Meme Announcements!
Oct. 29th, 2011 12:36 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
skyrimkinkmemeANNOUNCEMENTS: UPDATED 12/16/2017
Happy Holidays, fellow Kinkmemers! I have returned and have no reasonable excuse for my absence except LIFE. I will be working on updating the archives. If anyone sees anything amiss, please let me know.
I am also hoping to find another Mod and an Archivist.
The more dedicated people we have in this Meme the less chance of it dying. I admit that being the sole keeper of the Meme is not great for the fandom. If something were to happen to me, for good, this place would go the way of the Fallout Kink Meme. Let's not let that happen! If anyone would be interested in Modding/Archiving, please drop me a line. Thanks! <3
Re: The Wolf Queen Awakens 24.5
Date: 2014-03-12 09:40 pm (UTC)Frankly no, but if they were that good, Adelaisa would rather work with them than against them.
“Where are they?” she sighed.
The captain had stepped aside to reveal a mid-sized force of about fifty young-ish Bretons, one heavily-armoured Orc, a red-haired Imperial man in black and red tight-fitting leather gear, and at their head, a silver-haired man talking to Eola. All the Bretons were dressed from top to toe in heavy fur outfits that covered virtually all their skin, decorated with sabre-cat teeth, bones that weren't all animal bones either, and most had warpaint on their faces. Adelaisa began to wonder where on earth Delphine had found them from. They didn't look like mercenaries.
As if on cue, Delphine materialised at her elbow, smiling brightly.
“Well, here they are,” she said cheerfully. “Your special forces as promised, including a very competent battlemage. Come and meet him.”
Adelaisa wasn't sure she wanted to do any such thing, particularly not when she got closer to see a too-cheerful smile, piercing ice-blue eyes and the realisation the man was standing on a fire rune. She hadn't even known that was possible without getting killed.
“Adelaisa, this is Medane Dareche, the battlemage I was telling you about. Medane, this is Adelaisa Vendicci. She's in charge of the East Empire's shipping operations. We'll be working with her throughout this job.”
“It's a pleasure,” Medane purred, and Adelaisa had never met anyone quite this predatory in her life. She was tempted to call the whole thing off, but if General Tullius had sanctioned it, she supposed the man must be at least somewhat trustworthy. “I trust Delphine told you of our price for our... assistance?”
“She did,” Adelaisa said stiffly. “This operation you're planning. I trust you won't be harming innocent civilians?”
“Of course not,” Medane said, and Adelaisa wasn't sure she believed him in the slightest, but if it meant an end to the war and the East Empire's trade flowing again, she supposed she'd have to go along with it. “But perhaps Windhelm docks isn't the best place to talk about this?”
He was right about that at least.
“No, I suppose not, let's get under – why is there a goat wandering around the deck?”
Delphine's eyes had widened a bit and all the Breton warriors had instinctively reached for their blades.
“Lucky mascot,” Medane said calmly. “My people are very superstitious, you see. Many of them have never seen the sea before and were nervous about travelling by boat. The goat's essential.”
Adelaisa was very sure this wasn't the whole story but even more sure the truth was worse.
“Let's just get this operation under way,” she sighed.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sure enough, as they reached Japhet's Folly, the mist descended, veiling the East Empire fleet and reducing visibility to nil. All the sailors, mostly Nords and Redguards who as cultures did not do well with the occult, were starting to fret, and some claimed they could see monsters in the mist. Adelaisa had no choice but to order everyone to weigh anchor.
“Well?” she snapped at Medane and Delphine. “This is clearly no natural mist. Can you do something about it?”
Delphine glanced at Medane who just nodded.
“Leave it to me. He's strong, but he's probably their only mage, and this isn't actually a very tough illusion spell. We can break it, no trouble.” He turned around and it was only then Adelaisa saw one of the Breton women painting a five-pointed star in a circle on the rear deck of the ship, and one of the men setting up some soul gems in holders where the points met the circle. Someone else had the goat nearby, stroking its fur and cooing over it, and Adelaisa had a horrible feeling that the goat was not intended as a mascot.
Re: The Wolf Queen Awakens 24.6
Date: 2014-03-12 09:41 pm (UTC)“What are they doing,” Adelaisa whispered, transfixed.
“Don't look,” said Delphine gently, taking her by the arm as several Bretons and the Orc formed a line between the ritual site and the rest of the ship, glaring at anyone who came too close. “Just let them get on with it.”
“Are they... dark mages,” Adelaisa said, fingering her sword-hilt. “By the Eight, do I have blood mages and necromancers on board??”
“They're on your side,” Delphine said firmly, turning her away to face the prow of the ship. “Let them get on with it.”
Adelaisa closed her eyes and tried to shut it all out, including the masculine grunts of pain as Eola drew a knife against Medane's flesh, leaving several shallow but wide cuts in his arms, legs and torso, each one immediately covered by the hand of another Breton who'd just slashed their palm open.
“Blood of our blood, our power to yours,” Eola intoned, raising hands covered in her father's blood to the sky.
