HP: Sacred Gear Chat Group (2) - Chapter 40 (Patreon)

Chapter 40 - Labyrinthian

Saarthal, huh?

Quite a significant chapter in Skyrim’s history, if not in the history of Tamriel itself.

Not only was it the first Nord settlement in Skyrim, but it was also the largest ancient city and the Nords’ first capital before becoming the site of the Night of Tears, where the Snow Elves slaughtered all its inhabitants except Ysgramor and his two sons.

That event kicked off Ysgramor’s entire campaign of revenge with his 500 Companions, marking the very beginning of the end for the Snow Elves.

Seems like I’m running out of time before I can no longer ignore that clusterfuck of a situation. It’s not like I don’t want to visit the place, but I have a feeling that if I act on it, shit is about to go down.

Besides its rich history and countless legends, there’s a whole lot of mystery surrounding the place. Much of what I know about it is pure speculation based on theory-crafting and in-game lore.

And then there’s that big, fat question mark: the Eye of Magnus.

All I know for sure is that it’s ridiculously powerful and that a ton of people want it. Judging by the history of Saarthal and Skyrim in general, people have been after it for a very long time.

Probably the ancient Nords, for starters. You can’t tell me they built their first city randomly in the exact place where the Eye of Magnus would eventually be discovered. Then, of course, there were the Snow Elves.

The snake people called the Tsaesci from Akavir, another mysterious continent in this world, might have been looking for it, too, when they invaded Tamriel from the north, through Skyrim. And later, the Snow Demons or whatever they were called from Akavir invaded Skyrim as well, laying siege to Windhelm, which was the capital of Skyrim at the time, before suddenly marching farther south.

It’s interesting that they specifically targeted Skyrim’s capital before suddenly deciding to march south while searching for something called the ‘Ordained Receptacle’. After all, Saarthal had been Skyrim’s capital centuries earlier.

Just a theory, of course. There’s a language barrier between Akavir and Tamriel, but the ‘Ordained Receptacle’ could have been the Eye of Magnus. And two invasions from Akavir, both coming from the north, can’t be a coincidence.

And there are plenty of other people searching for something in Skyrim. The First Aldmeri Dominion did, and so did the Third, under the Thalmor, with Ancano. The Psijic Order is interested in the Eye of Magnus, too, and plenty of magical organizations have heard of it. Even Shalidor was interested in it, his entire fortress of Ice was on it.

I know, or at least have plenty of clues suggesting, that many people want it, yet I haven’t been able to find a single definitive answer about what it actually is. The name suggests an eye, and there are ancient legends about Magnus losing his eyes in battle or leaving them behind before departing from the world.

From what the game Skyrim has shown me, the Eye possesses a shit ton of magical power that can apparently be used in some way.

At the same time, The Elder Scrolls Online offers a few clues suggesting that it’s some kind of incredibly powerful scrying device. Well, it’s called an Eye, so maybe that’s exactly what it is? A scrying device with a shit ton of power?

Then there’s the crazy in-game theory proposed by some scholars at the College of Winterhold after its discovery: that the Eye contains the entire world. Though, how exactly are they supposed to know that when they’re looking at it from the outside?

Or there’s the non-canon story by a former writer who worked on Bethesda’s games before Skyrim. It hints that the Eye is actually some kind of high-tech, sentient mining robot from the distant future that somehow traveled through time. What makes that story somewhat worth taking seriously as a theory is that the ESO developers decided to adapt some of the lore introduced in it.

Nothing definitive, of course, but there’s also nothing suggesting that the story couldn’t be true. It’s one of those things that might actually fit, especially since the characters who appear in the story have since been canonized.

Sentient mining robot or not...

The main question is, do I want to get us involved in this mess?

So far, I’ve kept us under the radar, ignoring the fact that rumors about me are already spreading. Still, not many people have any idea where we actually came from.

Getting involved with the Eye would draw the attention of some very powerful people.

Would they even be able to enter Saarthal’s inner sanctum without Agnar or me? The magic that opens the way to the inner sanctum has to be connected to the Dragonborn, right? Was it? Would it even work with me, a fake Dragonborn?

Or was the whole thing manipulated by the Psijic Order, who somehow knew about Agnar and set everything up specifically for him? He’s definitely otherwise occupied and won’t be showing up. The whole situation with Alduin is really heating up.

