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Okay, so this is a continuation of a Skyrim story set I did. Here's a LINK but it is in document form due to broken links. (link) Here is a summary: A New Beginning She remembered herself being ripped apart. An evil vicious woman clawing at the mechanical parts of her body, ripped and destroying her. She remembered begging for mercy that never came. Her head and the remnants of her destroyed body were tossed outside of the city like garbage. The blackness approached, she saw sky, as if she was being lifted into it. Celes slowly became aware of her surroundings. The fog hanging in the corners of her vision disipated. “Where...where am I? Arissa? Who....” The words escaped her mouth with a metallic undertone. A group of Institute scientists stood nearby, marveling at the complexity of the robotic head they had discovered. They were wildly speculating at it's origin. The head was badly damaged. They had already replaced most of the out metal parts and given the inner workings a temporary housing. “Could this be something of Zetan origin?” “Don't be ridiculous... it's well, it's not American or Chinese. Look at these letters. Looks like they were scratched with a claw.” One scientist held the bronze colored metal plating in front of Celes head and said, “What does this say?” The other scientists laughed, “Like it's actually able to understand you. We may have given it a data connection but it's just a head.” He was cut off in mid sentence when the head responded, “It's Nordic, from the province of Skyrim. It says, “She's closing in. I found a portal. Go, be free.” The scientists were astonished and all broke into discussions. Celes was saddened, Although the message meant nothing to the scientists, to her it meant her friend had sacrificed her life to send her through a portal to wherever this was. She remembered the men said something about a connection. She concentrated and could feel it. She reached out with her mind and saw a map of sorts. It was vast and highlighted a few points of interest for these “Institute” people. Over weeks and months, they modeled a human head for her. She gathered from the terminals that the Institute was on the verge of something but had hit a block. Over the next several months, she answered their questions while secretly looking through their data. Whatever “Phase 3” was, every department was gearing up for it. She slowly and carefully injected bits of code into their databases, being careful not to arouse suspicion. She had also convinced them to build her a new body. As she stared at her new hands, one thing was clear. This world was not home, but maybe she could make it a home.
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Tears of the Present - Chapter 3 (cont from The Blackreach Experiments)
xenic posted a blog entry in Xenic's Blog
Tears of the Present - Chapter 3 - The End? If you missed chapter 2, read that first, it’s over here: http://www.loverslab.com/blog/148/entry-709-tears-of-the-present-chapter-2-cont-from-the-blackreach-experiments/ “Time to settle up!” Arissa yelled. "Celes charged up a massive shock blast. “Oh this should be fun,” Kiva snickered. Magic and fire suddenly roared around Kiva! It absorbed the power of Celes shock attack. The sudden waves of heat caused Arissa to stumble backward. Kiva combined her power along with what she absorbed from Celes and sent the full force of it at Arissa. Arissa was caught completely off guard. The spell was so strong it lifted her off of her feet and threw her across the marsh. She landed in the distance. Her body was singed and smoking. She could feel the magic affect the dragonskin curse. It was if she could feel the scales snaking their way across her body. Kiva turned her attention to Celes but she was no longer there. “Oh no, you’re not running away now!” Kiva unleashed a blast of dark energy. It was a trick she learned while in the Soul Cairn. Celes screamed out as she was hit with a blast of near invisible force. It sent her flying through the air. She landed hard and felt something break. When she looked up, Kiva was standing over her with an ethereal sword. “No, please! Mercy” Celes screamed. Kiva smiled at her and raised the sword into the air. “Please! I’ll do anything you want! Hurgh!” Kiva stabbed her in the chest with the blade. A puddle of green fluid formed under Celes. Kiva ran back to solitude and brought a carriage back to transport Celes body to her lab. She loaded Celes into the back and stabbed her through her joints to prevent her from moving. With each stab, she could hear Celes groaning. Arissa woke up next to the water. She knew before she glanced at her refelction in the water that she was now completely a dragon. The curse had taken hold fully. She let out a scream of rage and sadness. It was late when Kiva arrived back at the Palace. A couple of guards took Celes body to the lab then went back to their duties. Kiva sat down in the High King’s throne. “Whew, busy day. Wouldn’t you say so?” Falk