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[Aeloth Nazduin]

---

"Bring the boy, my bones, and the Ebon Skull to my vault in the temple."

And such was done accordingly without failure. Kazenvel, Admoreth's bones, and the Ebon Skull were delivered to the lich lord's vault in the ruined Temple of Oblivion. Admoreth's spirit remained cloaked from Kazenvel's view, waiting and watching for what he had hoped would happen.

The Ebon Skull animated itself, and shifted it's view upon Kazenvel. Kazenvel returned the gaze with fear shielded by zeal, and folded his arms. "Pathetic cantrips, nothing more." Kazenvel spoke reluctantly. As Kazenvel spoke, the ebon skull's jaw slowly opened, producing a ghastly, hissing scream. The scream rattled Kazenvel's ears, prompting him to drop to the floor in pain none could ever imagine existed.

"My rebirth is nigh, Kazenvel. You will fuel my phylactery, the Ebon Skull, and I shall once again take the reigns of the Order."

Kazenvel wrestled furiously with an unseen force, a force the seemed to supress the very essence of his being. "You are wrong, I will become the lich lord! You have failed, father. This era belongs to me!" A cold, unnerving laughter echoed within the vault. The echo faded, and became more centralized. The bones of Admoreth animated, and began to regain a true skeletal form.

"You expect to best me, Kazenvel? Such is impossible. You fear me, as you always have. That will be your downfall. Fear is an emotion Oblivion cannot tolerate spreading amongst his legions."

Kazenvel thought back to his younger days, the years spent in the Corrupted Forest. The abuse, the experimentation, his mother's murder, and his missing sister. The scars on his face were a permanent reminder of those days.

"You see? That is your weakness, you do not let the past make you stronger: You mourn it. You expect to become Oblivion's chosen with such a feeble mindset?"

Kazenvel dug his fingers between the tiles of the stone floor, the force from the Ebon Skull became something more than physical, He could feel his life slipping elsewhere. Admoreth's bones had now fully reconstructed, and he was adorned in a shimmering black robe. Kazenvel looked up, and met his father's icy gaze.

"Oblivion has chosen you, my son, to be the fuel of his medium. This is a glorious day for our family, Two of the glorious Nazduin used to serve the dark master!" Admoreth spoke as he threw his arms into the air in a fit of ecstasy. Kazenvel released a scream as he felt himself catching the last glimpse of light he would ever see.

"Do not deny the joy that is Oblivion, this is nothing short of an honor." Admoreth hissed, as the bones and rubble from the fallen temple began to reconstruct on it's own, but not akin to the architecture of the temple as it used to be. Admoreth took note of this, and Kazenvel lost his attention. "..This is not my temple, this is different."

What once was column had become wall, and the floor beneath Admoreth, Kazenvel, and the Ebon Skull caved in: The three were now on the ground floor. Admoreth walked about the border of the new chamber, examining every stone, bone fragment, and detail carefully. Meanwhile, Kazenvel was screaming a storm of curses at the lich lord, all of which fell on deaf ears due to the lich lord's new interest.

Admoreth turned sharply towards the Ebon Skull and Kazenvel as the temple reconstructed itself, leaning forward as he creeped toward the boy. "And now, Kazenvel, you shall become one with me until the final days, until the time Oblivion engulfs the wasteland that is Sosaria!" Admoreth laughed, as he clutched the Ebon Skull. A surge of entropy formed a link between Admoreth, Kazenvel, and the Ebon Skull. Admoreth's bones rattled rapidly as his maddening cackle pierced the air.

However, Kazenvel could see what Admoreth couldn't; The Ebon Skull would devour Admoreth as well. In an ignorant bliss Admoreth held the skull above his head, and shrieked loudly, "Da Manaxas’tal xa Ur'piye bis’mal oi zunduus!" Kazenvel, in all of his pain and agony, managed to grin. For he knew that through his own death, his father would be undone as well. Kazenvel closed his eyes with his teeth locked in a grit, and waited for the innevitable.

The vibration of Admoreth's bones gradually undid the skeletal reconstruction which took place not even moments before, but being in a state of insanity Admoreth did not, or could not, notice. As each bone fell, they were set ablaze in a black engulf of flames. Admoreth, the lich lord of the Ebon Skull, had fallen. But not once, even after his fall, did he lose his grip on the Ebon Skull. Kazenvel layed on the floor lifeless. His body now shriveled seemed absent of all muscle.

The final pieces of the building's reconstruction were set in place, a pair of steel doors which locked themselves set firmly within the main doorway. And a new cackle was heard as the final touches on the Cathedral of Oblivion were made.

Levas Dazu'la...

