-----Ulric Lightbringer-----
I suppose there's only one choice though. We need to go to Castle Volkihar and figure out what the fuck Lilu's up to before it's too late.
-----Lilu Flauros-----
Thank you oh so much for this Sara. Giving me the ability to purchase Iron Ore and unenchanted clothes at base cost. Being able to buy Iron Ore for 2DP then using the [Transmute] Spell is so extremely valuable. The only big investment I needed to make so far was purchasing a Forge, an Anvil, and a Smelter.
After that, it was a simple matter of spamming [Conjure Ash Guardian] and beating them to death with my Bound Weapons to trap their souls. Then I would buy some Iron Ore, transmute it up to Gold Ore, smelt the ore into ingots and craft gold rings. Then I'd enchant the rings with Water Breathing.
Then I could sell them back to the shop to get back their value in DP. Suffice to say, I've found the true path to infinite money. Although this isn't really all that fun as far as making money goes. I guess if I'm ever really desperate for some easy Devil Points I can use this, but it feels kind of cheap that I could theoretically buy a lump of Iron Ore for 2DP, Transmute it to Silver, then Gold, and sell the resulting chunk of Gold Ore for 50DP.
This means that I could literally buy any Longinus-Class Sacred Gear for a lump of Iron and some mana... Yeah, no. I'm saving that as a last resort because that feels wrong on a visceral level.
Anyways, I spent about 2-3 weeks straight continuing this monotonous routine in pursuit of maxing out Alteration, Enchanting, and Smithing. I've also been taking the occasional break to go and farm enemies here in the Soul Cairn, initially out of a desire to grind levels in Destruction, but after I realized that pretty much every enemy here dropped filled Soul Gems? Yeah, I went on a bit of a genocide run.
I plan to take as many as I can back with me for study in the hopes of being able to recreate them. But that's for later. Right now though? As I enchant the Satan-only-knows how many n'th Gold Ring of Water Breathing, I get the long-awaited notification from Sara.
Congratulations Master! You have reached [Smithing 100], [Alteration 100], [Enchanting 100], and [Destruction 100]!
Achievements Unlocked!
Smithy Supreme!
Reach Smithing 100!
+1000DP
Alteration Supreme!
Reach Alteration 100!
+3862DP
Enchanter Supreme!
Reach Enchanting 100!
+10000DP
Destroyer Supreme!
Reach Destruction 100
+8683DP
The Supreme Mage!
Reach Level 100 in all Skill Trees under the Path of Magic!
+10000DP
Hmm. That's pretty damn awesome, but... I feel like I'm missing something. Hmm, I wonder...
[The Gamer Shop]
Skyrim
Daedric Artifacts
Oghma Infinium (50000DP)
Yep. It's definitely expensive alright. But what if I-?
You have purchased [Oghma Infinium]x1!-50000DP
Okay, now then. I open the [Oghma Infinium] to the section labeled [Path of Magic] and confirm my selection.
You have used Oghma Infinium to gain knowledge of the [Path of Magic]
You have gained +5 Levels in the following Skill Trees:
-Destruction-
-Restoration-
-Conjuration-
-Illusion-
-Alteration-
-Enchanting-
As a result, the relevant Skills are now as such:
-Destruction (Legendary- 105)-
-Restoration (Legendary- 105)-
-Conjuration (Legendary- 105)-
-Illusion (Legendary- 105)-
-Alteration (Legendary- 105)-
-Enchanting (Legendary- 105)-
...
...
...
Congratulations Master! You have obtained your first(multiple) Legendary Skill(s)!
Achievements Unlocked!
A Legend Is Born!
Achieve Legendary Status in one Skill Tree!
+25000DP
Legendary Destroyer!
Advance Destruction to Legendary Status
+10000DP
Legendary Restorer!
Advance Restoration to Legendary Status
+10000DP
Legendary Conjurer!
Advance Conjuration to Legendary Status
+10000DP
Legendary Illusionist!
Advance Illusion to Legendary Status
+10000DP
Legendary Alterationist!
Advance Alteration to Legendary Status
+10000DP
Legendary Enchanter!
Advance Enchanting to Legendary Status
+10000DP
Legendary Mage!
