[Tirdas, 31st Last Seed, 4E: 221]

Neethsi basked on the eastern side of the mountain she’d created on the main island of Thras when the sun rose. Annihilating the Sload had been pathetically easy. In the water they were defenseless against her, on land she had to work more for it, but by the end of the day she’d dealt with the entire population that she could find, including the egg nests.

A twitch reminded Neethsi of yet another new development and she looked at the draconic wing stretched out to her left in resignation. Damned worshipers. They’d decided not only was she a Goddess of the Sea, but also Goddess of the Wind and Sky. So her body grew wings halfway through her grueling task of killing all of the Sload who had realized land was their best option.

She ran a hand along the beautiful patch of the night sky and sighed. “What have I become? Am I even an argonian anymore?” Neethsi muttered sadly to herself and then looked up at Masser and Secunda as the sky grew brighter to hide them from the surface of Nirn. “I think I get why so many living gods fuck-off to Aetherius. However, I have reasons to put up with the bullshit.” She said to herself as she mused on her new kinship with Kynareth.

Neethsi sat up and her draconic wings furled behind her back. She could already fly with Levitation magic, but the addition of the wings made it so much easier. At least now she didn’t need to find her boat if she wanted to fly for long distances. “Divinity is lonely, ain’t it?”

“Merario.” Neethsi said without looking away from the sunrise.

“I’ve got Haskill. I’ve got the Mad. I have the whole of the Shivering Isles, yet it’s exhausting. Almost sane with how draining it is.” Said the Imperial ginger man in a flamboyant regalia sitting next to her from thin air. He then summoned a cob pipe and lit it. “Now yer gettin’ a taste of it, only unlike me you’ve got yer mates.”

“Having a rare moment of lucidity are we?” Neethsi questioned her old friend sadly.

“Or time has warped.” Merario chuckled. “There are other things to bring me forth, a strange little wizard is messing with time right now. Eris is hunting them down for some offer.” Merario wrapped an arm around Neethsi’s almost waspish waist, compared to her chest and hips and pulled her into a friendly side-hug that she leaned into. “Ya needed a friend right now. I’d invite ya to tea, but you’ve still got yer work cut out fer ya.”

“Where to next?” Neethsi asked tiredly and Merario pointed southeast with his pipe. “Seriously? Pyandonea? Why?” That place was far enough away that it was as isolated as Akavir and the Maormer were about as hostile as Akavir’s Kamal.

“Because it’s another land sunk too far into the sea, because it’s another land of Nirn, because you are the key to connecting it all together while your mates are the ones who will spark a new age of exploration, adventure and-Madness! Oh it will be glorious! Ha! I can already taste the bitter tears of failure!” Sheogorath declared, ruining the moment Neethsi had with her old friend.

“So raise Pyandonea high enough that it isn’t mostly submerged, got it. If you’ll excuse me, I have a Wayshrine to establish.” Neethsi stood and yelped when Sheo slapped her ass, which to be fair, was essentially nude due to her still wearing nothing but a seashell bikini...that she was oddly attached to and even killed a Sload bare-handed when he dared rip off her thong.

Oh no~! This bikini was part of how people envisioned her~! She’s a sexy sea goddess and for some reason that really fucking cheers her up! She doesn't want to be happy right now, damn it! “Go on then, lass! The sooner the world is connected, the sooner mass calamity of intermingling cultures can happen!” Sheo then stood and turned into a statue merged with the stone of the mountain, which was a perfect shrine to him, here at the top of a mountain, looking east. People would flip when they found it.

“You crazy old bastard.” Neethsi fondly cursed before she glided down the mountain on her wings with her Trident still in her hands as, without her knowing yet, a flowing mane of silvery feathers grew from her scalp to flutter in the wind.

📜

“How can you tell your worth?” An old blind Breton asked Thia, much to the husky’s surprise as she approached her next target. “Does the stone atop the mountain think it is more important than the stone at the base? Who are you, young one?”

“What are you on about, old man?” She snarled at the elder.

“How do you see yourself? What is your worth to the world?” The Elder asked her.

