C:4 ...farewell and new beginning

Chapter 4: ...farewell and new beginning

-

Pov: Cinis

When I step out of the portal, I first look around. I'm standing on the edge of the clearing where the house I live in is. Mom (Nocturnal) and Azura are waiting for me and I smile sadly at them.

"How is William?" I ask uncertainty and hope that there is good news.

"He died. We offered to heal him, but he didn't want to. The poison was mixed with powdered black soul stones and first destroyed his body and then damaged his soul. He knew about the consequential damage and was not ready to live with them." Mom (Nocturnal) responds sympathetically and hugs me.

"Where is he?" I ask with tears in my eyes and while holding Mom (Nocturnal). Azura squeezes my shoulder lightly and looks at the house I've called home for so long. The two lead me to the entrance and then stop.

When I walk in it doesn't feel like home that I left only a few hours ago. There is no warmth and the feeling of security that I have got used to. Even the houseplants seem to wither where they were so full of life before.

William's body lies on the couch in the entrance hall. He looks like he's sleeping. I don't see any sign of the poison or the damage it did. He looks friendlier than in all the years I've lived here and also more relaxed.

I look at him and I remember the time I spent here. All the hours he cursed and tried to teach me etiquette. Or when he wanted to teach me elemental magic and I first set fire to the room and then froze it.

Or the one time I experimented in the alchemy lab and caused an explosion. It was more noise than damage, but it also turned the whole room green.

Tears are streaming down my face and it is difficult for me to breathe. How could I not cry when the only father figure in my two lives was murdered. I get on my knees in front of the couch and lower my head.

"Thanks for everything, Dad." I whisper softly and wipe the tears from my eyes. I don't know how long I've been sitting there, but at some point someone knocks on the door frame and Nocturnal shouts worriedly "Are you okay?"

"No. Nothing is right now." I answer irritably and get up. I go up the stairs and into my room. I pack everything that is important to me. Fortunately, my shoulder bag is enchanted. It has about 7x7x7m space inside.

After my room I go through the laboratory and the library and collect all the alchemical ingredients and rare books I can find. I leave the tools for alchemy alone because William gave me a set of my own a few years ago. His words at the time were, I quote, "If you have to experiment, you will ruin your own flasks and mortars." Hard but fair.

I have never set foot in his room before and when I open the door I see a slightly crumpled picture of a family on the desk. I step in and carefully pick up the picture.

William, a young-looking woman and a girl about 8 years old can be seen on it. He has his arm around the woman's shoulder while she hugs him. The girl, on the other hand, is holding a book and smiling happily. In the background you can see a garden with trees and a small pond. The atmosphere is relaxed and peaceful.

The picture is worn and has water marks on it as if someone was holding it while crying. I put it back gently and quietly leave the room. Before I close the door, I briefly look back at the picture. Only this one picture explains to me why William was ready to die.

After I have finished my round through the house I take a container full of fire salt (alchemical ingredients, highly flammable) and scatter it on the floor. I've always been a fan of cremation and the house would otherwise only crumble and serve as a dwelling for the lesser daedra.

Both William and I would rather burn it down ourselves than allow something like this to happen.

As I leave the house, both Mom (Nocturnal) and Azura are watching me with concern. "Are you sure you want to do this?" Mom (Nocturnal) asks, holding my shoulder while she looks at me with a raised eyebrow.

"It was his home. I was just his student and then not even one he chose himself." I answer quietly. To this day I don't know what he thought of me and now I will probably never know.

I raise my hand and hold the inner surface up. I conjure up a small flame that spreads tons of sparks. When I move my hand, the sparks fly towards the house like fireflies and swarm around it.

After just a few seconds, smoke rises and flames lick the wood. After just a few minutes, the house is gone in the fire and looks more like a huge campfire.

The shadowy figure of William suddenly forms out of the smoke and sparks and he looks at me gently. "In life I never had the opportunity to tell you how proud I was of you. And now it's actually too late. * Dry laugh *. I hope that despite my death you will not stop learning or looking for adventure. I wish good luck to you, no matter what you plan to do in the future. " After these words of parting, the figure crumbles.

