Rastislav

Chapter LXI: Impotent Rage

(General POV, Forsworn camp)

The tall Reachman Warchief withered under his mother's... no, his priestess' glare "WHY IS THE DAMNED WITCH NOT DEAD YET!?" She screeched as only one so blessed can.

"Mo-" He tried but a growl interrupted him "Great one" he corrected pleadingly "the metal machine is too powerful, and counting the witch we stand no chance of breaching their defenses." He knelt on the ground and prostrated himself "Please send some of your students with us, my brothers a...

Arch 4 Chapter LX: Prelude to Slaughter

No more attacks came that day.

Apparently getting your forces unmetaphorically roasted to fine ash in a single second tends to kick even the brains of barbarians into gear.

Not that I minded that one bit of course, they were giving more time for our help to arrive, and even if they were likely going to be far more forceful in their attacks, that too was to our advantage... after all, it is far easier to slaughter men by the hundreds if they throw themselves at a prepared position ...

Arc 4 Chapter LIX: The Siege Begins

(Reyvin's pov)

"Congratulations, you are being rescued." I say dryly, my mask hiding the annoyed grimace I carried for almost being too late.

The tall Nord simply gapes at me while carefully touching the spot on his neck I just healed.

"Right, introdu-" I pause and raise a hand in a grasping motion to stop another barrage of arrows heading our way and then flick my hand toward the attackers, a thunderous clap resounds everywhere as a massive fork of chain lightning explodes ...

Arc 4 Chapter LVIII: Haraldstead

(Reyvin's pov)

"What have the two of you been up to these past months?" I ask as we leave the annoyed nobility behind and head to the mage's tower.

Bor sighs "Dealing with our clan mostly, we tried our best to help them out and make sure they didn't ruin the opportunity we gave them with the money, but they stubbornly ignored us until we were needed for something... something about boisterous arrogant brats."

"Just as I told you they would." I smirk.

"Yeah, yeah, laugh...

Arc 4 Chapter LVII: The Reachmen Strike

"-cher!"

Ugh, who by Dagoth's unwashed loincloth is yelling so loudly in the morning?!

"Teacher!" the voice resounds once again, now closer.

My eyes snap open and I sigh in annoyance, only to blink rapidly as I see Sybille, who up to that point was snuggled against me, barely holding herself back from launching a massive blizzard in the voice's direction.

I take a deep breath "What do you want so early in the bloody morning Marco?"

Said elf enters the room we wer...

Arc 4 Chapter LVI: The Painting

I pointlessly try and dust my hands off as I reach out and open the door, and there, completely failing to hide an excited glint in her eyes, stood Sybille.

"Go-" A long yawn interrupts me "Good evening Sybille." I say groggily and attempt to wipe the sleepiness from my eyes, but just end up smearing them with oil.

Her excitement dims a bit as she asks "Are you doing alright?"

I pick up a rather expensive blanket, now turned oily rag, and try and clean out the oil from my pa...

Arc 4 Chapter LV: The Flight of Time

After I managed to calm down the now incredibly excited demi-god we made our way back to the portal in my house.

I made sure to grab a bunch of lower level tomes from my personal library for my students and also visited the college to buy copies of a couple higher level destruction magic tomes for my own studies.

We would likely be facing small armies soon and having some larger scale spells than a mere fireball in my pocket would definitely come in handy.

Hmmm, now that I t...

Arc 4 Chapter LIV: Student's Woes

(Minthara's pov)

I leave the clothes shop feeling far more dead inside than when I first arrived. Glancing at my. boss? master? I am not sure actually... I note that he is as relaxed as when we first arrived.

I cannot help but ask cautiously "Is she..."

"Always such a complete and utter bitch to everyone and anyone?" He quips cheerfully and waves me off "Don't worry, she wasn't being an ass due to your heritage, she is just a very sour old woman who probably needs a proper l...

Arc 4 Chapter LIII: Apprentice

(Minthara's pov)

As Davos, followed by a couple of palace guards goes to ensure that my siblings are taken care of I find myself walking through the halls of the Blue Palace aimlessly, still stunned by the sudden changes in my life and the ease with which the nobility can decide to bring said changes.

I am not foolish enough to believe that they should all suddenly start giving out their wealth randomly, I was raised to be smarter than that, but the way the palace's Steward merely...

Arc 4 Chapter LII: A 'Pleasant' Morning

(Reyvin's pov)

I awaken with a tired yawn.

The meeting yesterday took almost the entire night and I only got a good hour of sleep. Thankfully I am not quite your usual mortal so I wouldn't have to spend the entire day feeling drowsy.