“I am worth a lot, I serve the dark lord!” Thia snarled at the man.

“Do you? Are you just a pawn? How does the Eye of Heaven see you?” The Breton questioned as the world around them blurred with ancient magic. Thia found herself above everything, Mundus, Aetherius, Oblivion, all of it. “What are you worth to all of this?”

“Who-what are you?” Thia asked in awe and fear.

“A blind old man.”

📜

I panted and gasped for breath as I practiced with a steel dagger against a target dummy after reading the Oghma Infinium and being Inspired to practice the techniques I’d read. The book didn’t disappear though, so it seems Jhunal made it a more permanently available artifact in exchange for not simply letting the knowledge within be infused in the reader.

That said, I could hear Shade’s violent magic practice on the magic targets nearby was progressing quite well after her own time with the book. She was practicing Destruction so that she could combat enemies from afar or up-close when she can’t use her musket. It was why I am training with a dagger. Still, why don’t more mages learn the much more violent and beautiful touch-based magic that Shade was displaying over there?

“I think that’s enough.” One of the argonian soldiers stated firmly and he pulled me away from the dummy. Hey~! I was about to get the movements down you asshole! “You’re dumping sweat from your tongue worse than a dog. You’re lucky we argonians aren’t actually cold-blooded or you’d be fucked without that cooling cape you’re already wearing.”

“Argh! I almost have the form down! You could’ve waited a few more minutes!” I snarled angrily until I realized I was unreasonably upset over this. I think I have found a drawback to the Oghma Infinium. It compels the reader to train in the skill they are interested in learning. “Sorry. I’m just sick of being useless once in melee range.”

“Trust me, I’ve seen the archers similarly frustrated. It’s difficult to round out your skills after specializing for so long.” The soldier, a rugged brown argonian with filed-down spines running along the center of his scalp, said before he sat me down at a break table and Shade was being wrestled away from the magic training area by a dunmer battlemage to be plopped next to me.

“Twins. Always alike.” The goatee-sporting robed dunmer huffed before storming off back to repair the excessive damage Shade wrought upon the magic constructs traditionally meant for magic target practice, not being kung-fu’d to death with martial-style touch magic. My sister was like a Bender from Avatar with how she was flinging elemental destruction at point-blank range!

“How are you two so skilled with things you clearly had no talent for earlier?” My brown male companion asked curiously and I shared a nervous glance with Shade.

“Training magic.” We replied in unison, since Neethsi had subjected us to such before, but nowhere near the scale that the Oghma Infinium accomplishes.

“Ah, I’ve heard of that. It’s very hard to find someone who uses it since it’s in the School of Alteration. Then again you’re mates with the Nerevarine, so I get it. Ask if she can enchant things for training purposes, huh?” He half-jested before leaving us to sit on our sexy asses.

“Damn it, I’m so close to mastering Xiaolin and blending it with fire magic, then these old mer have to get all bent out of shape because I broke something meant to be broken!” Shade snarled, her tail wagging angrily enough to whack against the grass under the table.

“Tell me about it. I was just a bit away from mastering Silat when I got dragged off.” I grumbled and began flipping my practice dagger one-handed like I’d been using it all my life. “Still, now I’m sore and achy. We should use the book to learn Restoration and keep us going longer.”

“Good idea, let’s do that after we finish with this.” Shade insisted with her fists raised and nodding like a stereotypical shounen manga protagonist. All she needs is a white cloth strip around her head just above her eyes with trailing bits behind her, but her plumage does that. “Sis, you’re daydreaming about stuff from your first life again.” Stop reading my mind!

📜

Brennie was going over the information coming in on the various suspected hotspots where Dark Anchors could be hiding when her office opened. She was expecting Twilight, but she blinked when Celestia and Luna followed her in. “This is Brennie. You met her earlier, but that was as my lover. She’s my direct liaison with the military forces in Lilmoth.”

“Ah, so the warrior I saw yesterday wasn’t just young Twilight’s lover. It is an honor to meet a master of war.” Luna said amicably with her eyes filled with excitement while Celestia was more politely subdued.

