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Leea Leea 3 days ago
0

The Outsider Chronicles: The Claiming: Chapter 214

Chapter 214
2nd Era 582

We were past the Whalebone Bridge, and out in the sparkling meadows of Sovngarde, where Shor was the residing god. He was walking with us, like it was totally normal that one could have a walk through a heavenly place with someone so much powerful than you and they could wink you out in an instant. Not that I believed Shor would ever do such a thing, but... the power of him was undeniable: wrapped close like a cloak, yet it took your breath away with how much power I could sense from him. Darien clanked alongside me, while Shor took up my other side, then Verandis on his other side.

He was telling how it was good to see us again, but presently faced me when I blurted out why Verandis had been referred to a few times as "…


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Leea Leea 7 days ago
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The Outsider Chronicles: The Claiming: Chapter 213

Chapter 213
2nd Era 582

I woke up who knew how long later. The sky was the same, as there was no sunshine here. I glanced down and saw that Verandis was awake, staring at the sky with big eyes. Darien was asleep, having slid off my shoulder and was now lying in the grass. "We're in Aetherius." I told him, as he glanced up at me. "Sovngarde, to be exact. Shor must have taken us in, when Anu pulled us to safety." I explained, quietly. "No, we're not dead, as Darien feared."
"So... this is Aetherius." he remarked quietly. He glanced around, his examination slow and thoughtful. "I never thought I'd see it, when I had been a vampire. It is... beyond beautiful." He glanced back up at me. My current form's neck made my "resting pose" tower far over…


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Leea Leea 11 days ago
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The Outsider Chronicles: The Claiming: Chapter 212

Chapter 212
2nd Era 582

We walked through the portal and... It looked just like my vision of Grayhaven. Unlike the vision of Verandis's past, however, we all stayed in the group we came in, not spread apart by the forces of the Void. My chest was glowing, a bright, golden glow that acted like its own light source in this Void Color realm. Both men's chests also glowed a bright, golden color; their own Light stores reacting to where we were and what was around us. Black clouds boiled overhead, and they seemed to be sucking towards a point on the horizon. I could faintly hear something like a train, speeding over tracks. Back home, people said tornadoes sounded like trains speeding on tracks. If this thing was like a giant, magical tornado (on…


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Leea Leea 15 days ago
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The Outsider Chronicles: The Claiming: Chapter 211

Chapter 211
2nd Era 582

We appeared on a frozen island, and it was cloudy out. I glanced up at the sky as the gray clouds silently and slowly scuttled overhead. It wasn't raining, but it looked like it could, at any moment. I turned my gaze to the surrounding area and it was all cold and ice, with little bare ground and few trees. The few trees that there were were long dead: tall branched things waving and shaking with the wind, like only dead trees could. A giant manor/castle loomed in the distance, and I'd bet my shoes that was Grayhome, even though I'd only ever seen its interior, not exterior. It was spiked, like it was made of teeth. Vampire teeth, to be exact. "That's Grayhome?"
"It is. We're here." he replied, his brown hair rustling…


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Leea Leea 19 days ago
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The Outsider Chronicles: The Claiming: Chapter 210

Chapter 210
2nd Era 582

I spoke to a few more "Exarchs" scattered around inside Grayhome, but none of them had anything particularly notable to say, beyond the usual "I think I'm better than the mortals beneath us" bullshit. I did not punch anyone else, though. It would not do to take out my fury in his memories.

I found some Argonians, praying to a shrine of sorts in a hallway. One got up and spoke to Memory Verandis (me): "Even where dark water flows deep, the blood of those worthy swirls still. Why is this so, member of the Gray Council?" Great. A riddle. But about what?
Memory Verandis's response was, "Another riddle, Gazes?" "Gazes"? Some Argonians had translated names instead of their native-tongue ones, and those were always tongue-twi…


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Leea Leea 25 days ago
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The Outsider Chronicles: The Claiming: Chapter 209

Chapter 209
2nd Era 582

A Vampire Lord stood in the shadows, his wings folded behind him and one hand lightly grasping the wall, sharp and long talons touching the stucco walls of the house he was in the shade of. He felt... hungry. It was early evening and it was a farmhouse in the middle of nowhere, but smack in the middle of crop fields, too. The smell of wheat straw filled the air. How I could smell this in a dream, I had no idea, but I could. As it was a dream, the Vampire Lord couldn't see me standing close by, but I was once again an "uninvolved observer" in a dream that I was pretty sure involved Verandis's past in some shape or form. The one before me wore different armor than ones I'd seen in the past: those had worn brown-and-gold…


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Leea Leea 29 days ago
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The Outsider Chronicles: The Claiming: Chapter 208

