age C

           (4E-201 3rd of Morning Star)

     Immediately after releasing Serana, Galeron had made a trip with her to Castle Volkihar to place a portal and to test her loyalty, which she passed with flying colors. She had, without questioning his motives or sources, infiltrated the castle through the balcony on its south eastern side, opened the portal to the Soul Cairn, and snatched a few Gargoyles for him. He was quite pleased when she returned and also displayed her Vampire Lord transformation without showing any aggression. 

     Her continued demonstrations of her dedication to repaying him properly were most welcome but, it was during the few months preceding Serana's release, that he had worked on and completed the creation of not only his three new Orbicals but also the reshaping of Atronachs and the creation of energy mounts, like the Psijic Horse. These, of course, were the tools that had been instrumental in his outstanding performance in Dimcrypt Hollow. 

     The reshaping of Atronachs had been something that he knew was possible but was made not only far easier but also more versatile by his latest breakthroughs. It only took him a little over a week to flesh out the concepts and actualization of the process, even if he ended up setting it aside due to its low priority.

     He had much grander ideas for potential Atronach varieties but in the meantime he had decided to do two more weeks of practice in smithing and then finally finished the creation of his three new Orbicals. 

     Because he had his Dremoras roaming about the countryside murdalizing bandits, Forsworn, Hagraven covens, and even the occasional merchant caravan, Fort Doomguard's vaults, cupboards, and climate controlled cellars were growing fatter by the day, thus making plenty of materials available for his practice and research.

     Galeron had decided that three Orbicals would be the preferred number to take into battle, although only two would be actively wielded as weapons. The third would be maintained in a stationary position just behind his neck by a levitation spell he had altered specifically for that task.

     The third Orbical was enchanted with a variety of detection spells as well as a few retaliatory offensive spells that would activate upon certain conditions being observed by the detection spells. The other two Orbicals were a single target design and an area of effect design respectively. Each were improved versions of his first Orbical not only because of his advancement in the Enchantment field but also because of each one having specialized effects, allowing the respective enchantments to operate more efficiently.

     These two factors alongside the drastic increase in his number of assimilated runes, especially the enchantment runes, allowed him to create far more complex arrays of enchantments that worked together for an enhanced synchronous effect. 

     In addition to his three Orbicals, he also constructed a staff that was one part magicka storage staff and one one part ameliorating staff. It held a large amount of his Induction Mist as well as several enchantments to help dominate the spirits of the unwilling.

     This staff was made from Glass or Malachite and four fused and transmuted Black Soul Gems. The Malachite, of course, formed the shaft as well as four bladed prongs that protruded from one end. The shaft also had, worked into it, a decorative filigree made from a gold and corundum alloy. The dark semi transparent crystal capable of containing the Induction Mist, transmuted from the four Black Soul Gems, was placed in the center of the four bladed prongs. Each of the four prongs came together at their respective tips and locked the spherical crystal firmly in place, while offering it some minor protection at equidistant sections around the sphere.

     For his standard battle attire and everyday wear, he created a set of Super Saiyan 4 style black pants and crimson waist wraps from Frostbite Spider Silk to go with and bloused into his blackened leather boots, which were inlaid and reinforced with Elven Steel. Galeron had taken to calling any forged compound metals as a type of Steel.

     He made no shirt or chest piece, only blackened leather bracers also inlaid and reinforced with Elven Steel. He didn't bother crafting any headgear and simply embedded emeralds into the eye, nose, and mouth areas of the mask of Morokei and then inlaid the other defining lines of the mask with a gold and Elven Steel alloy.

     Additionally he wore a gold chain necklace attached to a small Daedric Steel skull with emeralds in its eye sockets. This piece he had enchanted separately with a variety of detection spells to keep himself protected from sneak thieves and sneak murderers like himself.

     To finish everything off properly he crafted a Malachite ring embedded with a ruby skull and then enchanted all this gear with the same level of magicka regeneration as the mask of Morokei.

