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*North of Cyrodiil*
It was very early in the morning as a portal opened up stirring up the chilling air of the morning. The moisty land had a pair of footprints one bare and the other booted as it all went towards the ruins on the mountain.
The ruins were as ancient as they were magnificent. The endless broken towers, the piling moss, the tomb beyond the tomb, the walls that are barely left standing; everything he was long since dead yet so filled with memories, emotions and echoes of frozen past.
The Ruins of Sancre Tor.
The Golden Hill of Saint Alessia, Reman Cyrodiil and Tiber Septim.
"Here… used to be the pottery market… there… a stone where the Lords and Ladies spoke… that… it was a house…" Said the fading woman.
Jon simply followed looking around.
This is Sancre Tor, not just a city from the ancient past but it is the birthplace and the resting place of… everything human.
Just like Saarthal of Winterhold, Sancre Tor of Cyrodiil had the same history… and the same fate. Long ago, there lived a human slave in a city of slaves and slavers. The woman was AL Alesh, High Highness, or simply Alessia, Saint Alessia. What she did simply changed the World.
This is the Holy Ground where Alessia started the Slave Rebellion of Cyrodiil against the High Elves of the Heartland and established the Empire, humanity's first hegemony over the most important land on Tamriel. In this same ground and after two thousand years, Alessia who was sainted by Shezarr (or Akatosh) appeared to a mighty Nordic Warlord who mated with her in the earth impregnating the very land of Cyrodiil, the offspring of the bond was Reman Cyrodiil who was born from a golden hill with the Amulet of Kings on his head. A thousand years after, Tiber Septim conquered this old citadel and died fighting here before his ascendance right at this spot in this world.
Sancre Tor, a name that would conjure legends of a gloomy graveyard that holds the images of heroes and the ghosts of villains… but this woman never knew of any of this. To her, Sancre Tor is nothing but a place of memories for a bird shall fly the seven heavens and still know its home.
"This is it… it is all… everything is here."
She was happy, genuinely happy. What she lost is returning to her amidst the ghosts of the past and the sands of lost time. The reality she lives is not what Jon sees. She saw the people she once knew, the things that were once there and the magic of an olden past.
"Thank you."
And she perished, she faded in time… for nothing is supposed to last what she lasted.
"That is a good ending." He said, "An ending I hope to have."
He turned around to leave but she reappeared again.
"You are not leaving me, are you?" Jon asked the ghost that returned but he knew that was no longer her.
It is his longing for purity, his redemption of the sins.
"You wish to take away my sin?" He asked, "I have seven of them for I am a sinnerman. Take it of you wish, it is about time someone bears the damnable Lust."
Jon opened his hand and the last image of [Lust], the small gem it turned to be, flew towards the image of that woman and landed on her forehead and remained there. The apparition became real and the Nameless Girl became nameless no more.
"Say your name." Jon asked.
"Venus." She replied.
The true last form of [Lust] became that woman which Jon found appealing to the eye.
The Nameless Girl from before was a very unfortunate young woman who was offered to Sanguine and kept as his trophy for long ages. She was freed by Jon and on his way out of Oblivion, he asked her to remember her home and she described the citadel on the hill beneath the mountains ruled by slavers and filled with slaves. Such a place could only be Sancre Tor. When she came to the Mortal World, she could no longer sustain herself due to exceeding her lifespan and her soul yearning for the life she had, fading away to dust, only a ghost couldn't escape this reality and remained behind to haunt no one but the one who brought it here, Jon.
The haunted simply offered another alternative to the soul of the poor girl, be one with him and live in the light doing what she does best, bringing men and women to their knees. [Lust] gave her a vessel to inhabit and a purpose to follow while she gave [Lust] a personality to embrace and a warmth to touch.
"Hooman, you got a pet?" Nefertiti appeared on his shoulder looking at the appearance of [Lust] with interest.
"I plan to keep her around." He said.
"Good, a new servant." She jumped on Venus and rested between her arms, "Make her take me around."
