With a way to acquire Aetherium and the Aetherium Forge in Michael's possession, his plans were going better than he had ever anticipated. The excavation of Saarthal had begun and was slowly, steadily, but most importantly, stealthily uncovering the ancient nordic tomb, so soon enough the Eye of Magnus would be in his possession.
The construction workers had completed three-quarters of the staircase to the plateau where his new home would sit, so all that was left was to actually design and implement things. This is where his newest and oldest subject of research came in... How to conceal, hide, or prevent Daedra, specifically Daedric Princes, from entering or interfering with the structure.
Now, many people had attempted to find valid solutions before Michael, indeed, they'd been looking for something to shield them from the Daedra before Michael's father's father's father had even been born.
There were even some books listing the attempts and what'd then happened to the unfortunate souls that'd tried them in a practical setting...
One man thought that all one would need was an absolute belief in a deity, in this case, Mara, and an amulet of Mara to shield him... He may have also insulted Mehrunes Dagon in the Prince's shrine... Needless to say, those observing it refused to record any more after the man had been flayed alive, everything after that was justifiably forgotten.
An Altmer woman thought that all she needed was her potent magic to shield her... In her arrogance, she walked up to the Shrine of Molag Bal and destroyed it... Fifty years later her comrades found her tied to a torture rack, defiled, insane, and turned into a Vampire. She was put out of her misery, despite the fact that her vampirism meant that her soul would go to Molag Bal, prolonging her suffering to an eternity.
The last example that truly struck him was a ritual combining both belief in the Aedra as well as the user's potent magic. This didn't actually fail in the traditional meaning of the word, Sheogorath had somehow bypassed the veil separating Mundus from Oblivion created by Akatosh via Martin Septim's sacrifice and begun antagonizing the men performing the ritual.
They were all horrified by this of course but persevered... Up until the moment Sheogorath started throwing wheels of cheese at them, somehow knocking one of the men out with a particularly heavy-looking wheel of Eidar cheese, causing the ritual to destabilize and throw all of the men into Sheogorath's realm, forever doomed to madness.
Many suspected that the ritual was the right way forward, but none dared to risk drawing Sheogorath's ire after he displayed the ability to just waltz in and fuck with you while you attempt it.
This was 'kind' of the method Michael eventually determined. Again, in the past, he'd theorized that utilising symbols of the Aedra would prevent the Daedra from being able to breach them. His idea came from the fact that most Daedra avoided the shrines and temples of the divines like the plague.
After some testing though(With the help of some conjured Daedra), Michael found that such a crude method wouldn't work. While the Daedra had an aversion to such things, it wasn't to the extent of say, Vampires in fiction. Plus, to make such symbols work he'd need to turn his home into an actual place of worship, something Michael absolutely refused to do.
So, after compiling most of the historical knowledge in the Arcaenum and conducting some experiments with Aetherium, Michael developed his own method.
One could call Aetherium the perfect enchanting material, as it took, retained, and was able to expel magic far better than even the best-known metals. There was also the uniqueness factor, Aetherium would have unique effects depending on what it was built into... An Aetherium pickaxe would become able to mine Aetherium crystals when magic was channelled through it.
A shield with large amounts of Aetherium would cause a struck enemy to go ethereal, making them unable to harm or be harmed for the duration.
A crown would be able to store a birth sign and grant it to its wearer, conferring whatever benefits such a sign would traditionally give to a naturally born person.
In all of these things, one thing was clear. The Aetherium would be attuned to suit whatever it'd been built into, a shield being defensive and protective equipment, thus the ability to turn things ethereal. The crown acts as a layer of the wearer's soul, allowing birth signs to interact with it.
So, even without additional enchantments, Aetherium was already stupidly efficient. No wonder the Dwemer sought to protect the Forge so badly. Even destroying all of their stored crests and shattering the last one to prevent anyone from abusing it... They probably never expected someone to use the crest to create more however.
With all of this in mind, Michael had a pretty clear idea of what he needed to do. The things he'd started mass producing from the Aetherium Forge would be small symbols of Akatosh that'd be made completely of Aetherium.
The barrier that separates Oblivion from Mundus was of Akatosh's design, so he intended to link his new property to it. Now, if the Empire or even maybe the Arch-Mage of Winterhold College got wind of this they'd probably kill him, as modifying the thing may just break it and allow Oblivion to fuck with Mundus again, not to mention the religious significance of it.
This was the main reason why he wasn't going to tell anyone about it. Besides, he'd already worked out the kinks in potentially dooming the world. Once he linked his property to the barrier protecting Mundus, it'd become a nexus of sorts. Making all Daedra, including the Prince's unable to even approach it... It would also become a weak point, however, as if the nexus was destroyed the barrier may just fall completely.
Hope you bois liked the chap, if I missed anything please let me know. Thanks!
Also, thanks to my patrons for their support :
ShinAmazake
Kingsprovince
Faruk Ereng
Was Michael being selfish with his attempt to create a nexus simply to protect himself from the Daedra? Definitely, but he didn't really care about that if he were honest... If shit really hit the fan then he'd just grab the girls and vacate this world. It wasn't as if he'd completely set down roots or anything.
Now, he wasn't just being an asshole however, while the nexus would become a weak point, once the Eye of Magnus begins powering it, it'd also empower the barrier protecting Mundus, making it all but impenetrable, even for the slickest Daedric Prince's like Sheogorath.