Do they know about me?

So many unknown variables...

I don’t really care about the Thalmor getting involved in this, but I really don’t want to mess with the Psijic Order. A super-powerful, mysterious, and secretive magical order is never something you want to fuck with.

But at the same time, whatever the Eye is, it sounds really powerful...

Even if all I have are theories, I already have a ton of ideas about what I could try to use it for. And in the worst-case scenario, it would still make for some pretty cool decoration, what with all the glowing and shit.

“When does Professor Tolfdir plan to visit the archaeological excavation at Saarthal?” I asked Brelyna, who had been watching me expectantly.

“In six days.”

That was really convenient timing, considering our month was just about to end. We would have to only handle a few days with the eye in our possession.

Ah, fuck it.

“We’ll go.”

My decision was met with some excited squeals from Astoria for some reason.

But first, I needed to make some essential preparations. This wasn’t something I could afford to go into unprepared.

———

Tracey lifted the Frost Troll with a quick Levioso, sent it flying with a Depulso, and then finished it off with a rain of Fireballs and Cutting Curses. The Fireball spells from the Elder Scrolls universe were actual elemental magic, making this combination of spells even more powerful.

Meanwhile, Daphne had frozen her Frost Troll with some kind of ice spell, turning it into a neat statue. She then lifted it with a Levioso before slamming it into the ground with a satisfying Descendo, shattering it into splinters of ice.

“Yes! Fight for me, my savage gladiators! Let the arena run red with your fury! Tear into one another, and let the victor earn the glory of my gaze! Fight, beasts, fight! Entertain your Empress!”

I honestly didn’t even have the words to describe my feelings about what Astoria was doing. Simply put, while Daphne and Tracey had focused more on Destruction Magic during their time here, Astoria had discovered Illusion Magic and made it her own.

Somehow, she had grown close to Drevis Neloren, the College’s Master Illusionist, and become his personal student. And that guy must have taught her some tricks even I didn’t know, despite having reached Master Level through the Oghma Infinium.

She was using some kind of combined Illusion spell involving Frenzy, Rally, and Calm to make two trolls fight each other. Calm kept them from attacking her or us, Rally made them stronger for her entertainment, and Frenzy drove them to fight one another.

What the hell had she been learning?

Wait, was the winner actually saluting her? No, hold on. Why was it ripping out its own throat? How could an Illusionist who was, at most, at the Adept Level wield magic that could make something kill itself?

Astoria was fucking scary.

Seriously, why the fuck did people in Tamriel fear Necromancy when something like Illusion was an accepted School of Magic? Okay, that was a rhetorical question. After all, plenty of Necromancers had built undead armies to conquer territories and lay waste to vast stretches of land.

But still, purely from a conceptual standpoint, Illusion Magic should have been far more restricted.

“Meh, I don’t get why you made us train by fighting Dragons over the last few days. This isn’t so hard,” Astoria commented once her trolls were dead.

Both Ghislaine and Mom, along with me, were looking warily at the younger girl.

“Maybe it’s so easy because we trained by fighting Dragons in the first place? How can a troll compare to a real Dragon? Even the trolls from our world are more dangerous because of their magic resistance,” Daphne replied calmly to her younger sister.

“Where to next, big bro? And why are we even here?” Tracey asked me, seemingly unfazed by the madness that was Astoria Greengrass. “How is any of this preparation for an archaeological excursion?”

“Just because the College has already cleared the outer sections of Saarthal doesn’t mean the place is free of danger. They haven’t even discovered the inner sections yet, and those are still filled with Draugr. So, at the very least, you need to be prepared to deal with them,” I explained patiently. “But the main reason we’re here at Labyrinthian is to retrieve a Staff that’s been hidden here. The Staff of Magnus can be used to manipulate the Eye of Magnus, an extremely powerful artifact hidden in Saarthal.”

“Ah, so you want to get the Eye. What does it do?” My sharp little sister immediately figured out the obvious.

“Honestly? I have no idea. It’s powerful, and I want to figure out what it does.” I shrugged, secretly hoping that taking it wouldn’t end with the destruction of this world.

At that moment, Ghislaine tensed up, having noticed something near the top of the stairs.

“Are those ghosts?” Daphne whispered, having noticed them as well.

What the hell? How did that even work?

