Returning Home
I, Valaeria Vitalia, finally returned to my home city for the first time in a long time. The entrance used proved to be the very one I managed to escape through with my life. It’s possible that my slim chance of escape occurred due to my mentor and leader, Marcus, being captured not far behind me. He turned my life and many others around to fight the oppression that built up after daedra worship was legalized. In the end we failed. Now it is only due to three other forces tearing Cyrodiil apart that we even have a way back into a city totally ravished by the minions of Molag Bal.
Due to my flight having taken me to Skyrim, where I lived for over a year or even two, I entered into the sewer base controlled by the Ebonhart Pact. It isn’t a large place, but well organized with the needs of the fighting forces. Every new person was asked to go on scouting missions in order to know the six districts of the city. I pretty much knew them, but what had the destruction of the daedra done to the place since I left? It sure wasn’t a city of life and vibrancy. It was far from that for years before I ran for my life. So many people missed the slow spiral into this dilemma until it was too late.
The one place that held out a semblance of tranquility the longest was the Arboretum. I loved going there to walk through the park. Social rank did not matter much other than making sure to stay out of a noble or well-to-do merchant’s path, especially as a street urchin. Now it is a book burning frenzy. Piles of books are piled around with some on fire. Daedra and loyalist Imperials who think this rule under Molag Bal worship is worth it sort through the books for something. Everything that is found unworthy and against the regime is burned. You can sneak up to an area in the center where soul shriven, apparently citizens sapped of their souls, mindlessly throw books in the largest fire.
I had no issues killing any of the daedra or Imperials siding with them. Any dent I could make was better than doing nothing at all. I actually managed to secure the items and take out my targets for my scouting mission. The thing that annoyed me most was members of the other factions deciding I should also be a target. I did not bother targeting them unless I had to. I was here for a greater purpose and that was to free my city from Molag Bal. I did not have time and never will for the petty greed and glory each alliance thinks they can get if they are the ones to liberate the city. However, they won’t be liberating anything if they spend more time fighting each other than the greater threat of the daedra.
In the end, I don’t think we’ll be much better off even if we do liberate the city. The minds of men turn to selfish and evil ideas regardless of what some think. It is not our nature to be good. We need a moral compass greater than ourselves to stay the right course. I’m not sure where that is. Even so called good daedric princes do things for their own desires and not for the greater good. Well, they may try to convince us it is for the greater good. I’ll keep looking for the truth because it is out there and at a source greater than even a daedric prince. Sure we mortals think they are gods, but that’s only because they have more power and are immortal. Other than that, I don’t think we are at all different in how we think and want to follow our desires.
But philosophy aside, what my return to the city has boiled down to is nothing but fighting. One foe falls and another replaces him. The alliances at times will team up on a target, but then fall into a rabble killing each other once the target is killed. Worse one alliance will attract the attention of a powerful daedra and drag them into a group of an enemy alliance in hopes the beast helps to kill them. It makes one think it is utterly pointless and not worth the time liberating this place. Let it rot! However, I’m not a quitter and this sludge of amoral beliefs and destruction should not be allowed to spread. Then again, Nirn has Molag Bal and other dark daedric prince worshippers all over the place. It makes me wonder if the Eight can do anything against this. I believe in them but have little faith of what they can even do now.
A clean up of the Imperial City, once a beacon of the empire and beyond, is not going to fix this world. The root of the problem goes right back to our selfish nature. We think we can treat others like animals just because they are different. Look at how the Dunmer do this by slavery and the Altmer have people that do this by oppression and trying to break them of their so called lesser beliefs. That is only two examples, but all the races have their own way of putting down the different and wanting their own utopian ideas to come forth.
I really need to go kill some worthless daedra just to see if that might help where this dark truth is leading. There is some greater light and truth somewhere and I will find it! Until then I’ll do my best not to fall for most of the fallacies people put forth as the truth. Fallacies that have not bettered mortals, but only put them in places where the amoral seem like the righteous. They raise up civilizations that supposedly lead to a better life, but where is it? You show me a place where life is truly lived the way it is meant to be: without oppression, with moral righteousness and selflessness. If that place exists I might actually believe mortals and even immortals can learn to be better people. I bet when I find it some power far exceeding these, something greater than anything else will be behind it. It won’t be some crazy mortal or daedra prince, I tell ya.
I was going to write more of my adventures in the city, but to tell you the truth, it is a grueling war. There is nothing to glorify here and nothing to find glory in. All we are doing is killing each other for some prize that probably will tarnish with time. You can come here yourself and let me know if you think otherwise. I doubt you will, after you have truly spent a good month here seeing if you can put a dent in the evil.
About the Author
Althea "Briseadh" Damgaard
Senior Editor
Althea joined Gaiscioch back in October of 2009 and has been here ever since with only a few month hiatus between Warhammer and Rift. As soon as she knew they were in Rift, she jumped ship to Faeblight and has followed them onward through every chapter since with a few side games thrown in for spice.
She has been an avid player of RPG style games since 1980 when she first played Dungeons and Dragons. Since then she has created her own tabletop gaming world used with various rule sets as D&D progressed. Once she could get online she played MUDs. Her MMO days started with Everquest and have moved through over a dozen games with some lasting only a month's time in her life and others going for years. She has tested several games from the perspective of a disabled gamer with hand issues due to her multiple sclerosis.
When not writing about or playing games, she can be found writing novels, reading and doing various art projects. She also writes items based on her faith and is working on publishing a novel. She also does editing for a gaming developer.
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