Immortal Words - Saurano Direnni

[BIGwooly]

Morndas the 21st (Lake Ilinalta)

I left Winterhold two days ago, after speaking with an elf named Nelacar. He indicated I could find Azura's Star in a fortress near Lake Ilinalta, in a fortress by the same name. A colleague of his apparently took the star there for experimentation purposes. I believe the name was Malyn or Malvyn. Whatever it was, he has the star and likely has associates working with him.

So I left with three days rations and made my way to Whiterun and then through the wilderness to the lake itself. I spent the night in a tool shed at a mill on the lake. I didn't ask permission, I just snuck in late at night and left before first light. It wasn't the best night's sleep I've had but it will have to do.

I've circled around the lake's edge to where the old fortress should be, and I've found one. It appears to be partially or mostly submerged beneath the water. If this is true, it could prove to be problematic. Obviously I cannot breathe underwater, and I don't have any potions or enchanted items to allow me to do so either. This trip may require a detour to find such potions or enchantments.

At my feet is a an old trap door leading inside. It's time to have a look.

 

[snapzit]

This is an interesting character. Egoist, secretive, and solitary, with a budding evil streak. Nice.

 

[BIGwooly]

This is an interesting character. Egoist, secretive, and solitary, with a budding evil streak. Nice.

Agreed. d;-) She's really kind of someone who is still trying to figure herself out. She has flashes of humility and moments where she's thinks the world of herself. And unlike pretty much all of the previous characters, she's really focused on finding the original owner of the book. d;-)

 

[BIGwooly]

Tirdas the 22nd (wilderness)

The first thing I saw upon entering the sunken fort, once my eyes adjusted to the darkness, was a skeleton hung up on a makeshift cross. It was immediately obvious that whoever was beyond the skeleton wasn't keen on visitors. I was fine with that.

Although it would be a morbid sight to most, it gave me comfort that I would likely only find my sort of people in this place. The Nelacar fellow had mentioned necromancy, and I could only hope that he was right. I seek knowledge above all else, because knowledge is ultimately power. If the knowledge I uncovered was related to necromancy, then I would be quite elated.

It wasn't long before I ran across my first resistance, and then more and more. It was a mix of mages and skeletons that I was forced to confront. My flame atronach conjurations dealt with each of them in stride. I was careful to never push ahead too quickly, or play my position too aggressively. And as each mage fell I dragged them back to a room and gathered their bodies together. I had no doubt the man behind this place was a powerful mage himself. The description from Nelacar told me enough about that. So I had every intention of finding him and luring him back to this particular room, at which point I would use my ability from the ritual stone and raise all of these dead mages to fight him on my behalf. Let this Malyn taste the true power of necromancy.

But as I progressed the fighting grew more and more treacherous. And eventually I came across a mage I suspected to be Malyn himself. His powerful frost spells were some like I had never seen before. Slowly, room by room, I led him back to my trap. It was delicate work. I had to take care not to get myself killed, yet I had to avoid revealing the fact that I was attempting to lead him to a trap. I nearly died a few times before I finally lured him into the room, and then I raised my army of dead.

They fought valiantly against him, using magic and daggers and fists. But one by one he destroyed them in kind. And soon enough I was back to conjuring fire atronachs. And this is how we battled ... not for an hour ... not for several hours ... but for the entire night. His frost spells were very powerful, and he had knowledge of restoration magic as well. I couldn't seem to gain an advantage on him. So finally, with absolute exhaustion taking over, I rendered myself invisible and slipped past him while another of my flame conjurations kept him busy.

Unfortunately, as I delved further into the fort, I discovered another room with more mages. One of these I'm positive is the head mage, Malyn ... or Malvyn ... or whoever. It was then that I realized I needed to retreat and develop another plan of attack. If I wasn't able to defeat one of the lesser mages, I would never defeat this Malyn himself, especially in the company of other mages who were likely as powerful as the one I already couldn't defeat.

So I used my invisibility and vacated the fort. It was dawn, and I was exhausted. I needed somewhere to sleep and there was nowhere safe within miles. Except the camp of a fisherman I had passed. A bit of nastiness prompted him to attack me, and one of my conjurations quickly finished him off. Now it's late afternoon, and after a nice nap in the fisherman's tent I'm going to head out and try to make Whiterun before dark. The fisherman's reanimated corpse will be my road companion. I doubt he'll have much to say. Perfect.