“Come on, we’re finally here! Let’s not waste any time!” one of the spirits said excitedly.

“Is that the Archmage?” Astoria asked with interest. “When did he die?”

Exactly! That was the problem! He had still been alive when we left! No, he should still be alive. There was absolutely no reason for him to have died.

Without being empowered by the Eye of Magnus, that little bitch Ancano stood no chance against Savos Aren. Was this some kind of echo from the past?

How had we triggered it? I hadn’t even told the Archmage we would be coming here.

“He looks much younger, though!” Tracey pointed out. “Who are those other people?”

“His comrades, former students of the College... Did the Archmage give any of you an item?” I asked.

Mom was the one who spoke up. “He gave me this torc,” she said with a smile. “He mentioned something about it being useful for opening Labyrinthian.”

Of course, she had gotten the Torc of Labyrinthian and hadn't said a single word about it. Just how much did he know? He clearly had some kind of precognition or divination ability going on... And if he knew, who else did?

“Couldn't you have said something? You made me Apparate all the way to Riften just to get this!” I complained, holding up the ethereal-looking key with a skull engraved on its handle.

“Well, you would have gone after it either way, wouldn't you?” Mom chuckled, completely unbothered by my deadpan expression.

Sure, she was right. The Skeleton Key was one of the most useful artifacts in the Elder Scrolls universe. In the games, it was usually just an unbreakable lockpick due to gameplay restrictions, but its powers in reality were far more outrageous.

It could unlock practically anything. From mundane things like locks and doors to metaphysical things like portals, and even conceptual things like the potential of a person or an object.

Of course I wanted to get my hands on it. It was one of the two Daedric Artifacts I was willing to risk attracting the attention of a Daedric Prince to obtain. The other was the Oghma Infinium. I had so many ideas about what I could do with them!

Together with Mom and Ghislaine, I had gone to Riften, located the Ratway and the Ragged Flagon, and placed a Compulsion Charm on Mercer Frey to lure him away from the Thieves Guild. Then we had beaten the shit out of him and robbed him.

Finally, we erased all his memories of what we had done. As far as he was concerned, he had simply lost the Skeleton Key one day. Fitting for a Daedric Artifact that never stayed with a single user forever.

I wasn't planning to keep it for myself forever, either. I simply wasn't insane enough to try.

The moment I got my hands on it, Nocturnal, the Mistress of Shadows, spoke directly to me, scaring the living shit out of me. Fortunately, we managed to reach an agreement.

I was allowed to use the Key for a few years before returning it to Agnar and having him open the Ebonmere again. Sure, it sounded suspicious as hell that a Daedric Prince would let me do whatever I wanted with it, but hey, that was about the best deal I could hope for. After all, I had still beaten the shit out of Mercer Frey on her behalf, seeing as he had betrayed her and stolen from her.

Greed had gotten the better of me when it came to the Skeleton Key, and I was certain the Daedric Princes weren't all-powerful outside their own realms. Even their influence on Mundus was limited.

And that didn't even account for my own world.

An amicable deal was the best I could hope for.

“Fine, we won't need the Skeleton Key to open Labyrinthian, then.” I sighed before putting it away in my expanded bag, which by now had been reinforced with a ton of concealment and protective charms.

“Let's just get inside and see what's in there,” the Nord among the spirits said confidently.

While Mom and I had been talking, the spirits of Savos Aren and his comrades had already stepped excitedly into Labyrinthian.

“I wonder what the others are doing now. I’ve never seen them at the College,” Astoria remarked as we approached the Ceremonial Door.

“That's because they're dead. Everyone except Savos died in here,” I explained bluntly before opening the Ceremonial Door.

“Are you sure it's a good idea to enter this place? Even the Archmage failed to conquer it,” Tracey asked, sounding a little worried.

“Don't worry. We're more than ready for this. Just be careful, and everything will be fine. The strongest being in there, the one who sent the Archmage fleeing, is a Dragon Priest. I've beaten all the others, and this one is the last I'm missing.” I shrugged before Mom and I began placing several protective and shielding Charms around us. “Ghislaine will take the lead. Her sharp senses should help her detect any traps, with Mom following close behind to support her. You three stay between Mom and me, and I'll cover our rear.”

With that, I pushed open the massive Ceremonial Door, leading the way into Labyrinthian.

[-- End of Chapter --]