Chapter 208
2nd Era 582

I was cooking at my campsite, a little distance away from the main area, where all the Reachmen were set up. I wanted a little privacy and no one bothered me about it. I didn't know if I could get the "rest" Shor said I (and we: Verandis and Darien and the Reachfolk I was now allied with) should get, but I would at least have a nice supper. It was already evening and as I made some tomato sauce to go with the (from scratch from flour and water) long spaghetti I was boiling in a pot, I watched Arana some distance away talking to Verandis (now in mortal form, as was I and Darien), who was writing something down in a book as she spoke. Notes of some sort, then. Perhaps a Reach witch recipe for some alchemical concoction …


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Leea Leea 14 February
0

The Outsider Chronicles: The Claiming: Chapter 207

Chapter 207
2nd era 582

Something came, but it was before I could even begin to call Shor: a metallic, coppery taste to the air, plus a slight but growing red tint. The wind began to kick up as Verandis and I shared a look of panic. "A Harrowstorm!" I shouted, as the wind turned to a gale and the red was far more prominent, growing by the moments as they passed. It was the center of a Harrowstorm, meaning an Icereach witch was nearby... somewhere. Did someone alert the Gray Host to a gathering here? If so, who? Couldn't be Arana's people; they despised the Gray Host and actively fought against them. Someone from Markarth? Who would be stupid enough to do such a thing?!
"What's a Harrowstorm?!" Darien yelled above the wind, while people began…


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Leea Leea 10 February
0

The Outsider Chronicles: The Claiming: Chapter 206

Chapter 206
2nd Era 582

We appeared outside, near the boulder where Arana and I had first entered that place. I never knew the name of it, only the last part, where Sithis ended up being: "The Dark Descent". Well, no more. If someone wanted to hate me for blocking off that gateway to Oblivion (more like gateway to the Void, seeing as how Padomay came through it and not Namira), hey: so be it. We were both still in our Divine forms, standing there at the cave opening. "I say we stay like this." I was saying. "It'll give them even more proof that we're here on a Divine mission and not to be taken lightly."
He eyes roved over my face as he said, "Perhaps." He blinked. "But won't it draw attention? I had thought you said you wanted to avoid draw…


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Leea Leea 6 February
0

The Outsider Chronicles: The Claiming: Chapter 205

Chapter 205
2nd Era 582

As we hurried along and fought off both Gray Host and Ghostsong clansmen, Arana remarked, "We must stop the ritual. Nathari is leading the Ghostsong clan to destruction. She believes that she's fulfilling Namira's ancient command. Nothing will sway her from her course now."
So I guessed she'd resolved to kill her sister. Because there was no other way to convince this Nathari to stop it. Especially that Sithis was giving her power for the souls. And then her sister yelled at us from somewhere up ahead: "The Dark Heart stirs! You can't stop the prophecy from being fulfilled!"
"The Dark Heart's gone, lady! You've all been fooled!" I yelled back, the cavern shaking. Two Reachmen then yelled out, coming from an azure bluish …


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Leea Leea 1 February
0

The Outsider Chronicles: The Claiming: Chapter 204

Chapter 204
2nd Era 582

There certainly was old Nordic architecture here, but it also was... dark. Not the kind of dark that naturally comes from being in a subterranean cave system (hello, Blackreach, like yesterday) but rather conjured darkness beyond the sconces, like had been in that basement where Tal and I had had our first adventure together, or that keep, Shadowbrook, where I first fought alongside Calathetial. The artificial kind of stuff meant either to frighten interlopers or because the inhabitants of said areas liked it. Or both. I was not going to try to sneak in here, because I did not know this place at all and I didn't want to fall into a pit that would hurt when (or if) I hit the bottom and be hard to extricate myself from b…


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Leea Leea 28 January
0

The Outsider Chronicles: The Claiming: Chapter 203

Chapter 203
2nd Era 582

I walked to this Lost Valley Redoubt (funny how it had the same name a thousand years in the past) with Arana. Bradan had quite literally left us in the dust. I assumed he had hurried ahead to inform this Nathari that some outsider wanted to speak to her about dark prophesies. I could see the spires of the old Nordic statues in the distance, over the waterfalls: Lost Valley Redoubt. Looked the same as its future counterpart, from this distance. We both stopped for a moment while she was looking at it, like it would give answers just by gazing and taking it in. It didn't of course, so she moved on, me following behind.


There was a Nord vampire lady speaking to some werewolves up ahead. We sneaked as close as we could ge…



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Leea Leea 23 January
0

The Outsider Chronicles: The Claiming: Chapter 202

(Editor's Note: I apologize for the long delay. I upgraded my computer with a local company and that took FOREVER to get done and I think there's still some underlying problems that didn't get fixed. =( At any rate, I'll be publishing again, so be sure to read new chapters as they come up!)