I have now fallen to my knees and tears flow from my eyes like waterfalls. Mom (Nocturnal) holds me in a hug while Azura watches the fire curiously.

After a while the fire goes out and at the place where the house stood there is now a 15m high, black obelisk surrounded by ash. On the obelisk it is written in glowing red Daedric runes, "Thank you for everything, William. You were like a father to me."

A gold-red flame hovers above the obelisk and illuminates the clearing in a calm, warm light.

Mom (Nocturnal) gently pulls me to my feet and leads me to a portal (vortex of shadows) that she has created next to us.

Azura, on the other hand, watched the pillar and flame with a gentle look and whispered something softly. Whatever she said, only the wind heard her.

------------------------------

It's been a few months since Williams died and I've lived in Mom's (Nocturnal) castle ever since. Most of the time I spend studying the 'Infinium Magica' or doing alchemical experiments.

Yesterday Namira came by and told me that I will soon be able to create my own level in the Oblivion (realm of oblivion). I think my aunts want to get me out of my everyday life.

Fortunately, I know exactly what my layer should look like.

-------------------------------

It's been a quiet week so far, at least until now. Mephala just kidnapped me. She burst into my room, lifted me out of bed, threw me over her shoulder and then just went into the courtyard.

The Daedra just watched us in amusement and one of them fell down laughing. Mom (Nocturnal) is standing on a balcony on the third floor and waving goodbye with a grin. Fortunately, Mephala gently sets me down in the courtyard and rolls her shoulder back and forth.

My reaction to this little betrayal is a cold and annoyed look to everyone present. I'm tempted to raise my middle finger and point it around, but I'm unsure if the Daedra knows what that means.

"Cinis, stop looking for holes in the air and go through the portal." Says Mephala finally and gently pushes me into a prepared portal. It looks like a standard Portal (vortex of flames) but as I step through it feels like I have stepped into a huge spider web.

When I step out of the Portal, I am standing on an island made of black stone. I look around and everything looks bleak. As far as I can see, there is only a limitless, red sky and rocks flying around at random. No life, no clouds or even the light source are visible. Not even wind blows through this almost empty dimension.

Mephala appears behind me and clears her throat loudly. I turn to her and smile slightly. She smiles back and then gives me a blue teardrop-shaped crystal.

"Clavicus Vile, Namira, Azura, I and your mother (Nocturnal) have prepared a present for you. When you have finished creating your plane, break the crystal and imagine what the daedra that will serve you should look like. At least a few thousand of them will then appear in the desired form. The summoned Daedra have agreed to the whole thing in the hope of a fresh start under a younger prince. " She says and while I put the crystal in my pocket, she starts to stroke my hair.

When she still doesn't stop to tousle my hair after a while, I take a step back and look at her in annoyance while I fix my hair. There is an expression of amusement and a touch of concern on her face.

"You can visit me anytime and talk to me." She says suddenly and smiles uncertainty. Her hands close and open like she doesn't know what to do with them.

"I have to go now. Clavicus Vile, Nocturnal and I have a project on Summerset (home island of the High Elves) and I don't want either of them to change our plans because I'm not there to stop them." She says exasperated and puts her hands up in frustration. Then she turns around and goes through the portal, which then closes with a * whoosh *.

I look at the now empty place where the portal was just floating and then take a deep breath. I close my eyes and relax. I focus on spreading my domain (magica and spheres) like tentacles through the dimension and bringing it under control.

After a period of time unknown to me, I take control. The sky shines in purple-red light and a solar eclipse appears. Even the two moons and brightly shining stars and nebulae can be seen in the sky. Clouds of ash and sand are forming and the island below me begins to grow to the size of Pangea (the ancient continent).

Small flying islands circle the continent. It looks like a broken world under a black sun. A scorching wind blows through the void, carrying ash and sand between the islands.

Wandering ash storms sweep between the islands and red lightning and flames can be seen in them. Where the lightning strikes, tree-like fulgurites are formed, which are made of black ash glass.

The ash glass is harder than ebony when it is refined and has other special properties that make it perfect for creating magical artifacts and jewelry. In this state, however, they are unstable and break down to dust after a few hours.