Firebeard, Elisif’s steward, crawled over to Kiva. “Yes My Lady, it is has been very busy.” “Faulk dear, did you do what I told you?” “Yes My Lady. I poured the barrels into the cities water like you said and I sent a courier to the dragonborn.” “Good job. Now go. Get out of my sight.” Kiva smiled and reflected on events earlier in the day. “It really required so little magic to bend him. The city was about as easy to sway. Several massive spell laced potions to make everyone adore her and the dragonborn was all it took.” Earlier in the month, she used her magic to manipulate the cook. Now he was dropping a special ingredient into the Jarl’s food with every meal. “She’s far too trusting,” Kiva thought. And the guards only required a small amount of magical prodding to start spreading rumors about Elisif being unfit to rule. Kiva headed home. As she left the palace, she could hear the Jarl screaming from the night terrors and waking nightmares she had planted in her mind. The next morning, she began her work on Celes. The first thing she did was remove the ornamental coverings from her body. Then she started taking her apart. Her body was completely inactive but she realized her mind was still there. She used a weak shock spell and Celes started begging weakly. “Please, put me back together… I beg you.” “Oh,” Kiva said, “Do you really want me to put you back together?” “Yes, please.” “Hmm, no I think not. Let’s see how much of you I can take apart before I found out how you work.” Celes ran out of power before she could say anything else. It didn’t take her long to find the soul gem containing Celes’s soul and figure out how the suit was enchanted to move. It gave her a great idea. She summoned the tailor and the blacksmith. They used parts of Celes’s body to make an outfit. As far as they knew, it was just a dwemer automaton. Kiva was admiring her new outfit with a look of disappointment. “It’s nice but not as formal as I’d hoped. Endarie, do you have something a bit more formal? Endaire went behind the counter and pulled out a beautiful orange and blue dress. “Here, try this on. I think you’ll like it.” Kiva made a few mock poses before responding. “I love it! Just what I need for tonight.” She paid Endarie and started to leave for the palace. “Kiva, what do you want me to to do with the left over parts?” “Just toss them out. They’re junk.” When she arrived, the dragonborn was already speaking to Faulk. “I had a crowd of people demand that I marry Elisif and become High King. They crowded me as I entered the city. Faulk, what is going on? “Elisif lost her mind awhile ago. Kiva and I have been running things for the last month. Elisif claims Lord Sheogorath comes into her bedroom at night but most of what she says in unintelligible, something about fishsticks and cheese. She’s also having night terrors. The screams have caused most of us to sleep away from the palace. “Dragonborn, no, forget titles. Asmund, will you marry Elisif? The people will stand behind you and you’ll be keeping the realm together.” “Please consider it. It’ll be good to have you around.” Asmund caught the look that Kiva gave him. After some thought, the he agreed. The wedding was thrown together. Normally it would be a regal affair, guests would be invited, preparations made but this was a special situation. That night, Kiva helped Asmund get settled in. “It’s strange,” he said. Kiva looked at him quizzically. “For years people just called me dragonborn. Now everyone is actually using my name again. It’s kind of refreshing.” Kiva stepped behind a curtain and came back out in lingerie. Asmund was shocked “Are you serious? Right here? In front of Elisif?” He pointed to his now wife who was sitting on the floor babbling. “Sure, you can have her every night or you can have me. Either way, you’re still High King and I don’t think she minds.” It was not a hard decision. He had no real love for Elisif and Kiva seemed to want him badly. Later the next day, a snow dragon flew in close to Solitude, scooped up Celes’s parts, and flew away before the guards could respond. The dragon was headed away from Skyrim as she spoke. “Celes, it’s Arissa, I don’t know if you can hear me but we’re leaving this place.” She swore she heard a sound come from Celes and it sounded happy. Several months later, the Jarls held the Moot and confirmed Asmund as High King. Shortly after the moot, Elisif was found dead. She had apparently died in her sleep. A service was held but very few people attended. She had lost the respect of the people due to her mad ramblings. As far as people were concerned, the real rulers were High King Asmund, formerly the Dragonborn and Kiva. -
Tears of the Present - Chapter 2 (cont from The Blackreach Experiments)
xenic posted a blog entry in Xenic's Blog
