“This is… is this a new form of contacting spell?” Maven asked as she sat cross-legged on her bed, obviously surprised and interested on the strange new spell while not even concerned of her appearance. “Interesting.”

“It is a more secured way of contacting each other. I’ll explain the principle later if I teach you how. Hmmm… I’ll just call it Face-Call for now.” Mortred answered.

“Your lame naming sense still haven’t change.” Maven looked disappointed.

“Shut up. By the way… I apologize if I disturbed you.” He just noticed her seemingly lewd attire.

“You have not. I was just preparing myself to sleep. So what is it?”

“I found our assassins.”

“Now that is even more interesting… where?”

“In Morthal, it seemed they were also involved in the capture of Aura. Although in a journal of their captain, their encounter with her was just accidental.” Mortred said. “They seemed to have taken shelter in the property of Martessi Silen. You know him?”

Maven thought for several seconds before remembering the mentioned name.

“Yes, he was one of the annoying businessmen who tried to vie for control on my smuggling routes in Hammerfell and Daggerfall. If I remember correctly, I had one of my agents took a piece of himself as punishment.”

“Uhhh… which part?”

“You don’t want to know.” She stoically replied.

“Yeah… yeah… brutal as always… by the way, I was able to capture them all alive, including their Grandmaster. His name was…” He took a look at a page to review something. “… ah yes, Elvyen. There’s no house or family name so it’s probably just a coden-”

“Elvyen the Stonegaze.” Maven said.

“So you know him.”

“He’s a former mage of the Dominion during the Oblivion Crisis. He lost his position as one of the elven councils when the Thalmor purged the high ranking altmers. I heard he became a leader of a secret order who worshipped the first ruler of the Dominion. I didn’t expect him to be the grandmaster of assassins.” Maven explained. “His specialty was petrifying anyone his eyes see, hence his nickname. I am surprised you didn’t mention that.”

“Well… I actually took them all out without waiting for them to cast any spell.” Mortred shrugged.

“Of course you did.” Maven just shook her head. “I’ll buy them from you. Usual rate I presume?”

“Fine by me.”

You hated slavery yet you are trading live people. Maven forced herself to stop taunting Mortred with this trade as she already knew the principle which Mortred walks – enslavement of the innocents are not allowed but the enslavement of the criminals and guilty is permitted – a stupid principle that she considered as hypocrisy.

“By the way, did you find out the identity of their employer?” She asked.

“Yes. It was actually even mentioned in their report. Probably, they felt some suspicion on their employer after how easy it was to perform their assassination.”

“Who was it then?”

“Herrias Glambelt.”

“Hmmmm… seems like just another one of your bad fake names if you ask me. Unfortunately, if it was real, I don’t know anyone with that name.” Maven said. “It would probably take me a month before I could find this person.”

“You don’t have to because you’re half right.” Mortred smiled awkwardly.

“What do you mean?”

“It was a real name and it can also be considered a fake name.”

Maven was just confused at his statements.

“It was my original name, I created this when I was still an orphan in the slums of Daggerfall, long before I used my current one.” He continued. “And only Lamae and the Emperor knew of this.”

“Yes but… then is…”

“He contracted the assassins to kill himself Maven. The stupid emperor most likely manipulated the current events by starting it with his death. Then he knew that I will investigate his death and realize the truth. And he also knew how I will behave and act as a response. He is probably laughing out loud from where he is right now. If I could only punch him in the face again.” Mortred sighed.

“I see…” Maven then lied on her bed, although showed her usual expressionless face, Mortred could feel as if she was mocking him with a smirk. “Your friend still haven’t given up from his dream huh.”

“A stupid dream to be honest.” Mortred grumbled.

Maven looked at the ceiling of her room while coiling her finger in the air then loudly said.

“All Kneel!! Hail, Vladi Mir Dracule Mor’hein Thredakssil Ubbelisk, the First of his name, Dragonborn, Dragon of the North, Lastborn of Akatosh, the Great Devourer, the Dragon’s Bane, Sovereign of Dragons, the Magnus Bane, Talos Reborn, the Aspect of Ymir, the White Fire, Sibling of Luck, Lord of Sovngarde, Incarnation of Lorkhan, Son of the Void, Younger Brother of the Darkness, Nightmare of the Dreamer, Mate of Domination, Spawn of Chaos and Order, Eater of Souls, Jury of the Damned, the Prime Lich, Lord of Dry Covenant, The Dream Eater, The Sleepwalker, Grandmaster of Dawnguard, Suzerain of the Blood Covens, Consort of Lamae, the Blood God, King of Windhelm, King of Dawnstar, King of Winterhold, King of Skyhaven, Emperor of all Tamriel, Shield of Nirn, and Ruler of Space and Time!”

