The Story of Iriisii Dovahkiin-Akavir And Beyond-Chapter Two

                                                                    Chapter Two

     Rigmor: "Then all of Cyrodiil will stand behind you, as High Queen you have my word. And I will go to Skyrim, and speak to High Queen Elisef in Solitude. Missives will be sent to Morrowind, Elswher, Pyandonea, Black Marsh, the Summerset Isles, Solstheim, High Rock, Hammerfell. The words of this will be shouted to every corner of our lands, calling the people to war."

     War: "I hope they will not be needed, that we can deal with this before they set sail, or at least divert them to another place, where the possible loss of life is much less. But any who wish to come with us will be welcome. For I will lead the charge, not only as 'WAR', but as the Champion of the Great Balance, and the Champion of Aetherius and Oblivion.

     As there is a great task to be done here, it is time to ask. I have asked Lilith to be my 'Right Hand', and so I need a 'Left Hand' to work with my 'Right'. Lord Chancellor Martin Blackwell, will you accept the charge of being my 'Left Hand'? For I have a most sensitive mission here in Cyrodiil that needs your touch."

     Blackwell: "What do you need me to do?"

     War: "There are few if any who may remember of what I speak, so hear well what I say. When the Kamali came in the second era to Windhelm and then to Morrowind. And was defeated by the combined armies of Skyrim, Morrowind, the Tribunal, and the Argonians. They did so before the Kamali could be retrieved by their ships. It was thought there were no survivors. They were wrong.

     The few who survived made their way back here to Cyrodiil where they joined with the Tsaesci already here, and aided them in the takeover of the Ruby Throne. Once the Tsaesci were deposed, there was no accurate count of their numbers and so no way to know if all were found. I say to you some were not found, and went to ground. Hiding wherever they could until they could slowly surface again as those who once knew them died off."

     Blackwell: "You are saying there are some still here?"

     War: "Yes, did anyone not consider how Morag Bal was able to contact the Tsaesci High Command to arrange and plan for giving over Tamriel to them?"

     General Tullius could be heard cursing under his breath as he pounded his fists on the table, "Damn it! Now it makes sense why Sethius stopped us from investigating some of the claims that were reported of torchlight seen in the Great Forest on certain nights. He simply told us it was poachers, and he would send his guardsmen to look into it. And we just stood back and let it happen!"

     War: "You did as you were ordered in obedience to your Emperor. There is no fault to be laid at your feet. Others could have looked had they known of it. But they were otherwise engaged as Morag Bal sought to divert them away. Even so it was discovered in time for preparations to be made to meet the Tsaesci. Tamriel met the challenge and won, that in the end is what matters. And so we will meet this challenge and we will win once again."

     Tullius: "Where do you intend to lure the Kamali to and meet them?"

     War: "In the homeland of your Empress, an island continent beyond Akavir. The specific place is where the village she lived in was destroyed and all its inhabitants save her were killed. The area itself is quite large, now overgrown, remote enough that there should be no reasonable chance of others being drawn in. If I/she is physically there, they will come, and if they come, the Ka Po-Tun will be soon behind. Also there is something buried there now that is ready for your Empress to claim."

     Blackwell: "Do you know what it is?"

     War: "Not at this time, no. What I do know is that is contains great power. Power enough to make a difference in what we need to do there. That is an important reason that I must go there. I must also go to Akavir and meet with a Kamali who has requested my help in finding one called Xan'ith Kerak, a most interesting Tsaesci."

     Rigmor: "Why a Tsaesci? And what is interesting about him?"

     War: "Her. And what is interesting about her, is that she is dragonborn, but not through the direct anointing by Akatosh."

     Rigmor: "How is this possible?"

     War: "As near as anyone can determine, firstly she is from before the 'Dragonbreak'."

     Rigmor: "Meaning?"

     War: "Meaning she is not from this timeline. In the timeline she was born into, the Dragons of Akavir looked ahead and saw what was going to happen. They each shared a sliver of their souls with her and thus empowered her to be a dragonborn. They then called upon Akatosh to hide her away, for when the timeline was to be repaired the Tsaesci would be suborned by the reptilians among them and would begin a pogrom against the human inhabitants, especially Xan'ith. For she would otherwise be a major thorn in their side when they sought to subdue the dragons.

     They asked that she be kept asleep to save her life, for they saw she would be needed in our time, in this the merged timeline. The Kamali revere her and most consider her a goddess, even though she is not. That can be an advantage if used properly when dealing with the Kamali."

     Blackwell: "You mean letting them think she is a goddess and using that to forestall any invasion by them?"

     War: "Possibly, as to her celestial status, that will have to be determined what is the best course of action. What we want is to bring the Kamali to our side in this conflict. Our enemy being the Ka Po-Tun. This is better for us than fighting both Kamal and Ka Po-Tun separately, and far better than if they join against us."

     Blackwell: "Then rooting out any Tsaesci and Kamali survivors here is paramount, to stop any sabotage by them, and to keep them from passing information back."

     War: "Just so, my 'Left Hand', you see clearly what must be done and why."

     Rigmor: "Do you think these survivors may be the ones responsible for the previous assassination attempts on Kintyra and Iriisii?"

