Day Three
Venn awoke in his cell again. He supposed a day had passed. He spent a few minutes gathering his wits. His bow. They had taken his bow and wanted to know "how it worked". What in Cyrodiil were they talking about?! It was just a simple bow, for the Nine's sake! Why was it so special?!
I suppose I'll never know, I guess...they'll kill me soon...His blindfold was back on, and he had been gagged again. Why the gag, he didn't know. He was obviously deep underground...
"Get up."
The command had been issued by another Brotherhood member, he supposed. He groggily brought himslef to his feel and limped towards where he thought the door was.
Thunk.He hit the wall. Okay, the door wasn't that way.
"I said, GET UP! The contractor is here to inspect the package himself, and he has some questions to ask you..."
Venn dragged himself towards another region of his cell, and finally thumped into some metal bars, which promptly opened.
"Well, hurry, worm..."
The black void over his eyes lifted, and he could see once again. The "sanctuary" was as bleak as ever, but still evoked fear in him.
"Go to that table right there..." the man said, kicking him onto bench that faced an old, ragged wooden table that faced another bleak wall illuminated by a single torch.
[glow=black,2,300]Put out the light...[/glow] A voice emenated from nowhere, apparently directed toward the Brotherhood member. It was a dark and ominous voice, and seeped with...evil, Venn assuumed.
"Y-yes, contractor sir!"
Venn was astonished. Whoever the contractor was, he was obviously dangerous enough to frighten a member of the Dark Brotherhood, which is no small feat.
The man got up and dowsed the torch, and darkness settled over the room.
[glow=black,2,300]Bah. You know my kind hate the light. You should remove all torches from this place. It's unnerving, how your species needs light to survive. Disgusting, really.[/glow]
Whoever this was, he obviously liked the shadows...
Suddenly, the darkness in the wall moved. A figure stepped from the wall, solid black, and moved towards the other end of the table. What appeared to be a cape and a cane formed, but it was all pitch black, like a shadow.
[glow=black,2,300]Call me Shadow, if you want, boy. Not many know of my kind, anyways.[/glow] THe voice growled as the shade sat down on the bench opposite of Venn.
[glow=black,2,300]You might not know this, but I want your bow. I would have had you killed and just taken it, but I need to know how it works, how to return it to its former state, and then...how to destroy it.[/glow]
"It's just a bow...I don't see why you're so interested in it, Shadow." Venn countered truthfully.
[glow=black,2,300]Where did you find it?[/glow]
"I already told the Brotherhood. On some ruins of a temple in the Jerall Mountains. They looked really old...why do you care?"
[glow=black,2,300]Foolish child. You don't understand...those ruins have seen more conflict than many wars and decided the fate of the world. That temple was best left deserted, and was supposed to never be found...but somehow, you found it, and found that bow. I want it gone, do you hear me?! GONE! The threat it poses is too great![/glow]
"B-but sir, it's just a bronze colored bow that is incredibly balanced. It's never done anything extraordinary. It's just a plain bow..."
Suddenly, Shadow's head shot up.
"What is it, sir?" One of the Brotherhood members asked.
[glow=black,2,300]We haven't felt that presence in a long time...it should be best to either arm yourselves to the teeth or run. I suggest running...[/glow]
Shadow seemed to reach into his cloak-thing and pull out a rather strong looking sword. Solid black, of course, which was his fashion.
The Brotherhood members ran to the armory and returned with daggers, bows, and swords, likely enchanted.
"What should we expect, sir?"
[glow=black,2,300]Fools. Expect death.[/glow]
He readied his blade, and at that moment, a figure dropped from the ceiling in a blur, cutting down one member in a flash of black and another in a flash of white. They fell to the ground, obviously dead. There stood a rogueish looking man, a red scarff wrapped around his neck. There was a cowl over his head, hiding his face. In each hand he held a dagger that looked exactly like its counterpart, except one was pitch black and the other blazing white.
"Well, it's been a long time. I'll be taking the bow now." The man said gruffly, cutting down two more Brotherhood members with flashes from his daggers.
[glow=black,2,300]Stay back. The bow is mine. Ragnarok has no effect on me, you know that.[/glow] Shadow said, but there was strained fear in his voice.
"Yes, but Abberoc will do so much damage that you likely won't survive a second slash. I suggest that you be the one to stay back, untie the boy, then leave with your pathetic shade life. You know what I'm capable of."
[glow=black,2,300]You may take my life, but I will destory the bow!![/glow] Shadow launched himself at the bow that Venn just noticed was sitting on an adjacent table, only to run headfirst into the man, who had blurred where he was standing and appeared in front of him. Abberoc - he assumed that was what the white dagger was called - was sticking through Shadows chest. The man had taken him down so fast that Venn hadn't even seen it.
Shadow's body began to glow with light - the light of the dagger - and dissolve. The darkness of his body was eventually overcome by light, and he was no more.
"Pff. That takes care of that. Need some help over there, lad?" The man walked over to him without reply and cut his bonds, freeing him.
"Um, sir...may I ask your name? I mean, you saved me so...I guess I should know what to call you...r-right?"
