Ch.40

[Loredas, 14th of Last Seed, 4E: 221]

“Here you go.” Twilight cooed as she set a high-piled plate of bacon, cheesy omelets and stove-top toast in front of Brennie before pouring her a glass of milk that seemed a bit blue. “A hearty breakfast to help make up for all the calories I’ve been working out of you.” Twilight joked before she sat down at her own seat at her little dinette for a similarly large and hearty meal.

“Considering how many calories you’ve been stuffing in me, I think you worked a bit too hard.” Brennie joked as she grabbed some bacon. Mm~. Bacon~. “Yay, for bacon~. Also, what’s up with the milk?” It wasn’t blue enough to be Bantha milk, she also doubted those were here.

“It’s Rarity’s.” Twilight casually replied as she took a sip and her mane became ethereal for a brief moment until she finished the sip. “Ah~. Thanks to Meen-Rei and Shade infusing her with so much magicka, her milk is so dense with magicka that it’s just one step removed from pure liquid magicka. It gives it a strong and rich flavor too.”

“Huh.” Brennie swirled her own glass of milk before taking a sip herself. The effect it had on her was different. The ethereal look set her hair ablaze in blood-red fire. This shocked the two from the unexpected effects the magicka milk would have on Brennie if brief. “Uh…”

“So long as you don’t light things on fire, it’s a fairly exciting cosmetic effect.” Twilight snorted in amusement and set in on her plate. It was seeing Twilight have to adjust her robe-covered breasts that brought Brennies attention to the fact they were bigger than before. Twilight was rapidly starting to mirror her other Twilight wife in figure along with their male bits.

“Sorry. About unwillingly altering your body.” Brennie brought up before she took a bite of her omelet and Twilight paused before putting down her knife to grope her left breast.

“It’s fine. More than fine. I feel sexier than I’ve ever felt before in my life. I have a lot of body issues and the more time we spend together, the less I feel that way.” Twilight smiled softly at her mate and a rumbling gurgle interrupted her and she flushed a bit. “Sorry, I am very hungry. I’m surprised you’re not even more hungry, what with being pregnant and all.”

“Family secret, which I’ll share since you’re essentially family. We all have magic woven into us that nourishes our bodies from ambient magic.” Brennie smirked and then slid under the table much to Twilight’s surprised expression before she moaned when Brennie started fondling and licking her churning oversized nuts under her robe. “Despite that, I need some gravy~.”

“You’re insatiable! Oh~!” Twilight clutched the edge of the table and bit her lip.

📜

I awoke to an odd sensation. I wasn’t quite all-here. My toes on my right foot felt way too far away from where my right hip felt to be. The sensation of feeling so much surface area across my whole body was a rather tactile inhuman experience. My vision also wasn’t focused, more like I was seeing everything around me for a good distance simultaneously.

Among what I could see/feel was the slumbering form of Neethsi, my beautiful goddess was clutching...me. My body or rather the ebony bits that composed my purely solid parts that my element filled the gaps of. In my slumber, my element; Magicka, must have diffused into the air in a sort of blanketing fog. I...breathed in and my awareness shrank.

I opened my eyes properly and nuzzled Neethi’s glossy glass-like snout. Her ‘shell’ still felt like flesh even though it looked like glass containing the cosmos within her and made her so beautiful it was criminal. “Wake up dear. We can’t lay here forever.” Besides, it’s the murky, slimy ground of a land that had until yesterday been the ocean floor.

“No...if I do then I’ll have to repeat some of what I did yesterday…” Neethsi replied clearly, making it obvious that she’d been awake for a while and was just procrastinating to avoid more work. Considering that yesterday we both lost each other for a moment, I could understand her hesitation to get to work on restoring Yokuda.

“But it’s so gross on the ground now that I’m not so weak.” I mewled in complaint and Neethsi huffed before the ground turned into a mattress and raised us off the ground in a proper bed with blankets over us and fine sheets underneath. “Fine then, let’s snuggle a bit more.” I rolled over to be the little spoon and shimmied back against her for comfort. Whatever, we can take as long as we like by this point. I doubt the Thalmor will be able to move on Orichalc so quickly.

📜

Shade was shivering in bed, trying not to think of what she did last night. Which was hard when she murdered someone in cold blood! Well, hot blood, but being a werecrocodile at the time is no excuse for her rational mind being overwhelmed with hate and wrath for those elves whipping the ‘volunteers’ that were rounded up in chains like the slaves they really were.