Advance Path of Magic to Legendary Status
+25000DP
As soon as I chose the [Path of Magic], I felt a series of invisible shackles that had been binding me shatter completely. I intuitively understood this to be the limitation upon the mortal races to ensure that they could never reach the domain of the Divine.
On the one hand, the shackles served as a means of streamlining the process of advancement to the limit of mortal ability, but beyond that lay the territory of immortals.
From now on, I would be faced with challenges to be certain, but now I had no conceivable limits in my growth, at least in magic or fields related to magic. More importantly, the [Oghma Infinium] is still available for purchase in the shop. Sure, the price spiked up to 100,000 DP, but that just tells me that I can use it again to unlock the other Paths.
I'm cut off from my contemplation by a strange rumbling sensation. The sky's become extremely embroiled and in a state of outrage. The Ideal Masters are not pleased, but I sense that their anger is not directed at me.
-----Ulric Lightbringer-----
It took a while to arrange an expedition to the ruins of Castle Volkihar and to bring heavy equipment to clear out any debris we would encounter, but in the end, it was worth it.
After removing a significant amount of rubble from some hallways leading to the more decrepit parts of the Castle, we were able to search the area. We found that this seemingly abandoned section of the castle was primarily inhabited by Valerica, wife of the late Lord Harkon. From studying the crumbling remnants of her notes, we found out the true meaning of the "Tyranny of the Sun" prophecy.
Using the blood of a Daughter of Coldharbour, it would be possible to corrupt Auriel's Bow into a fiendish weapon that could blot out the sun and allow Vampires to roam the land unimpeded at all times, day or night.
Evidently, Valerica felt that this prophecy couldn't be allowed to come to pass, so she stole the Elder Scroll which contained the relevant knowledge of the ritual and fled to a place called the "Soul Cairn".
After some extra reading, it became clear that this "Soul Cairn" is the so-called "land of the dead" mentioned in Aranea's prophecy regarding Lilu's whereabouts. It's certainly a good place to hide all things considered. The term "land of the dead" is rather fitting considering that no living soul may enter the Soul Cairn.
Obviously, this wasn't an issue for soulless Vampires who could come and go as they please from such a dreadful place. But that just made it an even bigger problem for us to actually get there.
There seems to be a hidden workshop that Valerica performed the majority of her research and experiments regarding opening a path to the Soul Cairn, the "dwelling of darkness". After searching the ruins for a few more hours, one of the teams came upon a ruined courtyard filled with weeds and rotted plants.
Ah, the "court of ruination" then, so where does the moon figure into this?
Upon closer examination, we found a number of reliefs depicting the various phases of the moon, but some seemed to be either missing or out of place. After finding and rearranging them into the correct order, a secret staircase opened up. Well, that's convenient.
Following the newly unveiled passageway, we eventually reach what must be Valerica's workshop. There we find a tome detailing the requirements to open the portal to the Soul Cairn, and the means to safely pass through the portal.
As expected, the only way to enter "the land of the dead" is to "die". That means either forsaking Hircine and embracing Molag Bal's wretched curse and damn myself to becoming a Vampire, or perform this extremely sketchy modified Soul Trap Ritual to become a Living Dead.
My Soul would be torn from my body without killing me and it would be sent to the Soul Cairn and stored within a Soul Gem. Evidently, the connection between my body and soul would enable me to locate it and retrieve my soul prior to leaving, so there weren't any major problems there, but...
"I'm not sure that this is a good idea."
"There aren't exactly any ideas that could be considered 'good' here. But the longer Lilu possesses The Black Star, the greater the threat he becomes. Azura only knows what foul machinations he's conceived in that dark pit. We cannot allow him to continue amassing power unimpeded." Says Aranea.
"...Very well. Do it then. Perform the Ritual."
-----Lilu Flauros-----
Hmm, I wonder what's going on up there? Oh well, it's not my problem. Of course, just as I think that, I see a fucking pillar of light come crashing down from the sky and quickly crystallize on a nearby platform.
Oh I've got a bad feeling about this. But also a pretty funny idea.
...
A little while later, I'm standing on top of a stone pillar in some ruins waiting patiently. As expected, here comes the principle douchebag of this scenario. "Ulric Lightbringer. We meet at last. And you, Priestess of Azura. I can't say I'm entirely unsurprised that your Goddess is throwing a fit over me borrowing the Star, but I figured she'd be smart enough to wait until I returned it."
