Fools prayer pt8
Part 7 here
Part of this shows Vivecās perspective from voryns dream visit.
āāā
Vivec: *tucked into his bed after nerevar finally left him to rest for the evening. His body still sore but healing, though the pain was greatly overshadowed by the immense sense of relaxation and exhaustion washing over him as his aching muscles felt the comfort of a warm, soft, cushioned mattress for the first time in so long*
Ordinator: *steps to his bedside gently taking the now empty teacup from his hand as he ābeginsā to fade into sleep* did you enjoy your tea, Hla uripe? (Little amusement, insult implied)
Vivec: *so utterly exhausted for a moment he didnāt even register their words* hla uripe?ā¦ tea?ā¦ I didnāt drink any- *opens his eyes to see himself no longer in his bed, but another heād once been familiar with long agoā¦ when his reputation was little more than a concubine to the Hortator or whomever would feel the want to have him. The blankets and cushions in shades of dark blues, rich greens, deep reds and warm yellows, and the canopy above lined with glass and carapace lanterns illuminated in a rainbow of colours, all dancing off the thin veils of purple and pink silks, and shining through the heavy smoke of incense in the air* I canāt- moveā¦ *turns his gaze to his bedside as he sees a familiar figure from his path step into view from behind the curtains surrounding his comfortable nest* vorynā¦
Voryn: *golden skin practically glowing in the lantern light as he sits down on Vivecās beside, a seemingly friendly smile on his face from the red of his lips, but lined with a cruel malice with the sharpness of his eyes as he admires the empty cup in his hand* of course you canāt. I drugged you. You wanted to serve Nerevar tonight, didnāt you?
Vivec: *seeing directly through the illusion before him. Having dealt with voryns tricks long before heād become dagoth ur and the house of shadow turned his enemy, but deciding to play along to see just how far heāll draw out this memory and see if he remembers just as much as he does* I did- I do- *catches himself off guard hearing how young he sounds before blinking once more and looking down to see a golden illusion over his blue dunmer half* I owe him my life, every thing I am belongs to him why did you drug me?! My body feels weird! *whines and tries to squirm, not to try and actually move, but to mimic the memory exactly as he remembers, seeing more and more cracks in the illusion as voryns friendly smile doesnāt turn to unfazed amusement, but a dark, cruel grin*
Voryn: shhhh. *leans down gently stroking his cheek* donāt fret. I merely wanted to have him for myself tonight. You serve him so loyally without rest, I thought you might benefit from my little trea-
Vivec: did you forget the part where you allowed the guards to rape me while I lay helpless as you walked away to seduce nerevar?ā¦
Voryn: ā¦ *smirks dropping the illusion, his gold skin melting away in the smoke of the incense to reveal ashen grey beneath it, his third eye glowing bright as it stares down at him* hmā¦ you always were so annoyingly clever. It seems not much has changedā¦ exceptā¦ well.
Vivec: speak.
Voryn: I seem to be overflowing with power with no one to care for, despite the villain you wish me to be. And for all the good youāve done, youāre scraping for change in the dirt to feed those you abandoned-
Vivec: I abandoned no one! *snarls trying to move, to push him away, to strike him, and failing as his sleeping body refuses to wake for his dreaming mind* All of this! It was all your fault!!! If you hadnāt of-
Voryn: if I hadnāt of what? Vehk?ā¦ Ohh right. Become dagoth urā¦ and whose, fault, was, that? *leans in close as the vision of the bedroom around them gives way to the boiling interior of red mountain and the heart chamber where vivec enacted mephalas orders*
āVIVEC PLEASE!! DONT DO THIS!ā
Vivec: *closes his eyes tight wanting to cover his ears as nerevars terrified and agonised cries echo throughout the chamber* n-no- no I I was just-
Voryn: listen to him vivec. Listen to him cry for you. Listen to what you did.
Vivec: *unable to escape the memory as he recalls so vividly in his mind how he cut down the man heād devoted his life, his heart to* no! No I was only obeying Mephala! She tricked me! She lied to me! I thought I was doing the right thing!
Voryn: you murdered usā¦ you murdered him, when all he ever did was love you. You condemned us to that mountain. You turned me into dagoth ur. You convinced him to leave me with that accursed heart!
Vivec: *sweat pooling on his brow and tears pricking the corners of his eyes as voryns words cut into him like knives and nerevars screams become deafening* IM SORRY!!
*silence*
Voryn: *gaze softening having gotten what he wanted* I forgive you, vehk. *gently smooths the younger mers hair from his face, holding his hand as he watches vivec breath deeply, so close to unravelling in his grasp* you were lead astray by the so called, good daedraā¦ and they only made our sweet nerevar do their bidding further, not only against you, but me as well, and in turn, him too. You know better than anybody their cruelty, you know the pain Iām burdened to carry. No matter how much you may despise meā¦ it is an agony we shareā¦ and when at last nerevar is at my side, I promise you, youāll be taken care ofā¦
Vivec: n-neht?ā¦ at your side?ā¦ taken care of?ā¦
Voryn: yes, we will bring a new age of light to our people, the good daedra can harm us no f- ARGHH! *falls back in shock as Vivec finally pushes himself from his body and through voryn, right into nerevars mind* neht? *opens his eyes to find himself in the doorway of nerevars room, staring not at the Hortator passed out at his desk, but the golden mask on the floor by his safe*
Nerevar: *jolts up from his desk as he opens his eyes in fright* Ah- wh-what? I- huh- *pauses seeing him standing there* Vehk, what are you doing up? You need to be-
Vivec: *walks past him and his desk to the mask, bending down and picking it up to feel itās very real weight and cool touch against his hands, sending dread deep into the pit of his stomach knowing that voryn was indeed here.* ā¦Mephalaā¦ didnāt lie to me completely thenā¦ *looks to him with fear lingering behind his eyes* Dagoth Ur was never the true threatā¦ it was Voryn. *sets it down on his desk and shakily hugs his robe tighter, feeling the shudder of fear and a cold sweat on his brow, even in his dream state* I expect youāre used to him coming to you in your dreams by now?ā¦
Nerevar: *eyes widening in a mix of concern and suprise* heā¦ came to you as well?
