HP: Sacred Gear Chat Group (2) - Chapter 49 (Patreon)

Chapter 49 - Dark Sorceress

Oh, boy... I may have made a big mistake. A really big one.

As the Eye of Magnus pulsated behind us, releasing its high concentrations of Magicka into the chamber, my entire brain went into overdrive as my body clammed up.

Just why me?

What did I do to get her attention?

Which higher entity did I piss off to deserve such a curse of bad luck?

And these were just snippets of the many thoughts rushing through the neurons of my brain.

While I was having a full-blown panic attack, my two companions were ready for a fight, completely unaware of the perilous situation we were actually in. Sure, they had their weapons ready and would fight at a moment's notice if the two female Dark Elves showed any hostile intentions, but I wasn't sure that would be enough.

Or that it would even matter.

She wasn't even in the game Skyrim, so why would she appear here? She only appeared in Morrowind.

No, that might have been my biggest mistake in the first place. I had focused too much on what was in the game not that this was reality.

A game had borders that you couldn't leave.

A game that focused on just one region of an empire on one continent, on a planet with several more continents. Beyond that, it was an entire universe filled with all kinds of realms and dimensions.

Why would everything remain as static as it was in the game? I was a variable that hadn't existed in the games.

Of course there are also powers that move in the shadows, which didn't appear in the Game or were just mentioned.

There had already been changes here and there, like the Thalmor setting up an ambush for us with their Leader of Skyrim directly involved.

They are one of the shadow powers too.

And I had done things differently. I had obtained the Staff of Magnus beforehand. More significantly, I had done things all over Skyrim.

I should have expected changes. I should have expected some attention from outside the Games.

But why did it have to be such a big change? Such a powerful attention.

Why her?

Okay, I am already lucky that it isn't her Father.

"No need to be so nervous," the extremely beautiful, white-haired Dark Elf woman said smoothly with a small smirk, noticing the cold sweat running down my back.

"Don't do anything stupid. Don't attack her unless she makes the first move or I give you a signal," I discreetly whispered to Agnar and Ghislaine. I really didn't want to provoke her if she was who I thought she was.

While Brelyna showed no reaction, things were different with the dangerous, white-haired Dark Elf woman. Her red eyes were fixed on me, and her small, playful smile widened, clearly indicating that she had heard me.

Damn, did she look young! Just the same age as Brelyna. And so hot. As if they were Sisters if not twins.

Brelyna was already a ten, but her? In terms of objective appearance, she was on the same level as Brelyna, a clear ten. But her temperament and the presence she exuded were completely different.

She was so mature and confident. Yet there was such a seductive danger about her.

I knew she didn't look any older than me, but that was just her appearance. If I was right about her identity, then she was older than everybody here combined. You could probably add the rest of the excursion to that calculation, too.

A white-haired female Dark Elf wearing Daedric Armor was a pretty good hint. Well she upgraded her armor since Morrowind.

If you viewed this game solely from the perspective of a game like Skyrim, then Daedric Armor was nothing more than high-level loot that many random bandits seemed to possess and that pretty much got thrown at your high-level character.

This wasn't a game. Loot and opponents didn't level with you.

In fact, even after exploring the majority of ruins and noteworthy locations in Skyrim, I had yet to obtain a single piece of Daedric Armor.

I had the materials, though. Ebony Ore and Daedra Hearts. And even those were available in quite limited quantities.

Daedric Armor was a symbol of a certain status. Just having a single piece meant something. And she had a full set of armor, pointing her identity in a certain direction.

Or rather, making her one of a handful of candidates. Adding the white hair into the mix limited the possibilities to one of four.

My gaze landed on Brelyna.

I hadn't thought much of her white hair before, but now things had changed. How were they related? They really looked like sisters.

"Did you fall in love with my cute Apprentice?" the unknown, white-haired Dark Elf asked teasingly. Brelyna sent me a charming wink.

"Who are you?"

"Don't you already know? I've been watching you for a while. You always seem to know so much," the Dark Elf mused. "Where to find all those Daedric Artifacts. The locations of those fancy Word Walls of yours. And so much more. You seem to be awfully well-informed, yet you don't know me? I'm a bit hurt."

"I have an idea. I assume you have some sisters and a father or rather husband?" I said hesitantly.

"Ah, your information seems to be quite selective. Not bad, but a bit inaccurate. Considering how you referenced one of my father's jokes, I would say your detailed knowledge comes from specific events. Like the current Dragon War and the events surrounding Red Mountain and the Nerevarine. That's what it seems to me."

"So you're one of Divayth Fyr's clones? And they are not his wives?"

"One of his clones. Daughters. Students. Call it whatever you like." She nodded patiently. "But that doesn't mean we're husband and wife. How sick would that be? Genetically, we're pretty much the same, only our genders differ. It would be like twins sleeping with each other."

Uh... House Lannister sends its regards.

"Is a close relationship between two people who are so genetically similar normal in whatever realm you're from?" Something must have shown on my face. She tilted her head, having noticed my thoughts.

"Ah, no. I just remembered a fictional work where two major characters were twins in an incestuous relationship. Of course, it's not normal." My denial came instantly.

"That's what I thought."

Seeing that she was still avoiding mentioning who she was, I opened my mouth again. "Then who are you? Alfe, Beyte, Delte, or Uupse?"

Those were the four clones Divayth Fyr, probably the most powerful mage in the entire Elder Scrolls universe, had created from his own flesh.

Divayth Fyr was pretty much what you could call an ancient monster. The ancient Dark Elf had been around forever. In fact, he had been born as a Chimer before they were punished and turned into Dark Elves. He could be counted among the oldest mortals in the Elder Scrolls universe.

And most likely the most powerful one.