 

[BIGwooly]

Fredas the 25th (Whiterun)

This morning I return to the sunken fort.

Earlier this week I returned to the college in Winterhold, and spent my remaining gold on a special spell. Phinis sold me a spell that will allow me to conjure a frost atronach. I selected this spell for a reason. The mages in the fort all seem very keen on using frost magic, and frost magic will have no effect on a frost atronach. I can't wait to see the looks on their faces when I return with this behemoth in tow.

 

[BIGwooly]

Fredas the 25th (Fort Ilinalta)

It turns out I was wrong. Neither of the mages I thought were this Malyn fellow have been him. No matter. I'll track him down soon enough and take his precious star.

One thing I was not wrong about was the frost atronach. It has been a godsend. This band of mages has made a critical error in not broadening their knowledge of the destruction spellcraft. I find it quite comical to watch them blast my frost atronach with spikes and clouds of ice, only to realize he is unaffected by their efforts. That's when their daggers come out, but their lifespans are quite short at that point, whether they realize it or not.


I'm fairly proud of myself for retreating when I did, and coming up with a better plan of attack. It's going to make all the difference I can see.

 

[BIGwooly]

Sundas the 27th (Whiterun)

Malyn proved to be a powerful necromancer indeed. I found him in a room littered with bones of the deceased. No doubt these were all former participants in his research, although possibly not willing participants. I stood quietly in the shadows and observed him for a time. It was fascinating to watch him work, to try and understand what his motivations were.

So enthralled was I in the scene before me that I neglected to consider the best plan of attack. A few minutes from then I would realize this, but at the time I just succumbed to the excitement of finally matching myself with a master necromancer. I conjured up a frost atronach behind Malyn, out of pure habit. Had I been more aware I would have rendered myself invisible and slipped into the middle of the room. From there I could have used my ritual stone powers to raise all of the fallen souls that lay strewn about. Instead, I left that option to Malyn. Malyn didn't disappoint. It didn't require a second thought for him to raise all of those skeletons up to fight on his behalf. A true necromancer's mind at work. Such a beautiful thing to behold!

The undead surrounded my atronach and brought their swords to bear on it. Malyn joined the fight with a special staff that struck my atronach with bolts of lightning. Although I was safe in the shadows of a nearby passage, I began to feel uneasy. It seemed I might be outmatched. Still it was fascinating watching Malyn conduct the battle like a master.

After some time the skeletons were all laying in pieces, and the fight was left to just Malyn and my atronach. Now I felt renewed confidence. Malyn's advantage had slipped. He destroyed the atronach, as I fully expected him too. But I simply created another. The battle continued, ranging about the room, and then up a large stone staircase that spiraled upwards. This was a battle of time more than anything. As long as I could keep the pressure on Malyn, the enchantment on his staff would wear out ... and eventually his own personal magicka supply as well.

And as I predicted this indeed did happen. Malyn was forced to pull out a dagger, and I'm certain at this point he felt the chill of death approaching. A powerful necromancer such as himself has no desire to be fighting with a blade. It is an indication of a fight that is in jeopardy of being lost. And such was the case, despite his efforts to heal himself. Like the mages before him, his lack of knowledge of a spell of fire was his downfall. The atronach eventually knocked him down, and then crushed the life from him. Malyn was mine.

While searching through his possessions I became giddy at the discovery of a special black gem. I had never seen anything like it, and could only imagine it was the gem of legend this very book mentions. But as far as I can tell, it is not. I've noticed no additional effect with the gem present, and can't seem to draw any power from it. I'll need to study it more, and perhaps experiment with it.

It may not be the gem of Saurano Direnni ... but then again it may just be.

