The moment we passed the threshold of the temple gates, they shut behind us locking up once again.
Immediately, Valerica rounded at Gelebor, eyes narrowed in accusation "What is the meaning of this?!"
The Knight Paladin winced at the violent echo of her voice but composed himself just as quickly "Please pardon this deception..." He bows his head with genuine remorse "I had to make sure Virthur's evil would not triumph even should we fall."
My companions turned silent at that, Serana and Nightshade giving him nods of understanding while Valerica was no doubt coming up with myriad ways she was going to make his life hell when we claimed our prize.
I, on the other hand, felt nothing but annoyance "You could have just told us this would have happened and we would have continued anyway. But since you thought you could deceive us like this know that when we win I am going to beat the ever loving shit out of you."
My words passed him by like a light breeze as he smiled "A sacrifice I am more than willing to pay."
"Ugh" I roll my eyes "Fucking zealots I swear..."
We proceeded deeper into the temple, the elder vampire grumbling the entire way, and soon emerged into a vast chamber.
It was a square room made almost entirely of white marble, its ceiling was made up of many arches which spread from the center and into the differing wings of the building, the whole place gave me the feeling of standing in a magical cathedral.
Which to be entirely fair was exactly what this place was.
But what drew most of our eyes, completely ruining the ethereal beauty of the Chantry in the process, were the numerous frozen figures standing in every single corner of the room. Most were made up of the feral Falmer and their pet beasts but some stood far taller, easily marking themselves as the ancient Paladins of the Chantry, all four of them standing proudly in their glorious death, unmarked by Virthur's later betrayal.
"Wait a bloody moment." I narrowed my eyes and immediately cast a wide-range scan followed by a clairvoyance just in case "Why are they alive?"
This threw my companions for a loop, but it was Gelebor who was most shaken by my declaration as he outright gasped "You are certain?"
"It is pretty dim, but I can sense a bit of lifeforce still left in them." I cup my chin and tap my foot in thought "They will require immediate care once extracted followed by months of therapy or they will expire within minutes of their liberation."
Gelebor stares at his frozen comrades with longing, and then his gaze hardens "Even so, they will be happy to do their du-"
"No." Surprisingly it wasn't me who immediately called him out on his bullshit "You will stop your pathetic posturing and accept that there are greater things and goals than your forgotten faith." Nightshade bites out "No more people are going to be sacrificed in your and your brother's self righteous crusade against each other. So shut up and make sure to go in front of us, since you think you can sacrifice others so easily you won't mind being used as a meat shield as well!"
A silence descends upon the chamber for a brief moment before Scorch appears on my shoulder and (somehow) lets out a whistle "You tell him girl!"
Said Falmer lowers her head in embarrassment and looks away, just now realizing that she had an outburst in front of her lord.
Instead of teasing her further, I look to Gelebor and make a 'shushing' motion toward the next passage "Go on then, you heard the scary little lady."
We passed the following rooms without further incident. Many of the frozen 'statues' were holding something valuable, almost beckoning us to take it, but I knew better and wasn't quite so much of a kleptomaniac as to immediately loot it, so we went completely undisturbed, even if Scorch called me a scrub in private.
Finally, we stepped out into what seemed to be a frozen over prayer space turned throne room, the powerful presence of the Arch-Curate's languid form immediately drawing all of our eyes.
And I swear to all the gods if I didn't already have a reason to kill his ass, I would have no doubt wanted to murder him for his voice alone "Brother!" He greeted with false cheer, his vocal cords straining under the effort, making his voice sound almost as bad as someone bringing their nails upon a chalkboard.
"Virthur." Gelebor spat "Your blasphemy ends today."
The vampire rolls his eyes, still unmoving from his throne "Oh, save me your preaching, it made you sound the fool thousands of years ago and it makes you sound like one now."
"You think this is a joke?" Gelebor hisses with yet unseen heat.
"Well you are here" The Arch Curate points his open hand at him like it explained everything.
I couldn't help it, I actually burst out laughing at that "Oh, that is a good one" I chortle and slap my thigh "Made my bloody day."
"At least someone can appreciate a good bout of wit." The vampire huffs.
"One should indeed engage in minor bouts of tomfoolery from time to time." I nod 'sagely' immediately joined by Scorch who did the same "It keeps life interesting."
"Yes..." Virthur trails off, confused by how relaxed I was "Why are you here?" He asks me.
"Why to kill you of course." I say as if describing the weather "Doesn't mean I have to be a cunt about it though."
His eyes narrow, and then land on the Daughters of Coldharbor "Finally." He mutters and looks back to me "I might even spare you after this, even if I did make you come all the way here and bring your two companions."
Valerica looks just about ready to explode but I whisper to her "Shh, he is about to monologue."
"What do you mean by that?" Serana asks the vampiric Falmer with narrowed eyes.
"It was I who created the prophesy of the sun's tyranny all those eras ago!" Virthur proclaims proudly, slowly standing from his throne "I have moved the world itself so that I may punish Auri-El for his betrayal, and you, my dear pawns, have boldly walked to your deaths, just as I predicted!"
"I do wonder, what did you sacrifice for playing with three entire scrolls?" I cut in before Serana can respond.
He gives me a dismissive glance "No sacrifice was too great."
I give a quick glance to Gelebor at that, who after immediately catching my meaning looks away in shame.
Composing herself after my interruption Serana shrieks "So everything that has happened to us has been part of some inane plan of yours?!"
"Yes." Virthur's smile is all teeth.
Serana turns completely silent at that, sharing a determined nod with her mother. I could physically feel their power start moving as they prepared to butcher the poor fucker.
