A/n: A double Chapters.
Also, as I am losing a considerable number of patrons, I am doing changes in Patreon at the end of the chapter.
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(Part 1)
The saga of Catatoskr always contained the most mysterious of thefts which the scholars throughout history always thought of him to some sort of a hero thief who relied on stealth to achieve good things but there was one incident that revealed the real power of Catatoskr to the later generation and that is the Tunnel Network under Shady Grove village in Hammerfell.
That day, it was reported that a big number of Catatoskr signature cards were found all over the town. The town was completely stolen under the very eyes of the Worm Cult and the Vampires of the Cult of Clavicus Vile. What was known that all the torture camps and the underground vaults became empty all of a sudden with confused Necromancers above the ground and hypnotized vampires underground.
How did it happen? How could Catatoskr liberate a whole village by kidnapping the villagers all at once and how could he fight all the enemies underground leaving piles of powerful Zombies broken apart? It was all a mystery and many theories were built to explain that day.
But in the present and the meantime, Jon himself wasn't thinking of explaining anything to anyone. He was in the middle of a serious Magicka Training right now.
A breakthrough!
He was finally experiencing one of those after endlessly getting stuck in the Early Phase of the Flame Dragon Heart Stage ever since he broke through in Narsis.
He felt it while transferring Isha, Nagh, and Kellen from Shady Grove to Bergama where Kareem and the HoonDing alliance are.
Jon lately felt that the power of the elements was growing stronger within him. He understood that ascending with his training means facing more restrictions and this time he understood more about the binds of the world.
The first stage is the Dragon Robbing as he calls it or [Magicka Gathering] as it functions. Through it, one gathers enough Magicka to break through the first limit and access their Astral Energy known as the [Astral Access] power. This is one of the binds on mortal created when the world was created and it is the bind of Akatosh.
The second bind or rather, the seconds stage, is what he calls the Dragon Frame or functionally known as the [Frame Building] stage where the practitioner breaks a second bind gaining himself extra lifespan and riding his body of the effect of age/time which results to the eternal youth or what is known the [Eternal Flesh] power becoming immune to diseases. This bind is the bind of a mortal body or rather, the bind of Arkay.
Following the same pattern, the third stage breaks another bind and by the looks of it, it is the Elements. The bind of Kynareth.
Such insight was very pivotal for Jon to finally get his heart straight and shatter the bottleneck.
To make it simpler, one must understand the story of creation where all the Spirits were doomed to mortality by Lorkhan, the remaining strongest eight spirits later became eight plants surrounding the solar system of Nirn. These eight planets are Akatosh, Arkay, Kynareath, Dibella, Mara, Zenithar, Julianos, and Stendarr. Each of them represents a bind on the world and these are Time, Mortality, Elements, Joy, Love, Craft, Wisdom, and Mercy.
So in total, it was eight limits one must break to become immortal. It sounds like a long way for someone like Jon who only broke through the binds of Time and Mortality.
One may think that breaking all the eight binds will take an awfully long time which is the case but Jon could already tell that the Bind of the Elements is the hardest of all. Imagine someone whose Magic is free from the elements. This is a huge step as the Elements which are ruled by Kynareath are what keeps reality in order. This means that breaking that bind is key to a grand kind of ascendance.
Jon's mind was having almost a thousand ideas rampaging all over the place thinking of the possibilities of his training but he still kept very firm control over his training. In a few hours, changes started to happen.
The Fire Wyrms that he became lately good at handling was all thanks to the "Flame Dragon Heart stage". He was gaining control over some parts of his Soul he had no access to before and started making progress. By the end of the day, a Fire Storm descended from the sky and tried to devour him but he fended it off quite easily.
The second real Heavenly Tribulations was over. He is now a Middle Phase - Flame Dragon Heart Stage.
His powers have finally increased again.
***
Jon was absent for one whole day but the HoonDing Alliance could still capture the city of Bergama. The place seemed to have been infiltrated by the Worm Cult and the government there was run by them. They accused many citizens of multiple crimes and sent the corrupt guards after them looting their homes and arresting their families, once that was done, all the victims were transported to camps far from the city for "Soul Squeezing" and getting their corpses Zombified.
