An: Get side storyd lmao :P
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(General POV, before the ritual)
Away from all the excitent on Solstheim, within the very heart of Tamriel's empire, a figure of pale grey skin and midnight black hair stood atop the balcony of the mansion turned Morrowind embassy that belonged to its new Hortator.
The valet currently pouring her wine stilled as he saw her smirk, her gaze directed to the distant north-east as if she could see sothing in the skies that others could not.
"Ever so bold" She muttered approvingly.
"My lady?" The valet asked.
"Do not worry yourself over little old , dear Gelin, I am rely rembering sothing" She directed him with a soft smile that still shook him to the core.
Still, he was hired for his professionalism and discretion, so instead of pressing the issue, he bowed "As you say, Lady phys." And swiftly walked away.
Though not without a certain stutter in his gait.
The disguised phala rose her hand to hold back a titter of amusent but ultimate failed. Truly, mortals are ever so amusing.
"And they call the mad one" Her delectable surprise of a guest scoffed "The poor lad will not sleep through the night."
"Such excitent is a gift, is it not?" phala smirked "His life was so very monotone before I graced him with my presence."
"With your pestering, you an?" The pale, red haired warrior woman rolls her eyes "I can see why the boy treats you like he does, you have too much ti on your hands."
"A gift that keeps on giving" phala's ensuing smile was paradoxically genuine as she said that, even if no one would ever truly know it "Not planning on turning him to paste anymore, dear?"
"He is family now" Ulrika/Sheogorath shrugged.
"It really is that simple to you?" The Webweaver couldn't help but ask.
The once Nord's answer was as instant as it was absolute "Shouldn't it be?"
'Not an ounce of doubt to her, how very refreshing' phala shook her head "You may have a point."
"Right" Ulrika nodded "Now where is the whiny one? We've been waiting for over an hour."
"So very impatient" phala tutted "You are one of us now dear, an hour or an era, it is all much the sa."
"Well, if you want to wait for an era go right ahead" Ulrika rolled her eyes and stood up "I'm too busy turning the idiots in my realm into proper warriors instead of whatever the senile one made them."
Just as she was about to leave, the door to the balcony was practically shoved off its hinges as a large Dunr-looking man dressed in an oddly familiar suit stepped out of the manor.
His eyes swept across the two Daedra waiting for him and he frowned "You have a lot of nerve facing while wearing that skin, Sheogorath."
"Uncle Sheo is currently asleep." Ulrika grinned threateningly "So unless you want to humiliate you once again, sit down and shut up."
hrunes Dagon nearly ripped his new suit to pieces as the two arms he was hiding beneah shivered with rage "You little-"
"Must we do this every ti?" phala sighed theatrically "I will admit it was entertaining the first few tis but now it is all turning rather droll."
The two imdiately pointed at each other ""Then tell him/her to stop provoking !""
She covered her mouth with a dainty hand "How charming." She looked to hrunes "Please do take a seat, we have work to do."
"For once" The Lord of Destruction growled but did as asked.
"Thank you" She gave him her best smile.
He was unmoved.
Seeing as the tension would not fall for a while yet, she decided to actually focus on the point of their eting "How go your preparations?"
"The fools under are still playing at war" Ulrika shrugged "But they will serve well enough for now."
She looked to hrunes who scoffed "My puppets relish the idea of a good war, they've grown... sluggish in their current state, but not enough to be a problem."
"Excellent" phala smiled "My dearest colleagues are finishing their own preparation as we speak and I myself have done a small bit of reconnaissance with the others."
"So, what are we looking at?" Ulrika asked.
"Most of them are either distracted or disinterested." phala decided to be concise for once "Namira is currently doing her best to help her dwindling worshippers, while Vaermina is bound by our pact not to interfere."
At the ntion of Namira, Ulrika's face twists into a scowl of disgust.
"Molag and ridia are still recovering from their little blunder so I don't expect they will do much if anything" phala goes on "Malakath, Clavicus, and Hircine have been invited by Sanguine for a party to... enjoy the show as he explained it."
"The little shit" hrunes grunts, mostly to hide his annoyance at not being invited.
"Quite" phala smirked knowingly "So in short, we will only truly need to focus on Hermaeus, baring any grand shifts of course."
ntioning Jyggalag, Sithis or Nocturnal was of course, superfluous. The three of them simply did not play the 'ga' like the rest did.
"Wait..." Ulrika frowned, deep in thought for a long mont before she asked "What about Peryite? All the others are accounted for but in all our etings we never ntioned him."
Utter silence descended upon the balcony, swiftly broken by a loud snort as hrunes directed her with a look of utter ridicule, quickly joined by phala's own titter that soon transford into soul-deep laughter between the duo.
As the two continued laughing, all the poor Nord woman could do was blankly repeat "What?"
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phala's amusent followed her well into the following morning, long after her two guests had left and their preparations were finally agreed upon. She couldn't help but wipe at her eye as poor Ulrika's words once more surfaced within her mind.
"Sothing amuses you, my lady?" An Imperial noblewoman brought her back to Nirn.
