Chapitre 474: The Visions
Big thanks to @Crazyapes
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Heroism, mainly a form of reverence towards an individual who is celebrated by people for a sort of achievement that extends between military conquests, saving lives, and living by a personal code of honor. Such people would be much appreciated in a time of mayhem and disaster such as the current times in Hammerfell. The rise of the Order of the Black Worm was an opportunity for such heroes to start appearing and bring about peace and order.
Earlier this morning, Governor Kareem gathered a thousand Warrior in the garden of his palace and spoke of what lies in front of him. He gathered them in his garden, offered them food and drink, invited every bard and muse in the isle, and stood on a balcony overlooking the island with Faten beside him and a tall mage in and Ebony plate standing behind him.
"O men, it has been two days since we ended the bitter siege. With your struggle we persisted, and to your honor we drink. Thanks to Master Mage Krilon, who came to us in the hour of need, we lived to see another day.
Thanks to that, I spared no effort and pushed forward for a hasty but satisfying wedding. While I was acting the groom, the good news reached me that you rooted out all the Necromancers in Stros M'kai with Master Krilon.
You are victorious, you deserve the rewards and the rest… but you haven't achieved much. Our trials have just begun."
Kareem picked the sword on his hip and rested it on the baluster of the balcony.
{You are taking the right choice.} The voice of his family's guardian, Prince A'tor, echoed in his head.
Kareem looked forward and saw the men staring at him with wills of steel. He assured himself and proudly spoke.
"Our duty is not over! Stros M'kai may have survived but other places are still fighting. A thousand Hunding Chargers may not be enough to save every part in Hammerfell but let's be a welcome change for the good, for the better, and victory over the dread lords.
If we won and the whole Hammerfell was swallowed by the dead, we achieved no victory. Under that grim pale sky, we achieved no victory.
O men, remember the words of our brightest ancestor, Frandar Hunding; 'Be resolute, fear no sacrifice and surmount every difficulty to win victory'. And this is the way we fight.
Our ships are strong, our arrows are swift, are blades are sharp, our steeds are fast; and as a blessing from Hunding, the [Soul Sword] of Prince A'tor returned to us, we even have a Master Wizard on our side… what more do we need? Tell me what more do we need?"
Kareem spoke to them and every warrior howled raising their swords and shouting with him. Among his chargers, this young Governor was surely popular. For one final motivation, Kareem drew the [Soul Sword] lifting it up.
"Raise our banner high! The times of noble deeds are upon us!"
And the banner of Stros M'kai was raised. It was a sword pointing down and a crown over it all on a circle of swords. This sword is a reference to the [Soul Sword], the crown is a reference to the Crowns faction, and the circle of swords is a reference to the [Book of Circles] written by Frandar Hunding, the most accomplished Sword Master in History.
Jon watched from behind Kareem until he was satisfied with the reaction of the warriors, he felt like going back to Winterhold and going on a few marches and training sessions with his Dare Troopers. Those rascals must be growing fat now that he has been away for almost a year.
Jon walked away and arrived at the corner of the garden where his group was gathered. Beth, previously called little Boethiah, was telling some sort of a story to the others grasping their attention.
"What are you babbling about?" Jon asked.
"She is telling us the story of how you got the name Dare." Mirren said.
"Ah! The good old times." Jon smiled.
Jon was about to join the gathering but he was called.
"Master Krilon."
Looking back, it was Kareem and Faten.
"Governor! Lady Faten! How can I help you?" Jon stood up.
"We would like to thank you again for assisting us three times already. We are looking forward to our cooperation in the next campaign." Faten said.
"You are welcome, my lady." Jon thanked her.
Jon has helped Stros M'kai three times indeed, first with the Siege, then with rooting out the Necromancers, then with getting rid of the gigantic corpse of the Flesh Atronach earlier this morning. He even gifted a suit of armor to Kareem as a gift for his wedding, one of the best joint works between Wulfur's smithing and Jon's enchanting.
"We do not have anything to reward you with Master Krilon so please, accept this gift from my household." Kareem said as four servants came while carrying a large object.