She then grabbed a glass that was placed on the table near her bed and poured herself with a black wine. She gently shook the wine in the glass then raised it towards Mortred. “This actually sounds good with all of your titles... I hope I did not miss any titles… did you gain a new one perhaps?”

“Are you done?” Mortred was more of tired of her making fun of his predicament than angry or annoyed.

“Even if you deny power, you cannot deny when you’re the only one who’s capable of holding its limitless waters. You are even using your Demigod form just to traverse Nirn without breaking reality into pieces.” Maven said as she gazed in the wine through the transparent glass. “Power will continuously flow into people, searching for its rightful vessels while those who try to contain it for their own pursuit, overestimating their own will find themselves drowning in its dark depths and those who cannot contain it, will get destroyed. But Power and being Powerful are different. And those who knew this and realized their own limit makes them powerful. For they knew when to pour the overflowing power from their cup while keeping the cup from breaking. But you are an exception.”

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Mortred shook his head and continued to stare into the blankness.

“What are you even afraid of?”

“None.”

“Then why?”

He was hesitant to continue but answered after mulling his thoughts.

“I never wanted it. I just love adventure. Like what she wanted me to continue, I just want to travel and discover. Not bogged down by administration and petty politics. But I don’t want to also be halfhearted if I ever accept such power. Knowing that I would probably be someone who will take full responsibility in a position of rule, I rejected it.”

Maven face palmed, she can’t believe that such person had become a literal god with such personality.

“Do you see me bogged down by ruling over stupid thieves and killers to stop killing each other and to instead obey me?”

“No. But that’s the problem on me Maven. I am not afraid of power. I am actually afraid of… myself.” Mortred then stared at Maven with serene eyes that she felt that he was going to confess something, which he did.

“I never told this to anyone yet except Paarthunax. But… I am starting to change Maven. Bit by bit. Even if you still don’t notice it, I feel the changes… over the years, parts of me were slowly disappearing and being replaced by something else.” Then he looked at his hands and then in a whim, the space around him melted and cracked, as new limbs of spectral blue material coated his body. Then his eyes turned gold. Maven could still see his human body inside, but she could now observe how his body was covered with a burning melted form of space in a figure of a dragon.

“This is by the way, not my true form yet… but still this is me Maven. After I consumed Alduin, his entire existence, his purpose, his desires… it didn’t change anything. But it was my realization that started my… evolution in what you can call it… that after I had done the deed that I realized that I am actually not human. I am a god, a dragon. Paarthunax assured me that my final personality would still be me, but I don’t know anymore.”

Maven just stayed silent and listened.

“Do you know what I feel when people call me ‘milord, your highness, great master, lord, king, great being, and eminence’?” Mortred asked.

It was obvious to her since she was also observing his behavior after receiving such titles, that he was uncomfortable. But what she didn’t know was the reason behind it.

“You feel ecstatic?” Maven raised her brow.

“No far from that.” Mortred shook his head and laughed. “I felt insulted.”

Now that’s something. She thought.

“It’s like I was not satisfied with such title that it should’ve been more than that… something greater.” He frowned in saying his statement.

“So that’s why you actually tried to find a way to split your personality?” Maven also frowned, after she remembered that he attempted something stupid in her eyes.

“Oh, Paarthunax told you?” he awkwardly smiled.

“I once visited him to ask about something and he mentioned that to me. Telling me to teach you to accept yourself instead of rejecting it. He thought that maybe you will listen to a fellow human who held much power, as what he had called me.” Maven scoffed.

“Hahaha… typical of him.” Mortred laughed. “Don’t worry, I already gave up on that matter and had no plans in doing that anymore.”

“And he realized something that I also realized.” She pointed her empty glass towards him. “You still think of yourself as human.”

“…true.” Mortred also noticed this many times, everytime he uses his power in bending time and space. His way to ignore such things was to focus on using his blood magic than his draconic traits.

“So were you still trying to find another way to treat your ‘invasive’ personality?” Maven asked.

“Paarthunax actually told me of another way to treat such nature.” He revealed.

“What is it?”

“Meditation.” Mortred scratched his head. “It was something that he had proven with his current state. As he claimed that his ‘barbaric’ nature had waned over the years and he would be able to fully make it disappear with another decades or millennia of meditation.”

“So you’re going to meditate every day? You’re just going to shut yourself off from the world in some pocket realm and meditate?” She asked in anger.

“No, he actually told me that it isn’t possible for me anymore. For I have consumed so many dragon souls that it is practically impossible for me to treat it… even if I meditate for eternity.” He assured her, knowing the source of her anger.

