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grimweaver · 3 years

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((I’m taking a break now, for how long I don’t know just yet. I really need to spend more time with the family (immediate household only, of course, thank you very much stupid COVID and stupid people) and work on other projects I’ve put on hold for far too long. Not saying I won’t write (that’s absurd!), just saying don’t expect something every 1-2 weeks for a while. Hope you enjoy this chapter, in which is THEE scene I believe a lot of you are anxious for, that I aimed to treat with the considerable amount of respect I believe it deserves, what I think is lacking too often in romantic stories.))

~*~

It was a massive relief for all of us to be in the Cheydinhal Sanctuary again. Any Sanctuary is fine enough, but there was truly nothing like our own, because it was the only place we could truly be ourselves and talk about anything. Because we had to hold so much in for twelve days, we were all endlessly chatty and high-spirited. A lot of us unloaded what had been on our chests since the first day of our quest for Dragonfury. There were some things said about Farwil that got under my skin a bit, but I just shrugged it off. I had no wish to spoil the evening by starting an argument. A lot of them got drunk and started horsing around, belting out some nonsensical jingles way off-key, and engaging in some games that were as utterly stupid as they were fun.

But once the Speaker entered, dressed in his traditional Black Hand robe again, all activities and sounds in the room came to an abrupt halt. All bodies and heads turned, and those who were sitting shot out of their seats and acknowledged him with nothing short of utmost respect.

“Good evening, Dear Brothers and Sisters,” Lucien said.

“Good evening, Speaker!” we all replied— it came out long and slurred from some of the more heavily intoxicated folks.

By this time I knew that Lucien was rather put off by drunkenness, but his only expression of disapproval of it was a shake of his head and a hard eye roll, inclined to just let the Family have a well-deserved first-half victory celebration. “I hope at least one of you is not drunk beyond retention.”

Telaendril almost fell over the table as she shot up from the bench, wobbling back and forth as she waved one hand in the air. “Iz’aright, Thpeaker! We’re not asth thinth asth you drunk I am!!” She called out with a snorty giggle, then she plopped back down on the bench so hard that I feared she had busted her tailbone.

“Uh huh,” Lucien groaned.

“Don’t worry, Speaker,” Ocheeva replied. “Vicente and I... our mental facilities have not been compromised. We will be sure to go over everything with the rest tomorrow morning— no one will leave this Sanctuary uninformed.”

“My mind is fit for input as well, Dear Speaker,” I chimed in. Even that night, I was determined to limit the alcoholic intake to a moderate buzzing amount, as the memory of what happened in Bravil a ways back still haunted and discouraged overconsumption.

“I’m very pleased to hear that,” Lucien replied, then lifted a portion of his robe’s skirt to pull out a sealed envelope from an inner pouch and held it up high enough for everyone to see. “I have in my hands three very important announcements, but I believe it’d be best that we begin with the travel plans first.” He brought the envelope back down and clutched it in a protective manner, as he took a deep breath before proceeding.

“We will meet outside the East Gate of Cheydinhal at 6:00 am. Just as before, you’ll NOT don upon yourselves or possess any weapon that would surely announce your allegiance to the Dark Brotherhood.

“Don’t forget that we are going to be traveling on foot, as the conditions on the paths we’re taking are not appropriate for travel by horse, so bring no more than what you can carry on your own; limit what is packed to what is essential for survival, battle, and personal hygiene. We should be able to rent a guar-drawn cart for the return trip, but do not make any plans to collect a bulk of souvenirs until we have a confirmed reservation for one.”

The notes that the Speaker had given us had informed us of this already; no difficulty there, I was trained to be a minimalist when I joined the cadets at the age of twelve! After the usual repair-and-replenish rounds in town, I went straight away to packing most of what I needed to bring in a duffel bag, leaving out only what had to be kept out for overnight use. All that was left to do was to make sure I slept well for what was to be a long and arduous walk.