Chapter 202
2nd Era 582

We were at a place I knew quite well, in my own time: it was Nordic ruins attached to a cave system, and the cave system eventually rose to a point where the entrance to Sky Haven Temple was. At this point in time, it was still sealed, of course (there were no known Dragonborn at this time in history to spill their blood on the seal to open it), but in my own time The Bitch (otherwise known as Delphine) and her followers in "the Bla…


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Leea Leea 15 January
0

The Outsider Chronicles: The Claiming: Chapter 201

Chapter 201
2nd Era 582

After our talk, we went and found another place with supplies that were promptly burned, and the letter from an Icereach witch stating that the vampires Rada (though it seemed everyone referred to him as this "Ashen Lord") lent for moving these supplies around were "slower than a stuffed hen" or some such. I found that amusing. Vampires were known to have supernatural speed, yet these witches claimed they were slow. I wondered why that was.

We were walking to a place indicated by another letter when I felt a wave of sorts wash over me. It wasn't a physical wave, but rather a sensation. At least it wasn't one of those damn "brick visions" where it felt like someone tossed a brick to my head. The last one had been in Atm…


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Daeds IV Daeds IV 14 January
0

Age of Heroes - Deception (Part 7)

The man for which Elgrim’s Elixirs had been named died many years ago, and his wife followed soon after. At the behest of her daughter, Maven purchased the establishment and left the reigns over to a High Elf by the name of Derano. The old altmer rarely bothered with customers, and was more resigned to fumbling around with his ingredients to see what new potions he could discover. The business side was maintained almost entirely by Derano’s apprentice: a young Nord named Admaer.

Jes sat up on the stone slab, breathing deeply as the restoration potions worked their magic. Admaer stood at the door, his arms folded as Jes set the bottle back down.

“That should hold you over while your body heals the rest of the way naturally. Don’t want to over…

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Daeds IV Daeds IV 14 January
0

Age of Heroes - Deception (Part 6)

The Ragged Flagon stood as an example of the ingenuity of mortals. The idea of a tavern underneath the city, in the middle of a wretched cistern, sounded like a terrible idea on paper.  But in practice… yeah, it was still a terrible idea.

Jes couldn’t decide what was worse. The overwhelming amount of shady characters, belching and yelling and relieving themselves right there in the cistern’s waters, or the pungent smell of piss and dung that had caused her nose to shrivel up. How anyone thought that this was a good idea was beyond her.

… Well, it did keep the guards out, she supposed. That was probably the idea, wasn’t it?

“Isn’t it just beautiful down here?” Radiya grinned, noticing the repulsed look on Jes’ face. “Don’t worry, we won’t be i…

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Daeds IV Daeds IV 14 January
0

Age of Heroes - Deception (Part 5)

“So… how did you get the Stonehawk name? It sounds Nordic…”

Jes and Radiya walked through the brazier-lit streets of Riften, with the redguard’s attention focused on the few stars that had begun to shine through in the early-night.

“Ah, I gave myself that name when I left Hammerfell,” She wistfully recalled. “When I was a young girl, still a whelp in Belkarth, there was this big hawk that had made a nest on the roof of my family home. My father, he was a jeweler. Never made anything exquisite, nothing that would end up on the hand of a king or in the ear of a queen. But he made quality work that the warriors and working folks in Belkarth could appreciate…”

She shook her head, refocusing back on the point of her story. “Anyways, this hawk dive…

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Daeds IV Daeds IV 14 January
0

Age of Heroes - Deception (Part 4)

20th of Rain’s Hand

Word was coming into Skyrim now about the deeds of the Heroes Guild in Black Marsh. It was impossible to escape. Exposing a ring of corruption in Lilmoth. Liberation of Black Rose. The saviors of Soulrest. Merchants, guards, and all the guildmasters were talking about it.

Jes was not happy, however. She had slipped up in her training, and she and Ri’Kraz knew. It seemed now that her every thought was on the Heroes Guild and their success, and it was distracting her. But how could it have been distracting her? Was this not the desirable outcome? Her friends (and Leyt and Eryna) were winning. Turning the tide against the empire-backed rebels in the region. Why was it bothering her so?