"'Returned it'?! After you defiled it with that wretched Enchanter's foul magick?! I do not know why Azura ever trusted you to retrieve the Star, but I will indeed see it purified, after I pry if from your burnt, dead ashen hands." Responds Aranea. Stuck up bitch.
"Well that's too bad since I was going to purify it once I was finished with it. Incidentally, I finished what I wanted with it like, 2-3 hours ago. But since you and Azura feel like being a pair of impatient, ungrateful little bitches, I think I'll keep The Black Star as it is."
"Oh really?! And how exactly were you planning to purify it?!"
"With this." I then draw forth The Skeleton Key.
Aranea's eyes widen is surprise to see me holding The Key. "How?! How do you have The Skeleton Key?!"
"'Skeleton Key'? What's that?" Asks Ulric.
"The Skeleton Key is an artifact of the Daedric Prince of Shadows, Nocturnal. It has the power to open any lock, including the lock on one's hidden potential. I suppose it's possible that it could be used to purify The Black Star..." Aranea mutters that last part to herself and adopts a calculating look.
"Oh it's far too late for that now. Since Azura clearly didn't want to wait for me to finish grinding my Enchantment Skill to the maximum, then I'm claiming The Black Star as compensation."
There's a pregnant pause in the air for a moment before Aranea explodes with rage and indignation.
"Grinding your Enchantment Skill?! That's why you desecrated Azura's Star?!"
"Well, thanks to somebody, I can't exactly go into town and buy a steady supply of Soul Gems, and I didn't know that the enemies here have a tendency to have Soul Gems on them until after I came here, which kinda ruined the whole point of me obtaining The Black Star so I could have a steady Soul Gem supply for Enchanting purposes."
"What do you want?" Asks Aranea.
"What do you mean?" I ask in turn.
"What do you want in exchange for purifying The Black Star and returning it to Azura's Shrine?"
"I want 'two number 9s, a number 9 large, a number 6 with extra dip, a number 7, two number 45s (one with cheese), and a large soda.'"
"I have no idea what any of that is supposed to mean. What in Azura's name is a 'large soda'?"
"What? She can't tell you that? Guess she needs to get her vision checked."
Pft. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Well, at least Nocturnal's having fun with this situation as well.
Taking a look at the assembled host of Dawnguard warriors who've journeyed here, I prepare my grand plan. I stomp my foot onto the pillar, and activate the trigger on my first "original" Conjuration spell. Well, I'm not sure if it can realistically be called that, but I'm proud of it.
[Mass-Conjure Haunting Spirit]. A Ritual Spell designed with a hint of Runic Magic from Destruction, Restoration, and Alteration focused around creating a Ritual Array that sacrifices filled Black Soul Gems to summon an equal number of Haunting Spirits.
Thankfully, after my genocide run, I had a couple hundred spares that I didn't really need, so I decided "fuck it, we ball".
The 30-something Dawnguard soldiers are busy trying to slaughter the Haunting Spirits believing them to be regular ghosts or something. Idiots, that's the last thing you should've done.
See, the thing about Haunting Spirit's is that they're meant to be killed. When they're killed, they steal 10 points of their killer's Skill and transfer it to the caster. Normally, this would be a temporary effect, but I don't believe in doing anything normal.
I made some additional tweaks to the spell formula so that if anyone "cursed" by the Haunting Spirit dies while under the effect of the curse, those "temporary" points become "permanent".
Yes, this is the path to cheese. I can theoretically unleash thousands of these fuckers loose in Skyrim and steal the Skills of everyone in Skyrim with enough time and really power level my Skill Trees. It kind of reminds me of one of Kuro's abilities he had in "A Gamer's Guide to Conquest" where he had a random chance to steal a stat point from any enemy he killed.
This was okayish, until it got to the author's notes since Shiro decided to retcon and rewrite the story, but apparently the plan was for Kuro to look at the invading army of Tarkata from Outworld, cast some sort of mass-life drain powered by the infinite magical energy of the Eye of Magnus and propel himself to God-tier status from the sheer amount of plundered stat points from devouring several million Tarkatans.
