Her Dark Heart

Chapter 2.

When Kayla woke hours later, she was shocked to find that she was no longer in her cell at Durzkaban, but rather, she was in the middle of the desert. To add further to her shock, she was surprised to find that she was no longer human, having felt her face becoming more feline with whiskers protruding from her muzzle, as well as feeling cat ears on top of her head.

She also took note that she now had claws on her hands instead of fingernails, her teeth were now sharp like a cat's teeth, and her feet were paws, as well as the tail that was attached to her lower back. She did take note that she had rather fetching orange fur with tiger stripe patterns and a white underbelly, and when she came upon the nearest river, she saw that her pupils had shrunk, but her irises were still the same emerald color, despite being larger than normal.

"What am I? Where am I? Why am I a walking cat instead of a human?" Kayla asked with an exotic accent, noting that she made a purring noise when trying to pronounce her r's.

"Well, you're now a Khajiit, Kayla Potter. The cat-like race of Elsweyr. As to where you are? Well, you're in the desert of Anequina — the northern region of Khajiiti homeland." A female voice that sounded more human replied. The voice had a demonic echo to it, yet it sounded seductive and comforting.

Kayla turned around to see a gorgeous human woman with long, chaotic hair that cascaded down her back. She dressed in emerald green robes and was barefoot. Her eyes held compassion and understanding, though her malignant aura spoke a different story.

"Who... who are you?" Kayla asked.

"Just someone who sympathizes with you. You've known hunger, poverty, betrayal and manipulations all your life, and I like to... take in those who feel betrayed and ostracized. I am Namira; the Ancient Darkness, the Daedric Prince of Hunger, the Lady of Decay, the Spirit Daedra, and Goddess of the Dark. The Khajiit — the race that you have transformed into — refer to me as Namiira with an added "I". They call me Ur-dra, which are the oldest and most powerful Daedric Princes in all of Oblivion. Similarly, Nocturnal and Hermaeus Mora are also referred to as Ur-dra.

"The Khajiit, for the most part, revile me and see me as their equivalent of... I believe your world knows him as... Satan, am I correct?" Namira asked, earning a nod from the raven-haired teen. "Then that is what the Khajiit see me as. I am the Great Darkness. Mistress of the Dark Behind the World... or the Scuttling Void as the other mortals know my plane of Oblivion as.

"In their religion, I am responsible for corrupting Lorkhaj, the last of Fadomai's litter. Fadomai, according to their scripts, fled from Ahnurr into the Great Darkness, and gave birth to Lorkhaj while still in hiding. Because Lorkhaj was born in the Great Darkness, it had filled his heart. When Lorkhaj had his heart ripped out, I was still in his wound and began to imitate it. But Azurah ripped his Dark Heart out and cast it into Nirni. Lorkhaj died in her arms, so now, Lorkhaj represents the duality of the Khajiit. Those who hear the pounding of his Dark Heart are then corrupted into my dro-m'Athra.

"First, their shadows grow longer, then their tails start to twitch. Then, they start to hear seductive whispers and begin to dance to the beating heart. dro-m'Athra are very dangerous and seductive reflections of the Khajiit. By becoming a dro-m'Athra, their souls are claimed by me." Namira lectured. And so, for then next hour and a half, Kayla quickly began to get a grasp on Khajiiti religions, culture, and architecture. She even learned that Khajiits can come in many shapes and sizes depending on the phases of the two moons.

According to Namira, Kayla was now a Furstock known as a Cathay, which was larger and stronger than the Suthay-raht which were human-sized and had digitigrade legs.

For the next few days, Namira also taught Kayla how to dance without the Dark Heart beating... though, that would come later. She also learned that she was a very powerful and natural-born Necromancer — something that was heavily frowned upon in most other Provinces, but in Elsweyr, it was perfectly legal. In fact, you could legally purchase fresh corpses in the port of Senchal, much to the ebony-haired teen's amazement. Once she could feel her innate predisposition for Necromancy, Kayla began practicing under the watchful eye of Namira.