Within metres I could feel the closeness of the air and the way that the vegetation hemmed in around me. there was no choice but to follow the path as to attempt to do otherwise would have required one to cut and hack their way through and potentially get themselves lost within metres of leaving the path. Birdcalls followed me every step of the way, echoing up in the dawn chorus as thin beams of sunlight speared through gaps in the canopy. It was quiet, tranquil and calm despite the steadily increasing beat of my heart.
Reaching the portion of the path where it snaked away to the right, I paused for a moment and turned to look back at the entrance and Avita only to find that behind me the path had utterly vanished. It simply stopped within two metres at my back as though it had never existed and I found myself suddenly covered in a cold sweat.
"Okay... That's a little concerning." I muttered to myself, moving closer to the portion where the path I had travelled had been only seconds before, pressing my fingers into a tree wide enough that I couldn't put my arms around it. There was no sign of the clearing, of Avita or anything around me but the empty path that continued deeper into the forest.
Magicka swirled in the air around me, intangible and undefinable but I found myself remembering back to the night where I had met and assisted the Rangers. The way they had called upon the spriggans to claim the corrupted artefacts of Graithlan had the same ethereal quality to it as the forest I found myself in and I couldn't help but shiver. There was no malign influence in the forest but I still found myself with my hand resting idly on Sunchild's hilt as I proceeded onwards, casting suspicious glances at the closest trees as the sensation of movement tugged at my vision.
For several long minutes I continued through the track. Sometimes I was forced to shimmy my way through sideways where thick branches and vines as thick as my arm barred my way. Despite the urge to do so I didn't draw Sunchild to ease my passage but rather wormed my way through the thickening vegetation. I was strangely calm, both my normal instincts of surviving and hunting in the wilds and my vampiric senses assuring me that I was not in danger. Birds sung in the trees, woodland creatures small enough to move about in the thick greenery scattered and scampered about at my intrusion but it was so peaceful that I could clearly hear my own breathing and the way that my chainmail, daedroth scale shirt and leather creaked and rubbed together as I moved.
There was no way for me to tell how long I limped and stumbled my way down the path, as I was certain that not only hours had passed but the sun had also somehow reversed its course several times while also not moving in the slightest. Several times I shook my head with frustration and the tingling that grew with every step, while at the same time marvelling at how crisp and pure the air appeared. Several times a fluttering would be heard in the canopy or within the foliage only a few meters away, leaving a rustling or a small tumble of twigs and leaves to fall before even my enhanced senses could pinpoint their source. There was no sense of danger though, even when the path suddenly turned a corner and I found myself stepping into a clearing large enough to contain a Legion fort.
The clearing itself was completely at odds to the rest of the surrounding forest. Where the surrounding vegetation was so thick that one could not travel through it without the aid of wings or by hacking their way through a metre at a time the clearing was completely devoid of all trees and shrubs. The lush grass rose only ankle height and far above me the skies were clear and pristine, a handful of clouds scattered about and promising a fine day to come.
Only the collection of moss-covered rocks in the direct centre filled the otherwise empty expanse. They were enormous boulders, seeming carved from the living ground and being slowly pried apart by the questing roots of a massive oak tree. If it was possible through magicka or through brute labour the rocks could have been carved to house a sizable family, and the tree itself capping them rose into the sky and would have taken me and a dozen others to be able to wrap their arms around the base.
It was quiet other than the cries of the forest birds watching my progress with some amusement from their perches. There was some strange feel to the clearing, almost as though Akatosh had simply forgotten to apply the laws of time to this place as it had a strange unearthly feel to it all. It was only when I started moving about the clearing, muttering to myself each time my leg flared with pain I realised what was truly wrong with the clearing.
It was being affected by all four seasons at the same time.
The ground underfoot was lush and green and in full springtime bloom but and the oak tree was mostly leafless except where they had turned the incredible golden-browns of autumn. The air itself was warm and comforting, with the smell of ripening wheat and storms building on the horizon as though summer had just arrived but on the side furthest from side that I had entered was covered in a thick layer of snow that was well over ankle deep.
