Ugolin, puppet of the gods

• Posted by Paws March 29, 2013 - 1,256 views

  Ugolin closed the book, his fingers lingering for a moment on the embossed image on the cover. Oht, the letter was called in the daedric language and to Ugolin it looked like two curving tentacle-like appendages reaching down from a flat plane, forming a frame for a single eye-like orb. If shown to an average citizen of tamriel Ugolin was sure the symbol would evoke a superstitious fear, synonymous as it was with the Plane of Oblivion. To him however, it's meaning was more personal.

  

  Leaning back in the comfortable chair and sipping at the alto wine he'd left on its arm, Ugolin reflected on what he had just learned. The title of the book was The Doors of Oblivion which had been written by the apprentice of master wizard Morian Zenas. The tome described the arduous search and eventual discovery of a portal to the realm of the Daedric Princes, ending finally with Zenas losing himself among the endless stacks of Apocyrpha, realm of Hermaeous Mora.

  Although the tale of the quest for a portal was informative and increased Ugolin's understanding of how travelling between these worlds could be accomplished,  the subject of most poignency was the creeping madness which had eventually engulfed the mage. One of the few beings of this age to have perused the library of Apocyrpha in which all knowledge is housed, Ugolin was well acquainted with the desire to spend eternity unravelling the mysteries of the universe from the black books.

  Yet it was the recurring theme of madness that disturbed him. First there was Septimus Signus, then the madman in the wilds of Solstheim and now the tale of Morian Zenas. While Septimus' madness could be explained by his studies into the Elder Scrolls, Ugolin couldn't help but wonder how much of an influence Hermaeus Mora had been. In his final moments, was Septimus becoming less Mora's champion and more Sheogorath's property? Was that why the Prince had swept aside his faithful without a trace of remorse?

  The final words of Miraak - former Champion of Hermaeus Mora and Ugolin's predessessor -uttered while suspended from the floor by a fatally impaling tentacle were vividly recalled:

  "May he be rewarded for his service as I have." Ugolin hoped that malediction held no power but could not deny the evidence; old Mora was indeed a fickle master.

  

  Ugolin took another sip of wine,  gazed at the golden mask at rest upon the manequin's head on the other side of the sumptuously decorated room. He was struck by how similar the mask design was to images seen on Alduin's Wall in Sky Haven Temple. The akaviri had created a series of wavy lines emmanating from the mouths of the Tongues - masters of the Voice - to depict the use of the Thu'um. How much of an imprint had Miraak, as first Dragonborn and former Dragon Priest, been upon the akaviri artisans? At what point had he sworn himself to Mora, after or before the uniquely styled mask was fashioned? If so, the carvings depicted on Alduin's Wall had carried upon it's weathered surface the possibility of Daedric influence for millenia.

  Here lay root of the Ugolin's perplexity. He was Dragonborn, mortal man born with the soul of a dragon, divine gift to the world from Akatosh Dragon God of time. Of that there was no longer any doubt. Yet he had pledged loyalty to the Wretched Abyss Hermaeus Mora, Daedric Prince of knowledge and Fate and in exchange been granted power beyond  any but Akatosh had given. Yet he also knew that if not for Akatosh's gift, Mora wouldn't even have noticed him - was this further evidence that the Daedra can only change what the Aedra had already created?

  What was Mora's goal in collecting Dragonborn? Miraak may have been the first, Ugolin the last, but inbetween?  Mankar Camoran's Commentaries on the Mysterium Xarxes hinted of others, while the Mysterium Xarxes itself was written by  Xarxes; a servant of Mora who penned that terrible book with knowledge recieved from Mora's own artifact The Oghma Infinium.

  Torn between these two unknowable forces tied up with his destiny, Ugolin sometimes felt like a pawn in an epic, aeon spanning conflict.

  Was the price worth it?

  He considered as as he gazed around the room; rich, unmatched in power in Skyrim and perhaps even the continent,  his soul the plaything of ancient immortal entites.

  Ugolin wasn't certain.