     Given his lack of skill in any kind of tailoring or leatherworking, he had needed to rely mostly on his Telekinesis and Mysticism in general to craft these. Even so, he'd only attempted this crafting after a thorough and meticulous deconstruction and analysis of similar pieces.

     As for armor, he'd constructed a set of particularly thick and heavy Daedric plate armor to act as a kind of training suit. This he would be wearing pretty much constantly, while studying and training within Fort Doomguard. He would only don his battle garments when leaving the Fort or perhaps in the event of an invasion.

     With all of these tasks completed, Galeron could finally get to work on his final personal training project before the long awaited return of the dragons. 

     He had been aware for some time now that the soul was the source of an individual's magic and that a greater understanding of the soul led to a naturally deeper understanding of magic. Thus, he set himself to the task of studying the soul itself and documenting its interactions to various stimulants. Shortly after beginning his new studies, Venerus had summoned him to Dimcrypt Hollow but, once he had cleaned up there, he made a hasty return and eagerly resumed his training.

     This study of the soul had kept him occupied for quite some time, until one day Morila walked through the portal from Morrowind and alerted him to the fortuitous opportunity that he had been awaiting.

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          (4E-201 7th of Morning Star)

     Four days after Morila had alerted him  to the opportunity that she had been assigned to look out for, she and Galeron stood invisibly upon a rocky outcropping bordering a southward traveling road out of Blacklight. They were about forty miles away from Blacklight and a particular Dunmer, a so-called Ancestor Mage by the name of Casimar Zirfar, would be crossing the road in front of them any minute now.

     He was a well respected mage who dealt almost exclusively with the construction and maintenance of various altars and centers of ancestor worship. He could be hired by Dunmer nobility to provide extensive structures and enchantments to ease the communication between the living and the dead. Conversely, he also provided some services completely free of charge but these were mostly as a service to Tribunal projects like the city of Necrom and tutelage of the masses.

     This particular Ancestor Mage was on a particularly long journey across Morrowind's interior all the way to Necrom and would sail back to Blacklight from there. Although, if Galeron had his way this mage would be taking a fairly extensive detour before even making it to the first town.

     The two of them watched intently, as the procession of thirty Dunmer soldiers marched in front of, beside, and behind a modest yet obviously expensive carriage.

     Seeing the procession almost in position, Galeron opened a rather large portal, from which marched his new and improved Dremora Squad. Twenty one in total! Five teams of five Dremora Caitiffs (Bow and dagger wielding Assassins), each squad led by a Dremora Kynval (Offensive Mages wielding two handed swords). These five leaders in turn were led by a single Dremora Kynreeve (Support Mage wielding a staff).

     His entire squad came through with weapons at the ready and immediately released a volley of arrows and magic onto the incoming procession.

     The first volley caught their victims completely off guard and the second was already on its way by the time the Dunmer could rally themselves. As soon as the second volley was fired, the entire squad left the outcropping and rushed the broken procession.

     Although they had lost six men in the first volley and two more in the second, the soldiers stood their ground and braced to receive their attackers. The mage units surrounding the carriage hastily put up shields around it and themselves, while sparing a buff or attack when they could.

     The Dremora were ruthless and the Assassins continued raining down less accurate fire as they swiftly closed the distance. The Kynreeve stopped just behind the Kynvals who also stopped just outside the range of the battle. The Dremora Caitiffs clashed full force with infantry and cavalry alike disregarding their own safety just to ensure a kill, while the Dremora Kynvals and the Kynreeve slung offensive and support spells into the fray.

     The numbers would've only slightly been in the Dunmer's favor had Galeron and Morila not been present. As it was, the battle was bloody but short. As soon as Morila began running around the outside of the battlefield taking potshots at the Dunmer and Galeron sent his Orbicals forth charged with lightning to smash their heads, the now desperate and disoriented Dunmer began dropping like flies.

