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Arc 8 Chapter LXXXVII: Of Feasts And Family
🕑 Added 2025-02-22 23:43:24 +0000 UTCA bit late today because my sleep schedule is shit and I was feeling a bit verbose.
(General POV)
The great dining hall within Dagoth Manor was filled to practically bursting with Mer from both Skyrim and Morrowind, the two sides ever so slowly integrating with each other under the watchful eyes of their master after the few initial teething problems.
And as often happens when large groups of people meet, they all rapidly formed into smaller groups of their own.
"So you are Moabain's brat?" A dark elf with teeth too long and sharp to be natural asked the oddly platinum-haired woman next to him "Surprised the crazy bastard didn't take you with him."
Edrassa gave the diminutive mage a scathing look, which only grew worse as her eyes reached his hyperactive daughter, who even now had to be held back with wards so she did not get lost in the city and inevitably set the entire thing on fire.
She considered just ignoring him but she had been dealing with subordinates for a while now and was frankly growing bored "At least his bloodline is not threatening to set itself on fire."
The Telvanni laughs it off but her practiced eyes catch the very tiny flash of concern in his eyes "Bah! She is good in a fight at least, don't need much more to be successful really."
"Settling for scraps, Karvanni?" Edrassa drawled, a habit she hated having developed "Very fitting of someone so... humble in stature."
The man gives her a bored look, having long since gotten used to that particular line of insults "Very bold of you to try and get a rise out of me. For someone who never bothered marching to the frontlines anyway."
The young woman raises an eyebrow at this, only half paying attention as she daintily cut into her meal. Only after taking a deliberately slow bite did she speak "I had more important tasks to invest my time into."
Vels Kravanni narrows his eyes "What could possibly be more important than fighting for your homeland?" Even his daughter did not believe this to be his opinion, but that did not matter in the least.
"Oh you know" Edrassa waves her hand flippantly "Just a petty little posting in managing the production and repair of a small legion of automatons."
Karvanni huffs and inclines his head, admitting the point "At least you have a spine, unlike most of the brats these days."
"And you are surprisingly tolerable for a fossil." She offers him a smile that could be nothing but fake.
The much older elf snorts and they continue trading jabs for hours.
In another corner of the vast room, a pair of Falmer and Dunmer completely ignored their food as they poured over each other's notes, both Alor and Vayrin Indoril looking as if they had just struck an ebony mine that they would delight in excavating on their lonesome.
The two massive ner- distinguished scholars shared a quick look, gave each other a deep nod of respect, and summoned writing equipment while warding themselves away from the rest of the tumult.
A bit further away, yet another similar pair were engaged in conversation, of a far more worldly nature.
"And how much of an effect do the laborer spiders have on logistics in truth?" Regnild Sadras asked with a frown.
Rubbing his hands eagerly, Eldor grinned his unnatural grin at the much taller elf "They speed up loading and unloading threefold and even more importantly you do not need to hire nearly as many sailors and waste the storage space on supplying them for long trips. Trust me when I say this, my new friend, anyone who does not equip their ships with these marvelous creations will be outcompeted by those wise and forward looking enough that do."
Regnild, who had already seen the things in action, pretended to ponder the idea with a fake frown on his face "Hmmm, I can see your point but one thousand septims per unit is obviously a price inflated to profit from the foolish humans."
The Falmer merchant's eyes take on an odd glint as he shrugs "I am certain I haven't the faintest idea what you mean" And before the Sadras could respond he raises a finger "But."
"But?" Regnild asks faster than he liked.
"But" Eldor nods happily "I could lower the price since you are a friend and ally to our lord..."
The Dunmer leans in "Yeess?"
"IF" Eldor's eyes snap upwards "If you were to give me a small cut on your expeditions."
Regnild frowns and leans away "Why would I ever do that?"
"You scratch my back, and I scratch yours." The Falmer explains "I'd be cutting into my savings to lower the price and you need to stack initial successes to outpace your in-house rivals. You get prestige, I sell a large order of automatons, and we both get rich. It is a win-win."
Sadras keeps his frown for a while longer "My position in the house is already assured by my role in the war."
"But is it going to be assured forever?" Eldor grins and the Dunmer looks away "Didn't think so. So, either you fork out the entire investment, or we make a nice profitable deal?" He once more begins rubbing his hands "What say you?"
Regnild pretends to hesitate, but knows the little shit has him and thus sighs and reaches for a glass "Very well, little Falmer. To a prosperous business deal!"
They both clink their glasses and promptly begin discussing the numbers.
More such conversations are had all over the place, and the two sides' inevitable molding proceeds as planned.
"Any more internal concerns to voice, Jackal?" Lord Dagoth asks from his lone seat at the high table.
"None that will not straighten themselves out without any major upheavals, my lord" The masked elf bows "Your earlier display has made your opinion known, and none of them will risk your ire by making you repeat yourself."
"Good." His master nods "Pride should unite us, not give us an excuse to weaken ourselves."