 

[Kittym]

I am loving being back in Skyrim! I think your writing and descriptions have taken on a whole new energy and I am enjoying being back on familiar ground... More familiar to me anyway as I haven't really played the older games - quite a lot of Oblivion but I turned into a vampire and it seemed really hard to cure myself so I gave up.... Anyway, I didn't click the button on all the posts above but please assume I am 'Liking' them all ! :-)

 

[BIGwooly]

I am loving being back in Skyrim! I think your writing and descriptions have taken on a whole new energy and I am enjoying being back on familiar ground... More familiar to me anyway as I haven't really played the older games - quite a lot of Oblivion but I turned into a vampire and it seemed really hard to cure myself so I gave up.... Anyway, I didn't click the button on all the posts above but please assume I am 'Liking' them all ! :-)

Glad you're enjoying it! It's fun being back in Skyrim. I love each of the different games, they each have unique things to offer. I hadn't really expected to leave Oblivion so quickly but when the skooma smuggler was killed by the novice necromancer it just seemed like she would want to go to Skyrim and try to find the owner of the book/gem, not to mention Skyrim actually offers real necromancy playability. Should be interesting to see where it goes from here. I have a feeling things are about to get crazy.

 

[BIGwooly]

Morndas the 28th (wilderness)

My skin is all tingly. The feeling won't go away. My entire being is tingling, like a limb that has fallen asleep and is trying to wake up. I've spoken to a god, or rather, a god has spoken to me. I don't know that I uttered a single word. I couldn't. My lips were frozen, and not from the biting wind on the mountaintop.

Azura's servant presented the star to the great statue, and then informed me that Azura wanted to speak with me herself. I didn't believe it until my ears heard her voice. So calm and confident and powerful, yet dangerously loving. She thanked me, a mere mortal, for returning the star to her. Nelacar had asked me to bring the star to him, but I don't serve man. I serve myself. But a god ... Azura ... how can I not serve her? How can I not embrace her voice?

She spoke to me. Her voice is still inside my head. It's been hours since then but I still hear her, she's guiding me now. Malyn is not dead. He's sealed himself up inside the star. Azura would ask me to enter the star and root him out. I would take no greater pleasure in doing so, but I feel I must prepare myself adequately. After all, I don't know what it will be like inside there. And will Malyn be even more powerful inside the star? Will I be able to leave if my life is in danger? I've many questions to ponder, and many preparations to make.

And there is the question of this black gem I found on Malyn's corpse. What significance does it bear? What power does it harness? There has to be a reason it was in Malyn's possession. As much as it pains me to return, I'm going to consult the tomes in the college's library to see what I can learn. I believe this may be what is known as a black soul gem, a gem capable of containing a man's soul. These are quite rare and I've never seen one before. If this is indeed such a gem, I may be able to harness it's power for myself once I learn more about it.

But for tonight I'm sleeping away from the college. I can see it from here, perhaps an hour's walk away. But I've come across a an old stone shelter, which will be my resting place for the night. I only had to kill the outlaw that was currently using it. He had killed a mage to claim it for himself. I found the body inside. My frost atronach conjuration made short work of the murderer.

Upon exploring the old abode it seems the mage was a bit of an alchemist. I found a book of his with some excellent notes on combining ingredients. No doubt this could prove useful in the future. I also found ingredients and some nice potions as well. Ultimately I'm just satisfied that I won't have to sleep in the college tonight.

Come to think of it I might not be welcome among the students anymore. Last time I stayed there I stole some nice clothing from each of them, and one of them awoke and caught me in the act. I slipped out quickly but I'm certain she went to the city guards with her complaint. The shopkeeper wouldn't buy the clothing from me and the guards were giving me looks and making comments. I ended up dumping the clothing in the bushes outside of town to avoid possibly going to jail. Not that I would go willingly. My frost atronachs would likely keep me out. But I do still need the college to some extent, as much as I hate to admit it.

 

[BIGwooly]

Tirdas the 29th (wilderness)

A day spent at the college is not something I would generally choose, but at least today I was mostly left alone. I've been afflicted with several illnesses, which I have chosen not to remedy because they seem to help keep people at a distance. Today was no different. I took my time and poured over book after book in the college's library, and not a soul chose to bother me. It made my task bearable.

Unfortunately I could find no additional information on black gems, which leaves me with the new task of experimenting with it on my own. To do that of course I would need at least rudimentary knowledge of soul trapping, the art of binding a soul to a gem. Fortunately, it is within my abilities as a conjurer. I needed only to purchase the appropriate spell from Phinis before I left the college.

