Chapter 644 - Envy
A/n: 13 Early Access Chapters on P4treon and MORE! ➡️ https://linktr.ee/donovel ⬅️
——————————
(A/N: Double Chapters for my Lovely Readers!)
The Living shall always fear the Dead.
Potema knew the meaning of those words and through her desire for power, she understood the way Humanity works too early in her early life as the Imperial Princess of the Cyrodilic Empire.
Excellence, that's a word that barely gave her justice. She was just supreme. A wild talent. A storm. An Empress to be.
Sadly she was reduced to a Queen in the far northern barren Solitude. If that wasn't a plain exile then they wouldn't have sent her to a place with such a name.
Well, she was evil. A tiny flaw in her personality that will only cause the bloodiest civil war in the history of the Empire and scar it for generations to come.
But as said, she knew how humanity works. She knew how to control them and bring them to their knees.
Her method as she described it was "The Duality of Hope and Fear."
Sadly, there is no single term to sum Hope and Fear together since the language sees them as completely separate things, but in Potema's book, that was called "Power".
Argue as you may but Hope and Fear are two sides of the same coin that is held above all people by those who have Power. Argue that Hope is Good and Fear is Evil but then think about this, False Hope and Rational Fear, what are they?
Potema had those answers figured out before she reached 10 so it isn't of her concern if others would share opinions with her.
By 14, she was already the Queen of Solitude and wife to the elderly King Mantiarco who gave the (back-then) Kingdom of Solitude to her total control. She was already a powerful magic caster which hindered her ability to produce an heir until the age of 30. Her grandfather Emperor Uriel Septim II was dead by that time so she named her son after him and had high ambitions that her offspring would one day sit on the Ruby Throne.
As her father Pelagius II was the Emperor by then, he faced opposition to his rule and was assassinated by the Elder Council to open the door for Potema's elder brother, Antiochus, to be the Emperor. History remembers Antiochus as the most scandalous Emperor and the history books are nearly pornographic in their depictions of life at the Imperial court during the years of his reign. Potema, whose passion was for power, not fornication, was beyond rage every time she visited the Imperial City.
After 13 years, Potema would raise her son Uriel to rise in the stead of his dead father and whispered to his ears her ambitions of the Ruby Throne. On the other hand, the Emperor and the Empress were so engrossed in fornication that the only recognized heir to the Imperial Throne was Princess Kintyra whose lineage was doubted as the child of the Empress and the Captain of the Imperial Guards at best if not the boy who cleans the cistern, according to Potema herself in her iconic speech in front of the Elder Council.
She of course killed her brother before that speech and systematically assassinated all those who dared to call themselves of his blood. If any, Potema was an extreme fanatic of the purity of the Dragon Blood as she tried to prove that hers is the last true Dragon Blood which leaves her son as the most suitable heir to the Ruby Throne.
Of course this wasn't completely true since she had two younger brothers Cephorus and Magnus Septim who were more suitable than her son Uriel but had less support overall. Despite her efforts, however, Kintyra Septim II was declared Empress.
It was then when the civil war broke out, the infamous War of the Red Diamond. Potema and her son Uriel lured Empress Kintyra II out of Cyrodiil into High Rock as the Empress' Breton allies betrayed her and locked her in a castle while her armies were slain east and west.
Empress Kintyra died at some point and the Imperial City was finally opened to Potema and her son Uriel who became Emperor Uriel Septim III. As for Kintyra, her death was most tragic but she had no grave so no one rallies under her name ever again, however, the date is confirmed to be the Day of Broken Diamonds.
As for Potema, she enjoyed the position of the Empress Mother. Despite that, the War of the Red Diamond never came to an end as the most unlikely participants were the ones to persist, Cephorus and Magnus Septim who were supporting Empress Kintyra II.
For years, the War of the Red Diamond kept going until Potema was 61 years of age but she still led the army of the Empire herself and chased the rebels across Tamriel.
At that time, Cephorus Septim had an army in Hammerfell and Magnus Septim had an army in Skyrim. Potema returned to Skyrim and fought Magnus Septim until she cornered him but during the battle that her son Emperor Uriel Septim III, who was supposed to be fighting the army of Cephorus Septim in Hammerfell, was defeated and captured by the enemy.