It was a large book gilded cover and a fancy texture with a title saying [The Book of Circles by Frandar Hunding].
"The is the full version of the Book of Circles that was owned by my family's line of Governors since the ages of Tiber Septim and ancestors Cyrus and Iszara. I have heard that Master Krilon is not just a Mage but also a swordsman so I am gifting this hoping it would be of use." Kareem said.
Jon and his group got their eyes open wide after seeing the book, not for its gilded cover of a catchy name but for its true value. For Jon as a collector, he surely has a version of the book of circles but to get the full version. That's a one in a lifetime opportunity.
The Book of Circles was written by Frandar Hunding in order to pass on his life long insights and knowledge. For Redguards, it is an enormous part of their culture and everyday life. Each household in Hammerfell has an alcove by its hearth just big enough to hold a copy of the Book of Circles in honor of Hunding.
Here is the fun part. The book is regarded as the encyclopedia of Swordsmanship as it contains thirty-eight grips, seven hundred and fifty offensive and eighteen hundred defensive positions, and nearly nine thousand moves essential to sword mastery.
Jon walked over to the book and smiled not waiting to carry it.
"This version was copied by Cyrus himself among many other copies. One of them was gifted to Tiber Septim and another was kept here. It was a tradition that every Governor who rules Stros M'kai would make a copy by his own hand to prove the willpower of leadership." Kareem said.
"It is priceless." Jon said.
"Well, it is supposed to be priceless but no one really was able to open it…" Kareem started explaining something but Jon paid no heed.
He was excited for such a rare thing to be added in his collection so he extended his hands about to touch the cover but as soon as he did, everything around him darkened.
It was pitch-black, cold and bone shivering.
Jon looked around him as he felt an unfathomable presence gaze down at him.
He felt weak… weak like an insect.
It was all too sudden, Jon Dare who never knew fear felt his soul shaking and his cold sweat making everything on him wet.
It was dark but all of a sudden… fire! Fire was everywhere.
The whole darkness was burning and he felt more fear than before as if this flame will consume him Firemane or not.
His throat became dry from the heat of the fires but his sweat was still cold.
Then it appeared. It showed its face to him. From the darkness, a colossal creature emerged swaggering in its red scales, in its strong body, in its overbearing aura.
A Dragon.
The Dragon looked down on Jon. Jon felt weak for the first time in years. Helpless, fearful, pressured… but he didn't panic.
He looked up at the dragon eye to eye and as if the latter was saying "How Dare you look at me?", Jon became blinded with anger. It was then when he let loose of his frightening Tyrannical Aura.
*Shatter*
And the whole darkness shattered.
There was no darkness, no fires, no dragon.
It was just Jon in the Garden of the Palace with everything around him as it was. The only difference is, he was the center of all attention for some reason.
He looked around as the others were eyeing him with strange eyes but not exactly him, it was his direction. But no one is around him.
"Wow, did you feel that?" Faten was the first to speak.
"Yes." Kareem nodded, "For a second, it felt like we were back at the final hour of the siege all over again."
Jon looked around him and felt the strange phenomenon, all were speaking about something as if they were back in some sort of a fight or something.
It took them a few seconds after they realized it was just their imagination.
"Anyway, I was saying that no one could open this book. They say its cover was crafted from the scales of the Dragon that Cyrus slew under this very palace…"
"Nafaalilargus." Jon muttered.
"Yes, that's the name of the Dragon. The important thing is…" Kareem tried to continue his fervent speech but Faten cut in.
"Kareem."
"Yes."
"Look."
She pointed towards Jon's hand where he was touching the book. Both Jon and Kareem, as well as the ones around, looked to see that Jon has already opened the cover which was known that no one has ever opened it.
Kareem's jaw dropped.
For eight centuries, this book was never opened and those who tried to open it were all left with trauma for days until they forgot about it. It was a treasure and an item of legacy but it also was foretold that the ones who open that book are the ones who are acknowledged by it.
It was a shock for Kareem as his ancestors had already given up about the book and considered it something akin to a sword stuck in stone but no one actually did it… until someone did it.