How the Necromancers managed to get away with that was only thanks to the cooperation of the City Lord and his family. They were bribed and corrupt establishing an order of their own and coming up with laws that restricted all sorts of freedoms. Even those who tried to migrate from the city had to leave everything they own behind and only travel with what each person can carry.
The City Lord silenced every person of authority who spoke against him and turned many buildings that were dedicated to public service into prisons and dungeons. All that with the full cooperation of the guards who lost their purpose for their greed and here when Kareem and the HoonDing Alliance arrived.
Kareem didn't need Jon to go through an investigation. He had the Governor of Gilane with him who had Bergama under his Authority. When the Lord of Bergama refused to open the gates for the Alliance, the Governor of Gilane charged with Kareem until the two scaled the walls during the night then called for the people of Bergama to revolt and save themselves first so that they can open the gates for the Alliance.
It went bloody inside the town for a while six hours until the people managed to take the family of the governor as hostages which caused discord between the City Lord and the Governor. The guards went into chaos and the defense fell in shambles. The HoonDing Alliance entered the city and not long after, all the Necromancers were gathered and killed along with some traitors.
Once Jon and the ones with him arrived, the situation was already over. Jon gathered a group of Hunding Chargers and asked Kareem to lead them first inside the Alik'r Desert to aid the Citadel of Ebonarm. The rest of the Alliance will have to follow in its pace after them and Kareem agreed to that.
By the next day, Jon left Jax with Kareem and led his team alongside 200 chargers of Stros M'kai into the desert aiming for the Old Citadel south to Sentinel.
It would take two days in Jon's buffs to travel to the Citadel and so they had to spend a night in the desert fending themselves from the undead that came from literally everywhere. Jon chose the campsite to be positioned on a small rocky hill so the roads could be monitored and secured them tightly.
During the night, he has a meeting with Isha, Beth, Mirren, and Miranda.
"So, any news?" Jon asked.
"Not much." Beth replied, "But we are approaching a very strong fate. Maybe I'll find out tomorrow."
Beth didn't seem to be able to divine better the nearer they get to the center of the Soul Snare spell.
"I get it. Don't overwork yourself, we can send you back to a safer place in case you needed a better spot." Jon said.
"I need to be nearer to you and to whatever that Fate so that I can get a clearer picture. I'm afraid we are out of options but to do some parts blindly."
"It's okay. We will try to contact both the Citadel and Sentinel to save time. I'll leave that to you, Mirren." Jon spoke to Mirren.
"Yeah yeah, just stop dragging and show us the stuff you stole already." Mirren was more interested in something else.
"Fine, you asked for it."
Jon too was excited to show off the good stuff.
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[King Orgnum's Coffer] <Maormer>
- Once a day, the coffee will generate gold coins of random origin
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The first item was none other than the Coffer of King Orgnum, the immortal king of the Maormer (Sea Elves). It was a strong box made of blue aquatic malachite with serpentine engravings all around it.
"A coffer that can make gold out of nothing. Now that's something to look at." Isha exclaimed.
""It doesn't make gold out of nothing."" Jon and Miranda replied at the same time.
The smartest two in the group could understand the secret of the coffer from the first glance.
"It is light, almost weightless. Space Magic is involved." Miranda said.
"Judging from the various types of gold coins, this coffer collects coins from all over the world. My best guess is that it can horde all the sunken treasures from all parts of the sea. Look at those, if I am correct, these are Akaviri Gold Teals."
Jon's estimation was based on an educated guess from his experience with the [White Phial]. Nothing can create something from nothing other than God.
"Still, the legends tell that once someone acquires it, it will give them a ridiculous amount of riches to the point where it puts the wealthiest of merchants to shame then it disappears to find another Master." Mirren said.
"I'm already one of the wealthiest merchants in the world. Who is the wealthiest right now?" Jon asked.
"Jeffian Bessos from Alinor and Billus Gatius from Cyrodiil." Miranda replied.
"Now these are some scary names for some reason." Jon said. "Well, as long as I get wealthier than them, I don't mind."
Jon took [King Orgnum's Coffer] and placed it in his treasury inside the Cube.