“The Thirteen.” Maven realized.

“That’s right. You finally noticed.” Mortred sighed. “You are the only one who now knew of this.”

The Thirteen were Mortred’s personally selected powerful mages, warriors, and people. One of them have the potential to be a disaster on the level of Oblivion Crisis on his or her own if became corrupted. Most of them also accepted such position that in exchange for boon, and benefits from serving the dragonborn, Maven knew that they were bound to him in one way or another. But there were actually something else in their purpose.

“You did not create the Thirteen to assist you in your adventures… but as your preventive measure in a situation where you go out of control.”

“As expected.” Mortred clapped then he added. “Do you know what Hermaeus Mora called me during my final visit in Apocrypha?”

Maven just silently listened.

“The Doomed Hero.” He stared at the darkness of the night sky that’s reflected on the glass windows. “Despite using half-truth of knowledge to take advantage of others, that squid would never lie. That squid would never say something insignificant on a whim. That’s why I am afraid Maven, because I control time and space but I don’t know what I am becoming into.”

“Then why not embrace it?”

“…”

“Lamae, most probably found out about this issue and how you will make a problem out of it but she wanted you to keep it then treasure it. The dragons sensed this, and wanted you to claim it then rule over them. Your friend… the Emperor knew of this and wanted you to hold it then use it. The people who witnessed your rise, realized this and wanted you to lead them, not save them. The Princes of Oblivion sees this and wanted to use you because of this.” Maven then stood, and walked closer as if they were on the same place together then looked directly at Mortred’s gold eyes. “It is not about Destiny anymore for you already control time itself. You are not the Doomed Hero anymore because reality is now at the palm of your hands. You are born as power itself. It’s in your nature.”

She raised her right hand and touched his left cheek, even though she couldn’t, both of them felt the contact of each other’s skin in some way.

“You are a dragon. Domination is your nature.”

“That’s why I’m still trying.” This time, with his dragon cloaked hands, he gently grabbed hers on his cheeks.

“Hmmph. That’s not enough. You’re still indecisive.”

“I’ll leave it at that for now.” He smiled again.

Maven, seemingly not satisfied with his answer, flicked his hand away and sat back on her bed. Mortred just stayed silent for several minutes until Maven decided to change the subject.

“So… what about that issue with your friend? You already accepted the throne of Sovngarde, what’s the difference in accepting the Imperial throne? Both of them are your birthright.”

“It’s still a bother…”

“Then use that power to stop those who bother you, my gods! You kept on gathering titles one after the other and yet you deny using them for your advantage!” Maven just shrugged as if tired already from the consistent complaints of Mortred that had obvious answers. “The moment when you stop denying yourself is when your troubles would stop themselves.”

“I could never understand someone who loves power.” Mortred sneered.

“I could never understand someone who denies power.” Maven spat back.

This would have been the time where both of them should laugh but only Mortred laughed out loud while Maven just annoyingly pouted.

“Haaaaaaaa…” Mortred breathed deeply and stood. He walked back to the balcony, followed by the conjured moving image of Maven’s bedroom. He gazed again to the night sky as if thinking deeply.

Then he returned back to her.

“Fine. I’ll take it.”

“Well that was quick…” Maven was a bit surprised but sighed in relief as if she felt the burden on her shoulders flew away. “If I remember correctly, Lamae had spent a decade in persuading you to accept the throne of Sovngard. I can only imagine her jealousy if she is here.”

“Shut up… I will not be the same as others though.” He also sighed as he stretched his arms.

“Then you do you.” Maven just rolled her eyes in annoyance. Although she don’t know how he will accept his friend’s last request, she felt some excitement deep inside her, something that she stubbornly reined inside. “So are you going to visit the imperial city?”

“Not yet. I still have important things to finish. I’ll just do one things at a time.” Mortred answered. “I will leave some assignments that will help me later, should I decide to begin.”

Gods were beings of omnipotence that peasants and the innocents usually ask for guidance and help. But seeing how a real god act like this in person made my impression of them sink deeper. Maven looked at him with slight disappointment then closed her eyes. Well, he isn’t Mortred if he’s not troublesome as this. That’s part of his charm I guess.

She realized that just lost her sleepiness and sighed thinking that it didn’t matter anymore.

“And… what do you see me with this power of mine then, Maven?” He asked with a smile as he also got a glass and poured himself with a wine that he found. Filling it in brim, he raised his glass towards her.

Maven did the same and reciprocated his gesture by raising her own glass, full of wine.

“My stupid partner-in-crime.”