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Machinations of a lich - Chapter 1 Maera Skana lost her sense of time as she wandered the soul cairn, not knowing if she was here for hours, days or even years. Her thirst was unrelenting and took its toll on her mind as well. She didn't even know anymore what she was searching for but she couldn't stop, it was driving her. Sometimes she tried to interact with one of the few souls she met in the desolate landscape, but the souls didn't even took notice of her, she could reach right through them, to no avail or any reaction from them. She stopped feeling disappointment and frustration a while ago, she just kept wandering. No thoughts inhabited her mind, except for the urge the quench the thirst that kept tormenting her, quietly but unyielding. Occasionally she walked past a structure with a large skeletal being standing infront of it. At first she tried to to avoid being noticed by it. But at least once, she mindlessly wandered near it. The large skeletal being just vanished when she came close, telling her it isn't time yet. It could have been a hallucination, Skana didn't know what it was and she didn't care nor did she think about it. After a while she shambled back to the place she deemed to be her resting place, a rib cage which must've belonged to a mammoth once. After she closed her eyes, she could hear a female voice laughing, calling out to her. Propably another nightmare, which she had very often lately. The voice didn't stop calling out to her in a cynical tone. Skana noticed she wasn't sleeping yet, this was no dream. She almost fell over her own feet as she stood up, intending to investigate where it came from. And then she saw it. A woman standing in one of the structures of the soul cairn. Standing there casually, gesturing for her to come over. The thirst in Skana took over, never having fed since she became a vampire turned her feral and this woman over there looked very much alive to serve her needs. Skana began to walk towards her in a hunched manner, like a wild and rabid snow troll. "Oh, you poor poor little bloodsucker." Said the woman in a cynical fashion. The words alone were enough to deepen Skanas feral state. Skana wanted to call out for her, to taunt her, to kill her. All that escaped her lips was a deep growl as she went faster towards the woman, ready to pounce at her and pin her down, to rip her throat apart and sink her fangs into it, savoring the sweet salvation flowing from it. But nothing what the vampire had pictured in Skanas mind did happen, the woman was suddenly standing behind her, mocking her, denying her the feast she had hoped for so long. "You must be so weak, you can barely stand." The woman said. Eyeing Skana as she felt weakness overcoming her body. "You see, my last ...plaything broke. I have waited for something new for so long." Skana growled as she went down on her knees in exhaustion. The short run took a greater toll as her body had expected. "Oh the fun i could have with a vampire.." The woman dreamily said to herself. There was something in the air suddenly. Something heavy, as if electricy was accumulating to form a single giant lightning strike. The roll of thunder could be heard, coming closer very fast. And then reality tore itself apart. A single enourmous lightning strike came down behind the unknown woman. Skanas head began to spin from the thundering sound, this wasn't part of the strange weather in the soul cairn. The woman turned around directly facing the lightning strike, yelling "Oh no, not you. Can't a girl have some fun?" in a agressive tone. As the thunderous explosion cleared, the shape of a man could be seen in it. Skanas feral mind got awkwardly reminded of a auroran she has met a long time ago. But this man was different, he was practically emanating magicka and something dark, like the opposite of Auronus' aura. It felt good. "This girl went through enough hardships the last three years. And the last person to have fun with me around, is you. Maera." The man replied sternly. Maera played a surprised gesture and continued in her cynical tone. "Oho, the high and mighty risen lord himself comes down to the cairn to deprive me of my pet. To what do i owe this honor, Skaal?". She dropped the surprised face in the same sentence "Are you tired of your little vampire whore? Do you want a new one? Is it that?" in a cold tone and kept going. "Oh i have an idea." Maera knelt down and spoke to Skana. "Do you see that man? He has all you need, all the blood you can drink, go get it!". Skana regained enough strength to stand again and she immediately charged Skaal in her bloodlust, growling like an animal. "She is all yours!" Maera remarked snidely. Skaal just said."I belive it is better for your health when you stay down for now." to Skana as she charged him. There was magic behind those words, they were enough to make Skana drop down in exhaustion again. Skaal now, speaking to Maera again, his voice changed as he did, it became deeper with strangely short echoes accompanying it and part of his skin seemed to fade away when he raised his hand. "The bargain has been concluded without you Maera, you didn't attent to the meetings and yet you claim ownership of the girl." Maera became snappy. "Oh come on, fancy bones. Just because you retrieved the Dawnbreaker for Bal. I could've done that as well. We're both part of the Coldharbour council and you already have your vampire toy. Let me have mine. Why don't you go and kiss Uthrangs bony ass after you have licked your whore into the next coffin?" Skaal became angry and began to turn even more skeletal. "You don't attent to meetings yet you claim ownership of a sentient being with a soul, one i deem kin. You break the rules of the bargain by coming here in an attempt to steal what isn't yours. And above all else, you have insulted my queen, we're done talking." Maera apparently had her fun provoking Skaal. "Yada yada my queen." she mocked him. "Someone with