» Sun Oct 14, 2012 6:52 pm Some words mentioned in this story have been fabricated either due to my writing style (which consists of making up words, the meanings of which are easy to identify) or in order to create names for places or people which do not exist in Vvardenfell (and have never been mentioned until now). Some actions are also fabricated due to my lack of knowledge on the subject.
This story is only the beginning of a book (or series of books) that I plan to mod into the game. I have a dream of adding several new lore-correct, interesting stories to the game to further increase replayability and lore content.
This is the first such story I have created. Please let me know what you think of it.
The Legend of Eye of the Cube
Authored by Galthramir
The following is but one of many versions of the popular legend of the great sorceress (or wizard, as she preferred to call herself) known as (the) "Eye of the Cube." This version, like many of those which have made their way into colleges throughout Tamriel, has been pieced together from the remains of a charred book found in the Dwemer ruin of Gkillensheft; the book which was apparently discovered by the warrior Kills-in-the-Grass, which finally found its way into my hands. Through the willful mage (who has long been my friend and rival) Andilo Uvulas, it was recovered and translated. This is therefore the original translation of the book, and is the most accurate. Although this cannot be known for sure, the book has not been in better condition in nearly two hundred years than it was when Andilo translated it in 3E 393.
This is not the high tale of the World-Hopper eyeCube. Though some texts which attempt to recreate the legend do so by occasionally filling in the story with myth, this journal attempts to recreate the actual events as best as possible. All of the excerpts here are from the charred book found in Gkillensheft.
Eye of the Cube (whose former name, if applicable, cannot be known to me) was an outstanding Altmer whose magical abilities earned her the title of Archmagister of the Telvanni, as well as Arch-Mage of the Mages Guild in Vvardenfell, although for only a short time. Much of her life was spent there, where she mainly lived as a nomad-alchemist. Through her studies, and with the help of the two prior mentioned companies, she became such a powerful sorceress and enchantress that her power eventually blinded her immense wisdom.
The following is an excerpt found on one of the few pages which received minimal damage. The word "hopping" here refers to the act of "exhibiting a spell around her, directly after which she would either jump several yards forward or several hundred."
"Highly regarded as eccentric and hyperactive, and notable for her habit of hopping everywhere she traveled, the people of Vvardenfell often referred to her in demeaning ways. Whether by jealousy or racial bias or ranidaphobia, the inhabitants of Vvardenfell (particularly the natives) disliked her from the first months her odd behavior became a topic to be discussed at local taverns and holes-in-the-wall.
Though some admired her unbelievable talent and skill, Eye of the Cube was, throughout her short life, an isolationist who seeked no renown. Her only visits to towns were to fulfill a duty or a chore, or to buy ingredients that she could not find or were not available wild in Morrowind. She seemed to possess immense wealth that appeared to spring out of nowhere. However, though many insults of the sorceress have left the Sujamma-tinged lips of Vvardenfellans, none have ever been found to be recorded that noted her with overwhelming evidence as a thief.
Indeed, no reports of any crimes can be found for anyone by the names of 'Eye' and/or 'Cube,' amongst the Imperials or of any of the three Great Houses. It should be noted, however, that she has been occasionally referred to as a skooma-eater or a skooma-smoker, though these accusations have never been recorded as truth."
Eye of the Cube is now regarded positively as generous, wise, and strong. However, as the reader may already be aware, none of the various stories of Eye of the Cube leave out the title of World-Hopper. Yet even that remarkable ability is as nothing compared to her true power. The following excerpt gives more understanding to the possibilities of her magicks and her outstanding courage and sacrifice.
"...as if an earth-quake were shaking the entirety of the mountain. Suddenly, a hole appeared from which fat, vile, stinking, disfigured, animated corpses pissed onto the mountainside. They threw their legs at me and moved at various speeds, but their true nature remained a mystery to me as my back was suddenly to them and I sprinted downmountain at such a speed that my legs pained after every lunge.
Adrenaline pumping through me, I ran without thinking and my leg was soon caught in a trama shrub. Somehow, all I thought of then was the irony of my situation, though I find it not so ironic anymore.
I suddenly remembered my companion [Eye of the Cube], and a shot of relief coursed through me, such that I felt hot and cold at the same time, and then nothing. Out of curiosity I turned my gaze toward the ground where the hole had appeared, and then I heard the most horrible sound that I can remember.
It was a sound that continued. Multiple sources caused it, but together it seemed to play a deathly symphony in my ears. It was the sound of all of the gray-yellow exploding corpses, including the ones still crawling out of the pit, screaming with agony as lightning repeatedly struck their already destroyed bodies. Countless lumps of flesh and limbs rolled down the mountain toward me and I then struggled to be free of the thorny prison.
I failed to escape in time and a body struck me directly and suddenly became a part of my arrest. It lie on top of me and a slow whooshing sound came out of it. It was hot and smelled of death and burnt flesh.
Then, the crying ceased and the avalanche of dying slowed. The body which had made a bed of me was pushed aside and my companion [Eye of the Cube] reached her hand out to mine. I grabbed it with more vigor than I had when I was escaping those wretched fiends and with more thanks than I have ever possessed. The trama shrub somehow no longer trapped me at all and I was on my feet. I remembered the reason I had hiked so far into the Red Mountain, but was no longer feeling any urge to complete my journey, and I let eyeCube know. Her face remained straight and she said a simple thing: 'then we go."
The following excerpt is the follow-up of the previous story, after which the author had apparently succumbed to the terrible disease Corprus, and seeked Eye of the Cube for a remedy.
"...but she was nowhere to be found. Her trails had never before been consistent or routine, but she usually passed through Balmora at least once a week, so I waited there, trying my best to avoid contact with the townspeople and trying my best to hide my growing size and grayness. My tail soon died and became but a limp bag of flesh which I trailed about when I went out to catch a fish or pluck a Heather. I found that I was becoming strong, but my senses as well as my thoughts were becoming clouded.
I must have followed this for three weeks, growing more tired and yet stronger constantly, until one day.
On 22, Last Seed, 3E 198, I found Eye of the Cube. She was lying beneath Odai Plateau, by the river that runs by it. Her corpse was still warm.
I carried it, and eventually dragged it, back to Balmora where the Healer Bratheru Saram took her. He discovered that she had also contracted Corprus, but showed no signs of the usual deterioration that accompanies the disease. I was given the great fortune of setting my eyes upon her once more before she was cremated. Her skin was yellow, but no more so than one would expect to see in an Altmer. Her face was just as beautiful as ever, but no longer did it appear innocent. The armor was customarily removed before cremation but no one wanted to do so with the knowledge that she was infected with Corprus.
I stepped up and offered to remove her armor. It was light, and this had a tear roll down my face for what felt like the first time in my life. The armor removed, it was discovered first that Eye of the Cube wears her armor without clothing underneath it, and it was then discovered that Eye of the Cube had a huge burn mark on her briast. The burn mark was definitely the cause of her death, and was unmistakably a burn mark of her own lightning strike.
I wonder whether an attempt was ever made by her to defeat the disease. I like to think so, and I hold that had she not done so, the disease would have disfigured her to the point that I am now suffering as I write this last piece with the remaining clutches of my sanity.
May the legend of the Eye of the Cube forever live on as one of bravery, of wisdom, of strength, and of sacrifice."