     Soon only the mages were left but they also were swiftly defeated and it was at the time of their total defeat that Galeron approached the carriage.

     Using his Mysticism, he opened the carriage door, flooded the inside with Paralyzing Magicka, and levitated the three occupants outside.

     After receiving confirmation from Morila as to which Dunmer was Casimar, he then performed the standard Crying Corpse ritual on him and used his Induction Mist on not only his two companions but also the entire thirty man troop, their Guar mounts included.

     The two other carriage occupants were given a number of Teleportation Artifacts and were instructed to use them at any time that the Ancestor Mage was expected to enter a town or was otherwise expected to be seen. Galeron would then send him back to perform his duties.

     Until then, however, the Ancestor Mage would be staying at Fort Doomguard spilling all the Dunmer's juicy little secrets.

     Laughing quite heartily at the ease with which he had procured his final pre-Dovahkin piece, Galeron stepped through his portal back home, following right behind Morila and his Dremora.

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          (4E-201 24th of Rain's Hand)

     Galeron's life in this new and very real Elder Scrolls Universe had already been pretty good. There may have been things that could've made his time here more pleasant but not everything was about seeking the most pleasant outcomes and there were plenty of aspects of his life that could've been much worse. He had plenty of pet peeves that he would silently but routinely complain about to himself but, ultimately, he wasn't at all dissatisfied with his new life. If anything he was tremendously grateful for having been given this opportunity.

     Of course, being more or less satisfied with his situation didn't mean Galeron would stop pushing forward or stop trying to make his life better. In fact, the addition of Serana to his number of subordinates had made his life here orders of magnitude more pleasurable. This wasn't just because he wore her out every night and had her give him a kick start every morning but mostly because he finally had someone to replace Morila as his kind of personal secretary/butler/estate manager/maid/cook/errand girl/intermediary. Suffice it to say, he was keeping Serana on her toes… and on her knees… and on her back.

     Cicero was all tied up with managing the brotherhood, Venerus was out setting up portals around Cyrodiil now that all of the Skyrim portals were taken care of, and Morila was setting up portals around Morrowind now that Casimar had been brought under his control. Because all of his most competent undead were always on missions away from the Fort it was hard to get and keep the place organized or to improve the place. 

     With Serana around, not only was Fort Doomguard finally receiving the care and attention it deserved, Galeron was able to quickly get a grasp of all of his holdings, subordinates statuses and activities, current events, and other logistical aspects of his growing area of influence, all with minimal distraction from his study and training.

     Not only did Serana's bedside presence make his Fort feel more like a home, all of the varied and numerous tasks she carried out for him, in and around the Fort, made his organization feel more like an Organization. Thus, he decided it was time to give this Organization a name, despite it still being in its infancy.

     The name he settled on actually had the same acronym as The Elder Scrolls, TES. Galeron concluded that 'The Eldritch Society' was a fitting name and even established a possibly temporary and simple coat of arms. A simple skull wreathed in thorny vines and sat upon a throne was the society's symbol, which he had carved into the Fort just above the main entrance and just below an engraved banner carrying the society's name.

     With an organization that was feeling far more complete and competent every day, Galeron's mind was able to fully relax and focus on his study at hand. Casimar would spend most of the day with him, watching over his experiments and giving him hints and advice where he could. Studying the spirit magic of the Dunmer had been a huge boon in his attempt to come up with a strategy to thwart Alduin's schemes.

     At this time in Galeron's studies, he had learned a great deal from Casimar and that learning had led to several breakthroughs. Not only had he advanced his knowledge of the soul a great deal but his magicka reserves had once again received another substantial boost simply as a result of his enlightenment. On top of this, he had completed several spells that may not defeat Alduin but, ultimately, would make all of his efforts in vain.

     The only thing preventing him from putting these spells in place were the lack of qualified manpower and the massive scale on which they had to be deployed. 