It wasn’t all bad, of course. She had be…

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Leea Leea 11 January
0

The Outsider Chronicles: The Claiming: Chapter 200

Chapter 200
2nd Era 582

This Ard guy talked exactly how I'd expected him to, and his attitude was pretty much how I'd expected him to be, too. In other words: not welcoming, "foul temper today" or not. He didn't call Verandis a "fancy bastard" like the sentry had, but his language was close enough to it. I had to restrain myself from pulling him outta the throne and tossing him back down the steps. We were standing halfway up, on the landing where the Steward would sit in my own time. He'd begun the "conversation" by asking (seemingly to himself) who's head would roll for letting us foreigners into the Keep. He was gruff and made it quite clear through plenty of barely-disguised words that if I made one wrong move, I'd be thrown from the hei…


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Leea Leea 7 January
0

The Outsider Chronicles: The Claiming: Chapter 199

Chapter 199
2nd Era 582

We eventually found our way to a cobbled road, and it took me a few seconds to orient myself. "Okay, so..." I trailed off, glancing around. There's the river over there, and so... "Yeah." I nodded. "We're close to Markarth. Just up that hill and over a bridge and we'll be on the outskirts of it."
Verandis seemed surprised. "So soon?"
I raised an eyebrow. "Wanted to climb the crags for longer?" I asked, joking.
He smiled. In the daylight here (partly overcast: light turned whiter by being filtered through clouds), his pale skin nearly looked like it would belong on a Snow Elf. It ended up being a stark contrast to his brown hair and purplish eyes. Not to mention his dark outfit. "No. But I enjoyed helping you over them."





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Leea Leea 1 January
0

The Outsider Chronicles: The Claiming: Chapter 198

Chapter 198
2nd Era 582

We had appeared in front of a small, abandoned house. Little more than a shack, really. Since Arkay plopped us here, I had to assume it was safe, but I did a precautionary examination of it, anyway, just to make sure. As it was on top of a hill (more like a steep hill on one side and a cliff on the other, which were quite common in the Reach), it had a great view in all directions. It seemed to be a hunter's occasional rest spot, as I'd seen some in my own time and this place here was set up similarly. I idly wondered if the hunter(s) would be back anytime soon, while we were here on our "break". I sat at the table with my head in my hands as Verandis finished his own examination of the little structure, and lit a lit…


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Leea Leea 26 December 2023
0

The Outsider Chronicles: The Claiming: Chapter 197

Chapter 197
2nd Era 582

After a couple more rooms, we found Arkasis in... what I could only term as an "incubation room", but with large glass containers hung from the ceiling instead of on the floor or anything that didn't look like it belonged in a mad scientist lab, like everything did here so far. And they all were filled with... werewolves and bloodknights, in red liquid. They moved slightly in the liquids, showing they were alive, while Arkasis himself (he was even dressed like a mad scientist!) was in a large, clear, central tank, on a large piece of machinery. It did not have any liquid in it (at least, that I could tell), but it had bands of metal or wires coming down from the top of the tank (where a "lid" capped it) and fused into …


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Leea Leea 22 December 2023
0

The Outsider Chronicles: The Claiming: Chapter 196

Chapter 196
2nd Era 582

After our stop for a meal in the middle of a mad alchemist's lab, we continued on until we found...
"What the hell is that?" I asked, seeing... damn it.
"Something I never wanted to go this far," rued Verandis, as we beheld what could only be termed as a Stone Husk but one... far larger than the others, which were already huge. This one dwarfed the others by far. Arkasis overlooked the entire chamber here and yelled out when we entered, "Yes, yes, you'll do nicely! My assistants aren't fit to put this beauty through its paces, but you... you should yield results!" and suddenly this thing began to move, the whole room shaking with its footsteps as it lumbered towards us. How the hell would this thing be dealt with? I had…


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Leea Leea 18 December 2023
0

The Outsider Chronicles: The Claiming: Chapter 195

Chapter 195
2nd Era 582

I lost count of how many more hostiles we'd battled through, trying to get to the end of this damn place. Chaurus (who were made short work of with his staff), more wild hog things, orderlies with batons, assistants who tossed potions like they were trying to be baseball pitchers at a World Cup, other assistants who attacked, too many werewolves, and more and more stone husks. There were also two more "soul urge" rooms with Bloodknights guarding them, and two more valves inside that I turned off and then wrenched off, to prevent them from ever being turned again. I'd never shifted back from my Divine form, so it gave me the strength to fight all this I normally didn't have. Verandis, though, had shifted about mid-way …


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Leea Leea 14 December 2023
0

The Outsider Chronicles: The Claiming: Chapter 194

Chapter 194
2nd Era 582

His auramancy showed that a certain amount of these husks were made, but not if they were still being made. Tzinghalis, of course, had been brought back to life by Rada, so he certainly had the capacity to keep making these things, but the Icereach coven couldn't help that much anymore, seeing as how their numbers had been decimated by Lyris and Gwendis and Melina, at the same time I'd dealt with the Dark Heart. There still could be a few out there with the Grey Host, but I wasn't sure, really. It seemed, though, that a certain number had been given to Tzinghalis, the mad scientist here (named "Arkasis" in the vision where Rada spoke to them both) in this "Stone Garden" as it was called, and to Greymoor Keep, back duri…


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Leea Leea 10 December 2023
0

