Hello, I'm a newcomer to the Sandbox, but I immediatly wanted to share my own story that I have created for my character, though the real star is perhaps another personality I have created fo my user. If you have ever been on the Elder Scrolls Wiki and have seen or heard about the Blog Series: You Know What Really Grinds My Wabbajacks? Then this will be all the more better for you. In this story, it will serve as an epilogue to the events of the Oblivion Crisis and the Shivering Isles while the Hero of Kvatch has gone missing inside the Mad Realm and his cousin goes to find him. Without further ado, let's dive right in.
Chapter One[]
Madison didn't dare say a word about his cousin's home as they came upon its ugly wooden porch from across that rickety bridge. At first, he thought the stairs leading to the second floor were connected to the first, but it took a few brief words with his cousin to discredit that suspicion.
"It would be nice," he said as he took a small iron key from his russet felt pocket and inserted it into his door. He turned it counter-clockwise and there was a sharp click! "But that floor belongs to a Luciana Galena. Pretty sure she likes me." The cousin chuckled and showed him in. Madison's shoulders sagged. The interior was unimpressive: A small wooden table sat in the middle on top of a rug with two chairs to accompany it, surrounded by two shelves, an end table and cabinet in the corner, and two other chairs next to a fireplace. It did little to repel the cold of Bravil creeping in through the door.
Madison immediately slumped back into one of the dining table chairs, setting his bags down next to him. His cousin grabbed a bottle of wine from one of the entrance racks and produced a fresh loaf of bread from the cabinet. There were no plates and they shared the simple cup. Madison was given a piece and he gobbled it up.
"Hungry?" his cousin asked as he poured the wine.
"Haven't eaten since yesteryear, it feels like."
"All I could get for cheap from The Fair Deal. Nilawen gives me a discount."
Madison paused to look at his cousin, who apparently didn't realize the lunacy that came with his statement. "Shouldn't everyone?" He paid him no attention as he drank from the cup and Madison sighed. "You're crazy, cousin."
"I thought myself humble."
"No one is this humble. You saved Tamriel--You saved the world! Pardon my boldness, but you're still paying rent for this shack and living in squalor with the rest of these skooma addicts?" Madison awaited a response and received none. He shook his head and untied the string to one of his bags. Inside was his equipment he always carried with him whenever he traveled from Bruma: A bottle of ink, a quill, and a journal. Additional necessities usually involved books of various genres. He withdrew the journal and set it on the table.
"Done with your little rant, Maddy?" the Hero of Kvatch asked.
"Don't call me that. I'm just going over a few things before we begin the study."
"...You know I like it here, right?"
"What you do is your choice. I was making an observation, as is my prerogative. Now, when did this...thing...appear in the middle of Niben Bay?" Madison dipped his quill into the ink pot and gingerly tapped the tip against the glass to eliminate surplus liquid. "Anytime you're ready."
His cousin wiped away the crumbs forming on the edge of his mouth and cleared his throat."Last Morndas, on the second of Sun's Dawn, around noon when a storm was coming through. I was out near the beach to retrieve my nets when I saw a bright blue light. At first, I thought it was another gate to the Deadlands, but the sky didn't turn black.""Do you think this is another gate to Oblivion?"
"Almost certainly."
"How is that possible? When the Amulet of Kings was destroyed, they said the barrier between Mundus and Oblivion would hold forever." They both put their hands on their chins and pondered. Madison looked over his notes, trying to find some explanation to this phenomenon. It made no sense!
"Any theories, cousin? That is the reason I brought you here."
"Hmm..." Madison bit the edge of his lip. "Gates can be opened and kept open by a power source: Mehrunes Dagon preferring to power his with sigil stones, but they are not strong enough to break the barrier, which was bolstered when the Crisis ended almost a month ago. The Daedric Prince himself could in theory sustain one himself, but he could never hope to create as many as it would take to invade Mundus again and force through the barrier with his power stretched so thin. It takes a powerful being to keep something in this realm when it shouldn't be, even before the Amulet of Kings was shattered."
"Ah. So a powerful being bypassed the barrier and is keeping it open?"