     War: "I do, for it fits into the chain of events. We will know more for certain when we can find them and see what they know. It is also just possible they may have been involved with or know information about the first assassination attempt against Iriisii that was changed when the 'Mother' of the 'Sinister Seven' had her captured and enslaved rather than killed. Had it gone as was intended, it would have been a pivotal 'change' resulting in many great changes to the timeline. We need to know 'who' caused this and 'why' was it done."

     Rigmor: "But it is all in the past, how can we know of it now?"

     War: "The Imperial Sorcerer, Yennefer has the means by which it can be found out, and she can also assist in finding the Tsaesci and Kamali survivors here in Tamriel."

     Lilith: "Then I will get and bring her here."

     War: "Thank you, 'Hand', bring some runners as well, there may be others we find we need to bring into this. Some are aware, and will arrive soon, others we will have to decide on if we wish their participation. As the Champion of both the Aedra and Daedra, by way of being Champion of the Great Balance. I will not deny any assistance from either 'Light' or 'Dark' that may be offered, but it must be assistance we can use and control."

     Rigmor gives a dark and lonely sigh, "When I think of what changes hinged on whether the assassination attempt on Iriisii all the way back then had gone as it was planned. There is so much that would have gone differently, very much differently."

     War: "Indeed, it makes one wonder, 'who' is pulling the strings to bring this particular series of events into play, and why? And how far does it go?"

     Rigmor: "What do you mean?"

     War: "I would not be holding this position. I would not even exist. All that Iriisii has done in her life would not happen. In the past, now, and in the future. Those changes that would never have happened, spiral out into the rest of Existence, affecting literally everything, even if its slide into destruction could be stopped. Would there be another to be brought forward to try and mitigate the damage, if the changes would not overwhelm any attempt to correct at that time. It is far above me at this moment, perhaps when Iriisii had matured further into her destiny, such questions could be answered."

     General Tullius: "So you just said that the one event not happening as it was supposed to, the first assassination attempt against our Empress before she ever came to Tamriel, could have had such a far reaching impact, that had its outcome not changed, we would not recognize our world today?"

     War: "Indeed General, that is exactly what I have said."

     General Tullius: "Then how do we defend ourselves against such an attack?"

     War: "A very astute question General, the answer to which begins with the Gods. This is properly within their hands to deal with, as Akatosh did when he had the multiple timelines first merged into one. But did he not send you his Dragonborn? The last, greatest, most powerful Dragonborn to ever walk upon Nirn's roads. To set all Nirn's problems and troubles right? This is a part of what she was sent here to do, and someone attempted to sidestep what he did. But still it did not work. For even as he does not flaunt his power in ostentatious displays, he does watch for things like what was attempted and quietly nudge things back to the way he intended. But for the most part, he gives to his agents what they need to do as he has asked of them. As Iriisii has proven time and time again, for the benefit of us all."

     General Tullius: "A different question if I may ask?"

     War: "Go ahead, General."

     General Tullius: "I remember Iriisii from her efforts to help stop the Civil War in Skyrim, and later when she became our Empress. You look like her double, exactly like her, even sound like her, but how you speak is just a bit different. You say you are 'War' but you are using her body, how is this ...?"

     War: "Normal?"

     General Tullius: "Yes, that is it, normal."

     War: "The part that is speaking to you is the 'Celestial Office' that is 'War'. Even together, we are not Gods, although we have been mistaken for being so on occasion. I enhance the martial skills, tactical thinking, any part of her that battle requires is enhanced. And in return she gives a means to express that. Together we are agents of change, both small and large, so has it been since the beginning. Battle is a personal thing, when it ceases to be so, it is just another tool to be used then dropped, useless until needed again. But it is at its best, its most, I almost say Divine, when it is personal, one against another, each testing their skills, their mettle, against each other. Each fighting for who, and what they believe in."

     General Tullius: "That I can understand and agree with, but what do you believe in, who do you fight for?"

     War: "I believe in the 'Great Balance', the balance between 'Light' and 'Dark', and even between 'Good' and 'Evil'. You ask who do I fight for? Those who cannot fight for themselves, for not everyone is capable of taking up arms and using them, and they need someone to do that for them. That is a part of what the 'Great Balance' stands for, the rest of it is to find the path between for all to travel on. To, through the journey itself, find the will to live, to thrive, to love, make and raise a family, teach their young how to do the same as they are, and strive to go farther, be better, than their parents."

     General Tullius: "Now I know why you chose our Empress, for that is how she feels as well, how she lives her life each day, encouraging the people she meets every day. It is why the people of this Empire have accepted her and given her their absolute loyalty, for she makes no distinction between high or low, all are equal in her eyes."

     War: "Such is the 'Way of the Great Balance', that which she stands as Champion for, and by extension, she is Champion for all others, even those she disagrees with."

     General Tullius: "Yes, even that, I have seen within her in the time I have known her. But at the same time it she does not allow it to keep her from her duties. She experiences no joy from the taking of life, but if it is needed she will not hesitate. I first saw this about her when she killed Ulfric Stormcloak after he was defeated in the Battle of Windhelm, that won for us the Civil War. Even though she knew it had to be done, she still acknowledged his words that 'Although Skyrim does not belong to me, I still belong to 'Her'. It is only through her actions since then, that I have come to understand those words, for it is how I feel for 'her' Empire."

     War: "And so you have become a better man, a better citizen of the Empire, a better General of this same Empire, for that experience."

     General Tullius: "You are right, now we have a job to do, and I must be about my part in it."

     Tullius leaves and goes to begin what he must do.

