» Sat Feb 19, 2011 6:56 am As he rounded the corner, the ringing sound in his head reached an excruciating crescendo. Whatever was in there was doing all it could to push him back out. But one thought was able to force its way through the noise: “No...not this time.” He turned and faced the shrine head-on.
There, in a ring flanked by idols of smoke and ash, stood Dagoth Gares.
What was once a Dunmer had now been twisted into a grotesque machination of the natural form, what looked like a massive, pulsing trunk volcanoing out from where his face used to be. No, not where his face used to be, from a hole where his face used to be, like someone had ripped it clean off and planted the trunk in its place.
“The Sixth House greets you, Lord Nerevar.”
Valek spun around. The voice sounded like it had come from behind him.
“I speak to you beyond sight and sound. I am in you. I am in your mind. We make good company.”
Valek had figured it out. This creature's voice was coming from his own thoughts. He wheeled back around to face the monster.
“You come seeking answers.”
“Indeed,” said Valek. “Tell me about the Sixth House.”
“We are Dagoth Ur's chosen”, he said. “We are those who seek to purify the land of Morrowind for the Dunmer to reap the bounty of.”
“And how do you plan to go about this?”
“The foreigners must be driven from our rightful lands, and the Tribunal's Gods must be cast down for their false glory and destroyed. How will that be done? It will reveal itself to you in good time, my friend.”
“And why are driving innocent people to insanity?”, Valek said, keeping his sword at the ready.
“Insanity? Your words are naive.” Gares replied, turning his back to Valek. “The lies and propaganda of the False Gods, the colonial mindset, that is the real insanity. I'm simply bringing people around.”
“Give me one good reason why I shouldn't gut you where you stand.”
Gares turned back around. “Because I can see every thought you've ever had, every dream you've ever dreamt, and every nightmare you've ever suffered.” He walked up to Valek and ran his icy fingers up and down Valek's forehead. “All the goals you've never set, all the fights you've never thought, every moment you pretend to call your life, it's all right here, and I can see it. Were your parents still alive, I'm sure they'd be very proud.”
Valek felt his rage build as Gares said all this. He drove his elbow into Gares's abdomen to push him away and held his sword aloft. “Not good enough!”, he shouted, and charged toward him.
The noise in Valek's head reached a blood-curdling intensity, dropping him to his knees and making him scream in agony. All the world seemed to collapse around him. Bats flew through the cave at inhuman velocity. Millions of tiny eggs suddenly coated the walls, and from them hatched a storm of locusts. The walls dripped blood and maggots fell from the ceiling. His teeth fell from their sockets and his eyes blew open.
Frantically, he flailed around in his blinded state trying to hit Gares, but one of his arms hit a cave wall, and it shattered like glass. Falling to the ground, the rest of his body did the same. Underneath the noise, an unholy cackling rose in volume, as a thousand Dagoth Gares's made themselves apparent in his vision, circling around him and laughing at his failure. Valek wanted to scream, but he felt as if his mouth and throat were slowly being filled with sand, while rocks rendered whatever was left of his body unmovable. All Valek could do was lay there and silently hope that somebody would rescue him as the world slowly turned to black around him...
***
“Do not be afraid...”
A woman's voice rang out in the darkness.
“These sensations are not real. You believe them because you see with the eyes of man. See through my eyes and then you will know the path to victory.”
The ocean of Dagoth Gares's appeared again, but this time, every single one of them burst into flames. And when the smoke cleared, one Dagoth Gares remained.
***
Valek leapt up from the ground and ran through the haze of locusts towards Gares. He drove his sword into him with a force he would've once thought impossible, and each time he swung his sword into Gares's body the blow felt stronger than the last. Entire limbs of Gares's bony frame were chopped clean off, and before long, Gares's body lay lifeless.
Valek stood before what remained of Dagoth Gares's body, his sword drenched in blood, a feeling of new life washing over him. The cave had returned to normal; every bit of witchery Gares had conjured had disappeared.
Valek listened to see if the voice he had heard would say anything else, but he got nothing. “That was the voice from my dream on the boat,” he thought. “I get the feeling she and I will cross paths again.”
He turned towards the exit, but as he was about to leave, something happened. An untraceable feeling of dread fell through him, and from behind him came the faintest hissing sound. Suddenly, the blood that was on his sword tendriled up the blade's hilt and coated his arm.