"Of course it just has to be magicka..." My sigh was the loudest sound in the clearing until something metallic clinked on the armoured plate covering the toe of my boot. So drawn to the strangeness of the boulders and the other side of the clearing where the snow stopped as though cut with a knife, I had failed to notice that the grass I was walking through was littered with objects.
The particular object I had inadvertently kicked was an old rusted helm, horribly crushed and bent almost to the point of being unrecognisable. As I knelt down to inspect it and pull it from where the rains had been washing it into the earth I saw how it had been once a full helm of considerable make, but the entire faceplate had been crushed with even more effectiveness than a war hammer.
Nor was it alone. Within metres of where I painfully knelt there were dozens pieces of armour, tattered clothing and weapons and all in similar states of decay and ruin. Many were almost totally consumed by rust, nearly all were broken in some manner and a tingle of unease rolled up my spine as I realised just how many there were.
Swords where shattered and crushed into the soft black soil, shields had been splintered by blows of incredible force, spears and javelins bent and armoured breastplates torn asunder. All wore marks of combat I had only seen once in the snows of Vvardenfell where a squad of Legionaries had come face to face with a werewolf. Far too many of the items still lay attached to, or close to their owners. White bones poked out through the ground where they had been fallen and had been picked clean by scavengers and vermin. Clothing had rotted into the ground and their bodies had merely ensured that the ground had been richly fertilised. There were so many that I couldn't even begin to count the number who had died in my vicinity. Some were not even whole, as I could clearly see the skeletal remains of an armoured warrior laying on its back about six metres away from where its legs lay in their rusted chainmail.
I felt the footfalls before I saw what they belonged to, the ground shuddering under the weight and making the impacts travel up my legs into my gut. Cautiously I rose from my crouch, looking about and watching as a bear wandered around from the snow covered portion of the clearing.
"You have got to be kidding me."
It was enormous, having the appearance of a brown furred bear if not for the sheer overwhelming size. I had seen several of the creatures during the past months within Cyrodiil and had heard stories of the larger ones that roamed the wilds of Cyrodiil and Skyrim. This one was much larger than even the tallest of tales spoken in inns and taverns. Each leg alone was thicker than my shoulders, and it was even taller than me despite being on all fours. Most bears I had seen or heard of, while they could stand on their rear legs and tower over men and mer alike were at most three quarters of my height at the shoulder. They also would've only weight a fraction of the creature in front of me that would have easily weighed close to two tonnes.
My growing sense of trepidation continued to grow and my vampiric side was just as uneasy as I was. Even the Minotaur Titan of Nonungalo paled in comparison to such a creature and it moved with an almost lazy pace as it plodded about the clearing. If it wasn't so overwhelming large and heavier than a fully grown minotaur titan I would have thought that it was merely going for a carefree stroll.
The bear padded forward on its trunk like limbs, casually strolling across its domain without any fear or concern. There was no doubt in my mind that this creature was the cause for the ankle deep death that I stood in the middle of, especially as I caught glimpses of the enormous scars and injuries that it had sustained. One eye had been plucked from its skull, an eye that would have fit in the palm of my hand like an oversized apple and for the moment at least it couldn't see me from the side I was standing on.
Smelling me was a different matter and its snuffling and ambling stroll stopped in mid stride as it caught my scent. Within a second it knew that I was there and I watched with growing horror as it turned to face me, growling a deep and menacing sound the reverberated through the ground and up my legs with its intensity.
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With a bellowing roar, it rose up high onto its rear legs, upper paws waving in the air as it shook the very earth and sky with its challenge. The sheer volume was enough to punch into my chest and make me stagger backwards from the intensity and even when fully lost to my curse, my daedric roars would have been like the mewling of a kitten to the creature. Every bird within earshot took flight and I would have been surprised if there had been any lesser creatures remaining in the vicinity of such a roar. It was the pure representation of nature itself in all its fury and strength, and despite my vampiric nature I suddenly felt extremely small and insignificant.