     General Quintus: "I almost never thought I would hear him admit, much less say out loud what he has said."

     War: "His words this day, merely reflect what the changes that he has made within himself, by what he has experienced since meeting Iriisii. Such is how a 'supreme agent of change' works their magic. Small changes, day by day, can add up to great changes down the road. It is why this war will be won by her and her Empire, difficult and costly as it may become. The changes that will come from it, will benefit far more than anyone here can imagine."

     While all of this hs been going on, Byrsael is more than a bit bewildered by what she is seeing and hearing. Rose is also not comfortable with it either. Rigmor and Illyria move them to an unoccupied corner and try to dispel the uncertainty of all of this.

     Rigmor: "Let me start since I know more of what happened to bring this about. First thing to understand is that Iriisii is still Iriisii, what you see is that she is channeling the First Horseman of the Apocalypse, called 'War'. When she was with Geralt, Triss, and Yennefer on their homeworld, a 'Kel' of our world, an Elder Scroll, portaled to her there and asked her to take the position. It seemed that the previous holder had been missing for a long time, and the tasks they perform were hurting by his absence. For her to take it she had to ascend from Aasimar Scourge, to which she was born, to Aasimar Guardian, of which there are only four of them at any time. She was successful in this, for which I am profoundly grateful."

     Byrsael: "Why 'grateful'? What makes you say that?"

     Rigmor: "Had she failed, she would have been erased from Existence. It would be as if she had never been born. The 'Four Horsemen' are Celestial Offices of Change. They are not Gods, but rather agents for Gods to effect needed changes. Somewhat like this, if you wish to eat a melon, you use a knife to slice it open, you do not use a Warhammer and smash it."

     Rose: "That I can understand and agree with. So the 'Four Horsemen' are like knives used for delicate actions when if the Gods did it themselves they would affect far more than they intended."

     Rigmor: "Precisely."

     Byrsael: "But what about the current situation?"

     Rigmor: "I am learning about it just as you are. We know very little of what things are like in Akavir, their motivations for doing what they have done in the past and what is going on now. There are four main races there, the Tsaesci, which had their army decimated just a year ago when they tried to invade, the Ka Po-Tun, the Tang Mo, and the Kamal. The Tsaesci are now but it has been said were not in their deep past, reptilian. The Ka Po-Tun are known as the Tiger People, its king is said to have somehow merged himself with a dragon. The Tang Mo, who are related to apes, and the Kamali, who are simply known as Snow Demons.

     What we have only recently learned is, that the Tsaesci, Tang Mo, and Ka Po-Tun have been responsible for keeping the Kamali in check. They stay frozen in the wastes of Kamal for most of the time, only when the ice recedes and they thaw out, they then gather and fight with the others. Now with the balance against them upset, they see the opportunity to go out once more and search for the 'Ordained Receptacle'. They did this twice before, in the First Era, and the Second. Reman I defeated then in the First Era, the Second took the Skyrim armies, the Morrowind armies, and their Gods, the Tribunal, to bring them to a stalemate, only when the Hist intervened and sent in the Argonians, were they finally defeated before their ships could arrive and take them back.

     It was thought they were all destroyed, but it seems not to have been, some escaped and traveled to Cyrodiil, where they joined with some Tsaesci survivors and plotted their ascension to the Throne. They held it for several hundred years before being cast down, and now it looks like some survived that and stayed hidden. They may have had a role to play in some assassination attempts against both Iriisii and Kintyra, not to mention the first attempt on Iriisii that saw her entire village destroyed. She was the only survivor, because the 'Mother' of the 'Sinister Seven' enslaved her and addicted her to Black Lotus, instead of killing her."

     Rose: "Black Lotus?! By all the Gods why would anyone do that to another? Not that I would have wanted it so."

     Rigmor: "I understand, all of us have asked that question, believe me. The answer is that she saw in Iriisii the chance to create an assassin of ..., well, Morag Bal said it best. She said Iriisii was the greatest killer to walk the roads of Nirn. And honestly, I have to agree with that. I have seen her in action, up front and close against dragons that challenged her. She has over a hundred confirmed dragon kills and now it seems they have finally admitted that she is the Dragon of War. And now it seems she is the 'Ordained Receptacle' the Kamali have searched for. We do not know why this is important to them. It has been speculated that it has something to do with their survival against the other races. With the Tsaesci decimated, if we are maneuvered into a fight with the Kamali, then the Ka Po-tun would attack if he thought he could defeat us while in a weakened state. Then do as the Tsaesci did and invade Tamriel."

     Byrsael: "And I thought the politics back home was bad."

     Rigmor: "We will straighten it all out, of that you can be certain. There is an ancient Tsaesci named Xan'ith Karek, who is to play a significant role here. If we can swing her to our side, we avoid war with the Kamali, and maybe the Ka Po-Tun as well. But we do not know yet how to help the Kamali solve the problem for which they want this 'Ordained Receptacle' for."

     Rose: "What do we know of it?"

     Rigmor: "Only that it is Iriisii that is the 'Ordained Receptacle'."

     Rose: "IRIISII! HOW..., I mean?"

