I wrote a fan-fic. Have a read, leave a comment, tell me what to do better. Ta' loves.

Chapter one

A Prisoner Released

‘Each event is preceded by a Prophecy. But without the hero, there is no Event.’

It is said that the Gods move in ways beyond the comprehension of mortals. It was through these movements that a certain prisoner, once destined for the headsman’s axe, found himself in the darkest depths of the Imperial Prison. In a cell designated to remain empty, in case the passage concealed within was ever needed in a time of desperation. Such it was that, after the attack of the Mythic Dawn assassins, as the Blades attempted to lead The Emperor out of the city through the secret passage they met with someone unexpected.

Stripped of his possessions and garbed in the robes of the prison, the Imperial man had been left there, with only Valen Dreth for company. He’d quickly grown tired of the Dunmer’s ramblings and had taken to sitting on one edge of his cell, where Valen couldn’t see him. He’d filled the mind numbing hours in solitude with exercise, training his body in absence of an excuse to train his mind. Slowly the memories of his life outside the prison began to fade, his family, his life and his crime, all became ghosts, even his name fell from him.

The Prisoner was sat in the darkness, listening to the noise of the city filtering in through the small grate that acted as a window. He turned his head, eyes still shut, as a new noise reached his ears. Footsteps, three, no four people, three in heavy boots, it’s not the jailors then, someone else. He kept his eyes closed, listening harder now, the footsteps were coming closer.

“Here that Imperial? I know you do, you hear everything, the slow drip of water in your cell, the slight movements of the chains on the wall and the city outside, you hear it all. It must pain you, to be this close to the heart of your homeland and be so unable to go out there. We’ve got visitors, perhaps it’s the jailors, come to take you to the block?” Dreth’s voice echoed in the cells, blocking the noise of the walkers, “at least it’s better than rotting in here. Nameless and forgotten.” The Prisoner didn’t react, he didn’t even move a muscle, he just kept listening. He could hear a voice, now it sounded female. The Prisoner found this strange, all of the imperial jailors were men.

“I’m sure your sons are safe sire,” there was an element of panic to her voice, “there are other Blades guarding them.”

“No, my sons are dead, I feel it,” this voice was different still, darker, less optimistic, as if resigned to a fate already written.

“Our main goal is getting you out of the city now.” The footsteps stopped, “what is this prisoner doing here?” It came from outside his cell, the prisoner opened his eyes. There was a woman stood outside his cell, heavily armored, with two others like her, both male. Behind them stood the emperor of Cyrodiil, Uriel Septim VII. The Prisoner was startled, not because the emperor was outside his cell but because he recognized him, the man who had forgotten his own name and he could recollect the name of the emperor.

“Get this gate open, I don’t care if we have to smash it down,” there was another pause as one of the blades, a Redguard, fumbled with some keys. “Prisoner, stay where you are, or else we shall run you down.” He did as he was told, staying sat on the ground under the window. The gate swung open and allowed the four into his cell.

“You, I’ve seen you. Come closer.” It was the Emperor’s voice and such was the command in it that he stood up and faced the emperor. “So, it is this day. The stars did not lie. Gods give me strength.” The Prisoner felt compelled to speak, for the first time since his imprisonment.

“What’s happening?” The words made his throat hurt and his voice sounded wrong, as if it belonged to a stranger.

“My service of Tamriel is ending, despite the best efforts of my Blades. Assassins have killed my sons and now they search for me. My bodyguards hope to evade them through a secret passage, a passage that by chance is laid in you cell.”

The voice of the woman broke in “why are you in this cell? Who placed you here?”

“Captain, this is no time for such questions and as it is I doubt he can tell you. Such a fate can only be held to the gods. My service may be ending but I sense that his is just beginning.” The Emperor looked at him hard, his green eyes seemingly searching for something hidden. “What is your name? We can hardly go on calling you Prisoner if you’re going to come with us.”

My name? Do I still have one? It’s been so long. I can feel it, just out of my reach. Cor… Corvus. Yes, they called me Corvus. “Come with us? He’s a prisoner of the Imperial City.” It was the woman, again.