Lucien continued, pointing to the map that was pinned to the wall behind him. “We’ll enter the underground passage that goes straight through the Valas Mountains—the Fungal Grotto, to be more specific—and enter the west side of Stonefalls. We’ll then follow the roads that take us to Ebonheart, where we will meet with Ulrani to bring him up to date and discuss the next phase of business. It is also our place of rest, for all the reasons that the ever impetuous but knowledgeable young Indarys had pointed out to us. A Black Hand courier was sent out tonight to book rooms for us at the Ebony Flask.”

“Parddon, Speaker— whad about de Brodders and Seesters of de Leyawiin Sanctuary? Weell dey nad be joining us?” M’raaj-Dar asked.

“That’s a very good question, Brother. The answer to that, in fact, is one of the announcements I hold in my hands. I’ll read it now.” As he lifted the seal flap with a thumb and pulled out a letter from the envelope, I saw the corners of his mouth twitching upwards— a subtle indication that there was a massive thrill within that was too great for even him to contain very well. “Not just one, but three Sanctuaries will be joining us in Vvardenfell—Dawnstar, Falkreath, and Skingrad. We’ll be expected to meet with them in the town of Suran on the 22nd. Combined with the numbers from the other Sanctuaries, we should have a total of forty-five against Druin and all of the other remnants under his command.”

“What about Leyawiin, Speaker? Didn’t they promise they would help?” Antoinetta asked.

“Unfortunately, they are no longer available to assist us,” Lucien answered. “Moving on...“

“Why??” Teinaava blasted as he pounded his fists on the table. He was fairly pickled, yet he had enough presence of mind to attentively listen to and understand every word. “Even the Listener said that they would!”

“There is a very good reason, Teinaava, and that is all I’m at liberty to say.” Lucien kept his tone fairly level despite his obvious irritation, only looking up from the letter to scold Teinaava with a fiery glare. Teinaava, despite his condition, seemed to read and understand the message in it perfectly well and refrained from saying anything more about it.

((CONTINUED))

#elder scrolls stories #lucien lachance #the dark brotherhood #tes oblivion #the elder scrolls

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sagenundlegenden · 7 years

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The Infernal City lore notes

Posting for a friend, these are notes I made after reading the Elder Scrolls novel The Infernal City. Just random things that struck me as interesting or notable. Spoilers, definitely.

PART ONE

PT ONE Ch 1:

- Pushbottom is the slum of Lilmoth- “Imperials had dwelt here, too, in the early days when the Empire had first imposed its will and architecture on the lizard people of Black Marsh.”—now dominated by criminals and political opponents of the An-Xileel

- Attrebus rescued a colony of Argonians from slavery

- Glim: “My people knew slavery under the old Empire. We knew it pretty well.” Annaig: “Yes, but that was ending when the Oblivion crisis happened.”

- Lilmoth’s imperial estates were looted, but some foreigners kept on by the An-Xileel as advisors (like Annaig’s father); ch 3- “only licensed foreigners” allowed in Lilmoth

PT ONE Ch 2:

- Penitus Oculatus: has Inspector rank, barracks is the Telhall; are taught not to question orders “You are an instrument, a utensil of the Empire.” (Intendant Marall to Colin)

- Colin thinks of a Nord story about a baby born with a knife for a hand; his mother had been impregnated in a rape and attempted murder; the baby cuts his way out of her and she laughs as she dies; when his victims ask him who he is, he answers “Dalk” which means knife in old Nord

- Colin’s assassination target mentions a book called Astorie Book III and quotes from it: “No food, no wine, no lover’s kiss is as beautiful as a long deep breath.”

- One of the PO is a Khajiit

PT ONE Ch 3:

-the An-Xileel ruling council is called the Organism, in Lilmoth led by Archwarden Qajalil

-Argonian native language is called Jel; Lukiul=”assimilated”, used for Saxhleel who have adopted imperial culture; Xhu=okay; Xhuth!= exclamation;

- “The Hist gave his people life, form, purpose. It was the Hist who had seen through the shadows to the Oblivion crisis, who called all of the people back to the marsh, defeated the forces of Mehrunes Dagon, drove the Empire into the sea, and laid waste to their ancient enemies in Morrowind.