     Rigmor: "She is the 'Last' Dragonborn that will be anointed and sent by Akatosh. As such she is also the greatest and most powerful, for she must clean up all the issues that plague Nirn, and could prevent 'his' Golden Plan for all of Nirn from happening. She has made a good bit of headway already, some of the most notable, being Alduin, Haarkon, Orphis, Miraak, Malacath, Namira, Hermaeus Mora, Salaquine, Molag Bal. Many have been stopped that no one knows anything about, and some have not made themselves known as yet. Still, even Akatosh did not reckon with some things in her deep ancestry coming forth and establishing themselves in her now."

     Rose: "And here I just thought...excuse me I did not really know what I thought."

     Rigmor: "No one did really, not until it was shoved into their faces, mine included. She had a very convoluted birthing."

     Rose: "More so than being the 'Child of Two Mothers'?"

     Rigmor: "Yes, very much so. You see, she has two complete pairs of birth parents."

     Rose: "How? Do not mind me, I am not sure I want to know."

     Rigmor: "Let me explain what I know, then you can decide about it. To start with, her first pair is Talos and Alessia."

     Rose starts to faint, Byrsael and Illyria catch and hold her up until she can stand on her own.

     Rose: "You are kidding me aren't you, no, I can see you are not."

     Rigmor: "She was born on the island of Roscrea, and lived there until she was eighteen, then she disappeared."

     Rose: "Wait! With parents like those, how could she just disappear? I mean could they not be able to find her?"

     Rigmor: "Yes, unless the one who took her was strong enough to hide her from all eyes. Akatosh made a deal with a Goddess from the 'outside'."

     Rose: "The 'Outside'?"

     Rigmor: "Yes, beyond Mundus. Out in the rest of Existence. Anyway, she had been searching the timelines for someone to help with an overarching problem and was running out of time to find someone. Then she stumbled across Iriisii's timeline, saw what Akatosh was doing with her and realized that she would already have much of the training and acquisition of power needed. She would just need a bit more training, power, then could be set on the problem."

     Rose: "And how does this play into now?"

     Rigmor: "'She' took Iriisii, regressed her back to just after she was conceived, and placed her with another pair of birth parents and did it so that her second conception occurred at the same time as the first. All I know is that Akatosh worked it out so there would be no problems. I do not know if the choice of who would be the second parents was deliberate, I think it was, but 'she' had no other choices in this. Her second mother died giving birth to her, for by now, Iriisii was a 'Dragonchild', her dragonsoul already awakened, and not the same one Akatosh first gifted her with. This one is immensely older and more powerful. Her second father died some months later of a broken heart over the death of his beloved in childbirth. He pretty much left Iriisii alone, for her grandfather and the rest of the village to raise. And I know you have heard most of what went on afterward."

     Rose: "Yes, but you hinted that there was more?"

     Rigmor: "Yes, there is. We later found out, that she was 'called' back in time to witness the battle that gave birth to her people, the Aasimar. In fact, she was in the mind of a 'God of Eld' named Kthanid when he fought his half brother, Cthulhu, defeated and imprisoned him in a place called Ryleyh. It occupies a pocket dimension, placed under the sea, near the island of Innsmouth, just off of the southwestern point of Solstheim. The Gods of Eld tried to help the mortals cope with the changes wrought in the area by the battle, and in the end had to implant pieces of their flesh and blood to make the changes strong enough and last long enough to allow the people to adjust and the effects dissipated over the millennia. Those gifts so given were carried over into their children and so on, to Iriisii. Her progenitor is Kthanid and he leads the Gods of Eld. His blood has awakened in her, powerful enough that she can call him, and he will answer her."

     Rose: "What else is there if anything?"

     Rigmor: "Somehow, how far back, what line of descent it comes to her from. We do not know, but she is descended from a being of huge power, one well known outside. And she has a sister from that same ancestor. He is called, Shai Hulu'ud. And one more thing, this is the most unbelievable of it all." 

     Rose: "Well go ahead and spill it."

     Rigmor: "How, not one of us knows, but the 'Ageless Ones', those who stood with the Creator when Existence was brought forth by the singing of the Charm of Making, claim her as their Daughter as well. I guess if they could chart her ancestral path, they would know where to place their gifts for it to reach her downstream in the timelines. What this all means for her later, who knows? All I know is that we have her now, and..., oh no, I was about to, oh well, you might as well know."

     Rose: "Know what?"

     Rigmor: "Before all of this started, she was going to ask you to marry her."

     Rose: "Now I think I am going to faint."

     Rigmor: "No, you are not. And I am not joking. I was at Fort Black with her when she discovered you had already escaped. I saw what happened to her when she read Joror's journal. I thought the grief and pain would kill her."

     Rose: "Then why did she not come looking for me?"

     Rigmor: "Because the Gods would not let her go. She still had a lot of work to do on their behalf, and if she left and found you, they would never get her back until it was too late."

     Tears started to run down her face as she realized what went on. Then Iriisii really did love her, really wanted to find her, but was prevented from doing so by the Gods.

     Rose: "And I have wondered if I was wrong about her all this time. If I should let her go and find someone else. I kept praying she would show up."

     Rigmor: "And she did, as soon as the Gods would let her go."

     Rose: "But she has all of you!"

     Rigmor: "Her heart is more than big enough for us all. And as she grows in power, her heart will grow as well. I think she kinda took that from her mother. Alessia did have something of a reputation."

     Rose: "Then I need to clear the air between us."

     Rose steps over to speak with 'War'.

     Rose: "Excuse me, might I respectfully ask to speak with Iriisii for a few minutes?"

     War smiles, "Of course, my lady Rose."

