40 Lightbringer, Thief?

{When I was looking for fanfics to start in the power rankings, I did not expect to find my own book at number 50 of Seasonal, Weekly, Male Lead. You guys are the best... Also, to preface this chapter with a clarification. It may seem like this skill should have been a title, but the difference is that a Title can come from either a set of far-reaching achievements or bestowed from an entity that is greater than him. In other words, Titles will be harder than skills.}

Yuri pulled his organs out from his inventory and settled them in before dispelling the fusion and putting his armor back on at the speed of thought before the concealing light faded. He continued descending toward the wall and the Imperial Superior's group backed up to give him space. The archers on the wall split like the red sea or adjusted to keep their eyes on him.

General Tullius noticed the strange silence that followed Nightingale, so he started clapping slowly. The Legates joined him, the claps sped up and spread to the archers and the soldiers behind the wall who hardly saw anything, and the ones who stood on the arches and towers and saw everything. Hooting, hollering, the claps were a stream that lasted for a solid minute while Yuri smiled and waved lightly before waiting it out. Yuri thought his face would turn to stone for a while...

"Grandmaster Nightingale!" Tullius began.

'Oh boy, hyping up the hero for PR now are we?'

"In our hour of need, you came to our aid with short notice and performed more admirably and more incredibly than any of us thought possible!" Tullius made sure to project to as many as possible, Yuri subtly cast a voice projection spell that didn't echo at all, hehehe.

"You singlehandedly defended the frontline of Solitude against a legion of the dead! You fought against a woman who once held this city in her fearful grip and plunged it into chaos! You destroyed the Daedric monstrosity she had become! But most importantly, you defended the good people of Skyrim!"

'Ooohhhhh it's Skyrim now, not Solitude, huh?'

"For this great deed!" Tullius wasn't prepared to give him the actual reward, Yuri knew this was just an announcement. "And by my authority as General of the Empire, I grant you the title of Tribune should you decide to accept it! I also believe I speak for all of us when I say that your name deserves to be spread far and wide and written in tales to come! Hero of Solitude! Lightbringer!"

'A better speech than when he took Windhelm if I do say so myself, hmmhmm' Yuri raised his fist in the air and earned another triumphant yell for a while. Several moments later, Tullius basically told them to get back to work.

If Winterhold was aligned with the Empire at that moment, Tullius would have likely made him the Captain of that area. But they had no military presence near the hold, or at least would not admit to that. Even with the Jarl Kraldar playing second fiddle to the College's interests, the College still did not permit a military faction to get too close.

'Speaking of which, introduce Lightbringer'

[Lightbringer: There's power in a name, and the one you have been given speaks some truth. Alignment with Light has risen, thus your abilities with Light magic have been improved. Those with good karma or lawful alignment will perceive you more favorably immediately. Those with poor karma or chaotic alignment will be visible immediately. +100% Light magic effectivity.]

'My Light magic power has doubled, and I can spot bad guys now?'

Yuri looked around and noticed a shroud of smoke was encircling a few of the soldiers who were returning to their homes.

'Wait, what do I have to do to get the Shadow equivalent? Massacre an orphanage? Oh, wait!'

Yuri figured out a few places to pick off with no shot of putting regret on his soul.

'Northwatch and the Embassy, your time has come. Hopefully, that will be enough, or I'll have to take a flight to the Aldmeri Dominion.'

If Savos knew the thoughts of his student, he would be extremely pleased. The only reason he has been able to refuse an ambassador is the power of the College.

"Would you care to continue our conversation in Castle Dour, Grandmaster?" Tullius approached and spoke to Yuri.

"Of course, of course"

They walked along the battlements for a while and took a door that led down into the Castle before arriving in the war room once more through the back.

"Back to business, Grandmaster Nightingale. Would you like to take the title of Tribune?"

"I believe you already know my affiliations, General. No need to mix up a speech and reality"

Tullius cleared his throat, then resumed. "Monetary compensation will be sent to..."

"The College. I have no need for it. I would also like to stress that neither the Empire nor the Thalmor should be inviting themselves into Winterhold. The College belongs to Skyrim."

"Haha, ah, I can keep the military away from your hold, but the Thalmor are a different story," Tullius despised the Thalmor but he couldn't promise anything either.

"Oh? Winterhold had nothing to do with the breaking of the Concordat nor does it require the Thalmor to stick their hands in it like they do with Markarth. Why can't you ensure they stay out?"

When Ulfric assisted Markarth in reclaiming the Reach from the Reachmen, now the Forsworn, he demanded that Talos worship be brought back to Markarth and they agreed. The Empire agreed to Ulfric's demands as well before the Thalmor found out and threatened war. This is how the Empire caved and how the Thalmor gained entry into Solitude, Markarth, and were spreading their claws into the Civil War to spark it and weaken the Empire. Might makes right even in the face of obvious Elf supremacists.

It was here that Yuri decided to make a pro gamer move and read Tullius' mind before making a telepathic link with him.

'Tell Titus Mede II that you have a highly capable mage willing to discreetly make a mess of the Thalmor interests in Cyrodiil and beyond. Keep my name out of it and the coin into it, and you have yourself a deal'

'Wha... Lightbringer my ass'

'I didn't give myself the name. The Thalmor are getting too handsy and no man is safe in their new Merethic Era. Communicate the details with me later. In the meantime, I'll show you what I can do.'

'My friend Titus and I would be thrilled to continue negotiations'

'You catch on quick. Oh, and say my name to anyone else or sell me out to the Thalmor and you and Cyrodiil will wish for death you won't be able to grasp.'

'...Wouldn't dream of it'

"I will do my best, but you have no promises," Tullius said outwardly while sweating a little bit. He believed his Legate were clean, but he didn't want to take any chances. "Remunerations will be sent to the College. Is there anything else you would perhaps like?"