Someone like Vanus Galerion, a former member of the Psijic Order and founder of the Mages Guild who had created the modern magic system, was nothing more than a talented figure who had squandered his potential compared to him.

Oh, and Divayth Fyr had once been part of the Psijic Order himself.

He practices the Old Way. Making him alone for that a far more powerful Mage than the majority of Mages I ever encountered. Add to that his long life and interest in research, and you got an ancient Monster.

And he had most likely taught it to his daughters, too, who were all powerful mages in their own right. The old mage was quite protective of his daughters, even if, in his own words, they were just a small side project.

"How about you take a guess yourself?" the daughter in front of me replied.

She had quite the wit and was here, directly confronting me.

"You are Alfe Fyr."

"That is correct. You have quite a lot of information on hand." The now-identified Alfe nodded.

I gave Brelyna a searching look. They really did look very similar. "What is your relationship with Brelyna?"

"Didn't I already say? She's my Apprentice," Alfe replied simply.

"She looks a lot like you for someone who is simply an Apprentice. And wasn't she the student of Talvas Fathryon, Neloth's current student?" I pointed out.

"That doesn't have to exclude one another. She can be my student and Talvas's, too. Just because my father stays out of House Telvanni's politics doesn't mean his children have to. Especially after he allowed us to spread our wings and explore the world." Alfe gave me a calm smile. "And who says my father is the only one capable of creating clones?"

She had just revealed quite a lot of information to me.

While Divayth Fyr was a member of House Telvanni, he didn't have an active role in the House's politics or a seat on the Council. He was more of an advisor, if anything.

There was no doubt that if he had been interested in ruling the House, he would have done so, considering he was its most powerful member. At least according to the lore I was aware of.

Apparently, Alfe and perhaps her sisters were now free to do as they pleased. Probably after the eruption of Red Mountain, which had caused considerable destruction in Morrowind.

But this confirmed that Divayth Fyr had survived the eruption.

While Alfe was no longer his direct subordinate, she was still his daughter. And I really didn't want to provoke a guy who could travel through the Daedric Planes and come back.

Alfe was apparently taking part in the current power struggles within House Telvanni, considering she had placed a spy in Master Neloth's household alongside Brelyna.

How serious she actually was about the whole thing was another question. It could have been nothing more than sheer boredom. Who knew with any of them, whether they were Telvanni or one of Divayth Fyr's daughters?

The fact that Brelyna was a clone of Alfe, making her a 'granddaughter' of Divayth Fyr, was quite the surprise.

Nothing in Skyrim had suggested that. But admittedly, she looked quite different from her in-game appearance. Honestly, the Dark Elves, or Elves in general, in the games were quite ugly.

Here, their looks were what you would expect from fantasy elves: extremely beautiful.

But I thought Brelyna had dark hair in Skyrim, not white.

Maybe this was an alternate universe, or perhaps not? After all, you could mod the appearance of every character. Would a modded universe that only changed their looks count as an alternate one?

"I didn't expect that," I admitted.

"Well, I would hope not. We put quite a bit of effort into concealing her true identity," Alfe admitted. "Giving her a new name and identity, concealing any relation to me, and all that."

"All right, but that's your politics. None of that has anything to do with me. I'm not involved in House Telvanni's politics. Generally, I've tried to stay out of politics." I had even dodged the responsibilities that came with being a Dragon, letting Agnar handle all of them. I had no time for any of that.

This wasn't my world.

"I do, too. Unless I'm bored," Alfe added.

"Then what do you want from us? Why did you have Brelyna approach your sister and Daphne? Why were you following us? Are you here for the Eye of Magnus?"

Hearing that, Brelyna spoke up. "Oh, nobody made me approach your sister and Daphne. Or you, for that matter. You were just interesting."

All right, I could understand that.

"Right, she is," Alfe nodded as if it were obvious. "While the mythical Eye of Magnus would be a fascinating subject for research, you'd need the power to keep it. Many powers are eyeing it, and I'm not confident I could hold on to it."

"You could ask your father for help."

"I could, but that would be pathetic. My sisters would mock me." Alfe chuckled. "But why would I show my interest in the Eye of Magnus when there's a much bigger prize~"

"Uhh?"

"I am my father's daughter! Of course, I would be interested in all kinds of research. And who am I to deny myself such a fascinating subject?" Alfe purred, a predatory look entering her eyes as she kept them fixed on me.

A cold shiver ran down my neck. It was as if she wanted to dissect me.

Well, that was probably one of the things she planned to do with me.

"I am honored by your interest in me, but I really have no desire to become a research subject."

"Who says you have a choice?"

"I'm sure we can discuss this matter another way?" I offered, my hand tightening around the shaft of the Staff of Magnus.

"And why would I settle for another way?"

"We outnumber you!" Agnar decided to speak up, his war axe ready for action as he protectively placed himself in front of me.

Ghislaine was also ready to make her move at any second, but she remembered my command.

"Do you?" Alfe raised an eyebrow. In the same instant, a portal formed beneath Agnar's feet, and he fell into it. He disappeared from our sight, only for the portal to close after him, leaving us wondering where he had been sent.

Shit. It seemed she had learned quite a lot of Conjuration from her father! He was probably the greatest master of the craft in the entire world.

"Where did you send him? What did you do to him?" I asked worriedly, while mentally sending a direct message to Agnar through the Chat Group.

Good thing I had added him to it.

"Now then, we got some space, how about we begin our in-depth discussion?" Alfe asked as necromantic energies escaped out of her body, magic gathered around her hands before she summoned three Skeletal Dragons from somewhere.

Yeah, she is stronger than anybody else I faced before. Summoning three Dragons is an Alduin level Boss fight feat.

[-- End of Chapter --]