The Outsider Chronicles: The Claiming: Chapter 193

Chapter 193
2nd Era 582

We ended up walking with me holding his elbow through a couple more rooms (one was empty, while the other seemed like a storage room with more crates I promptly burned), before we ended up coming to what seemed the more "inhabited" part of this what-seemed scientific lab. There was werewolves (easily dealt with by channeling our Light stores), wild boars (what the hell?!), more Chaurus (ugh), and also what seemed like assistants to the head alchemist. Those guys lobbed potions like there was no tomorrow, and all the potions were explosives of some sort. There was also guys that looked like and behaved like orderlies in insane asylums back home (at least, as I'd seen in horror flicks), who relied less on potion-chuckin…


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Leea Leea 5 December 2023
0

The Outsider Chronicles: The Claiming: Chapter 192

'Chapter 192
2nd Era 582

It indeed was Dwarven make inside, but highly revamped and remodeled. "I don't know if I'm gonna be of as much use as I had thought, here," I mused quietly, aloud. "This isn't all original. Someone highly remade all this Dwarven stuff. We won't find any Centurions or Spiders or even any old Dwarven traps here."
"Don't talk like that," Verandis replied, just as quiet, and would have continued before I heard an ominous clicking sound and quickly was waving my hand over my throat in the "stop" gesture. He instantly silenced and whispered, "What?"
"Do you hear that sound?" I whispered back, hearing it again. It wasn't too far ahead; probably a room or two, which meant we needed to be extra quiet. I might be immune to dise…


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Leea Leea 30 November 2023
0

The Outsider Chronicles: The Claiming: Chapter 191

Chapter 191
2nd Era 582

We made our way through multiple hallways and more rooms before we finally found our way back outside. There'd been a few Bloodknights on the way out, but he'd taken care of them, by using his personal well of Divine energy, channeled through his staff. All had barely enough time to notice we were there and yell an emotionless word in response before they sparked into nothingness. So now he was apparently comfortable with the use of his well of Light, like I was. It certainly cut down on "battle time length", against those I called "people and creatures touched by Oblivion". There were no other entities or enemies to speak of. We also found ourselves in another exit that seemed a lot farther away from where we started…


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Leea Leea 27 November 2023
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The Outsider Chronicles: The Claiming: Chapter 190

Chapter 190
2nd Era 582

After I gave Verandis his "in no way is this your fault, dude" lecture (I hadn't called him a dude, but still), we got to find a way into the next room, which he (and now I) could feel arcane energies lingering in. He'd said it must be the ritual room or chamber of the keep... or, considering the size of this place, the ritual chamber for this section of the Greymoor Keep. He found a hidden door behind some vines (like one of them bead curtains hippes loved back home) and opened it, revealing a new, rather large chamber lit up with candles and sconces. It also had a basin almost as large as the room, with what appeared to be blood filling it. There was a lady that looked like a Breton in front of it, with a large syri…


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Leea Leea 23 November 2023
0

The Outsider Chronicles: The Claiming: Chapter 189

Chapter 189
2nd Era 582

As soon as he was gone, I asked, "Was that some sort of Cure Disease spell? Or something?"
"Yes. He was infected by a disease I'd never felt before." Verandis replied, standing in the gloom of the barely-lit prison like I was. "It was meant to... well, I believe it was meant to forcibly turn him into a Bloodknight."
"I thought you said they came about by vampires taking other vampires' essences? Now it's coming about by some sort of disease?"
"From what I felt, yes. But the disease felt incomplete... not formulated perfectly, so it had a variable incubation time. Or only partly effective, and it would never really make them become what Essenia wanted them to be."
"Oh, God. What if this can spread to everyone else, not ju…




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Leea Leea 19 November 2023
0

The Outsider Chronicles: The Claiming: Chapter 188

Chapter 188
2nd Era 582

We were walking around the perimeter of the Greymoor Keep when I felt an unmistakable... pull. I stopped, feeling that pull. Verandis stopped next to me. He was walking about as close as when we had been exploring Atmora: right next to my elbow. "Do you feel what I feel?" I asked aloud.
Even though he was pale, his skin picked up the odd orange light being emitted from the keep and it turned it to almost the same tone his previous shade had been, pre-"turned back into vampire looks but no vampirism". I glanced down at my hands and they just plain looked orange-tinted. "I do. Is yours coming from Greymoor Keep, too?"
"It is." I readjusted my pack again. Something had sunk off to one side and made it unevenly weighted. "…


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Leea Leea 14 November 2023
0

