From the memoirs of Nelyth Othrelas:
I have suceeded in winning the favor of Meridia. That is an accomplishment I shall long treasure.
As Meridia commanded, I took the orb to her temple at Kilkreath near Solitude. As I placed it at the base of her statue, a brilliant light suddenly robbed me of my sight for a moment. When I could see again I found myself hovering high above the land, looking down as if from the clouds. It was both exhilarating and terrifying. Meridia told me that a necromancer named Malkoran had defiled her temple, and she wished me to take upon myself the task of slaying him and freeing her temple of his corruption by re-lighting her beacon. It is difficult to refuse a Daedric Prince anything, especially when one is floating helpless in the sky. But I would have agreed even if Meridia had not made her request under such circumstances.
After I agreed I saw the blinding glare again and found myself once more standing beside her statue with Talvas. We then entered the temple, where we found it infested with corrupted shades and littered with desecrated corpses, which were presumably both the source of the shades and of the desecration of the temple. Curiously the people who had been slaughtered there all appeared to have been carrying substantial quantities of coin. The temple interior was also littered with other treasures that I felt no shame in taking as recompense for my labors.
Talvas and I worked our way through the temple and the catacombs beneath it, lighting the beacons along the way and following their lights to the next beacon to be activated. At last we came to Malkoran, who proved a challenge to slay, for even when he fell he rose again as an especially powerful shade. But we prevailed at last, and I was rewarded by Meridia with possession of a most effective blade called Dawnbreaker. I also found near the temple a wall inscribed with a word of the dragon tongue to add to my collection.
Once we had achieved this, I felt confident that retrieving Nettlebane from the hagraven would not be beyond our power. We made our way to the spot where the priestess of Kynareth had told me to find the hagraven at Orphan Rock. There I found Talvas' presence invaluable, for he and his atronach disposed of the hagraven and her hag servants with little help from me.
We returned to Whiterun with the blade and sought out the priestess Danica Pure-Spring to find out what to do with it. She was reluctant to take it herself, and asked me to go to Eldergleam Sanctuary to obtain the sap of the great tree Eldergleam, which she believed could be used to revive the sacred tree outside the temple in Whiterun. As I was about to depart on this mission, a man called Maurice Jondrelle approached and asked to accompany us to the sanctuary. I agreed, and we set off together to find it.
Just as we arrived at Eldergleam Sanctuary, I heard the roar of a dragon from the sky. I met it near the sanctuary amid a hot spring and swiftly claimed its soul. Then the three of us descended into the underground sanctuary. Despite its subterranean location, the sanctuary is lush with plant life, especially the sacred tree Eldergleam. A pilgrim named Asta explained that the tree's enormous roots blocked any approach to the tree itself. I realized that only the touch of Nettlebane would make the roots part. But once I plied the blade against the roots, Jondrelle objected, asking that instead of taking the tree's sap with the blade, I permit him to pray to the tree for a sapling. I saw that injuring the sacred tree to save the life of another tree seemed wrong and agreed to his plan.
After Jondrelle entreated Eldergleam, it presented us with a small sapling, which Talvas and I took back to Whiterun to the temple while Jondrelle chose to remain at the sanctuary. At first Danica Pure-Spring was dismayed that I had not brought the sap as she requested, but when I told her what Maurice Jondrelle had said, she also saw that the sapling was good and was willing to plant it. I hope that it will grow quickly. I have been allowed to keep Nettlebane, but I think I will use Dawnbreaker, for it is indeed a fine and enchanted sword.
Now that I have cleansed Meridia's temple and brought the new sapling to Kynareth's temple, I wonder if I should return to Solstheim to find out more about the mysterious Miraak who apparently causes the people of Raven Rock to stray from their homes at night and build curious structures. I have already seen the effect of this disturbing compulsion, for while I visited the island I myself experienced it. This cannot be a good thing. Only a creature of evil would enslave people so and rob them of their rest.
I have reason to believe that this Miraak is also behind the cultists who have more than once attacked me without cause in Skyrim. On one of them I found a note proclaiming that I am a false Dragonborn and must die. This gives me even more reason to want to know who Miraak is and what he is doing.
No comments:
Post a Comment