The Hist were of one mind, but just as he was four beings, the mind of the Hist could sometimes escape itself. It had happened before.” – the city tree of Lilmoth was a fragment left over from a tree destroyed 300 years earlier b/c it went rogue

-Lilmoth is mostly sunken into the soft soil; its patron is Xhon-Mehl the Fisher, Ascendant Organ Lord; the An-Xileel had excavated an ancient pyramid that used to be part of the city

- the Psijic priest Urvwen warns about Umbriel, says “We don’t teach our beliefs to outsiders. We counsel, we help.” “Help with what?” “Change… Change is inevitable. Indeed, change is sacred. But it is not to be unguided.” “Mundus—the world—is a very delicate thing, you know. Only certain rules keep it from returning to the Is/Is Not… I feel the ropes of the world, and they have become too tight. And that is never good. That is what happened in the days before the Dragonfires first burned—“

PT ONE Ch 4:

- Lazarum of the Synod had created a flying spell; Synod has conclaves, members have to pay dues

- Annaig does virtue tests on a substance from Oblivion, finding out its main property is restorative, secondary alteration

- Drykillers- only non-Argonian mercenary company in Lilmoth

- Glim thinks Coo is a venin bat or bloodmoth

PT ONE Ch 5:

- Black Marsh coast is lined with mangroves which look like crouched spiders with legs interlocked; there was an Argonian folktale that they originally were spiders that had gone against the Hist and earned their wrath

- Umbriel resembles a giant jellyfish but the underside is like a mountain ripped out of the earth and turned upside down; the top is level with towers and arches; there is a long, drooping fringe hanging from the upper edge like a lace collar disheveled by the wind and frozen in place, or like spider silk but some shining, and constantly dipping down then returning to the center of the island

- Glim starts to return to Lilmoth in a Hist daze

PT ONE Ch 6:

- if Argonians go far enough away from the Hist, they don’t hear anything

- Glim says “What the Iyorth was that?”

- From Umbriel they see humans, Argonians, sea creatures including Dreughs marching; some Bretons at Hereguard Plantation (one of the only farms still run by Bretons) fight the Umbriel creatures

- Glim understands that the rogue Hist only wants the “Lukiul” (assimilated) and foreigners to be killed by Umbriel; the An-Xileel and Wild Ones had gone away during the siege

- Annaig mentions a person called Irenbis Songblade who exploited faction fighting in Cheydinhal, probably in a story

PT ONE Ch 7:

- Umbriel residents speak a dialect of Ehlnofex

- Argonians do not have a sense of time, all moments are together as one

PART TWO

PT TWO Ch 1

- Attrebus: “The Empire is still reclaiming territory, both literally and figuratively. There are many battles yet to fight before our full glory is reclaimed.”

- Attrebus wants to fight for a place called Arenthia in Valenwood, Mede I won’t allow it

- Mentions bandits around Cheydinhal

- Annaig’s last name is Hoinart

- “Titus Mede had been—and was—many things. A soldier in an outlaw army, a warlord in Colovia, a king in Cyrodiil, and Emperor. And to Attrebus, a father. They looked much alike, having the same lean face and strong chin, the same green eyes. He’d gotten his own slightly crooked nose and blond hair from his mother; his father’s hair was auburn, although now it was more than half silver.” - Titus has curly hair

- Mede is not concerned with Umbriel moving towards Morrowind

- Says he took the city with under 1000 men; “routed Eddar Olin’s northward thrust with barely twice that”

PT TWO Ch 3

- New town of Ione, where Attrebus has a house—an Oblivion gate opened right in the middle of a company of soldiers, commander Tertius Ione led the defense w/ a cobbled-together militia of local farmers, he disappeared but a Breton came out who was half mad & died a day later; gate later exploded

- Sardavar Leed- “where the ancient Ayleid elves had once herded his ancestors, bred them for work and pleasure.”