"That's the idea. Did you investigate?"
"Storm was too powerful. I would've been thrown over my boat. When the rain stopped, I could see a new island forming in the middle with that statue on top. Some guards have already gone over but they did not report anything coming out of it attempting to kill them...Figured I better call a professional scholar to ascertain the anomaly before digging deeper. Thought you might like the opportunity."
Madison wrote down every word his cousin had said and dipped his quill back in the ink pot. "Any guesses to whom it belongs too?"
"I think we can rule out Bal, Malacath, Namira, Peryite, Nocturnal, Vaermina, Mephala, Dagon, Hircine, and Boethia. None of them seem like the type to like the color blue."
Madison's lips curved upwards and he continued to write. "Sanguine doesn't seem like one to sustain portals with his own power. Neither does Vile, Azura, or Meridia. So that leaves Hermaeus Mora and Sheogorath. Personally, I hope it's the former. How soon can we be ready to head over?"
"Don't want to get some rest first?"
"No offense to you, but I'd rather leave Bravil as soon as possible." Madison put away his ink pot and quill and waited for his journal to dry. His cousin leaned back in his creaky chair and looked to the ceiling.
"I'm getting rather bored of fighting off Daedra."
"As we all were within the first five minutes of the Oblivion Crisis. Get your armor and sword. I will cheer you on from a distance."
Not an hour later, Madison and the Hero of Kvatch pushed a leaky boat off the bank of the Niben Bay while the sun began to dip below the walls of the city. The latter didn't seem to think he would be in too much danger, because instead of donning his dragon armor he received from the Imperial Council, he wore a simple coat of chainmail covered by a tattered white gambeson with a sigil of a wolf emblazoned on the front. "I'm surprised you dug out that old thing," Madison snorted. They each grabbed and oar and heaved. They glided gently through the water, catching the afternoon light on the surface.
"It was on hand," his cousin shrugged. When they came closer, Madison cocked his head around to catch a glimpse of the gate. Yes, it was indeed glowing a brilliant blue, different than the others he had seen. It only grew more interesting when they further approached. A small speck of land floating in the middle of the Bay, divided into two distinct sections of flora and fauna: The right teemed with mushrooms and inviting shrubbery while the left looked blackened and burnt with rot. The portal itself--well--Madison's cousin was right. It was a head. Three heads to be exact, morphed together in a mad conglomerate. "I think I know who this gate belongs too..." he muttered as the boat slid up against the wet earth. They were not the first to be there. A city guard stood near the gate, sword and shield in hand but relatively calm. A Khajiit that looked like a beggar was huddled near the mouth of the portal, hunched over in a fetal position and moving its lips silently, contorting its expressions into different emotions as often as it took breath. When the guard noticed the two men walking up the path through the mushroom-covered side of the island, he stuck his hand out.
"Halt! Don't go any further!"
"Gaius," the Hero of Kvatch said with a stern tone.
The guard stopped and bowed his head."Sorry sir...I didn't know it was you..but you cannot be permitted to go further. Anyone who goes in there who returns comes back mad!"
"Ah, so it is Sheogorath then," Madison nodded. "...Guard, it would be wise if you left as soon as possible."
"I will do no such thing!" Gaius replied with surprising spine. "I was assigned to monitor the gate for anyone who comes through and that is what I"--
UNWORTHY, UNWORTHY, UNWORTHY! USLESS MORTAL MEAT! WALKING BAG OF DUNG!
A voice from the back of their heads screamed, prickling through their spines like a limb that fell asleep. Gaius ducked down beneath the gnarled stem of a mushroom, sword pointed at the gate. "Ah! What was that? Sirs, run!" The Hero of Kvatch and Madison did not move from their spots, or even made much change of face. The Khajiit in the corner of the island burst into fresh tears, hiding its eyes from the face.
"No!" it hissed. "Please, don't look at me! I cannot be seen! Don't!"
