Chapter Text
Kilkreath’s pizza was a hub on campus, not only was the location convenient, but it was a locally owned business that accepted dining septims. On top of that it was actually really good pizza.
Varen insisted on paying for everyone after what both Draco and Raz did for his family. The group sat down and waited for their order to be ready.
“If I lived in Dragon Bridge dorms, I would eat here everyday.” Draco laughed, “but apparently weird lights from nearby always wake people up.”
“So why are we at a pizza place?” Raz asked.
“To eat pizza.” Draco shrugged, “you guys aren’t living off of Chillfurrow dining hall.”
“It’s not the pizza I want, even though I do want pizza.” Vesta smiled, “it’s the statue outside, I told you, we need to talk to her.”
“Right taking statues.” Raz tapped on the table in disbelief.
“Worse case scenario, Vesta is wrong and we get pizza.” Draco said.
“But I’m not wrong, even if she doesn’t talk it means she either can’t or doesn’t want to.”
“Don’t princes like offerings?” Lyris asked, “That's what I’ve heard, I know the hero’s don’t, but princes and gods do.”
Vesta facepalmed, “of course! What was I thinking of forgetting to offer something to her!”
“Does she like pizza?” Draco asked.
“I don’t actually think princes need food, or well Sanguine drinks, but I think that’s just for fun.”
“So what do you want to offer this statue?” Raz asked, still in disbelief.
“I don’t know! Hopefully my presence as her champion will be enough.” Vesta frowned.
“So I’m going to order fries with my dining septums.” Draco said, “anyone want some?”
None of them responded and Draco muttered an okay under his breath. The cashier took his order and he waited next to Varen who was standing near a bench.
“Do you need help carrying anything?” Draco asked.
“That would be most appreciated. Lyris said she would help and I have no doubt she would, but I also know that she missed her sister dearly.”
“They seem close.” Draco turned around and watched Raz laugh at some sort of joke that was made.
“They are, from the moment they met Lyris has been protective of her, and was under a great deal of stress when she disappeared.”
“And you?”
“What about me?” Varen asked.
“You took both of them in, and had no idea Vesta was being hunted by the man who killed her parents. You didn’t seem to search as hard as Lyris.”
“I don’t fear him, and neither does Vesta, she’s a brave soul, I knew she would escape from his clutches, besides, my eyesight has failed me, I’m but an old man now.”
“How did you know she would escape?”
“Because I know my daughter, she has escaped from him once, she did it again.”
“Do you think they let her escape?” Draco watched the cooks in the back take a pizza out of the oven.
“”I have no doubt.” Varen whispered, “they must have wanted her to escape, perhaps it was simply arrogance or his next scheme.”
“Either way this man needs to be stopped.”
“It’s not so much him I’m worried about.” Varen tapped his walking staff and made his way towards the pickup area as his number was called.
“Then who are you worried about?”
“I cannot say, only the gods know the dangers that lurk beyond what we cannot see.”
Draco raised an eyebrow but before he could respond his order of fries was called. Varen lifted the tray of food up to bring to the table and Draco grabbed the second tray and his fries.
“You know something.” he muttered, “what aren’t you telling us?”
Once back at the table Varen gave a small smile before sitting down next to Lyris, “perhaps you should begin eating, we wouldn’t want you to go hungry would we?”
Draco didn’t respond but picked up his individual pizza, he was the only one who wanted white pizza, and after a small argument with Varen he finally gave up and let the old man pay for his meal.
“Anyone want to try a fry?” He asked and got no response. Draco shrugged and opened the fries container, but to his surprise the only thing there was what he assumed was some kind of weird looking kitchen utensil he’s never seen.
“What even!” Draco pulled it out and showed it to the table, “what is this?”
“A NEW HAND TOUCHES THE BEACON!”
“The Hell!”
“What?” Lyris asked as if she didn’t hear the screaming lady.
“LISTEN HEAR AND OBEY!”
“No! Why would I obey a talking orb!”
Vesta dropped her pizza and watched Draco with wide eyes, “talking orb? Tell me more!”
“A FOUL DARKNESS HAS-“
“Shut up lady!”
“Lady?” Vesta notes, “Merida! That’s it! It’s a sign! We need to go to the statue! Come on!”
Vesta jumped out of her seat and didn’t even wait for everyone before leaving. Lyris was the first to follow while Varen stayed at the table with the food.
Raz raised his eyebrow as he walked besides Draco following the other two who were almost at the door.
Once outside Draco walked up the steps towards the statue who was holding a pizza box in her large hands.
“Now what?” Draco asked.
“Give her the orb thingy.” Vesta smiled.
“Okay lady of pizza I present to you the screaming thing in my French fries.” Draco placed it by the statue's feet and stepped back.
“Oh, be nice!” Vesta rolled her eyes, “she’s a prince not a mortal, they demand respect.”
“She’s holding a pizza box.” Raz pointed out, “how can we respect a decoration?”
“I have an idea.” Lyris picked up the weird orb thing and held it for a few seconds, “sorry Vesta for not being respectful.” She said and then threw it, knocking the pizza box out of the statue's hands.
LYRIS!” Vesta growled, “do you have any idea what you just-“
“Uh guys.” Draco pointed to where the orb thing was hovering above the hands of the statue.
“Mortals, hear my words, you have returned my beacon, but your task is not finished yet.”
“Did the talking statue just talk to us?” Raz gaped.
“Lady Meridia?” Vesta bowed her head.
“I thought you hate someone with that name.” Lyris was puzzled.
“I do, she betrayed my trust and used me for her own gain.” Vesta looked up at the statue, “and yet..”
“We have no choice.” Draco finished for her.