Potema descended into rage and led the final assault against Magnus Septim and defeated him in order to return to Cyrodiil but what she received was the news that the Emperor was killed by the angry citizens of the Imperial City as they lit the carriage that transported him ablaze on the way to his trial.
It was at this moment when Potema couldn't contain her madness and started employing all the Dark Arts she knew in order to root out the new Emperor Cephorus Septim I whose declaration as the Emperor enraged Potema to no end.
She summoned daedra to fight for her, had her necromancers resurrect her fallen enemies as undead warriors, and mounted attack after attack on the forces of Emperor Cephorus I. Her allies began leaving her as her madness grew, and her only companions were the zombies and skeletons she had amassed over the years. The kingdom of Solitude became a land of death. Stories of the ancient Wolf Queen being waited on by rotting skeletal chambermaids and holding war plans with vampiric generals terrified her subjects.
At the age of 90, Solitude was besieged and Potema proved impossible to kill since she became something that was no longer a human by that time. To end her, the Battlemages of the Empire weakened her enough to be able to put a seal on her body and separate it from her soul before sealing the body under the depth of Solitude and the Soul in the coldness of the mountains.
While she lived, she had been the Granddaughter of Emperor Uriel Septim II, Daughter of Emperor Pelagius Septim II, Aunt of the Empress Kintyra Septim II, Mother of Emperor Uriel III, and Sister of the Emperor Antiochus and Emperor Cephorus. After her death, the new Emperor was Magnus Septim and his son became Pelagius the Mad, also an Emperor.
In other words, every member of her goddamn family has an emperor from her forefathers to her brothers, son, and even her niece, but Potema herself died a provincial queen. How would that make you feel… Potema?
*SCREECH*
Sigh! Those undead just don't have any form of pleasantries. You break into their catacombs and they just come running at you without acting surprised.
If I ever walk up from a slumber, in such a cold day, this energetic, I'd have conquered the world by now.
Those Septims are just built different, man.
While I was in my hasty exploration in the catacombs of Queen Potema under Solitude, I had to go through the "Biography of the Wolf Queen by Katar Eriphanes" one last time to see how the ancient Queen reacts.
It wasn't a good reaction, I say. To sum it up, the moment I stepped into these catacombs, the Ghost of Wolf Queen Potema was already whispering all sorts of nonsense into my ears. Something like…
{You've arrived at last. The hero who prevented me from being bound returns to my fold.}
And…
{I have much to thank you for, little one. When you die I will raise you and you can take your place by my side. You'll serve me soon enough.}
And…
{Not much further. Come, little thing. Serve me in death.}
"Bitch, I'm married. Have some decency." That was my final reaction before taking out the biography book and starting trash-talking Potema with its content.
It's safe to say that she didn't appreciate it, especially that last part about everyone in her family being an Emperor or an Empress of some sort except for her.
She's not liking it at all, goddamn! Those undead really bite bad. Well, I can at least see the ghost of the old bitch in the final Boss Room.
{You've come far, insolent mortal, but can you stand against my inner council? Let's see!}
This oval room had a lot of Draugr, the type that makes you feel bad for taking down since they can be considered historical discoveries but those walking historical discoveries are greatly unappreciated in this world.
This legion of undead was probably Potema's council and the Necromancers who led her army of Daedra and Undead. The Ghost of the Wolf Queen herself was floating in the middle of this chamber gathering power for her resurrection. Still, she offered this power quite generously to the nearest Draugr council member in order to raise them.
"I appreciate the welcoming." I couldn't help but try my best to sound humble and upright.
{Kill him.} Yet she was this rude.
"Alright, I came here with a proposition, Queen Potema." I said as I bashed the head of that Draugr with the biography book, "If you surrender to me, I'll make sure your remains aren't sacrificed to Arkay."
Yet she raised another Draugr. How rude!
"I guess the term Sour Bitch includes crazy she-wolves too." I had to bash the head of the other undead while taking a closer look at the Ghost.
The Ego of Queen Potema was indeed active and displayed a very masterful manipulation of Magicka and Soul. She was reforming her Astral Body once again from bone to skin.
I remember trying to reform an Astral Body a few times. The process was maddening. The best I could do was to copy an organ from another organ at that moment when Alina and I healed Jullanar's eye.
"Truly admirable…" I really wanted to watch and learn but "Pride, keep those sons of bitches from biting me, please."
