The End of Time

1. The Blow

I was on my knees, Katana lying next to me on the stone floor of what once was the Temple of the One. I looked up at the still stone dragon statue that had once been my only love. The smell of smoke and fire was still filling my lungs, but the sun was shining, and the silence was staggering. I stared at the statue, still processing what had just happened. There was a ringing in my ears, so I barely heard Chancellor Ocato yell: "What happened?! *cough* Where is Emperor Martin?!"

I still stared at the statue, wide-eyed and unresponsive. I heard Jauffre running behind him, and stood behind him looking somewhat scared. "Did you hear me?! What happened here? Where is the Emperor?!" I was in shock. I couldn't move. Even to this day, I still lock up at the thought. I felt a familiar hand on my shoulder. Jauffre. He has always been able to read me, and is like a father to me. He spoke in a still, reassuring tone. "Mikaela, my dearest, I need you to tell me what happened. Where is the Emperor?"

I looked up into his eyes, and before I even said "Martin is gone." He knew the whole story. He knew me well, just like Martin. Chancellor Ocato's face went white, and he said "That dragon, the avatar of Akatosh... Was Martin?" My eyes still wide, I shook my head in confirmation. He looked grave, and said "By the Nine Divines... This is not good. Martin Septim's sacrifice was a necessary one, but we are now an Empire without an Emperor. May I offer my personal condolences to you, Lady Mikaela."

"And I am a woman with half of a heart..." I thought to myself. "But, even now, we should rejoice in the fact that we are still alive. However, there will be the issue of crowning a new Emperor. With the last Septim heir dead, we will have to work from the ground up. We will give the Legion time to calm things down, then I will send word to the Lords of the provinces to convene to mourn our last, and have a moot to determine our next plans." Jauffre still held my shoulder, for he knew were he to let go, I would've abruptly fallen to the floor.

I nodded, and he turned and said "Very well. I'll go prepare the summons, and talk to the legion. I bid you farewell, but I expect we'll keep frequent company for the next bit." He walked out of sight. I let out a huge shaky breath and fell to my knees once again. Jauffre held me under my arms and went down with me. "Jauffre..." I said shakily. "Yes?" He said in a concerned tone. "He's gone." Then I blacked out.