The Brute, the Thief, and the Awkward (Skyrim Fanfiction)

Hermaeus Mora

???

Neyya rose from the ground, but she had done so confused and awkwardly. This was not the ground she hardly remembered crashing down on.

She took careful analysis of her surroundings. In her immediate area were stacks of books, arranged in a circle around where she had been asleep. On the floor directly in front of her was an opened novel. She picked it up and studied it. The title read, " Of Apocrypha " and told of a forbidden plane of oblivion, full of all the world's knowledge and ruled by a Hermaeus Mora, daedric prince of fate, knowledge, and memory. Neyya recalled stories passed on by her elders and father of the prince, but not very many. He took the form of a vile, grotesque mass of tendrils and eyes, and seduced mortals into pacts with limitless knowledge. The mortals would later regret these pacts, as they would normally involve some great sacrifice for the exchange.

Beyond the piles of books and tomes, Neyya could see she was on a circular platform of sorts, and in front of her lay a bridge that looked less than sturdy. Surrounding the platform was an ocean of grayish black liquid that looked toxic, and she made a mental note to avoid it at all costs.

Neyya kicked over a pile of books, and stepped over the rummage. The only path that lay in front of her was the bridge, so she took a daring walk over it. The bridge lead to a series of elevated platforms, connected by several staircases. At the very highest platform were the tallest towers formed by seemingly limitless books, they served as columns of a sort. The platform was empty, save the scattered papers that dotted its base. In the center lie a pedestal, and at its core was a massive opened book. It was larger than her, and seemed written in a strange language she could not identify. To make matters worse, the characters seemed to shift and move around on the paper, and even off the book.

She approached the pedestal, and placed her hand on it. The tome lit up, and its characters floated up into the space above it. Unsure of what was going to happen, she took two precautionary steps back. The letters merged together, and a black hole was created. From its depths, a mass of tentacles, eyes, and bubbles appeared, with one large, main eye at its center. Though it had no mouth, the creature spoke.

"hellooooo...mortal..."

Great, not only was she thrown off by the fact it could speak, but the shift in its voice from high pitch to low sent a blizzard down her spine. She reached for her elven bow, but much to her displeasure, it wasn't there.

"please, calm down... I wish not to hurt you... but rather, I have a proposal for you."

Hermaeus Mora, she thought. She knew better than to encourage what he had to say, but curiosity would clearly take the better of her.

"I'm sure you know who I am then, and you know I know who you are. Then what could you possibly want with me?"

"you seek vengeance, a noble cause in your case... but, you alone dare wish death on a god..." The beast paused, and Neyya was sure that if it could smile, it would be at this moment. "I may have the knowledge you seek to aid you, but only at a price..."

This is it. She thought. The catch.

"Speak to my servant... Septimus Signus. He will have a... task... for you to complete. In doing so, you will have the knowledge you seek, and completed your end of the bargain altogether."

"Where will I find this... Septimus?" Neyya asked, but before she could be answered, the grotesque abomination dissipated, and left nothing in its place.

A portal opened to the right of the pedestal, and in it, she could see Falkreath. Neyya took a breath, and stepped inside.