Jon, on the other hand, was taken aback by the book itself. Its cover was made of the scales of Nafaalilargus, the Imperial Dragon of Tiber Septim.
Nafaalilargus, whose real name is Nahfahlaar, was was a red dragon who often allied with mortals for his own protection such as King Casimir II, the Dragonguard on two different occasions, and lastly Emperor Tiber Septim when Nafaalilargus started working as a mercenary dragon in the employ of Tiber Septim during the conquest of Tamriel.
Nafaalilargus was a proud soldier and a loyal vassal, causing him to be considered "a jewel of the Imperial crown". He is the very same dragon that is decorating the symbol of the mightiest Empire in the World.
Nafaalilargus was killed by Cyrus eight centuries ago but as no Dragonborn was its slayer, Nafaalilargus is not really dead.
Jon felt like his second (technically third) visit to Hammerfell was becoming more thrilling than he had ever thought. A book of Swordsmanship covered by the scales of a Dragon, now that manly book felt like something that can buff anyone with Testosterone to the point where Mirren may actually grow chest hair.
Jon accepted the gift knowing this will add some more fun twists to his Fate.
***
Later that day, the ships of Port Hunding were packed with a thousand charger and their horses.
Jon was on the Flagship of the Governor of Stros M'kai reading from the first pages of [Cyrus' Book of Circles]. Enthralled by the refined text and the original insights of Frandar Hunding while feeling the texture of the Dragonscale over the cover, Jon felt like reading the best book ever.
This book was big. Not just in size but its content was written in a very small text to just to fit the whole insights in. It is said that the Way of the Sword, the Art of Sword-Singing was lost after the Redguard abandoned this book. It returned back overtime but Jon wasn't interested in the concept of the Sword-Singing in general but rather the Archetype of the Swordsman.
He read and read without realizing the time. He also didn't realize that his hunger for power grew another fold.
Lately, Jon was stuck in the Early Flame Dragon Heart Stage in his training ever since he left Morrowind. After coming face to face with the remnants of the Dragon Soul stuck in the cover of the book, Jon regained his feeling of being weak once again and he started meditating without realizing. He was breaking free from the bottleneck.
Meanwhile, Beth was sleeping not too far away from him. She shut her eyes tightly and saw a dream.
A Spear, Three Swords, a Ship with Red Sails. She saw two men fighting in the desert each was on the brink of falling apart. One was carrying a spear with the shape of a cobra to its blade and his limbs were all broken, the other was carrying a sickle sword and protecting someone. It didn't feel like Hammerfell but the man with the spear was definitely Zain judging by his [Serpent Spear], the other man looked out of place.
She saw the demise of Zain on the hands of a complete stranger.
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Chapitre 475: Before The Storm
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*9th of Rain's Hand (April), 4E 200*
Four days ago, ten ships departed from Stros M'kai heading northeast in the Abecean Sea. After days of fast sailing, the fleet from Stros M'kai arrived near Hew's Bane Peninsula.
Jon was painstakingly meditating in his cabin while maintaining a peaceful mind. His thoughts were affecting the Magicka around him forming a strange swirl of Arcane Energy entering his energy points and circulating through his energy channels. He felt like he was finally breaking through the Early Flame Dragon Heart stage to the Intermediate Flame Dragon Heart stage. Many months have passed for this to happen and the thing that moved him forward was taking a glimpse of the true powers of the Dragon Nafaalilargus.
[Cyrus' Book of Circles] didn't part him the past couple of days and also the [Ebony Blade] and a training sword. Whenever he takes an interest in a certain sword technique from the book, he copies it with the [Ebony Blade] until he grasps its rhyme then put on effort with the training sword to grind on it.
It wasn't the right way to practice from the Book of Circles as in that book, it was said that the practitioner must start by building his own forge and forging his own blade. Jon clearly wasn't that hell-bent on forging so he skipped to the Sword Swinging.
His training was very basic and didn't use big move so staying in the cabin or on the deck was sufficient. Actually, the book gave him a great insight on how to fight on the back of a ship so all the situations were win for him.