Tears of the Present - Chapter 2 - Settling Up if you missed chapter 1, here you go: http://www.loverslab.com/blog/148/entry-702-tears-of-the-present-chapter-1-cont-from-the-blackreach-experiments/ In the two years following Sybille’s death, Kiva was moved into the position of Court Wizard. Several mages tried for the position but they all met with mysterious deaths or suddenly changed their minds. Finding a dead mage in the streets was starting to be as common as tripping over a stone. She solidified her position by being one step ahead of her rivals. Her dark brotherhood contacts saw that no other mages were able to vie for her position. **** Down in Blackreach, in Celes’s lab **** The magical effect holding Celes and Arissa in stasis broke. Arissa found herself on her hands and knees coughing. She felt very different than she did when she went into the chamber. She quickly saw why. The dragonskin curse had consumed her entire body. She let out a scream and began sobbing. Behind her, she heard Celes’s tube deactivate. Arissa was shocked. Celes entire body was now mechanical! She was on her hands and knees coughing but her voice had a strange mechanical sound to it. Arissa remembered how she looked, “Celes, don’t panic but I changed.” Celes glanced at her own hands but was more shocked by Arissa’s extreme transformation. “How, what happened to us?” Celes leaned against the tube and tried to figure out what happened After several minutes, she got up but was rocked by a splitting headache. “Oh gods my head, it’s like I can hear every gear in me moving.” Arissa gave her some sympathy. “It’s okay, take your time but when you feel up to it, see what happened to us. The headache passed after a few minutes and Celes went to the control panel. Arissa couldn’t make heads or tails of what Celes was doing , it just seemed like random button presses. “Celes turned toward Arissa and with a grim tone said, “It looks like the magic that keep us asleep fueled your curse and powered my transformation. It only stopped because the soul gems powering the lab ran out of charge. “You mean…the transformations aren’t done?” Arissa was devastated. She dropped to her knees, shaking. Celes knelt down and tried to comfort her. “It’s okay, it would take an extremely strong magical charge for our transformations to get any worse. They sat and talked each other out of panicking over their altered bodies. They decided to find out who hired the assassin to kill Celes, then to see if a cure could be found for Arissa. Together they left Blackreach and headed for Whiterun. First stop was Belthor’s shop to see if he knew of any good leads. As they entered the shop, Belthor started to give his standard line, “Take a good look and…what in the nine Divines are you two?!” Arissa growled, “Like we haven’t heard that 100 times since the gate.” Celes chimed in, “Belethor, it’s me Celes. We were cursed, that’s the short version. We need to know who hired the assassin to kill me.” “Well, usually I charge for that kind of information, but…..give me the long version and I’ll tell you what I know.” They gave him the whole story. both of theirs'. “Alright, the girl’s name that hired the assassin is Kiva. She’s the court wizard of Solitude but you didn’t hear that from me.” They set out for Solitude, avoiding most of the roads. They lucked out and saw Kiva in the marsh, gathering reagents. She turned around as soon as they got close. “Alright, who’s following me!” she yelled. Arissa and Celes stepped into view. “Oh what a nice freak show. Is there a carnival in town? It’s so hard to keep up with these things.” “How dare you! You sent an assassin to kill me and Mani and now have the nerve to make jokes at my expense!” “Oh. You must be Celes. Looks like your dear automatons tried to fix you. Anyway, I hate to break it to you but the assassin was there to collect Mani, you were just in the way.” “Oh that’s it! I’m going to make you pay!” Celes built up all the power she could muster and it lit the area around her as if it were daytime. “Time to settle up!” “Oh this should be fun,” Kiva snickered. -
The Blackreach Experiments Part 14 - Full Set If you missed Part 13: Here ya go: http://www.loverslab.com/blog/148/entry-676-the-blackreach-experiments-part-13/ There will be a break in between the next set of stories. But hopefully not too long. What do yall think, should I continue these characters or do something new? Anyway, on to the story. Celes and Mani arrived at Riften. Only Celes entered since it probably wasn’t safe for Mani. “Okay, from what I learned, Celine was living here with her daughter but I didn’t think you had kids,” Celes said. “We don’t.” Mani was confused. “Something isn’t right. Last time I saw her, she was talking about a mistress and her eyes were glazed over.” “Hmm, she could be in some sort of thrall. They mentioned her daughter got a job in Solitude. Let’s head there next.” Mani agreed with Celes and they both set off toward Riften. **** About a day later, in Riverwood **** Celes and Mani decided to get some supplies before heading to Solitude. Mani was staring off toward the distance, “I’ve always loved this town. It’s so peaceful and relaxing.” “Me too. It’s one of the few places I can be in my mechanical form without people freaking out. You know, I think that…HURMPH.” Mani