The Outsider Chronicles: The Claiming: Chapter 187

Chapter 187
2nd Era 582

Verandis actually insisted on walking me back to my rooms, then asked me if I'd be okay as we stood outside the door.
"You mean with nightmares and whatever? Yeah, I should be. The marking's gone, so he shouldn't be able to bother me anymore. I think I'll be okay." I replied, looking up at his kind face.
He smiled a little. "If you need anything, don't hesitate to ask."
"I know." I smiled back, before hugging him to me and speaking into the fabric of his robe. "Goodnight, Verandis. See you tomorrow."
I felt his hand cradle my head as his chin rested on my scalp. "Goodnight. I wish you good dreams. We leave tomorrow. I'll see you then." He then left with one of the warmest smiles I'd ever seen from him, and that was somethi…




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Leea Leea 8 November 2023
0

The Outsider Chronicles: The Claiming: Chapter 186

Chapter 186
2nd Era 582

I was sitting on a barstool, watching the double broiler begin to boil. I then set in the candles and the scent of honey began to infuse the air as they reacted to the heat. The door to the kitchen opened and it was Adusa, sniffing audibly. "Khajiit smells something sugary, something sweet." she said, still sniffing, her nose to the air. "What is this one cooking?" she asked, coming closer. "Adusa loves sweet things. It would be an untruth if she did not admit this."
I chuckled. "I'm melting wax to use as stoppers for some prototype weapons I made with Verandis." I peered inside the top pot, the one with the candles. They were beginning to get shiny and some liquid was starting to pool at the bottom.
She sat on a stool…


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Leea Leea 4 November 2023
0

The Outsider Chronicles: The Claiming: Chapter 185

(Editor's Note: This one is the last of the daily chapters, as I've now caught up. New chapters will now be posted every five-six days. Hope you enjoy!)

Chapter 185
2nd Era 582

The Tsaesci man shortly came back with two sets of tongs, and Verandis and I (with the long tube in tow) went out to collect sand to make - hopefully - the right kind of glass for my grenades. I asked Orland to come along, too, as well as Cicero. Cicero had only been on the docks, and I didn't recall at all Orland being anywhere beyond the ships themselves. I should have taken him along previously, but now I was. Also during Sunset Time, which would be special, for many colorful reasons. As usual, his curiosity was on display: "Milady, what are you going to do with thi…


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Leea Leea 3 November 2023
0

The Outsider Chronicles: The Claiming: Chapter 184

Chapter 184
2nd Era 582

I ordered a bath and I felt SO much better afterwards. It was pretty much late evening at this point, so I dressed in soft sleeping pants and a voluminous, equally soft sleeping shirt (tight sleeping clothes were never fun). Both were unadorned, but dyed a soft, fuzzy-looking blue. Soft, and snuggly. I made my way to House Ravenwatch's room and knocked on the door softly. I heard footsteps and then the door opened under my hand. It was the very person who always seemed to spark a conversation between me and Gwendis: Verandis himself. He smiled warmly when he saw me standing there. "Good evening, my friend." he said, "I'm done with the grenades you wanted."
My eyebrows rose. "Well, that was quick." I remarked. I knew h…


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Leea Leea 2 November 2023
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The Outsider Chronicles: The Claiming: Chapter 183

Chapter 183
2nd Era 582

He sat on the chair that everyone sat on, from me and Chevalier, to Verandis, and Tal. Now him. I was going through my closet, taking out the clothes I wanted to take with me, and laying them in a heap on the bed, which itself wasn't... really made all that well. "So? What did you want to talk about?" I prompted him, who was... unnaturally quiet. I had expected flirtation to the maximum; while it was good he wasn't flirting as usual, it was also... odd.
I glanced back at him, while I picked through my shoes. He said, after pressing his lips together, "I wanted to say... I'm sorry. I'm not taking back what I said, but I'm sorry I brought it up in front of everyone."
I turned around to face him. He was actually apologizi…


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Leea Leea 1 November 2023
0

The Outsider Chronicles: The Claiming: Chapter 182

Chapter 182
2nd Era 582

Vanus' portal got us all back to Jylkurfyk, and he was still giving me looks like I should be telling him everything I wasn't. But if there was stuff I only knew a little about, or had suppositions on what could be something (such as whatever "destiny" I was to share with Verandis), I was not going to tell him so he could muse and suppose and make theories on something deeply personal... or tell others about it. He didn't quite strike me as a gossipmonger, but... well... Darien let slip things I hadn't been quite willing to let him slip (such as my preferred foods; J'ava found out through him and so did Orgnum... sure, they were in my little "group" and were friends, but I still hadn't sanctioned it in the first place)…


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Leea Leea 31 October 2023
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The Outsider Chronicles: The Claiming: Chapter 181

