C:1 ... of Dreams and Awakening
The Tower of Ashes
-
Chapter 1: ... of dreaming and awakening
-
Pov: Dreamer
It was a beautiful dream. I flew in the company of birds over a large, green and ancient beautiful forest. In it I could see countless wonderful and beautiful animals. White deer with gold antlers and bears with spines on their backs. Even wolves the size of elephants. A sight that you will never see in the waking world.
Mankind would see the animals as dangerous and hunt them or maybe just as a sports trophy to nail their heads to a wall and display. The forest would be cleared for resources and the soil would be dug up for minerals and poisoned.
All that would be left after that is scorched and dead earth that could never recover from what has been done to it.
"Sometimes you have to become a monster to protect what really matters." I whisper with thoughts of the waking world and concentrate on the forest again. Dusk has broken and the stars have risen, even the two moons in the sky are beautiful.
As the sky gets darker and darker, the forest begins to glow. The plants that live in it bloom in bright colors as I can only see in films or in dreams like these. Even the moss lights up when touched.
I stand still in the air now, relaxed and take a deep breath. It smells of forest and rain. A smell that seems to slowly disappear in the waking world. Displaced by garbage and other debris.
When I look up at the sky, I can see the stars, planets and nebula clearly as there are no sources of light illuminating the night sky.
Such beauty and nature untouched by humans is completely foreign to me. Wild and living land that does not die slowly or is deliberately destroyed. A sight that I would love to share with my family. But all of this is just a dream. The wish of a person who can only see parasites and destroyers in his own species.
"You don't have to wake up if you don't want to." Softly says a black-haired woman who suddenly appeared next to me. "It's not that I don't want to wake up. It's more that I can't sleep forever." I answer her with a sad smile and watch the forest below us.
"Even if I don't wake up and the dream goes on forever. How long will it take before it becomes a nightmare? Always the same and without change." I add and watch a few birds make themselves comfortable in their nests .
She looks at me smiling and swings her right hand elegantly towards the forest. With her hand movement, the land and the forest on it change slowly. Mountains and valleys form at a visible speed. Flying rocks break out of the ground and rivers begin to form. A thin veil of fog slowly falls over the forest and everything looks more intense and dangerous.
"And now?" She asks me with a big grin. "Breathtaking." I answer in awe and watch a herd of deer drink by the river. A pack of wolves slowly sneaks up to the herd from the edge of the forest. One of the wolves accidentally makes a noise and startles the herd. While the deer run away in panic, the wolves begin their hunt.
Laughing slightly, the woman begins to speak. "I have an offer for you. Me and a couple of friends have planned an experiment. So far we haven't found anyone willing to take part." I look at her and grimace, slightly irritated.
"That could be because you look like Nocturnal (Lady of the Night and Fortune)." I reply with a slight smile and shake my head. It would be pretty crazy if a god-like existence showed an interest in me.
She laughs briefly and gives me a broad smile. "Who says I'm not a Nocturnal?" She replies in amusement while letting a ball of shadows appear in her hand and playing with it.
"What kind of experiment would it be and who does it all?" I ask her and hope that this dream will last a little longer.
She points in the direction of a clearing and slowly flies towards it. I follow her curiously.
"The experiment is simple. We want to create a new, albeit artificial, prince. The 9 divines are very passive, but overall they have more power than we Daedric princes." Nocturnal explains to me as we slowly approach the ground.
When we land in the clearing, some very strange looking female figures await us. They talk happily and laugh out loud every now and then. Their appearance is inhuman or monstrous in some cases, but one can easily recognize them as women. For example, one of these women has the lower body of a giant spider and the upper body of a beautiful middle-aged woman.
"These are Vaermina (Lady of Nightmares), Namira (Lady of Darkness), Mephala (Lady of Secrets), Boethiah (Lady of Treason) and Azura (Lady of the Twilight). All present, you excluded, are Daedra Princes and are part of this Experiment. " Nocturnal explains to me while I look at the assembled princes.
I recognize them all and also know what they rule over. I used to enjoy playing the games, but lately I've been reading more. However, the princes behave differently than I expected. They're more like a group of friends on an outing and less like the demonic gods from the game series.