The surface of the continent and that of the islands is relatively flat and buried under ash and sand. At my will, mountains, cliffs, gorges, valleys, open land and huge pillars are formed. They all consist of black, hot rock or are covered with glowing ash.

Ore veins, crystal veins, caves, caverns, underground rivers and tunnel systems are formed in the continent and the flying islands. On a few of the smaller islands, small oases protected by cliffs with clear water and plants that I created especially for my level are formed. A small, green paradise in a burning world.

Mushrooms, ferns and other cave plants appear in the tunnels under the islands and the continent. Plants form even in the caverns and rivers. And while I'm at it, I create a few fish, insects, small lizards and mammals that can survive both above and below the desert.

On the other hand, on the continent and the islands, grasses and desert flowers are formed that have adapted to the environment. For example, a small flower that lives in symbiosis with a special grass in the middle of the desert.

The grass is gray-green and the edges of the stalks are razor sharp, while the flower has bright green leaves and the flower is fiery red. The grass is highly poisonous, while the flower's petals are hot as fire.

If you process the petals of the flower into tea and then drink it, you get visions with which you can observe the past. You can watch what happened in the past for hours if you are ready to endure the side effects. In the best case, that would be a fever and in the worst case, death from spontaneous combustion.

If you smoke it, it is much more harmless in comparison. Because when you exhale the smoke, life-like images of those that you have lost are formed in it, even if you have forgotten how they look. However, it works in a similar way to the 'Mirror of Erised'. One constantly runs the risk of losing oneself in memories of the past.

I call the flower 'Flore Memorias' (Latin for 'Flower of Memories') and I laugh at the play on words.

At my will, dozens of gigantic ruins of temples and tombs arise, cities partly buried in ashes and labyrinths dug into mountains. There are even a few dungeons and they are all full of monsters, traps and treasure.

They are also all so enchanted that any damage will be repaired and the monsters and treasures will reappear after a while. The monsters that survive long enough form a consciousness and can then do what they want. The treasures are absolutely random and can range from an enchanted sword to an old sock.

In the mountains and deserts, monsters appear like Atronaches made of ashes. Huge crabs with volcanoes on their backs and hundreds of meters long, highly aggressive sandworms with teeth. Little wyvers and giant leviathans fly around in the sky, always on the lookout for prey. And that's just the tip of the iceberg.

I enchant the desert in such a way that anyone with a weak will is drawn into a vision. In the vision the person then meets the spirits of those he has lost and if he cannot say goodbye, he does not wake up.

When I'm done with that, I focus on the continent. In it I create veins of crystallized magica (similar to Lyrium) that run through the continent like a nervous system.

I hover a few hundred meters above the ground and the desert moves below me. Ash and sand pour on a nearby spot and slowly grow upward. They form a tower made of dark gray rock that is about 800m high and 220m wide at the bottom.

Large, purple-red glowing, magic circles are attached to the tower. The outside is smooth with some windows and balconies in the same architectural style as the 'Ivory tower' in Cyrodiil. A fully equipped library appears in the lower part of the tower and laboratories for magic and alchemy in the middle. In the upper part, however, the living area was created. It is warm and egyptian, with soft purple, white and red tones.

About 100m from the tower there is a 60m high and 35m thick wall made of black stone with the same magic circles as the tower.

Wide bridges grow between the wall and the tower while a garden with trees, bushes, meadows and ponds is created on the ground. Thick pillars support the bridges while spiral staircases lead up them to connect the two.

There are no gates in the wall but there are 13 large elevators on the outside. Countless stairs, corridors and small elevators can be seen on the inside.

Each of the outer elevators has 2 watchtowers next to it, these are another 10m high and have heavy, magical artillery attached to them. These look like small rail guns with shields attached to them on a rotating platform that can be aligned up to a firing angle of 120 °.

50m from the wall, a city of white-gray stone is formed, with systematic structure in the style of the Egyptians and buildings up to 3 storeys high. 25m high watchtowers grow out of the ground and connect with thin, handrailless bridges.

Across the city, aqueducts, small oases and streams form, all of which are surrounded by plants. Small parks and hanging gardens appear and a few fruit gardens emerge.