This particular spell is loosely based around that concept, but since I can't actively draw upon the literal infinite wellspring of mana I possess yet, I had to make do with what I had to work with in a short amount of time.
With the Dawngaurd being severely weakened by their depleted Skill Levels, I make my move. I transform into my Vampire Lord Form and zip into the middle of them with [Bats], knocking over and dealing decent damage to a number of them. I then bust out my claws and go to town.
Meanwhile, the passive Bat Swarm from [Night Cloak + Amulet of Bats] is busy harassing them and preventing them from making an expedient recovery.
Taking a moment, I summon a pair of Gargoyles to help draw their sight lines. Any time someone decides to take their eyes off me to focus on the Gargoyles doesn't live long enough to regret it as I rush over in [Mist Form] and use my [Power Attack Bite] to basically rip their fucking heads off.
I also toss out the occasional [Drain Life + Blood of the Ancients] for the AoE Life Drain attack.
"Surround him! Don't turn your back on him, or he'll slaughter you like a pig!" Shouts Ulric. I'm being mindful of my positioning, trying to keep as many of his allies between us as possible. It's working for the most part, but then one bastard in particular pulls some unexpected shit.
Turns out some of these guys were actually Mages. Mages with knowledge of Master-level Restoration Magic, so some of these assholes are busy tossing down [Guardian Circle] to heal their Warrior allies, while others are using [Bane of the Undead] to make life miserable for me and my Gargoyles.
Okay assholes. Time to really fuck with you. I exit my Vampire Lord Form, much to their excitement since they interpret it as a sign of me growing weak, only for their faces to turn to shock, anger, confusion, and downright panic as I assume my Werewolf Form.
"What?! What in Hircine's name is this treachery?! You dare to degrade the noble form bestowed upon us by Hircine with your vile deceptions?!" Screams Ulric.
I respond in a growly voice "'vile deceptions'? Why don't you try it out for yourself?!" *HOWL*
I activate [Totem of the Moon] and summon two Werewolves to assist me in battle. My summoned Werewolves begin tearing into the Dawnguard who are caught flat-footed by this unexpected turn of events.
Ulric responds by also using [Totem of the Moon] to summon two allied Werewolves to aid him and his men, but he's far too naive if he thinks that's going to help.
Next, I use [Totem of Terror] and cause most of his men's flimsy morale to shatter like priceless China. Hell, even the summoned Werewolves are clearly apprehensive after hearing my Howl, which my Werewolves ruthlessly capitalize on.
Then I shell out 5000DP on the Rueful Axe for the "fixed" version. The one that's effectively modded to have the swing-speed of a mace and staggers enemies with the same frequency as warhammers.
With that in mind, I charge into the broken ranks of the Dawnguard and start cleaving my way through them like a hot knife through butter. It takes me a few minutes to chase down the broken cowards, but eventually it's just me vs. Ulric and Aranea.
-----Ulric Lightbringer-----
"Damn him to the lowest, blackest depths of Oblivion! What the hell was that axe?! How can a filthy bloodsucker like him become a noble Werewolf?! What in Oblivion is going on?!"
"I believe that was 'The Rueful Axe', a minor artifact of Clavicus Vile, who gifted it to a wizard who'd gone mad after his daughter had become a Werewolf. He asked for a cure, Clavicus gave him the Axe." Responds Aranea.
"An Axe specifically meant to kill Werewolves?! Where the hell is Lilu getting so many Daedric Artifacts from?!"
"I truly do not know, but we cannot face him here. We are at a critical disadvantage here. It would be wise to withdraw from here and seal the portal, then collapse the entire castle down around it. At this point, we may have to be satisfied with the knowledge of him being imprisoned in this Gods-forsaken Realm."
"I refuse to simply wash my hands of this, but you are correct. We cannot allow him to escape this place. We should regroup and assess the new information we possess in order to plan accordingly for when we return."
"Indeed. But first, we must recover our Souls from their Soul Gems, or else we will be unable to continue living outside of the Soul Cairn. We would degrade into mindless Draugr sooner or later."
Well, that certainly wasn't ideal. Nodding my head in comprehension, I try to focus on the sensation of the connection between my body and my soul, but for some reason I'm having difficulty sensing it properly. I can only roughly estimate it's general direction.