"Oh, just look how confused he is. The expression on his face is so cute." Mephala squeaks and apparently can hardly hold back from hugging me. I keep my distance and watch the spider woman vigilantly, for fear of being jumped on.
"If I agreed to the experiment, which sphere would I rule over? And how do you even want to make me an Et'Ada (original spirit)? As far as I know, every prince is an Et'Ada, just like all divine ones . " I ask Nocturnal and Namira laughs out loud.
Azura looks at her sternly for a moment and then explains in a friendly and calm voice. "It would be a kind of rebirth and one of us would take the place of your new mother. The rest of us would change and strengthen your soul. We would make you about as strong as Peryite (Prince of Diseases) [AN: weakest of princes ] and the Sphere would correspond to your natural desires and needs. " After this explanation there is a brief silence.
"How would I have to die to have this kind of rebirth?" I ask carefully and the Et'Ada look at me in amusement. "Immediate death at the hand of your future mother." Boethiah answers suddenly and grins at me.
If you asked me if this was a problem my answer would be no. Daedra are famous for how creative they are in the areas of torture and death. A quick, painless death is almost disappointing, but only almost.
"Let's assume that all of this is really happening right now and is not just a weird dream." I start talking until Vaermina interjects, "This is really happening." I blow my breath and then go on. "As I said, if this is not just a dream and everything is real here. What would happen to my body?"
After I finished, Azura softly smiled at me. Then she raises her left hand and holds a black crystal in it. "In this soul stone is a copy of your soul. If you agree, it will take over your body." She explains and I look at the other Et'Ada who nod encouragingly.
"At the risk of upsetting someone, I would like to choose Nocturnal as my mother. To the best of my knowledge, she has the most even temperament and should deal with my quirks best." I answer resolutely after a moment and turn to Nocturnal.
There is an expression of insecurity and a slight panic on her face. "Azura, Mephala, help me out here. I don't even know how to deal with children." Looking for help, Nocturnal turns to her siblings, but they only have a big grin on their lips. "She's your problem now." Says Azura and the rest of them slowly start to laugh. In fact, Boethiah laughs so hard that she can hardly stand upright with laughter.
After a while everyone calmed down. Even Nocturnal got her emerging panic under control.
"What do you mean by 'she'?" I ask confused but also curious. This triggers another fit of laughter. Vaermina explains to me, breathing hard with laughter. "You may be reborn as Et'Ada, but you should still have a gender. When you get older, you can choose your appearance yourself. But until then we decide on your gender."
I take a quick breath and look at Nocturnal with a grin. "When do we start?" I ask and she looks at me smiling. "We are nearly finished." As she says that, my perspective changes. I was originally 1.83 m tall. Bigger than Nocturnal, which only comes up to my nose.
Now I'm smaller than her and even my body has changed. Soft, smooth and light gray skin. Hip-length, smoky gray hair and short, well-groomed fingernails. Small breasts, slightly smaller than my hands can hold, and an athletic build. On my left leg is an eerie colored tattoo of ash, sparks and fire.
When I feel my face, I can feel small and soft lips and a small, somewhat flat nose. My eyes are now almond-shaped with long lashes and the eyebrows are smooth and narrow. When my hand reaches my ears, they are small, pointed and protruding slightly. And very sensitive.
It sure sounds weird to others, but that I've just changed my gender is more of a blessing than a curse to me. I've felt like I'm in the wrong body for a while. My only problem now is that I feel like I'm going through puberty all over again. And the problems that come with it. Fortunately, one of the Et'Ada feels sorry for me and wraps me in a one-piece, knee-length dress.
The Princesses looked at me in surprise. "She looks like a 12 year old dark elf. And those gold-red glowing eyes are so cute." Mephala whispers in amazement and the rest of the women just nod in agreement.
Meanwhile, I concentrate on the knowledge that suddenly pops up in my memory. Knowledge of my Sphere and what I can do with it. The Sphere is about Fire and Ashes.
With the sphere of fire I can control magical and natural fire. But the special strength of this Sphere is healing, barriers and seals.