With a flick of my hand, I levitate myself up from my bed and go to grab my clothes.

Maybe I should soulbind them as well? Nah, that would be way too lazy even for me.

After making sure I looked presentable I make my way toward Sybil...

Arc 4 Chapter LI: Bringing Order

(Torygg's pov)

So much death... even with our preparations hundreds still lost their lives.

Even as my gut wrenches at the sight of the emaciated refugees currently under the care of the healers we brought I can't help but question if this all was worth it. Even if deep down I know for certain that we are doing the right thing I cannot help but wonder how many have lost their lives or families just because I couldn't keep a singular Jarl from pressuring me into hard choices?

Arc 4 Chapter L: The Night of the Purge

To most residents of the Solitude sprawl, tonight was just another morndas, the Morning Star(January) chill covered the entirety of the walled district and most busied themselves finding any warmth they could. There were rumors of another Orcish rampage, and apparently, some mage showed up to the Brotherhood to browbeat them or something but no one really cared.

One group, however, was burdened with a task far more important. The Brotherhood of Tsun were all rushing about like their ass...

Arc 4 Chapter XLIX: Theatrics

As everyone was forced to stop themselves from cowering due to the sudden feeling, Davos was forced to suppress a gleeful smirk 'Serves the arrogant pricks right.'

The shadows around the imposing figure slowly dissipate, revealing a tall elven figure holding their arms behind their back in a relaxed stance.

They wore imposing black robes over light ebony armor, the face covered by a mask of the same metal with three spikes spreading at its summit, creating the image of a crown. 2023-09-05 18:00:58 +0000 UTC View Post

Arc 4 Chapter XLVIII: Slumming it (Part 2)

Minthara's eyes widen comically "What did you smoke before coming down here old man?"

Davos snorts humorlessly "I've had my dealings with Daedra, and my boss gave me hints about this specific one. I am nine tenths sure it is the mad god."

A beat of silence passes and she gives him a look of doubt "Why would a Daedric Prince waste his time protecting a bunch of orphans?"

He shrugs "How in oblivion am I supposed to know what passes through the mind of the mad one?" he scratche...

Arc 4 Chapter XLVII: Slumming it (Part 1)

(General pov)

A young woman, dirty and covered in mud, was running with all her might through the winding nooks of the Sprawl she was forced to grow up in. She cursed the fact that she was in the part closest to the actual city, it was always the hardest to lose pursuit here.

A thrown knife whizzed next to her head and she jerked it to the side, eyes meeting with a tall Orc looking at her with deep anger, seeing as she was stuck in her spot he took a deep breath "Give me the damn ...

Arc 4 Chapter XLVI: Plans

I clap my hands dramatically only for nothing to happen. My eye twitches and I clap more forcefully and hear a chuckle from the nearby wall.

"Coming boss, no need to get your robes in a twist." Davos literally walks vertically up the walls of the balcony and sits his ass down without a care about the now extremely confused Nords staring at him in bewilderment.

Fucker wants to pay me back for my previous trolling, eh? Hehehe too bad you are playing against the master. "Allow me to ...

Arc 4 Chapter XLV: Riots

"So, Reyvin." I find myself sitting across a curious Sybille in the most high-end inn/restaurant in the province, we arrived here some hours ago and spent most of our time gossiping about the rest of the court while eating, with a tiny bit of flirting in between of course... "What do you actually do besides being an unnaturally good mage and earning ridiculous amounts of money?"

"You mean for fun?" I ask as I sip on some incredibly overpriced alto wine.

She nods expectantly.

Arc 4 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 priv...

Arc 4 Chapter XLIII: Conclusion

I awaken with the feeling of something pressing onto my face.

Really woman?!

With a grumble I push Sybille off, accidentally toppling her off the bed in the process.

After a loud and surprised yelp, she slowly gets up, her hair covering her face, and extends her claws while glaring at me "Give me one good reason not to gut you this instant Reyvin."

"Why don't you remain still when someone decides to plant their foot on your face while you sleep?" I grumble while comple...

Arc 4 Chapter XLII: Aftermath

(Reyvin's pov)

As Meridia tries to bribe Sybille into killing me I find myself stuck in a bit of a bind, on the one hand, I don't believe for a second she would kill me for a creature that had already betrayed us, and on the other I am barely keeping myself from laughing out loud at how petty Meridia turned out to be. Like a child who didn't get the toy she wanted and decided to throw a tantrum.

And the entire time, that supernatural fury still courses through my soul, the very id...

Arc 4 Chapter XLI: Defiance

Not long after the deathly growling started, the first draugr made its appearance. Unlike the previous ones I fought in other burial grounds, these wore armor in an older yet still recognizable imperial style, embossed with Septim iconography much like the tomb's entrance.