“It isn’t a matter of betraying, mortal, our goals overlapped, I provided you a sanctuary within Coldharbour and your army marched fourth to attack the stonefire. A trivial concept that mortals cannot understand, and yet question those far superior than them about motives.”
“Honestly you sound like an asshole.” Draco said.
“You prayed to my shrine for help and yet you call me such names? You mortals never learn.”
“Who are you?” Raz asked.
“You stand before a shrine to the lady of light, ruler of the Colored Rooms, I am the daedric prince Meridia, and you mortal stand between my champions.”
Draco glanced at Raz and noted that he was in between him and Vesta. Lyris was behind Vesta, so the champion couldn’t be her. It only made sense if it was Vesta, but the statue was plural.
“Me?” Draco asked.
“Indeed mortal, you found and returned my beacon, for that I grant you Dawnbreaker, my artifact that you will use to wipe out foul creatures from the light, wield it in my name.”
“Why not give it to Vesta?”
“The mortal may be my champion, but I cannot grant her more power unless her soul is purified from the filth in which it lays.”
“You can’t actually purify me, I’m too valuable to your plan.” Vesta said tapping her foot. “Even if you could, I’m dead, and you are offended by the dead.”
Draco blinked his eyes several times, “what? How can anyone be offended by the dead?”
“Undead, I despite creatures such as vampires and draugr that plague your little mortal realm. You aren’t fully dead, at least not yet.”
“So she’s going to die?” Draco asked.
“All mortals die, but this is not why you are here. I have little interest in discussing the mortal lifecycle. You have come for guidance, you seek me to help shine a light on your situation.”
“Exactly talking statue.” Raz said. “Does you talking mean that Vesta was right the whole time?”
“Duh.” Vesta crossed her arms. “The only question is how and why we lost our memories and what is happening on Tamriel.”
“Nirn fused with Oblivion, Stonefire and Mehrunes Dagon won, but only for a moment. They refused to agree on what parts of Nirn they each claim, this gave enough time for you mortals as well as other princes such as myself to tear the mortal realm out of Oblivion.”
“Can you speak in a language we understand?” Lyris was lost.
“I think she is.” Draco realized, “Magic is fucking real!”
“No, not anymore.” Vesta said sadly, “There must have been a cost to pulling Nirn from the realm, wasn’t there.”
“Indeed mortal, mages harvest magic from both within them and Nirn itself, but in order to stop the scheme they ultimately drained Nirn’s magic.”
“Then how am I still here? My body isn’t natural.”
“There is one branch of magicka that doesn’t require an outside force, when a soul is untuned from Mundus, that branch becomes extraordinary powerful, for a mortal.”
“This magic talk is harder than my studies.” Draco raised an eyebrow.
“And yet, you were once skilled at magic, mortals forget so easily.”
“You haven’t told us how to stop them yet?” Vesta asked, “and don’t give us some riddle, you want them stopped and we are more than willing, we need a clue.”
“Stonefire never learns from his mistakes, you simply must do the same ritual you did moments before his near defeat.”
“I don’t follow.”
“Same.” Draco uttered, “didn’t Vesta ask for no riddles?”
“I must confer with the other princes who seek to preserve their worshippers on Nirn, you mortals, should begin the ritual at once.”
“I still don’t understand.” Draco shook his head, “are you still there?”
“The taking statue will be fine, if she doesn’t want to talk she doesn’t want to talk.” Raz said.
“You don’t happen to know any soul magic do you Draco?” Vesta asked tapping her foot.
“No, why would I?”
“Because it’s our only magical weapon we have! Swords are like sticks against the princes.”
“She mentioned a ritual, no?” Raz said. “The talking statue seemed to think you know what this ritual is.”
“I don’t. I mean, I might, but my memories get hazy at a certain point.”
“Well your the only one of us who actually seems to know what is going on.” Draco pointed out.
“I know! Which is why all of this is just messed up! For so long my only wish was for Lyris and everyone to just trust me! And now that you do- I.” Vesta paused, “I don’t know what to do.”
“Do you think there’s anyone who might know?” Lyris asked.
“Tharn might, but even then, he’s well you know Tharn.”
Draco narrowed his eyes, “If this involves Tharn no thank you I’m out.”
“What?”
“I hate that guy.”
“Guy?” Raz asked, “isn’t Tharn a girl.”
“The heck? He’s a man.” Draco crossed his arms.
“Now I’m confused.” Vesta said, “Abe Tharn is his name, Lyris and I visited him a month or so ago.”
“We don’t need his help.” Lyris huffed.
“How many Tharn’s are there?” Draco asked.
“To many.” Raz shook his head, “I thought she meant Clivia.”
“Doesn’t matter how many are in the family, Abe Tharn is the only important one now.” Vesta said.
“We are not talking to him.” Lyris growled, “that’s final.”
Draco watched as she walked back down the steps and into the pizza place. Vesta shoved past Raz and went after her.
Before Draco followed, a small light from the statue caught his eye. Raz began to leave, but Draco walked towards the feet of the statue where a sword lay.
“This is Dawnbreaker?” He asked, the statue didn’t respond but the sword seemed to glow as if responding for it.
The light seemed to create a path towards some kind of wall where the pizza sign rested upon. Gently Draco lifted the sign up and began to read.
stone commemorates brave Thjodrek who died heroically in battle of Serpent Sea.
“Meridia lady person? What does this even mean?” Draco raised his voice to the sky tilting his head at the statue. After no response he turned back only to see the words were in a language he had never seen.
Grah, battle.
Air, battle, something.
“Gods, Vesta really was right.” Draco uttered looking at the word wall, “I can actually learn from the weird dragon language here.”