Official Thalmor Report: The Voidwalker [PART 5]

[PART 5]

The following is the official Thalmor report on the investigation of the prolific serial killer commonly known as The Voidwalker.

SUSPECT NAME: Unknown

ALIASES: The Voidwalker

CHARGES: Numerous murders, kidnappings, mutilations, and other violent crimes.

CHIEF JUSTICIAR: Agent Caronil, Department of Dominion Security

DATE SUBMITTED: 4E 201, 12th of First Seed

JUSTICIAR’S REPORT:

The ones who could stand helped the medical team bring those that could not into the Department building. A healer tended to my wounds. I suffered many burns in the fire, and a gash from the rubble that struck me. But I was hardly the worst. Of those that lived, many lost limbs in the explosion. While a wealthy Altmer could afford to have the limbs restored, that type of healing was above the average guard’s pay-grade. My wounds were healed within the course of the hour, while some had to stay in the care of a healer for days.

As soon as I was cleared by the young girl tending to me, I searched for Falcano. He had suffered burns and damage to the lungs, but his wounds were tended to as well. As we walked out of the Department Infirmary and into the night, Falcano thanked me sincerely for his rescue. We did what any rational Altmer would do, and discussed the night’s events over a bottle of wine at the milsel. I told Falcano of the battle he missed, and of my regrets over the injuries and deaths I caused the night guards. He assured me that I had no way of knowing what would happen and that the Ancestors are looking on with gratitude. One of the miriesse then stopped by our table, and Falcano sweet-talked her with exaggerated tales of our encounters with the thralls. Soon after, we were finished our bottle of wine, and Falcano had a pretty little miries to bring home. We left together, and it was then that I remembered that I had nowhere to sleep that night. My solar had been completely and utterly destroyed, leaving me without a home. I asked Falcano if he knew of any place I could stay, and he invited me to his home. The miries, who I later found out was named Liliel, was elated to be in the company of not one but two “Heroes of the Dominion” as she called us. I shall not go into the details of that night’s debauchery, but it was a welcome recess from the action of fighting thralls.

When I awoke the morning after, Liliel and Falcano were already awake. Falcano was preparing a morning meal, and Liliel was curiously poking around Falcano’s house. She had a childlike awe at the numerous sketches, notes, and research materials scattered around the house. While she was inspecting every facet of Falcano’s meticulous notes, he and I picked up our conversation at my solar that had been interrupted.

I told Falcano of my immediate suspicion that whoever The Voidwalker was, the only way they could have obtained the knowledge of The Unliving King’s form of necromancy was through a dark bargain. A bargain with Hermaeus Mora. I told him stories of the many fools I’ve dealt with who bargained with Mora in the hopes of obtaining forbidden knowledge, intrigue, and power. Falcano began taking notes as if I were a lecturer, but I knew by this point that it was just his method. I told him to check the Thalmor records for everything he could find on Hermaeus Mora, The Unliving King, anything that could help us, to which he happily agreed. In fact he agreed so much, that he decided to leave immediately. In an instant he had phase shifted away, leaving me with Liliel. I made sure Liliel had all her things, and then I sent her on her way home. I stayed at Falcano’s, awaiting his return.

Thirteen hours later, Falcano arrived with another stack of notes. He proudly took my advice to “check everything” literally. I’ll be damned if those thirteen hours weren’t worth it. He then spent another two explaining his discoveries to me. Falcano believed that whoever The Voidwalker was, they were searching for knowledge to pay their debt to Hermaeus Mora, and he believed that said knowledge was contained in the Records Department. Falcano also discovered why we were targetted by so many attacks. The story of The Unliving King mentioned that the thralls had “the eyes of their master,” a line he initially had skimmed over. He revealed to me that the crystals from the first thrall we defeated at the Adas had been used to find our position. Before I could apologize for gifting them to him, he told me he had a hypothesis on how to find The Voidwalker.

Falcano believed that by subjecting the crystals to a rigorous barrage of various Alteration spells, we could effectively reverse the effect and locate, hunt, and stop The Voidwalker and their reign of terror over Alinor.