[Ivy]

---

The dark green robe matched the color of the grass perfectly. That is why she wore it. The small outcropping of rocks partially concealed her face, leaving no trace of a human outline on the unmarred ground. The only indication someone was there at all was the occasional glimmer of light off the lens of the spyglass she held.

Ivy was in a bad mood. The incessant arguing between Bailos and Darrien had made all rational thought nearly impossible, and a near-mutiny against any semblence of authority in the Order was perpetual. The source of the argument was simple enough, and mostly justified: Having left Admoreth with the boy and the Ebon Skull, rumors of treachery and betrayal were rife. Darrien's constant prodding at the topic only made Bailos's repeated attempts at shutting him up backfire; more and more people wanted to hear him, including Ivy. However, this only further enraged Bailos and encouraged Darrien; by the time she left angry words were about to make way for angry actions. She didn't want to become involved. But curiousity still nipped at her, so she decided to go off and look for herself.

The view from the spyglass was narrow and not entirely in-focus, but it would do. Strange things were going on at the Temple, and she had no interest in getting close enough to be caught by the Lich Lord. She was too far away to hear anything, however, so her only clues would come from the spyglass. She focused intently.

The temple had started to rebuild itself. Something was definitely happening inside. It struck Ivy suddenly that the temple was rebuilding itself, but not in the same shape. It looked different, even in this early stage of completion. The floor of the Vault, where she had helped place the boy earlier, had fallen out, sending the lich lord Admoreth and his child to the first floor, where she could try to get a solid view of them. She saw the Lich Lord turn to face his son, to speak to him a moment, though she could not hear the words. The Temple continued to rebuild itself, the rising stones and appearing walls starting to block her view. She stood up, figuring that if she couldn't see them they couldn't see her, either. She saw bony hands grasping the Ebon Skull. The bones connecting the arms to the hands suddenly rattled and fell off, bursting into black flame. She strained to get a better view over the rapidly-assembling temple, but walls had now formed that blocked her sight completely. At about this time, nervousness and unease overcame her, and she quietly turned around and quickly walked away from her hiding spot.

She didn't know what had just happened, but she didn't like what she had seen. At least she had seen something; this would give her leverage when explaining the events to the others, and hopefully she could prevent what looked like a civil war. From the few things she could piece together, though, it seemed both Bailos and Darrien had been correct... She chuckled at this thought. Neither of them would believe her. But that was for them to worry about; she simply tried to put her mind off it and wait for more information. Mardoth's was empty now, and she had work to do.

[Drayek]

---

The evening had left her more lost and hopeless than ever. She didn't understand Black Mass, or any of the rituals performed. Not having memory of the last five years, it disturbed her to think she would ever have reason to join this cult. The only thing she understood was some curse or something was put on the Ebon Skull to weaken it and any who relied on its power. Lying down in a room she rented at the Umbra inn, she looked over her notebook of things to do once she regained her memory, thinking through everything she managed to learn about herself.
"Perhaps I am lucky I only lost my power and memory, the other guy was weakened so much he lost his body." She thought to herself, reflecting on the sickly looking ghost who said he was a friend of hers.

She sighed, running the evening's events through her mind again. After some unnerving 'purification' rituals, that idiot Bailos used the very relic held sacred by those around her to smack the tied up boy they said was the Lich Lord's son in the head. He was then carried unconscious to some cave called the Well of Souls, then she followed as he was taken to the ruins of the Temple. He was taken into a room and the Ebon Skull was put on the floor in front of him, then Bailos said something about leaving him and the Lich Lord alone, and locked the doors. Some undead, and rather bad smelling, man in a tattered green robe was arguing the boy had to be killed for some reason he never stated, and Bailos was flaunting about knowing something the rest of them didn't about the situation, yet couldn't tell them. The undead man kept saying the boy would destroy the Lich Lord, and eventually a few people in the room went up out of concern. Although it was amusing, Bailos told them the door would not budge as it was sealed magically, and immediately after the Lich Lord opened it and came out.

It was relieving to see the Lich Lord, it ment the undead babbling man was wrong. And perhaps her own theory was right. The Ebon Skull was completely useless for rituals or anything, and so if a ritual was going to take place it would have to be fixed. And then she would return to normal. However, it had been hours since the Lich Lord shooed everyone out of the temple's grove and she still couldn't really remember anything, nor did she feel any different other than her chest and stomach hurting. She attributed this to the unholy rituals performed during the evening. She had little faith in Bailos's capability with anything, having known him from the Shadowform Empire. He couldn't even do anything about the others giving the green robed man their energy, other than call them traitors! Somehow she felt if she didn't tell Ivy to stop and back away, she would have aided him too. There was something that just didn't feel right about that undead man. It seemed like he wanted to keep the skull broken or use it as a trophy, he kept clawing for it all evening.