- Vaermina – “Dark Lady”

PT TWO Ch 4

- the Ayleids used a metagastrologic in their banquets- like a drug that stimulates the taste sensations

PT TWO Ch 5

- Colin mentions an insurgent faction from County Skingrad called the “Natives”

- Describes magic as “the spark in himself that belonged not to the world but to Aetherius, to the realm of pure and complete possibility. He was lucky—this was easy for him. If he’d needed to start a fire or walk on water, it would require training, a mental sequence worked out by someone else to convince him that such things could be done. But for what he was doing, he need only focus and pay attention, look beneath the rock that everyone else didn’t notice.”—is able to conjure up the ghosts from the attack

PT TWO Ch 6

- “cats are less than friendly with the Empire they had once been a part of”

- Riverhold is swarming with imperial agents

- slarjei- desert animal

PT TWO Ch 7

- Penitus Oculatus was watching the Thalmor; there was a Thalmor sympathizer sleeping with an official in the war ministry

- The rebel “Natives” in County Skingrad are supplied and funded by the Thalmor

- Mede says “the Thalmor are in everything these days” “their aims are obscure”; Colin objects “their goal is clear—the pacification and purification of all Tamriel—to bring about the new Merithic (sic) era”; Mede responds “we have an inkling of their long-term goals, Inspector, but their intermediate plans are less scrutable”

- Colin says they are harassing refugees from Summerset Isles and Valenwood

- Mede says Leyawiin is still restless under his rule

- Colin’s inspector says he could get assigned to spy on Nords

- Colin drinks Colovian highland ale with juniper added, popular in the west; most Colovians in the IC are military

PT TWO Ch 8

- Rimmen has an Akaviri shrine called the Tonenaka with 10,000 statues, canals

PT TWO Ch 9

- Cheydinhal is famous for thirty-layer cakes

- Khajiit mounts are like apes, with thick forearms half the size of their rear limbs, with red stripes (Senchetigers—pt 3 ch 5); a Merish looking woman had black tattoos on her skin

- “the moons come from the east”

- Je’m’ath= protection for a favor

- The Khajiit start hospitality with a ritual of serving cake sprinkled with moonsugar and a few drops of liquid—this is a rite of hospitality that confers protection on the guests; they then ate honey and date soup

- The appearance of Khajiit depends on when in the moon cycles the kits are born

- The potentate of Rimmen has declared free clans outlaws

- There is no law in the north of Elsweyr since the Empire left—bandits roam freely

- Rimmen has domed buildings of white stone, a palace with a golden dome & sheets of water; there are “viridian moths”; only half of the residents are Khajiit and most of those are skooma addicts

- Attrebus and Sul buy moon sugar at the “Kingdom of Rimmen State Store”

PART THREE

PT 3 Ch 2

- Skyrim has steam baths, which have spread as a fashion occasionally in Cyrodiil

PT 3 Ch 2

- A former 18th legion soldier who fought with Mede is working as a regulator for the Kingdom of Rimmen because there is little work in Cyrodiil

PT 3 Ch 3

- scratching under one’s chin and then under the other person’s is a Khajiit greeting (or show of respect?)

- “Seidar”— like a debt of honor

- Northern Elsweyr is swarming with renegades in hill forts

- Vivec held up the Ministry of Truth (described as “a moon from Oblivion”) and after he died or disappeared, Vuhon and others built the ingenium that used souls to keep it aloft; the ingenium exploded, hurling Vuhon and Sul into Oblivion, and the Ministry fell to earth, triggering the eruption of Red Mountain

- The ingenium used souls to keep a vent into Clavicus Vile’s realm open; Vuhon may have made a bargain with Vile to trade energy for souls

- When Sul arrived in Oblivion, a black figure named Umbra tossed a sword back through the rift; this figure had cut a piece of Vile’s power off to make the sword more powerful, after which Vile had circumscribed the walls of his realm to imprison the figure there—only the sword could get through the rift

- Vuhon made a pact with Umbra to make a new ingenium to let him escape Vile’s realm

PT 3 Ch 5

- In the collapse of the old empire Bravil and Leyawiin were independent and at odds; Water’s Edge was protected by remnants of the imperial navy and served as an alternate port

- College of Whispers outposts are called cynosures

- Attrebus’ sword is called Flashing

PT 3 Ch 7

- Khajiit call Hircine “the Hungry Cat”

- Hircine will always give prey a chance to escape for the sake of the hunt

- Khajiit expression for dying is to be “on Khenathi’s path”

- They are confronted by a driver of Hircine’s hunt who is a werebear- tall Nord with blue markings on his chest riding a bear

