Beautiful Insanity (A Skyrim/Oblivion Fanfiction) ((ORIGINAL))

Ritual of Accession

A/N: I'm not going to keep warning about severe language. If you read this, then I love you. :P 

Someone starving for love will do anything to feed it.
~TheRussetNightingale, 2015

...

My eyes were closed tightly, and I opened them at the slight tickling feeling around my feet. The fire was not burning me, on the contrary, it felt like a warm embrace. I couldn't hold back a tiny smile. Memories of warm hugs from my parents filled my mind for several seconds before my eyelids cracked open. The first thing I noticed was each and every Dark Seducer bowing down to the Altar. When I approached one, she gave me a smile-- not something I'd seen on any of the Daedra that roamed the Isles. 

"You should go to Sacellum Arden-Sul and light the beacon of Dementia. Thank you for everything you've done for us." She kept her gaze to the ground. I continued to smile.

"It was my pleasure. I... I'm glad I could help." I nearly surprised myself with the fact that my words were entirely genuine. With that, I made for the exit.

Once I was out in the cold air again, I was reminded of my... predicament. I shuddered, not just because of the icy wind. I just blew off a damn Daedric Lord and his Chaimberlain. Well, if I'm not royally doomed, then it'll be a royal miracle. 

The fire around me illuminated the darkness of the night. Several times, I saw Sheogorath's creatures quickly flee from me, and I briefly assumed it to be an effect of the Flame. I didn't fully consider it, I just thanked my lucky stars while they were lasting.

...

I reached New Sheoth by the next morning. People backed away from me as well, frightened by the bluish-orange blaze that cloaked me. I was relieved by that as well. While the Dark Seducer guards had been easier to speak to, citizens were clearly another matter. Trepidation weighting my feet down, I slowly trudged up the stone stairs to the chapel. Inside were two men, both in robes. Their attire could have been on opposite sides of the spectrum, however. One was garbed in a red ornate robe, the other wearing teal.

"Hello?" I approached the red priest, who brightened up at seeing the bright glow around me.

"Dervenin, High Priest of Mania at your service." Dervenin? That madman outside the Blue Palace in Solitude... back home? Beyond that, Dervenin had always treated me with a great kind of respect, one I hadn't understood... "What brings you to this holy place on such a fine day?"

"This is Sacellum Arden-Sul. Who was Arden-Sul to you?"

"Yes, Arden-Sul. Doesn't the name simply roll wonderfully off the tongue? He was the sovereign of thought and a regnant artist. To call him a simple craftsman would not suffice; know him as the Artificer Superior. Words dripped like honey from his tongue and his songs were intoned with extraordinary verisimilitude. Had we been blessed with his constant presence, the Isles would be a Maniac's paradise."

"Well, about the Fl--"

"You've brought it!" he chirped. I hid a scowl at the pitch his voice went to. It was incredibly annoying, different from how I might have heard outside the Blue Palace. "The holy Flame of Agnon, the fire of Inspiration and Rapture!!" He continued to prattle on, oblivious to my ever-growing irritation. "If you light the Great Torch on the Mania side of the Sacellum, you will be a hero to the people of Bliss, I assure you!"

"You know what? Just... let me think about it." I rolled my eyes. Somehow, it was easier to forget my anxiety. He acted more like a child than anything.

"Do not think about it," Dervenin ordered. "Dream about it!! Let your mind soar on flights of fancy! I know you will choose well, in the end!" What in Oblivion...? I quickly realized that invoking the worlds of the Daedric Lords might not be the best idea... I mentally damned myself and backed away from him. I followed up with a glance towards the other priest. He only hunched in the corner, staring at me with a hungry look. I bit my lip in the anxiety that had suddenly built up, suppressed by Dervenin and returned with the presence of an understanding and judging individual. Still, I ignored it and approached him, hiding my social ineptness.