Chapter 181
2nd Era 582

Holy shit. I was instantly on my back as I gripped tightly Verandis's and Darien's hands in mine as they let their power into me, to "loosen" the damnable marking Padomay had pressed into my soul the moment I was brought here to this world by Anu. Both men's power brought me to my knees singularly, and now I was experiencing it twofold. I couldn't even begin to describe the pain that coursed through my muscles and body. Even my hair felt like it was in agony. My back arched and my head was thrown back in a muscle spasm that I couldn't control, locked in place by a burning sensation I could never find a word appropriate to describe it fully. The heels of my boots dug into the earth and made furrows, even in the cold, har…


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Leea Leea 30 October 2023
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The Outsider Chronicles: The Claiming: Chapter 180

Chapter 180
2nd Era 582

We appeared inside the ship, in his quarters. No one else was present. "Now I'm even more envious I don't have teleportation." I said, making a face.
His smile was warm and reassuring. "It's a wonderful thing. Now you know what it feels like. Maybe Anu will give it to you one day."
"Maybe." I replied. "I'm going to the kitchen and the cargo deck. I need to pack all the food and whatever I can." He nodded as I went for the door. "I'll get everything ready, myself."
"Do you know where everyone went after I left?"
He paused, hands on a backpack. Apparently he'd brought his own pack along. Or maybe he'd found one down below deck. Mine was a slate grey bluish color, while the one he was handling was plain leather brown. "Most…




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Leea Leea 29 October 2023
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The Outsider Chronicles: The Claiming: Chapter 179

Chapter 179
2nd Era 582

I ended up going up to Orgnum's ship and asking one of the many deckhands there if they could go and find their Lord. Everyone else waited for me on the docks. Screw what Vanus thought. Orgnum had more than proven to me that he was trustworthy... and, better, he didn't flirt! Well, he had in the past, but thankfully he'd not repeated it. I was grateful.

Orgnum came out onto the deck shortly afterwards, with a guard in tow. I recognized the man who had stopped me from running over to the railing when Orgnum defended us from an Ebonheart Pact fleet of ships. "Hey, I remember you." I said, gesturing to him. He bowed in answer. I turned to Orgnum, who was smiling. "Feel like coming along on a hopefully less stressful adven…


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Leea Leea 28 October 2023
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The Outsider Chronicles: The Claiming: Chapter 178

Chapter 178
2nd Era 582

I did not see Gwendis nor Adusa outside the door, which was surprising. Both of them had not changed from their sleeping robes, yet, that much I knew, so unless they wanted to explore in robes, perhaps? Dunno. But Tal and Kelian were there, though, waiting nearby. Both bowed when I entered the hallway. "Kelian," I said, an idea popping into my head. "What do you think about coming along today? I'm going out again exploring."
He bowed that funny way again (half crouching down, yet still standing up), and said, "It would be an honor, Your Majesty."
"Good. We're probably heading out right after breakfast. You ate already?"
"I have. We--" I assumed by the "we" he meant all the Tsaesci aboard "--eat earlier in the morning th…



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Leea Leea 27 October 2023
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The Outsider Chronicles: The Claiming: Chapter 177

Chapter 177
2nd Era 582

I was not on my bed; it was a little harder and... taut? Smaller, too. But it felt and smelled like someone familiar to me. I opened my eyes and saw a wooden ceiling, honey-hued. Then I felt close by the soul of that certain someone dear to me and my world came crashing back in and what had happened to me after I lost consciousness. I curled into a small ball and caught a glimpse of Verandis at my left side, concern etched into his face. I pressed my face into the pillow of his cot (no wonder it had felt like someone familiar had been on it) and willed myself not to cry, but it was a futile battle in the first place. My shoulders shook as I cried and remembered all that had happened in the vision (one of those "brick …


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Leea Leea 26 October 2023
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The Outsider Chronicles: The Claiming: Chapter 176

Chapter 176
2nd Era 582

The door opened under my hand and I saw Gwendis. She was in a robe (no shocker, now knowing what I did - that the Tsaesci loaned robes to everyone - and it also made me the only one who'd brought her own nightwear) of gold and crimson swirls. "Oh, hey," she said, apparently surprised to see me there, but thankfully not the surprise from having been just awakened by a knocking and also not the surprise when you see someone you didn't want to see. "What's up? We were just getting ready for breakfast."
At least she wasn't hostile (of both varieties: passively and actively), considering how figuratively green she was yesterday from my interactions with her mentor. "I was hoping to come in, if that was possible?" I asked, …


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Leea Leea 25 October 2023
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The Outsider Chronicles: The Claiming: Chapter 175

Chapter 175
2nd Era 582

I was in front of Cloud Ruler Temple, in Cyrodiil. I knew the look of it well enough; I'd been around there plenty of times. It also was in pristine condition, not the embattled condition it was in the current time (Fifth Era; decades after the Aldmeri Dominion sacked it in the Great War). The surrounding countryside was also in high Spring, so it had a fresh, bountiful look. The sun was shining down brightly and the leaves were glowing in its rays.

