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Description
Faith
Chapter 1: One Cold Night

“Do not provoke something you do not fully understand. Those actions could very well be your last.” -Unknown

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Mad. He has gone completely and utterly mad. What is he thinking? What on Nirn could be running through his head? He had taken you from your house in the middle of the night, away from your home. The rope cuts onto your wrists as you struggle to break free. The carriage rocks you and all you can do is stare at the driver’s back thinking about how crazy he has to be.

You try to talk. To ask why he’s doing this; to ask where he’s taking you and what he plans on doing. But with the gag tied tightly in your mouth all you can manage are a few quivering moans which go unanswered.

Cold bites at your skin and the snowfall picks up. Even for the land of Skyrim this weather is bitter. The little amount of sky you can see peeking through the tall pines is filled with dark clouds hide the light of the moons and stars above. The black snowy night reflects your feelings of hopeless dread and fear.

The carriage stops at the side of a narrow dirt road with the horse coming to a halt with an uneasy whinny. It seems that even it can sense the dark aura in the air and wishes to escape from this place. As if to amplify the tension in the atmosphere the frozen wind picks up it’s howling pace.

The man jumps off the wagon before circling around to the back. His grip on your arm as he drags you to the ground is bruising. A fear soaked whimper escapes through your gag as he pulls you off into the thick black forest. You stumble over roots and the bottoms of your bare feet become sticky with blood as sharp rocks cut into them.

If he notices then he doesn’t care. The man simply walks on at a quick pace dragging you along. Tall grass and twigs scrape and twist at your legs like hands trying to stop you from going where you are being led.

The road long since out of sight, the man finally comes to a stop at the base of a short cliff. The small area has been cleared of debris. A nearby tent and piles of books and papers hint at your captor comes here regularly. In the center of the clearing sits some sort of pentagram and while you do not know it’s purpose, it is clear that very dark magic is involved which only makes you even more fearful of the fate that awaits you.

The man pounds a stake into the ground in the center of the circle. The smile on his face resembles a child when given sweets. After he facens your bound hands to the stake to ensure you cannot escape he all but skips over to a book littered table.

Fear rushes through you. Surely he has completely lost it. You half expect the Prince of Madness to come down and whisk him away to the Shivering Isles, crazy as he is. What in oblivion could compel him to do such a thing? You thought you knew him. You thought he cared about you. Never in your life would you have thought him to use you in some dark ritual. What does he even plan to do? Sacrifice you to summon a daedra or something? But why would he even want to? Perhaps his intentions are even darker yet? Is this some sort of revenge he’s exacting against you? What have you ever done to him? You had always treated him with the respect he demanded. You always did everything he asked of you. So why is he doing this to you?

Tears stream down your face half freeze in the cold wind. Whimpers leave your trembling form and you struggle as best as you are able to try to break free from your bindings.

“Don’t bother struggling my dear,” He speaks casually, not bothering to look up from his book and papers. “Those bonds are reinforced. You won’t be going anywhere.”

You want to argue. To beg him to let you go. All that escapes through the gag are incoherent moans and groans.

“Now now, no tears. Crying is unbecoming of a young maiden. You should, in fact, be happy. This is a joyous occasion my dear. This is a time for merriment and celebration. For tonight will be marked in the history books as the night when the impossible became possible. No longer will the people of Tamriel live in fear. For on this night, with my magic and your sacrifice, a Daedric Prince shall die with no hope of ever returning to Nirn nor Oblivion.” He laughs happily.

“But most of all my dear,” The man moves, book in hand to stand before you just outside the circle. “Tonight I shall avenge my beloved and finally have vengeance against the Prince of the Hunt. He shall know agony just as she did! And it will all be thanks to you my dear.”

Daedric Princes? Sacrifice? It’s not even possible to kill a Daedric Prince. Is it? If it is then surely it would have been done by now. Fear courses through you and your trembling becomes almost violent. He plans to kill you doesn’t he? Sacrifice you so that Hircine will die. Your mind can’t even begin to understand how his death and your own are linked together. You don’t want to die. You want to go back home to your farm. You want to tend to your crops. Bessy is due to give birth to her calf any day now. You want to be there for her and her newborn. You want to watch the plants grow and pick wildflowers to set on your bedside table. You don’t want to be a sacrifice, you want to live.