"Just so" Jackal agrees as if what was said was a fact, not an opinion.
"Mhm" Reyvin hums and takes a sip of his brandy "What of the external issues? I am sure Minthara's announcement has caused some upheaval at the very least."
The guildsman hesitates for a very brief moment before answering "Some of the local aristocrats and worthies have been heard to speak out against your ambitions once deep in their cups, but aside from a few agitators that were swiftly rooted out by way of roadside accident none will act against you."
"My ambitions, is it?" Reyvin quirks an eyebrow but preempts any excuses by waving the man off "What of the other kingdoms?"
"The people of Skyrim have reacted as you may expect, by throwing a massive feast." Jackal answers immediately "Those of High Rock have had differing reactions but since most of their nobility is of elven blood they did not raise too much of an issue. Both the High King, his Jarls, and even some Breton Petty Kings will be marching south to take part in the proceedings."
"That is certainly reassuring." Reyvin nods along "And yet for all your assurances it is you who is giving me the report, and not Davos."
Jackal remains perfectly still but once more waits a split second too long to answer, which might as well have been a prodding-inured minute for anyone else "Lord Davos is investigating a rumor your magi scryed of the Altmer preparing to do something, we did not wish to distract you from your well earned break so we..." He pauses and looks away "Acted on our own."
Reyvin frowns for a split second but near-instantly does a minute shake of his head, as if having an internal conversation in an instant "I thank you for your considerations, and trust that Davos has equipped himself sufficiently to not have any trouble?"
"Certainly, my lord." Jackal nods "A full report will be delivered to your study upon mission completion, but we believe this to be a mere attack of opportunity made up of expendable assets. They will not invest anyone capable of facing Lord Davos, especially not someone capable of preventing his retreat."
Jackal feels like his master is looking directly into his soul for a long moment before ever so minutely nodding "Very well. I will trust you with this." His eyes narrow "Do not disappoint me."
The veteran guildsman offers a short bow before removing himself from the room.
Barely a moment later, Reyvin schools his expression and stands up, raising a toast to his people and trying to enjoy the feast. An act somewhat ruined by the inevitable worry he faced now that things were out of his grubby micro-managing hands.
A thing he knew to be necessary, yet was made no less frustrating by that fact.
---
(Reyvin's POV, hours later)
My hand moved with the utmost precision as I directed the enchanted brush across the equally ridiculous canvas, the little project I had been using to relax ever so slowly approaching completion, just as dawn too came closer.
At first the painting was meant to be just as any other I created, simple, amateurish work not fit to be displayed but merely serving as an outlet of a near-infinite stream of thoughts and feelings.
That turned out to be completely unfeasible ever since my ascension.
My mind was already far above that of a mortal before I ascended Red Mountain, and was utterly alien to what it was before by the time I descended... Which meant that no matter how hard I tried, simply painting something for the pleasure of it became an impossibility, as each image I put to canvas looked to be nearly alive, no details lost to memory and no minute mistakes escaping my eyes.
It was like I got hyper-OCD but with the ability to fix it.
And it was fucking annoying.
Which is why I decided that if I could not dumb my hobby down, I'd just make it infinitely more complex so as to serve the same purpose.
And thus I was led to this moment, before me a massive enchanted canvass alive with color, displaying a long moment of the Battle at Thorn Pass where the two armies first clashed... and then displaying all the rest of it.
It was like a stop-motion movie but infinitely more fluid and precise.
"Did I just animate a memory through sheer dumb perfectionism?" I pondered aloud.
Scorch materialized atop my shoulder and bobbed his head "Yup."
My mouth snapped close with a click "Huh."
"Kinda unfortunate it lacks sound tho." He points out.
I frown "I can just illusion that in there if I want to, making a movie wasn't the point."
"You should do it." Scorch keeps bobbing his head.
"And why is that?"
He gives me the driest look he could muster "Because movies are cool and you get to show off?"
'Very true' I frown "You may have a point."
"I always have a point bitch." He rolls his flaming eyes "You just refuse to see my magnificence without being a reticent little shit about it first."
"Uh huh." I nod mockingly "Grounded bird says what?"
"Don't you fucking da-"
And he is gone.
Just in time too, as by the time my feathery companion finished with his little tirade, dawn had nearly approached to its fullest extent and I had to teleport myself into my basement, the familial shrine within already bubbling with power at my approach.
Such was my connection to the patrons of the spirits connected to it that all it took was a mental nudge for a pathway to form, and for a pair of Dunmer ghosts to materialize before me.
And yet even after waiting a few seconds, Vyren and Elynea Dagoth say absolutely nothing.
"Really going to try and make this awkward for me, huh?" I mutter.
As if a switch had been flipped, my mother's gaze turns thunderous "Make it awkward for you?! Young man if I still had feet they'd be shoved so far up your arse you'd see them when you open your idiot mouth!"
"Ely, we talked about this" Vyren sighs.