The man chuckled, but there wasn't any humor in his voice. Humor had left him long ago.
"Call me... Daex. Yes, that's my name. It's not too hard for you to say, is it?"
"Of course not, D-Daex. Thanks, I guess. Why did they want my bow, though? It's just ordinary..."
Deax snorted. "Ordinary? Hardly. Do you know where you found it? A temple, I assume. A very old one. That place is known as the Temple of the Gods. It hasn't been disturbed for a hundread years..."
"Sir, I don't understand. So what? And old ruin that's supposedly decided the fate of the world, and there's an ordinary bow there. Not special, if you ask me."
Deax growled, and Venn thought he was about to backhand him.
"Boy, it's not that simple! Why can you not wrap your mind around the fact that it isn't ordinary?! Meh, Shadow was wrong anyways. You wouldn't know how to activate it...there's only one person who's ever fired it. And...he's dead."
"D-dead? So I guess I'll never know what the bow is..." Venn replied, disappointed.
"Shadow didn't sense my presence by the way, although now the entire mass of shadows knows we're here. I may hold two of the most powerful blades in existence, but lad, I'm not careless. I'm sneaky."
"Sneaky, hm? Well then, who did he sen-"
Venn's eyes widened in shock. The torches had just gone out, and an oppressive chill had settled over the room. Almost like a mist, the darkness seeped fear into every pore of his body.
"W-what
is that?!"
"The darkness. It's trying to keep
him out."
"Who?"
"The one Shadow sensed. The one that has undoubtedly been pursued by shadows on the way here, although for what good it did them. General Aeric..."
"General Aeric? I've never heard of him..."
"That's good. You might not want to meet him..." Deax said grimly.
"Why? Is he evil?"
"No. He's light. One of the most heroic people that a few people have had the priveldge to know. Although he's changed, now...but he's still light."
At that moment, a blade rammed straight through the door to the hideout, which seemed to convulse with pulses of dark energy. The blade that stuck through it was emblazoning gold-white, so much that it washed the shadows out of the room. Venn heard a slam, and the door exploded, giving way to a man clad in solid gold armor with a trim that seemed to...move. That was all Venn could think of. A cape that was pure white hung from his shoulders, and an ornate helmet rested on his head.
"Aeric, it's been a while." Deax remarked lightly.
At that moment, two cloaked figures stepped through the wall on either side of Aeric, one in a cloak of starlight hues, the other's cloak in midnight blacks.
"Sir, the shadows are gaining. We should take the bow." The one clad in silvers said in a royal voice.
Deax snorted, obviously not expecting these two.
"I see you brought Astellos and Lunaris..."
The one clad in black turned his hooded head towards Daex.
"A pleasure as always, Da-"
"Daex, yes, Venn knows my name, Lunaris."
"-ex. We've come for the bow, so I suggest you hand it over."
"Is it always the same with you Observants? All talk and no action? Do you expect to just take the bow from me unaware? Your time stopping techniques won't work on me, you know."
Aeric turned his head to Daex.
"The shadows are on their way. I suggest you hand us the bow." His voice was strong, Venn realized. Incredibly strong. This man had obviously seen his share of hardships and overcome them. His voice held an authority that few could rebel against.
"Well then Aeric, why don't you take it from me??" Daex brought both daggers, the dark and the light in a dazzling display of energy, and seemed to push them together. Venn cried out and nearly lost his footing as a shockwave from the fusion nearly blew him off his feet. There, in Daex's hand was a blade that sparkled with starlight glimmers and dark voids all mixed into one.
Astra...Venn had read a description in the same temple that he had obtained the bow that everyone seemed to want.
What is it? The color...the energy...Aeric's eyebrows shot up, but he didn't seem to be thrown off guard.
The silver cloaked man - Astellos, Venn realized - nodded to the one Daex had addressed as Lunaris, and the both whipped out a hand. In the hand of Lunaris, a scythe formed, it's blade like the crescent of the moon. A quarterstaff, elegantly gilded and polished, obviously metal, appeared in the hand of Astellos. Obviously, whatever sword Daex had drawn, they were compelled to draw their weapons against it.
"I see. So, you bring Vexxacus against me. I haven't gazed upon that blade in such a long time. Astellos, Lunaris, leave us."
As if they had expected the order, they both turned to Aeric and nodded.
"As you wish, General."
In syncronization, they both moved through the gaping tear in the wall Aeric had made.
"Aeric, you don't want to clash blades with me. You know of Vexxacus's power." Daec swirled the blade around in his hand, leaving trails of dark and light.
Aeric grunted.
"You think I'm afraid of a blade that I've weilded as much as you? Velveshde does not have an owner, it picks one..."
Daex whipped Vexxacus into an attack-ready stance.
"Even so, you cannot have the bow. Only the bow can use it. You may think you can harness it's power, but it has already chosen its weilder."
Aeric reached to the handle of the blade that was sheathed on his belt, and pulled it out. Immediatley, all darkness in the room disappeared as a blade so bright and luminous was pulled from it's sheath and brought into the hand of Aeric.
"You may have have Vexxacus, but I have Empyrean..."
Daex harshly laughed, but Venn could tell he had been taken off guard.