I couldn't help but notice he had a very nice set of enchanted robes available for sale as well. I quite like my own robes, but they have seen many miles and their enchantment is not nearly as powerful. It would be good to replace them soon I think. Unfortunately I will require more than five thousand coins to do so, and I currently have barely a fifth of that amount. And the amount I have right now is more than I've had previously.

This is going to take some effort. I should just kill Phinis and take the robes, but then I would lose out on all he has to offer me in terms of knowledge. Such a dilema.

 

[BIGwooly]

Middas the 30th (wilderness)

This morning I head out to find a treasure. The bandit I killed in this shelter had a treasure map in his knapsack. Normally I would just sell such a thing, as I'm not all that familiar with these lands. But once glance at this map and I was pretty certain I knew where this treasure was. I recognized the twin towers with the bridge spanning the river. The stronghold of the highwaymen.

Hopefully whatever I find is light enough I can carry it back with me to sell. I've a lot of gold to earn if I want those new robes.

On a side note, I can still hear Azura's voice. It's with me constantly, pulling at me to return and enter the star. I don't know that I dare resist a god for too long. It's just I want to be prepared. Surely she understands this. Surely?

 

[BIGwooly]

Sundas the 4th (Windhelm)

It's really a shame I'm not stronger. Despite locating the treasure, which was in an old chest under a rock by the river, I wasn't able to claim it all. There was a large axe inside, with an enchantment on it. I'm certain it was highly valuable, but I simply could not carry the thing. I can only imagine the size of the man to whom it belonged originally.

But I was able to take some gold and a gem, and since that morning I've spent the past several days killing mages at a fort. It would seem this is the best way for me to fill my coinpurse, which I desperately need to fill. Unfortunately there is a mage inside the fort who seems to prefer using shock magic, and he's deadly with it. My frost atronachs were no match for him. After a few hours of trying to best him I decided it was in my best interest to not push my luck. It's entirely likely that even one bolt of his lightning spell would kill me.

So I'm in Windhelm again, having just sold off some mages robes and I'm still probably around a thousand coins short of my goal. That can only mean one thing, I need to find somewhere else to make a profit. Perhaps I should look into the fort that is north and up the road from Windhelm.

 

[BIGwooly]

Middas the 7th (wilderness)

If I could only just live away from everyone and practice my art. I truly loathe having to interact with people. I have nothing in common with them. Most of them are pointless vessels, just waiting to become dead. I'd happily take their company if they were dead. I understand the dead, I feel comfortable around them. Perhaps I should clarify that I'm just as comfortable around the undead.

In fact, I've spent the past two days exploring an old nordic tomb, and I've never felt more alive. Watching the dead rise up against me, and then rise up again for me, it's nothing short of breathtaking. The power, the sense of accomplishment and being, there's just no other feeling like it. I must find more of these nordic burial grounds. I learn so much by studying the draugr, and by raising them up. I've begun to experiment with capturing their souls as well. It's coming very naturally to me. As is gold. The nord tombs are full of burial urns. I have no qualms taking from the dead. They are dead, and no longer have any use for gold or gems. I, on the other hand ...

I now own the enchanted robes I sought. They redouble my ability to regenerate my magicka, which is sure to be helpful when I'm neck-deep in a nordic tomb. They also reduce the energy required for me to use my conjuration knowledge. At nearly five thousands gold pieces, they had better perform as described.

Now I just need to find another nord tomb to use for my experimentations. The last one nearly took my life, so I'll need to be a bit more careful. The first time was when I accidentally set off a trap. A large log swung down from the ceiling and pummeled the draugr I had raised up to follow me. It only missed me by chance, as I was standing just enough to the side in the passageway.

I also came across a very powerful draugr, who nearly killed me while I was trying to trap his soul. He killed my atronach as I cast the spell on him, and I couldn't back away before his ancient blade bit into my skin. I was forced to go invisible, but he still was aware of my presence and struck me again. This time I was near death, unable to see much of anything at all. A health potion fixed that, and I was able to create enough space to get another atronach involved in the fight, but a valuable lesson had been learned. If I'm going to attempt a soul trap experiment, I should do so right after I've conjured an atronach. Waiting too long leaves me exposed if the atronach takes too many hits and dies.