turned around and saw an assassin’s blade impaling Celes. Before he could react, the assassin tossed her into the water. He turned his attention to Mani and said some kind of spell. He couldn’t breath and his vision started to fade, then his world went dark. Mani woke in a strange house. He rolled over and saw his wife! “Celine! How did I get here? What are you wearing? Where are we? She crawled to Mani, “Darling, I’ve missed you. We’re in a replica of the house I lived in while Mistress and I stayed in Riften. Isn’t it nice?” “Dear, we need to leave. We can’t stay here.” “Sure we’ll leave but first, a present.” Celine handed Mani a necklace and insisted that he take off his shirt and put it on. He removed his shirt and put on the amulet to satisy his wife then he looked at her impatiently, “Now lets go. We need…to…what was I saying?” “I don’t know dear, you were not making much sense. Let me show you around the house.” “Yes dear, let’s have a look around.” **** Lake Ilunalta **** Arissa was flying over the lake when she noticed Celes washed up against the shore. She flew down and pulled Celes somewhere secluded. If she was careful, she could blame Alduin for her actions and maybe find some redemption. Celes looked up weakly, “Are you going ….to kill me?” Arissa replied, “I’m sorry for attacking you. Alduin corrupted me but I’m free of him now. I’ll get you somewhere safe.” Arissa laid Celes down gently. Celes looked into Arissa’s eyes and weakly said, “I need…. There is a place… Blackreach lab… so tired.” **** Sometime later **** Arissa found a lab in Blackreach. Hopefully it was the right one. It had two large glass tubes and lots of machinery . Celes eyes opened briefly and mumbled. “Inside…tube…sleep. Thank you.” She motioned to some buttons and pressed a few then Arissa placed her in the tube and she seemed to float and then stop. It was like time had paused for her. Arissa guessed it was some kind of stasis spell. She climbed into the other tube and joined Celes in her long slumber. **** A few months later**** Kiva had been using the Pelagius Wing for magical experiments. It was the perfect place to practice without being seen. Although, oddly enough, she always felt watched even though all the rooms were empty. “Was someone just here? Nah, it’s just my imagination,” Kiva thought. She turned her attention back to her spells. “I’ll rule this place before anyone has a chance to stop me. I have all this time in the world.”
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The Blackreach Experiments Part 13 - Sacrifices If you missed part 12, you can find it here: http://www.loverslab.com/blog/148/entry-673-the-blackreach-experiments-part-12/ **** A few months after General Tullius departed Riften **** Celine had gone missing recently and Jarl Lawgiver had come to speak to Kiva. “Please, Jarl Laila Lawgiver, if you find anything out about my mother let me know. I don’t want to lose her too.” Laila looked down at Kiva with pity. “Kiva dear, we’ll do everything we can to find her. And don’t worry, even without your mother, you can still live here. Plenty of people around here will look after you. “Thank you Laila. It means a lot.” Kiva said through sobs. Laila was almost in tears herself. “Come here child.” Laila stretched out her arms to hug Kiva. “I have some good news. General Tullius was extremely impressed with the documents you gave him and so was I. He wants you to come live in Solitude and work in the palace. I’ll have Mjoll escort you there if you decide. “What about my mom?” Kiva asked. Laila looked into her eyes, “I’m sure we’ll find her by then but if not, you’ll be fine. Solitude will be better for you I think. Anyway, you’ve been through a lot. Think it over.” Kiva nodded her head. Laila excused herself and left quietly. Kiva, now alone sat in front of the fire. “Hehe, that went better than expected. Soon I can complete the ritual.” She was almost giddy with excitement. Everything in the city was going normally since Maven was arrested. No one had heard a word about her other than she had been shipped off to Cyrodil. With the rebellion over, many Stormcloaks laid down arms. Imperial and Dawnguard ranks in Skyrim swelled. The biggest news was now in the war against the dragons. No one knew why the Dwemer constructs turned on the dragons but they had pushed them all the way back to Skuldafn and most fled Skyrim completely. **** Around the same time, inside the Bannered Mare **** “I’m sorry Mani, but with the war, it’s been almost impossible to get to the eastern side of Skyrim.” “I know, but the battle is moving to Skuldafn so we should be able to make it to Riften starting tomorrow. They both agreed to leave early in the morning and went to their separate rooms. **** North of Riften **** A legion of soldiers were preparing for the journey to Skuldafn. The dragonborn was as ready as he was going to be and the Empire was not about to let him go alone. Meanwhile, the Dwemer automatons did such a good job patrolling that no dragons dared attack the armies