Now to focus on what we have in hand. A dangerous Necromancer with a political agenda and a claim to the Ruby Throne trying to resurrect herself while there are Dragons and a Dragon Cult attacking Solitude up there.
"Alright. Modern problems require modern solutions."
I cracked my knuckles, my neck, and my back to be ready for this one. I needed power and concentration in order to complete the ritual of Resurrecting the Wolf Queen successfully.
And here it comes.
***
Jon floated with his Astral Self into the influx of energy surrounding the Ghost of the Wolf Queen. This battle required all of Jon's fragments to be on standby.
Pride managed to get rid of all Undead in the catacombs by blasting through them while flying around before returning to be on standby beside Jon and channel its energy to the main body.
Greed and Nefertiti were already on standby beside the Blue Palace. Greed surrounded Nefertiti and her body as the two of them synced with Jon and channeled their energy.
Wrath was in the middle of a fight in the city and despite being a big pile of undead bones, it was famously known as the Undead Familiar used by Jon Dare so no one complained about it. Still, the Bone Colossus stopped mid-fight, aimed its blade down, and went on standby as well.
Lust was possessing Mirren by that time and making him look like the Dragonborn. Lust's final form, Venus, separated itself from Mirren who returned to his usual form while he was riding Xikil. He was being chased in the sky by the angry Dragon Priest when that happened and the Dragon Priest couldn't fathom what was going on.
Finally, Gluttony was greatly damaged when it used parts of itself to replace Jon's damaged organs and so Jon put it on slumber since Gluttony is an insurance policy.
In the energy influx, Queen Potema felt that her spell was being invaded by a skilled Wizard and no matter who she tried to shake off the control of the other wizard, he was overpowering her with multiple egos at once.
As their Astral Forms collided, Potema's form that was corrupted by Dark Daedric Energy met Jon's Golden Draconic Soul. Bit by bit, Jon's power devastated all the Daedric Seals which kept Potema's soul active for those many years by letting his energy flow through her.
{What… What are you doing? KNOW YOUR PLACE! I am not… yours… to… control…}
Surrounded by such a huge amount of Magicka, the Ghost of Queen Potema was akin to a person standing in the eye of the storm. She lost control of all this energy to Jon and her Daedric Essence was dispelled meaning that her Astral Body can't longer exist in the Mortal Realm without a Mortal Body.
{You think I will submit?} Potema asked with clear vexation as she had no way to control anything in this tornado of Magicka and so Jon attacked her Astral Body with his palm sending a large load of his energy in her.
That felt wrong for some reason but he still did it.
The Ghost of Queen Potema was blasted outside the Magicka stream and Jon's Astral Body returned to his Physical Body. Potema managed to control some Magicka and put a Necromantic seal on herself so her soul didn't just pass to the afterlife but as she did, she noticed that there was a seal that had been established by Jon's own soul power.
{That…}
It is unfathomable if a human used their Soul directly for any magical purpose since it can greatly affect their lifespan but that was way too absurd still.
"Catch her!"
It was then that Jon laid his trap. As the seal inside her resonated with his Soul Power. From the depth of his soul, Four astral Fire Wyrms rushed out and caught Potema's astral body by biting her four limbs and disabling her from using any magic.
{No! Worthless mortal worm! Who do you think you are? I won't be trapped like this forever! Once my minions get their hands on you, they will peel the skin of your face…}
Jon walked into the last sealing chamber where the Ghost of the Queen was held by his Fire Wyrms and he watched as she was lifted up to the ceiling while cursing and raging at him.
"You're so untamable, aren't you?" Jon said as he looked up to her then down to the ancient throne she had, "That's your seat of power?"
Jon walked up to the old stone throne and found a skull lying on top of it. The skull had a beautiful crown-like ornament with a blue clear gem fixed on its front.
"Hmph!" Jon laughed before coating his hands with arcane energy and carefully holding up the skull, "This is what binds here. Your skull and a soul gem on top of it. Smart!"
He held the skull from its sides and linked his energy with the soul gem. Watching how he moved the head around, the head of the Ghost moved exactly as he moved the skull. It also stopped cursing at him and watched him with fear and worry.
"If the legend is true, your father and mother killed a Demonic Werewolf and trapped its soul in a Soul Gem and made it into an ornament. After that, you were born and your Grandfather was recorded to have said that you have the eyes of a she-wolf ready to jump her prey… ah! Don't mind me, I'm just rambling."