It's so good to be back at the shelter, and not at an inn filled with drunken fools. The peace and quiet allows me to reflect on my studies. Perhaps I should do this more often and avoid the cities. I have no desire to be around all of those people anyways.

 

[BIGwooly]

Middas the 7th (wilderness)

I can't seem to sleep. At first it was the thoughts of my studies and experiments on the draugr. At least I thought it was. But I'm feeling a voice, Azura's voice. It's inside me, calling me to finish what I started for her. Surely she will understand if I just do a bit more studying. She has all the time in the world to wait after all.

Then again, her voice is strong inside my head. It won't stop. It won't stop.

 

[BIGwooly]

Fredas the 9th (wilderness)

Yesterday I was nearly killed by a cave bear, today by ice wraiths and a troll. I didn't quite expect that searching the mountains for another tomb would be more dangerous than searching a tomb itself. The bear saw me before I ever saw it. I heard it coming up behind me, took one glance, and then went over the side of a ledge. I landed hard, and felt the pain shoot up my legs and back, but I didn't have time to think about that. In less than a minute the bear would circle around and be on top of me again. I had to conjure several frost atronachs to kill the bear.

Then today I came across a troll, and conjured up a flame atronach, since it's well-known that trolls despise flame. I kept backing up, trying to maintain distance so that when my flame atronach died, the troll wouldn't be too close to me. But as I backed up I came across a pair of ice wraiths. I hadn't seen them, with my back to them and my eyes focused on the troll. I was forced to go invisible and run, and I barely escaped with my life.

And just now I've found a ruin of some kind. There were bandits out front, which I've since taken care of, but I don't know what I will find inside. It doesn't look like one of the ancient nord tombs. In fact, if I had to guess, I would say it was possibly a dwemer ruin. I'm not much interested in machines.

 

[BIGwooly]

Fredas the 9th (dwemer ruin)

A full day spent delving deep inside a dwemer ruin has my pockets full of gems. Still, I'd much prefer to be among the dead in a nordic tomb. All the noise and the steam and the machines that stalk you and try to kill you, it just grates on me. There is no knowledge for me in this place. There nothing for me to experiment on.

Aside from the bandits, of course. I used each of them, one by one, to rid this place of them. When one would fall, I would raise them up to fight against their comrades. It brought me great satisfaction. I only wish I could keep them alive, or undead I suppose. I'll have to keep trying to figure that out. It would be great power to possess the ability to repeatedly raise the same corpse.

Tonight I'll sleep in one of their beds, and leave this place in the morning. I can't wait to grace my ears with the pleasure of a silent tomb.

 

[BIGwooly]

Middas the 12th (wilderness)

Trapping souls in gems has become a new obsession of mine. Now I can experiment with the bodies of the dead, and with their souls as well. I have quite a collection of souls now, at least a half dozen or more. And the more souls I capture the more I learn about the process, and the more I want to know. I'm now quite positive that the original owner of this tome was in possession of a black soul gem that he intended to use to capture either his own soul or that of another. That is what will truly give this book it's power. I can't say for certain what that power is, but judging from the few words Saurano wrote before the book was stolen from him, it would seem it could impart immortality. To become as a god.

I'm literally anxious with excitement. I must study this more and learn the process. It would seem this fellow Malyn had a similar idea when he trapped himself in Azura's Star. Or perhaps he was just hoping to avoid death in that moment. I can't be sure.

Azura needs me. Of this I'm sure. I hear you. You're with me always, in the corners of my mind, whispering to me. I'm finding it difficult to resist her voice. I'm not ready to enter her star and face Malyn. Part of me wonders if it is a trap. The gods are known for toying with men and women. But there is this feeling I can't shake, this feeling that ... in the end ... I won't be able to resist her voice. I hear you.

 

[AS88]

This is great, as always. I wonder what will come first, some answers on Saurano, a major breakthrough and a battle against Malyn, or succumbing to madness after being tormented by Azura (, by Azura, by Azura).

Glad to have these entries back on the forums

 

[BIGwooly]

This is great, as always. I wonder what will come first, some answers on Saurano, a major breakthrough and a battle against Malyn, or succumbing to madness after being tormented by Azura (, by Azura, by Azura).

Glad to have these entries back on the forums

Or .... option D .... mauling by a giant cave bear. lol