“Like I said before it’s no use struggling, those bonds are reinforced. Now be a good girl and behave. This is a two step process you see. It took me ten years of research and experimentation to finally figure it out. First I use my magic to activate that pentagram you are in. It connect to Hircine’s Hunting Grounds. Once active it’ll act as a sort of portal. Then I’ll be able to fuse your soul with his very essence; like tieing two strings together. Once tied, any injuries you endure will be transferred onto him and theoretically including any pain. Then all I have to do is kill you. When you die, so will he and since you will be bound together he won’t be able to come back from oblivion.”

“However I’m torn on a decision,” He pauses as if to consider his thoughts. “I don’t simply want him to die. That’s not much of a revenge on my part. No, I need him to suffer. However, that means that you will suffer just as much as he. On the other hand if I carry it out to long then he may just come and try to stop me, and I can’t have that. Even with this plan of mine he is still a Daedric Prince and I am just a mortal. Nevertheless, it’s far time we get things going don’t you think so my dear?”

Your wide eyes stare at him in complete disbelief. That’s his plan? He means to bind you to a daedra, one of the Princes no less, and then kill you? This is what he has been up to for the past ten years? Those years when you thought he cared for you. That whole time he had planned to use you in this insane ritual and kill you off just so he can have his revenge? What guarantee is there that this will even work?

The surrounding forest seems to darken when his chanting begins. The circle below you bursts to life with an array of light while the world outside of it blurs and fades. While you can still see the dark pines they’re overlapped with the image of different trees. Tall, old looking ones covered in thick vines and leaves. It’s like holding two paintings on top of each other over a fire. You can see both images but only the basic shapes. It’s hard to tell what is from one painting and what is from the other.

The man’s words grow louder now, but are at the same time muffled to where you can’t make them out. At first you think that you’re just imagining it. A barely there, light feeling in the distance. But as seconds go by you become more sure of it. The feeling grows and becomes stronger as it closes in on you.

Your heart beats like a rabbit trying to outrun a hungry fox. A new surge of fear washes over you as this feeling becomes more powerful and closer still. It presses against you and you feel the air leave your lungs. You imagine that this must be what it is like to be stepped on by a mammoth or giant. You can feel it crash against your chest unrelenting, the pain almost unbarable. You don’t even hear yourself screaming through the gag. Your vision darkens at the edges and you begin to feel dizzy, yet the pressure never eases.

You feel like you’re dying. You want to die. Anything, anything to make it stop. It feels as if your chest is being split in two with a burning axe. The pain and fiery heat to much to bear. You want to scream but your lungs refuse to take in any air to push out. Your throat is tight and raw. Please, you just want it to stop. You don’t care if you live or die anymore just so long as the torment ends.

Then in an instant the crushing pressure seems to enter your chest, like a dislocated joint being forced to pop back into place. The fiery heat flares and makes you feel like you’re burning up from the inside out. That you will be reduced to a pile of ash and you want nothing more than to feel the bitter wind against you. You have no such luck. There is no chilled wind to tame the fire in your chest. Nothing to relieve the pressure that still resides there.

Just when you think it can’t get any worse, when you wish to oblivion that you were dead, the pressure eases away and the fire slowly subsides to a dull warmth within your chest. Piercing anger shoots through your relief like a red hot arrow. The rage is overwhelming and you fall onto your side not caring that with your hands still bound to the stake it causes your arms to twist painfully and makes the ropes cut into your wrists.

The fear for your life you had felt shortly ago dulls in comparison to the pure horror that now courses through you at feeling the unshackled wrath within you. This rage is not your own however, a realization that only builds your terror even higher. If this anger you feel isn’t your own then could it be…

The light emanating from the pentagram flickers from dull to bright, white to red. Outside the circle the two worlds seem to be battling each other. One moment you can hardly see the dark pines while the large trees become more prominent. The next second it switches to the pines being dominant and the lush trees fade to almost nothing. They continue to switch back and forth with the changing light of the pentagram.