"That would be all, General. It was my duty to defend Solitude, pure and simple. Don't hesitate to call Winterhold again if you have any similar troubles," Yuri said while turning around and leaving.

'Haha, yeah right' Tullius thought.

'I heard that' Yuri shot back while Tullius flinched.

Before he reached the door, Yuri teleported skyward and then took off back home.

'All in a day's work. Now I have those points of interest to attack, but I think it's been enough time for the situation to settle in the Twilight Sepulcher. It's time to rob that key and fill the first hole in my heart.'

With that, Yuri hung a drastic right and went south before activating the Shroud of the Hunter and going supersonic.

Passing over the Dunstad Groves in less than a minute, Yuri passed Morthal and the snow, then was in Hjaalmarch and bore witness to earthy peaks and valleys and a large river going in his same direction. He saw a few ruins, forts, and giant camps below passing by and before long about forty miles to his far-left he saw Whiterun.

Another ten minutes and the lake beside Falkreath was in sight. Or at least it was the lake beside the Falkreath buildable house. It was much more green around here then the plains of Whiterun he just passed. When he found his landmark, he swung widely right and continued to find the Twilight Sepulcher, which was ironically on the other side of the entire country of Skyrim to the Nightingale Hall. The terrain turned rocky as he found the Sepulcher.

Hidden by an outcropping of rock and bordered by a stoney river flowing down the mountain to its left, two firepits that sat on pedestals stood on either side of the ancient Nordic door.

'If I use Light or Shadow magic I'll be felt by Nocturnal instantly. I can't feel inside with ESP, figures. At least I'm invisible.'

Yuri stepped forward and tried to push the doors open, but they wouldn't budge. He used Tenth Eye and saw that there was a wooden beam barring the door. He fired a quick laser in the crack and severed it before pushing the doors apart.

What Yuri saw inside a cave tunnel which he took. It was only ten feet long, but he exited it and found a cavernous space with a dirt path to a staircase leading to a crypt. Beside the path were two more firepits and several partial stone pillars. Amidst the path and the top of the stairs, multiple ghosts immediately manifested from thin air wearing the garb of the Nightingale.

'I gotta get me one of those suits while I'm here'

"The door opened, yet no one is here. Do we have an intruder?" Spoke one.

"Gallus, go check the door" Barked another.

Yuri sidestepped the exit while Gallus entered it without complaint. As the latest death, he must've been the junior in the ghostly dynamic when the key returned and the ghosts came back. There were at least a dozen others hanging around the entrance to the crypt, and Yuri didn't want to TP on the off chance they could sense it. It was on foot from here, then use a portal to hightail it out of here when he had the key if it worked.

Yuri went to the side of the platform and avoided the stairs, choosing to vault onto it and weave to the door. Yuri muffled it before gently opening it while their back was turned and closing it behind him before turning around and continuing.

Another Nordic Ruin. This place wasn't built for Nocturnal, it seems, but stolen like everything else.

Yuri ducked into the Nordic Ruin and kept Tenth Eye active the whole time, finding it crawling with Sentinels meant to guard the place. They were doing a terrible job. But who could blame them, Yuri was even muffling everything within a foot of him or anything he touched.

Rickety furniture and cutouts for remains, wooden pillars, a statue of a Daedra who has no business having all that bidness, and a number of twists and turns finally led to a stage he was familiar with.

'This place, huh. Avoid the light, avoid the light'

A place that looked like a portion of ancient Mesopotamia was cut from the world and brought here was laid out and covered in irregular patches of light and shadow. In the Nightingale quest when returning the key, you had to avoid the light and numerous traps while crossing the complex from high to low while sneaking.

Yuri managed expertly. With Tenth Eye he saw every tripwire and hopped over with grace. He noticed that there were no stairs, one had to vault to get where they wanted. Easy enough for a superhuman. Yuri grabbed ledges 10 feet up and slinked past traveling light beams like he was a ninja in a prison break. Were it not for the poison darts, this place would be an ideal parkour playground.

It wasn't tense for him, but eventually, he grew bored of this. It had been over twenty minutes of jumping and crouching before he reached the exit of the test and entered another section of the ruin.

Yuri weaved through more sentinels, more of the Nordic ruin, more crypts, and a stone hall that looked like it was better kept than the rest of the place before he found what he was looking for.

"Hello, Anders"

Yuri looked up and found a grate leading to one of the rooms he had already past, and looked down for twenty feet of a smooth stone well and saw a skeleton at the bottom. The skeleton used to be named Anders.

If you dropped down here with the key, the floor would crack open and lead to the Ebonmere. But Yuri didn't need the key. It was directly below this floor, after all.

'Accelerate, Armament Skin'

Yuri jumped down and raised his fist. It was time to go loud, but he had to be quick.

*BOOM*

With a single impact and the sound of crumbling stone, Yuri broke through the floor and bore witness to a room with three pedestals triangulated around a middle dais that held what he was looking for. The key.

Yuri plunged down and landed, but the entire room lit up in a purple glow while the portal to the entrance activated. Yuri grasped the key and took it with his inventory, then a dozen ghosts came through the portal and scattered while trying to climb up the pedestal to investigate.

In fractions of a second, Yuri felt the key in his inventory and used it to unlock the barriers in this room almost by instinct. His ESP expanded without restraint, and its distance had grown by more than double. In the next fraction, he TP'd into the fresh air almost a kilometer above the ground and breathed in.

"Ha. Hahaha. HahahAHAHAHAHAH! IT'S MY WIN!!! I OUT-STOLE THE THIEVES, AHAHAHAHA!!!!!!"

A maniacal laugh of victory escaped involuntarily before he blasted off in the direction of Winterhold. It was time to bond this thing.