by catching that man?" He pointed between Wulfur and Jon. "Wasn't it the will of the Old Gods?"
The hagravens realized the desperate tone of their war leader so they explained things to their own convenience.
"No, Blood Eagle."
"Dear, Blood Eagle, we matrons take no words from cat-things or man-things."
"It was a messenger. Yes, a messenger!"
"Cursed Blood doesn't like him. Cursed Blood wants him dead."
Jon and Alaric could understand what 'Cursed Blood' mean. Jon didn't really think too much of it but Alaric seemed to have believed the hags.
"Cursed Blood, huh? That sorry excuse of a Daedric Prince? Lord of Shit, Malacath?" Jon taunted the hags as he cussed swore at Malacath.
The Foresworn are Daedra worshippers and they call the Daedra 'The Old Gods'. They mainly worship Hercine as well as Molag Bal, Mehrunes Dagon, Malacath and Namira.
Still, the situation was going to get messier. The 11 Hagravens are strong enemies and Wulfur can barely stand.
"Nefertiti, take Wulfur away for now."
"Yes."
She jumped at Wulfur and took him in the [Cube] then went away leaving the space of Jon to fight freely. Jon may have used a lot of Magicka to cast [Supernova] that annihilated the Forsworn force but he alone was full of trump cards.
"Don't let the fey escape!" A hagraven shouted pointing at Nefertiti which irritated Jon.
"Get in line, will you?" Jon threw [Bloodskal] with all his might at the Hagraven splitting her head in half then pulled the sword back with a chain made of [Greed].
"Matron!"
Alaric panicked once he saw a hagraven die. He looked at Jon with hate but realized that Jon was a bit too hard for him to deal with. He became fully conscious at the hateful mage that obliterated his army in one go.
"You! You won't get away with this."
"Watch me."
"You killed many Reachmen! I, Alaric will rip your heart out for this."
"Let's see you try!"
Jon launched [Bloodskal] towards Alaric to kill him the same way as the Hagraven but the large Leshen stepped in and blocked [Bloodskal] with its limbs.
"Get away, prince."
"Get away, get away!"
The Hagravens, that were controlling the Leshen, protected Alaric and concentrated at Jon. Now that ten of them remained, the needed to kill Jon as soon as possible.
Jon tried to levitate in the air but facing ten Hagravens proved to be a challenge. He waved [Bloodskal] many times and launched many energy slashes to face the large number of spells that were coming at him from every direction.
Just as he got the chance, he teleported behind one of the hags and waved her sword beheading her head clean.
"Marla! Kill him! Kill man-thing!"
The hagravens were angry for losing two of their kind in one day. Jon kept avoiding all their spells until he was about to kill another one but the Leshen interfered.
"Annoying thing!"
Jon avoided the Leshen's roots that were coming from all directions and jumped at the damn thing cutting it from the shoulder to the waist. Grosh tried to sneak up on Jon with his large club but Jon intercepted him easily.
"FUS RO DAH!"
"Grosh!" Alaric shouted as he saw his brother get Thu'umed again.
Alaric can be said as the only being who might have survived the [Unrelenting Force] three times.
"He can't shout again! Go on!" The hagravens pressured Jon more.
"Excuse me! YOL TOOR SHUL!" Jon shouted the Leshen with the Fire Breath shout and torched the creature like a dragon.
The Leshen got badly wounded and dived in the land again to suppress the flames. Now, the hagravens had no tank to stop between them and Jon.
Alaric saw the Matrons in a bad situation so he grabbed his spear and ran towards Jon like a hunter. Once he saw the chance, he performed his high leap to catch Jon off guard.
"Seriously?"
Jon sent [Greed] towards Alaric and grabbed him from the air then slammed him on the ground once then on the other side another slam and so on until all of Alaric's body seemed to be on the brink of collapsing.
Jon threw him away and focused on the remaining Hagravens.
"Dangerous! Use the curses!"