“What’s happening? Something’s gone wrong,” The man drops the book with worry thickly coating his face. “I’ll have to do it now before it’s too late.”

You watch as he pulls a sharpened dagger from the belt at his waist and step towards you. You try to back away however doing so proved futile with your hands bound to the stake and the force of the anger you feel within you prevents you from sitting up. The shining blade draws ever closer. The madman stops just outside of the circle, knowing better then to step foot inside.

“Goodbye my dear. You’re noble sacrifice will not be in vain. You shall be remembered throughout history as the maiden that brought down a Daedric Prince.”

You see the wisp of silver as the dagger comes down upon you. An explosion of red light surrounds your body just as pain floods your right arm. The light recedes to reveal that the dark pine woods have vanished as has the man. Before you is a thick forest illuminated by moonlight. A glance up confirms that the sky is no longer blanketed by fierce clouds. The cold air has also disappeared in favor of a warmer temperature. Even the pentagram below you is gone without a trace.

A glance at your upper arm confirmed that the dagger did strike you. Thankfully it doesn’t look to bad. Considering he had planned on ending your life you lucked out with only a gash in your arm. The explosion must have been what saved you in the end. The man couldn’t see where he was hitting. If any good came from the whole situation then that was it.

You can still feel the anger boiling within you, but, hard as it may be, you do your best to push it aside for now. Sure you’re away from the man who just tried to kill you in some freaky black magic ritual, but where are you now? Still bound and tied to a stake in the ground in the middle of the night in some dark forest. The man had said that the pentagram was a portal of sorts right? Then does that mean…? A newfound fear fills your body and soul. You are no longer on Nirn are you? No, you are now trapped within the Hunting Grounds with no way of escape.

In the far distance you can hear animals growling and snarling at each other. Twigs snap and bushes rustle. Whatever it is that’s out lurking within the shadows, it’s coming your way. Fast.

Description
Faith
Chapter 1: One Cold Night

“Do not provoke something you do not fully understand. Those actions could very well be your last.” -Unknown

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Mad. He has gone completely and utterly mad. What is he thinking? What on Nirn could be running through his head? He had taken you from your house in the middle of the night, away from your home. The rope cuts onto your wrists as you struggle to break free. The carriage rocks you and all you can do is stare at the driver’s back thinking about how crazy he has to be.

You try to talk. To ask why he’s doing this; to ask where he’s taking you and what he plans on doing. But with the gag tied tightly in your mouth all you can manage are a few quivering moans which go unanswered.

Cold bites at your skin and the snowfall picks up. Even for the land of Skyrim this weather is bitter. The little amount of sky you can see peeking through the tall pines is filled with dark clouds hide the light of the moons and stars above. The black snowy night reflects your feelings of hopeless dread and fear.

The carriage stops at the side of a narrow dirt road with the horse coming to a halt with an uneasy whinny. It seems that even it can sense the dark aura in the air and wishes to escape from this place. As if to amplify the tension in the atmosphere the frozen wind picks up it’s howling pace.

The man jumps off the wagon before circling around to the back. His grip on your arm as he drags you to the ground is bruising. A fear soaked whimper escapes through your gag as he pulls you off into the thick black forest. You stumble over roots and the bottoms of your bare feet become sticky with blood as sharp rocks cut into them.

If he notices then he doesn’t care. The man simply walks on at a quick pace dragging you along. Tall grass and twigs scrape and twist at your legs like hands trying to stop you from going where you are being led.

The road long since out of sight, the man finally comes to a stop at the base of a short cliff. The small area has been cleared of debris. A nearby tent and piles of books and papers hint at your captor comes here regularly. In the center of the clearing sits some sort of pentagram and while you do not know it’s purpose, it is clear that very dark magic is involved which only makes you even more fearful of the fate that awaits you.

The man pounds a stake into the ground in the center of the circle. The smile on his face resembles a child when given sweets. After he facens your bound hands to the stake to ensure you cannot escape he all but skips over to a book littered table.

