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(A/N: Don't forget to give those power stones to Skyrim everyone!)
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The cold, calculating tactician vanished, entirely replaced by the terrifying, explosive speed of a fully integrated blademaster. He engaged his massive 430 point Stamina pool, moving with blinding, superhuman velocity. Aerion surged through the open doorway, his hand violently ripping the Black Prism from its scabbard as he charged into the darkness of the doomed house.
The interior of the Nordic home was a scene of absolute, terrifying chaos. The heavy wooden dining table had been violently overturned. Ceramic plates and clay cups lay shattered across the floorboards.
In the center of the ruined room, Hroggar's wife, bleeding from a nasty scratch across her cheek, was desperately swinging a heavy iron fireplace poker to fend off her attacker, shielding the terrified, sobbing form of little Helgi behind her skirts.
The attacker was Laelette.
Thonnir's missing wife no longer looked like a simple woman of the swamps. Her skin was a sickly, deathly pale, and her eyes burned with a feral, glowing crimson light in the gloom of the house. She was moving with the unnatural, twitching speed of a newly turned vampire, her lips pulled back in a vicious snarl that revealed elongated, razor sharp fangs.
Aerion closed the distance in two massive strides.
"Get away from them!" Aerion roared, his melodic voice completely shedding its aristocratic calm to deliver a concussive shock of intimidation.
Laelette spun around, her feral eyes widening in profound surprise at the sudden intrusion of a towering High Elf dressed in immaculate mage robes. But it wasn't the robes that caught her attention, it was the terrifying, pitch black blade he wielded.
She raised her scavenged steel sword, expecting to effortlessly cleave through the fragile elf's guard using her newly acquired, supernatural vampiric strength.
CLANG!
The collision of their blades sent a shower of bright orange sparks illuminating the dark room.
Laelette's crimson eyes widened in absolute, paralyzing shock. She had swung with enough force to blow nack a normal man, but Aerion's blade did not yield a single inch. The sheer, overwhelming physical density and muscular power of the High Elf completely matched her undead strength. They were locked in a grinding, sparking deadlock of steel against ebony.
"Get behind me, madam!" Aerion ordered Hroggar's wife, his eyes never leaving the vampire. He didn't use the child's name, maintaining his cover as a random, intervening traveler.
He shifted his gaze downward for a fraction of a second.
"Lupin!" Aerion commanded sharply. "To the inn! Fetch Jenassa and Aeloria! Tell them I am facing something dangerous!"
The tiny cinnamon fox, possessing human level intelligence through their magical bond, instantly understood the gravity of the command. Lupin let out a sharp, urgent yip, spun on his paws, and bolted like a red blur out the open front door into the foggy streets of Morthal.
Laelette snarled, realizing the beast was going to summon reinforcements. She violently ripped her left hand away from the hilt of her sword, her palm glowing with a swirling, necrotic sphere of black and red magic. She aimed the Vampiric Drain spell directly at the fleeing fox.
"I think not," Aerion stated coldly.
He aggressively pushed into the deadlock, utilizing his massive height and flawless Warrior Stone leverage. He violently shoved Laelette backward and twisted the Black Prism, throwing her completely off balance.
Laelette stumbled, her aim wildly thrown off. The blast of dark red magic shot upward, violently impacting the wooden rafters of the thatched roof, scorching the wood but missing Lupin entirely.
Furious, the vampire let out a feral growl, lunging back at the High Elf with a flurry of desperate, slashing strikes.
Aerion parried them effortlessly, keeping his body positioned squarely between the monster and the cowering family. The tight, cramped quarters of the destroyed living room favored his precise, economic footwork.
"I will find the guards! Thank you, Elf!" Hroggar's wife screamed.
Seizing the tactical opening Aerion had provided, she grabbed Helgi tightly by the hand, dragging the crying child out of the back of the house and sprinting frantically into the foggy night.
The moment the mother and child vanished into the mist, Laelette realized the absolute totality of her failure. Alva had given her one simple, brutal order, eliminate the family so Hroggar could be fully controlled. The targets were gone, the element of surprise was shattered, and she was now facing a terrifyingly strong blademaster.
Survival instinct violently overrode her bloodlust. She needed to run.
Laelette feinted a high slash toward Aerion's neck, then immediately broke engagement, diving toward the open front doorway to escape into the swamp.
Aerion was vastly faster. He side stepped the feint flawlessly, moving his towering frame directly into the threshold, completely blocking the only exit.
He lowered the tip of the Black Prism, engaging his fabricated, theatrical persona to justify the fight.
