Day Seventy-two: Fields of Kummu
I completed the pilgrimage today. The shrine stands in a beautiful area along the north shore of Lake Amaya. One of the local farm products is muck, harvested from the muck sponges along the shore. Though it does not look very appealing, and the name is certainly not appetizing, it is a staple and properly prepared adds to many dishes. Since the harvest that Vivec assisted Kummu with was the muck harvest it was appropriate to leave an offering of muck at the base of the shrine. The blessing of the shrine left me feeling lightened of my burdens all day. My return trip to Ald-ruhn was completed with a bouncing step.
Tuls Valen welcomed me back at the temple. "The pilgrimage has served you well Arvil Bren. The blessing of Vivec eases your burdens, and the virtue of humility enfolds you. You have learned well." I told him about the Daedric shrine, and my experiences in the Foyada Mamaca. He says I will have to pass that ruin on my pilgrimage to the Ghostfence Shrine, and suggested that it would be a service to other pilgrims if I sent the Daedric guardians back to their own planes. While vengeance is not a virtue, in this case it may serve a purpose.
My next pilgrimage is to the Shrine of Stop the Moon. Sheogorath of the bad Daedra, in battle with Lord Vivec, hurled the moon Baar Dau from its orbit to crush Vivec's palace. Vivec stopped the moon in its fall, and it hovers still over the city it would have destroyed, serving the Ordinators as the Ministry of Truth, the temple prison. I must journey to the shrine and offer a potion of levitation in honor of this feat. My new learned humility is already under test. I will walk to Vivec from Ald-ruhn, without consideration that had I taken on this quest from the Temple in the High Fane of Vivec the pilgrimage would be nothing more than walking outside to the shrine.
As I was about to leave the temple Tuls Valen stopped me. He didn't use magica or grab me, but his words rooted me to the floor. "I've asked around a little about you. There is more to you than meets the eye. What do you know about the Nerevarine prophecies?" I turned slowly to face him, considering how best to make my escape should he consign me to prison or execution. No Ordinators were in evidence, and I wondered if I could overpower him. As the temple's ranking member in one of Vvardenfell's largest cities I suspect he would be a powerful foe.
Fortunately I said the right thing, which was nothing, and he proceeded to sketch out the basics of the prophecy, all of which I already knew. "I am telling you all of this since I don't consider you a mere layman, in fact you would be better called a novice of the temple, and I have a task that suits your...unique skills. A false incarnate of Nerevar has appeared in Suran. With the attention that the Empire is turning on the prophecies we are hesitant to have the Ordinators seize this pretender. From what I've heard from Edwinna over at the Mage's Guild you have some experience in handling...delicate matters. On your way to Vivec I want you to visit Suran and find this 'Nerevarine' and convince him that he is not what he claims."
My reputation for handling 'delicate matters' in the Mage's Guild had to come from Ranis in Balmora, so I hesitated before asking the obvious question. I didn't want to hear the obvious answer. "How would I go about convincing him that he isn't who he thinks he is?"
"Well, you are a persuasive and resourceful fellow Arvil Bren. I'm sure you'll think of something. If nothing else, the Nerevarine can't die, so you could prove him false by just killing him." How did I know that was coming?
Tuls Valen welcomed me back at the temple. "The pilgrimage has served you well Arvil Bren. The blessing of Vivec eases your burdens, and the virtue of humility enfolds you. You have learned well." I told him about the Daedric shrine, and my experiences in the Foyada Mamaca. He says I will have to pass that ruin on my pilgrimage to the Ghostfence Shrine, and suggested that it would be a service to other pilgrims if I sent the Daedric guardians back to their own planes. While vengeance is not a virtue, in this case it may serve a purpose.
My next pilgrimage is to the Shrine of Stop the Moon. Sheogorath of the bad Daedra, in battle with Lord Vivec, hurled the moon Baar Dau from its orbit to crush Vivec's palace. Vivec stopped the moon in its fall, and it hovers still over the city it would have destroyed, serving the Ordinators as the Ministry of Truth, the temple prison. I must journey to the shrine and offer a potion of levitation in honor of this feat. My new learned humility is already under test. I will walk to Vivec from Ald-ruhn, without consideration that had I taken on this quest from the Temple in the High Fane of Vivec the pilgrimage would be nothing more than walking outside to the shrine.
As I was about to leave the temple Tuls Valen stopped me. He didn't use magica or grab me, but his words rooted me to the floor. "I've asked around a little about you. There is more to you than meets the eye. What do you know about the Nerevarine prophecies?" I turned slowly to face him, considering how best to make my escape should he consign me to prison or execution. No Ordinators were in evidence, and I wondered if I could overpower him. As the temple's ranking member in one of Vvardenfell's largest cities I suspect he would be a powerful foe.
Fortunately I said the right thing, which was nothing, and he proceeded to sketch out the basics of the prophecy, all of which I already knew. "I am telling you all of this since I don't consider you a mere layman, in fact you would be better called a novice of the temple, and I have a task that suits your...unique skills. A false incarnate of Nerevar has appeared in Suran. With the attention that the Empire is turning on the prophecies we are hesitant to have the Ordinators seize this pretender. From what I've heard from Edwinna over at the Mage's Guild you have some experience in handling...delicate matters. On your way to Vivec I want you to visit Suran and find this 'Nerevarine' and convince him that he is not what he claims."
My reputation for handling 'delicate matters' in the Mage's Guild had to come from Ranis in Balmora, so I hesitated before asking the obvious question. I didn't want to hear the obvious answer. "How would I go about convincing him that he isn't who he thinks he is?"
"Well, you are a persuasive and resourceful fellow Arvil Bren. I'm sure you'll think of something. If nothing else, the Nerevarine can't die, so you could prove him false by just killing him." How did I know that was coming?
posted by Tim | 8:59 AM
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