“Blood of my blood, your power to mine,” Medane called back, eyes shut tight as he slipped into a trance. “Kin of my kin, your king needs your strength.”
“Kin of our kin, our strength is yours,” the various Bretons touching him called back as their hands started to glow and Medane's whole body lit up as an ancient rite that allowed a leader to draw on the magicka of his people was invoked.
“Dread Father, Dread Father, bring the Void unto me, for the sins of the unworthy must be baptised in blood and fear,” Medane intoned and that did get Adelaisa's attention.
“WHAT are they doing??” Adelaisa cried, turning around just in time to see someone bringing the goat to Medane, who raised a soul-snaring dagger and, eyes aglow with strange magic, sliced the dagger across the beast's throat. The soul trap flared and Medane raised the soul gem to the sky, hands covered in blood.
“Dread Father, I give you Haldyn,” Medane called out. “Take this soul as payment and open the Void, fill his vision with darkness and his future with death!”
Black lightning struck from the sky, hitting the soul gem and in a flash of pure darkness, it vanished. Medane collapsed back into Eola's arms, the others all letting him go and healing their palms while some Breton observers rallied round their leader with healing magic, potions and a clean set of clothes.
Somewhere in the distance, horrifying screaming started up, and the mists began to clear, Japhet's Folly appearing in the distance.
“What just happened?” Adelaisa whispered, fighting the urge to be sick. All her crew were whimpering in fear, soldiers and sailors alike, none a stranger to combat, but few had ever seen anything like that. “What did he do?”
The Bretons hadn't batted an eyelid, just clearing up shattered soul gems, hauling the goat's body overboard and starting to scrub the star pattern away.
“He just opened the Void and called power from it to attack Haldyn for us,” Delphine explained. “I didn't get all the details, but apparently if a mage is casting in your vicinity and you have more magicka than them, you can establish a connection with them while they open up their power to cast, except the ritual's very draining, requires a blood sacrifice and a soul as offering, and any halfway sensible enemy mage who sees you doing it will interrupt. But if someone is spreading their magic over a wide area like our friend Haldyn was, you've got ample time to perform a rite before he realises what you're doing, and if you know how to pool your magicka with several willing volunteers who are also skilled mages, you're laughing. Well, poor Medane isn't right now, but I'm assured he did it once before and survived. Although that was over thirty years ago... I should probably check on him.”
Re: The Wolf Queen Awakens 24.7
Date: 2014-03-12 09:43 pm (UTC)~~~~~~~~~~~~
In the end, the operation went better than anyone could have hoped. Eola, Sapphire and that strange, giggling red-head called Cicero, had disembarked first, skipping over the ice floes and sneaking in via the side entrance to cause chaos from inside, while the bombardment had started from the sea, assisted with Destruction magic from the Bretons that hadn't been taking part in blasphemous and heretical blood magic rituals.
Medane was wrapped in furs, drinking liberally from potion vials and looking a bit pale but otherwise none the worse for his exertions.
“Dare I ask who you really are?” Adelaisa said, staring down at him.
“Best not to,” Medane grinned, coughing and reaching for a mug of some hot steaming liquid. “Classified information and all that. Just suffice it to say that if you pick up my people and supplies from Ravenscar Hollow and bring them safely to Windhelm, I'll consider this debt paid. Don't worry, we won't perform any more blood magic on your ships. Not unless Ulfric hires himself some battlemages and I don't think it's terribly likely.”
Adelaisa hoped not. After this, she was beginning to realise why people had a problem with mages. Her fears were not assuaged when her men found Haldyn, out of his mind, babbling incoherently and ripping his own flesh apart, convinced there were monsters in his skin. Then that odd jester had slit the man's throat, smile never leaving his face, and at that point, hardened ex-Legion men had turned and fled the scene.
But the Blood Horkers had been wiped out and that was something, and Adelaisa could live with that at least. Mostly she was just worried for the city of Windhelm. Something worse than the Thalmor or dragons was coming for them.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Thank the Aedra there were six of them. Thank the Aedra two of them were skilled healers. Thank everyone that none of them had been hurt, not too badly anyway. The same could not be said of the expedition that had preceded them – a trail of bodies and journals telling of screams in the night and disappearing comrades told its own story. Then there were the Falmer.
Elisif had never come across the Falmer before, although she'd heard stories. The reality was worse. Evil, blind, pale travesties of elves that leapt out of the darkness with viciously sharp weapons coated in poison, and their Chaurus pets that scuttled out of nowhere spitting poison, or flew at them, sharp claws tearing at faces. It was a good thing Aranea was a good shot with her fireballs really. As it is, they all took injuries and Vilkas and Farkas in particular had a few new scars to show for it. Neither seemed to care.
“Pain fades. Glory lasts forever,” Vilkas shrugged. “It'll make for a good story.”
“Plus everyone digs scars,” Farkas said, nodding. “Men. Women. Elves. Khajiit. Everyone. They'll keep me in mead and bedmates for years.”