"I demand an answer, creature of the night," Aerion spoke, his voice dripping with righteous, judgmental authority. "Why does a vampire seek to break into a home and butcher an innocent woman and her child?"
"It is none of your business, Elf!" Laelette shrieked, her face contorted in panic and rage. "Move out of my way!"
She charged him, swinging her steel sword in a desperate, wild, two handed horizontal arc.
It was a fatal, amateur mistake.
Aerion didn't just block the strike; he parried it with a sharp, upward flick of his wrist that sent her steel sword flying wide, completely exposing her left flank. With calculated, brutal precision, Aerion slashed the Black Prism across her ribcage.
He intentionally did not cut deep enough to kill. He needed her alive.
But the Black Prism's enchantments did not care about restraint. The moment the ebony blade drew undead blood, the devastating, triple layered magical enchantment violently triggered.
Laelette let out a horrific, echoing shriek of absolute, mind shattering agony.
A localized burst of absolute zero frost instantly froze the blood around the wound, while a vicious, crackling arc of purple lightning fried her undead nervous system.
Simultaneously, a searing wave of magical fire ignited the edges of the cut, burning her pale flesh.
The vampire staggered backward, dropping her steel sword entirely. She stared at the High Elf's black blade, pure terror overriding her pain.
"Three... three enchantments?!" Laelette gasped, clutching her burning, freezing, paralyzed side. She had never, in her entire life, heard of a weapon possessing such impossible magical complexity.
Aerion did not give her a moment to recover. He stepped forward, launching a brutal, heavy front kick directly into her stomach to wind her.
But Laelette, driven by the desperate, supernatural speed of the damned, managed to twist her body, narrowly dodging the heavy boot. She scrambled backward, putting the overturned dining table between them.
Aerion merely smiled coldly. He raised his empty left hand.
He didn't summon fire or lightning. He tapped into the absolute, purifying zenith of his Restoration matrix.
A blinding, brilliant, intensely pure sphere of concentrated sunlight ignited in his palm.
Grand Purification.
Aerion unleashed the magic. A thick, concentrated beam of pure holy energy shot across the room. Laelette, blinded by the sudden radiance, threw both of her arms up in front of her face to shield her eyes.
The holy light slammed directly into her forearms.
The reaction was instantaneous and horrific. The pure, divine energy of the Restoration spell violently reacted with the dark, necrotic curse animating her blood. Her pale skin began to violently sizzle and smoke, blistering instantly as if she had been plunged into a vat of boiling acid.
Laelette let out a blood curdling, inhuman scream that rattled the windows of the surrounding houses.
At that exact moment, the front door of the house was violently thrown wide open.
Jenassa and Aeloria burst into the cramped room, their weapons drawn, led by the frantic yipping of Lupin.
The two warriors instantly assessed the tactical environment. They saw the overturned furniture, the towering High Elf radiating holy light, and the smoking, shrieking vampire cowering behind the table.
They didn't hesitate. They seamlessly flanked the room, forming a lethal, inescapable triangle around the wounded creature.
Laelette looked at the glowing red eyes of the Dark Elf assassin, and then at the fierce, determined face of the Imperial clad Nord. The panic in her undead heart reached an absolute crescendo. She was trapped, burning, and completely outnumbered.
Desperation fueled a final, suicidal gambit. She needed health to survive the escape.
Laelette locked her glowing crimson eyes onto Aeloria, judging the human to be the weakest link in the chain. The vampire lunged over the overturned table, throwing her burned hands forward and unleashing a massive, concentrated torrent of dark red Vampiric Drain magic directly at the Dragonborn's chest.
Aeloria didn't have a magical ward, and her armor would not stop the life draining spell. But she had the terrifying, unparalleled combat instincts of her bloodline.
Aeloria didn't try to dodge the wide beam. Her eyes darted to the floorboards. Resting near her boot, knocked from a shelf during the initial struggle, was a heavy, polished silver platter.
With a blindingly fast kick, Aeloria popped the edge of the silver plate up from the floorboards, catching it seamlessly in her left hand. She brought the improvised silver buckler up, bracing it firmly against her forearm just as the red magic struck.
Silver, inherently pure and magically disruptive to the undead, shattered the structural integrity of the spell. The dark red magic splashed violently against the polished metal, hissing and dissipating harmlessly into the air.
Laelette's eyes widened in absolute shock as her magic failed.
Aeloria didn't pause to celebrate. Using the momentum of the deflected spell, the Dragonborn lunged forward, driving her Imperial steel sword smoothly and brutally into Laelette's unprotected right side.