     War steps away from the pile of maps she had been looking over, and closes her eyes. Rose watches and sees the little telltales of a personality shift, then Iriisii opens her eyes and sees Rose.

     Iriisii: "Rose!"

     Rose: "I need to speak with you. We have had almost no time together since we first met, but even then I knew there was something different about you, and no I do not mean you being dragonborn. It was deeper, more personal than that. That first and only night we had together, changed me inside. Until then I had only only had lovers, some for a single night, some for a few days, but none did I ever care for like I cared for you. Truth be told, I fell in love with you that night, and prayed that you felt the same. I had no idea until you and Rigmor came to Bravil and stepped into my Inn. I came down those stairs and saw you, then my heart leaped into my throat. I saw Rigmor and it fell into my stomach. I put on a brave face and greeted you both. You know what happened after that.

     When you came back for me later and asked me to come and stay in the Imperial City, I dared to hope. And so I waited to see what would happen. Rigmor has explained to me what happened with you at Fort Black after I escaped. As I went across the border and kept going, I would look over my shoulder hoping to see you coming for me. Every noise I heard, I thought it was you, only to find a deer, or a rabbit, or some other animal. Sometimes I would ask myself why I kept hoping you would come when it was obvious you were not. But I kept on hoping. I did not know you were going through so much pain and grief of your own. Grieving over the loss of what we could have had. Had I known, Thalmor or not, I would have turned around and come back for you.

     I have wondered at why these things happened the way they did. I think it was because I was not ready for the kind of relationship we would have. I had to learn the depth of what I felt for you. What price was I willing to pay to have you, even to sharing you with others. I am sure Rigmor had to learn the same things I did. But we all know you if no one else is worth any price to be with. So..."

     Iriisii grins, eyes sparkling, puts her finger to Rose's lips.

     Iriisii: "Will you marry me Rose? I have been waiting for so long to ask you that question."

     Rose gets a mischievous gleam in her eyes.

     Rose: "Show me how badly you want me to say 'yes'."

     Iriisii does not hesitate to take Rose in her arms and kiss her, then as Rose feels her arms encircle her, Iriisii unfurls her wings and wraps them around the both of them. Rose feels the power of them enshroud them both. She can now hear only their twin heartbeats beating in their breasts, feel only the touch of each on the other and the rising heat of their desire for each other, Rose senses a peace, a serenity that she has sought without finding for far too long, for too many years. She thinks, 'if I can have this for all time, all I have endured is a small price to pay, for she loves me, she really, truthfully loves me. And I am not letting her go again.' As they return to the reality of the 'War Room'.

     Rose: "Yes, I will marry you, right now, right here, and I will never, ever, let you go again."

     Iriisii: "We can make this work as quickly as Elihal can get you ready."

     Rose: "Elihal, I have heard the name but I really do not know much else."

     Iriisii: "He personally made over half the clothes in my wardrobe, the better half in my opinion. Rigmor will literally kill for a new creation of his, especially if he makes it just for her. And I promised him he could make all the wedding dresses for those I ask to marry."

     Rose: "Well then I would hate to disappoint such a master of the needle and thread."

     Iriisii: "He is that and more, I promise. You will like him. Ask him to introduce you to his 'sister', you will see what I mean. Now Rigmor is 'chafing at the bit' to get you to his shop, and not just to get him started on you."

     Rose: "Before I go, just how did you keep yourself together, I mean..."

     Iriisii: "I know, sometimes I still ask myself that and each time I come up with a different answer. After I prayed and asked the Gods to show me if I could have a life with you, just before I went into Fort Black, fought my way down to the dungeon cells and found you gone, I thought about just laying down and dying, get it all over with. But I could not do it, even then I had inklings of what lay ahead. All I could feel was how much I was needed by everyone on Nirn. At times I have heard whispers that the gods thought me to be a loose cannon."

     Rose: "Yeah, well you had plenty of reason to be one, I will say that. But what turned you around, what drew you back to them, even after all that had happened?"

     Iriisii: "When we were traveling on the road between Skyrim and Hammerfell, we stopped at a waterfall on the Brena River."

     Rose: "I know that place, beautiful and quiet."

     Iriisii: "There was a shrine to Mara there, still is there, I think. Anyway we went up to look at it for Rigmor thought it was recently tended. She touched it and that began everything, I ended up thrown back down the steps and bleeding, I asked Rigmor if she felt different. She said she could not tell, which told me my suspicion was correct."

     Rose: "She was pregnant."

     Iriisii: "Yes, but before then I had a visitation from a priest that just appeared out of nowhere and Rigmor could not see him. She was in the river looking at me talking to an invisible person and wondering what was going on."

     Rose: "I could well imagine. What did he say?"

     Iriisii: "Basically that Akatosh did some wheeling and dealing with the other Gods and secured her survival through the birth."

     Rose: "Wait! You mean she was supposed to die in childbirth? Why?"

     Iriisii: "Kintyra was to be like me, a Dragonchild. And up till then with the exception of Alessia, no mortal woman had survived the birth of a Dragonchild."

     Rose: "Ok, you said Dragonchild, how is that different from Dragonborn?" 

     Iriisii: "From what I know, being Dragonborn does not carry the same cost because the dragonsoul is not awakened until later, after birth and usually when the dragonborn is in their teens. A Dragonchild however has the Dragonsoul awakened before birth, while still in the womb. Why this difference should be so hard on the mother, I do not have enough knowledge to even guess at it. What I do know is that I can have Dragonchild babies without harm to me. And I suspect that is because of the 'gifts' passed to me from the Gods of Eld."