The Sphere of ashes is far more peaceful. With it comes the ability to control what has been lost or destroyed. Like letting a living person talk one last time to a deceased person or observing the past. Interestingly, this sphere is also called the 'Sphere of tears'. Suitable if you ask me.
A lot of power for a child. At least if you look at me by Et'Ada standards.
"And what's your name now, little one?" Vaermina asks me curiously. I think for a moment and smile slightly. "I think my new name is Cinis. That means Ashes in Latin." I replied in a childlike and sweet voice and Azure looked at me thoughtfully. "And what's your symbol?" Boethiah asks, then cocks her head.
"The Solar Eclipse." I replied and lifted my right hand palm up. A black ball hovers over it, the edges burn and create the illusion of a Solar Eclipse. What makes the projection look really creepy is that the blood-red fire slowly drips down like water.
Somehow I feel like I'm imitating Sauron. But as long as nobody cuts off my ring finger or marks me as the main villain, everything is fine.
Suddenly the figure of a white and gold shining woman appears next to Nocturnal and begins to shout at the already assembled Daedric princes. She uses a language that I can't understand, but just listening to her gives me a headache.
After what seems like an eternity to me, the radiant woman calms down and turns in my direction. With a barely visible smile, she nods to me. "I am Meridia (princess of life and light) and it seems to me, now one of your aunts too." She says and gives a short giggle. After a few seconds, Meridia calms down and disappears in a flash.
The Princes talk briefly and Boethiah keeps teasing Nocturnal. After a while, Nocturnal puts her hand on my shoulder and says Smiling. "You know, Meridian is the most normal of all the Daedric Princes you haven't met yet. It gets even stranger when the idiots. * Cough * I mean your uncles come to visit you."
As she talks to me, she points to the floor. Shadows rise from it and form a small pond. Nocturnal leads me into the pond and we slowly sink into it. "We'll talk more later." She says, turning to me, and waves briefly to the other Daedric princes. Then we dive into the shadows.
I feel weightless and drift through the dark. It is strangely peaceful and comforting to drift through the shadows. Like a mother's hug. At least until something grabs me and pulls me in one direction. When I emerge from the shadows, I have a little trouble finding my way around.
"You can swim in the shadows later. First of all, I have to introduce you to your teacher. Unfortunately, I don't have enough time to teach you everything myself." Nocturnal explains to me and leads me to a path.
As we walk down the path, I look around curiously. The path consists of large, asymmetrical stone slabs and grasses and mushrooms grow in the crevices between them. The dense forest around us is full of old trees and has a somber atmosphere. Stakes have been driven into the ground at regular intervals along the path. Symbols of ravens and stars are branded on the posts. The lanterns attached to the stake shine in a cold, blue light that makes the shadows dance.
In the distance you can see pale women wrapped in white cloths, but also ravens with bright red eyes and lower daedra like Skampe and Clannbann's. Even a shadow atronach (a kind of golem made of shadows) in the shape of a horse. Many of the small plants and mushrooms glow softly and some insects swarm around them. The trees are thick and gnarled with fleshy leaves and roots break out of the ground.
The night sky is so clear that you can see the stars and moons razor sharp. I know there is no day in Nocturnal's domain, but I don't mind. I've always been more of a night owl. Not that my past matters now.
After a while we came to a 2-story modern house in the Nord style (people who live in the far north. Similar culture to the Vikings.) It has a warm and inviting aura and the smell of roast and wine emanates from the open door. The house itself is lit with normal fires.
Nocturnal stands in front of me and knocks on the door frame. The sound of a plate breaking can be heard, followed by a torrent of curses and insults.
"Who's got the nerve to bother me at dinner?" A man hisses loudly and comes crashing and stomping towards us. When he sees Nocturnal, he grimaces in fear, turns on the spot and tries to run away.
"William, why are you running away from me?" Asks Nocturnal with a warm smile after she has captured him with tentacles of shadows. One of the tentacles has wrapped around the man's neck. He chokes briefly and Nocturnal loosens her grip slightly.