Turning go that way, Aranea joins me as she senses that her soul is in roughly the same direction. As we approach the area with her Soul Gem, I frown in consternation. "What's wrong Ulric?"
"I feel that my Soul is nearby, but the only Soul Gem around here is yours. So, where is mine?"
Then from behind a pillar supporting the platform holding Aranea's Soul comes none other than Lilu Flauros himself. "Very good Ulric Lightbringer. You actually managed to pick up on that."
"You! What have you done with my Soul?!"
"Hmm? Oh, that little thing? Well, it seemed like it was in a pretty vulnerable position just sitting out in the open where anyone with bad intentions could mess with it, so I did you a favor, and stored it for safe keeping inside The Black Star!"
Lilu Flauros then pulls out The Black Star which is glowing in a manner similar to a filled Black Soul Gem. More importantly, I can feel my Soul's energy contained within the artifact.
Then he does something I wasn't prepared for, he pulls out that damned axe of his and plants it into the ground by the pommel, holding it up like a polearm.
"What are you planning to do?" I ask, only to see the manic gleam in his eyes as he bring The Black Star closer to the axe, the axe which is no longer glowing with the light of an active enchantment.
"This." He says as he then siphon's my Soul's energy from The Black Star to refill the axe.
"GAH!!!!!! WHAT'S HAPPENING TO ME?!?!?!"
I can't help but scream in howling pain as I feel as though I'm being burned from the inside out. The pain is especially bad around my hand, where I'm grasping Dawnbreaker. Oh no. NONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
"Oh yeah, that's what I'm talking about. It seems that Dawnbreaker doesn't like you anymore, now that you're a proper Undead." Says Lilu Flauros.
Then, I feel a tearing sensation along my spine as it feels like something important is ripped from my body. Looking back, I see a spectral Werewolf looking back at me, being dragged away in chains. It takes me but a moment to realize that his is none other than Hircine's Blessing being withdrawn from me!
"No! NO!!! LORD HIRCINE!!!!! WHY HAVE YOU FORSAKEN ME?!?!?!"
"Because the deal's off. He offers you his blessing of Lycanthropy, and in exchange you offer him your Soul upon death. Unfortunately, your Soul's off the table now. When a Soul that's trapped in a Black Soul Gem is used to refuel an enchantment, the energy is drained while the Soul itself is condemned to the Soul Cairn as their afterlife."
"This is the ruling of the Ideal Masters, and the deal many Necromancers strive for. Offer Black Souls to the Ideal Masters in exchange for powerful Undead minions and other favors. As things stand, The Black Star is functionally no different than a Black Soul Gem. And since I just used your Soul's energy to replenish the Rueful Axe's enchantment, then your Soul was bound to this place."
"And since his claim over your Soul is now forfeit, then your right to his blessing is also forfeit." Finishes Lilu Flauros.
By this point, the burning sensation of Dawnbreaker's magic was too much for me to handle, so I dropped it. Lilu Flauros then uses Telekinesis to pull it over to him and grasps it for himself. And it isn't burning him?!
"You had a good run Ulric Lightbringer, but you made one crucial mistake. You underestimated me." Then, he uses his Vampiric Grip to pull me over to him and start choking me. Then he plunges Dawnbreaker into my chest, and its magic explodes into a torrential outpouring of Flames and Restoration causing me to crumble to dust.
-----Lilu Flauros-----
As I watch the Ash Pile that was once Ulric Lightbringer scatter into the wind, I turn to look at Aranea Ienith. "So, all your life, you've lived for Azura. You always wanted to be closer to Her, right?"
"Yes. That is correct."
"Oh good. Then you'll likely thank me for this. Since The Black Star's so important to you, how about you become one with it, forever?!" I say as I lift the Star up to her Soul Gem and drain her Soul out of it.
"NO!!! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!?!"
"Exactly what I said I was going to do. I hope the view around here is to your liking, because you're going to be stuck here for a long, long time. HAHAHAHA!!!!!!!"
I sprout wings and fly off, but not before looting the Ashes of Ulric Lightbringer. In the end, I got some decent bonus loot from him. Some decent Dawnguard Heavy Armor for example. But more importantly? I've got his Dawnbreaker, his Spellbreaker, and his copy of Auriel's Bow.