Valek screamed and was nearly doubled over with pain. His arm was covered in boils that felt as if his entire arm was being submerged in hot volcanic ash. Valek knew what had happened before he even thought of it: he had been afflicted with the Corprus disease.
There, in a ring flanked by idols of smoke and ash, stood Dagoth Gares.
What was once a Dunmer had now been twisted into a grotesque machination of the natural form, what looked like a massive, pulsing trunk volcanoing out from where his face used to be. No, not where his face used to be, from a hole where his face used to be, like someone had ripped it clean off and planted the trunk in its place.
“The Sixth House greets you, Lord Nerevar.”
Valek spun around. The voice sounded like it had come from behind him.
“I speak to you beyond sight and sound. I am in you. I am in your mind. We make good company.”
Valek had figured it out. This creature's voice was coming from his own thoughts. He wheeled back around to face the monster.
“You come seeking answers.”
“Indeed,” said Valek. “Tell me about the Sixth House.”
“We are Dagoth Ur's chosen”, he said. “We are those who seek to purify the land of Morrowind for the Dunmer to reap the bounty of.”
“And how do you plan to go about this?”
“The foreigners must be driven from our rightful lands, and the Tribunal's Gods must be cast down for their false glory and destroyed. How will that be done? It will reveal itself to you in good time, my friend.”
“And why are driving innocent people to insanity?”, Valek said, keeping his sword at the ready.
“Insanity? Your words are naive.” Gares replied, turning his back to Valek. “The lies and propaganda of the False Gods, the colonial mindset, that is the real insanity. I'm simply bringing people around.”
“Give me one good reason why I shouldn't gut you where you stand.”
Gares turned back around. “Because I can see every thought you've ever had, every dream you've ever dreamt, and every nightmare you've ever suffered.” He walked up to Valek and ran his icy fingers up and down Valek's forehead. “All the goals you've never set, all the fights you've never thought, every moment you pretend to call your life, it's all right here, and I can see it. Were your parents still alive, I'm sure they'd be very proud.”
Valek felt his rage build as Gares said all this. He drove his elbow into Gares's abdomen to push him away and held his sword aloft. “Not good enough!”, he shouted, and charged toward him.
The noise in Valek's head reached a blood-curdling intensity, dropping him to his knees and making him scream in agony. All the world seemed to collapse around him. Bats flew through the cave at inhuman velocity. Millions of tiny eggs suddenly coated the walls, and from them hatched a storm of locusts. The walls dripped blood and maggots fell from the ceiling. His teeth fell from their sockets and his eyes blew open.
Frantically, he flailed around in his blinded state trying to hit Gares, but one of his arms hit a cave wall, and it shattered like glass. Falling to the ground, the rest of his body did the same. Underneath the noise, an unholy cackling rose in volume, as a thousand Dagoth Gares's made themselves apparent in his vision, circling around him and laughing at his failure. Valek wanted to scream, but he felt as if his mouth and throat were slowly being filled with sand, while rocks rendered whatever was left of his body unmovable. All Valek could do was lay there and silently hope that somebody would rescue him as the world slowly turned to black around him...
***
“Do not be afraid...”
A woman's voice rang out in the darkness.
“These sensations are not real. You believe them because you see with the eyes of man. See through my eyes and then you will know the path to victory.”
The ocean of Dagoth Gares's appeared again, but this time, every single one of them burst into flames. And when the smoke cleared, one Dagoth Gares remained.
***
Valek leapt up from the ground and ran through the haze of locusts towards Gares. He drove his sword into him with a force he would've once thought impossible, and each time he swung his sword into Gares's body the blow felt stronger than the last. Entire limbs of Gares's bony frame were chopped clean off, and before long, Gares's body lay lifeless.
Valek stood before what remained of Dagoth Gares's body, his sword drenched in blood, a feeling of new life washing over him. The cave had returned to normal; every bit of witchery Gares had conjured had disappeared.
Valek listened to see if the voice he had heard would say anything else, but he got nothing. “That was the voice from my dream on the boat,” he thought. “I get the feeling she and I will cross paths again.”
He turned towards the exit, but as he was about to leave, something happened. An untraceable feeling of dread fell through him, and from behind him came the faintest hissing sound. Suddenly, the blood that was on his sword tendriled up the blade's hilt and coated his arm.
Valek screamed and was nearly doubled over with pain. His arm was covered in boils that felt as if his entire arm was being submerged in hot volcanic ash. Valek knew what had happened before he even thought of it: he had been afflicted with the Corprus disease.
