103 Chapter XLIV: War-Crown of Kogoruhn
The life of the newest Court Mage of Solitude turned to a pleasant hectic rush after the great battle against the undead hordes had been won.
The grand celebration and royal hunt were altogether enjoyable experiences, but Reyvin only participated for as long as was politely required, seeing as he was the one to shank Potema himself, people were rather interested in bothering him, all the while Sybille looked at him with mock-pity.
At least he managed to get himself some extra privileges by getting honored by the High King himself and now could no longer be bothered by just anyone.
The first chance he got an excuse to escape the gatherings, he did so. The gains he got from the battles needed to be capitalized on, and spending days listening to Nords declaring their glory to the heavens was not something he felt was a worthwhile endeavor when compared to a new subschool of magic he got his hands on.
Speaking of the new magic, the tome of shadows made for some very interesting reading. When one managed to get through all the metaphorical and metaphysical jargon of the ancient Aldmer that wrote it, the tome spoke of controlling both actual shadows and shadows in the sense of memories left behind from deeds or persons, by binding them to the caster through the medium of spells and rituals.
The tome naturally contained the more basic combat spells one could find in any elemental school, things like throwing spears made of shadows and strangling someone with their own shadow, but Reyvin found them to be unnecessary wastes of his time as he could already do similar things far more efficiently with his other spells.
What did catch his attention were three specific things, a spell to traverse the shadows in an instant, a spell to shroud one's self in shadows, and a ritual to raise a servant composed of someone's remnant shadows, or more accurately raise the world's memory of someone in the form of a shade.
The spells he learned rather quickly, as it did appear he was blessed with some affinity for the element.
The shadow step was an excellent early short-range teleportation spell, as it didn't require him to 'feel' the space he was traveling to, but merely perceive the target shadow itself.
The umbral shroud was rather simplistic in its application, one 'simply' had to drag shadows over themselves while in dark places and would become almost invisible both to magical and mundane senses.
And then there was the shadow binder ritual, a surprisingly clean act requiring no real sacrifices besides some soul gems and enchanted items, it allowed for eternal, regenerating guardians to be bound to the caster and them alone, never to be taken from their control even in death.
The issue with the ritual was that it required a ridiculous upkeep in Magicka for any but the weakest shades and the power of the risen shadow heavily depended on the one being raised.
Reyvin was forced to postpone gathering his new goon squad when he realized just how expensive they were, his excitement slowly turning into frustration. He was just about to rage in disappointment when he got a brilliant idea. He had just captured the soul of a rather powerful necromancer the other day... one that was said to be able to upkeep entire armies...
It seemed that the time had come to create something beautiful.
(Reyvin's pov)
A month after my little scuffle with the dead Septim, my work was finally close to completion!
When I asked Torygg to give me a couple of weeks off to spend on the research he seemed skeptical at having me absent for so long, but the moment he took one good look into my manic eyes he wisely chose to 'reward my services' and let me do my thing.
I had to make several trips to Winterhold and consult my Enchantment teacher on multiple occasions while planning my masterpiece.
The patient old Imperial was both amazed and doubtful when I presented him with my idea, but he was certain of one thing, if I managed to complete it he would no longer be the only Master enchanter in the college.
Naturally, he also wasted no time verbally lashing me into an apologetic mess when he learned just what I was planning to use to power the whole thing.
During my stay in the library I also made sure to read up on some more illusion magic, the fear spell was extremely handy so making that more powerful was a must.
So there I was in my chambers atop the wizard's tower of the Blue Palace, every inch of the room was carved with runes of both draconic and arcane origin, turning the entire thing into a massive enchanting table.
I had thrown anything I didn't need out, making a complete mess of the entire tower, earning me some very dissatisfied grumbling from my colleague. Thankfully the promise of an evening outing to the city after I finished my work saved me from an early grave.
I placed the item I was about to create in the center of the containment ward and took out the bound skull of Potema.
After one last look into what I felt was the still raging soul of the queen I crushed it without any hesitation and the immense power it contained exploded all around me.
Thankfully, my preparations seemed to work as the entirety of the soul energy was imprisoned within my room and I got to work.
Usually, when I enchant objects I have an easy time guiding the power, as the soul lacks a consciousness. This time, however, I was forced to battle with the will of Potema and shred the remnants of her mind with my own while forcing it down into the artifact.
Potion after potion I was forced to down in singular gulps as I battled the tortured will of the ancient Queen, but after what felt like days of mental struggle the enchantment finally felt close to completion.
It was at this moment that she chose to strike.
Suddenly, and without warning I felt something heavy pressing onto my mind. Words in dovahzul attempting to command me to obey and almost forcing me down onto my knees. I felt my mind slowly starting to lose its coherence in front of the powerful soul that was trying to possess me, but at that moment I felt something familiar...