***********
(Part 2)
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[Draconian Madstone] <Akaviri>
- Resist Poison
- Resist Disease
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The next item was an Akaviri Amulet known as the Draconian Madstone. It is nothing Sheagorathian or related to madness of the sort but it is very known to be one of the valuables prized by the counts of Bruma.
The legends say that the stone gives its wearer immunity to both poison and disease but from what it seemed, it is only 50%. Jon is already immune to disease for he has a youthful body that doesn't age but the resistance to Poison is very needed at the moment for the fight against Zain.
Isha promised Jon to train him to be resistant to poison but they didn't have much time because of the drama that kept happening lately thus the stone will be used by Jon.
"I'm already wearing a Greater Amulet of Talos and a Greater Token of Kyne. I look like some punk wearing all that around my neck." Jon complained.
"Aims justify the means, Jon." Miranda shut him up.
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[Flask of Lillandril] <Elven>
- Magic Absorb
- Magic Reflect
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The following item was a marvel of its own. The Flask of Lillandril is an artifact prized by the High Elves. It was used by Cyrus, the Hero of Stros M'kai, to defeat the Necromancer N'Gasta. Not just that, it is very resistant to Magic making it the ultimate Anti-Magic weapon.
"I think this goes to you." Jon passed it to Mirren and Miranda.
"…" The two were taken aback as they didn't really want any part of the booty there was a reason.
"I'm not snooping around your secrets but you two seem to have a lot going on with the Altmer upper society. If I am correct and you are High Elf nobles, then this goes back to you by the right of Heritage."
Jon may be a collector but he wouldn't let such valuable things rot when someone needs it more than him, especially if that someone is his friend.
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[Horn of Ja'darri] <Dragonbone>
- Paralyze Dragons
- Damage Dragons
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This was another marvel. A very ancient Dragon Horn that goes back to the days of the First Era.
Dragonhorns are legendary artifacts created primarily by the Dragonguard, used as weapons against the Dragons. They are magical warhorns carved out of the horns of dragons, inscribed with various arcane runes, and are capable of producing a tonal sound that incapacitates dragons. They, however, will have no effect if used against the dragon the horn originated from. They are very fragile and can break instantaneously and crumble to dust after just a few uses thus it was rare to see one surviving to the Fourth Era.
The Horn of Ja'darri is a combat Dragonhorn noted for its unique ability to never break. It was given to Ja'darri, a member of the Pride of Alkosh, by its donor Nahfahlaar, the very Red Dragon that [Cyrus' Book of Circle], which was gifted to Jon by Kareem, was created from. Ja'darri herself was a Khajiit Champion of Alkosh, the Khajiiti aspect of Akatosh.
Another known Dragonhorn is the [Horn of Jurgen Windcaller], that very horn that the Greybeards send the Dragonborns to recover.
The horn was large, almost as tall as Jon, and its power felt dormant but Jon knew it can be recharged by the Lunar Energy he can utilize now.
Jon suggested to keep it in case it was needed. Of course no one bought the fact that this thing will be needed for no one believed in fairytales of dragons.
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[Deadland Hammer] <Daedric>
- Create Iron Atronachs
- Hazardous on direct contact
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Not a very well-known Daedric Artifact but this silver bright hammer can do some serious damage. Its original function is to create Iron Atronachs from liquidated substances that contain a large amount of metal. Iron Atronachs are Golems rather than real Atronachs but their power is something to behold along with their scary appearance.
"Why is hazardous on direct touch?" Isha asked.
"Because it draws metal from liquid substances. For example, your blood." Jon answered.
"Blood? What does it have to do with Metal?."
"A whole lot, my friend. A whole lot."
This Artifact was put in a safe chest for containment.
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Ice Blade of the Monarch <Elven Steel>
- Frost Damage
- Freeze
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Another artifact of great power. The Ice Blade of the Monarch is called one of Tamriel's most prized artifacts. Legend has it that the evil Archmage Almion Celmo enchanted the claymore of a great warrior with the soul of a Frost Monarch, a stronger form of the more common Frost Atronach. The warrior, Thurgnarr Assi, was to play a part in the assassination of a great king in a far off land and become the new leader. The assassination failed and the Archmage was imprisoned. The Ice Blade freezes all who feel its blade.
"Someone among us is a good swordmaster and in need of an excellent blade." Jon passed it to Mirren.