"A private joke, Lady Esswood." 'phys' smiled at the mortal "I dare not speak it for its crassness but the way it was delivered was quite charming."
The noblewoman quirked an eyebrow but decided she was better off not knowing. She instead took the overpriced porcelain cup filled with tea and took a short sip of the imported beverage, failing to hide a quiet moan of surprise at the taste.
'For soone with so many fingers in the moon sugar trade, the girl is certainly innocent' phala hid her amusent and, in a tone that was perfectly polite, quipped "I am happy our hospitality is adequate, my lady."
Varina Esswood's arm twitched but she hid the rest of her reaction "Indeed" She smiled woodenly and turned to the other guest "What about you, Queen Janette?"
The Breton Petty Queen rely raised a dainty eyebrow "The tea is indeed adequate. I feel I must applaud Lord Dagoth on stocking such however, getting imports from all the way in Elsweyr has proven rather difficult for my factotums in these trying tis."
Annoyed that her predicant was not shared, Varina simply agreed with a nod and shifted topics "I am surprised you would care for such luxuries, my lady. Was Jehanna not facing so trouble from your- what were they called again?"
"Reachn, and I remind you they are most certainly not mine." Janette looked at her pointedly, but only for a split second "Fear not my lady, for I assure you that Jehanna has experienced nothing but growth in prosperity since my dear Uthred directed his veteran knights to assist my own."
The Petty Queen's-
'Aspiring High Queen's' phala's endless experience corrected.
-eyes grew sharper in the next mont "Such filth shall soon be cleansed from the land, and soon Wrothgar shall prosper like never before."
'Well done hiding that mania, child.' phala smirked internally "Impressive progress, dear Janette" She spoke with a small smile "And what of your plans after you've cleansed your lands utterly? Soone of your delectable ambition would not simply leave it at that, would you?"
And just like that, all of the girl's confidence shrunk in on itself as she simply said "Uthred will decide our next move."
phala tutted "Now, now, that just will not do my dear."
Both of the highborn ladies gave her looks of shock and surprise at her audacity.
"Say, the good lady Varina here has so rather... interesting contacts." phala nodded at the lady of Blackwood who stilled before ever so slowly relaxing "You wish for your intended's success, do you not? Why hesitate to help him in his goals?"
"I.." Janette hesitated "May have made a few foolish miscalculations in my youth."
'The poor thing thinks she is a child no longer' How amusing "And those were but lessons for your ascent." She patted her shoulder gently "Now as I was saying, dear Varina has certain connections in need of unloading."
The fool who owed her far too many favors scowled.
"And you are in need of a next step" phala went on as if nothing had happened "I hear the good King of Wind Keep is growing weaker by the day, his lands swarming with orcs and bandits" She gave Varina a pointed look "If you were to wait for the old man to fall to his illness, you and your dear Uthred could rescue those innocent people."
The once more perfectly composed Breton blinks "We could?"
"Why yes" phala smiles "And who could judge you for doing what the previous rulers could not? It is after all the duty of the nobility to keep the commonfolk safe, is it not?"
The ruler of Jehanna's eyes brighten with each word.
phala went in for the final strike "Now just think of how much your beloved may appreciate you if you ca up with all this all on your own."
And that was that.
Hours later, an amused phala left the two noblewon, the two of them quickly falling into an unease cooperation through the sheer force of Daedric scheming even if they could barely stand each other to begin with.
"That should give him a perfect port to watch over the Iliac Bay, all that is left is to kill the fool from Wind Keep" phala smirked to herself as she walked. Now if only she would be shown the proper appreciation for all she did...
Ah, but she could wait! The reluctance only made the chase all the sweeter in the end after all.
"What to do now..." She humd happily, seeing through the eyes of one of her agents as her devotee read through a series of reports, detailing anything between a wealthy rchant buying out a large batch of automatons to the Imperial Grand Marshal still speaking poorly of the recent ceremonies...
"Stubborn little fool" She narrowed her eyes, partially agreeing with the man's annoyance, even if for totally different reasons, and partially fuming at the little upstart for daring to even think of interrupting her dearest Chosen.
"Simply stabbing him will not do though, he is too useful for that..." She frowned and swiftly pulled at one of her grand webs, sending forth a ripple through the minds of thousands.
A day later, through a series of minor events and words spoken in just the right ti, the great grandson and sole descendant of the Grand Marshal would take a walk outside the city where he would encounter a particular beast akin to one of hrunes' chirae.
The poor boy would fight bravely but in the end he would end up struck by the thing's scorpion tail, leaving him poisoned and comatose, only to be found almost imdiately by a patrolling Valenicus who swiftly began panicking and looking for any way to heal the last of his blood.
By the ti the sun started setting, she already owned him body and soul.
"Truly" phala 'lanted' grandly to herself, even as the call for the attack on Hermaeus ca and she sent forth her Daedric hordes without a care "Only I could tolerate being so underappreciated."
For all her words, she could not hold the anticipatory grin from forming on her face.
All in due ti.
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Spider mommy has seduced you into delivering your hidden stone stash.
You are unable to resist it.
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