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JASH
I pulled my robes tight against me as the elements didn't care I was now a Daedric Prince. Since I hadn't learned to transcend my physical form and had no interest in doing so, the cold soaked into my scales. Besides my robes, the fire that Serena tended helped to keep the cold at bay.
After being distracted by the quickly thickening winds, I turned my eyes back to the crowd of devotees on Mount Anther. I had turned the Word Wall into a sort of throne for the crowd. I didn't care about a throne but they liked the imagery.
No. Not Mount Anther. Mount Kysnier during the winter months. My devotees had insisted that while I answered questions and bestowed gifts that the mountain be renamed.
My childhood name made me want to kill all those that uttered it but I controlled myself.
Though I had never shown an inclination towards the name, to my devotees my childhood name was a way to honor me. At least I had convinced them never to call me that. Mount Anther in the winter was an entirely different matter.
The question of how my childhood name became public knowledge had no answer. Unless the person who had let others outside of Argonia know it came asking my favor I would never know. I had hoped to leave the name behind me but now it was common knowledge in Skyrim and, most likely, a good majority of Tamriel.
Would the Thalmor find any use for it? Perhaps relatives of the slavers would be useful tools for them. No, that couldn't be right. Those that lorded themselves over the helpless lost their connections once they had no value.
Though some relative or friend of the slavers probably knew of me. Not because I had risen to become one of the most powerful people in Skyrim, but due to me slaughtering those that dared hold me back from freedom.
It would explain how someone had sent the Dark Brotherhood after me upon my arrival in Skyrim.
"Lok Vah Koor!" Odahviing Shouted as he landed on the Word Wall.
The devotees cheered as the wind lessened and there was a little more warmth on the mountain. In the distance I heard the retreating sounds of another dragon. Elisif had suggested that I make my own sigil with Odahviing on it. If there was ever a great need to define my role on Mundus, I would act on her suggestion.
"Vhos!" Serena called to the next devotee from my right.
The vampire stood as my guard for show. It did good for my devotees to see the pomp benefiting of anyone in a high station. I loathed performing a show for an audience that served no purpose. But everyone needed the right script and stage to feel reassured. It didn't matter if those in power spewed lies. It only mattered that the lies were what the listeners wanted to hear.
A middle aged Redguard walked to the foot of the throne and bowed deeply.
"Do you have a question or do you require a gift, Vhos?" I asked and the dryskin slowly stood up.
"A question, my Prince." Vhos answered. "I loathe the Thalmor and want to kill every last one of them. I have also heard rumors of the Reforged that are a constant thorn in the Thalmor's side. My question is thus: should I seek out the Reforged so I can fight the Thalmor by their side?"
I closed my eyes and reached out for the knowledge that was now mine. All of Skyrim's secrets could be laid bare at my feet as long as a someone asked. If no one dared ask a question then I would only know what my limited mind could tell me.
As my mind followed the trails that Vhos had prepared for me, I saw what kind of a man he was. He had dreams of glory and hatred that could burn for a thousand years. For now that burning hatred was focused on the Thalmor and only by fighting them could he achieve any semblance of honor.
While Vhos had a noble purpose, he did not have the skills to fulfill it.
"Your hatred for the Thalmor nearly rivals my own." I said once my eyes opened. "You won't have much purpose on Mundus if you do not spill Thalmor blood."
"So I should leave today and seek out the Reforged?" Vhos asked.
"I said you need to spill Thalmor blood, not that you yet have the skills to do so. My advice to you is to spend time waiting for the Second Great War training so that you will be a deadly warrior on the battlefield."
"Thank you, my Prince."
Vhos looked nervous and did not move a muscle. Was he going to ask me to bite him? Did he not care about the risk that entailed? If he allowed me to bite him then this could very well be his last moment on Mundus.
"Speak, my child." I said and kept all annoyance out of my voice.
"I want to spend eternity with you." Vhos replied. "Bite me so that my soul will enter your realm after I die."