The way it rose on its hindquarters allowed me to see the mess of scars and injuries that covered its stomach and torso. The scarring was so thick and intensive that entire portions of its body were completely lacking in fur. Blades and axes had been chopped into its flesh, arrowheads and crossbow bolts had sunk deep under the skin where they remained trapped under the skin and pinched and twisted with every undulating motion that ran through its body. Spears had been snapped off and incredulously I could see where a Legionary's pilum had punched deep before the bronze length between the wooden shaft and iron tip had bent and snapped away. Even if I had encountered such a creature outside such an enchanted place it would have been impossible to ignore the fact that it was no ordinary beast.
With a shudder that was sent rolling through the earth the bear dropped heavily to all fours once more and began to charge. For several seconds that seemed to last an age I was stuck rooted to the ground, my instincts taking over and preparing myself for what was to come. My face twisted into a vampiric smile as it leant its aid and allowed me to prepare and ignore the pain in my wounds before bounding out of the creature's way with a surge of speed that seemed to leave it shocked and bewildered. With vampiric grace I rolled across the soft soil, my hand pressing into the ground for balance while ensuring that I did not cut myself open on any of the discarded blades or torn edges of metal littering the clearing.
Frustrated, and angry at my sudden movement, the bear seemed to roll to the side and change the direction of its charge with an agility that belied its enormous bulk. For a creature of such size it was absurdly quick and agile, as I soon discovered as I dodged and weaved several wild swings of paws that could crush me into paste, armour and all. The wind off its paws was as strong as a tropical cyclone, and I was almost knocked aside under each one.
My mind was racing, especially as I rolled in the direction of its blinded side to get out of the way of its enormous tower shield sized paws. Each of its claws were almost as long as Sunchild but it was as I came up from my roll that I saw the incredible sight of a rusted javelin sticking out of the base of its skull before it twisted and continued to come after me. There was no possible way that the steel tip wasn't trapped within the confines of its skull and spearing its brain. It should have been completely and utterly dead but I would have bet all of Viconia's and my collective wealth on the fact that the owner of the javelin's remains was somewhere nearby.
This was no a test of arms as it initially appeared and I continued to use my vampirism to shift, duck and weave my way around blows that left the ground quaking with their overwhelming power. Several times I shifted into mist before the creature learned of that particular trick of mine and began alternatingly inhaling deeply and attempting to roar my mist form apart. Its intelligence, coupled with the fact that it was clearly impossible to kill left me wracking my brain for possible answers.
Centuries of adventurers, heroes and the greatest warriors to have lived had tried and failed to kill something that clearly could not be killed. it was not some animal they could slay and instead I found myself thinking desperately of Avita's words before I had entered the forest. Unlike the bear I was quickly beginning to tire, my hip and leg screaming in agony even with my vampirism forcing me through the pain.
"Fear and respect Nature and all her creations." I laughed bitterly to myself, rolling across the ground and almost causing the creature to trip over itself in its attempts to follow my vampiric agility. "Pretty fucking hard not to be afraid of something like this!"
Something seemed to click in my mind as I again had to roll out of the way of an earth shattering blow of a paw larger than my entire torso. Every single other person who had entered had immediately tried to fight the creature, but how many of them didn't? My suspicion was that none had tried anything else as it was suicidal.
My leg gave out from under me and the scream of agony almost matched the bear's as I hobbled, ducked a wild blow of a paw before exploding into a swarm of bats and putting some distance between myself and the monstrosity. It was quick to attack and could build up momentum but it was not fast by any measure. I used the distance that I put managed to gain between us to grin at the creature with a mouthful of fangs as I drew Sunchild for the first time.
At the sound of metal on leather, the beast suddenly hunched down lower and growled with its ears pulled back against its furred skull. It's one good eye focussed on the gleaming metal edge of Sunchild gripped tightly in my right hand for a moment before exploding into a sudden and violent surge of motion even more shocking than its attempts to kill me before. Its roars shook the very earth at my feet and sent tremors through my body with their incredible power but this time I did not make to move out of its path. Instead, after a second's hesitation I threw Sunchild point first into the soil off to my side where it speared into the soil, purposely disarming myself and closing my eyes in anticipation.
For a second I feared that I had made a terrible mistake, but even as it crossed the dozen metres between us with frightening speed I felt the ground shudder and suddenly it fell silent. There were no more trampling impacts through the ground, no more snarling or bellowing roars but instead I could hear and feel its breathing instead.