"Your Majesty, it is my pleasure to welcome you to my humble home." He croaks and gasps. Then he continues to talk quickly in panic. "I would never run away from you, my princess. I just wanted to get some good wine for a moment."
While he talks about his head and neck, I look at his clothes. A light blue robe with too many pockets. A book and a few scrolls dangling from the belt and a dagger hanging from the front of the hip.
I look down at myself and examine the dress I'm wearing. It has no pockets or embellishments. The sleeves are short, only elbow length and it reaches me about the knee. A simple band around the waist fixes the dress. However, that's all I'm wearing. I feel the wind blowing my nonexistent underwear.
Nocturnal has let go of William in the meantime. "What do you want from me?" William asks, rubbing his neck. Nocturnal just points at me and smiles slightly while turning white. "A new prince." He whispers softly and his fear is reflected in his eyes.
I didn't expect such a reaction. I am already aware that daeda princes have a really bad reputation, but personally I haven't done anything that would have provoked such a reaction.
"What's the matter with him?" I ask Nocturnal and tilt my head pensively. William hears me and cuts off his mumbling to take a closer look at me." For a Daedra she's pretty innocent. Downright naive. Where did you find her?" He asks Nocturnal, but watches me closely. As if I were a wild and dangerous monster.
"She is my daughter." Answers Nocturnal slightly offended and then smiles at me gently. While the two start a discussion about me and what he should teach me, I sneak past the two of them into the house, in the direction of the delicious smelling roast.
After a quick look around the main hall, I follow the smell back into the kitchen and see a plate with a high rim and cutlery on the dining table. The kitchen is large and modern. Even if the furniture looks old and has magic circles.
I take the plate and the knife and go to the oven. Inside is a bowl with a huge piece of meat, vegetables and a lot of sauce. I cut off a thick piece of the roast and used a wooden spoon to shovel vegetables and sauce onto my plate.
"Where did the girl go?" I hear William ask confused. "She hasn't eaten today, so I'd bet on your kitchen." Nocturnal answers with a laugh and an angry puffing person storms into the kitchen.
He sees the half-empty plate in front of me and a fork in my mouth. He looks at me for a moment and starts cursing like a sailor who wakes up naked, tied to the main mast. Then he looks into the stove and breathes a sigh of relief.
"She left me something." He says happily and looks at me with an emotional look. Behind me, Nocturnal is still laughing and leaning against the door frame. "This is Cinis. Daedra princess of fire and ashes. Be nice to her." She introduces me and I give William a quick wave before I concentrate on the contents of my plate again.
"She has no manners. Shall I teach her those too?" Asks William, confused, turning to Nocturnal. "No, just what we agreed." She answers and sits down next to me at the table.
William sees this as a sign to fill two more plates and sits down with us. "She will live here until I think she is ready to control her own level in the Oblivion. You will of course be paid." Says Nocturnal suddenly, pushes her empty plate aside and reaches for a wine glass that William has put down for her.
"That sounded good as long as one ignores the fact that I don't know what the other Daeda lords will do about you. You are not called the Chaos Gods for nothing." William replies while grimacing at the same time.
"It's only the idiots that you have to worry about. The rest of them already know her and Mephala almost kidnapped her because she looks so cute. You should keep an eye out for Clavicus Vile and Sheogorath, though. Both of them are unpredictable but as long as you are in my 'Eternal Twilight' level, you should be safe. I come to visit at regular intervals to see what you have taught her and to see if Cinis has cremated you. " Says Nocturnal, amused, and stands up.
At the door frame she turns around again and smiles briefly at me. "See you later." She says and then turns to smoke and a haze of shadows. When only the two of us are in the room, William begins to curse like a pipe sparrow. Then he drinks the rest of his glass and looks at me with half-closed eyes.
I look at William in amusement and shake my head slightly. "It could be worse." I say and grin at him. "And how?" He asks, exasperated, and rolls his eyes. "I could be a skamp too." I answer with a laugh, but William glares at me angrily. "At least they can't talk." He hisses and then grins viciously.
"You're doing the dishes." He says after a while and leaves the kitchen. Now it's my turn to swear. Luckily the kitchen is pretty modern, even by my standards.
But where is the soap?