The burning rage I felt when I first spoke to Potema, the disdain for anyone that might try and enforce their will on me.
With a smirk and a mental roar of will, I pushed the attempts of the dead Queen back and with one final scream of anguish from her royal bitchness, I felt the enchantment click and a new tether attach itself to my soul.
My eyes were unfocused, but my spite kept me up just long enough to mutter "Know your fucking place, trash." before I lost consciousness.
(Sybille's pov)
The moment the roaring energies died down I rushed into Reyvin's room to find him face-down on the ground, but still breathing, the item he was keeping me from even glimpsing nowhere in sight.
With an annoyed grumble, I pick him up and head to my room, passing next to a rather worried looking Davos who after seeing me merely sighs and takes a swig of whatever swill he had with him at the moment.
As I lay him down on my bed I stare at my... lover? I am not sure now that I think about it...
I will leave those thoughts for later me to deal with like a reasonable adult!
Shoving my childish thoughts to the back of my head I take a long look at Reyvin, he seems to be alright, if highly exhausted. I should leave him to rest but I am too curious as to what he made, so a stamina potion it is!
I quickly feed him one and he jerks up, and with a twitch of his finger teleports to a corner of my room. His gaze shifts all over the place at a frantic pace, making me actually worried that he did end up getting possessed.
Maybe I should call Savos after all...
Reyvin's twitchiness finally dies down and he sighs deeply "That was terrifying."
I scoff "Well you are the one that wanted to fiddle with a soul of that power, you deserve all the fear and more."
He rolls his eyes "Well excuuuuse me Mother, I was a tad excited at the prospect of a new toy and forgot such unimportant things like caution and self-preservation."
Oh you will call me that and more when I am done with you! Wait... where in oblivion did that come from!? Hiding my slight blush, that he thankfully didn't notice, with a fake cough I ask "Were you at least successful?"
He nods excitedly and rushes to my mirror, spreading his arms dramatically he sends a tiny wave of Magicka inwardly and is immediately clad in his imposing combat robes, now with the addition of an ebony crown/mask hybrid that sends a wave of terror everywhere the moment it appears.
For some reason, upon seeing the spiked crown hiding his face the words 'witch-king' were the first that came to mind...
(Reyvin's pov)
The feeling of sheer power and control that my new artifact exudes feels almost as addictive as holding dawnbreaker, but this time instead of it belonging to a literal light demon it belongs solely to myself, so instead of fearing the power or attempting to shield myself from it I choose to revel in it.
My little power trip is interrupted by Sybille loudly clearing her throat, I take a deep breath and look at her, noticing just the tiniest flinch when our eyes meet "So what do you think?" my voice comes out far deeper and more ominous than usual.
She takes a long look at me and sighs tiredly "Have I ever told you you are a complete monster?"
I raise a finger and say with false arrogance "I believe the word you are looking for is Master."
She blinks "There is no way you became that good that quickly..."
I merely continue staring without elaboration.
She sighs while palming her forehead "Of course there is."
A light cackle leaves my throat "You should be happy you know, I might even give you a discount."
Sybille gives me a blank stare "Say that without your new toy making you sound like a Daedra about to eat me alive and I might just believe you." Her demeanor then shifts into a far more pleasant one "Now go and get ready, I don't care how tired you are I was promised drinks!"
I mock-bow "Of course madam." and turn to leave.
I rush past my empty room and quickly heat up a bath with my pyromancy, while I am relaxing I finally get to check my progress for the past month.
[Mind: 25 => 30]
Hmm... battling Potema's soul was definitely beneficial. Still, I rate 0/10 would not do that again.
[Mag: 350 => 360]
[Conjuration adept: +Umbramancy(Walk, Shroud, Bind)]
[Illusion apprentice => adept: +fear aura, amplified voice, calm => mass calm]
[Enchantment expert => master: All skills combined into enchanting mastery, increasing both the speed and strength of your enchanting]
Rushing through this information with a satisfied nod I finally get to the real reason I was even looking at the system.
[War-Crown of Kogoruhn: A crown fit for a lord among sorcerers, infused with the soul of an ancient necromancer Queen of divine blood, this crown is one that even Daedra would covet.
Royal Guard: Satisfies the Magicka needs of up to five powerful bound creatures on its own.
Draconic aspect: The tiny strand of Akatosh's power empowers the wearer's voice while at the same time allowing for greater thu'um to be used without risk.
Draconic defenses: Resist all damage (10%)
Dread Aura: All. Shall. Bow.]
I try, I really do... but not even two seconds after reading the description I break out into a maddened cackle.
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