     In between his Dremora team out conquering criminals and ne'er-do-wells and his own adventures through some of Skyrim's most decorated crypts, he had Inducted nearly three hundred Crying Corpse level undead, not counting his immediate circle of ritual made Crying Corpses.

     He calculated that this should be enough to erect a soul barrier around Helgen in about three days tops but ultimately he would need a soul barrier around the entire region of Skyrim if he wanted to fully minimize the damage created by Alduin.

     The purpose of the soul barrier, being mostly self explanatory, would prevent any and all souls within them from ever floating away to Sovngarde. As long as the soul barrier is maintained, the souls within will remain bound to the physical geography covered by the barrier.

     Due to the Dunmer's knowledge of Waiting Doors, Galeron was able to work out a method of providing a corridor from the external spirit barriers to his own realm in Planal Canyon, as he had renamed DaySpring Canyon. Using the power of the Eye of Magnus, he had already added the functions of the spirit barriers to his realm's pre-existing barriers. Once the one around Helgen was constructed, he would only need to establish one of his modified Waiting Doors and the souls trapped in Helgen could then be shuttled into Planal Canyon for his experimenting pleasure.

     The only problem remaining, being that all his three hundred undead would need to be capable of creating the proper enchantments. Thus, he summoned all three hundred into a large auditorium within Fort Doomguard and placed Casimar in front of them as their teacher.

     They wouldn't need to be experts, they would only need a basic understanding and proficiency in applying the basics, since all they would be doing is copying enchantments given to them letter for letter, shape for shape.

     Once all of his three hundred undead were suitably trained, he would immediately send them all out during the night to start surrounding Helgen with the appropriate enchantments. With at least Helgen being covered, he would have effectively given himself extra time to get the other cities covered, until he could come up with a reasonable solution to the region wide barrier.

     Although he could simply use the Eye of Magnus, he was worried not only about losing the Staff of Magnus but also about becoming too dependent on the Eye to get things done for him. 

     He didn't know the exact conditions that would cause the Staff of Magnus to mysteriously disappear from its handler's stewardship but he knew that the staff just up and deciding to fuck off was a real thing. As such, he didn't wish to over use it lest it decide that he had had enough fun and just spatial skipped town.

     On the other hand, Galeron had plenty of time during his seventeen years on Nirn to decide what exactly he wanted to do with his new magical life. His conclusion: Daedric Prineship… Princedom… or whatever. He would use a unique combination of CHIM, mantelling, and the Psijic Endeavor to achieve what no other mortal had ever dreamed of, not even Mannimarco!

     He would strive to transform his existence into that of the Daedric Prince of Undeath!

     While there were other Daedric Princes whose domains were adjacent to the undead and necromancy, none of them had this as their primary domain nor were there any undead species that recognized any prince as such. The only undead capable of Daedra worship were vampires and the ones who worshipped Molag Bal only did so because he created Vampires.

     Not to mention, that like most other princes, he wouldn't have only one domain and there were plenty of sub domains he could adopt. However, in order to undertake such a dramatic and unthinkable transformation, he would, at some point, have to cast aside any and all forms of outside assistance. In order to truly take on the mantella of the Daedric Prince of Undeath, he would have to emulate the other Daedric Princes to a fault in their general mannerisms and he would need to eat, sleep, and breath his primary domains. He was even certain that actually becoming an undead himself would be necessary, in order to possess immortality similar to a Daedric Prince. 

     Once he undertook his path to princehood, he would need to be indistinguishable from other princes in his demeanor and he still had quite a ways to go before being ready for that undertaking. Until then, the last thing he wanted to happen was to have the Eye become a crutch for him. He would only use it in circumstances where he would be dealing with something he knew to be completely beyond his capabilities.

     At some point, once he was ready, he would probably use the Eye and the staff together for a whole series of terrific feats before sealing them away somewhere but, until then, he would only use them sparingly and do his best to get by with his own power.