gathering. Several mages had gotten together and built an airship from parts found in Solstheim. It would ferry the troops to Skuldafn and after victory, it would be used to keep a constant garrison there. In the distance, the soldiers could see their ride approaching. The dragonborn was on board as well, having recently learned the dragonrend shout from a meeting with a moth priest. The airship, loaded with soldiers, ascended toward Skuldafn. **** At a quiet spot by Lake Ilinalta **** Arissa was pondering the direction her life had taken. She came here because of a shipwreck, she’d killed to get back home, and now she was this…monstrosity. She couldn’t go to anyone for help without them attacking and she couldn’t even try for revenge. To add insult to injury, her magical armor vanished along with her ice powers when Alduin discarded her. The dragon skin was still slowly creeping up her body. “When will the changes stop,” she said quietly. **** Skuldafn **** The soldiers were just now arriving and already the battles were fierce and bloody. Dozens were dying but they were cutting a bloody swath to the top of the ruins. At the top they discovered an active portal to Sovengarde. The dragonborn was the first to leap into the portal. He made his way down a path until he came to a bridge of bone and a guardian. After defeating the guardian he was granted access to Shor’s Hall. The inside was splendid and filled with the spirits of great heroes. He emerged with three heroes of legend. At the end of the bridge were a host of soldiers that made it through the portal. Together, they battled Alduin. The fighting was fierce. The spirits in Shor’s Hall would have much company today. After a long battle, Alduin was defeated. His scales exploded from his body. Burst by the eruption of stolen souls. The guardian was extremely displeased that so many mortals had made their way into Sovengarde. “Mortals should not be here, never in such number. However, you have vanquished a great evil today. I will send all of you back to Nirn and disable Alduin’s portal.” **** On the Ilinalta lakeside **** Arissa could feel a huge burden lifted from her. Somehow, she knew that Alduin was defeated. She felt like she could finally relax. **** At the abandoned Black Briar Estate **** The sounds of labor echoed throughout the building. Kiva had cast a muffle spell around the estate so no one outside would hear anything. Celine’s labor lasted a few hours. Once the delivery was complete, Kiva wrapped the baby in a cloth and laid it on the floor. She placed her hands on the child to stop her from crying. Kiva stood over the child, dagger in hand. She started reciting a spell in a daedric tongue. “MOLAG BAL LORD OF DOMINATION ACCEPT THIS SACRIFICE A PURE SOUL OF AN INFANT TAKEN FROM ONE WHO TRUSTS ME ABOVE ALL ELSE LET ME REGAIN MY HUMAN FORM AND WEAR THIS ILLUSION NO LONGER.” She heard a deep voice all around her. “Very well, we have an accord.” Kiva thrust the dagger into the child. The crying stopped. She pulled the bloody dagger out and stabbed herself to complete the ritual. She awoke on the floor, next a pile of ash that had been the child. Kiva walked over to Celine who was still on the table, exhausted. “Mistress…my baby?” “There is no child, pet. Don’t concern yourself with that now. Rest.” Celine didn’t have much choice, her body was too weak to do anything. She closed her eyes. She was sad, but she couldn’t figure out why.” Blue fire engulfed Kiva’s hand. “Thanks to you pet, I know have an immortal body. But what to do with you? You have been far too useful a pet to discard. I’m going to keep you around.” “Now. Forget your pain, your sadness, your friends and enemies, your knowledge, your desires, your hopes and fears. Retain only what you need to be my pet.” Sometime later, Celine woke up at home. “Good morning Pet.” Kiva said. “How did we get back home Mistress?” “Well, we’re not at home. This is a replica of our old house. I have a new job in Solitude but don’t worry. I’ll take you with me, in fact we’re here now. Step outside and you’ll see.” Kiva walked to the door and seemed to teleport out. When Celine opened the door, she found herself in a massive bedroom. “I must be the size of a child’s doll.” “A little smaller actually.” Kiva’s voice was loud and had an odd echo to it. Kiva was kneeling next to the house. “This is your new life Pet. Everything you need is in the house. You can’t leave the table though.” Celine just nodded her head dumbly. Kiva sat down and asked. “Is there anything you want me to bring you Pet?” Celine thought for a second. “I want Mani….I miss him. He’ll be happy here with us right?” “Yes Pet, he will. I’ll see if I can locate him.” Now, you have a good day Pet. I have to report to the castle to start my new job. Kiva waved good bye to her Pet. As she was walking to the castle she thought, “I always love getting new things. Maybe I’ll get her a collar with a little bell. I bet I can find some cute doll clothes in town…” she continued that line of thought all the way to the castle.