I glanced around, wondering why I was here and what was going on, when I heard footsteps behind me. I turned quickly around and saw... Chevalier. My heart stuttered at the sight of him. He had on a traditional Tsaesci robe, this one gold with rich red banded cuffs and wrapa…


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Leea Leea 24 October 2023
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The Outsider Chronicles: The Claiming: Chapter 174

Chapter 174
2nd Era 582

I was back in the forests surrounding Lillandril again, but at the same time, I... wasn't. It was like I was there but at the same time I wasn't, too. It was hard to describe the sensation. But I heard the unmistakable rustle of something large charging through the brush, and I saw the Welwa that Talcarion had chased when I first met him all that time ago as it burst through the leaves and kept running, past where in real life I had fallen because of a vine around my ankle, but in the dream here it didn't stop because I was not there barring its way. Instead, it kept running full tilt forward, shortly followed by Tal in his old patchwork armor, racing through the bushes and following as fast as he could, swords out an…


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Leea Leea 23 October 2023
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The Outsider Chronicles: The Claiming: Chapter 173

Chapter 173
2nd Era 582

After my training with Tal (which lasted maybe an hour, perhaps a little more), he stood there and I asked, "Hey Tal, can I ask something of you?"
"What is it?" he asked back, holding the dowels (two for him and one for me).
"Would you like to stay with me in my room tonight? It'll be a little like old times, though of course a little different, too." I'd shared Breezehome - my old home in Whiterun - with him when we came back from Summerset together. He lived in Lydia's old room, which was about four paces from mine. Small house, but it was everything that I needed at the time. I still owned it, too. Maybe a less-hectic day in the future and I could go back and visit it again.
He inclined his head as he said, "I would,…



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Leea Leea 22 October 2023
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The Outsider Chronicles: The Claiming: Chapter 172

Chapter 172
2nd Era 582

Verandis's eyes widened and his lips parted as he gasped as my gift flowed into him, like a dam burst and the waters flowing free with held back force. Like I thought would happen, an intense brightness grew as the gift I wanted to give him and the gift he wanted to be given to him was placed in his life force; it filled the air with immense light and also a piercing hum, growing in volume as seconds went by. I had to shut my eyes because it was so bright; I could not look to see if he was doing the same, or even if Talcarion was looking away, either. It was so intense of a glow, even through my tightly shut eyelids was a bright red luminance from the brilliance beyond them. I kept my hand on his chest before power gre…


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Leea Leea 21 October 2023
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The Outsider Chronicles: The Claiming: Chapter 171

Chapter 171
2nd Era 582

We had talked of light subject matters and drank tea for a few minutes, before Adusa yawned. And it wasn't just a little one, either: it was like those cat yawns where the entire set of teeth, the whole tongue and the throat were visible. She covered her mouth afterwards with a tiny yelp with large green eyes and a surprised expression. "Oh, many pardons. Khajiit didn't know it would be that big." She covered her head with her other hand. "Adusa shall excuse herself now, if it pleases this one to do so?" she asked me, a green eye peeking between her fingers.
I smiled and then nodded, and she got up and left... yawning again. I heard her mutter, "Oh, embarrassing," before she walked out of earshot. Gwendis left soon af…


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Leea Leea 20 October 2023
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The Outsider Chronicles: The Claiming: Chapter 170

Chapter 170
2nd Era 582

I woke up some time later. It was still dark in my room, with light filtering in from a sliver of space under my door. Verandis was still in the chair at the foot of the bed, but with his head back against the (unfortunately not-so-forgiving) headrest, his fingers interlaced over his lap, his eyes closed. I did not try to get out of my bed this time, but I silently slid forward until I was at the foot of the bed, and parallel to him. He opened his eyes at this moment, smiling a little when he saw me in the gloom. "Did you rest well? How are you feeling?"
"I'm okay. No more headache, thank God. How're you?"
"I was worried about you. I think my dreams reflected that." he replied, adjusting in the chair.
"What sort of drea…



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Leea Leea 19 October 2023
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The Outsider Chronicles: The Claiming: Chapter 169

Chapter 169
2nd Era 582

We finally reached the Word Wall! It only took forever! And a ton of trouble! We all stopped in the clearing before we got to the Word Wall itself. Orgnum's tail idly "slithered" in the air as we stood there. I asked aloud, "Can anyone feel any illusions or anything? Something meant to show what someone else wants instead of what's really there? The Word Wall's real, I know that much. I just don't want to walk right into another trap meant for me."
Vanus stepped forward, as did Verandis. If Orgnum was gonna do some spell sleuthing, he did not rear up on his legs or anything, he just looked off towards the Word Wall itself. Both Altmer mages extended one of their hands, which glowed brightly: gold for Vanus and a sky b…


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