     Rose: "Well there is something different I heard about when you were in that cave and two of the Sinister Seven caught you there."

     Iriisii: "Oh, that."

     Rose: "Bear with me, you said that when you heard Darius cry out just as he grabbed those demon possessed blades, you turned, looked at him, then closed the portal and summoned Desidarius to bargain for escape."

     Iriisii: "That covers it in a nutshell, what did you want to pry apart."

     Rose: "I am sorry if it still hurts, but I do have a pertinent point to make."

     Iriisii: "I should be the one to say I am sorry, go on."

     Rose: "You said what you saw in his eyes was not him, that was why you went and closed the portal."

     Iriisii: "Yes, that is what I remember."

     Rose: "If his soul had been truly ripped out of his body. You should not have seen anything in his eyes, in fact, his body should have collapsed as soon as it happened, in other words he should not have been standing when you looked at him."

     Iriisii starts thinking of what Rose has said.

     Iriisii: "What are you thinking?"

     Rose: "That there was in fact something animating his body, keeping it going. I think you saw it but did not know what you saw, and it was still in the process of getting control of it."

     Iriisii: "But what could it have been, the demons are restricted to the blades themselves, there was nothing else in the cave except for Darius, me, and the two Seven members."

     Rose: "Then that leaves something that was already present in him at that time."

     Iriisii thinks even harder, trying to connect everything into an answer she can understand. Rose watches her and thinks she needs to push things.

     Rose: "Step back a bit and let your mind go, let me give you a few thoughts and let your mind run with them, okay?"

     Iriisii nods her head, while Rigmor, Illyria, and Byrsael are quiet as mice so as not to interrupt this.

     Rose: "Darius was at that time your 'son' even as you only thought of him as your 'brother'. Now think of what you know you have inherited from your deep ancestors and who they are. You have Kthanid of the Gods of Eld, then you have Shai Hulu'ud, and you have the Ageless Ones, I do not understand enough of what makes a dragonborn to know if that would fit in here as well. But is it not probable he also inherited through you from the first three?"

     Suddenly, Iriisii cries out, "No! What did I do?! Why did I do it?!"

     Rose quickly grabs hold of her, "Now listen to me, concentrate for me. When you went and got the blades from the cave, was his body there?"

     Iriisii looks puzzled, "No it was not, what could that mean?"

     Rose: "Stay with me, we are not done yet. You tossed your pack in there with him as well, you said."

     Iriisii: "Yes, I did."

     Rose: "Was the pack in the cave with the blades?"

     Iriisii: "No, it was not. Then how did he get out, no, how did what was in him get his body out?"

     Rose: "If what he inherited was from all three, but had not awakened until Darius' soul was ripped out of him. It would have taken some time for them to completely wake then decide between them what they needed to do to survive."

     Iriisii: "Okay, What do you think?"

     Rose: "I think they merged into a single entity and took over the body. They would realize what happened, feel that Darius' was gone and likely they decided to keep the body alive until his soul could be found and reunited. Only he could not get loose from the blades until you used them to imprison the 'Man of Glass'. Once his soul was freed, the Gods of the Outer Realms, took him in order to place him in a new body they wanted to give to you so as to give him back to you for a reward for your actions that day. So likely before the entity in his old body knew he was freed of his prison, Darius soul was placed in a new one that you were given to bear and give birth to."

     Iriisii: "So what did they do?"

     Rose: "I think they looked into the echoes of his memories, saw the relationship between you and him, and went to some place familiar to you."

     Iriisii: "My village! The one that was destroyed! I was told there was something powerful there waiting for me to claim it! That is where they went, that is what is waiting for me to come there and claim! By all the Gods, I have to get there as soon as I can."

     Iriisii grabs the maps and sorts through them to find the one she wants.

     Iriisii: "This one".

     As she spreads it out and orients it to the cardinal directions, she points to a spot up in the northwest corner of the landmass, mountains almost completely surrounding it, but from the scale of the map, everyone can see it encompasses a large area of that corner.

     Iriisii: "This is where we have to go! It will take too long by ship to the continent, then a wagon train to where the village was. We will have to go by dragonback. I...I do not know what to think, what to say, what to do!"

     Rigmor comes up to the side opposite Rose, "Hey, we are all with you in this. We cannot know anything until we go there and see what the situation really is, then we can decide what to do. There is no point to borrowing trouble when you do not have to. We can be ready to go within a day or two at the most, we just need to assign jobs for what needs to be done while we are gone. Then grab our camp essentials and take wing. Just let me deal with Blackwell, you are in no condition to do it. He is going to have to ride herd on this until we get back, probably a good idea if we take Lilith with us. I think we can handle anything that crops up with all of us and Lilith too. Where is Aenus and Crispus?"

     Iriisii: "Why do you want them?"

     Rigmor: "I want them on 'Sethri' watch, you know, look out for him to show up, warn us when they see him so we can leave before he finds us. This is the kind of situation that seems to draw him from wherever he happens to be to wherever we are."

     Iriisii: "You are right. He will just have to wait for us to return."