It was a good thing that was more-or-less her mission here, to support Jeelius’s ultraviolent campaign against the local Thalmor operating on Stros M’Kai.

That said, Shade was really wishing Jeelius hadn’t sent a letter to Neethsi requesting support in this endeavor or at least instead tried to work with the Redguards of Hammerfell. She wasn’t going to ask why he decided to reach across the whole continent instead of the nearest potential ally, because here she was. Neethsi was capable of impossible things.

“Your first taste of blood, young one?” Jeelius’s kind and spookily fatherly voice pulled Shade from her waking nightmares to see the unassuming argonian standing next to the bunk she’d taken. “The first time is always the hardest, at least for our clan. Unlike other beasts, we Lycans do not suffer the complete mind-numbing loss of control Hircine’s curse carries.”

“I still lost it when I ripped that elf’s head off and ate it.” Shade shivered and tried not to think of how disgusting yet fulfilling that had been.

“Yet you didn’t kill the slaves and they give witness that the Beast of Stros M’Kai is real. This is a terror campaign young one. We cannot be rid of the invaders, so we’ll make them want to leave.” Jeelius waved a hand of restoration magic over her and she felt relaxed. “Rest. We need even less sleep than normal lycanthropes, but it’s best if you get at least a nap in.”

“I’ll try.” Shade replied and shortly fell asleep to nightmares of murder, rape and torture. All of them from her perspective. All of them perpetrated by her, in the past, before…Meen-Rei.

📜

Brennie wasn’t surprised when Twilight swept into her office. She was surprised that it wasn’t for a quickie or other naughty purpose. She recognized the frantic and frazzled look on her mate, because she’d seen it on her wives before. She couldn’t ask before Twilight slapped an urgent notice on her desk. “F-from the Psijic Order on the Isle of Artaeum.”

“I have no clue who they are other than being ancient mage-monks.” Brennie replied as she looked at the urgent notice.

“They’re the oldest known order of mages in the world! They are an independent organization and have no ties to the Aldmeri Dominion despite the fact that Artaeum is the third largest island of the Summerset Archipelago! They sent us this notice!” Twilight fretted and Brennie’s mouth went a bit dry at the news that a landmass half the size of Summerset itself had risen from the sea along with its surrounding archipelago of islands a good deal west of High Rock.

“This has to be their fault. Those three. They were supposed to be supplementing a terror campaign on Stros M’Kai, not raising a whole island chain from the ocean!” Brennie snarled and ran her hands down her face. “Unless one of the fucking gods decided to pop in and handed them the quest. Worthless twats can’t do shit for themselves. Have you tried calling them? I gave them those Comms for a reason.”

“I did, but they’re not answering.” Twilight huffed and held out the earpiece to her. “I’ve also tried hailing Neethsi with telepathy, but she’s also not responding. This isn’t exactly a terrible thing, but this news must have been shared with at least some important people in Hammerfell since the Redguards are frantically flooding Iliac Bay with ships on the way to assault the Dominion blockade between them and the sea.”

“Ugh...this just accelerated everything, didn’t it?” Brennie asked rhetorically. “All of this is going on and I’m stuck here sitting with my thumbs up my ass. Wait a minute.” She shoved a hand down into her cleavage and pulled out a potion bottle. “This should help. I didn’t really want to use it, but with how things are going I don’t have any other option.” Pulling the cork off, Brennie downed the contents.

“What was that?” Twilight demanded worriedly, which made Brennie smile despite the horrific taste of the potion.

“Give it a moment. I’m pregnant and have a belly pet in my womb, it’s compensating.” Brennie assured her before with a mind-hurting twist of reality, a male copy of Brennie stood up from where she sat and he cracked his neck before reaching into her cleavage to start getting geared up. “He’s a temporary flash clone. No soul, a copy of my memories, yet he knows he’s not a living entity. He won’t exist long enough for a soul to form.”

“That is rather wicked yet incredible. No more immoral than Divayth Fyr’s cloning experiments.” Twilight commented with an uneasy look at the Bryan clone. “I don’t feel any better sending even an echo of you to die.”

