Blackreach Experiments - Part 7 - Reforged

You can find part 6 here: http://www.loverslab.com/blog/148/entry-614-the-blackreach-experiments-part-6/

Deep under Skyrim, stood a long abandoned Dwemer facility. The place was old even before the Dwemer had disappeared.

Celes body dumped into the old chamber from the waterfall and came to rest against a board. She had been carried through several miles of underground waterfalls and passageways before finally coming to a stop.

She crawled out of the water, every inch she moved was a struggle.

“By the nine I am freezing! It can’t be just the room. It must be that spell that hit me.”

She managed to pull part of her gear out of the water. It was the only piece that survived the long journey down.

“Damnit! It’s completely broken. I won’t be able to fix this.”

In truth, she didn’t know how to do more than routine maintenance on it.

She made her way through the chamber slowly. Her body was getting colder by the minute and every muscle was on fire. She came to a doorway. It was obvious that someone had been here to make the tunnel but it must have been a very long time ago.

Celes made her way up a set of stairs and what she saw floored her.

Behind the barrier was a very large, strange machine. She pressed a button and found herself on the other side, inside the room.

She made her way to the center of the room. Her strength nearly gone and the magical cold setting in. Around the room, centurions moved about but paid her no attention at all. She felt her head droop and eyes close.

She jolted awake and noticed a small shimmering portal. “Had that been there before?” She gathered all the energy she could and crawled to it.

She pulled herself to her feet and marveled at the energies before her. She knew she would die here, but of all places to die, this wouldn’t be so bad.

Then a voice came from the energy.

“Child, the world is out of balance. The magic used to maim you is unnatural. Even now it is slowly killing you. You have a choice. You can die here or step into the light and be reforged.”

“Reforged?” Celes limped over to the bottom of the stairs. “What do you mean?” There was no reply. “I’m not going out like this.”

She crawled up the stairs. Her strength was failing. She couldn’t feel her body any longer. The cold had crept in completely and her vision was fading.

Somehow, she managed to pull herself into the light. The energies tugged and ripped at her. She felt herself slide into darkness. Somehow, this light reminded her about a time as a kid, playing in a field with her parents. “If this is what it’s like to die, then it’s not so bad. She closed her eyes to let death take her but it never did. She started to hear strange sounds, almost like voices. They were coming from all around her. The voices were that of the constructs. She could somehow hear the Dwemer technology communicating with each other. She felt the life coming back to her body. The deathly chill of the ice magic was gone.

She stood up and looked in awe at her own body.

“So this is what reformed meant? I could get used to this.”

The everywhere voice spoke again. “Child, you have survived reformation. It is time you learn of this place and your role here before you go back out into the world.”

“So, you’re the one who saved me. I owe it to…. whatever you are to learn what I can. Where do we start?”

****** Somewhere between this world and the next ******

Arissa stepped through the portal arch and found herself in the home of her Master.

“It is done master. Celes fell to her death and I am one step closer to your goal. They’ll never see it coming.”