The Hagravens tried their best and took out back soul gems each. Filled with the soul of human sacrifice, Jon's skin crawled once he felt the foul energy in the gems.
"Damn you, fuckin witches! All-Maker!"
Realizing that he needed his Magicka more than his sword and Aura, Jon called for the blessing of the All-Maker, the [Root of Power]. His Magicka surged up in an unimaginable speed and all the Magicka around him was sucked towards him like a typhoon. The Hagravens used the Black Soul Gems at the same time and powerful curses were all cast at Jon.
"FUCK!"
The pain was unimaginable! Jon can barely try to stop all the pressure that came from the Hagravens' trump card. His vision was being blinded, his body was being paralyzed, his blood was starting to flow backward... all sorts of foul curses were thrown at him by nine angry Hagravens.
The sword fell from his hands and he held his head as if it was about to explode.
"Kill him!"
"Kill! Kill!"
"Damn man-thing killed Marla."
The hags were putting their all suppressing Jon and he was facing the nine of them with all what he could. The feet was simply unimaginable to block nine powerful curses with simply the brute force of Magicka.
"I'll fuckin murder you, bitches."
Jon got the hang of his Magicka and roared in anger. His first move was to reverse a curse on a Hagraven with all his power causing her to explode like a balloon.
The second move was by dragging a Hagraven with [Telekinesis] towards him and blasting her brain with a [Thunder Cookie].
The third move was by transforming [Greed] into a Blaster and shooting a bolt of Aura that tore a Hagraven by half.
Alaric was simply terrified. He would do anything to stop Jon now. Without realizing it, he was carrying a dagger and stabbing it at Jon's back only for the dagger to get dent when it touched Jon's skin. The skin of a Level 3, Jade Skin stage, Dragon Frame realm was simply not an easy thing to cut.
Jon looked at Alaric with anger and slapped him ten meters away.
There were only six Hagravens left any they were annoyingly powerful. A hagraven was a semi-daedric creature with a heart the condensed a higher form of spiritual energy but Jon can simply overpower that with his firm base that was built on tedious training and not some dark rituals.
The last showdown with the six Hagraven was a show of pure brute magic force. Jon's [Root of Power] was starting to slow down and fade and the Black Soul Gems of the Hagravens started to crack.
"Break!"
Jon forced all his might in one final push destroying three Black Soul Gems and causing three Hagravens to fall into a major backlash. He only needed to wave [Greed] like a chain sword and killed them in one go.
Now three Hagravens was very manageable. Jon's demonic mode was fully on and he smiled viciously towards the last three. He wanted to rip them apart left and right.
Alaric, whose body was barely moving, had a clear vision of what happens. He saw the last three Matrons at the tip of the reaper's blade.
He had nothing to do against someone like Jon. All his pride of being the leader of Karthspire Forsworn was getting shattered under the might of one Nord. It was a hateful feeling he never wanted to ever experience again but it helped him understand that he was not as powerful as he thought and if he can't kill a single Nord with Jon's level then there is no way that he will be able to slay a famous warlord like Ulfric Stormcloak.
Alaric lost his band of warriors to Jon and Wulfur and the eleven pillar matrons of Karthspire were reduced to three. He was devastated but the enemy was a true monster.
Crawling his body up, Alaric looked around with desperation until his eyes landed on something.
A Staff! One of the dead Hagravens carried that staff and used it to control the Leshen.
Without thinking, Alaric jumped at the staff and connected himself to the Leshen that was healing underground. He managed to move him underground easily and made a plan.
"Retreat, retreat to the rocks." Alaric called to the three Hagravens, who were desperate to survive. The retreated with him out of the crater while keeping Jon as bay as much as they could. The showdown switched from overpowering with force to casting quick flashes of destruction spells.
Once Alaric made sure that he is in the right spot, he made sure to stay close to Jon for the sake of his only gambit.
Jon didn't notice Alaric and the latter started controlling the Leshen under beneath Jon until he confirmed that Jon was fully focused on the Hagravens. He that they area they retreated to was directly under the mountain and made sure that he reached the blind spot of Jon then called out the Leshen.