"You lazy cat!" Jon shook his head wryly but didn't really disapprove as he felt the urge to ruffle the fluff of Nefertiti while she enjoyed it. He then caressed the face of Venus as he felt actual warmth from it.
"It indeed feels nice." He said dismissing the fact that this is just an Illusion, a perfect one still as [Lust] was still the only real form in this whole thing.
"Let's go home…" Jon turned around to leave back to the Portal but he stopped as he felt a presence.
He simply stood amidst the graves and the ruins looking to the side until a band of three appeared.
"Who goes there?" The voice of an Elf sounded.
"Show yourself… wait! That's a woman!"
Three Elves in Dominion Armor showed up with their blades drawn. All they saw was a human woman of enchanting appearance. Her appearance was so captivating despite not being the most beautiful woman in the world but she just went straight to their heart and clouded their minds and judgment.
She wore too little, only what she wore when she followed Jon during his journey, a simple shirt and nothing else but she had that gemstone fixed to her forehead.
Nefertiti felt annoyed by the appearance of the Elves as Dominion Armor was something she knew well. When she looked at Jon to ask his permission to kill, she found him simply gesturing for her with a finger over his lips to stay silent.
[Lust] was not a sin suitable for combat but with Venus around, things turned rather interesting. He was just standing there in the shadow of a wall completely unseen while Nefertiti moved towards him to see what he wanted to do.
Meanwhile, the three Dominion Soldiers walked while holding their breath towards the woman they saw.
"Is it… truly a human?"
"Such presence… this woman isn't normal."
"Be careful, she can be a Worshiper of Talos. Let's interrogate her."
The three moved with conflicted intentions towards the silent woman who was simply looking at them slowly being intoxicated by her aura. She made their minds feel numb and their instincts to go off the closer they got.
"Venus, show me what you got." Jon whispered his will, wanting to see how his sin turned from the weakest one to the most effective.
Venus heard and she swayed left and swayed right like a dancer, the three Elves stumbled left and right with her without even realizing what got to them. She did a spin and while doing so, the simple shirt on her turned into a dress red of color with all the illusions she was capable of. The elves were so much under her spell now as they could no longer help but standstill in a deep trance.
She moved at them with no killing intent or any bloodlust. The moment she stood between them, they all started lusting and forgetting what they were. The three surrounded her and she touched their faces and necks, firmly making them her thralls and then… she held the sword hand of one of them pointing the blade it carried to the neck of the other.
The blade slid slowly through the neck of the elf by his friend's hand and none of the three felt anything, even the one dying was doing nothing but trying to keep up with his eyes focusing on her figure while he was dying on the ground. And the send stabbed the third the same way leaving only one dancing with her as she walked behind him holding his sword hand with its blade to his neck.
*Slit*
*Swoosh*
The moment Venus made the blade go past the neck of the third elf, an arrow broke through the air and pierced through the waist of Venus from one side passing clearly to the other.
Nothing happened. Venus only disappeared like a ghost and [Lust] flew back to Jon in a beeline.
The three Elves were now dead but a four appeared holding a bow. He saw his three companions lying dead with their throats gushing warm blood.
"Shit! Shit! Shit! Shit! A killer is hiding! Gather here!" He started shouting in panic gathering the rest of the Dominion Soldiers and the Thalmor Justiciars fortifying the old ruins.
But as they arrived, they found a redheaded demi-giant standing behind the Archer and twisted his neck the wrong way.
"Wrath, Lust, Greed, Pride… I have piled up a lot of stress. Offer me another massacre."
***
*Winterhold*
"This is all for the situation, Mistress Alina." An Agent said in utmost respect.
"Tell Jullanar to try to open the negotiations once again. We can't afford to have the roads busy with refugees over that stalemate the war is putting us into." She gave her command before the agent left.
Now that she is all alone in the balcony surrounding the upper part of the tower, she found nothing to do except walking around the large area and starting to trim the thorns of the flowers she was growing around the place.