I was not left will much time to ponder the artistic taste of my enemy, as mere seconds after the rest of my party entered the lower tomb dozens of the damned things charged at us.

With a furious battle cry, Bry...

Arc 4 Chapter XL: The Solitude Catacombs

(General pov)

"Explain." commanded a frowning Rikke.

After taking one last look at Savos and confirming that he was no longer bleeding out Reyvin started pacing around to calm his nerves and spoke: "Unfortunately it seems that the spirit of Potema these idiots summoned was not completely banished to the afterlife when I destroyed her body, she is likely reconstituting herself within her resting place and if we follow usual Nordic traditions she is most likely already raising the f...

Arc 4 Chapter XXXIX: Battle of Wolfskull (Part 3)

As the head of the lead necromancer falls the rest are stunned by the backlash of the ritual's power getting out of control, and before they can do anything to save their pitiful lives Sybille and I fall upon them without a hint of mercy.

As she rips the heart out of the last necromancer Sybille looks around the room we found ourselves in and mutters "I was wondering where they were powering so many undead from..."

"Quite." I say while rapidly gathering the still powered black sou...

Arc 4 Chapter XXXVIII: Battle of Wolfskul (Part 2)

(Reyvin's pov)

As we saw Scorch land atop the gatehouse everyone was stuck in a state of tense silence.

The tenseness seemed to annoy Rikke who looked at me with a twitching eyebrow "Are you sure this will wo-"

*BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM*

A massive ball of fire detonates from the center of the gatehouse, immediately burning everything in a wide circle around it to fine ash.

We all stare at the massive cloud of dust and ash thrown up by the detonation, most of us unable to...

Arc 4 Chapter XXXVII: Battle of Wolfskull (Part 1)

(General pov)

The two armies stared each other down, one doing so without a hint of emotion while the other did so with grim determination in their hearts.

King Torygg quickly called for an officer meeting so they could come up with a plan.

As the leaders of the attacking force gathered on a small hill overlooking their men, Legate Rikke was the first to speak "The last scout report came in two days ago and there were no mentions of a fort, much less a giant."

With a c...

Arc 4 Chapter XXXVI: March

I knock on Sybille's door a couple of times and get no response, getting a bit worried I quickly activate my magic sight to try and peer inside and what I saw made me rather uneasy. The aura in the room was all over the place and with what I felt was a mix of blood, death, and extracted lifeforce.

This smelled like all kinds of trouble but unfortunately, I couldn't just barge in as the place was most likely trapped to an unholy degree.

I quickly went and grabbed Davos and asked hi...

Arc 4 Chapter XXXV: Legions Rivals and Preparations

After I managed to calm down a very pissed off Sybille and informed Davos and Marco that they are free for the day, at which point the young bard fell asleep then and there forcing Davos to carry him off, we headed out toward Castle Dour.

As we were about to leave the palace we crossed paths with the King himself followed by Falk Firebeard and Bolgeir Bearclaw.

Torygg immediately perked up when he saw us "Ah good, I was hoping the two of you would join us." His eyes shifted to my ...

Arc 4 Chapter XXXIV: The Birds And The Bards

Once again I find myself waking up with a tired groan, though this time the tiredness came from a far more enjoyable source than getting beaten up by an angry Orc librarian.

What was I expecting trying to outlast a creature with theoretically infinite stamina?

I look at Sybille who is quietly snoring with a bit of drool at the edge of her mouth.

Cute.

Better leave her alone, I don't want to get accidentally slapped by a vampire who doesn't like getting up in the mornin...

Arc 4 Chapter XXXIII: Meridia's Games

We both stare at her wordlessly, both Sybille and I mesmerized by her aura and appearance.

The literal image of perfection, pale skin, and blond hair with bright blue eyes, wearing a gown that is just revealing enough to be seductive yet not enough to be in any way undignified.

I quickly snap out of it and discretely kick my vampire colleague's foot, thus waking her up.

Meridia seems amused by my behavior but doesn't otherwise react. After we finally gather ourselves she spe...

Arc 4 Chapter XXXII: Kilkreath Temple (Part 3)

We all decide to take a proper rest after that battle, we might have culled the number of undead but we can't be sure just how many of them await on the other side.

"So Davos." I hear Marco say to my left "Why did you get into this business?"

Davos who seems to be chewing something grunts and swallows "You don't survive the streets of Windhelm as an orphan without toughening up and learning to hide from prying eyes." He seems to reminisce for a moment "Then I guess I just got good...