“You have to live first to die, Twi. He’s essentially a smart and creative drone. Still, it does leave a bad taste in my mouth.” Brennie admitted because it was true, both metaphorically and literally. “You know what to do.” Brennie said to her clone, who nodded before putting on the helmet and sprinting out of the office, causing a brief gust of wind to buffet the office.

“Well, at least we’ve done what we can since we’re stuck on this side of Tamriel.” Twilight sighed and sat on the desk next to Brennie. “So, let’s brainstorm. I was going to ask them to start the next crucial part of raising the Tree of Harmony when they got back from Stros M’Kai, but we may need to be more aggressive now.”

“Yeah. I’ll start making suggestions with your approval and hope that gets things rolling. Oh, because this interrupted our midday fun, you get to play with Pandora again.” Brennie warned her mate and Twilight beamed excitedly.

📜

He knew he didn’t have long, at best 72 hours before he dissolved and left Berserker’s gear in a goopy pile somewhere. So he didn’t have time to fuck around. “Die foul Daedra!” A black-robed Justicar shrieked in a grating shrill voice before he casually blasted the bastard into charred giblets with his shotgun. He didn’t have time to play by their rules!

If the gathered ships sailing through the bay from Wayrest in High Rock were going to make it through the Iliac Bay, then Sentinel’s blockade had to be broken, best done by destroying the ships moored in the harbor. He grunted when a blast of fire followed by ice and storm battered him, but his armor held against the pitiful and primitive assault.

He charged towards the gates leading down to the docks. They dropped the portcullis, but he didn’t even pause. He shoulder-charged through it, his weight and might snapping the iron bars like glass rods. Now clear of the city’s high walls, he retrieved his rocket launcher and used his vantage to fire the high-explosive projectiles into every ship he saw, war-rigged or not.

He looked east to see if he could spot the ships on the horizon-.

Up was down, left was right, back was forward. Everything ceased to exist in any form of sense. This madness wrought his senses for what felt like an eternity, but could only have been moments because his eyes took in the tall spike on the eastern horizon falling over and filling him with a dread that he couldn’t have imagined if he tried.

However, this dread seemed to spur on every local and even some non-military Dominion citizens into a riot! They assaulted the Thalmor and other Dominion soldiers immediately! Even some of the soldiers turned on their fellows! Flash-Berserker used this madness to flee back to the sewer where the Wayshrine was hidden.

He could fear for the existence of reality later, his next target was Hegathe. Just because the Thalmor’s plot is in full swing doesn’t mean he can’t try to thwart them before it ceases to matter. If existence was going to cease any moment, he’d rather be making them pay before the end. Besides, either way, he didn’t have time.

📜

I barfed up liquid magicka as Neethsi writhed on the ground next to me from the horrific sensation that bombarded us moments ago. We had just reset Orichalc’s ‘Stone’ which happened to be a sword. Technically a metaphorical sword since it was actually a sword technique called Pankratosword. The only reason we knew of it was because Azura spoke through Neethsi again in a hurried manner not even an hour ago.

“That can’t be good.” I pointed out the obvious as I tried not to consider what it meant.

“The Dragon Broke. However, unlike other Breaks, this one had a note of finality to it. No alternate timelines.” Neethsi hissed as she gathered herself back to her feet. “We probably just saved Nirn. We’ve run out of time. Damn it. I’m going to make a Wayshrine. I need to do something I may just regret.” Neethsi waved her hands, shimmied her hips, flicked her tail.

It was the most erotic dance I’ve ever seen anyone perform in person, but despite who and what was moving, my attention was focused on how she used each movement to sculpt a whole new Wayshrine from the ruins and bring it to life within minutes. She grabbed my hand and pulled me through the portal.

If I had to breathe, I’d be dying! We’re in an immensely hot place with lava below us. “Neethsi, where are we?” I asked as she pulled my floating self along. Her body, while ethereal, still fully obeyed the same physical laws it did when proper flesh. Aside from not needing to breathe or other benefits.

“Where I became a legend.” Neethsi hurriedly hinted before she stopped at the edge of a jutting ledge to look down into the lava. “I’m back, like I figured I would! I’m going to pull you out you cheeky bastard!” Who is she talking to? Neethsi kissed me and I hummed into her unseen lips as I infused her with a ton of magicka.

After topping off, she gently pushed me away and began dancing again. The place shuddered and quaked, making me fear she was setting off a volcanic eruption. Red Mountain! We’re inside Red Mountain! Then that means!