She was in her home robes, long red silk robes that arrived at Winterhold from Hammerfell as a gift from Prince Kareem of Stros M'kai. As Alina enjoyed expensive things the most, she monopolized all the beautiful gems and clothes, sparing few for the other girls. Her self centered attitude was expected from her as the Wife and the Mistress of the Dare Household.
But the Master of the House has gone to party in Oblivion, the mere thought made Alina clip the flowers violently when she thought of it.
"The situation on the south road must be very stressful for you, wife." Jon said.
"Yes, you insolent bastard. If only you were here to take care of your wife instead of swinging your dick around… wait!" She turned around, "You are here?"
Jon looked at her as he was covering Nefertiti's ear and looking seriously at her.
"Language!"
She rolled her eyes in exhaustion and put away the clippers as she walked to him and took Nefertiti away.
"How is my little girl? Did that bad hooman drag you into one of his stupid escapades again? Come with me, let's stay away from him."
Alina walked away with Nefertiti inside the tower while Jon was watching with interest. As they disappeared inside, he took an apple from the nearby table and sat on the seating area stretching his body over the couch overlooking the city down below while bracing for impact.
Alina walked out again as he expected and walked towards him with long strides and an upset face.
"You unfaithful man, how many girls did you fuck? Huh? Answer me!" She asked.
Jon gestured with one finger then added another.
"Two? Only two? Weren't you supposed to be in Sanguine's realm?"
"Well, let me tell how it all went down from the start…"
As his habit, Jon spilled all the beans to Alina from the moment he entered Oblivion to the moment he left. Her expressions shifted between indifference towards the ordeal of the Daedra then pity towards the situation of the Maidens of True Liquor then to a hysterical laugh when it came to how Jon played Sanguine around and finally to deep anger when she heard of how Sanguine intended to trick Jon.
"In the end, I only slept with the maiden I freed and analyzed the woman who tried to trick me. I guess I am safe?"
"I'll overlook the analysis for now but that girl you freed, I want my share." She demanded.
"You will have it." He said, "I just sent her to deal with the situation regarding the skirmish of the Stormcloaks and the Imperials on our borders."
"She has that much power?"
"Heh! You have no idea."
Jon managed to pull Alina close to him as she simply laid down beside him.
"What will you do about the Daedra?" Alina asked.
"Sanguine won't bother me. He had his fun and I had mine. Aside from that, there is Clavicus Vile. From what I understood, he was the one who suggested this folly to Sanguine. I still have his dog in a cage though." Jon said.
"Master Nurina won't be happy."
"She won't."
The two of them nodded. At that moment, Alina remembered something important.
"Right, a report arrived an hour ago." She said as she retrieved a piece of paper, "It seems that your prophecies are correct again. That Jester you spoke of appeared close by the Loreius Farm on the road between Whiterun and the Pale."
Jon heard those words and his lazing body regained its vigor almost instantly.
"He finally appeared? I thought I missed him." Jon's reaction was very serious now.
"What happened?" Alina asked, seeing her husband act like that.
"Let's go, I want you to meet that Jester. Bring Jull along."
Jon quickly changed into his traveling gear and started to open a portal. The man he was waiting for finally showed himself. Cicero has appeared.
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"Agh! Bother and befuddle! Stuck here! Stuck! My mother, my poooooooor mother. Unmoving. At rest, but toooooo still!" (Cicero)
"See? I told you!" (Jon)
"Wahaha! That guy is a total nutjob." (Jull)
In a bush nearby, both Jon and Alina as well as Jullanar were hiding together with Jon adding an extra layer of stealth by holding two branches.
"I am starting to get it. Something about Jesters being in distress is so appealing to you two." Alina said looking at the two beside her with cold eyes.
"It is fun." Jon said.
"No! This is a guy who got his wagon wheel broken while transporting his mother and the farmers nearby are not being neighborly." Alina protested.
"Wife, long story short, he is the bad guy!" Jon explained.
