A Garden of Souls - Prologue

• Posted by Daedric Priest June 2, 2015 - 1,147 views

  
  ---Sun's Dawn, 7th, 4E 201---

  
  The night seemed forlorn. The menacing rain added to the ominous ambiance the Sea of Ghosts conveyed. The Nirnroot's hum gave out a soothing melody to the rhythm of waves splashing merrily against the shore. On the edge of land, stood the Solitude Lighthouse facing the sea, like a gateway between the realms of land and water.
       Inside, Ma'zaka lay in his bed satisfied, listening to the soft knocks made by the rain drops. Just a few hours back, he had been at the docks sending off his friends. Friends. Visitors. Rare blessings for Ma'zaka. The past two days had been good to him. He had been at an emotional high, reminiscing, drinking, laughing with his comrades of past. Most of them had moved on to be traders and merchants, still the binding sailor blood ran deep in them.
       A small tear rolled down his cheeks and onto the pillow, as he turned to his side, closing his eyes. This one needs rest. No ships passing today.
  
  The atmosphere outside was interrupted by a tiny ball of blue light, that materialized in thin air less than ten feet of the lighthouse. As the ball found shape, it started to grow, fading in a crisp crackling sound, that gradually engulfed all noise in it's spread.
       The sound jolted Ma'zaka out of his bed. Lightning. he thought, hoping to calm himself, laying down again. Slowly the ball grew into a rotating spiral, it's crackle turning abruptly into a shriek. That is NOT lightning. For a second, Ma'zaka's body refused to move. The shrieking noise ripped through his ears and thrust back his lethargic mind into reality.
       Gulping down the rising fear in his throat, he got up & headed unwillingly for the door, hand over his pounding chest. Taking a deep breath, he slowly opened the door, dagger in the other hand, and peeked out.
  
       What he saw he couldn't believe.

       Facing him was a glowing blue spiral, rotating, hovering a couple of feet over the ground, reaching upto half of the lighthouse. By the Twin Moons! A magical energy radiated from it's girth, painting the near ground with a greenish hue. But what caught Ma'zaka's eye was not the hypnotic aura surrounding his vision, but the blackhole in the spiral's center, growing steadily, like a void threatening to eclipse the light around it.  
       Just as his mind started to register the strange sight, a man jumped out of the void almost like he was pushed out. Ma'zaka's body leapt back on it's own, his trembling hands dropped the dagger as he saw the man find his footing. Terror gripped like frostbite. With no effort, he slammed shut the door & locked himself in. As if on cue, the shrieking stopped abruptly and the giant spiral curled in into a ball, before vanishing behind the man.
  
  Ma'zaka stood stiff, clinging to the door. A man? No, some kind of Daedra. No. Dragons in human form? A ghost of the sea?. His brain tried to keep up with his racing imagination.The Moons forsake Ma'zaka. Is this all a dream? I need clarity. Blocking out all thought, almost teleporting to the fireplace, he grabbed the bottle of skooma & gulped down a few, intending to find his sanity. Aahh!! The poison rushed through his body like a healing spell, loosening the grip of fear. Steadily, his heart stopped pounding. Letting out a heavy sigh, once again he sped towards the door, glued his ears to the wood and listened.  
  
  Solitude. Recognized the man, his searching eyes meeting the foreboding silhouette of the Blue Palace as it rose in the distance, veiled by the blanket of rain. 
       Then, it struck him. How in Oblivion am I still standing? What illusion is this?. As if answering his question, a sudden jolt of pain thrust up inside his stomach, bringing him to his knees. He yelled in agony, but felt himself choked to silence, like an invisible gag around the neck. Blood spurted out as vomit. The ground unusually felt light beneath his feet, ready to crack open. The raindrops on his back changed to piercing arrowtips.The howl of the chilling wind bled his ears.

       It had been decades since he set foot on Nirn, at least as a whole.

       That does it!! Mustering what remained of his ravaged will, he got down on the ground and dragged himself towards the lighthouse, his feet shivering without mercy. Why didn't they just kill me, he winced as the water touched his pale chest like a chaurus sting.
       As a favor, his vision caught the inviting dagger outside the door. Satisfied, he frantically inched towards the dagger, just as perception began to blur. Yes, take me! A wave of seething pain surged through his head. His soul, his half soul, could no longer take the punishment. Under the rain he lay motionless, unconscious.
  
  As the night passed on, the aftermath of skooma gently crept inside Ma'zaka's essence. He could hear nothing behind the rain outside, save the occasional thunderhit. No movement, no voices, nothing he desired.  Helplessness gave way to hope. Someone at the docks must have seen it! Yes! They'll come looking. Ma'zaka will be rescued. Slowly, he sat down against the door, his weary eyes begging to be closed. Khajit must stay awake! He fought. Worn out in body and soul, his senses finally gave in. Feeling his tight muscles yield, numb to the surroundings, he slowly drifted off into sleep.

  
  Somewhere, in a warmer part of Skyrim, a Nord woman shot out of her bedroll, woken by a strange crackling noise.

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