But seeing as I've invoked tomfoolery earlier, it was time to evoke it "You know Virtuhr, I am something of a prophet myself." I say as I twirl my newly summoned blade lazily.
"Get to the point, meat." He snaps.
"For all that ice you surround yourself with, you aren't all that chill." I deadpan and before he can make me cease with my bullshit I stop twirling the sword and show it to him "This is Blasphemy, a rather potent little blade with one very neat power."
"I trust you are going somewhere with this?" Virthur drawls "It isn't like you can escape this place thanks to my dear brother."
"Cute." I snort at the implication that something as pathetic as a divine barrier can hold me, and continue speaking "You see Virthur I know why you decided to do what you did." I say with a smile as I notice the vampire stiffening "You fought with all your might, giving your all in battle for Auri-El, only for one of the attackers to infect you with their curse."
"What, are you trying to beg for mercy now?" The vampire growls.
"But then the infection finally settled." I continue, ignoring his outburst "And you found yourself cut off from Auri-El's blessing, forever barred from the sun and betrayed by the one you dedicated yourself to... I could help you gain what you have lost."
"What?!" The Arch Curate breaks a part of his throne in surprise, my companions sharing a good part of said surprise as they gave me different looks, some merely interested and others narrowed at my perceived betrayal.
"For you see, Virthur." I still go on like nothing happened "This blade of mine can cut any bond I desire it to." I start to twirl it again "You were not abandoned by Auri-El, Virthur." I say with all the gravitas of death itself "You were cursed by Molag Bal, and that curse made you no less a puppet than the Daughters of Coldharbour you sought to control."
"No!" The panicked vampire barks "You lie!"
"And why would I do that, Virthur?" I tilt my head "As I've said I could free you of that curse, let you see the dawn once more..." I pause for dramatics, letting the tiniest bit of hope appear in the vampire's eyes "But I am not going to do that." I declare with a wicked smile.
Somehow I think that the half-frozen ancient undead felt a chill in his heart at that.
"For you see, Virthur." I say, his name now tinged with the vitriol it deserves "You did not merely seek to fight your perceived betrayal on your own, or even assault the temples of the one you thought your enemy." I shake my head "No, you made it the entire world's problem."
I point my blade at his shivering form, a solar gold sheen surrounding both me and my weapon "Your little tantrum has led to the entirety of the world falling under risk, you sought to spite Auri-El no matter the cost! And due to your actions thousands, if not more have died!"
The golden sheen becomes brighter "You are unworthy of mercy." I growl "Unworthy of redemption!" The sheen turns to flame "Unworthy of salvation!" And with that the spell finishes forming and a gigantic blast of sunfire sears toward the completely stunned vampire, blasting him through the already weakened walls and onto the balcony behind him.
Slowly, I breathe out and sheathe my blade before turning to the vampires "Ladies, I trust you wish to extract your own pound of flesh now."
Serana looks reluctant, a tiny part of her sympathizing with the childish fuck laying half-burnt in one of the corners of the balcony, but her mother knows better and places a hand on her shoulder "Come dear, let us make that filthy creature be useful for once in its miserable existance." Things turn silent for a brief moment before the Falmer and I hear Virthur's pained screams and then silence once more.
Gelebor stares at me with wide eyes "Just like that..." He mutters.
"I crushed his spirit." I shrug and start walking toward the balcony "All that was left was his body."
"Good riddance." Nightshade spits in disgust at one of her potential ancestors.
Gelebor is still for a brief moment longer but catches up quickly after that.
We pass by the vampires, both of them looking out onto the valley, with Valerica consoling a rather put off Serana. I would join them later, but we still had a job to do.
Without prompting, Gelebor begins his prayer and only a minute later, the central platform on the balcony raises up, revealing another wayshrine and a beautiful gold and silver bow floating atop its center.
Lacking any hesitation I grab the weapon and step back. The moment its grip touches my hand I feel a delightful warmth go through my entire body, making me feel as if a warm blanked had covered my very soul.
I open my eyes to find myself surrounded by a beam of golden light, Gelebor bowed before me in prayer while Valerica ran back into the temple, a bit of her skin looking a tad charred. Serana was thankfully unaffected and Nightshade looked completely and utterly unsurprised by the event.
With a mental flick, I check on what just happened and fail to contain a smile.
[Blessing of Akatosh/Auri-El: The Chief Divine of both elven and human pantheons has granted you his favor. Your affinity toward the sun is increased even further and you gain an affinity toward time and a resistance towards temporal effects.]
[Auri-El's Bow: The sun shall burn away the wicked.
All arrows loosed from this bow deal massively increased damage against any creature which might be considered 'dark' or 'wicked' the effect is further increased if the arrows are properly sunhallowed.]
"It is an honor to be in the presence of one so blessed." The reverent tone of Gelebor brings me from my musing, his head still bowed low even as his prayer was complete.
"Apparently, the big dragon upstairs agrees with my words." I huff.
"As crude as your speech might have been... Your words carried naught but righteousness." The ancient Paladin bows even deeper.
"I trust that you will hold no further compunctions about my rule of this valley?" I ask needlessly.
"Of course not, Herald." He salutes me "Me and, should you choose to heal them, my brothers will be honored to serve Auri-El through one of his blessed people."
I nod at that, satisfied at having secured the loyalty of yet another group. Things were going to turn hectic once again after this, keeping track of an entire territory was no doubt going to be a massive chore and I had to make sure the vampires were alright just in case.
But, there was still yet one thing left to do before we took our leave.
Faster than he could blink, or otherwise react, Gelebor found himself flying through the air, my armored gauntlet leaving a bloody print on his face.
------
Doth thou even rock thine stone?
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