บท 731: Cleansing the Stones
A/n: Help me reach my Goal on P4treon & Join Discord! ➡️ https://linktr.ee/donovel or Google "Donovel Linktree" ⬅️
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The man that was seen sitting on a black throne in the sky suddenly made quite a stir in Solstheim. He was seen in many locations all around the island and many speculated that this man is some dark apparition that is somehow connected to the mess the island was trapped in.
This situation came simultaneously with a strange phenomenon that plagued the Riekling populace of Solstheim. As the appearance of the man on the dark throne started to spread as a rumor, the Rieklings seemed to have had an inner struggle.
A small skirmish occurred not too far from Raven Rock and the Skaal Village in which many boar-riding Rieklings were seen to have been chasing a few other Rieklings warriors who were being led by a spellcasting Rieklings Shaman. As the skirmish ended as a victory for the chasers, the Rieklings seemed to have had a new order in their cave Dwellings as they started to cast away their idols of bones and stone before replacing them with large and strange wall murals of a giant entity carrying a throne on its back.
By the next day, there was a piece of good news in Raven Rock and the Skaal Village, the Earth Stone, where many Raven Rock citizens were trapped, and also the Wind Stone, where many Skaal villagers were trapped, the dark throne in the sky reappeared at dawn and struck those two stones with a voice so strong that it woke the entire island up.
As that thunderous voice echoed, two fights happened across the landscape where strange gigantic creatures walked out of the All-Maker Stones and attempted to capture the enthralled victims around the stones. The reports about the creatures' appearances varied and no description could be confirmed.
Sometimes talks about tall, fishlike amphibious humanoids with gaping mouths and needle-like teeth described as "towering monstrosities" and what appears to be armor or thick scales lining their lower arms and legs. Other times, it would be a floating, grotesque, and tentacled entity with many uneven arms and strange bodies with faces that look like squid or starfish.
Still, all accounts of the incidents were horrifying and traumatizing.
Those who disappeared near the All-Maker Stones recall things that didn't really happen to them. Some say that they were in a different time or place living in alternate realities in a grand temple where they served a Lord they all adored. They say that he provided for them and protected them from the evil dragons and the tyrants from outside Solstheim.
Some were even infatuated by that dream-like experience to the point where they wanted to believe it was true. Some attempted to go and look for the temple of Miraak in order to face their so-called Lord and hear the truth from him.
It was a spark that would ignite into the continuation of Miraak's cult but as soon as this was taken notice of, the Dare Dragon Company officers advised the guards of Raven Rock to isolate those victims and keep them distanced from one another as the administration of Winterhold has done when they attempted to rehabilitate the Vampire Thralls. They even used the term "Social Distancing" for that matter and helped with quarantining the victims.
As for the Skaal Village, things were quite stable, especially with the strong religious leadership of the Cult of the All-Maker who identified their nemesis to be Miraak, a Greedy Man and an Adversary of the Skaal, the Children of the All-Maker.
As for Jon Dare, the man who was suspected to be behind the freedom of the villagers of the Skaal Village and the citizens of Raven Rock, he was currently watching the other Stones of the All-Maker from a distance high in the sky as he sat on his new artifact, Sloth, the Dark Ice Throne.
He could see the Dare Troopers spread all around the island and how they were operating as many teams and groups according to the plans they had made. Most of the teams were busy subjugating abnormalities such as the Ash Spawns and leaving no stone unturned while cooperating with the Skaal hunters that agreed to act as guides to the island. During the campaign, the 500 troopers purged all the surviving Miraak cultists, hunted down all the Ash Spawns that threatened the people of Solstheim, and even interrupted a kidnapping attempt by some Thalmor Agents who were after a Skaal smith, this last operation was carried under Wulfur's supervision while Jon was fighting Karstaag and it is how he got his hands on the method to turn Stalhrim into powder.
Still, Jon was now supervising all the teams through the mysterious powers he was given when he sat on Sloth. It was as if he could see in any direction he seeks for miles and with a simple telepathy spell, he can just tell his troopers what to do for him.
Sloth had power over the cold gales of wind. With the simplest desire, Jon can make the atmosphere around him clear enough so that his vision becomes not interrupted by any mist, vapor, or smoke.
And that was just the beginning.
Sloth could fly as if riding a storm, it can generate storms just like the ones Karstaag made that are cold enough for Ice Wraiths to naturally form. Moreover, those who had the gift of sight as well as those who had strong magical senses could see a figure under the throne as it flew by as if a giant was carrying it. It was easier to depict it like how the Rieklings did, a giant being with menacing eyes carrying a throne on its head.