     Everything moves at its own pace. Blackwell was not happy but now knowing more of his Empress' personal history, understands why she must go. Hopefully while she is there she can lay to rest some other inner demons that haunt her from that time she was there. Iriisii spent her time, pretty much between the children, the soldiers of the Legion and guards she has been training. Intensifying the training to get them as ready as possible for whatever may come. She pushes then as far as she can without breaking them, while the training officers take notes of how she is doing it to try and continue her work after she leaves. The last pieces are coming together, Elihal has completed Rose's wedding dress, the dragons have been chosen for their escort, and Blackwell has hit paydirt finding a Tsaesci survivor.

     When she found out, she ordered Blackwell to move the survivor from the prison cell to an interrogation room, and to make certain there were no interrogation implements within the room, just some comfortable chairs, some torches and braziers for light and heat, and some of Blackwells elite guards stationed around the room. To say the prisoner was shocked at the change in venue would not do justice to what was going through his mind. Iriisii and Blackwell are watching him through a special spyeye of Dwemer construction utilizing mirrors and shaped crystals, to not only hide the fact that the room is being watched, but enlarges the view for the watchers.

     Blackwell: "I had my doubts about this working when you started it, but you have made a believer out of me. The quality of the image is astounding in its detail, and there is no direct evidence of being watched."

     Iriisii: "There is much of what the ancient dwemer did that we can utilize for ourselves, we just have to be careful what we use. Be certain of our reasons for doing so, and do not fall into the same trap they fell into. The example they set for that should be ample reason to avoid it."

     Blackwell: "Honestly, I would not have believed half of it until you showed me some of what they did. I had never been so frightened out of my wits at how close we came to being under their control until Kagrenac in his own folly undid everything for them."

     Iriisii: "Keep that firmly in mind, for it is my opinion, it was set up for that fate to happen to them. It would be either Kagrenac or someone else stepping over the line into places they should have left alone."

     Blackwell: "Setup? Who or what...?"

     Iriisii: "I know Salaquine claimed to have had a hand in it, but I still think there were others. It is just possible she herself was used to bring it about. I know those Gods who have authority over the Realms the Dwemer were intruding into would not like it one bit. And would stop at nothing to indirectly arrange for the Dwemer to do as they did and cause their own destruction."

     Blackwell: "But..., I see, they have rules they must obey about taking direct action against mortals. I remember you talking to me about that once."

     Iriisii: "I am glad you remembered, it makes understanding some things that happen a little easier when you can identify the motivation and where it might come from."

     Blackwell: "I stand on my words that you have gone beyond my teaching you any more."

     Iriisii: "And I know that knowing or not, you would never divulge all of your secrets. I have no problem with that, it is in our nature to do so, to protect ourselves from others more than willing to use such secrets against us."

     Blackwell: "When the time comes for you to depart from us, those who may go against you in whatever places you tread will never know what struck them when they go up against you."

     Iriisii smiles, "When you look at everything that has happened in my life, is there any other conclusion you can come to?"

     Blackwell: "Not really, no there is not."

     Iriisii goes back to observing the Tsaesci prisoner. Blackwell's interrogators are good, but the Tsaesci are in a league all their own. The more she sees the more she thinks this will go nowhere and a different direction is needed.

     Iriisii: "Your people are good, there is no question of that, but 'he' is much better. We need to go in a different direction."

     Blackwell: "What are you thinking?"

     Iriisii: "Stay here, watch and listen, I am going to talk directly to him."

     Blackwell: "Do you think that is wise?"

     Iriisii: "No, but we are running out of time and he can outwait us."

     Iriisii gets up and walks out into the corridor leading to the hall, from there she makes her way to the interrogation room, and knocks on the door. As the door is opened, she tells the assistant that she is taking over and they are to leave her alone with the subject. The assistant goes and whispers into the interrogator's ear. He then stops his line of questioning and leaves the room with his assistant. Iriisii walks in, moves a chair where she can talk face to face with the subject, sits down and looks at him for a few minutes.

     At first he is calm, thinking he has taken the reins of control, but as Iriisii sits silently looking at him with no emotion on her face, just looking at him. He begins to grow nervous wondering what her game is, what does she know that she is willing to wait until he breaks the silence. His thoughts begin to move faster and faster, trading levels of degrees in his mind threatening to undo his carefully wrought control. He begins to say something, but she holds her finger up for silence, and the waiting continues.

     Tsaesci: "Enough please! I will tell you whatever you wish to know!"

     Iriisii listens carefully, and hears on a side level, "I will tell you what you wish to know", and then it shifts to another level, "And you will tell me what I wish to hear."

     Iriisii: "The waters of the Sea of Ghosts are deadly this time of year." at the same time on an upper level, "Keep trying to play with me and you will play with the sharks." while on a deep lower level, "I will extract your entrails and read my answers in them."

     The Tsaesci blanches, 'No one ever told us she was capable of speaking as we do! Who taught her the skills to read entrails? How far is she really willing to go?'

     Iriisii: "You do not want to know, the knowledge was entrusted to me to use as I deem fit. But I use it at my discretion, not that of those who taught me. However if you are truly curious I am willing to give you a demonstration of those skills, sadly I do not think you would survive the experience. But on the bright side, there is no telling what I might learn."

     The Tsaesci subject realizes she is in complete control and is willing to do what she feels she must to get what she wants from him. Even if it is to discover he knows no answers she wishes to hear.

     Tsaesci: "Ask your questions."