Ria giggled, Vilkas shook his head in exasperation, Aranea just smiled and Erandur acted as if he'd heard nothing. Elisif could feel herself blushing, but pulled herself together. She was a grown woman, for Aedra's sake, and a married – married once anyway – one at that. Farkas was perfectly entitled to go out and enjoy himself if he liked.
“Come on, let's move on before we run into any more of them,” Elisif said.
The ruin seemed to go on for miles, finally coming to what looked like the end with a Dwemer Centurion guarding the way and then the last two members of the doomed expedition who, clearly having gone mad from this place, turned on them too. Elisif could barely look at the bodies after, leaving the two Dunmer to give last rites.
Re: The Wolf Queen Awakens 24.8
Date: 2014-03-12 09:45 pm (UTC)“I will be,” Elisif sighed. “I just... really really hate this place and we're not even at Blackreach yet.” She pulled out the little round tuning sphere. “Wonder what we're supposed to do with this.”
As one, Farkas and Vilkas clapped their hands to their ears.
“Gods, what is that thing?” Vilkas snapped.
“It really hurts,” Farkas cried, not quite whining but the nearest a six foot three Nord man ever came to it.
“But it's not doing anything,” Elisif said, confused. “Apart from vibrating a little.”
“Are you joking, it's a non-stop high-pitched whine!” Vilkas said, still clutching his ears. “Gods sake, woman, put it away!”
“Dwemer music is soft and subtle and needed to open their cleverest gates,” Aranea said thoughtfully. “It wasn't doing that to you two in the inn, so maybe the gate's nearby. There, what's that console?”
The high-pitched whine seemed to intensify as Elisif approached it, judging by the way the twins were hunching up in pain, and she could feel the sphere vibrating even harder. There was a hole exactly the right size to fit the sphere into and as she did so, both twins sagged in relief... and the whole thing started to sink into the floor, turning into a set of stairs that led to a previously hidden set of doors.
“Do you think that's it?” Ria whispered. “The entrance to Blackreach?”
There was only one way to find out.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Blackreach turned out to be absolutely stunning. Sparkling glowing stones in the vast overhead roof that reminded Elisif of the sky. Soft mist rising off the rivers. Exquisitely crafted Dwemer buildings rising out of the silty black earth. Glowing fungi towering above them.
It was a sight to be seen. It was huge too. Elisif wasn't even sure how many Solitudes you could get in this cavern but it was vast. You could live down here, you could have a whole hidden city down here, safe from the enemies above. There was just one downside.
It was also full of Falmer.
“I really really hate the Falmer,” Elisif said through gritted teeth. “I've never met a race with so little to redeem them.”
“They were elves once,” Aranea said solemnly. “They had a prosperous civilisation once, above the ground. Until your people invaded, drove them below ground to the Dwemer, who betrayed them, blinded them and turned them into monsters.”
When you put it like that... Not for the first time, Elisif felt a bit uneasy about her people. Brave, honourable warriors, and for the most part Elisif did think most Nords were essentially good people... but all those great victories meant someone else had lost. It bothered Elisif. Yes, Skyrim was the Nords' ancestral home and Atmora had become unlivable, but couldn't they have come to some arrangement with the elves? Did they have to wipe them out?
Elisif didn't know, and it was too late now. All the same, she felt sorry for the Falmer. Didn't stop her running them through, of course, but deep inside, she made herself a promise that once she was queen in truth, she'd never declare war lightly.
Finally they found the Tower of Mzark, and made themselves at home. Elisif didn't know how far they'd walked or what time it was but she was exhausted, they all were. So rest and sleep and eat, and then time to find the Elder Scroll.
There were buttons. There was cursing. There was a lot of button-pressing and darting around and tears and frustration... but in the end, it worked and the contraption opened up to reveal what they'd come for.
“It's gorgeous,” Ria gasped as Elisif cradled the Elder Scroll in her arms. “I never thought I'd ever see one!”
“Gonna read it?” Farkas asked, curious. “What's it say?”
“Not a good idea,” Erandur warned her. “They say reading them sends you blind.”
Given that she'd have to read the thing at the time wound, that wasn't promising. But Elisif packed it away. She'd cross that bridge when she got there.
Re: The Wolf Queen Awakens 24.9
Date: 2014-03-12 09:46 pm (UTC)“Whiterun!” Ria cried, homesickness finally kicking in. It had been weeks since she'd last been there after all. “We can go home!”
“That we can,” Vilkas said, finally smiling in the sunlight as he put an arm round Ria, who for once didn't seem to mind.
“Well, Elisif, what do you think? The majority vote seems to be in favour of Jorrvaskr,” Erandur said. “I know you're heading that way anyway.”
Elisif could really do with a bath, a good meal, some mead and a warm bed, it had to be said. Even though Whiterun really wasn't safe... but she had five friends with her, if she didn't leave Jorrvaskr during her stay, she'd be safe, right? As long as she kept a low profile.
“All right,” she said. “Jorrvaskr it is.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A/N: Next chapter, Elisif returns to civilisation to find her Blades have been busy, and that someone has been interfering yet again. And then it's time to face Alduin.