Azura, why do you hold me here? Enchained and enslaved when you’ve already let me die once? You reincarnated me. You let my few friends see me die before their eyes, unable to do anything, then returned me again, only to be grabbed by this evil and held back in darkness? Have you left me or saved me? What use is there for me now? I have counted the days and the nights, it’s been nearly a year.

Has Arcyakt been banished or did my friends fail the task and are now lost forever?
I’ve been praying for you to give me a sign, an answer to confirm if you’ve abandoned me or not. If there is still need for Arezt Colerion or is my faith vain folly? Did I fail? Did I fail to do my task by getting captured by this evil, held as a slave?

Why do I still believe you are there, watching over me, listening to me and that you will answer me when I haven’t seen or heard any sign at all?

My head leaned forward, there was no more strength to keep it up anymore. The sand beneath my eyes got all dark and wet, as my tears one by one merged from the corner of my eye and made their way slowly down my chin before gravity pulled them down against the sand, pulled down as I’d been. Held from the one task that granted me to feel this bloody sand, the task that granted me life. It had been so many years since I first met Serene and Jonacin in Cyrodiil, that was where a good friendship started but it wasn’t the start of my tale of how I ended up with this life; The Tale of Arco.

It was only two decades before that I had walked Tamriel for a century. I did the one thing I never thought I could possibly do, not even in despair, anger, pain and misery. But those were exactly the reasons that made me swing my scimitar around, only to take the heads of Azura’s priests, and to watch them roll down from the altar, sending male and female blood upon the walls and into the smallest cracks in the stone tiles. Nine bodies lay around me that dawn, followers of Azura. Killed by two blades cutting through their veins, flesh and cloth, killed by a dunmer, killed... by me. Remembering the moments that followed has always made me want to crawl into a corner and shed tears. It is one of the few things that still brings forth my emotions.

Azura made me walk out of there, only to come back several decades later to offer a deal that I couldn’t say no too. I’ve never quite understood what happened to me that moment as she appeared in front of me, offering me the choice: to be her puppet or be doomed to face the same destiny as the priests and priestess’ I slaughtered. What was so special in my life that made me say yes to that? A question I doubt I will ever manage to answer.

My hands reached out to one of the few objects in this prison, a mug filled with water. My fingers slowly reached around it before grabbing it gently, I was nearly shaking. Feeling the rather warm water in my mouth, on my tongue before making its way down my throat was one of the few things I could feel in this room that was actually pleasant. A feeling that wasn’t that pleasant was the heavy steel bracers around my wrists and the weight of the long chains bolted hard to the stone wall behind me. I had never in my life felt a bigger need for magic, even when I was dying from the claymore wounds in the mountains between Cyrodiil and Morrowind. Unlocking the lock, walking out of here, unleashing death upon those who enchained me here before grabbing the black, curved hilts of my scimitars and seeing the sun again, instead of a small beam of light on the sand. That’s something I could manage with only the smallest knowledge about magic. Once, back many decades before, I knew some ancient spells that had been carried down the centuries within my family, but it’s all lost now, it’s still within me but I doubt it will reappear. Too long it’s been since I practiced the arts of illusion spells and arcane magic.

The days were harder now, the feeling of being trapped was greater than ever and made its toll on my body. Not being able to move freely was a terrible burden. But within these negative feelings something was growing. I had this feeling that my time here would soon be over. Was I just raising my hopes, only to be smashed even harder down? Or was it an opportunity for a escape coming? The thoughts wouldn’t leave my head as I sat there, drawing the symbol for Azura in the sand for some reason. It was then, as I looked at the symbol, that it was like I left myself. Was like a sudden bright light lit up the room before turning all black. My vision blurred and I felt nothing but dizzy, it was all black and I could hear a wind surrounding me, feel the sand whip against my flesh. Out of the darkness came a figure of a dunmer. I could feel this divine presence as if she was here. As the outlines of the woman brightened I could see who it was – it was one I had seen before, someone I currently thought of with hatred, but there she was, in all her pride – Azura

‘Your time has come, Arezt Colerion’

The metallic and sharp voice echoed through my mind. As Azura stood there, hovering over the ground in my mind, I couldn’t even think until she started fading away, like a mist in the darkness.

I opened my eyes moments later, seeing the mug in the sand, with the water pouring out. I felt this divine presence surrounding me. I suddenly heard a clash, I saw it before I could feel it, the bracers had been unlocked and had fallen off my wrists. My hands dropped to the sand as I sat there motionless.

The voice was the one I heard a year ago, the voice I heard when I died and suddenly stood where I once had killed the followers of Azura, where I met her. The voice echoed through my head as everything else stood still. What was happening?

The thoughts left my head moments later, leaving only one- to get the hell out of here. I rose slowly to my feet, my knees had gotten so weak. It was painful, no wonder when I hadn’t moved more than a couple of inches while spending my time here. I moved my feet while struggling to hold my balance, but it soon came back as I stood there and realized that I was free from the chains. I had the chance to escape from this place.

I walked forward through the room to the large wooden door. The feeling of escape grew rapidly through my body, like panic. I sprinted forward and knocked the door open with my shoulder. The sound of the door lock breaking, the sound of the wooden door swinging around, was the sound of hope.

My eyes darted to my left and right as the door slammed into the stone wall in the corridor.
To my left, further down the arched corridor, I noticed another door; I could see wavering light coming through the cracks of the woodwork, there was a candle or fireplace in there. I pushed my back up against the wall and moved slowly toward the door. The feeling that I was hunting for something was came to me again.