{Who are you?} It was then when Potema showed actual curiosity regarding him.
"Jon Dare, a big fan." He replied.
{You wish to see power, Jon Dare? You covet it? You want to reach beyond what a mortal man can?} Asked the Ghost of the Wolf Queen.
"Ain't we all?" Jon replied.
{But you, in particular, are more ambitious than even me in my prime. I can see it, I can feel it. You seek power to the point that your body is more magic than flesh. Truly remarkable.}
"That so?"
{Yes. And the talent, yours is beyond any mortal I've seen.}
"Thank you. It took me quite a while to cultivate it."
{But with your talent, I can turn you into the greatest mage that ever lived. I can…}
"Divayth Fyr is the greatest mage that ever lived. He's my Great Grandmaster."
{Oh…}
"Do you have any offers left before we proceed?"
Jon laughed as Potema's offers were already nothing compared to what he has.
{I hid many artifacts…}
"Pass!"
{The Imperial Throne…}
"Hard Pass!"
{Damn Mortal! You think you can play me as you want! I'll feast on your soul.}
"I applaud your patience." Jon sat on Potema's throne amidst her undying rage and held up her skull, "And your teeth too, those pearls look very fine after hundreds of years. Damn, you're a psychopath for sure."
Jon had his fun and it was time to go serious. He took out a small silver knife and aimed it at the skull.
Potema was greatly in discomfort but she wasn't one to beg for her life.
Jon started muttering words one after another and carefully carved a few runes on the sides of the skull. They were not composed of usual Magical Script or Daedric, they were Drovahzol, Dragon Runes.
Jon uttered the letters and the words as he completed a few lines to lay the foundation to his curse.
{What are you doing?} Potema asked.
"Do you know what a Lich is?" Jon replied and Potema didn't ask anymore.
"Well, it is not exactly a Lich either." Jon continued to amuse himself while working.
He then took out his personal mask, Krilon, and positioned it above the skull. With his fingers, he heated up the mask until the enchantment on it broke from the heat and the ebony mask started to redden. It was then that Jon put the mask on the skull and let them fuse together.
"Pride, assemble one." Jon ordered his staff and it started to roam through the catacombs gathering bones and body parts from the Draugr. Knowing the picky nature of Pride, it would only bring the best parts.
The spell used was a normal assembly spell for an undead creature but the carefully picked parts were refined and remade by Pride as if every bone were printed by a master sculptor.
{Your staff is possessed!} The Wolf Queen said.
"My Pride and Joy." Jon replied which caused Pride to fly around and act haughtily.
{What game are you playing?}
"The Power Game."
Jon stood on the throne and reached the assembled undead lying on the ground. Per Jon's instructions, it was headless and had a hole in its chest. Jon installed a strange device in the hole and fixed it well before taking out a grim-looking object from the cube.
A Heart Stone.
"Back in Solstheim. I met that 200 years old Imperial who achieved some sort of Pseudo-Life by transplanting a stone like this in place of his heart. I picked the best one I could find, filled with power from the Heart of Lorkhan."
{The Heart of Lorkhan?}
"Wolf Queen, as I said, I am a big fan. I only brought you the best of the best."
Jon then put the skull on top of the headless Skeleton and made sure it fused. He then moved his hand over the Skeleton and an ancient Nord robe with a wolf head mantle covered the skeleton. It covered the shoulders area then the middle of the chest area while moving down to the torso and ending just a little bit below with segmented steel.
To an educated eye, this is a Dragon Priest attire.
"Please." Jon ordered the four Fire Wyrms to bring down the Astral Body of the Wolf Queen and position it on top of the Skeleton.
The Queen made her dissatisfaction clear with a ton of curses and insults. Her features were still incomplete as she didn't finish reconstructing her Astral Body fully but if Jon was to guess her appearance, it would be a Tsaesci-like face from how twisted it got with anger.
{You think you can control me or turn me into a Lich? Divayth Fyr taught you nothing? Dream on, you moronic idiot! Dream on! At least do some research if you were this excellent of a Wizard. I am of the Dragon Blood, you think that a Soul like mine will submit to the spell of a lowlife mortal? Just you wait for me to get out of this and rip your throat out."