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The Blackreach Experiments Part 12 - Sources of Power If you missed Part 11, here it his: http://www.loverslab.com/blog/148/entry-670-the-blackreach-experiments-part-11/ ****Several months later, the civil war had ended with the help of the Dragonborn, the Empire had been victorious, and General Tullius had come to assign a new Jarl, Maven Blackbriar. **** Celine and Kiva sat down to breakfast together. To everyone in Riften, Kiva was a thirteen year old girl taking care of her mentally impaired mother. Only Celine could see her for what she was and she didn’t care. She loved her Mistress. Kiva had taken a job as apprentice court mage. She made enough to pay for everything they would need. Due to Celine’s pregnancy, there were several ladies in the city that came to check up on Celine while Kiva was working. The ladies would often take Celine to the orphanage to see the children. Constance didn’t mind looking after her and since Grelod died mysteriously, it was a much nicer place. Kiva arrived at the Jarl's court. Imperial soldiers were everywhere. “Excuse me, I need to get past,” she said as she pushed through the crowd of soldiers. General Tullius looked down at her, “This is no place for children, you need to go home.” “But I work here, I’m the apprentice court mage,” she stated. General Tullius looked at her dubiously. “Really, I’ll show you where I work. There are some things in there you need to see,” she made a face as she spoke and the General decided to follow her. In her lab, she pulled out some scraps of paper and scrolls. “You can’t let Maven know I showed you these. They show many of her dealings with the Thieves Guild and the Dark Brotherhood. If they know about this, they’ll kill me.” The General reached out for them. Kiva stared him in the face, “Promise me this is our secret, okay?” He nodded, “Of course.” As he was reading over them, his face changed from shock to outrage. The papers linked Maven to murders and robberies all across Skyrim. General Tullius stormed out the room, sword in hand, shouting for the guards. Kiva waited inside the lab until Tullius left. “Hehe, one problem down.” A few hours later, Maven was in chains, being escorted out of Riften. Jarl Lawgiver was allowed to keep her position and the city guard was able to stay as well. Only a small detachment of Imperial soldiers remained. Kiva had most of her plans in place. She would regain a human body soon but she had to plan carefully. She had contracted out to the Dark Brotherhood to kill Wylandriah, the current court mage, Celine was almost ready, and with the Blackbriars out of the way, she had an abandoned house for the ritual. ****Several months earlier, deep inside Blackreach**** Celes had been learning all she could from the strange Dwemer machines. She finally understood a portion of this place's purpose and of the experiments the mages had been running. The power the mages were using came from an old soul engine. There were only two soul engines that she could find and her best guess was they were powered by dragon souls. One engine was with her and it was powering her lab. When she went to investigate the other engine, she found Alduin! He was feeding it energy. After he left, she did some snooping around. The engines were identical, but this one had something extra. A conduit leading out! Back in her lab, she traced the flow of energy to the various holds of Skyrim. In her mind, she connected the dots. “It was an elaborate diversion! Alduin distracted the mages so they wouldn’t be researching the dragons….” She sent some automatons to dismantle the device. With it out of the picture, the mages would not be distracted A few days later, while uncovering an old lab, she found a set of aetherium armor, it wasn’t powered but that wasn’t hard. She started the process of charging it. One of the things she learned from the Great Machine was how to control Dwemer constructs. She had placed several small mechanical spiders near the major cities. Most people didn’t even seem to mind them being around. She caught the gossip from a group of guards near Windhelm. They spoke about a man, wearing strange armor that sounded just like her aetherium armor. “He’ll be executed at the end of the week. They’re making a big deal of it. The only thing that would save him is if that blue skinned woman would make a return, but I don’t see that happening,” “Blue skinned woman? They must mean Arissa. She’s the only blue skinned woman I’ve seen. Hmm, and this stranger, I can’t let him die before I know how he got that armor.” Celes grabbed some gear and headed toward the hidden exit shaft. ****Windhelm, the day of the execution**** Celes arrived in town and headed straight for the palace. She ran up to the guards closet to the prison. “Please you have to help me! There’s this blue skinned woman slaughtering Kynesgrove! She’s insane!” In very short time, half the city guard was rushing to Kynesgrove. Celes had very little time. She easily made her way to Mani’s cell. “You’re Mani? The one they’re going to kill?” “Yes, I’m…” Celes cut him off, “Okay good. Be quiet, follow directions and you’ll live.” He nodded in agreement. The two made their way out of the dungeon. As soon as they got out, she called a group of constructs to attack the main gate as a diversion. The gate clear and even better, a blizzard was rolling in. They climbed down the bridge under the cover of the blizzard. The two snuck away from the city and headed back to Celes lab. Back in