- Hircine hunts with a pack of werewolves; looks like an enormous man with the antlers of a stag

PT 3 Ch 8

- Vivec City is now Scathing Bay, a perfectly circular lake with an island at its center that is indented by a crater; the Argonians perform some kind of ritual there

- Some Argonians settled in southern Morrowind but would be in Umbriel’s path

- Sul’s real name is Ezhmaar, his lover is Ilzheven; he summons her as an ash wraith

PT 3 Ch 10

- Colin uses the Cloak of Nocturnal for stealth

PT 3 Ch 11

- Glim has a faintly chlorine scent

- Sul conjures a crocodilian daedroth who snarls in hate at him but must obey his command

PT 3 Ch 12

- Sul uses a white-fire spell called balefire

- Vuhon had devised a way to use living souls to power the ingenium, but it requires “large” souls—Ilzheven had one of these; Sul tried to free her and the fight destroyed the ingenium, sending the Ministry hurtling to land

- Vile tightened the circumscription after the sword was thrown through, and the only way Vuhon could escape was to leave with a piece of Vile’s realm “twisted like a sausage skin until it separated”; he came to Mundus so that Vile couldn’t pursue him; he was able to seal the rift but is searching for the sword through agents, and wants to bring Umbriel to rest on White-Gold Tower

PT 3 Ch 13

- Sul summons a powerful daedra but it makes blood come from his nose

#Elder Scrolls #Argonians #Hist #Dunmer #lore

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ferallymine · 5 years

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End of an Era

A/N:: How did Aria survive from Oblivion’s timeline to Skyrim’s? She became a vampire. How exactly did Aria become a vampire? Well that’s what this explains <3

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2 years. It had already been 2 years since the incident with Bellamont. 2 years since Aria officially became the Listener.

2 years since Lucien had cleaned up the Cheydinhal Sanctuary and began recruitment. He left Aria to find a new place for the two of them to stay. Somewhere away from the high paces of the cities.

2 years since the Breton settled on another abandoned fort- similar to Farragut, but farther away. Lost to the endlessness of the deep woods.

And now here they sit, a fort turned into a home, surrounded by silence and Brotherhood duties.

Aria was writing at her desk when Lucien came back in, “Dead?”

He let loose a breath, “Yes. Poisoned him. The guards all thought it was related to his age, and don’t believe he was murdered.”

“Good.” She smiled. “I’ll have these ready to send out tomorrow morning.”

“Anything you want to give me?” He asked, “Maybe a bit more challenging than poisoning an old fool?”

She simply shook her head ‘No.’

He raised an eyebrow, “Why not? You know I’m fully capable of it.”

I’m scared to lose you after everything that’s happened “I’m giving them to the recruits. They have to test their strength and wit.”

Lucien bent down and pecked her cheek, “If you say so, my dear.” He shrugged off his light chest piece, revealing the skintight undershirt underneath it, “I think I’m going to draw a bath. Care to join me?”

“Always,” She smiled, getting up.

The darkness of the night came over the fort while they bathed. Simply too tired to do anything else, the couple laid down in bed and succumbed to sleep.

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Only the light of the moon shone through the window. The night animals made idle chatter and howls, awakening Lucien.

Part of him screamed to stay in bed. The other part yearned for the thrill of a contract.

One look at the papers won’t hurt

Lucien slowly rolled himself out of bed. Aria remained deep in slumber, red hair a long, tangled mess on the pillow.

You’re so beautiful, even when you sleep His fingers lingered on the sheets before walking over to her desk.

A plethora of parchments were neatly stacked in different areas of the desk.

She has them sorted by which Sanctuary they’re going to. He sifted through one pile, reading each detailed contract one by one.

When he got to Bruma’s pile, one particular parchment caught his eye.

Fire Wizard Igneos:

Located in a cave underneath a large cabin in the mountains west of Bruma.

Known to keep atronachs as guards in the cave. Likely has other thralls

WARNING: Strong magicks. Be wary of your movements at all times

“Fire, huh?” Lucien whispered to himself, smirking, “There’s a challenge I can handle.”

Without another sound or goodbye, Lucien grabbed all his gear, took the contract, and slipped out into the darkness.