I watched as from below, a spire of stone laced with ebony rose from the lava. Atop it, as if having been waiting, was the Heart of Lorkhan still beating and bleeding it’s black ichor. “You didn’t destroy it?!” I asked in awe as it rose in the caldera and then when at a certain point, began beating regularly, pulsing like a healthy heart at rest instead of the frantic convulsions of before. The rumbling ceased, the rising lava lowered.

“I tried. With my limited knowledge and Kagrenac’s faulty ancient tools, all I could do was sever Dagoth Ur from it and toss it into the lava.” Neethsi informed me as the still-beating heart of a supposedly dead god finally settled Red Mountain. “Yeah, you cheeky asshole, I did what you expect-.”

It happened again. However, it wasn’t as crippling. Time was sundered for a brief moment, but then with a few beats of Lorkhan’s heart, it stabilized. Fuck! “That must’ve been Green Sap. The Thalmor were betting on being able to end linear time with that.” I panted as I heaved and tried not to choke on my body remembering that it didn’t exist for a brief instant.

“M'aiq sees a bell that rings and sings songs. M’aiq is not one for loud noises.” M’aiq! You crazy old cat! I’m not at all surprised to see you here after you wandered into the swamps of Black Marsh.

“M’aiq! Will that bell save reality?!” Neethsi implored and the insane possible-god tilted his head.

“M’aiq hears the bell. It is too loud. M’aiq is tired of hearing so much noise.” Suddenly, M’aiq vanished! He ceased to exist! I squealed in fear and Neethsi groaned.

“He just fucked-off to Aetherius! Why do they do that?! What’s so bad about existing on Mundus?!” Neethsi snarled and approached the Wayshrine in the wall of the caldera with me following sadly. Goodbye M’aiq, I only met you twice, but you were still incredible.

📜

Twilight was hugging the sapling of the Tree of Harmony, praying. Begging for it to save everyone. “I know it’s likely too late, Twi, but what was the next step?” Brennie asked the despairing alicorn who was actually crying against the sapling.

“W-we need a suitable Stone for it. I was going to ask Neethsi and Meen-Rei to sneak into Alinor and find Transparent Law, the old Stone of Crystal-Like-Law. I was going to have Meen-Rei turn it into the Crystal Heart by bearing it in her womb as it grew into the new shape and size. After that, I would need to channel the Hist, as well as use a supremely powerful source of magicka to turn it into a Tower.” Twilight babbled hopelessly and Brennie was-.

“Not all is lost!” An echoing voice declared when everything tinted blue with time frozen. Brennie stood with Twilight to spin around and look at the yellow-robed Altmer. “Worry not! For while the Thalmor believe it is gone, we have secretly restored Crystal-Like-Law on Artaeum! We have returned the island to this plane of existence so that it may hold the fabric of time, but we cannot hope our misguided kin won’t turn their armies upon us. Mighty we may be, but we are few.”

“Then we’ll sail to your defense! These monsters wish to end all of existence! We’ll continue working to ensure they fail, but since you’re risking yourselves to save us all, we’ll try to keep you alive.” Brennie assured the monk, who nodded in clear exhaustion and time returned to normal. Hm, no, that was mind-magic. Time seemed frozen to them, they were just thinking so fast. “Well, shit. I guess I have no choice, I’ll have to drink the real deal.”

“No! No. Just go. You have my full permission, I’ll take any responsibility.” Twilight rubbed Brennie’s deceptively flat stomach armor. “I know you’ll be fine, that having Pandora and our forming children inside you will make you even more powerful.”

“Oh, right. I forgot about that.” Brennie sighed in relief before kissing Twilight. “I’ll be back soon.”

“Don’t make hasty promises, but you’d better! I think I might have become a bit of a nymphomaniac because of you.” Twilight huffed and pushed Brennie towards the door into the university building. “You go get shit done, I’m going to stay here and pointlessly dither with the other politicians.”

“Hey, someone’s gotta keep those stuffed-shirts from doing stupid shit.” Brennie snorted before putting on her helmet and running into the building. A quick look at the Wayshrine Guide to Tamriel posted geographically from southeast to northwest next to the Wayshrine room. “Wow, Neethsi can be a dork.” Brennie snorted in idle amusement before she stepped in.

Next Chapter: cH.41 Estimated time remaining: 11 Hours, 22 Minutes