I looked through the tiny keyhole. Inside I could see a dunmer, leaning back in his chair, his back to the door. I rubbed my hands, concerned at the thought of killing the dunmer, but my feral instinctskicked in. Adrenaline started pumping into my veins again. There was a need to kill within me, a return of the instincts that had made me such a great warrior.

Without a sound I opened the unlocked door and crept in, closing upon the dunmer. On the table in front of him I could suddenly see them, my dearest possessions. My scimitars, the scimitars I had taken from my family tomb, the Colerion Scimitars. Forged from daedric and ebony materials, they had a nearly diamond edge on the blades, curved blades that could cut through whatever was in their path. The candle flame that reflected on the blades revealed the gleaming lights of the enchantment on the blades. One possessed a powerful frost enchantment, the other was enchanted with fire. As the blades tasted blood, the enchantments would be clearer, you would actually see live flames burning within one blade and ice crystals in the other. I stood there for a moment totally lost in the past, remembering when I had last handled the scimitars. I had never felt anything to compare to the feeling of holding my blades and hearing themswing through the air and slice into flesh.

The curved black hilts screamed my name as I approached the dunmer.

I stopped breathing in the few feet before I got up close, so he couldn’t hear my breath or feel it. My hands then shot forward, reaching for his neck, a strong arm locked around his throat before another quick move twisted his head all the way around. There was no scream at all- he only fell backwards motionless. I quickly grabbed the dunmer by the shoulder and caught the chair, guiding them slowly down to the floor without making a sound.

I noticed the rest of my equipment on the table as well. I sprinted back to the door and looked out, scanning the corridor, checking that no one had heard anything before closing the door and donning my equipment quickly.

I leaned over the dead dunmer and looked down at him with all of my equipment on, the scimitars sheathed on each hip. My cloak rested around me and my armor was strapped tight onto my body.

Arco had yet again emerged from the shadows. But it would be different now, it felt different as I looked into the eyes of the dead dunmer. I was actually feeling something after I had killed him. I turned away from the dead body. I rubbed my face with my hands violently before shaking my head and focusing on the voice of Azura.

Am I free to go? Or does something lie ahead?

I stood there with my eyes closed for a long moment, in deep thought. It struck me that I now had the chance to kill myself, to leave this place and forget all about it. But it would be a coward’s way out. Or was I yet again experiencing the unknown feeling that I actually lived well and my life had a meaning? Images of the path came rushing in to my mind, the images of lying outside a house in Cyrodiil after fighting the demons from Oblivion, to see Celina, Jonacin and Serene coming to me. Hearing the voice of Serene as I was dying in the cave, hearing it all over again, when she came as I was dying, trying her best to heal me but there was no use. Did I have a meaning to them back then?

I just hoped they were still alive.

I barricaded the thoughts out for a moment, there was no time for them now, I had to get out.

I rushed out of the room. My instincts and abilities hadn’t left me even though I moved more like an old man when I made my way through the corridor, dodging past the guards unnoticed.

I opened the last door, to encounterthe sun shining down on me. I had to bring my arm up and block the sun as I scouted the place for any guards but there was no one to see. I stepped out into the heat of the sun, seeing nothing but dry stone desert in every direction. I had to be north of the Red Mountain, in-between West Gash and the Grazelands, in the Ashlands. The heat was starting to take its toll on my endurance already, since I hadn’t worn armor and full equipment for a long time and even though it was dawn, it was already hot.

Without food and water I wouldn’t make it to any of the villages like Khuul or Tel Vos. Urshilaku Camp was the only place I could reach without being completely drained of my strength. I nearly tumbled down the stairs before I stepped onto the stone surface. Everything was a reddish color as the sun came over the horizon and I headed north.

The silhouette of an encampment appeared over the small hill as I seemed to be dragging myself forward in the heat and dust of the Ashlands. My face was covered in dirt and sand. I continued making my way torward the shapes of the tents. My strength drained faster and faster, and I wanted to take off my armor. But I was too exhausted to do even that. My vision started wavering and got blurry before I fell over hard and the all too common blackness clouded my vision.

Interesting, very interesting. I should really read AMU someday. As for now, it is a solid piece of work.

Ahh Fuzzy......wonderful story, it brings back a lot of good memories....It´s very well written, vivid descriptions of Arco and how he feels about different things..

I´ll be waiting eagerly to read more of this.......very good job here!

Vivid inner termoil throughout this first post here. I really enjoyed it. I definately see Arco as a person. Keep them coming!

Great stuff here Fuzzy, great to see a flashback of AMU.

Fuzzy.............. Shiz.

Glad to help out- hope I preserved the essential "Fuzziness" I enjoyed reading the first of what I hope will be many installments- you really manage to show Arco's inner conflict and confusion without losing the reader.

Getting tangled up with the gods is usually a bad thing.

Oh geez Fuzzy...I love this, its really good material....please when you have finished writing the story, give it out as a book....it would be so popular...I have faith in you.

Love it, love the aspect, the details, everything, and I like the tought of you writing again, please dont make it long for next updadte will you

Sorry to those who have awaited an update, since it's been days now, but at the moment I'm not feeling so well

I've written some though - so I'll try to update as soon as I feel a bit better...

Don't worry about it. We'll be patient. As for now, I hope you'll feel better soon.