BR 2019 Book Submission 1

Sun's Height 5

They said they wanted someone hardy and experienced. They said it'd pay well. They said they'd pay the moment I get back. They also said that, uncharacteristically for these academics, "high risk gives high pay".

Don't think they really talked to me as a scholar. Can't blame them. Got interested in Oblivion during the Crisis and decided to swap my sword for a staff and quill halfway through. Been traveling those places for nearly ten years now.

They told me the objective was The Scuttling Void, the realm of Namira. No wonder. High risk and high pay indeed. Namira... the one place I've been avoiding. Heard people back in the army talk about that place - people fresh off the battlefield, who had glimpsed Namira through the brief moments when the Gate opened. Never understood their description: not that they were wild, but that they were incoherent. Everything after the words "I remember the time when I was before the Gate to Namira" was shattered with sobs, heaves, and moans. Learned to focus on their nose to avoid their eyes while still maintaining respect, but no use: could still see the fear that gushed out of their eyes.

Soldiers like those were always taken off the frontline after a while. Today, some of them can still be found screaming in an asylum in Cyrodiil. The special place reserved for the special personnels.

See their faces whenever I think of going to Namira, but this time, they couldn't hold me back.

Sun's Height 11

Found time to write at last.

Set off with provisions from the college: hard-to-perish food, water, a sword, bandages, and potions. These were packed to the horse, Cecil. Carried personally only my staff, my quill, ink, and journal. Also wore a four-layered mask, fragrant herbs stuffed between each layer, just like during the War, when we collected bodies. Heard about the stench of The Scuttling Void, and gotta be prepared. Always close to faint from the scent when I first put it on, and still had to rip it off to vomit when I first arrived in the Void. The herbs' fragrance to the pungent stench here is a drop of dye to the sea.

Also had a vial of water hanging around my neck. The college infused it with light from the altar of Meridia. It'll keep me safe here.

Arrived at the edge of the Scuttling Void on 6th through the portal. Namira was not a place for the living. Blood-crimson sky, candle-like sun, and those clouds trying to suffocate the land: had to drop down on the spot, to vomit from the stench as well as to ease up my mind. This was too much like the battlefield, but also paled it. Thought I heard screams but not sure if they were of agony from someone in the distance or from my own recollections of the Crisis.

Laid low until 7th, and pushed on. Could tell Cecil didn't like it here. Never seen a horse shuffle and snort so much, walking head so low that I could slide off his neck. The field was bare but in a short distance was the shadows of a forest, and further away was the silhouette of a mountain, its peak looking oddly cylindrical. Wonder what's there, so headed that way. Had to stop too frequently to retch. Forcing down jerkies all the time. Cecil refused to eat the grass when we could find some, and had to force him as well.

Reached the forest on 8th. Definitely not glad: not just the stench hit me like a solid wall but it was also a forest of flesh. Trees had human bodies as trunks, all stuck together, growing into each other, mutilated faces of agony melded in chests and breasts and crotches, and limbs of various sizes and colors stuck out of the mash of flesh as branches. Everything was red with blood and green with goo and yellow with pus. Thought it was like the body pit back in the war, where we burned the dead. Was proven wrong when a pair of lips opened to issue a moan. Took out my amulet vial for protection, and the flesh trees around me groaned in unison at the light. Couldn't understand what they were trying to say.

Came across a creature on 9th. Looked like human or a mer, but resemble the Blighted I saw from history books. Some were bloated while others were dry like Nord draugrs. All were covered with blisters and blood, and limped slowly, mindless. They couldn't get close to me, not with my vial out. Cecil tried to urge me on whenever he sense one nearby. Horses are amazing animals.

Managed to keep Cecil steady today when one of those Blighted figures was in sight, and proved that the whispers of the Cult of Namira was true. Saw the figure limped from tree to tree, and plucked fingers off the branches like plucking fruits. Hid myself and Cecil with Invisibility spells as it got closer, and saw that its mouth was full of sharp teeth, yellowed and blackened, bits of flesh and bone stuck in between. There was no tongue. Behind the teeth was nothing - the Scuttling Void within the creatures of the Void itself. Watched in horror as the creature plunged a blistered arm into the wide tree next to me. It ripped the tree apart in seconds, tore and devoured the scattered organs, and limped on as it came, all the while ignoring the screeches and screams of the tree. The bodies that form the trunk really do seem have grown together. Tried my best not to scream and break my spell. Still giddy when drawing their diagrams.

Resting under a stretch of bones right now. Been vomiting fewer times now, too. Either I got used to the stench or I got nothing more in my stomach. Cecil the horse is holding up a little better than I am. We both ate little, because of the stench and also of what we saw two days ago, which has become more frequent as we push deeper into the forest.

Sun's Height 27

Saw a Khajiit, or rather, his soul, transforming into a Dro-m'Athra. The sight was unbearable. Not that they are horrid to look at - it was the writhing and the pain. The Khajiit erupted into fire as it happened, tongues of blue flames snaked along his chest, up to his neck and reaching for his face. He was twiching rythmatically, perhaps to the Heart of Lorkhan, and shrieked in pain. Tried to help before remembering where I was. Fighting Dro-m'Athra on Namira is useless. There's nowhere to banish them to.

Hearthfire 2

Made it out of the forest. Thank the vial of Meridia for Cecil and my life. Before me is a barren wasteland, and beyond that is the mountain I saw when I first set foot in Namira. The curious peak is now clear to discern: a massive tower. Incomplete, but still massive, its spiked top piercing the heavy bloody clouds. Think I'll go there. Meridia will protect us.

Frostfall 17

Thought the Oblivion Crisis was harsh and gory, but that was before I set foot in the Scuttling Void... Didn't see cannibalism in the Crisis; didn't see man or mer or beast torn apart alive; didn't see the living hang from trees and get flesh bit off by others. Saw them all in the Scuttling Void. Saw people moaning from illness back home, but am seeing people moaning from bodily decay here. Battlefields could be splattered with blood and guts but here one lives around gore and blood, and if one's willing, lives off of them. Think the war toughened me up? Think again.

Evening Star 8

My birthday. Was attacked by Dro-m'Athra and their pet Blighted creatures, and was flung off Cecil. Landed some distance away and they caught up with the horse fast. Backed off only when I pulled out my vial. Summoned a blizzard to fend them off but could only manage the wind. The dry and desolate Scuttling Void could not afford the luxury of snow. When the wind died, those beasts and monsters were blow away... along with Cecil. Half of my journal was also gone: ripped either from my fall or my spell.

First Seed 22

It should be spring on Nirn, but the weather changed little here. Surprised that I made it through the winter, with food gone after the attack three months ago. Had to resort to near-cannibalism, but does eating Khajiits and Dro-m'Athras count? The mountain with the tower was close at hand. Should be able to reach it by next week. Not sure what I'll find, but may my light of Meridia protect me.

First Seed 31

The original contract with the college never had a specific timeframe. All they said was to return when appropriate. Maybe right now is the time. Or maybe after I finish exploring the tower. Its gate is only steps away.

Rain's Hand 1

My vial shattered the moment I stepped into the tower, and its light shimmered and died the moment the water seeped into the bricks. All I have now is my staff, my knowledge of magic, and my experience from the Oblivion Crisis.