"A jester is a bad guy? You of all people shouldn't…" Alina said something then looked between Jon and Jullanar and became silent.
"Ouch! That hurts." Jullanar reacted to the way Alina thinks of them both now.
"What should we do about him then?" Alina asked.
"I wouldn't show him my face, not yet. Lust is not with me at the moment so I'm not dealing with him." Jon said, "I don't think you can tolerate him in a conversation either, wife."
"This leaves Psycho." Alina pointed to Jullanar.
"Alright, I'll do it." Jullanar casually agreed then disappeared quietly from their side.
Not too far ahead, she appeared on the road and charged her appearance a bit to resemble a traveler using her Disguise Technique. She then walked quietly and approached the Jester in distress.
"Ah! Mother! Poor poor mother! Cicero is helpless! Helpless!" The Jester, who was standing beside a wagon with a broken wheel, started making a tragic play as he lent over the large coffin he was transporting.
"Did that wheel break on you, Sera?" Jullanar approached the Jester and spoke.
"No! I deliberately broke it… OF COURSE IT GOT BROKEN! Damnedest wagon wheel… Poor Cicero can't transport his mother… his sweet sweet mother." Cicero replied in dramatic agony.
"She's quite dead though." Jullanar pointed out.
"Of course she is, she can't be anything but dead. It is just Cicero being good, being filial. Mother's old crypt is no longer suitable. Too dusty, too rusty and too cooooold to warm her bones. But we can't go anywhere until I fix this damnable wheel and that damnable farmer that refuses to help which is damnably driving me insane. Argh!" Cicero screamed from frustration then swiftly changed his mood and clasped his hands together looking at Jullanar, "Charitable soul, generous soul, can't you help me?"
Jullanar tilted her head.
"Me help you?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Cicero will give you coins! Gleamy shiny…"
"Nope! My husband said to never take money from strangers… or was it sweets?"
*CRACKLE*
A bolt of lightning manifested in midday and landed on the mountain nearby causing all the wildlife to panic. This happened in sync with Alina snapping the two branches she was holding with just her thumb after hearing the word "husband".
"Dude!"
Jon looked at her but she glared at him causing him to look away.
Back to the grinning Jullanar, she was enjoying both making Alina furious and messing with the Jester.
"If you don't want coins, then what do you want?" Cicero asked.
"Actually, I was trying to pick up that Jester trick when you guys make a stick stand on your nose then drop it on your chin then back to your forehead. Quite tricky… oh, and I also want to learn how to make things disappear without any magic. Actual magic I mean."
"Oh! Pretty easy. The first trick is a bit practical so it will take some time training but the second one is quite easy. If you don't want them to see anything, just poke their eyes."
"Oooh! That's right… why didn't I think of that… I mean I had that eye thing in the past. Bad times. Yeah, I'll help you now. What do you need?"
"Right! Go to the farm, the Loreius Farm…"
"Got it!" Jullanar said as she walked past Cicero.
"But I haven't told you what to…"
"Nah, I got you, bro. Totally!" She said and ran towards the farm.
Jullanar entered the Loreius Farm and returned with a farmer walking in front of her in a moment. The man was sweating profoundly and quite shaky as Jullanar walked by him with a broad smile.
He fixed the wheel and set it back in a few minutes and even helped tie the horse to the wagon while Cicero was showing Jullanar how to kill someone by putting an apple on their head and tossing a knife.
"Oh stranger! You have made Cicero so happy! So jubilant and ecstatic! But more! Even more! My mother thanks you!" The Jester said as he rode his wagon and departed.
Meanwhile, Jullanar waited in her place and the farmer was shivering not far from her.
"L- Lady, I…"
"Piss off."
The farmer ran away back to his farm while Jon and Alina appeared near Jullanar.
"Sigh! My mother told me once that we had relatives in Cyrodiil." Jullanar said with a sigh.
"I'm sure none of them are Jesters." Jon said as he removed a droplet of blood from Jullanar's face with a finger, "Chicken blood?"