     Iriisii: "First, I am aware that there are some Kamali survivors from their attempt to find the Ordained Receptacle back in the second era. It is obvious to me they had incomplete information, they did not know where to look, and they did not even know if it was an object or a person. However, I do know the answers to those questions."

     The Tsaesci cannot help but let the incredulous show on his face.

     Iriisii: "What I want to know concerns an assassination attempt contracted with the Sinister Seven to kill an eighteen year old young woman, who lived in a remote village in the far northeast part of the island continent to the west of Akavir, about eight years ago. Who made the contract, and if different, who paid for it. Then there is the assassination attempt using a Grey Writ issued to the Morag Tong on the life of my then unborn daughter, of course that would also involve killing her birthing mother, at that time the High Queen Rigmor Ragnarsdottir. Then there was the subsequent attempt by the Commona Tong in the throne room during a diplomatic meeting. There have been others involving me directly that I wish any information you may possess.

     If you or any of the other survivors and their descendants had anything to do with any of these, I want to know. I am willing to negotiate terms for the information for specific ones to avoid my retribution, but they must provide sufficient value for me to access that possibility. I am sure you know that because of what your royalty did in attempting to invade Tamriel, they have placed your entire race in danger of extinction. The Ka Po-Tun will be ready to finish the job I started once this issue with the Kamali is over with, one way or another. If you and what is left of your people want a chance to survive there is only one way. And that way lies through me."

     Blackwell watching and listening is almost jumping in anticipation of what Iriisii is doing. 'By the Gods! As I live and breathe, she is doing it! She is going to turn him! I did not think it possible, but she is doing it!'

     Iriisii: "I intend to bring every nation on Nirn into the Empire. I know of the difficulty of what I speak. I know what happened when Tiber Septim tried to do it. But I know there is far more to why it needs to happen now than it did then. I will not stay Empress for too much longer, when my daughter, Kintyra, reaches her 'Age of Majority', I will step down in her favor to succeed me as Empress. Nirn must be complete in the Empire when that happens, for Akatosh wishes to bring about a Golden Age of peace, prosperity, and justice for all the races that live on Nirn. If it is not, somewhere within the late Fifth Era, another invasion of Tamriel will occur. The third Numinidium will be awakened to defend Tamriel. And in the resulting war, Nirn will be destroyed, it will become just a huge pile of rubble circling the sun in a band of rocks. What survivors there are will have to emigrate to Masser and create a new home in the massive worm tunnels under the surface.

     How do I know this? I have seen it with my own eyes, as the Psijic Order of the Fifth Era summoned me by temporal magic to go to the Fortress of Pandemonium and kill the demigod Orphis who stood to capture and enslave the survivors before they could leave for Masser. The things I saw that he did with those he had there, near froze the blood in my veins. He somehow found out what the Dwemer were experimenting with fusing the dead with certain kinds of armor. He took it to another whole level, capturing their souls and reanimating the armored bodies with them. That practice is an affront to every living being of Nirn. He even found a way to create a demigod that he kept frozen in a tomb inside the depths of the fortress.

     Later I was asked to return to the Fifth Era and deal with 'Ouroboros', some of the undead armored guards that were left from when I killed Orphis, found the way to the frozen tomb and thawed him out just as I found them. 'Landfall' is now ready to proceed from Pandemonium Fortress for Masser, but I am trying to change the future of our timeline so that this is not necessary, that the invasion does not happen, that Nirn is not destroyed. And the key is that Nirn is united under one Empire when Kintyra sits the throne. The Thalmor did not believe, thought that they would survive the invasion your Royals had brought about, but I knew they could not, and so I had no choice but as his 'Right Hand of Justice', to bring the Judgment of Akatosh against them. Now they are naught but dust being blown on the wind. Soon enough they will be nothing but a footnote in the dusty tomes of history books sitting in the depths of libraries unread. Do you want this for the Tsaesci? I will leave you to think on what I have said."

     Iriisii rises and moves toward the door.

     Tsaesci' "What race brings the invasion?"

     Iriisii: "The Kamali."

     Tsaesci: "Who leads them?"

     Iriisii: "Xan'ith Karek."

     Tsaesci: "To think we may have brought this upon ourselves. We deserve extinction, to be forgotten in the undisturbed dust of history."

     Iriisii returns to her seat.

     Iriisii: "Tell me what you know, anything could be critical."

     Tsaesci: "Why? She was entombed and the entrance collapsed in the late Merethic Era. All mention of her anywhere was stricken from every book, scroll, record, pillar, anywhere it could be found. To even whisper her name would get the offender killed."

     Iriisii: "Someone knows where she is. They sent me an encoded message calling me to meet them and they would take me to her. They said she had wakened and that Akatosh has called her, to do what I do not know. My knowledge of your language is imperfect. I have not tried to ask Akatosh, he prefers for me to figure these things out for myself. Which is why we are speaking right now. But I think, even though I am not sure, that it somehow involves dragons. I know she was revered by the dragons of the Merethic, so much so that the dragons of Akavir at that time shared a sliver of their souls with her, and asked Akatosh that he allow her to sleep the millennia away until she should be needed. It was Akatosh who hid her away. And I wonder if he has called her to be Dragonborn. If so, I have no idea of the reason why, or even what kind of Dragonborn she would be. Because all of the others that I have read of as well as the one I have previously met, possess a Dragon soul. A whole Dragon soul, not one comprised of slivers of many."