“That he is and I am still the Emperor am I not? This is my jail and my prisoner, I declare him free. You’re name?”

“Corvus,” he paused for a second, as if testing it, “Corvus, sir.”

“Very well Corvus. We go now, to face my apportioned fate. You shall accompany us for a while, perhaps to the end.”

I like it Athell... great work!

Rawr.

This has the Not Provided seal of approval.

Thanks for taking the time to read it guys. I'll get a second chapter up fairly soon, condensing the plot is more difficult than I anticipated.

A significantly longer chapter two, sorry it ran away from me a little.

Chapter Two

Escape!

The captain of the Blades opened up a passage in the wall of Corvus’s cell, years I’ve been imprisoned here and all the while I was so close to being able to escape, if only I had known. The Blades led the Emperor into the gap in the wall. The last one, the Redguard, looked back at Corvus who was still stood in his cell. “If you’re coming, do it now. I’m sealing the door after us.” Corvus took one last look around his cell, the four damp walls that had acted as his home for the past years. He stepped into the awaiting gloom.

“Goodbye Dreth,” he called out, just as the stone wall slid back into position, a muffled response came back. He turned to face the Redguard and the rest of the Emperor’s retinue.

“Hold this,” a torch was pressed into his palm, “name’s Baurus, that’s Glenroy and you should call the lady, Captain Renault.” Baurus whispered the introductions, almost friendlily.

“Stay out of the way prisoner and we’ll get along just fine,” the Captain’s voice had so little joy in it that it sounded to Corvus like she was the one who’d spent years in a cell.

“You got any skills? You a mage, a fighter or one of them stealthy types?” Baurus asked as they moved deeper down the dark corridor. Corvus looked down at himself, he wasn’t exactly built to be stealthy. He was slightly taller than Baurus and broader too. His time in the cell had only allowed him time to train his body, so any skills he might have once had in the arcane arts had been long forgotten. Why don’t I remember who I am? What gods are so cruel as to destroy a man’s memories? Corvus clenched his fists, it felt sort of natural.

“They’d feel better with a sword in them,” it was Baurus again.

“You got one?”

“I keep a spare, it’s not much and I’ll want it back if we survive this.” Baurus pulled a steel short sword off his back. “Here, try it out.” Corvus took the weapon, the cold steel felt strange in his hands. It had been so long since he’d held a weapon. He stepped forwards, pulling the blade in a circle from behind his back and over his head and brought the weapon slicing down into the air. He twisted quickly whipping the blade round and creating a blur of fire from the torch. “Not bad prisoner, hopefully you won’t need it.”

They kept moving down the damp passage, torchlight flickering and dancing on the walls, until Renault stopped and silently held a hand up. She pointed at the group then pointed at the ground, drew her sword and stepped out into the room ahead. The other blades drew their swords too, Corvus followed their example, and the emperor did nothing. They watched as the Captain stepped forwards into the waiting dark of the room ahead, she stepped slowly, checking every corner by swinging the torch she held around.

“It’s clear,” she waved them on. They passed through the room quickly until they came to the door on the other side. Baurus laid a hand on the brass handle and gave a sharp twist.

“Locked,” he began fumbling around in his pockets for the correct key. Over the noise of the keys, Baurus could hear something else. It sounded as if another door was opening not far away. Corvus put his hand over Baurus’ and held the other over his lips.

“Prisoner?”

“There’s something else here.” Corvus looked around the room, looking for the source of the noise. The room was dark but there was an even darker patch, just to the left of the door and at about head height. “There,” Corvus pointed up at the patch, drawing the three Blades’ attention. Captain Renault stepped towards the darkness, illuminating it with her torch.

In the darkness Corvus could just make out a shape, clinging close to the wall. As realisation struck he readied his sword, it was a person. Knowing that he had been seen the assassin summoned his armor and leapt down from the doorway. Renault was the closest to him and as he fell he pulled out a viciously curved dagger. The Captain’s natural reaction betrayed her. As she raised her hands to protect herself the assassin took his opportunity and dug the blade into her, now exposed, throat. She fell to the ground, clutching at the gaping wound.