"That was fun for a moment there but don't scare the common people again." Alina scolded Jullanar.
"Sister, you are the wife they love, I am the wife they fear." Jullanar said, teasing Alina even more.
"You little skank!"
Alina tried to punch Jullanar before the latter could run away but catching Jullanar is simply too difficult with her current ability.
"It was fun, but I will head to Riften now." Jullanar's voice echoed as her presence completely faded.
Alina held her head in frustration and turned to Jon.
"So, a Jester going crazy, what is the big deal about him?" She asked.
"Him? Aside from being a member of the Brotherhood, there is nothing special about him." Jon replied.
"Wait… the Brotherhood? The Dark Brotherhood?" She asked.
"Yes. I told you I have plans for them."
"Yes, but… Why didn't you tell Jull?"
"Well, she impatiently went on her own. Also, I wasn't really trying to get her into that Brotherhood project."
"Then?"
"My main purpose was to tag the guy with magic. He is traveling on a wagon and I know his destination quite well but I need to keep an eye on him."
"You just said he is not that special."
"What he is transporting is."
"What… that's his mother's body. Gross!" Alina made a disgusted face.
"Oh yes, yes indeed." Jon started to imitate Cicero, "But the mother is not just any mother. She was the mother of many children who she actually gave birth to and… killed."
Jon's last remark made Alina's eyes widen.
"Don't tell me…"
"Yes, that's the expression. It is the Dark Matron herself…" Jon said and started to contemplate, "Just to make it clear, by saying a Dark Matron, I don't mean Boethiah or Namira… or Nocturnal or Mephala or Vaermina or… Damn! This Dark Matron title needs someone to claim it once and for all."
"Jon, focus." Alina snapped her fingers at his face.
"Oh, right. It's the Night Mother." He said simply too casually.
Alina felt conflicted all of a sudden. On one hand, she could just go and pursue Cicero and his wagon to destroy the night mother or…
"Are you letting that abomination leave?" She asked.
"What can you do about it? Destroy it? Then you would be making an enemy of an immortal woman who communicates with the world through the Void itself. And you will also be involving Sithis who is quite a bitch when involved in anything."
Alina remained silent after Jon's reply.
"I know you can argue with the Daedric Princes being forces of nature but the Night Mother is just evil, husband." Alina said with concern.
"I know." He nodded, "That's why I won't involve anyone other than myself with the matters regarding the Dark Brotherhood."
***
It was one of Jon's most important decisions. The Dark Brotherhood is not the Thieves Guild where he got all sorts of connections, it is the bloodiest cult in the entire world and their quest itself is a major death trap thus Jon needed to prepare many things first.
He returned with Alina to Winterhold and checked on his journal to see how Wulfur, Alina and Jullanar advanced in their missions.
Wulfur, of course, was assigned to the Companions; Alina in the College and Jullanar in the Guild. The Companions storyline has slowly started to kick in with Wulfur going every weekend with the Companions doing a job or two. The College's situation was by far the most advanced as the Eye was still under investigation and Alina just started lately to look for any books regarding the Eye. The situation in the Thieves Guild was by far the slowest since the only thing Jullanar has managed to do is to sabotage the Golden Glow estate.
Aside from the Factions, the Dragons seem to have calmed down a bit compared to before. Jon doesn't like the calm before the storm but he had to make the most of it. This day, the main expedition team headed out of Saarthal under the lead of Mjoll the Lioness to search for the lost city of Blackreach under Winterhold itself. Truth be told, Blackreach may extend further all the way to Hjaalmarch across the Pale making it almost twice the size of any northern hold or almost as large as Whiterun itself all underground.
Jon accompanied the team during the first day but they met a lot of obstacles blocking the road around the ruins of Alftand. This caused Jon to go idle around somewhere else only to end up in his Domain in the island far in the sea.
There, he found Nurina and Alfe Fye as well as Beth.
"Master!" Beth came to see Jon who was outside the town most of the time lately.