Fear rushes through you. Surely he has completely lost it. You half expect the Prince of Madness to come down and whisk him away to the Shivering Isles, crazy as he is. What in oblivion could compel him to do such a thing? You thought you knew him. You thought he cared about you. Never in your life would you have thought him to use you in some dark ritual. What does he even plan to do? Sacrifice you to summon a daedra or something? But why would he even want to? Perhaps his intentions are even darker yet? Is this some sort of revenge he’s exacting against you? What have you ever done to him? You had always treated him with the respect he demanded. You always did everything he asked of you. So why is he doing this to you?

Tears stream down your face half freeze in the cold wind. Whimpers leave your trembling form and you struggle as best as you are able to try to break free from your bindings.

“Don’t bother struggling my dear,” He speaks casually, not bothering to look up from his book and papers. “Those bonds are reinforced. You won’t be going anywhere.”

You want to argue. To beg him to let you go. All that escapes through the gag are incoherent moans and groans.

“Now now, no tears. Crying is unbecoming of a young maiden. You should, in fact, be happy. This is a joyous occasion my dear. This is a time for merriment and celebration. For tonight will be marked in the history books as the night when the impossible became possible. No longer will the people of Tamriel live in fear. For on this night, with my magic and your sacrifice, a Daedric Prince shall die with no hope of ever returning to Nirn nor Oblivion.” He laughs happily.

“But most of all my dear,” The man moves, book in hand to stand before you just outside the circle. “Tonight I shall avenge my beloved and finally have vengeance against the Prince of the Hunt. He shall know agony just as she did! And it will all be thanks to you my dear.”

Daedric Princes? Sacrifice? It’s not even possible to kill a Daedric Prince. Is it? If it is then surely it would have been done by now. Fear courses through you and your trembling becomes almost violent. He plans to kill you doesn’t he? Sacrifice you so that Hircine will die. Your mind can’t even begin to understand how his death and your own are linked together. You don’t want to die. You want to go back home to your farm. You want to tend to your crops. Bessy is due to give birth to her calf any day now. You want to be there for her and her newborn. You want to watch the plants grow and pick wildflowers to set on your bedside table. You don’t want to be a sacrifice, you want to live.

“Like I said before it’s no use struggling, those bonds are reinforced. Now be a good girl and behave. This is a two step process you see. It took me ten years of research and experimentation to finally figure it out. First I use my magic to activate that pentagram you are in. It connect to Hircine’s Hunting Grounds. Once active it’ll act as a sort of portal. Then I’ll be able to fuse your soul with his very essence; like tieing two strings together. Once tied, any injuries you endure will be transferred onto him and theoretically including any pain. Then all I have to do is kill you. When you die, so will he and since you will be bound together he won’t be able to come back from oblivion.”

“However I’m torn on a decision,” He pauses as if to consider his thoughts. “I don’t simply want him to die. That’s not much of a revenge on my part. No, I need him to suffer. However, that means that you will suffer just as much as he. On the other hand if I carry it out to long then he may just come and try to stop me, and I can’t have that. Even with this plan of mine he is still a Daedric Prince and I am just a mortal. Nevertheless, it’s far time we get things going don’t you think so my dear?”

Your wide eyes stare at him in complete disbelief. That’s his plan? He means to bind you to a daedra, one of the Princes no less, and then kill you? This is what he has been up to for the past ten years? Those years when you thought he cared for you. That whole time he had planned to use you in this insane ritual and kill you off just so he can have his revenge? What guarantee is there that this will even work?

The surrounding forest seems to darken when his chanting begins. The circle below you bursts to life with an array of light while the world outside of it blurs and fades. While you can still see the dark pines they’re overlapped with the image of different trees. Tall, old looking ones covered in thick vines and leaves. It’s like holding two paintings on top of each other over a fire. You can see both images but only the basic shapes. It’s hard to tell what is from one painting and what is from the other.