The city is divided into districts, such as the artisan, resident, magician, and merchant districts. The buildings are each constructed in such a way that they meet the special needs of their residents.

Broad platforms are formed at particularly large crossroads, in front of important buildings and at meeting places. Statues of mythical beings like the sphinx, the phoenix or giant snakes appear on them and watch the city vigilantly.

In the vicinity of one of the oases, a temple complex is formed which is divided into two parts. One for the Daedra and one for the Aedra. Although only Et'Ada are worshiped in the whole temple, one should not confuse the two factions because the ideology of the two are fundamentally different.

I'm also creating an arena on the outskirts of the commercial district for those who want to fight so they don't do it in the streets. It is oval and is 12m high and 50m long.

A wide, paved main street runs through the city and connects all districts with one another. From it 13 branches lead out of the city. One of these streets leads to a harbor-like facility with piers and warehouses.

A couple of dark brown sand sailing ships are moored at the landing stages. They are 30m long, 9m wide and 2.4m high. The hull is almost flat and tapers gently at the bow to glide over the ashes. Two dark purple, fin-like sails are attached to the front of the ship, which are controlled with ropes at the stern. The rear quarter of the ship is shaded by a bright red tarpaulin and a heavy, rotating, magical cannon is mounted at the end of the stern. Goods to be transported are stored in the ship or on the middle deck.

The streets are wide and lampposts are set up at regular intervals that cast a warm, orange-yellow light at night. When I'm done with the city, it is almost 2km in diameter and looks like a mandala-shaped, white-green desert city.

To protect the city from the ash storms, I erect a wall around it, made of dark gray stone, 35m high and 15m thick with enchantments that can project a magical shield over the city. On it are placed at a distance of 150m watchtowers armed with magical guns and 13 main gates that are evenly distributed over the wall.

These gates are equipped with heavy ash-glass gate leaves and portcullis. Each of these gates is also protected by two watchtowers on which several heavy, magical guns are mounted.

I appraise my work and am proud of how it looks. I call my city 'Spei Scintilla' (Latin for 'spark of hope') and the name is engraved in Daedric above the city gates.

This city will become the hub of magic, alchemy, and craft in the Oblivion. If only because it is the only city that was created with this goal in mind. * Low chuckle *

I reach into my shoulder bag and briefly look for the crystal that Mephala gave. I lift it towards the eclipse and it glistens in the purple-red light. It is hard to believe that this crystal will summon thousands of Daedra as soon as it is broken.

Every Daedra Lord has his own type of Daedra, which is also given its own name. I'll name my Dolorosa (Latin for 'mourners'). That fits perfectly with my domain (spheres) and the topic of my level.

Their shape is that of gray, 2.6 m tall people with sharp teeth and short, pointy ears. All Dolorosa will have a tattoo of fire, sparks and ashes on their body but the Daedra can decide for themselves where and how big.

They all have a second form in which their skills are enhanced. As with werewolves, their shape changes. Melee fighters and archers transform into a version of Anubis (jackal) or Sobek (crocodile) and magicians into Horus (falcon) or Bastet (cat). Particularly powerful Daedras, however, take the form of eight-foot-tall, winged sphinx with pale fur.

What is particularly important to me is the ability to adapt to the environment and to learn. That's why I'm creating a kind of connection that, similar to the 'Khala' from Starcraft, will connect me and all Dolorosa to one another. But only superficially to prevent the system from being used against us.

The 'Khala' works like a database that also allows you to use psy techniques. Usually spells like telekinesis or psychokinesis are extremely complicated and exhausting, but as a psyker (psy-energy user) it is as easy as breathing. The only limit there is then how strong your own will is.

Because I don't know what to call the system, I steal the name of the template and call it the 'Khala'. Fortunately, it's a purely spiritual connection and you don't need a protruding nerve cord to use it. But you have to be a Deadra or the whole wild psy-energy destroys the consciousness of the person who connects with the 'Khala'.

With these thoughts I break the crystal and watch the splinters turn to dust. With a loud thunder, hundreds of portals open around the city and thousands of daedra come out of them. They all look at me as I fly over them and they bow to me.