The vampire gasped, her body locking up in pain.
Jenassa flowed in from the left like a dark shadow. The assassin's Frost Steel Sword flashed in the gloom, delivering a precise, surgical slash across the back of Laelette's right arm, cleanly severing the bicep muscle and completely neutralizing her ability to cast further magic.
Aerion moved in to finish the containment. He swept the Black Prism low to the floorboards, carefully and deliberately dragging the razor sharp ebony edge across the back of Laelette's calves, cleanly severing her Achilles tendons.
It was a brutally efficient, entirely non lethal immobilization.
Laelette's legs gave out entirely. She collapsed onto the wooden floorboards in a helpless, thrashing heap, shrieking and weeping bloody tears of pain and failure.
Aerion, Jenassa, and Aeloria stood over the crippled vampire, their blades pointed downward, securing the absolute perimeter.
"Target contained," Aerion announced coldly.
Before another word could be spoken, the heavy, thundering sound of multiple armored boots sprinting across the wooden boardwalk outside echoed through the fog.
"In here! The screaming came from Hroggar's place!" a gruff, authoritative voice bellowed.
The doorway was instantly filled with the imposing figures of the Morthal town guard. Leading the pack was a massive, heavily muscled Nord man wearing thick hide armor and carrying a massive steel battleaxe. His face was scarred, and his eyes were fierce with protective fury.
It was Gorm, the Housecarl to Jarl Idgrod Ravencrone.
Gorm burst into the ruined living room, his battleaxe raised, fully expecting to find bandits or a wild beast.
Instead, he froze, completely stunned by the tableau before him.
Standing in the center of the destroyed room were a towering, dark robed High Elf, a terrifyingly scarred Dark Elf, and a woman in full Imperial Legion armor. They were standing in a circle, their bloodied blades drawn, looming over a pale, sobbing Nordic woman thrashing on the floor.
To a Housecarl sworn to protect his Jarl and the citizens of Morthal, it looked exactly like a highly coordinated, cold blooded assassination.
"Hold! By the authority of the Jarl, drop your weapons immediately!" Gorm roared, leveling his massive battleaxe toward Aerion's chest. The four Morthal guards behind him instantly drew their swords, moving to surround the group.
"Drop the steel, or we will cut you down where you stand!"
Jenassa's grip tightened on her sword, her crimson eyes locking onto the guards' throats, fully prepared to slaughter the entire squad if the Patron gave the command. Aeloria tensed, raising her silver plate slightly.
Aerion remained completely, flawlessly calm. He did not drop the Black Prism, but he slowly, deliberately lowered the tip of the dark blade until it rested harmlessly against the floorboards, signaling compliance without surrendering his defense.
"We shall comply with your orders, sir," Aerion spoke, his melodic voice incredibly soothing and measured, projecting an aura of absolute cooperation. "But you must understand the immediate context of this scene before you act rashly. We are not assassins."
Aerion pointed a long, golden finger down at the sobbing woman on the floor.
"This woman is a vampire," Aerion declared clearly. "She broke into this home with the explicit intent to murder the mother and child who reside here. We intervened to save their lives. If you look closely at her face, you will see the fangs and the pallor of the undead."
Gorm frowned deeply, his eyes darting from the calm High Elf to the woman on the floor. The dim lighting made it difficult to see clearly, and the idea of vampires operating openly in his town was a bitter pill to swallow.
"A likely story, Elf," one of the guards sneered, taking a step forward. "Looks to me like you three just broke in to murder a local—"
"Gorm! Gorm, wait! He speaks the truth!"
The frantic, tear streaked voice of Ingrid, Hroggar's wife, suddenly broke through the tense standoff.
She pushed her way past the guards in the doorway, still clutching little Helgi tightly to her side. Ingrid pointed a trembling finger directly at the crippled vampire on the floor, and then up at Aerion.
"The Elf saved us, Gorm!" Ingrid cried out, her voice echoing with undeniable, raw honesty. "That... that thing... it broke through the back window! It was going to kill my Helgi! The Elf fought it off so we could run! He is a hero, not a murderer!"
The tension in the room instantly shifted.
Gorm lowered his battleaxe slightly, his fierce eyes widening in profound shock. He looked closely at the sobbing woman on the floor. As the lantern light caught her face, he saw the glowing red tint to her eyes and the sharp, unnatural points of her fangs.
But what shocked him most was her identity.
"By the Eight," Gorm breathed, his voice thick with horror. "Is that... is that Laelette? Thonnir's wife? She's been missing for days. We thought she ran off to join the Stormcloaks. She... she was turned?"