Angered by seeing their captain and friend fall the two remaining Blades ran the assassin through quickly. The assassin fell to the ground next to the fallen captain. Glenroy laid a kick into the dead man, flipping the body over so it was lying on its back. The Blades crouched next to their fallen leader. Corvus was more interested in the assassin, as Corvus touched his armor it crumbled into dust. The dagger that sliced open Renault did the same. “Who was he?”

“It doesn’t matter, nobody will find him here. He’s no one.” Glenroy looked at the dead man with scorn. “We can’t move her Baurus.”

“We can leave her here with some dignity though,” the two Blades arranged Captain Renault’s body so that she was lying on her back, her unseeing eyes closed and clasping her katana on her chest.

The four men moved on silently now. The Blades grim faced and brooding, the Emperor silent but not angrily so, more as if he was thinking about something so deeply that nothing else existed outside of it and Corvus, silent only due to the silence of his companions, holding back so many questions.

The door opened up into another room. This one was much larger than the one they had previously been in. They hurried down the steps in the middle of the room. At the bottom of the stairs they were faced with two corridors, one away to their right and one straight in front. Glenroy headed down the right hand passageway. From the bottom of the stairs they could hear him shaking the handle. He let out an angry noise, “it’s locked, they knew we were coming, somebody has betrayed us.”
Suddenly behind them there was a loud crash. Someone was hammering on the door at the top of the stairs.

“They’re behind us,” Baurus ripped open the gate to the corridor in front. “Quickly,” he raised his voice then instantly checked himself, “your highness.” So, followed by Baurus, Glenroy and Corvus the Emperor walked into the Mythic Dawn’s trap.

“Stay here with the Emperor, his life is worth a thousand of yours, prisoner,” it was the harshest Baurus had sounded for all of their brief acquaintance. The two Blades drew swords and ran out into the empty room ahead, pulling the gate shut behind them. Corvus also readied himself, pulling out the steel short sword he’d been given. A voice from behind surprised him.

“That won’t be necessary Corvus, it wouldn’t help,” the Emperor looked at him with a deadly serious look in his eye.

“What do you mean sir?”

“I am blessed, most men are not granted understanding of their fate, I see its hour and its coming.” Corvus looked at the man before him, he appeared to have aged a hundred years in the time it had taken them to walk from his cell to this dead end and it all rested in his eyes. “It’s all coming to an end, I can go no further along this path. It’s all down to you now. Be warned, my dreams have granted me no visions of success, just a coming light, a new dawn perhaps or a renewing glory.” The Emperor lifted off the amulet of kings off his neck and over his grey curls, “You must take this to Chorrol, find the man named Jauffre in Weynon,” he handed over the jewelled amulet. “Corvus, find the heir and together you must close shut the marble jaws of Oblivion, save Tamriel from the coming fires.” As he finished speaking the Emperor stepped away from Corvus, moving next to a small alcove.

A stone panel in the wall slid open almost instantly, a red robed man leapt out “for the coming dawn!” He cried out as he drove his sword deep into the abdomen of Uriel Septim. The Emperor collapsed to the ground, swallowed up by his robes. The assassin looked up from the body into Corvus’s eyes. They both froze.

It was Corvus who moved first, raising his borrowed sword above his head. He stepped forward, shutting the gap between them quickly. He slashed down and drove the blade into the assassin’s neck. The blow was enough to cut deep into his flesh, stopping only when it struck bone. The agent’s eyes rolled and his mouth opened as if to say something. No words came, only a small trickle of blood. He fell forwards into Corvus and Corvus had to check his reaction to catch him, stepping out of the way instead.

He knelt down next to the body of the last Emperor of Cyrodiil. Corvus was still clasping the Amulet of Kings in his left hand and he slid it into his pocket. He reached out and shut the Emperor’s eyes, a last moment of dignity for the man who had met death with no fear.

I love your second chapter, as it has this ominous undertone that I LOVE...