NUL Entry 03 {Apocrypha}
15 Last Seed, 3E 428
Grand Marshal Omayn,
As per your orders and the wishes of our lord the Bifold God of Two and One, we have begun our second preserveration of the Incarnate’s march through the Citadels of the Sixth House. Last year’s excursion saw the death of many of the Sharmat’s servants, as well as the recovery of those once called “dreamers”. The latter development greatly delayed our martial enterprises and we have thus exercised our own jurisprudence as commander of this undertaking to focus entirely on the further eradication of the Sixth House.
Our concerns rested on the Dwemer stronghold known as Kogoruhn, to all indications one of the largest bastions of Dagoth Ur’s servants. For although the death of Dagoth Ur offered a swift end to his chief lieutenants, his lesser servants did not share the same fate. Increased reports of activity in the area turned our gaze, particularly a growing disappearance of tribesmen among the Urshilaku ashlanders; they might reject ALMSIVI but we will not forsake them. That this fortress rests outside of the Ghostfence ensured it was a priority. If the Sixth House was indeed amassing at this location, they might move south to Maar Gan.
My detachment consisted of myself, Giras Indaram, Travlvan Athvi, Velaso Elads, and Dransi Darai. The entry into Kogoruhn saw no immediate conflict. Well rotted corpses paved the path which the Nerevarine walked a year ago. The count rested at a total of six “ash ghouls” and half six “sleepers”. We marked their skulls and proceeded as per standard procedure in such cases.
Upon reaching the fort’s waterway, we found the newfound ruler of Kogoruhn and the clear cause of the disappearances. A necrotic figure greeted us, a Sixth Houseman we now know as Dagoth Baler, self proclaimed Examinate Savant. The name was fitting, to say the least. He was eager to tell us of his first death and of the undeath that awaited us. Statements melodramatic if not for the rising of dozens of corpses from the waterway, bloated and mindless. New servants for the lost house. When asked why he did not revive his fallen brothers instead of resorting to kidnapped stock, he told us that no expert of death or mender of ash could restore the dreams of a dead god.
We lost Velaso in the ensuing struggle. I would claimed she died well but lies do not become an Armiger. We know our duty and give our services gladly. What can be said for her sacrifice is that Baler is slain and those in his thrall have found the peace of a final death. We marked their skulls and proceeded as per standard procedure in such case. Wishing to properly enact the rite of the coda flowers for our departed sister, it was decided that Giras would inspect a nearby cavern system, so that we might not be interrupted. By the time the rite was concluded, he had not returned.
Navigation of the tunnels lead us within the Ghostfence and near the base of Red, explaining how the Sharmat’s forces made their way to Kogoruhn. Most importantly, we were deposited near the Vemynal and a quick survey of the land by Armiger Darai lead to the conclusion that Giras took refuge in the citadel. Initial search found nothing; it is well known, the story of the Incarnate’s assault here and the curious case of the Sempiternal Dancer.
We found Giras’ corpse in the citadel’s deepest bowels. He bore thirty six wounds in total and six daggers rest in his body: one through each hand, a matching pair for his feet, one through his skull, and the last in his heart. A note rested on the body, which I have sent alongside this report. We hope that the Deputy Marshal takes this news in stride. I continue alongside Athvi towards Odrosal. We will make camp and await the second squad’s arrival.
Walk ever in the path of the coupled,
—Senior Armiger Felaren Hlerano
Lesson One: Pain. You know nothing of it and so we grant you this lesson. Feel the pain of sundering and know some measure of truth. May your bones be ash and your blood flames. May your teeth be daggers and your tongue a snake. May your eyes be muddied water. Do so and you might one day known heaven.
Lesson Two: Sound. Ever beating, the Doom Drum. Listen keenly. Understand that music ends where it begins. Learn your cadence and then learn the refusal of music. For aurals made keen can do little else.
Lesson Three: Steel. Temper yourself as you would a blade. Become a walking forge.
Lesson Four: Ash. Break yourself down into powder and then learn to walk. Then, forever walk like a god.
Lesson Five: Joy. Embrace your fragile nature. All things valuable are able to be broken. Examine the effect of wind on stone.
Lesson Six: Leather. Tear your skin and invite the biting air. Then, skin your brother.
Lesson Six: Survive. Survive. Survive. Survive. Survive. Survive. Six times will make it so.
Lesson Seven: Royalty. Melt down crowns. Feed the mixture to the king.
Lesson Eight: Death. If you wish to die, try to wake up. Fail. If the sum of the equation does not add up, you will truly know nothingness.
Lesson Nine: Patience. Mountains will always surpass your efforts. Yet, even mountains can erupt in anger.
Lesson Ten: Multiplication. Understand the importance of three. Then double that knowledge. Welcome seven hundred and twenty.
Lesson Eleven: Gold. Make it into armor. Give it to your foe. This is the purest application of guile that might ever occur.
Lesson Twelve: Souls. Keep your own in a cage but do not lock it. The ambitious will reach for your soul. The useless will let it be. Befriend the untrustworthy.
Lesson Thirteen: Magic. What we know as magic is little more than ego given application. The soul’s calculus.
Lesson Fourteen: Plots. Eschew them. Reject the catalyst. Reverse the formula.
Lesson Fifteen: Princes. Speak their name they are undone. Even Princes bow to a king.
Lesson Sixteen: Humility. Anathema to progress. You may either languish in your timorousness or thrive in self love. You are. Everything else is not.
Lesson Seventeen: Heart. Ignore the noise.
Lesson Eighteen: Dreams. Six times will make them so. But they are slippery as worms and die as easily. It is easier to dive through a star than it is to dream six times straight.
Lesson Nineteen: Terror. It is also known as silence and will always follow you.
Lesson Twenty: Age. The when matter less than the where.
Lesson Twenty One: Shadow. Note how even the darkest brothers have black hands.
Lesson Twenty Two: Clocks. Compare to a heart. Know that one is stronger than the other.
Lesson Twenty Three: Coal. Bathe in it daily.
Lesson Twenty Four: Jungles. What they are is not what they were.
Lesson Twenty Five: Towers. Fear not that they might fall. We can build more.
Lesson Twenty Six: Sun. Someone put her in a box. She was once a queen. Do not court her.
Lesson Twenty Seven: Words. Mere conventions. Truth defies words. Quantities are estimations.
Lesson Twenty Eight: Sets. Are always empty with no exception.
Lesson Twenty Nine: Voice. Few truly have spoken. If you wish to speak, the mouth is the worst messenger.
Lesson Thirty: Choice. The denominator is ten.
Lesson Thirty One: Mercy. A multheaded beast. Leave only one.
Lesson Thirty Two: Expansion. Do not wait for the gods. You have the toolset. Use it.
Lesson Thirty Three: Paradoxes. Everything is a lie until you see it. Once seen, it is still a lie.
Lesson Thirty Four: Emptiness. _.
Lesson Thirty Five: Foolishness. Do not challenge a smith with a blade.
Lesson Thirty Six: Mathematics. Learn your numbers. Seek patterns. All things have patterns. They are the only true thing you will ever find.
The ending of the words is UR. The sum of the equation is ∅.