"Are you aware that a bite isn't required for a simple question? It is only when you request a gift that you must be bitten to prove your worth to me."
"I am aware."
"Are you also aware of what happens if I do not judge you worthy? I will consume your body and soul with your soul arriving far from the top of the Mountain."
"I trust in my Prince's judgment."
I knew that explaining my 'judgment' would fall on deaf ears. I didn't know how judgment was decided as it was pure instincts for me. No matter how I tried to save people, what was right couldn't be changed. Maybe one day far in the future I would understand. But that time was not now.
"Then I will give you my judgment." I agreed.
With a large smile on his face, Vhos tilted his head so that his neck was perfectly presented to me. I walked down to the Redguard and put my hands on his shoulders. My fangs quickly came out as my mouth neared the dryskin's flesh.
The sound and feeling of my fangs piercing flesh made my **** ****. As his blood started to rush through my fangs I knew I needed all of him. I need his flesh, bone, blood, and soul. I wanted to pull out or at least warn him, but the arousal rushing through my body wouldn't allow me to.
A moan escaped my lips as Vhos began to scream. In under a minute the dryskin had been drained of blood, his skin had turned white, his bones had no mass, and his soul raced to the Mountain. I closed my eyes and cried out as if I had just ***.
I let go of what had once been Vhos and let out a final moan as I felt a new soul settle into my plane of Oblivion. I opened my eyes and looked at Serena with a smile on my face. Her face was stoic but I knew once the high had left me, she would provide comfort.
"Vhos has been judged!" I yelled out to the crowd and they cheered.
I sat back on my throne and nodded at Serena. She would call yet another devotee and my needs would continue to be sated. In the brief moments after consuming an entire being I felt high. Oblivion, drinking Skooma never gave me such a rush. Soon enough, though, the guilt would start to eat away at me again.
Serena opened her mouth to utter a name but stopped when I raised a hand. The crowd then turned to follow my gaze. Some devotees even looked angered at having their worship interrupted. But what else was I supposed to do when Urag gro-Shub approached me during the winter months?
The Orc was librarian of the College of Winterhold and never left the Arcanaeum. If he needed a book found then he would send others, including myself, to return it. Unlike most Orcs he preferred endless years of study over slaughtering anything that slightly bothered him. He didn't have a need to prove himself as long as he had his books.
If Urag had come here then it was a serious matter.
"Your devotion to me has been noted." I shouted so that the large crowd heard me. "I will answer your questions and give you gifts tomorrow."
The devotees bowed deeply and then left. They would either go to their camps at the foot of the mountain or rooms in the Frozen Hearth. I waited until they were gone to leave my throne.
"Egg-friend!" I said with a smile.
"Arch-Mage Jash Telvanni." Urag said with a teasing look in his eyes.
Due to my decision to help a certain Dark Elf, I had been accepted into House Telvanni. I hadn't been able to talk the Dunmer out of his decision and so, legally speaking, I was bound to it. Hircine be praised that most days no one referred to me as a Telvanni. The main exception was whenever Elisif needed it for political reasons.
"Why do you walk in the wilderness without any protection?" I asked.
"I'm still an Orc." Urag replied. "I don't like to fight but I can."
"It was not our intention to insult you."
"I am aware."
Urag pulled out a large book from his backpack and handed it to me. It was heavier than it looked and my muscle memory was the only reason it didn't sink deep into the snow. Instead of flipping through the thick volume I looked to the Orc for answers.
"Over the past nine years you've been trying to break free of this reality." Urag said as he warmed himself by the fire. "That volume should give you the remaining answers you seek."
"I'll finally be able to see Alex Casey in the flesh." I said and my tail started to move like an excited hatchling's. "Urag, if this works then-"
"I'll have the favor of a Daedric Prince."
"I was going to give you a raise but if you prefer my favor, then it will be yours."
Serena started to pack up for the day so I could make my way to Bloodchill Manor after Urag left.
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