Heartless

Chapter 30 - Part 43

Shadow

Now in my life, I've made some pretty stupid decisions. This could quite possibly be the stupidest one yet.

'Hello? Anyone?' Called a desperate voice from among the spellbound chapters that were rebuilding Miraak's temple.

Cautiously, I ran down the Dark Stone steps to meet the Nord in carved armour. She wore a unique amulet around her neck, and turned towards me in relief. Her blonde hair whipped around her face in the harsh, cold winds, a stalhrim war axe hanging at her side. By the looks of it, the Nord had been here for days on end.

'Are you up for going down there?' I asked.

'Into the temple?' She Replied. 'Of course. Lead the way.'

And so, I led the way into an ancient temple I knew nothing about.

—

Panting, we arrived in an elegant room, designed in the style of Herma Mora himself, with a large black book laying dusty on a plinth. Curious, I picked up the Dark tome, and flipped open the front cover. An invisible wind seemed to blow through the dank ruins as the pages turned by themselves, landing on a seemingly normal page.. until tentacles burst forth and twisted around my neck, dragging me into a world of crazy.

'Who are you to dare set foot here?' Hissed a clearly male, yet distorted voice as I raised my head groggily to stare around me. All of my strength seemed to have abandoned me as I lay, vulnerable on the ground before the towering masked figure. 'Ah... you are dragonborn. I can feel it, you have slain a great many dragons and yet you have no idea the power a dragonborn can wield.'

'Yeah, but I've mastered the art of twisting the shadows to veil me which has proved pretty powerful. I've even gone toe-to-toe with a werewolf before and that was pretty fun.'

'You've got to be kidding me. You're the dragonborn, the last dragonborn? When did we get so sassy?'

'Considering Martin Septim was a bit of a wet blanket, we got sassy around 30 years ago.'

'Anyway... You have no idea the power a dragonborn can wield! Mul Qah Diiv!' The ground shook as glowing etheral armour formed around the towering figure. 'This realm is beyond you. You have no power here. And it is only a matt-'

'Oh so that's why I can't move.' I interrupted.

'Yes. And it is only a matter of time before Solstheim is also mine.'

'Pffft. THAT'S your goal? To rule Solstheim? Gods, you really have been here a long time, haven't you?' I couldn't help but laugh at the ridiculous plot. This guy really was a bad villain.

'Wha-What's so funny about that? I will rule the land!'

'You're Miraak, right?' He nodded. 'Well, Miraak, you can have Solstheim. Feel free to have the place, it could do with some nice changes. Gods, most of the dunmer down there are as big wet blankets as Martin Septim was, and he's my ancestor.'

I could practically hear Miraak scowling at me as my vision faded to black, and I returned to my proper body.