Vivec: heā¦ *sighs recalling it* he didā¦ I almost prefer my visits to cold harbour over his presence in my sleepā¦ *meets his gaze as the Hortator stands and grabs his cape as he approaches him*
Nerevar: he didnāt hurt you did he?ā¦ *gently drapes it around his shoulders*
Vivec: *smiles from the gesture, his heart feeling a deep warmth that seeps into his soul, that they could return to such friendly, comfortable familiarity so quickly despite all that had happened* noā¦ and I think thatās what scared me so much about itā¦ I opened my eyes and he was at my bedsideā¦ he promised Iād be, looked after, when heād at last he by your side againā¦ so I pushed my way out of the dream and came to find you- *gasps as heās suddenly pulled back from nerevars mind, and directly into voryns, the taller dunmer holding him prisoner from behind as one hand holds his arms, and the other his neck* Let me go!!
Voryn: Shhhhhh *leans over his shoulder kissing his cheek with a feathery, but firm touch* youāve always been such a brat, running to tattle on me to nerevar. Canāt you see Iām trying to offer you a gift? I only want whatās best for you and our neht. *slides his hand further around his neck, his thumb and index finger grasping his jaw and holding his head steady* you want to help people donāt you?ā¦ you want to look after, your, people, donāt you? You want to be loved by them right? How can you continue doing that as you are now? Desperately hoping your mask will be enough to keep you going forever.
Vivec: *eyes wide as he tries to turn his face to look at him* how did you- ahh- *whines softly as voryn firmly holds his head in place*
Voryn: Because your heart is so, predictable in its kindness. *rests his chin on Vivecās shoulder, loving how he struggles feebly against his grasp* youāve seen it yourself, the good daedra have abandoned us, abandoned their people, the temple has become greedy, they abused your gifts, they abused your love. And now they abuse our poor sweet Nerevar as he tries to make everything better, Just join me at my side and we can make it right. Forgive our past and We can bring forth a new era, together.
Vivec: *wanting for a moment to give into him, knowing deep down his words are true. Heās powerless as he is now, and Nerevar is much the same, the temple is corrupt, the good daedra lead him astray, and the suffering wonāt stop until change comesā¦ but even then how could he trust him as he is now, after everything heād done to him, after how sneaky and conniving heād been with his intentions in the past* ā¦No, I canāt- I wonāt.
Voryn: *smirks letting go of his arms and sliding his arm around his waist as he whispers into his ear* perhaps you need more convincing then.
Vivec: I donāt need- *blinks and immediately pushes back into voryns embrace as overwhelming horror and fear shocks him to his very core. The void before him gone and replaced with the burning, crumbling magma of what once was the heart chamber in red mountain. And where the brass tower once stood, now replaced with mephalas still breathing, mutilated body. And from her open rib cage, the heart of creation, no longer just that of lorkhan. To it now bound not only Voryn, but so too now the lady of whispers, the lady of twilight, and the dark ladyā¦ the daedras forms and cries twisting in and out of the beating mass as they struggle to break free from their subjugation beneath Voryn Dagoth* wh-what have you done?ā¦
Voryn: I punished them, as they did me. Isnāt it beautiful? Bound to the heart, bound to me, they will finally serve their peopleā¦ *snickers and sighs fondly* and now, you canāt get rid of me like last time, because if you do. *nuzzles into his ear and whispers with a soft growl* They die with me. *bites his ear hard*
Vivec: *jolts awake and shoots upright in his bed, gasping for air and crying out in a mix of fear and shock, from both voryn, and the two ordinators at his bed side trying to wake him from his nightmare* n-nerevar! Whereās nerevar- *coughs*
Ordinators: shhhh lord vivec please breathe, here drink some water weāll fetch him for you- where did this cup come from?
Vivec: *eyes wide, staring at the almost empty teacup left behind by voryn, filled with a now sold, black substance, ebonyā¦ his blood* v-voryn, he was here- he was here he was actually here nerevars in danger I need to protect him itās all my fault I should have had more faith in Mephala I failed everyone itās my fault-
Ordinator: shhh- shhh lord vivec weāll inspect the area for signs of a break in-
???: Vivec?
Vivec: *turns his gaze to the door looking pale as a sheet, sweat coating his brow and body feeling cold and numb as he realises with mounting horror what his refusal to continue following Mephala had actually done* he actually did itā¦
weā¦ we can't kill him.
Nerevar: what do you mean he did it?ā¦ what do you mean we can't kill him?ā¦
Vivec: the heartā¦ he bound the good daedra to it with himā¦ mephalas plan. My actionsā¦ it was all for nothing. *swallows a lump in his throat* It's my faultā¦ I should have never turned my back on herā¦