Blackreach, Mani told Celes about his mission, his wife, how he got set up, and his plan to get revenge on Arissa. “Well, a time travelling Jarl, that’s new.” “However I found some plans for a device that may do it. I haven’t researched them yet. As for your wife, I met her and she seemed fine, but that was a while ago. The armor is an interesting story. I just charged it.” Celes handed him the set of Aetherium Armor, fully charged. “This looks like my armor I came here with,” Mani said. “Well, I think it is.” Celes said. “You see, I was going to move my research on the device and the armor up to a lab in Blackreach. I think in the future, you found my research.” During the conversation, Celes changed back to her mechanical form. Mani stared at her, “I have to ask. Are you a dwemer machine or human?” “Well, I’m a bit of both now.” She explained her encounter with the device and her transformation. After a few hours of discussion, Mani asked about the dragonborn. “Well, I bet he’ll be doing quite well against the dragons. You see, I activated all Dwemer automatons and gave them one target, the dragons. They won’t move too far from the Dwemer ruins but they have a very large area covered. The dragons will be hard pressed to fight Imperial soldiers, the dragonborn, automatons, and centurions. I’ve also managed to activate some larger ones that are now patrolling near the cities. “Celes, why, when…” she interrupted him. “The why is because Alduin tricked us all with the energy he was sending to the mages and now that I know that, I can do something. The when, was right before I saved you. I can communicate with Dwemer constructs if you were wondering." “Thank you,” Mani said. “You’re welcome,” Celes replied. Now, let’s see if we can find that wife of yours.” After a few hours, Celes had some results. She led Mani to a connecting room. They entered a large chamber. “This is the Reformation Chamber. Don’t worry, I’m not going to alter you. This is also our exit. Up there.” Stand here, but get ready, the spell is a bit jolting.” Celes hovered in front of him. Mani stepped onto the spot and his feet lifted off the ground. “By Talos! I’m flying!” Mani yelled excitedly. They suddenly picked up speed and soared toward the opening, up toward the surface. An excited scream from Mani echoed in the chamber as they ascended.
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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.”
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The Blackreach Experiments - Part 6 - Where is the Dragonborn? The boat came to a stop against an outcropping of rocks. The thud of wood hitting stone was loud enough to get Arissa’s attention. Arissa noticed a young noble woman alone and unconscious in the boat. “Now what are you doing all the way out here?” Celine was mumbling in her sleep, “Master…..love….” Arissa could barely make out the words. After carrying the young woman inside, Arissa waited by her bed for her to wake up. Hours passed and she was about to nod off when the young woman shot up and screamed, “KEEPER!” “AH WHAT!” Arissa yelled as she jumped back. The two shared names and Celine told Arissa all about the dreams of the Keeper and her run in with it in the strange place she had been. “Hmm,” Arissa said, “That doesn’t sound like any place I know of but I’m only now delving into the magic here. I’m not from here originally. Where I came from, magic was a trick, like slight. I’ve become very familiar with the different magics here but there is always more to learn. Celine stood up, “So, do you know where to find the dragonborn?” “Ugh! Don’t get me started on him…. I’ve been trying to track him down for what feels like ages. What do need with him anyway?” “Well, I heard that something will happen to him. It’s a prophecy. I have to try to save him, no matter how small the chances are.” “Fine..I’ll take you too where he might be…” Celine felt badly for asking but if this woman could lead her to the dragonborn then maybe the disaster in her time cold be averted. “Hey, sorry for the inconvience Arissa.” “No no, it’s fine. Really. I was heading that way anyway. It’s about a day’s travel to Solitude, then we’ll get a carriage and make our way to Ivarstead. The two women made their way to Ivarstead but Arissa was insistent that they hurry to High Hrothgar and meet with the Graybeards. They waited outside, yelled, even banged on the doors but no one ever came. Suddenly, Arissa yelled, “Hey, you old gas bags! Open the damn door! The lady’s freezing her tits off out here!” Celine banged on the door one last time, yelling, “Please, it’s about the dragonborn! Open the door!” “Maybe they’re not home. We should head to the inn and get some rest. We’ll ask around in the morning.” I’m starting to think you didn’t want that door to open, but whatever, let’s go. I’m about to drop.” As soon as they reached the inn, Celine paid for a room and fell fast asleep. “Now that I’ve got her off my back…” Arissa approached the innkeeper and asked about the dragonborn. “Oh yeah, he came through here not to long ago on the way to Dragon Bridge,” he said. “Great, now I have this crazy idea. You take this gold and when that woman wakes up, you tell her the dragonborn went to Markarth.” The innkeeper looked confused, “Why would I do that?” “Because if you don’t, I’ll come back here and split you in two.” The innkeeper managed to keep his composure, “Okay okay. No need for violence. I’ll tell her.” “Good, and tell her I went on ahead.” Arissa was smiling as she walked out of the