I know that I can finish the Trial right here and now, but I'm not quite done just yet. I've got a few more ideas in mind...
...
After spending some time with the two of them, I was able to convince Serana and Valerica to help me become better at Pickpocketing by practicing on them.
I made some okay progress, but that wasn't my real goal. See, while they don't need to sleep, they do enjoy getting some shut-eye every once in a while. But with a total Stranger like me around, they weren't exactly letting their guard down. So, training my Pickpocketing Skill with them was a sort of method of endearing myself to them.
Finally, they trust me enough to actually take a fucking nap without keeping a watch on me 24/7. Which is perfect because now I can finally get my hands on Valerica's Elder Scroll. She keeps it locked in an extremely tough to break display case that's enchanted to be damn near indestructible.
Thankfully, I've got a sort of Master Key of sorts.
After sneaking my way over to the case, I carefully pick the lock and after a few moments, unlock the case. Then I carefully pull out the Elder Scroll and sneak away to read it.
Finding a nice secluded tower, I open the bad boy up and-
FUCK THAT'S BRIGHT!!!!! MY FUCKING EYES!!!!!!!!
...
Okay, so that was probably a bad idea, but it worked in the end. Sara was able to help me process the information contained within the Scroll about the Ritual to corrupt Auriel's Bow permanently.
Once I had that all figured out, I flew back to the fort and cast [Mass Paralysis] on them. I'm pretty sure I only need ONE of them for this, but better to be safe than sorry.
They both wake up shocked by my sudden inexplicable betrayal, but they're in no position to do anything to stop me as I also keep casting [Paralysis] on them while I work on setting everything up for the Ritual.
Eventually, I've got everything squared away and finally get to the part where I slit their throats and hang them upside down above a large cauldron to collect all of their blood.
A few minutes later, I've officially drained them dry, so I begin the necessary hand signs and incantations to perform the Ritual. I watch in barely-restrained fascination as the once bright and pristine Auriel's Bow is steadily warped, becoming a bloody black and crimson caricature of its former self.
Where once a noble and divine aura emanated from it, now there's only a profane and unquenchable thirst for blood. Yep, this was awesome. Now then, one last thing to do before I end this Trial.
...
I spent another month in the Soul Cairn perfecting this Spell to the best of my current abilities, and I'm satisfied that it's ready to go. With all of my preparations made, I exit the Soul Cairn and make my way outside to Valerica's courtyard. Once there, I fly my way out of Castle Volkihar and make my way towards the Throat of The World, after making a few quick stops along the way.
I arrive in the early hours of a certain day of the week about a week or so since I made my return from the Soul Cairn. It doesn't seem like the Dawnguard's noticed the death of Ulric Lightbringer yet, but his absence is definitely being felt.
Oh well, time to give them all something to really worry about. With the "Tyranny of the Sun" firmly in hand, I draw back the drawstring as far as I can, then loose the arrow. You see, in the game, you need to take regular Elven Arrows, then have Serana coat them in her blood to get a 24-hour Bloodcurse Eclipse.
With the Tyranny of The Sun though? You don't even need any arrows. It draws upon the blood of the user to form a Bloodcursed Arrow to fire. And fire I did, straight at the Sun. Mere seconds later, the sun pulses with an ominous bloody light as it quickly goes from bright yellow-white, to a black sphere surrounded by a bloody red corona.
With The Tyranny of The Sun as the catalyst, the Ritual begins in earnest...
-----Archmage Savos Aren-----
-----College of Winterhold-----
The first sign that something really, really bad was going on was the increasingly frenzied activity of the Dawnguard. While no one could confirm anything, it seemed like there were plenty of rumors going around that Ulric Lightbringer had finally perished in his crusade against Lilu Flauros.
Honestly, I don't know what this Lilu Flauros did to deserve such hate, besides being a Vampire, but surely there had to be a better way of resolving the situation than attempted genocide?
The second sign that something really bad was going on was the steadily increasing fluctuation in the ambient mana. As a Master of Conjuration, I recognized the signs of Conjuration Magic being prepared on a large scale, but I couldn't make heads or tails of what the spell was meant to do.