"NOW!"
The land beneath Jon shot up and countless vines warped themselves around his leg. Jon was annoyed by the fact and reached out to stop it but the whole Leshen came up and hugged onto Jon without any further notice.
"The hell! Get away!"
Jon struggled to free himself from the Leshen to focus on the Hagravens but he didn't notice what scheme was playing here.
As soon as the Leshen locked itself on Jon, it started to grow a countless amount of vines from its back. These vines connected themselves to the mountains and rocks around the place and started pulling at the same time.
*SCREECH!*
The Leshen was in pain but all what could Alaric think of was the putting down Jon.
And so, he brought down the mountain on Jon's head.
Jon noticed only when it was too late.
"Shit! Get off me!" He exploded his power and sent away the Leshen not caring about the Hagravens anymore.
He was about to Levitate but discovered that Hagravens switched from offense to trying to stop him from using Magicka.
"Shit!"
No levitation or teleportation available, Jon barely avoided a large rock that was about to squish him.
The fall turned from some rock fall to a complete avalanche. Alaric was in the heart of the danger zone following Jon.
Jon was enraged and tried to behead the insolent Forsworn but a large shadow dashed on and carried Alaric away, it was Grosh the freak.
Jon tried to avoid the avalanche but large chunks for rocks started to fall on him. His senses of crisis were on full alarm and used the Thu'um many times to push away falling rocks.
The Leshen brought itself together once again and attacked Jon to pin him down and it managed to do so. An enormous shadow enveloped the Leshen and Jon. He looked up only to see a large falling boulder coming at him.
"Shit!"
The only thing he could do was to press his sword to the ground and try to shield himself with anything.
***
Not far from where Jon had the mountain on his head, Nefertiti was tending to Wulfur and the later was resting to the rock. They felt the strong shaking of the earth and saw a whole mountain fall towards Jon.
"Jon! NO!" Wulfur panicked and ran towards Jon but...
*Thud*
Nefertiti collapsed!
~~~~~~~~~~
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Remember, worse chapters are coming! Don't drop, there are good things after bad things.
*12th of Sun's Dawn (February), 4E 199*
*Winterhold*
Since the day when chaos broke in the Reach, Thane Jon Dare of Winterhold was never seen again. Questions asked with barely anything answered. Why did the Forsworn start the chaos? Why did the Nordic clans of the Reach participate in the big fight? Where are Jon and Nefertiti?
These questions were barely answered by the only known survivor who was suffering from PTSD, Wulfur.
And three months passed.
Right now, it is Sun's Dawn (February) of the new year and no single progress on Jon's or Nefertiti's whereabouts.
Are they alive? Yes.
How do they know? Nurina's Divination said so. Also, when the search trackers reached the avalanche sight, no sign of Jon was found and the place was all dug up. Jon was not there anymore.
Can Telepathy reach him? Supposedly, even if he is trapped in Oblivion itself but it doesn't reach him at all. Something is blocking it.
What can the Dare Dragon Company do? Absolutely nothing, they can't be allowed in another hold with more than 200 men which are far from enough to deal with the Forsworn. Even when they wanted to pass through The Pale, Jarl Skald the Elder blocked the roads.
What about the Firemanes? They are investigating and searching.
What about Nurina? Alfe Fyr forbade her from doing anything more than trying to search. That still didn't stop her from using [Astral Protection], a Master class Mysticism spell, to look for Jon day after day.
What about Jonrad and Hilda? Jonrad was the first to go and look for Jon, he simply took his katana and cloak then left with a short note. Hilda could only leave her children, Thor and Idun, at Nurina's and Skadi's care before taking her ship, the Guilty Crown, and sailing to the Karth River.