There might be additional consequences of this, but Michael was sure the benefits would outway whatever negatives he creates.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Aha! Look at this! It's working! It's really working!" Borvir happily exclaims in his loaned workshop in the Hall of Attainment.
...
Michael, Yisra and Megumin frown at this scene, the trio standing at the side as Borvir displays the project he'd been spending most of his time on.
"Shouldn't you have made sure it was working before dragging us here to show us?" Yisra says with folded arms and a peculiar expression.
Borvir shrugs, "Eh, I tried it earlier but it has a habit of choosing when to work... But still, I mean, just look at it! It's a beauty isn't it? I'm still thinking up names but, 'The Gem of Skyrim' sounds like a good fit!" he says as he runs a loving hand across the distillery's metal exterior as if it was his favourite son or something akin to that.
"It's just a high-tech distillery, stop acting like you've pieced together the Heart of Lorkhan... unless you've enchanted it with some sort of charming effect? No, that'd just make it a ruffy machine... You haven't fucked it, right?" Michael trails off before asking the real questions. Causing everyone to look at him as if he'd grown a second head.
"What? He's rubbing the thing down like a lover... Whatever, carry on." Michael says while gesturing to Borvir.
"R-right... Look, this isn't just a 'high-tech distillery' as you put it, it's THE Distillery, the best distillery in the whole world! Everything is designed to make the product better! These soul gems here? They'll help imbue the flavour of honey into the drink! A combination of Daedric runes will-"
"Hold on a second! Daedric runes!? You used Daedric runes to upgrade your mead-maker!?" Yisra exclaims, shocked.
Borvir shrugs, "Er, yes? Why?"
...
"Where'd you even pull this idea from? Your ass? We won't have another Oblivion crisis when you pour a drink, right!?"
Borvir snorts, "No way! Any Daedra that's summoned in this will die of alcohol poisoning... Not mention the Daedra I already have possessing it-"
"YOU WHAT!?"
...
"Well, you know, I got the idea during Master Falion's lecture on Conjuration. Plus, you always said that Mead was a sinful pleasure... Might as well go all the way right? If you can make Daedric weapons and armour, why not a Daedric Distillery?"
...
The trio is baffled by this, each glancing at the Distillery and only now noticing the thin red lines lining its underside. Usually, the only material that could endure being possessed by a Daedra spirit was Ebony, but this crazy Nord had somehow managed it with steel, copper, and malachite.
Michael shakes his head, "Whatever, are we going to try it or what?"
Borvir nods, filling a jar with the mead, only to then throw it out of the window. At the questioning looks the Nord gives a tentative smile, "Eh, the first and last batches in regular stills are bad, in this one they could literally be called 'Evil'... The rat I had drink it grew five times the size and started babbling in a strange language... Everything else is amazing though." he chirps, ignoring the still baffled looks of the group.
"Eh, Megumin, you sure you should be drinking? You're a little... Young." Michael asks as the girl picks up a glass of her own.
She huffs, "I am a Crimson Demon! You think I can't handle this demon drink!? WATCH ME!" she exclaims before drinking the entire thing and wiping her mouth with a victorious expression.
...
"How's tha-t... Oh..." she mutters, her smug look fading as she glares down at the empty glass, "It tastes of fear..." she manages to get out before dropping the glass and falling onto her back.
"Oi! Are you alright!?" Michael asks as he catches her, with one arm, attempting to shake her back to her senses.
Her eyes open as she gives an off-kilter smile, "Oooh, is this what it feels like to beee drunnk!? Hmhm! Michael, your face is fuzzy, it's funny." she says with a hiccup.
...
Michael takes a sip of his own drink and blinks a couple times as he slides down his throat, "G-od damn! This is like honey-moonshine! Are you trying to kill us Borvir!? This shit should be served in shot glasses! Not regular drinking ones!"
Michael feels a hand awkwardly smoosh his cheek, Megumin giggling nonsensically, "Hehe, can I have sommmore? Please?"
Ignoring her, Michael turns to Borvir who looked uncaring for his plight, "Eh, I know a girl half her age who could handle this better." he huffs, taking a sip of the drink before spraying it out, "Eh!? Why's it so strong now!? Earlier it wasn't like this!"
"The Daedra possessing it must've thought it funny to do... Again, this is your fault, Borvir... Shall we get your brother to kick some sense into the empty head of yours?" Yisra sighs.
"Miiiichaellll, let's go outside! I want to cast some magiiick!" Megumin childishly asks.
"We are not doing drunk magic! That's like drunk driving but with the laws of reality!... I'm not letting your explode Cthulu into this dimension!" he exclaims, throwing the girl over his shoulder and marching towards the door, "Fix your damn drink Borvir!" he grouses before leaving, carrying the drunkenly slurring Megumin out with him.
...
"Want another?" Borvir asks while sipping his drink, this time not spitting it out.
...
"Eh, fuck it. No point in wasting it, right?" Yisra relents, downing her glass and filling up another.
Hope you bois liked the chap, if I missed anything please let me know. Thanks!
If you like my content or want to read ahead please go to : https://www.p.atreon.com/Nagross, I'd appreciate it.
Also, thanks to my patrons for their support :
ShinAmazake
Kingsprovince
Faruk Ereng
bình luận đoạn văn
Tính năng bình luận đoạn văn hiện đã có trên Web! Di chuyển chuột qua bất kỳ đoạn nào và nhấp vào biểu tượng để thêm nhận xét của bạn.
Ngoài ra, bạn luôn có thể tắt / bật nó trong Cài đặt.
ĐÃ NHẬN ĐƯỢC