The third and final sign was when the sun seemingly exploded out of nowhere before becoming a black-red ball of pure evil in the sky. That seemed to be the final piece of the puzzle to kickstart the large-scale Conjuration Spell that I'd picked up on.
Only, I underestimated the sheer scope and scale of the Spell. The reason why I couldn't understand it was because I was only looking at one, tiny portion of a greater whole.
The spell seemed to be a massive Ritual spanning the entirety of Skyrim with each major city serving as a focal point for whatever this was.
Seeing the strange ghost-like entities spawning in by the dozens with no sign of slowing down though gave me a pretty good idea of what was going on soon enough, especially as they started trying to hunt down and slaughter every living person in their path.
-----Jarl Balgruuf the Greater-----
-----Dragonsreach, Whiterun-----
"By all the gods Farengaar! What manner of foul magick have you brought forth now?!"
"My lord, I can assure you that I had absolutely nothing to do with this. I'm guessing that this is tied to whatever happened to the sun, and as much as I admire your apparent appraisal of my skill to suggest that I'm capable of manipulating a celestial body, I'm afraid I must disappoint you."
Before I can continue grilling my Court Wizard, I'm disturbed by the sound of my children running into the throne room while being chased by ghastly spirits of some kind.
"Don't just stand there ya milksops! Kill those wretched specters!"
-----Phinis Gestor-----
-----College of Winterhold-----
As I continue to call forth Flame Atronachs and Familiars to help stem the tide against this army of murderous ghosts, I eventually come to a most terrifying conclusion.
"Archmagus! These spirits steal the strength of anyone who slays them! It's a trap!"
Archmage Savos then responds with "even if it is a trap, we cannot afford to hold back. If we don't kill them, they will kill us."
Dammit. He's right. Conjuring another Atronach, I can only pray that someone finds the caster of this spell and stops them.
-----Lilu Flauros-----
-----Throat of The World-----
As I feel the rush of Skill Points rushing in from my seemingly unending horde of Haunting Spirits, I can't help but sport a smile on my face. With the power of the Tyranny of the Sun as the driving force, the Spell won't stop until the sun is fixed. But since this is the True Tyranny of the Sun, that's not going to happen.
I'm sure that Vampires the world over are going mad with joy at this turn of events and having their fair share of excitement. Oh well, too bad for them that I don't plan to take any fucking prisoners. That spell's not stopping until this entire planet is devoid of sapient life.
Of course, it's at that moment that pretty much the one being left in Tamriel who could reasonably oppose me shows up.
"Paarthurnax. Come to stop me old wyrm?" I say to the positively Ancient Dragon who just flew in.
"You. You are Dovahkiin?! But why? Why do you follow this path of ruin?" Asks Paarthurnax in a tone of genuine confusion.
"What can I say? That's just how it is. You don't need to worry about the details." I tell him.
"I'm afraid I cannot simply turn a blind eye to this madness of yours. I will stop you if I must."
"Oh really? I've got three Words for you in that case."
"What would those words be?"
"JOOR ZAH FRUL1Mortal Finite Temporary!"
The Words of Power composing the Dragonrend Shout tear through the air and impact Paarthurnax. He seems visibly shocked that I not only know of the existence of Dragonrend, but that I know the Words of Power necessary to invoke it.
While he's stunned by the effects of Dragonrend, I make my move quickly and draw out Dragonbane (Legendary) in my right hand and Spellbreaker in my left.
What follows is what I feel is a pretty epic fight between Paarthurnax and I as he tries to breath fire at me, only for me to block and counter with Dragonbane, which he either dodges or parry's. All in all, it's a pretty exciting fight, but all good things must come to an end.
After Paarthurnax overextends on a lunge, I jump and land atop his head, then drive Dragonbane down through a gap in his scales and through his skull, straight into his brain.
With that, I hop off of him, and watch as his flesh disintegrates and his Soul flows into me, until all that's left of him is his skeleton. "Well, no sense in leaving a perfectly good Dragon Skeleton just lying around."
I then do a little tomfoolery to fit his bones into my inventory, and take off for my next destination. Back to the crazy hermit who lives out past Winterhold. I've got me a part two of a trilogy to collect.