The man’s words grow louder now, but are at the same time muffled to where you can’t make them out. At first you think that you’re just imagining it. A barely there, light feeling in the distance. But as seconds go by you become more sure of it. The feeling grows and becomes stronger as it closes in on you.

Your heart beats like a rabbit trying to outrun a hungry fox. A new surge of fear washes over you as this feeling becomes more powerful and closer still. It presses against you and you feel the air leave your lungs. You imagine that this must be what it is like to be stepped on by a mammoth or giant. You can feel it crash against your chest unrelenting, the pain almost unbarable. You don’t even hear yourself screaming through the gag. Your vision darkens at the edges and you begin to feel dizzy, yet the pressure never eases.

You feel like you’re dying. You want to die. Anything, anything to make it stop. It feels as if your chest is being split in two with a burning axe. The pain and fiery heat to much to bear. You want to scream but your lungs refuse to take in any air to push out. Your throat is tight and raw. Please, you just want it to stop. You don’t care if you live or die anymore just so long as the torment ends.

Then in an instant the crushing pressure seems to enter your chest, like a dislocated joint being forced to pop back into place. The fiery heat flares and makes you feel like you’re burning up from the inside out. That you will be reduced to a pile of ash and you want nothing more than to feel the bitter wind against you. You have no such luck. There is no chilled wind to tame the fire in your chest. Nothing to relieve the pressure that still resides there.

Just when you think it can’t get any worse, when you wish to oblivion that you were dead, the pressure eases away and the fire slowly subsides to a dull warmth within your chest. Piercing anger shoots through your relief like a red hot arrow. The rage is overwhelming and you fall onto your side not caring that with your hands still bound to the stake it causes your arms to twist painfully and makes the ropes cut into your wrists.

The fear for your life you had felt shortly ago dulls in comparison to the pure horror that now courses through you at feeling the unshackled wrath within you. This rage is not your own however, a realization that only builds your terror even higher. If this anger you feel isn’t your own then could it be…

The light emanating from the pentagram flickers from dull to bright, white to red. Outside the circle the two worlds seem to be battling each other. One moment you can hardly see the dark pines while the large trees become more prominent. The next second it switches to the pines being dominant and the lush trees fade to almost nothing. They continue to switch back and forth with the changing light of the pentagram.

“What’s happening? Something’s gone wrong,” The man drops the book with worry thickly coating his face. “I’ll have to do it now before it’s too late.”

You watch as he pulls a sharpened dagger from the belt at his waist and step towards you. You try to back away however doing so proved futile with your hands bound to the stake and the force of the anger you feel within you prevents you from sitting up. The shining blade draws ever closer. The madman stops just outside of the circle, knowing better then to step foot inside.

“Goodbye my dear. You’re noble sacrifice will not be in vain. You shall be remembered throughout history as the maiden that brought down a Daedric Prince.”

You see the wisp of silver as the dagger comes down upon you. An explosion of red light surrounds your body just as pain floods your right arm. The light recedes to reveal that the dark pine woods have vanished as has the man. Before you is a thick forest illuminated by moonlight. A glance up confirms that the sky is no longer blanketed by fierce clouds. The cold air has also disappeared in favor of a warmer temperature. Even the pentagram below you is gone without a trace.

A glance at your upper arm confirmed that the dagger did strike you. Thankfully it doesn’t look to bad. Considering he had planned on ending your life you lucked out with only a gash in your arm. The explosion must have been what saved you in the end. The man couldn’t see where he was hitting. If any good came from the whole situation then that was it.

You can still feel the anger boiling within you, but, hard as it may be, you do your best to push it aside for now. Sure you’re away from the man who just tried to kill you in some freaky black magic ritual, but where are you now? Still bound and tied to a stake in the ground in the middle of the night in some dark forest. The man had said that the pentagram was a portal of sorts right? Then does that mean…? A newfound fear fills your body and soul. You are no longer on Nirn are you? No, you are now trapped within the Hunting Grounds with no way of escape.

In the far distance you can hear animals growling and snarling at each other. Twigs snap and bushes rustle. Whatever it is that’s out lurking within the shadows, it’s coming your way. Fast.