When my eyes opened I found myself looking up at a bear that outweighed me twenty times over, hunched down on all fours and yet still tall enough to look down on me. Dodging and fleeing from it had not truly allowed me to understand its sheer size or primal strength, but finding myself close enough to lead forward slightly and touch it with my face left me uncomfortably aware of how dangerous it was. Especially how its drooling maw, speckled with froth from its exertions was almost large enough to bite down and swallow me without the requirement of chewing first.
"I would kneel," I said, trying and failing to ignore the way my face was tight and writhing with changes as the vampire struggled for control "but a ghostly knight saw fit to hamstring me last week."
A snort splattered me with drool and bits of mucous and I tried not to gag at the stench of rotting meat on its breath. If it decided to bite down, there would have been no chance to avoid it but I stood as still as the stones and oak in the centre of the clearing. Carefully it sniffed, shifting its head and staring at me with its remaining eye, an eye gleaming with predatory intensity that seemed to be daring me to move or to run or do something to force it into action once again.
For several long moments were stared at one another, eye to eye and with barely any space separating us. It was so close I could feel its body heat and sense the strange tingling feeling of otherworldly powers from the bear's proximity. Like a castle gatehouse, its jaws opened wide and despite the new surge of adrenaline that coursed through me it did nothing more than yawn and turn away.
I watched without a single twitching muscle as it casually strolled away, its footsteps trembling through the earth as it moved to the other side of the clearing and sat down as heavy as an avalanche. Some part of me broke out in an enormous smile not only at the fact that I had somehow managed to survive something that thousands of others hadn't, but also the way that the two tonne creature suddenly began rolling in the grass like a cub.
The trial was completed, and the sensation of eyes upon me grew even stronger as I realised that the bear and I were no longer the only creatures within the clearing. Humanoid shapes grew from the trees and soil around me and the grass lengthened and grew entire seasons in mere moments, coiling together like masses of snakes and forming limbs, torsos and heads. From the trees, creepers and vines others coiled into existence as the forest truly began to walk and move closer. Lights flickered and danced from the towering canopy and began swirling into the clearing around the spriggans as they pried themselves from nature's grasp and moved towards me.
There were no sounds from spriggans and nothing more than a strange chiming sound from the dancing will-o-wisps as they surged around the central oak. They, like the immortal bear were representations of nature's power and by extension of Kynareth herself. The entire situation was so similar to the night in Anvil County with the Ranger that I couldn't help but shiver at the hints of the raw power that had been revealed to me.
The oak itself groaned, its leaves rustling and blooming into shimmering rolls of colour as new growth erupted along branches before they turned into their golden and red hues. Sinuously the entire tree shifted and writhed, branches sliding and wrapping around each other to form arms and the upper portions melded together to form an obviously feminine face. The golden leaves flowed and rippled down the enormous spriggan matron's body like waist length hair and the face alone was as large as what I was. Unlike the other dozens of smaller spriggans surrounding me and it, legs did not form and it instead remained firmly rooted to the piled boulders, its 'stomach' as such merging into the rock mound.
Like uncoiled snakes the root system twisted and tore their way to the surface, squirming about and twisting the rocks under them with incredible power. A few quick glances about allowed me to see that all of the other spriggans swaying in time with one another, the will-o-wisps churning through the air around the towering spriggan's roots and lending it their power. The bounders shuddered and groaned, almost refusing to be budged but slowly they were separated and showed what they had contained for millennia.
On a tiny altar, raised slightly above the ground in a natural cleft within the very heart of the mound lay the Boots of the Crusader. Just like the other relics they were perfect and despite the cascades of earth and stone as their prison had been pulled apart around them not a single clump of dirt marred their polished surfaces. For moment I gazed across their pure forms, looking down over the interlocking plates protecting the ankles from harm, and the sharply pointed ends in front of the toes that looked sharp enough to draw blood. They were engraved with murals of trees and animals, and were works of art just as much as what they were forms of protection.
Another thought reached my mind as the spriggans all turned to face me, and a true dawning horror left my soul cold as the grave and my body shaking.
"Viconia is going to kill me..."