She gripped the book in her hands tighter, annoyed at those that would aid the green robed man. All three who flocked to him were mortal, they hadn't gone through the pain of losing themselves.
"Perhaps there is one thing I trust Bailos with... He is a wraith, he would do what would give him his strength back." She thought, stroking the cover of the book with her fingers. The green man took energy from the other two, it seemed to give him temporary strength. Bailos wouldn't do foolish temporary solutions. The other like her who was present, a man who called himself Shade, felt the same way. He knew her pain, he too could see the green robed one wouldn't solve a thing. The mortals, they didn't suffer at all, they didn't wake up and find their body ravaged by something they didn't understand, they didn't spend weeks on end wondering why they couldn't sleep. They didn't bleed tears after learning the horrific truth about themselves. How annoying it was for them to simply toss their energy around like that. She only hoped the robed man didn't gather enough energy to cause any more harm, she overheard him asking Bailos for energy since the energy given to him wasn't enough, and Bailos outright refusing his request.

Pain surged through her chest once more, she dropped her book on the bed and clutched her chest.
"What the bloody hell did Bailos do to us tonight..." she thought to herself, turning onto her side and curling up. Something began to pulse through her, feeling almost like a thick shadow flowing through her veins, clawing at her very flesh and existance. She opened her mouth and tried to gasp for air, only letting out a squeek and thinking to herself, "Perhaps... Is this... this..." before falling unconscious.



***************************************************


Consciousness at 10% and rising. Initiating body status check.
Hearing 200%
Sight 150% night vision enhanced
Smell 100% noted sensitivity increase in specific areas
Consciousness at 25% and rising.
Taste 100% mental receptors to flavor altered
Feeling 100% light sensitivity 500%
Vital signs low boosting consciousness regeneration
Consciousness 50%
Respiratory system 0%
Cardiovascular system 0%
Consciousness 60%
"I don't think I'll ever get used to waking up to this."
Nervous system 100%
"Override body check status. Skip to surrounding area check."
Area check initiated.
Scents of necromantic reagents, decay, bones, stone covered in arcane resin, and darkwood recognizable as location "Umbra"
Consciousness 70%
Lesser scents identify location as a sleeping location/inn. Cloth, bedding, furniture, hair from multiple sources, Umbran soil, paper.
"Wait, Makhim Jaltak soil should be a top scent. Scan percentage of Makhim Jaltak soil"
Consciousness 80%
Scan initiated
Makhim Jaltak soil 0.7% trace locations possibly on clothing
"I didn't sleep, what's wrong. I couldn't have slept."
Consciousness 90%
Consciousness 100%


She sat up in bed quickly, scanning the room until she was certain the area was secure, then placed her right hand over her eyes and massaged them, tilting her head back slightly.
"My mind only does that after I've been completely unconscious, I don't seem to be any kind of danger and nothing serious seemed to have occured. The last time it happened was after...!" She thought, stopping as her mind went through the past few months and realizing she had her memory back. She quickly held her gloved hands in front of her and looked at them, focusing her power so she could feel the properties of the gloves' leather. For the first time in months, her hands didn't ache when she used her power. Excited her body had returned to normal, she hastily got out of bed and reached for her notebook.

[Kaelthir]

---

He quietly hovered inside a laboratory deep underground at a table, reading a notebook he managed to float onto the table. Being a ghost had quite a few drawbacks, he found himself inable to interact with the physical world for the most part. However, being able to pass through solid objects was a major plus. He had been inside the laboratory a few times and had always marvelled at the shelves of books and notes. The notes, for the most part, involved many numbers, symbols, and cryptic descriptions he had a hard time following. Fascinating none the less. The books on technomancy intrigued him as well. Although the art was scorned by Lord Admoreth he found the application of arcane energy through wires and crystals quite curious. The results of what seemed to be so simple were amazing.

The lock on the door clicked and the door swung open, he watched quietly, frozen like a scared deer. She came inside and looked directly at him, her face showing more determination and strength than it had since he woke up from his ghostly dream state.
"Norture... what an unexpected surprise. I do hope you are enjoying yourself in my laboratory, apparently locked doors are ghostly welcoming signs mm? Please remember I do know where your body is and would quite enjoy altering it in ways to make your, mm, dining habits unpleasant." She said in a quite sarcastic voice.
"Ah, Drayek. Good to see you're back to normal. I was simply checking to make sure everything in here is in top condition since I haven't seen you in a few days. Perfectly legitimate excuse." He replied in a rather calm voice.
"Mhmm, reading my books while you are at it. You and Seryas have quite the fixation on my studies. Perhaps I should wake you up now, mm?" She said, crossing her arms. He smirked, she seemed to have gone back to normal. Fortunately, he was on her good side. The worst she would do would be to wake him up so he'd stay out of her hair. Perhaps she would let him read her books sometime in the future...