What about Alina, Jullanar and Aela? Well, here is the thing. Alina can't leave Winterhold because she is nursing Jullanar. Why? On the way back to Winterhold, Jullanar collapsed on the ship coming home to Winterhold. The timing was confirmed to be the same time as the mountain fell on Jon. Aela ventured in the Reach about five times in those three months and fought with many Forsworn but couldn't find a single trace of Jon.
Almost everyone in Winterhold was grasping on their hearts. If Thane Jon disappeared, things may get as bad as before. The central figure of the hold was known for both his valor and mischief, he was the central pillar of Winterhold's economy and even though Jarl Korir started to act righteously lately, none trusted him for good reasons.
This situation that lasted for three months started to attract many enemies to Winterhold. If not that Winterhold is a desolate place, all colors of evil would have lurked in a long time ago.
The questions about Jon Dare never stopped, even Ulfric Stormcloak sent his people to talk to the Dare Dragon Company and see if there is anything they can assist with. Of course Ulfric denied that he has any power to control the actions of Jarl Skald, it wasn't entirely a lie but he didn't want to risk such an action very soon.
None of that mattered anyway, Jon's family can take care of there own and everyone was sure that Jon will show up. It was Nurina who had faith in that the most.
Still, the most devastated person was none other than Wulfur. He witnessed everything and came out the lone survivor with a tragic story to tell.
He was used to trick Jon in a trap, he fought for three days and lost all his men, he witnessed his brother get buried under a mountain, and the rest of the story was still tragic.
Once he saw the mountain fall, he lost his sense of reason and ran towards it only to find Nefertiti collapsing behind him. Not sure what to do, Wulfur carried her and started moving the rubble despite his multiple injuries.
He buried and buried without any results. The rubble was too much for him to handle. He looked back and saw the surviving three Hagravens trying to get their hands on Nefertiti calling her 'Fey'.
He was enraged and threw his hammer at them then grabbed Nefertiti and ran. The three Hagravens shape-shifted into three flocks of crows and started to chase him. He could only jump in the river and pass out only to find himself being saved by some Companions who were investigating the chaos in the Reach.
Once he woke up, he couldn't find Nefertiti and his mental condition became worse. He got identified and sent to Whiterun for healing, he made contact with Jon Battle-Born and the news of what happened spread.
since his arrival to Winterhold, all he kept saying was "It should have been me". He kept himself shut in his house and barely ate anything. Bjorna and Svidi were the only ones on daily contact with him they struggled to put him back together.
At Wulfur's front yard, Alina, Svidi, Bjorna were all gathered talking.
"Have you... told him yet?" Alina asked.
Bjorna shook her head.
"I still think it will cheer him up a bit, you two are older than me and Jon and can just get married before it happens." Alina said.
"Are you mad? Wulfur would never marry if Jon is still missing." Bjorna said.
"Jorna, it has been three months, I can tell that you are pregnant already. Soon everyone will find out too."
Bjorna nodded in silence.
"How are things on your end?" Svidi asked.
"The company is doing well. Some partners are skeptical about me and Jon's case but as he said, nothing will stop the big machine." Alina said.
"Do you need anything we can help with?"
"No, just focus on Wulfur. I sense a storm coming at Winterhold and we all should prepare. Tell Wulfur to man up and come help me."
The two nodded to Alina.
"How is Jull?"
"Better, she can stand up now but her fever is back. She vomits what she eats so we give her easy things to digest. Aela comes by with meat she hunted and we eat together... holding up and all." Alina seemed to be holding up well different than Wulfur who completely crumbled.
"Thank you, Alina. We all depend on you."
Alina nodded with a smile. The [Fire Keeper Mask] hiding her eyes kept away a lot of sorrow and sadness to her alone. As she left Wulfur's place, she walked home stealthily in the empty street.
Her face was expressionless and her steps were quiet. No one knew what she was thinking of in that state.
All of a sudden, her [Fire Keeper Mask] started to glow and her expressions turned fearful. Her Eye Powers were acting up again.
"Damn it! Stop!" She groaned.
But her eyes didn't stop at all. Right now, the [Fire Keeper Mask] can't contain her powers like before.