Potema spared no insult and displayed her anger as Jon passively looked at her. He made sure her Astral Body was right on top of the Body he created and then he went down on one knee and called out three items that made Potema go silent in a second.
On his hand appeared the gauntlet Wraithguard, on Wraithguard appeared the hammer Sunder, and on his other hand appeared the dagger Keening. The three legendary Tools of Kagrenac.
"Told you, best of the best, just for you." Jon smiled and smote down the Fire Wyrm over the right arm.
"Life fades with hate."
Then the left arm.
"Gold dims with monopoly."
Then the right leg.
"Joy dies with misery."
Then the left leg.
"Beauty rots with jealousy."
When Jon smote every Fyre Wyrm, which were the product of his soul power as a Dragonborn, the Fire Wyrms fused themselves into the artificial body while maintaining control over the Ghost of Queen Potema while shining brightly in a pattern.
Each time, the Ghost would wither in pain but Potema was prideful and didn't break even with her four astral limbs sealed in the body.
Jon replaced Sunder with Keening then with the side of its blade, he pushed Potema's Ghost down into the body and kept it there. Only her head remained out of the body in a final act of defiance.
"There is no point resisting." Jon said.
{YOU WILL NEVER BREAK THE DRAGONESS!} Potema didn't even consider his advice.
"I see you are obsessed with the Dragon Blood as every fool of you, Septims." Jon said, "The only Dragons that were Septim were old Tiber Septim and young Martin Septim. You didn't even possess the true Dovahsos, Dragon Blood."
{HOW DARE… URGK!}
Jon's Tyrant Aura defied logic and clutched over the face of the ghost. Without even the help of the dagger Keening, Jon pressed Potema's head into the Skull and made a cut on his hand.
Slowly, Jon gathered a bit of blood on his palm and the blood crystallized with his magic. In a few seconds, the blood turned into a small bead of bright blood and hovered above Jon's hand as slowly, Jon brought it above the Heart Stone.
The Blood and the Heart Stone touched and as if they're made of the same thing all along, the blood disappeared in it.
*BA-DUM*
*BA-DUM*
*BA-BA-DUBA-DUM*
The Astral Body of the Wolf Queen and the Undead Body created by Jon fused together marvelously.
Dust and dead ashes started to flow from everywhere in the catacomb to complete the body of Potema.
Jon then chanted the ritual for his spell. The more he chants and the more words he utters, red cracks would grow from the Heart Stone carrying Jon's blood to every part of that body. The body started to shake as pain and screams were the first things ever known by it.
"Life fades with hate. Gold dims with monopoly. Joy dies with misery. Beauty rots with jealousy. For all succumb to Envy… and Envy walks away empty-handed, despised, and empty. By you, I free myself from Envy."
The dust and the ash started to come together and reforge a body on the Skeleton of Potema just exactly like how it did with the Ash Spawns of Solstheim. The only difference is that this body was extremely refined fitting the specs of Potema's Astral Body.
As the ash and the dust settled, a motionless body was left on the ground with a face made of engraved ebony and ash and dust for its flesh. The red cracks faded away and only the Heart Stone glowed faintly along with the four golden Fire Wyrms imprinted on the arm.
The body showed no signs of moving and remained like that for a few seconds before its opening with a burst of crimson aura. Jon merely raised two fingers up and the body floated as he commanded with its legs, arms, and head dangling loose.
As the body was fixed midair, consciousness kicked in and all the red cracks glowed once before fading again. Jon let loose of the body and it descended to stand on its feet with perfect balance.
The power of the blood of Jon Dare ran through every crack of that body acting as energy channels and the Heart Stone acted as a core. The stone remained glowing as all the cracks faded and the body looked up.
The body is that of an undead but it was conscious and had a very unique and strong ego. It clenched its fist and remembered the long distant feeling of a Physical Body. But most importantly, it felt a power that was extremely familiar yet far superior to whatever it was like before.
Dragon Power…
Dragon Blood…
Pure Dragon Soul and Blood.
Potema recognized it all and subconsciously put her fist above the Heart Stone and looked meaningfully at Jon before greeting him.
"Your Imperial Majesty."
——————————
[Envy] <Dragonborn Priestess>
- Death Queen
- Dread of Solitude
- Wolf Queen Potema (Ego)
——————————
A/n: 13 Early Access Chapters on P4treon and MORE! ➡️ https://linktr.ee/donovel ⬅️