บท 418: Cas'cus, God of Cats.
Ja'nir lets out a grating sigh, "What is your price?"
"My price? Well, before that. I think you should know just who you are dealing with..." the necklace glows slightly before a speck of light drifts to the floor from it. Once it descends, it flashes, causing everyone to close their eyes momentarily.
"It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance." the voice says, and once everyone's vision clears, they're able to see the new guest in the room... A short-horned man stood next to the cloaked figure with a smug look on his impish face. He wore fine yet simple clothes, and his eyes glowed a dim green... "I am Clavicus Vile, I'm sure you've of me, so I'll dispense with the titles."
...
Everyone gapes at the literal Daedric Prince standing in the middle of the room. The Mages present could detect that he wasn't actually there, merely an illusion projected by the necklace, nonetheless, it was still damned scary to be in his presence.
"The wise one, the horned one, Cas'cus..." one mutters, remembering the old tale of the Horned Cat. Then, a realisation struck them, the horned child...
Clacivus lets out a chuckle, the story wasn't exactly wrong but, it was retold by Khajiit who projected themselves onto it... He wasn't going to argue against it as it provided him with a form they could commiserate with. He ducks his head, pushing the Chain of Arkmis to change his projected form into a tall, wise-looking horned Khajiit. "An old tale."
...
Ja'nir wasn't sure how to react to this. A god was standing before them, offering a solution to their problems. He and many others had prayed to Azurah, begged Azurah. Yet she hadn't answered. He suspected that it was due to the destruction of her shrines, but even then, she was a god, and they were her people...
He shakes his head, "Cas'cus, what is your price."
Clavicus nods, "As much as I wish to help you for the goodness of my own heart... Producing Moon Gems is a difficult and draining process. To make the number required for all the Khajiit, I'd need... Worship."
...
"W-worship?"
Clavicus grins, "You will make me the Khajiit's patron god. Azurah has failed you, but I offer you salvation. Not only that, I offer you the chance to become something greater."
"N-no... We can't... We are children of Azurah, to abandon her... What child would abandon their mother?"
Clavicus shrugs, "Abused, neglected, and uncared for children. Who knows, maybe it was her who caused the Moon Sickness... The Moons are her domain after all, to me, it's suspicious that she has yet to act when she so easily could. Why, she could snap her fingers and turn the Moons back to normal if she wished."
...
"T-thank you Cas'cus, but... Will you allow us time to consider this?" Ja'nir asks, conflicted on whether he should accept or not.
Clavicus nods, sure, he could press the issue and force them to make a decision, but there was no point. Azurah wouldn't be able to do anything after all the preparations he'd made. She was stuck, only able to watch as her 'children' suffered.
Most of her shrines had been destroyed, many of her most devout worshippers massacred, and he'd even managed to acquire and corrupt her many artifacts. She probably should have seen this coming but, Azurah had always been too prideful for her own good.
"I await your decision, but... Don't take too long, the longer you wait the more Khajiit suffer." he states as his form dissipates, the cloaked figure leaving immediately after.
Four days after that, Clavicus returned and appeared before the Mane who'd seemingly made his decision. "Well?"
...
"We... Accept."
Flashback end :
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Michael breaths somewhat harshly as he finishes reading the letter. The Khajiit had just declared Clavicus Vile, or Cas'cus, their patron god... Fuck.
Shrines to Cas'cus had started to be erected all around Elseweyr, and any pregnant woman who wished to birth a healthy child had to pray to Cas'cus while sacrificing something. Apparently, the thing you sacrificed had to be something of importance to you... Meaning, a toy from your childhood, the blade your father wielded, or even the corpse of a loved one.
The Khajiit, a culture that is already well known for its bartering and trade, had engaged with this like fish to water, almost immediately integrating the process into their traditions... Sure, many were reluctant to abandon 'Azurah' the Khajiit equivalent for Azura, but these people were becoming less and less as more Khajit women birthed healthy, if horned, young.
Khajiit didn't even birth subspecies anymore, every Khajiit birthed, regardless of the state of the moons, was always a two-legged, horned Khajiit. Surprisingly, most Khajiit actually preferred this to the previous lottery method, which only lent credence to Cas'cus' superiority over Azurah.
All in all, the world was changing and Michael wasn't sure he could do anything about it.
Letting out a sigh, he looks up and spots Maria and Illococoo approaching, nodding to them he hands the former the letter, causing the woman to freeze up and scowl fiercely.
"M-my daughter must be a big part of this... I heard that the Prince of Deals had been quiet until recently... Until Charlotte bargained her soul for me..." she solemnly says, first with the feeling of guilt for her daughter striking her, and then guilt for potentially being responsible for what was essentially the enslavement of an entire species.
Michael stands and rests a comforting hand on her shoulder, "Stop thinking like that. There was nothing you could have done to stop this, in fact, the only thing that might have prevented this was you not getting poisoned in the past... Would you rather have let Charlotte drink it instead?"
...
She nods, "I know but..." she trails off, sure, rationally she knew there wasn't much she could have done. But it doesn't make it any easier to accept.
"If anything, it's me who's guilty in all this... Maybe I could have done something else? Asking the Divines for aid didn't work, but that didn't mean I should have given up... I knew Charlotte was hearing things, and I knew it was probably a Daedra, but I thought she was smart enough to ignore it..." runs a finger over his lips, feeling the same phantom sensation that was seemingly always present, "Just more fuck ups to add the tragedy that is my life..." he mutters before shaking his head.
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