She was suffering from her own gifts. Ever since she was born, she was feared for her different eyes. When she was a child she grew up mentally sooner than usual, she understood things earlier than any kid and got concerned about things a kid shouldn't get concerned about. When she was recognized by the Cult of Kyne, she was already too far to reach and became lonelier than before. When she became a teenager, her beauty bloomed and her fame attracted many. When she learned Magic and Martial Arts, she was peerless which can be another word for friendless.
She always suffered from the gifts she had until the day she met Jon and she was always after him in many things. For the first time, she was in someone's shadow and she loved it. Not the loner anymore.
Now, the light of her universe disappeared and all sorts of anxiety came at her. She was not a pathetic week girl, she can fight all. Still, herself wasn't that easy opponent she can face.
Alina took out the thing Jon gave to her before he leaves. She looked at it and felt it closely. A small trinket like that was the thread she held to Jon's will with.
As she thought positively, her eyes started to get under control once again. She calmed down and walked home.
Upon her arrival, she saw her gryphon Lokthur sleeping peacefully in the yard in its nest. His life was mostly playing and sleeping lately even though she kept training him on battle and teaching him how to carry her on his back. It was already very big and would go hunting on its own from time to time.
With a slight smile, Alina mood became somewhat better and she walked in the house. She met Skadi, Jenna and Nurina who were taking care of the kids. Hilda's action of leaving the small four months old kids was reckless and her mother scolded her.
Alina passed to the main bedroom where Jullanar was. She saw her sitting on the bed and eating some soup.
"Feeling good?" Alina sat beside Jullanar.
"A little. How was your day?" Jullanar asked.
"As usual."
"... Anything..."
"No, nothing new."
Jullanar was not in a talkative mood. Between brooding, crying and falling ill, she did nothing else. Alina was at a loss of words and tried to comfort her partner but she was not that much better herself on the inside.
Alina and Jullanar snuggled together and kept it silent until one of them spoke.
"I wonder how is he doing!"
***
*Markarth - earlier this day*
Markarth, a Dwarven city build on the surface, unlike other underground Dwarven cities. The Nords prized it ever since the disappearance of the Dwemer but many others coveted it.
The city was famous for its large silver mine run by the Silver-Blood Clan. The mine also serves as a prison. The mined silver ore gets delivered from the prison to the smelter outside the mine to be made in ingots and to the pockets of the Silver-Blood family.
In the smelter, many workers come and go under the watching eyes of Mulush gro-Shugurz, the overseer of the smelter business. One of those newcomers was one the miners call 'Draugr Face'.
Draugr Face was a silent but abnormally large fellow, mostly mute, his left foot was replaced by a prosthetic one, some of his left fingers were missing, but most importantly, the left side of his face was badly damaged to the point that he was called 'Draugr Face', he always kept his face hidden though.
Even though people were wondering what could put such a beast of a man down, all were fearful to approach him. The amount of ore that man can carry was not natural. His power transcends the common sense.
Draugr Face has only appeared one month ago but he is the best worker in the smelter. Mulush gro-Shugurz wouldn't even try to scold him.
Draugr Face lives in the Warrens, the home of the homeless and beggars in Markarth. He always returns early and sits in Lotus position meditating the Magicka.
No matter how long he tried, he could only meditate without the ability to get the Magicka out of his body. He used to be a very talented mage but now, he can't even help but to punch the ground in desperation. He took off his shirt and looked at the state of his body, there was that brown vine growing on his body and locking him from casting magic.
Losing limbs was something manageable to him as he always had a plan for everything, the problem is... none of those plans had the part where he can't cast Magicka.
He calmed his pointless anger and lied on the old bedroll. His prosthetic foot turned into a formless black matter that he used as a pillow.
A lot needed to be done and he has a devious plan. Darkness swelled up from his heart. He already became a monster, so why not act like one?
He closed his eyes and let his head flow to the past.
~~~~~~~~~~
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