[Encanto] 19 – Azura, Daedric Prince of Dusk and Dawn

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As I took flight toward the mountains south of Winterhold, I continued thinking of the Et'Ada, the Aedra, and the Daedra involved with the creation of Mundus. 

The only reason why the Aedra were considered more...God-like instead of Demonic like the Deadric was because the Aedra gave off portions of themselves to Lorkhan, who facilitated the creation of Mundus following Magnus's design. The Deadra, on the other hand, remained in full power compared to the Aedra, as they refused to give any of themselves away.

Magnus, the very Et'Ada who, with his followers, fled Mundus upon realizing the cost of Mundus's creation and the many Et'Ada who would need to sacrifice their power. So, they fled into the Atherius, leaving behind the very stars in the sky and Nirn's Sun. These tears allowed Magicka to leak out into Mundus and into both the Oblivion and Nirn. For that very reason, Magnus is known as the God of Magic. 

As for Lorkhan's deceit, he was 'dealt with' by the other Et'Ada. 

As I flew from the western end of the mountain range towards the east end, I constantly spammed an overcharged [Sense Ore] and marked whatever ore deposits I detected. I realized there was a good possibility that the Et'Ada I wanted to see wouldn't even reveal themselves, but if she did, what if she proved to be a threat? Could I even escape such a God-like being? 

Pushing that thought back, I reviewed my findings and continued my flight.

I already found several rather extensive deposits of iron and coal and several small deposits of Gold, Silver, and Corundum. I also identified several naturally forming caves, one infested with Falmar. In contrast, the others had natural predators such as Ice Wolves, Ice Wraiths, Bears, SaberCats, and other creatures that most men would rather not tangle with.

More than likely, one of the caves would lead to Blackreach, an underground cavern once inhabited by the  Dwemer, essentially Dwarves that loved Steam, Autonoma, and Tonal Magic. However, it would likely be the Falmar cave, as the Snow Elves were turned into blind slaves by the Dwemer and eventually became the Falmer we now know to attack people from their caves in the dead of night with their potent venoms fashioned from bugs and their Chaurus, which were essentially dog-like walking centipedes that had a venom powerful enough to kill most men with a single bite, and of course, these Chaurus could grow to become Chaurus Repears, gaining the ability to fly with their insect-like wings they obtain after the metamorphosis along with even more rigid carapace and mantis-like claws that could shred through metal easily.

I kept note of the Falmar cave for later exploration and passed by Alftad, the dwemer ruin that I knew led to Blackreach. 

Before long, I did reach the Statue of Azura, at the summit of the mountain overlooking the valley and passageway that led to Winterhold.

Then, to my surprise, I noticed what looked to be an entire encampment surrounding the base of the statue and its altar. 

Taking a deeper look, I was surprised to find that the camp and its many fires were occupied mostly by Khajiit and Dark Elves.

Touching down at the center of the camp, I immediately caught the attention of quite a few of the camp's inhabitants, and an alarm was quickly raised. I looked at them all, feeling my senses spread to sense the Magicka in the air and feel out each and every one of them.

I numbered them at fourteen, with over half being Dark Elves and only a few Khajiit, a few of which were even Mages if the flame bolts appearing in some of their hands were any indicator.

"Hold!" An older Dark Elf woman in blue robes stepped forward past the crowd.

She examined me keenly, "Azura was not excepting you...Stranger, why do you intrude upon her domain?" 

"I come seeking to make a...deal," I spoke calmly upon recognizing Aranea Ienith, the very Dark Elf you'd have to talk to to begin The Black Star Quest and obtain Azura's Star.

Aranea's eyes seemed to lose their focus before moving back to me.

"Come, she shall hear your...proposal," the woman turned around and waved to follow.

Raising an eyebrow at how easy such a thing was, I followed behind, watching the crowd around me part to form an opening.

She walked past several tents, leading me to the stone altar covered in colorful mountain flowers. 

She kneeled before the altar, spreading her arms before the statue as she prayed reverently.

Much to my surprise, I felt the Magicka within the air stir around the woman and the statue.

Watching with interest, I stopped in my tracks when I felt a tether extend from the statue into the woman, who suddenly froze.

"She is ready for you. Place your hand upon the Altar," the woman instructed me.

"She does realize that sounds incredibly dangerous, right?" I asked the Priest of Azura.

"She understands your worry and assures you it is unfounded. You have been invited as a guest, and therefore, you will be under guest rights and shall not come to harm. Azura awaits, but it is best not to keep her waiting much longer," the Priest warned me.

Sighing, I flared my Magicka around me, forming a sort of ward against magic and the elements, before reaching out and kneeling before the altar. Reaching out, my hand touched the Altar and I immediately felt an overwhelming pressure surround  my body and  soul, and in the next moment, I was ten thousand feet in the air with a stunningly beautiful woman before me.

She took the form of a Dark Elf, featuring smooth grey skin, piercing red eyes, a curvy figure to die for, and a long purple gown that hugged her figure tightly.

"I'm jealous," I stated immediately after my examination.

That made the Deadric Prince before me quirk their eyebrow.

"Speak, lost soul. Why have you saught me out?" She spoke out, her eyes seemingly staring through me.

"Lost soul?" I asked, suspicious of how much she knew.

"You are not of this realm nor from any of the realms within Oblvion; where do you originate, mortal?" She commanded, her gaze examining me.

"I'd rather not say," I spoke pointedly to the God-like being before me.

She was clearly not amused and had a gaze that promised she'd find out.

"Speak, why have you sought me out, mortal?" Azura commanded after several moments of our staredown.

Smiling with victory at the annoyed Goddess, I spoke, "I heard from a little birdie that an ugly mage stole a particular artifact associated with you so they could gain a form of immortality, and I just so happened to hear that you need someone to get said artifact back."

 Her eyes narrowed at me.

"Soooo," I drew out, "I wanted to make a deal. I will retrieve the artifact and cleanse it of the mage's influences, and in return, I'd like to use it for a few years."

"You wish to use my Star?" Azura questioned, clarifying what artifact I spoke of.

"Correct!" I answered with a thumbs up and a smile before continuing, "In exchange, I will do something for you."

She stared at me pointedly, her gaze not hiding her annoyance towards my confidence, "You may seek out my artifact and use it for your purposes for five years. In exchange, you must establish a refuge for my followers in Skyrim and build a shrine in my honor."

Surprised, I looked at her. "That's pretty reasonable, sure. If everything goes according to plan, I can do that before the five years are even up. However, I will need more details on your shrine. For example, do you wish for a shrine like the one for Talos in Whiterun? Do you wish for a temple like the one for Dibella in Markarth? I need details." 

If anything, I noticed a gleam in Azura's eyes at my agreement, as if she was excited to begin hashing out details.

God damn it...I should have just agreed and not asked for details...at least then, I could have just agreed and built a small shrine.