Madison pointed to the door. "Wait, look! There is someone coming out." It looked almost as if someone was emerging from a wall of fog, the way they would slowly come into view. But this man...this Dunmer...he was running and he was coming into view fast indeed. And with his silhouette came a horrible scream. Madison and Gaius didn't react fast enough to the knife in his hand, but the Hero of Kvatch did. As the tip came down from above, he stopped it with his left hand while slamming the butt of his sabatons into the Dunmer's kneecaps as hard as he could. There was a sickening snap of bone as the dark elf continued to scream his head off, but he did not stop. He dragged himself across the ground towards Gaius, knife still in hand and repeatedly stabbing the dirt below. The guard didn't hesitate to draw his sword and lop off his head.Madison turned his head away in disgust. The smell of blood invaded his nostrils and once again, a booming voice-- distant relative of thunder--resounded throughout the Bay...
A NICE EFFORT, THOUGH. A SHAME HE'S DEAD. THESE THINGS HAPPEN.
Once Madison was done covering his ears, he looked at the body of the Dunmer. Gaius was already dragging it towards the water. The head went first, followed by the rest. "That was Belmyne Dreleth. A skooma addict from town. Damn crazies. Keep having to kill them," he said, wiping the blood on his hands onto the head of a mushroom. It's crimson gave contrast to the bright orange...It almost looked pretty.
"More have come through?" Madison asked, noting it in his journal.
"All morning!" exclaimed Gaius. "S'fara over there is the only one I've spared. But I've never heard that voice before..." Another thunder crash and Gaius cowered again.
BRING ME A CHAMPION! REND THE FLESH OF MY FOES! A MORTAL CHAMPION TO WADE THROUGH THE ENTRAILS OF MY ENEMIES!
"That is the voice of a Daedric Prince," the Hero of Kvatch explained solemnly and Gaius's eyes went huge.
"No, it cannot be...The Oblivion Crisis is over..."
"It is. This is different. You heard the good Prince. He seeks a champion."
"But sir, please. Everything that has gone in there has not come out right! You saw what it did to that elf!"
The Hero of Kvatch stared him down. "Do I look like an ordinary mortal, Gaius?"
"N-no, sir...I'm just here to warn people, not keep them from going in."
Madison's cousin then addressed him. "I'll be back soon to relay what I have found. Hopefully this will be the last we hear of Oblivion for some time."
"Are you sure? This may be different from the predictable swaths of demons you're used to fighting. Sheogorath thrives on the unpredictable." His cousin's determined expression did not change. He looked into the glowing blue portal and drew his sword.
"If Mr. Dreleth is indicative of his forces, I think it will be a breeze. I'll see you in twenty minutes."
Without looking back, he walked into the light. Madison and Gaius quickly lost sight of him as blue aura overtook his silhouette, like it was gobbling him up.
Maybe it did.
Twenty minutes passed, then an hour, and then five. When the dawn arose the next day, Madison began to question the ability of his friend. Ludicrous as it was to doubt a man who has fought through more than Tiber Septim himself, this was a much longer wait than usual. Gaius was growing restless too, but he did his best to be optimistic.
"He's dead! I know it! I told you to stay away!"
"He drew blood from the feet of Dagon. He can handle whatever is in there."
Another hour. Time passed by observing the plant life and documenting them. Even picked a few for further research and put into vials. Attempt at conversation with the Khajiit proved pointless. She thought she was invisible. Gaius had fallen asleep leaning on his sword. The morning cold was not doing Madison any favors. He spent another hour staring at the door, confident that at any moment his cousin would come rushing through with a bag full of exotic spoils to sell at a quarter of its worth. When the light began to hit the water again, there was a problem. Gaius had since woken up and resumed his watch. "He...he's still not back?"
"Not yet..."
"I hope my patrol ends soon. I need to eat." At the mention of it, Madison noticed that his stomach was indeed growling. One last look at the door...Nothing. It just kept glowing, gaping its mouth at Bravil, inviting any foolish enough to dare enter its maw. He'll be back, Madison assured himself. By tomorrow. No question about it. With reluctance, he took the boat back out to the city and patiently awaited his cousin's arrival over some bread and wine. The next time he checked, he realized it had been three weeks.