Jon's gain this time was quite big since he managed to take over a minor deity. While this being may not be as impressive as some of the other sins, its submission to Jon meant that as an existence, Jon can't be classified as a mortal man anymore.
With his Sins Artifacts complete but not yet fully perfected, Jon's mind was focused on something far more eminent than the artifacts at the moment.
All he has been doing was to draw out some resistance and anger from Miraak or Hermaeus Mora. He wanted them to get out there and retaliate against him. He can also just go there and look for the last remaining Black Book but that's not what he wants at the moment. What he wants is to make the enemy make a move so that he can do a counterattack. That's where he can make his enemies lose most of their fighting force.
But there was a problem at the moment.
Back when he was at the deepest part of the Temple of Miraak, he made a trap for Miraak with the Molten Geode poison which was so powerful that it damaged the "Black Book of Waking Dreams" and left a hole in its center.
Such an item was a Daedric Artifact which makes it immortal in a way. Once this book is taken close to another Black Book, it will eventually fix itself. Lucky for Jon, he possesses four of those black books in his Cube. Such books are contained and isolated so that they can't be taken away or retrieved by Hermeaus Mora's influence.
With that, Jon returned to his main goal to cleanse the rest of the All-Maker Stones.
{Wulf, Alina. The Earth Stone and the Wind Stone have been retrieved.}
Jon transmitted through telepathy to his seconds in charge.
"I've sensed that. I could finally feel the Bones of Earth." Wulfur replied as he stood near the Earth stone.
"The North Winds too, the Stones have returned to their full power." Alina replied as she was facing the Wind Stone.
They once completed a pilgrimage back when they visited Solstheim for the first time and each member of Jon's party got a certain Blessing from the All-Maker. Wulfur's power was the Bones of Earth which buffed his defense like crazy and Alina's power was the North Winds which could make her cast a powerful blast a Frost which would deal a lot of damage.
Nefertiti, Jullanar, and Bjorna (Wuflur's wife) have also acquired some powers from these stones and according to Alina, Jullanar is waiting for him at the Sun Stone and some Skaal youth will meet him at the Water Stone to reacquire the much-needed blessing.
Jon simply ordered the Throne and headed to the Water Stone first where it was crowded with a large number of Rieklings who were enslaved by the Stone's Power and were working on building a shrine for Miraak around it. Jon shouted the first word of the "Bend Will" shout GOL (Earth) at the stone, which was sufficient enough to reawaken the enthralled Rieklings and cause the Lurker inside the stone to show itself.
Jon simply snapped his finger and a lightning spell descended from the sky and left no trace of the gigantic Lurker.
Another stone was cleansed effortlessly and Miraak's grasp over Solstheim grew yet weaker.
As soon as the Rieklings awoke from their daze and witnessed Jon on the Throne, they started chattering loudly and looked at him in a mixture of awe and fear. He was, after all, riding over the ghost of something they worshiped and all they could do was kneel… kneel for the new King of the Rieklings.
Jon sneered in disdain and shook his head before disappearing from the place in a whirlwind of frost.
He then reappeared at the Beast Stone and over his lap, Nefertiti got excited as she was the one who got a blessing from that stone. Even though she doesn't need that power anymore and she could replicate it with her shadows, she liked to use it for her own satisfaction and Jon was sure to retrieve it for her.
Over at the Beast Stone, many Dare Troopers were stationed at a safe distance from it and they seemed to have fought against a band of Cultists. Without even having too many problems, Jon's Troopers annihilated the Cultists from their safe distance and kept watch over the enthralled around the stone as they were a mix of Rieklings and Skaal hunters.
Jon shouted at the Stone and freed the thralled Skaal and Rieklings before the Lurker appeared. This time, Nefertiti hissed at the Lurker as it rose from the water surrounding the Beast Stone and the shadows started to gather around it like a whirlpool.
A Lurker is as towering as a giant and as this one tried to stand tall to face the one that freed the stone, it started to struggle to even go up before suddenly getting dragged back down. It roared and groaned but many beast-like apparitions kept appearing from these shadows and clawing it down to the ground as it got shredded to no end. Finally, the Lurker was torn apart and the stone was safe.
"Classic kitty!" Jon laughed a little and set his eyes towards the Sun Stone, the last Stone he could cleanse and the one where Jullanar was waiting.
He narrowed his eyes a little then felt something dangerous in the air.
"Dragons!"
At last, Miraak has finally decided to push back against Jon.
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A/n: Help me reach my Goal on P4treon & Join Discord! ➡️ https://linktr.ee/donovel or Google "Donovel Linktree" ⬅️
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