“Yeah, so, besides exchanging pleasantries, what brings you here?” Brennie questioned as she placed her work down and focused on the three Alicorns. Luna was about to speak up again, but Brennie raised a hand to stop her. “No bullshit. Straight to the fucking point and it better be good. Also, that spy knows about you two and what’s been happening, along with my telling of who I really am from back home. So be prepared for the Pact to call for a meeting very soon.” The three alicorns winced at this news.

“I’m guessing it was that same assassin that killed off the beast you dropped off at my office, along with that gear it was wearing?” Twilight asked and Brennie nodded her head. “And what else did you tell this spy that you never mentioned to me?”

“That I’m a King back home and I may be planning on trying to hire her for us.” This shocked the princesses and Brennie snorted at them. “What? You never bothered to ask, Twilight.”

“Because I didn’t care what you were back home. I only cared about you and that you were here, that I...might go with you…” Twilight shuffled uneasily as the other two alicorns looked at her in understanding and without judgment. “I think, no, I know that I can get past my issues with the male sex if it’s for you, to be with you. Especially thanks to these two using me to be reborn. I’d like to experience that again, but with our foals.”

Brennie smiled, getting up from her desk and hugging Twilight. “That’s good to hear. We get to take turns being a broodmother~.” The human woman teased Twilight, even showing off her pregnant belly, at least what she was carrying besides Pandora, for all to see. It had only been a month and she looked like she could drop a baby any minute.

“Goodness! Dibella must really like you.” Celestia chuckled before clearing her throat. “Now then, we’re here because as Twilight’s assistants, we need to be fully informed of everything important to operating her school. Yes, the Deputy Headmaster helps, but Twilight doesn’t have any direct personal assistants. Luna and I are fulfilling that role as well as being advisors.”

“Oh. Well, come to me about security matters.” Brennie then looked between the three alicorns warily. “Is that all you’re here for?”

“Brennie, as much as I’d love to, I can’t just fuck you in your office everyday.” Twilight huffed in disappointment as her senior alicorns, well, technically senior alicorns, giggled perversely. “Expect tonight to be a bit rough because of it.”

“Oh, my poor, horny Twilight, why hold back~? I, sure as Hell, ain’t holding back anymore. I don’t care what anyone thinks, be they commoners up to the nobility. If they get in my way, there will be Hell to pay.” Brennie declared, going from a seductive tone to a scary voice, one that spooked both Celestia and Luna. Twilight was blushing profusely at the defiance Brennie exuded and couldn’t help popping a boner right there. “Mm, is that a treat for me~?”

“You’re incorrigible!” Twilight slobbered and pounced to start kissing her with abandon!

📜

[Middas, 1st Hearthfire, 4E: 221]

Pyandonea wasn’t bad. Actually, if not for the aggressive natives, the mostly-submerged continent was a tropical paradise. She didn’t want to destroy the kelp forests between the plateaus of thick rainforest, so she moved the plateaus together, raised a good portion of Pyandonea up to extend the surface landmass, then raised more of the ocean floor to make more kelp forest.

The Maormer at first were not pleased with her interference in their lands. When they realized she was increasing the land above ground and putting less distance between said surface islands while not compromising the kelp forests, they left her be. In fact, they began worshiping her almost immediately! Neethsi glared at the lunate caudal fin at the end of her tail.

It was as firm as it was flexible, so she didn’t have to worry about hurting it by her body’s usual tail movements or even hitting it on something. What she could have lived without, was the dorsal fin between her wings! It parted her mane of feathers, which on its own was irritating! Being a worshiped goddess sucks! She can’t just Alter her body without hurting herself!

If this kept going on, soon she’d turn into a giant fucking flying sea serpent or something!

…

She hasn’t tested her Beast form! Oh please, please don’t-motherfuckers!

Neethsi hissed angrily into the waters of the ocean, her long, elegant serpentine body only interrupted by wing-like sceathered fins that she just knew would let her fly both in and out of water. Her exotic aetheric flesh continued into this form, which she both hated and loved by this point. A vain part of her appreciated that her unique magical pigmentation made her beyond beautiful.