The horrific reality of the situation rapidly overwrote his suspicion. Gorm was a seasoned Housecarl, he knew how to rapidly adapt to a shifting battlefield.
He looked back up at Aerion, Jenassa, and Aeloria.
"Keep your weapons, but stand down," Gorm ordered, his tone shifting from hostile commander to measured authority. He waved his hand toward his guards. "Secure the creature. Use the heavy iron bindings, and wrap her hands in thick cloth so she can't cast any magic. Do not let her bite you."
Aerion, Jenassa, and Aeloria smoothly stepped back, sheathing their weapons as the guards moved in to cautiously shackle the screaming, crippled vampire.
Gorm turned his attention fully to the towering High Elf. The Housecarl's expression was a complex mixture of lingering suspicion, profound relief, and deep, grudging respect.
"You saved an innocent family tonight, Elf," Gorm stated, his voice heavy with the gravity of the situation. "Morthal owes you a debt of gratitude for your intervention. But spilling blood within these walls, especially the blood of a local woman turned monster, means you must answer directly to the Jarl."
Gorm gestured toward the door.
"You and your associates will follow me to Highmoon Hall immediately," Gorm commanded. He turned to the traumatized mother. "Ingrid, you and the child must come as well. The Jarl needs to hear your direct testimony."
Finally, Gorm turned to one of the remaining guards.
"Go down to the lumber mill," Gorm ordered grimly. "Fetch Hroggar. Tell him his house was nearly turned into a slaughterhouse while he was working late. He needs to hear exactly what kind of tragedy was narrowly averted tonight."
"It shall be done, Housecarl," the guard nodded, sprinting off into the fog.
Aerion smoothed his dark robes, utterly pleased with the flawless execution of his tactical intervention. The stage was perfectly set. He had the physical evidence, he had the eyewitness testimony, and he was walking directly into the Jarl's court as a savior rather than a stranger. "Lead the way to Highmoon Hall, Gorm," Aerion replied smoothly, offering a polite incline of his head. "We are entirely at the Jarl's disposal."
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[Main Panel]
Name: Aerion
Race: High Elf (Altmer)
Health: 440/440 Stamina: 430/430 Magicka: 620/620
Level: 109
Skills: Animal Affinity (MAX LEVEL), Fast Skill Levelling (MAX LEVEL), Fast Magic Mastery (MAX LEVEL), Instant Shout (MAX LEVEL), Destruction (Fire(+2)/Lightning(+1)/Frost) (Level 85/41/98), Restoration (Healing/Purify(+1)) (Level 91/56), Alteration (Level 35), Alteration (Level 20), Illusion (Level 42), Conjuration (Necromancy/Summoning(+1)) (Level 37/10), Persuasion(+1) (Level 60), Smithing (Level 22), Sneak (Level 48), One Handed (Level 93), Two Handed (Level 81), Lockpicking (Level 35), Archery (Level 72), Enchanting (Level 66), Light Armor (Level 53), Block (Level 70), & Pickpocket (Level 8)
Shouts: Fus (Force), Tiid (Time), Krii (Kill), Feim (Fade), & Su (Air)
[Inventory Panel]
1x Small Sack, Poacher's Axe, Mammoth Tusk, the Golden Claw, Calm Spellbook, Arvel's Journal, Inkwell & Quill, Thief Book, Scroll Of Summoning (Wolf), Scroll Of Healing, Weak Potion of Paralysis, Dragonstone, Golden Staff of Flames, Parchment Rolls Of Mammoths Farm And Loan, Ebony Claw, Orcish Dagger, Jagged Crown, The Mirror, Glass Sword, Ring of Pure Mixtures, Grand Soul Gem (Filled), Reanimate Corpse Tome, Staff of Lightning, Deed to Tundra Homestead, Garnet, Sapphire, Ruby, Dawnbreaker, & Traveling Backpack (Supplies)
2x Potion Of Ultimate Magicka, Common Soul Gem (Empty), Black Soul Gem (Empty), & Elven Sword
3x Glowing Mushrooms, Potions of Minor Stamina, & Common Soul Gem (Filled)
4x Potions of Minor Magicka, Spider Eggs, & Lesser Soul Gem (Filled)
5x Lesser Soul Gem (Filled)
8x Iron Arrows, Ancient Nord Arrows, & Black Soul Gems (Filled)
9x Potions Of Minor Healing
Weight: 75.32 KG / 515 KG
Septims: 77,128