your power bows to a queen, how ridiculous. And you bear the title of risen lord, i can see why Uthrang covets it. I would like it as well but you see, risen lady sounds just plain stupid." Skaal was now completely skeletal in appearance, this disturbed Maera slightly. "Hey you don't intent to attack me?! We're both members of the council, that's against the rules!" Skana was still lying on the ground next to Skaal, she couldn't move but she felt electricity building up in the surroundings. Skaal just laughed with his deep echoing voice. "Rules that apply in Coldharbour, this isn't Coldharbour. And you're the last person to lecture me on rules. And to further add to this, a king bows only to his queen." Electricity was crackling everywhere and Skaal who was done with words ultimately, unleashed his spell against Maera. Maera went down on her knees in laughter. "A lightning storm spell? Is that all? That barely tickled me!" Her face spoke otherwise. "This isn't over Skaal, i will have my new plaything and neither you nor Uthrang will stop me from getting it." With those words Maera escaped into a portal. Skana didn't understand anything from what was going on, but at least it made the cogwheels in her mind spin again, albeit slowly. She tried to get up but Skaal wouldn't let her. "No, you should rest, i will take you to the castle and we will see what sanity is left in your mind." Skana fell into a magical induced sleep. Skana noticed someone near her, watching her as she slept. Her eyes were heavy and she needed a moment to collect what was left of her mind. A young girlish voice talked to itself."I never thought i'd see a feral up close." Skana immediately opened her eyes, someone was infront of her. Someone with warm fresh blood pulsing in his or her veins. Someone she could sink her fangs into. The girl spoke to her directly now. "Hello? Do you understand me?" and came a bit closer. Skana realized she was in a cage, again. This made her angry and she snarled at the girl after she got up, realizing she couldn't reach her prey. The feast once again denied. The girl was shocked and jumped onto her feet. "Hey don't try to scare me like that!" After a short pause and apparently remembering something the girl yelled into the rest of the castle. "Mistress! The feral is awake!". A few minutes and footsteps sounding through the halls later, Skaal and a woman Skana didn't knew were standing together with the young vampire girl infront of her cage. Skaal opened the conversation, talking to the woman."What do you think? I sense a sliver of sanity left in her, but she needs blood." Skana just sat there staring through the girl, fighting a battle with her own mind, trying to suppress the bloodthirst that keeps raging in her. The woman examined Skana with glowing eyes and replied "She's fighting her urge to try to rip the cage door apart and get onto Ronaras neck right here and she's doing really good at it. Because else i would have decapitated her by now. That's what i think." with a annoyed tone to her voice. Skaal shook his head. "Skaadi, I went through the coloured rooms to get the dawnbreaker in exchange for her, that was the bargain with Bal, whoever brings him the Dawnbreaker gets to keep the girl. I expected him to turn her, it's his nature but if this was all for naught i'd be slightly annoyed. Even more, if we just throw her out in this state, Uthrang or Maera will get her and that's the last thing i wish to happen. You know how far Uthrangs delusions go when it comes down to gain power and i had an run in with Maera in the cairn already." Skaadi was even more annoyed when Skaal mentioned Maera. "Maera propably ran away as usual, i will savor the day i have her head on a plate in the dining hall." She grudingly told Ronara."Get that useless dawnguard thrall here, i think we might have a possibility here to get rid of that filth." The short vampire girl left the room immediately. Skaadi remarked the collar on Skanas neck. "Looks familiar, but i guess you can't take yours off. This could be fun. We will keep her." Ronara came a few moments later back into the room with a enthralled human. "Here's the dawnguard thrall, mistress." Skaadi drew her nodachi and spoke "Good, Skaal you open the door." now to Skana directly. "And you, one wrong move and i'll cut you in half, you should understand the gesture of a drawn weapon even in your current state. You can have that thrall there, nothing else." Skana was hesitating at first, the enchantment of that sword was reminding her of something she once had in the past, but after letting out an acknowledging snarl she stepped out of the cage. She grabbed the man and sank her fangs into his neck. Voracious draining him of his blood. Her bloodlust intensified every second she drank from the thralls veins. She could barely control herself. When the thrall collapsed dead, she wasn't satisfied, her bloodlust took over and she began to rip pieces out of the dead mans body with her claws and devoured the flesh. Skaadi had sheathed her nodachi again and watched the show, commenting gleeful. "Oh this almost makes me hungry. Watching the first time is always fun and we all know what happens in a few seconds, right?" Skanas mind lept back into reality and her bloodlust subsided. She found herself eating the flesh of a dead man and savoring the taste of it. As she realized this her body began to reject the dead mans flesh and she vomited it on the floor. Skaadi almost cheerfully commented."And there we have it, this happens if your bloodlust takes over, damned messy!" Skana couldn't remember when she felt that good, but she began to remember what has happened to her. "What did i just?..., this wasn't a dream? What in oblivion has Molag Bal done?!" She heard Skaal speaking to her from behind her. "Calm yourself. You might don't see it that way, but Molag Bal actually did you a favor by.... turning you into a vampire. Your servitude as reanimated corpse has ended. The only persons left on Nirn that