--------

Yells and loud thuds awoke Aria an hour before dawn. She instinctively shot out of bed to grab her dagger, right as a loud crash sounded downstairs.

A swarm of footsteps made it hard for her to tell how many intruders there were. Aria readied herself- a dagger in one hand and ice magicka in the other.

When the door to the bedroom began rattling against whomever was on the other side, Aria stomped her foot. Ice shot out, sliding underneath the door and spiking once it was on the other side.

Cries of pain amounted, but what Aria didn’t expect was the invasion from the windows.

Multiple bodies from both sides of her crashed through the windows. Fear fueled her reaction. Ice spikes formed and spiraled in an array of directions from her body.

One intruder dodged every spike, coming within combat range. Aria swiped her dagger across their chest, sending blood spraying out. A final stab through the heart turned the attacker into ash.

They’re vampires Aria’s thoughts began to panic.

The door broke down, distracting her for just a second, giving another vampire enough time to-

Aria screamed when teeth sank into her neck.

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She didn’t know when she blacked out. All she knew was that the fort was trashed and everything felt.....cold.....

Unusually cold. It was springtime and no warmth comforted her.

My child

Aria squeaked, surprised by the voice, “N-Night Mother?”

My child, you’re the only one left

“Wh-what?”

We’ve been found out. Do not worry, for I will return when the time is right. You will survive. You MUST survive. Be free, my child.

It was gone. The voice of the Night Mother.

Aria felt dizzy, empty. I’m the only one left? What abou-

She looked around, frantic. Lucien was nowhere. Nor was his gear.

The contracts themselves, although scattered and messy, were all still accounted for. Aria rifled through them, panic building again.

One was missing.

“Lucien no, no please don’t tell me-”

The Fire Wizard’s contract was missing.

“LUCIEN!” She screamed.

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In a hurried manner, Aria donned her light armor, cape, and cowl. She packed her weapons, gold, and a small amount of food, then set off for Bruma.

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Bruma’s city life was busy, even at night. Aria usually did her best to avoid people, but she needed information. Which was why she forced herself into the tavern near one of the gates.

“The entire half of the mountain was reduced to ash. Never seen anything like it in my life.” The tavern keeper wiped down the counter as he conversed with patrons, “The guard is up there now, evaluating the scene.”

“It’s absolutely crazy. What person could have that power?” a woman at the bar questioned before chugging down an ale.

Aria sat at the spare seat at the counter, “A mountain reduced to ash?”

The woman finished her ale and looked at her, “I don’t like them golden eyes you got. There’s a bad hunger to them.”

Golden? "Can’t help my eye color, miss.” Bloody Oblivion what do you mean *golden* ???

“I think they’re quite beautiful,” The keeper swooned, “Would you like a drink, m’lady?”

“If you don’t mind, yes.” Aria put down her cowl revealing her red braid, “What’s this about the mountain? I just came in from Cheydinhal.”

A burly man beside her burped, “Sshhhhhhhoulda seen it *hic* theressss wassss a giant BOOM fireball wesht of here and thennnnnn th-th-the mountain coll-lapsed *hic* inside itshelf.” The man exaggerated with his hands.

“You’re cheekbones are oddly defined,” The woman pointed at Aria’s face, “You could cut someone with them.”

The keeper put a bottle of ale in front of the redhead, glaring at the other woman, “The fireball was so bizzare. Everyone’s talking about it. We don’t even know if there were any casualties because everything on that mountain is ash.”

Aria bit her tongue, trying desperately to keep her poker face, “Well, that’s quite a bizarre thing indeed.”

--------

When the place got rowdy with the drunks, Aria slipped out of the tavern and ran through the west gate.

Lucien please Lucien please Lucien I need you Lucien-

She reached the top of the hill and looked down-

Everything was ash. Just like they said. Guards and mages from the guild were searching through it and blocking the area off.

...

....Aria sunk to her knees, heart shattered.

#aria evelyn #lucien lachance #original character #The Elder Scrolls #The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion #oblivion #vampire #Dark Brotherhood #angst angst angst angst angst angst #aria really shut herself off emotionally after this #you thought she was cold at first bitch you got a new thing coming

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