inn. Arissa paused outside of the inn. “I need to make sure that little twit doesn’t follow me.” She aimed a spell at the door and ice erupted from her hands. A terrified villager slowly crept away. “There. That should hold her.” Arissa walked into the street and muttered a spell in an odd language. Spears of ice shot from the ground around her as she lifted into the air. And in the blink of an eye, she was gone. **Several hours later** Celes was flying toward Ivarstead at full speed. She had heard from a local that Arissa had been seen entering the city. She met with Celine and they traded stories and names. Celine told her about Arissa not letting her rest then freezing the inn door shut. Celes told her a little bit about herself and what she knew of Arissa’s transformation. Celine took a deep breath, “…but what was really odd is I don’t think she really wanted the Greybeards to let us in. She insulted then and then we came straight back here. And while we were on the path, she fell behind but I could swear she was talking to someone.” “Wait, you leave that for last? Are you stupid?” Celine was talken aback,” Well no sense being that rude about it.” “Sorry,” Celes said, “I’ve been spending a long time tracking her. She was altered by unknown magics and I want to make sure she’s okay. She also may help me find the source of it. Listen, I don’t have anymore time to stand around. I’m sure we’ll run into each other again.” Celine could hear the strange dwemer pack fire up as soon as Celes shut the door. “If Arissa really is heading to Markarth, maybe I can catch up to her.” Celes was lost in though when she felt something strike her from behind. “What?! This high up?!” ***On the ground *** “Take that bitch!” Arissa watched Celes fall of the sky. ***Back in the air*** Celes was losing altitude rapidly. She tried to aim for a nearby river. “Shit!! I can’t pull up!” Celes fell into an old dwemer shaft sticking out of the river. Arissa watched the shaft for about an hour and Celes never came back out. She turned to an unseen figure, “It’s done master.” ***Deep within Blackreach*** Mani wadded through dead Falmer, all killed by his steel. "By the Nine I will make it to the surface." He could see the lift and the way seemed clear… (As always leave a comment and let me know what you think.)
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Arissa's story is sort of the prologue for this one. It starts here The Blackreach Experiments Part 1 and 2 Celes watched the newcomer. She didn't trust her, but then again, she didn't trust anyone. Was she working with the mages or just some idiot blundering around. When she was younger, she was fascinated with Dwemer technology. Through years of study and exploration she discovered the Shrine of Mahty. Inside the shrine were several Dwarven backpacks that allowed her to fly. The shrine was impressive. It housed a giant steam centurion that sported several upgrades and improvements. "This would a terror if unleashed on the world," she said aloud. "It would indeed, child." said a voice that appeared to come from in front of her. "Are....you talking?" she asked the statue. "Yes, I am an Oracle. That is to say, Dwemer technology intended to safeguard their legacy. I am in need of one to seal away their more dangerous devices and ensure they can never be unleashed upon the world. Are you one such?" Celes thought about it and eventually agreed. That's how she ended up here, flying over Riverwood with a Dwemer backpack. It was fun at first, but after years it had become commonplace. Celes had come to Whiterun to investigate rumors involving the court wizard. As soon as she entered the room, it was obvious the rumors were true. Farengar ran over, "I know who you are and this has nothing to do with Dwem.." Celes promptly shoved her hand is his face. "I'm not an idiot! There's dwemer tech all over the place. Lets try this again. You tell me what you're doing and I won't tell Solitude that you're trying to summon a daedra." "Okay fine. Can you move you hand?" "Nope hand stays, talk." Faregar sighed. He told Celes about Arissa, her disappearance, and the energy the mages across Skyrim were harnessing. "That thing, there on the wall isn't the source then. It's like a vent for magical energy. Farengar, you idiot. How could you expect to control that!?" Farenghar started to answer but Celes cut him off. "No never mind. After that whole incident with Ireleth and that "decrorative" dwemer egg...*shudder* Anyway, lets see if I can't figure out what happened to that missing girl." "This is interesting. She wasn't ashed. Looks like she may have been teleported somewhere." "Child, the answers you seek lie within," said a distant voice. Celes stepped into the field and found herself in a strange clearing. Where there should be trees, there were giant crystals. The crystals were warm to the touch and seemed to pulse with energy. "Greeting child. I am the Avatar of Frost. The one you seek was here. She is aiding me in correcting the magical imbalance caused by the mages of Skyrim. She seeks the source of their power. "A talking dragon statue? Well, I know a talking Dwemer head so I guess this isn't that crazy." "Fill me in. Where did our girl go and while you're at it, who is she?" The Avatar told what it knew of the girl, Arissa and of the mages. "Okay, well looks like we're on the same side. Now just to find her." Celes took off toward the nearest city to find her new ally. http://postimg.org/image/kck52dedh/full/]
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