While he was meditating, he was expanding his "Maai", it is the range where his Aura attacks can reach the forte of the [Bloodskal] blade. Jon found a method on how to focus the energy of the sword to reach higher distances without using any visible aura. This training widened his perception by many folds allowing him to see outside the ship without opening his eyes.
Outside the ship, the biggest city in Hew's Bane, Abah's Landing, came into view with some big lines of smoke ascending to the sky. Kareem was giving orders to send a couple of boats in the bay leading to the city but as soon as they approached closer, the nearby fort opened fire at them. Luckily, Miranda was at a possible distance where she can intercept such projectiles with her arrows, the boats turned around and hurriedly returned to the ship.
Kareem tried to send as many messages as he could to the Governor of Hew's Bane but what he received by the end of the day was a message of threats and insults suspecting the whole fleet to be that of Necromancers denying all the possibility of Stros M'kai being able enough to rebel the Necromancers on their own.
"I don't think they need any saving." Kareem lamented the missed opportunity of an alliance.
"Unlike you, the ruler of that piece of land should have an annoying vizier affecting his every decision." Isha said.
"You mean Governor Samir? HA! He has a council of them. Unlike us the poor islanders of Stros M'kai, Hew's Bane is the wealthiest city in the south with their Council of Merchants and their Army of Mercenaries. If you want my honest opinion, I even envy the magnitude of the Thieves Guild in their city. Anyway, let's not worry about the wealthy people." Kareem said and ordered his fleet to keep sailing north.
Inside the ship, Jon seemed to have detected something before anyone else. He opened his eyes, stood up and put on his armor. He added some simple tweaks to the [Ebony Mail] lately to look more like a Mage's Armor. He added a robe tail to the plate as well as a hood. They mixed well with the appearance making him look more like a mage than a warrior. With his mask [Krilon] on and his staff [Pride] elongated to reach his height, Jon looked completely different save for his height that stood out.
He opened the door of his cabin and as he stepped out, something became stuck to his leg.
"Hey! Don't leave me."
"Sigh!"
He managed to ignore her for a day but she was as annoying as ever.
"What do you want, Beth?"
"I told you about the dream! Everyone else is paying attention except you." She said with an angry face.
"It is not important." He said and walked away with her clinging to his leg like a monkey.
"How can you of all people say that?" She demanded an answer, "You know that my visions are important. Even our enemies had me killed to prevent me from seeing things."
Jon ignored her and kept going until he reached the deck.
"I'll tell you why." Jon finally decided to speak. He carried her off from her nape like a kitten and placed her beside him.
"What I study and teach is Mysticism, the most obscure school of magic. I consider it to be the one and only school and every other school takes from it. It is the Origin of Spellcasting.
Mysticism deals with 6 Archetypes. 6 Aspects of pure wonder. Someone like you or my wife are natural-born mystics who can divine beyond the realm of possibilities but do you know how it works?" Jon asked.
Beth felt like being scolded but she answered.
"By the inborn power and the assistance of the higher spirits." She said.
"Wrong answer, if you were my student, I would have tied you from your feet and dipped you in the sea right now.
The six Archetypes of Mysticism are as follows. The outer energies known as [Magicka]; the inner energies known as [Soul]; the outer realms known as the [Space]; the inner realms known as [Time]; gaining information through Space which is called [Detection]; gaining information through Time which is called [Divination].
Magicka and Soul, Space and Time, Detection and Divination.
Magicka, Space and Detection are the material Archetypes. Soul, Time and Divination are the immaterial Archetypes.
When you divine, you use your Soul to gain information by looking through Time.
Seeing the Past is something that matters but seeing the future is something that doesn't matter. The Future is something that may happen and may not happen, you only predict… not see."
To what Jon said, Beth looked as if she was hit by something heavy on her head.
"You… you are saying that… my visions don't matter." She was speaking one the verge of tears.
Jon removed his mask showing a warm smile.
"No. If you were paying attention, you will understand that I said to look in the past, not the future. The Future gives you questions and makes you worry, the Past gives you answers and makes you content." He said as he patted her head.
She wasn't happy with what he said but his words just now weren't just something he came up with to look cool, these words carried the bitter experience of a man who thought he knows the future too well and got his expectations betrayed many times.