However, this also meant that she just became even more of a priority for Hircine’s hitlist! He loves hunting endangered or unique creatures!

“Well met!” Speak of the asshole and he appears! In the form of a giant shark spirit, but still! “Hunter, you continue to impress.” Yeah, yeah just get on with it! “Very well. A great beast in the oceans is being guided to Lilmoth by the vengeful Dreugh for the theft of their relic. Hunt this creature and I’ll reward you.”

“Get bent! I’ll kill it because I need to, not because you told me!” Neethsi hissed in reply despite the water. Damn it, does reality apply to her at all by this point? She swam through the ocean northeast with all haste, cutting through the water effortlessly because without knowing it, she’d absorbed her trident when she transformed, making it a part of her now.

📜

I disarmed my tenth opponent with the wooden practice dagger and began flipping it around in my hand. It was harder to do than trying to kill my training partner because Silat was meant to kill. Still, I’ve achieved mastery over the knife-style to a point I think I would have to be facing a master of arms to be overcome. Especially since I’ll be wielding an ebony karambit. Turns out karambits are traditional khajiit daggers too, I had no clue before looking them up.

“Goodness! You’re a right terror with a small blade now, Rei!” My new friend Reenios, the cute brown argonian guy who stopped me for a break yesterday, declared with a hearty slap on my back. “Be sure to try and beg Neethsi to make training rings or something so we can at least try to imitate you and Shade!” Reenios cheerfully half-joked and I hiss-snickered.

“No promises.” I then went over to the rest area where Shade was already reading the Oghma Infinium. “Damn sis, I figured we’d at least try to relax today.” I said with an edge to my tone, because I wanted to be reading on marksmanship to get my ranged game up!

“We are. Turns out the best way to practice Restoration is by healing, who would’ve guessed? However, part of that is observing the body at rest to-.” A giant splash from the bay and a horrific shriek caused us and everyone to look out and then make varied manners of shocked exclamations as a giant shark-whale-crab-octopus thing smashed the docks.

Before we could rally though, an absolutely glorious aetheric serpent shot out of the water, wrapped her, because it’s her, massive jaws around what approximated the creature’s throat. She coiled and thrashed around it, her sceathered wings flapping frantically to help her keep the creature pinned until with a wince-causing snap, the creature stilled and fell against the shattered piers of the city.

Neethsi, for it could only be her, remained coiled around the beast for a bit before she released it and rose above the buildings, the giant sea serpent looking down upon Lilmoth with her gorgeous galaxy-swirl eyes. “I have slain the beast, but the Dreugh have decided to muster an army. I will be annihilating all save a bare few, because they are vital to local ecosystems. That said, I’ll be bringing the corpses back with me, do not hunt Dreugh for many years to come!”

With that, Nerevarine, the Goddess of the Sea, Wind and Sky, dove into the waters of Oliis Bay and I felt a surge of absolute Faith that I’d never experienced before. I’d already loved her as a mate, but now I could revere her beyond that. I would never forget who she was though. She was still our Neethsi and would gladly help her feel a bit mortal when around us.

“Hey, uh, is it alright to send prayers to her?” A nearby soldier asked in our direction.

“She’d rather you not, but nobody’s stopping you.” I replied before elbowing Shade’s side. “Get back to reading sis, the sooner you finish, the sooner I can look up how to master marksmanship.”

“Oh? You wanna catch up?” Shade, the impudent sexy bitch with a natural talent for long-range sniping, hiss-snickered and went back to reading while we rested.

“More like surpass, considering I am a markswoman.” I hope the damage to the docks didn’t destroy the fisherman's wharf. On that note, I hope nobody died. Thankfully there were already guards and soldiers heading towards the site of the ‘battle’ as I boredly fidgeted my knife.

It was now that I realized I had long surpassed who I had been before.

I smiled, because now I feel confident in facing the world.

Next Chapter: Ch.52 Estimated time remaining: 8 Hours, 58 Minutes