"Here you are! How is our little protege?" Jon asked as he rubbed the head of the bald girl.
"I've been studying hard lately. I have memorized the Theory of the Unity of Schools and the other schools of thought."
"Oh! Arcane Philosophy? My favorite of all time." Jon said as he went forward to greet Nurina and Alfe.
"Master, Grandmaster!"
"Look who's here. If it is not the self-important newest Arch Wizard." Alfe mocked Jon.
"Shut up, Alfe." Nurina said, "Jon, you finally came. It is time to start the Initiation Ceremony."
"Oh!" Jon rubbed his hands in anticipation as he ran to sit beside Nurina, "I wouldn't miss this for the world."
They were all in a forest clearing inside his Domain sitting on a large lying tree trunk while in front of them stood Beth.
"Let's make this official." Nurina said, "Back when it was Jon's initiation ceremony, it was only me and him. Little Beth has more luck as not only her Master is here but also her Grandmaster and her Great Grandmaster. This makes her a Fifth Generation in the Magic School of Grandmaster Divayth Fyr."
Alfe nodded in approval as she witnessed the magic skill of Beth just the other day and praised her dedication to the craft.
Seeing Beth come such a long way, Jon felt immensely proud. A girl whom luck was so dire to get killed and be revived because of the scheme of some Daedra then get abandoned by Boethiah once her mission is done, it all left a bad taste after his last labour. Now that he adopted her as an apprentice, she has shown a great promise so far. Even though still unable to grow hair with magic due to her unique bloodline, she is now a long shot from the person she was before making her not only the youngest but one of the most dedicated people Jon has behind him.
"As the Eldest, I give permission for the ceremony to begin." Alfe said and turned to Jon, "Youngster, have you prepared the thing?"
"I did… hehehe!" He replied followed by an evil laugh as he took out a large mace made of wood and had multiple steel teeth lined on it.
Jon simply handed it to Beth.
"What should I do with that, Master?"
"By long tradition, this cudgel will be the tool of your initiation ceremony exam." He said.
"And your exam will be…" Nurina raised her staff and started making a dark magic cloud with it before casting a summon, "Make that thing cry."
The summon was complete and what walked out was a Dremora, not just any Dremora.
The ultimate test is to make a Daedric creature cry. They can't submit, they can be defeated, they can even be cowardly but they can never cry. It is not Daedra pride or anything…
"But Daedra doesn't possess tear glands." Beth said.
"I can't imagine how painful it is not to be able to moisten their eyes but that's the test, baldie. Now, be creative." Jon said as he watched Beth trying to figure this one out.
*Swoosh* *Swoosh* *Bang*
Without hesitating anymore, Beth started trying the cudgel on the Dremora's face. The creature was infuriated and tried to retaliate but he was quite disadvantaged against the nimble Beth. She tackled him down and started to flatten him using the cudgel which caused a lot of blood to splash left and right.
"It is said that by using this method, the Daedra are quickly to lose their rank in the Daedra Society they come from." Alfe said.
"True. Jon here was very brutal with the Daedra that I summoned for him back in the day. He said that if the Dremora doesn't have tears, they can use blood to cry with." Nurina added.
"Yes, but what about that thing about Daedra losing rank?" Jon asked.
"Daedra are mostly indifferent to being summoned by Humans. Those who get summoned are already disgraced but those who are summoned and beaten down to tears are forever shamed." Nurina explained.
"I see."
"Nurina, you were quite good at your ceremony as well. I still remember that Daedra you tortured. It was quite the spectacle ordering him to grow tear glands." Alfe said in nostalgia.
"Yes, I remember him… what was his name again? Xik… something? Ah! Old times." Nurina seemed to be agreeing with Alfe.
Meanwhile, Jon heard the name and preferred to stay silent. Now that he thinks of it, he never mentioned to Nurina that the Daedric Titan he summons is called Xikil… then again, that guy has quite the low self-esteem. It can be some similar name though. What are the chances anyway?
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