"Oh! How very thoughtful, Jon!"
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[Elder Scroll (Forgotten)] <Elder>
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And here came the last artifact found in the Treasure Room of the Cult of Clavicus Vile. An Elder Scroll.
"The Elder Scroll of the Forgotten? I forgot a lot of things so this will help me remember?" Jon asked.
"It is better if you don't touch it." Beth said making Jon put it away.
"Is there anything wrong?"
"These things are very tied to Fate. Your Fate is to acquire Three Elder Scrolls and that is not one of the three, am I right?" She said.
"… Okay." Jon felt disheartened upon hearing that.
"Well, you have brought yourself a Moth Priest, I think you can at least ask him to read it… see what you forgot." Isha said.
"That's what I intend to do but we need to reach the Citadel first. I don't want to risk anything." Jon said.
"Good. What is the plan once we reach it?" Mirren asked.
"Simple. Assess the situation, repel the undead, make an advanced plan, meet with the Imperials and give a serious chase to the Worm Cult." Jon said.
"You're realizing that the more we go in, the more things get harder?" Miranda said.
"We are out of options at the moment. At least we powered up and have new stuff to fight with. I am sure that they will prove useful." Jon said then turned to Isha, "... About confronting Zain."
"..." The situation became chilly all of a sudden as they all turned silent.
"You won't leave him for me?" She asked.
"I can't. You know it is dangerous and you can't win. But it won't be just me. Last time almost got him by combining our efforts, he has a body that doesn't feel pain or get tired, he is more ridiculous than any Vampire or Werewolf. Don't forget that he is a hybrid. We can't risk that."
Jon's claims were serious and true. No one can face Zain that way.
"What will make things worse if the reincarnation of Mannimarco managed to possess Zain's. This will be a disaster." Miranda added.
"I get it!" Isha shouted and stood up, "What is important right now is the living, not the dead. We need to get to the Citadel. I think the horses had enough rest."
She stormed out of the tent and the others sighed in unison. It was hard to reason with her like that.
"You all know what to do." Jon said.
The other's nodded and cleared the tent then Jon redid his disguise and went out as High Mage Krilon. He ordered the battalion under him to be mobile in two minutes.
A few hours later, Jon entered the area where the Citadel used to control. The situation was dire as many Citadel Apprentices were seen walking around as undead.
The first line of defense was shattered and many checkpoints were raided by the Necromancers.
After a few encounters in the night, Jon and his group arrived in the vicinity of the Citadel. The large domes were seen with the sunrise of the next day.
Jon and his group came from the east with the sun rising behind them. They rode on swift horses and met a large force of undead besieging the main Citadel.
"Charge! Don't stop until you reach the gates of the Citadel." Jon gave the order and charging formation split the lines of the undead with Jon spearheading the attack.
He raised [Pride] up and drew energy directly from the sunlight then cast a terrifying spell called [Sun Strike]. A raw blast of sun energy disintegrated all sorts of undead in its wake leaving but a trail of glowing energy on the ground. The necromancers noticed the coming reinforcements and tried to stop it but the horses were too fast to be stopped.
"Open the gates!" Isha rode faster on her Storm Horse Atronach arriving at the Gates of the Citadel first and revealing her face.
The gate opened as soon as Isha was seen and the 200 riders slid in leaving behind nothing but angry Necromancers grinding their teeth.
As soon as Isha asked about what happened, grim news arrived to her by a female adept.
"Senior Isha, you are the Highest Rank here in the Citadel. The Elders… they are besieged in the Valley of the Ansei Pyramid."
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[Patreon New Stuff]
I've updated the ranks and the tiers making new stuff. I didn't offer more than before but here is a deal.
I'll publish 10 Chapters from each novel I am working on for FREE, the rest will be exclusive to [C-rank] tier. These novels are [(Reboot) Relife System: the Unholy Mage], [The Villainess Returns with a System], [Shadow Kombat], [King Rune], [Beast of the Apocalypse].
I'll return with more Early Access for Dragonborn Saga once I horde more chapters.
I'm learning how to make youtube content or stream but it is taking me some time to decide what to do. I have SSE so I guess I'll do guides to transform your Skyrim into Dragonborn Saga (but it will take some time).
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