Ch.27

Evander struck the first blow, sweeping his sword down, cutting through the thick armor covering the daedric prince and cutting deep into his neck. The dark knight raised his blade once again, keeping the daedric prince pinned against the ground.

The battle was brief‌—a matter of moments. And yet, Evander couldn't remember being so exhausted in his entire life. It wasn't the fact that he'd faced a powerful foe in his time‌—it was the exhaustion of using power that didn't belong to him.

It makes me feel like I'm betraying someone .‌.‌.

He reached up, wiping at his eyes, looking around desperately for the old woman. She was still standing by the gates, watching them both intently. With that, Evander realized .‌.‌. the others had all left. He was alone in this fight‌—even if only for a short while.

And then, he heard the screams.

Elestra held the book out over the ashes as the daedric prince leapt toward her, rushing forward with all his might‌—he wasn't sure if her arms were strong enough to hold it. He thrust his hand toward her, but she stepped aside, trying to keep the book between them as much as possible.

"Come on!" Elaric cried from somewhere nearby‌—wasting no time before charging directly toward the daedric prince.

"No!" shouted the old woman as they approached the edge of the village. "Stop!"

But Evander just continued, sprinting forward.

"You can't kill him‌—" she began again‌—but this time, the daedric prince saw what she was holding. Then, he broke free from Evander's grasp.

And all the terror in the world rushed back into Evander's mind‌—fear for his friends, and fear for his own safety.

Evander didn't even think about whether he should stop running or not‌—there was no time to choose, no time to reflect‌—as long as the others weren't coming, he didn't want anything else getting in his way.

For now, he let out a deep breath, bringing the sword up high as he came face-to-face with the daedric prince. His armor was damaged .‌.‌. scorched, in fact. But he had protected himself with what little remained of his flesh‌—and he was ready to fight.

"Let me give you a fighting chance." The daedric prince moved forward, laughing cruelly at Evander. "I'm going to make sure you live through this day .‌.‌. that we both‌…"

Evander kept his eyes on the daedric prince's as he charged toward him‌—unafraid to take a strike if that meant protecting Elestra, Ophiel, and Fir.

But then, he heard the familiar scream.

The daedric prince leapt sideways before Evander could bring his sword down, but Evander managed to avoid a direct hit. Instead, the impact threw him back, landing on top of some sort of metal block covered in ash, unable to get any traction beneath him. It took only a moment for the daedric prince to move past him and get inside Evander's guard.

The next thing Evander knew, he felt something sharp press against his neck‌—something warm and wet. But what he wouldn't have expected was the strength of the hand that grabbed him by the shoulder.

And when he did‌—when he saw who it was‌—he wished he'd never looked away from the daedric prince at all .‌.‌.

***

Elaric charged toward the daedric prince, waving his sword wildly behind him. He was well aware that he couldn't beat the daedric prince in a straight-up fight‌—he might even be able to get the better of him on occasion‌—but the daedric prince had the power advantage in every battle, and every swing. If he wanted to stop him from killing them all, then he‌…

"Elaric!" shouted Elestra behind him, breaking his concentration. She was still holding the book out in front of her, with her other arm wrapped around the witch‌—she stood between Elaric and the daedric prince, using their combined body as a shield.

It's not exactly the best way to do this .‌.‌. but I don't know what else to do.

With that, Elaric kept running, diving headfirst toward the daedric prince, trying to get close enough for a strike.

But there were too many soldiers in the way. Evander heard the sounds of swords clanging together overhead‌—but it just didn't matter anymore. He'd seen the people fighting over the gates, but all that mattered was the daedric prince.

Why is he doing this? Why does he want us dead so badly? What did he do?

He's only ever been friendly .‌.‌. even if I can't remember. He used to‌… he used to show me things when we traveled‌—take me on a tour of the entire country‌—and then later he even took me back to Orzammar so that I could get myself another dagger .‌.‌.

How could someone do this‌? How could he betray everyone he knows?

But he couldn't think about any of that right now. All he could think of was killing the daedric prince and getting the book out of his hands‌—for good. Then, maybe they would finally be safe from him .‌.‌.

The sword screamed in the air behind him. He looked over his shoulder, almost hoping to see the daedric prince descending upon him with some new spell or trick. But instead, he saw Elestra being forced to jump aside by one of the soldiers .‌.‌. his blade still pressed against her throat.

"Get away!" Elaric shouted, swinging his sword wildly around, desperately trying to hit the soldier who dared to be near Evander's friends.

Evander turned his attention back toward the daedric prince .‌.‌. but as soon as he did, he felt a sharp pain in his neck. It felt like something had pierced his skin, but he knew that wasn't possible‌—couldn't possibly be possible .‌.‌. and yet he'd just been attacked. What a surprised!

At that moment‌.‌. there was only one person who could have done it. He didn't even have to think much of it. And when he realized what had happened, his face began to drain of color‌—it started to darken quickly, not long after.

And then, before he even realized that it had happened‌… he died.