After bowing, their bodies begin to change. They grow and their skin turns gray. The robes and armor change to clothing more suitable for the desert, and their weapons take on an Egyptian style.

As the Khala connects with the Daedra, I can hear the superficial thoughts from them. The hopes and wishes. They all now know what I want to do with my city and are already planning among themselves who will play which role.

It only takes a few minutes for everyone to get used to the 'Khala' and stop sending their thoughts out. Now they start to transfer their knowledge to the 'Khala' or look for a home to live in. Clans and families have even formed that are beginning to share control over the districts.

These clans take on the duties of police and civil servants in their districts and have the task of keeping their territory calm and orderly. The Daedra who live in the tower form both a military who are responsible for protecting the walls as well as guards and librarians who will protect the tower itself.

But more than half of the Daedra want to lead a life as a scientist, alchemist, craftsman and trader. The inner part of the city is now mostly inhabited, and with a little time others will move too.

I make a few rules such as not slaving or experimenting with people without permission. I show the craftsmen what the style of the Egyptians looks like and instruct them to make their goods in the same style. At least visually, I don't care what material the craftsmen use or how they make it, but they have a guideline for appearance.

One of the female daedra attracts my attention. I use the 'Khala' and briefly listen to her superficial thoughts. She's young and Mom (Nocturnal) told her that if she can get my attention she can get a high position pretty easily. I say young, but she is several hundred years older than me. In addition, she is surprisingly powerful enough to take on the form of a sphinx as Dolorosa.

She has blue-gray skin and has painted dark blue clan symbols on it. Her long black hair is partially braided into small braids and the rest falls freely on her back. Her clothes are made of gray-brown, thin fabric that is fixed with belts and a silver chain with a small, enchanted amulet hanging around her neck.

I land in front of her and watch her with interest. She looks at me nervously and bows slightly. In the daedra's eyes, I am the embodiment of fire and ashes. Whatever is true, after all, these are my domains. But that doesn't mean that I like to be treated so submissively.

"Please relax a bit. I have no intention of harming you." I say in an amused voice and raise both arms to show her that I have no evil plans. She just nods and avoids looking me in the eye.

I roll my eyes annoyed and use the connection through the 'Khala' and explain to her telepathically that I am looking for a friend and not a bootlicker. Only then does she relax and smile at me cautiously. She takes a deep breath and seems to summon up all her courage.

"I'm Korra and your mother (Nocturnal) told me that you plan to travel through 'Nirn'. I hope that I can accompany you on this." She says quickly in a courtly choice of words and nervously shifts from one foot to the other.

I giggle softly and shake my head slightly. Through the 'Khala' I can hear in her mind how she hopes to become my deputy and maybe to travel with me every now and then. She has no ulterior motives or evil intentions against me or my city. Very sympathic.

I mean to follow her and approach four Dolorosa (Daedra). They are the heads of the clans who won the battle for control of the districts. They interrupt their conversation and bow slightly to me.

After a long discussion about which system of rule to use, we agree that the clans can compete with each other and that the Daedra working under me are treated as part of the ruling clan. Similar to the Vikings.

The clans can make their own rules as long as they follow my guidelines. How they deal with criminals is up to them.

I'm really tired now and just want to sleep. I have already introduced Korra as my deputy and then handed all of the work over to her.

I fly to the highest balcony of my tower and land on it. I open the balcony door and in front of me is a huge bedroom with a four-poster bed and silk curtains. Books are everywhere and artifacts are on display on the shelves against the walls. Small, gently orange-yellow, glowing lanterns and red-violet sheets of fabric hang from the ceiling.

I walk slowly towards the bed and sit down on it. I now have my own fully controlled plane in the Oblivion. But what do I call my level? Maybe I'll make it easy for myself and call the plain what it looks like, the broken desert? No, rather not.

'Adusta Mundi' (Latin for 'scorched world'). That sounds good. Yeah, I'll call my plane that. I nod slightly and announce the name through the 'Khala'.

Then my clothes crumble into smoke and I crawl under thin, silk-like blankets and close my eyes. Then sleep reaches for me.