can command you are me and my wife here, Skaadi. I'm sorry but that was part of the bargain with Molag Bal, your bindings are still unremoveable i'm afraid. My wife will propably exploit this and play a bit around but she won't do you any harm. As for me, i don't intent to use any daedric commands on you, i didn't struck the bargain to have a slave, i wanted to see a kinswoman free. All sentient undead beings are kin to me and i dislike it when they are treatened like garbage." After a short pause he added." Please forgive my manners, my name is Skaal, you might have also heard others speaking of me as the Risen Lord, I'm what scholars call a lich" Skaadi played the annoyed wife at Skaals comment. "Oh come on husband, where would i exploit something so delicious as that? How about i exploit you on the stretching rack instead?" Skana was surprised. "Husband? Wife? You two are... ?" Skaal answered Skanas question. "For 102 years and counting." But directed the spoken word towards his wife again. "Remember what happened last time when we did it on the rack? It broke, half of the room was in pieces and the courtyard was devastated as well. Garan was bickering for weeks how the courtyard he rebuild for the hundredth time was destroyed again." Skana asked herself if she understood what the two were talking about but decided to introduce herself as well. "My name is Skana." But Skaadi and Skaal were already somewhere else in their mind it seemed. Skaal remarked casually. "We get some visitors tomorrow evening, you should rest Skana, let the blood do its work. I have to discuss something with my wife so Ronara will see you to your accommodations. Welcome to Castle Volkihar." Skana barely suppressed the urge to laugh. She thought a bit about where she got into now, it was a lot better than what happened to her before as dead thrall. "I'm not really used to have something like an own room actually." Ronara told her." Well then get used to it, or sleep on the ground, nobody here really cares about it that deep, it's not the Blue Palace of Solitude. Now follow me." while she turned around and left the room. Skana followed Ronara into a large room quite to her surprise. "I actually expected the broom closet." She joked. Ronara commented very dry on it though and came out with a whole lecture. "You could also go back into the cage if you like, you'll even get the key to it. Basically do what you want, except a few things, don't overfeed on the thralls, you will have to learn how to control your thirst but that's for another day. Don't feed at all on Nei, that's the mistress personal thrall, if you want one, get out there and make one for yourself. And lastly, don't touch Ruin." Skana just asked. "Ruin?" "That's the mistress' sword. I'm not sure why she gave a name to it, something about akaviri swordmanship i believe. But since you're wearing that collar i think she wouldn't let you anyway." Ronara replied. Skana felt awkward at getting reminded of that thing around her neck."Thank you for reminding me of it." but asked. "Say, when Skaal said his wife would exploit it to uhm.., play with me, what exactly did he mean?" Ronara corrected her. "That's Lord Skaal for you. As for what Mistress Skaadi would do, i don't know, she's very dominant to say the least, she despises weakness and likes carnage, but since the Lord said she wouldn't do you any harm i think it would come down to some sort of amusement for her. Maybe you have to lick her boots or something else.. i don't know. But don't get your hopes up if you're into women, she won't do anything like that with you, the Lord and the Mistress are both loyal to each other." Skana joked sarcastically. "Too bad, i was looking forward to getting whipped to the heights of arousal." As they both stood infront of a large bed in the room, Skana was surprised. "A bed? I thought vampires use coffins." Ronara just remarked on what Skana said before. "Oh if you want to get whipped you just need to ask, way i heard it the former Lord of the castle liked it to relax, but i'm not into women so don't ask me and the bed is actually a remnant of a moth priest who once erm.. lived here. If you prefer a coffin, those are downstairs." The girl baffled Skana with her blunt honesty and directness so she decided to ask. "How old are you? And how on Nirn can someone find it relaxing to get whipped?!" Ronara looked surprised for a moment but then she brightened up. "I'm 22, or at least i got turned when i was 22, i'm 46 years old now, young even for vampire standards. And you must be even younger, you should know, most vampires handle things like pain a bit different than mortal folks. Something to get the mind off of the thirst sometimes, i for example can only relax when the Mistress scratches my back, gets a bit bloody sometimes though. It's more or less natural for vampires, you'll find that out soon with yourself i'd wager. Now if you excuse me, i'm tired and i want to sleep, it's almost dawn." With those words Ronara went to leave the room. Skana understood now why Skaal said the courtyard got destroyed when he and his wife had some fun there. She leaned on the balcony in the room and threw a question after Ronara as she was about to leave. "Is it bad? Being a vampire i mean?" "I enjoy every minute of it." Ronara closed and left the room. Skana was alone in the room, standing infront of the Bed and spoke to herself. "Never liked beds, I wish they had some furs here to sleep on the ground. I guess either i'm barbaric or just too used to it." She chuckled to herself."Screw this, old habits die hard." And she laid down on the ground infront of the end of the bed. She instantly felt tired and thought a bit about what it means to be a vampire and what Ronara has told her, about what the next night brings and for some reason she missed her palefire greatsword. It was the only thing that was ever really hers in her time of servitude. She fell into a dreamless sleep, like well-fed vampires like to do at dawn.