Nevertheless, he decided to play along.
"So, you saw three swords, a spear and a ship with red sails?" He asked.
"There was another thing about…" She was about to continue but he stopped her.
"Let's focus on the first part for now." Jon said. "The Spear is Isha's, that's what we know so far. The three swords and the ship with red sails should mean something."
"The [Ebony Blade] and the [Soul Sword] are two swords. Can there be a third?" She asked.
"Good thinking. Assuming that there is a third sword makes the picture come together. What else? The ship." He complimented her.
"It was like a ghost ship looming with death, its sails were red with blood." She said.
"A ghost ship… I wonder." Jon said and looked forward then covered his face with his mask.
"What is that supposed to mean?" She asked.
"Look ahead." Jon pointed his staff forward.
Beth followed Jon's signal but she couldn't see anything except the sea in three directions and the mainland in one direction. As she was about to ask, the atmosphere turned chilly all of a sudden. Mist and fog started emerging blocking the view in all directions.
The crew of the ships started to get quiet and take note of anything that may lurk in the mist.
Kareem ran past Jon to the forefront of the ship and put his hand on the hilt of the [Soul Sword] to use its Holy Aura. His gaze pierced through the mist and all of a sudden, his face turned pale from shock.
"Battle stations! Protect the hull!" He shouted calling for the men and running back to protection.
"Master Krilon, there is…"
"I know."
Jon seemed comfortable with the situation.
"What shall we do?" Kareem asked.
"I'll secure the defenses of the ten ships then deal with the mist. Until then, you keep yourselves alive." Jon said while evoking a spell on his left and manipulating the Magicka with the staff.
"Fair enough."
Jon left Nefertiti with Beth and signaled his team to get to work. Miranda was on the crow's nest, Mirren was watching from the side and Isha was checking the water.
In the water, corpses started to appear, then wooden blanks that ships get built with. There was a wreckage nearby but it seemed to be dangerous to approach. Jon Teleported between the ten ships putting a Warding Rune on each one and activating it.
It was then when it happened.
*Kwaaa!* *Khaaa!"
The corpses in the water started moving in feral forms and moved to the ships by directing the wooden blanks they were floating on.
"Protect the ships!" Kareem shouting drawing his radiant sword.
The dead crawled up the hull and tried to overtake the defenders but as soon as they made contact with the ship, the started burning. Those who could withstand the defense of Jon's wards were repelled easily by the spears and the harpoons of the sailors.
Unlike how it looked like, it was not a hard fight at all. Jon made sure than nothing escape his perception as he kept the ships safe from any surprised that might happen. After a few minutes, the ships started to speed getting rid of all the ambush drowned zombies.
Jon returned to the flagship and Kareem approached him.
"Did you see what I saw?" Kareem asked.
"Yes. Now go to the front and raise your sword high, make sure to radiate a little bit." Jon said.
"Why?"
"The figureheads' place is in the front of the ship, it's common knowledge." Jon said with a smirk.
"Heh! Not funny."
Kareem decided to do as Jon said, he stood at the forefront and raised the [Soul Sword] up calling out its Aura to radiate.
"Perfect!"
Jon watched as Kareem started to be the center of attention. From the back, he started casting a large spell.
In sync with Kareem's action, Jon's spell took a few seconds to be evoked and cast as fast as he could. The spell was not easy and as it was done, it took some time to take effect. Kareem felt like an idiot for trusting Jon but in the next second, that wasn't the case at all.
From the sky above all the fog and mist, rays of golden light descended on the surface. It was as if Aetherius itself has corresponded to Kareem's action.
The spell's name was [Light of Aetherius] and it brought the sunshine back to the pale sky of the Soul Snare. The mist dissipated as snow to fire and what appeared beyond it was the wreckage ship carrying the flag of the Forebear Republic of Rihad.
Kareem's face stiffened. Now that he confirmed what he saw in the fog, he realized that the plan he agreed with Jon on faced a big problem. Rihad is the farthest city to Hegathe, the place where Zain should be. If Rihad has already fallen, then the situation is more dire than any would think.
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