"No." She snaps at him "I warned him to not take risks, and what does he do?! He forces us to watch as he takes on the entire curse of Morrowind on his own!"
I go to explain myself but she instantly snaps her eyes at me and shuts me up with a look of pure motherly fury.
"Lady Azura assured us he had her assistance." Vyren makes a heroic effort at ignoring her dread gaze of judgement "And as you said, she even let us watch!"
The moment he says the words he realizes he had spoken foolishly, and is promptly rewarded by a slap across his ghostly face "Yes! We had to watch the fool child detonate himself! Are you even hearing yourself right now?"
I clear my throat, and suppress the instinct to back away as her attention is once more on me "I understand you are angry, but if I were to go back in time I'd still do everything the same way. It was both the right choice for me and for the entirety of Morrowind, so don't try to convince me otherwise."
Elynea glares at me before looking away with what would no doubt be tears in her eyes if she were in possession of a body, all the while Vyren lays a reassuring hand on her shoulder while giving me a gaze of his utmost approval.
Seeing as his wife was too irritable to speak, he did so instead "While your mother may have a point-" He winces as she rounds on him "Know that we are both truly proud of what you have done. It takes more than courage to look at the suffering of an entire land and tell it to fuck off."
He doesn't even flinch as his wife stomps on his foot.
"Your child made Hortator" I grin "Of course you should be proud."
Elynea once more gives me a glare.
"Come now mother, no matter how much you pout at me, it will not change the life I've chosen to live."
She narrows her eyes but my expression remains firm, and for a whole minute we have our standoff before she finally gives in and rushes over to me, enveloping me in a motherly embrace.
Something Vyren drew immeasurable amusement from, and while he did give it a while longer he still wanted his curiosity satisfied "What did you do to Red Mountain exactly anyway?"
Patting Elynea's back a few times, I extracted myself by a step and proceeded to offer a general explanation of what I did to Morrowind itself "-and I of course used a bit of the power to myself."
"As one does." My father huffs.
Grinning widely I offer them both a theatrical bow "Reyvin Dagoth, first Elhnofey of the age, at your service."
They both stare at me for a long while before Elynea huffs out in both frustration and approval "Alright, I will admit. I can't even fault you for reaching for that at this point."
"Understatement of the era, my dear." Vyren chuckles.
"Even this dumbass profited." I snap my fingers and Scorch appears atop my hand.
He looks down at me with furious eyes "Fuck you pops!"
But is promptly interrupted as my mother grabs him with both hands and begins petting him in what is no doubt the most irritating manner possible, as only an Aren truly could "He is soo cute now!" She coos and begins tapping his head.
'Gooooood' I transfer to him my inner dark lord 'suffer for your sins birdbrain.'
His blazing eyes meet my own and his voice echoes through my mind 'You will pay for this traitor!'
'No, I think not.' I drawl back and turn back to my father who looked far too amused by what he was seeing to interrupt.
"While she is busy" Vyren does eventually speak up, giving the bird a quick look of pity "I see you've brought someone else with you."
"You mean this asshole?" I tap the lantern on my belt.
"Yes." Vyren frowns "Why let him live after what he tried doing to you?"
"His knowledge is useful." I shrug "And he is not stupid enough to push me too far in his current state."
He frowns and stares at the lantern "I had hoped we might settle our differences someday and somehow, but now all I feel is the desire to wipe him from existence to the fullest extent possible. He does not deserve second chances."
"And he will begiven none, I assure you." I raise my hands placatingly.
"See to it that it remains so." He narrows his eyes. His expression softens as he shakes his head and offers a light smirk "And Reyvin. I understand why you didn't summon me when you were facing the Hist. But if you don't throw me at a few Thalmor when the time comes, I will be furious."
"Going to pout at me vigorously, old man?" I grin and he scoffs "Don't worry, I will let you drag a few Altmer to the afterlife, you can be sure of it."
"Done patting yourselves on the back?" Elynea cuts into the conversation, Scorch gripped securely in her hands and looking utterly miserable.
""No."" We both answer at the same time.
"You can do that when I am not here." She sniffs "But on to things I actually do approve of" My mother suddenly speaks up with an imperious voice "What is this about a wedding I am hearing? You wouldn't be trying to hide it, would you?"
Oh boy.
---
'The fucking Hist did less to fuck with me.' I grumble internally as I turn to leave the basement.
'You get what you fucking deserve!' My familiar grumbles back.
I summon him just to punt him against a wall, drawing an enraged squawk.
A silent moment passes before we both begin chuckling at the whole situation.
"Oi, pops." Scorch called out as the familial ritual ended, drawing my curious gaze "Why not paint the whole Sovengarde debacle? Would be pretty funny to see the reactions."
I was instantly taken by the thought and before long my face was twisting into an eager grin.
Now that sounded like a fair bit of fun indeed.
Comments
Hakkira
Thank you kindly for the chapter 😁
StarlightGhoul
Thanks for the chapter!
