A Skeleton Dance

Dear Kousei,

Thank you for the last letter. I'm so glad that you didn't think ill of me for having diverted my energies to Azura's enigmatic purposes instead of the Dawnguard. I couldn't help but smile at the thought that we're simultaneously dabbling in the affairs of two different Daedric Lords, but thankfully both Meridia and Azura don't appear to be as inherently evil as the others of their pantheon. May she who is in charge of the living energies keep you safe as you do her bidding.

Anyhow, I have progressed on my quest for the Queen of the Night Sky, but I won't say I am through with it. I sought out Ilinalta's Deep, as Nelacar told me to. Getting there was quite easy, but the moment I beheld the half-sunken remains of the Imperial fort, something primal in my heart spoke a warning. What magic could have caused a structure like then-Fort Ilinalta to be almost consumed by the lake?

I guess I should ready myself for a swim or two?

And Malyn Varen and his lackeys certainly made their purposes clear to whoever tried to enter their watery abode. A poor fisherman who accidentally entered their territory in search of a good fishing spot had the unfortunate honor of being made an example, as you can see in the illumination below. May his soul rest in peace in Sovngarde.

The Ilinalta's Deep necromancers bid you a warm welcome.

He wasn't the first skeleton I encountered throughout my tour of Ilinalta's Deep, and I'll have to say, most of them weren't as keen to stay dead as he was.

He used to be an archer like me, but then he took an arrow in the behind.

But of course, I was pushing my luck too far with hoping that only the undead inhabited the cursed place. If the skeletons dance, then nearby can be found their puppeteers -- or Necromancers, to use the fancy term they like to apply to themselves. I preferred to bring them down one by one from the shadows, as you know was my usual method of battling -- if Lydia did not blow my cover first, that is. I don't blame her, though, for wanting to send the Necromancers to their watery grave. From what we've heard of their conversations, it appears their twisted master had a flaw in his bright plan. He could not maintain his wretched half-life existence without being fed a gruesome diet of living souls, which his apprentices have been obtaining for him. Well, by the time I leave Ilinalta's Deep, he won't have any apprentices left to do his bidding.

Time for you to join the company of your skeletons.

As for Malyn Varen himself, I was more than ready to exchange spells with him (and maybe even an arrow or two) when I stormed the final room of the fort. Well, I was quite disappointed. There was Malyn Varen, indeed, and sitting on a throne-like chair no less. But he had withered to nothing but a skeleton, and he wouldn't dance no matter what poke and prod you give his moldy remains. Such a shame. He looked like he was taunting me. But this may not be the last I'll encounter of him. We'll see.

You'll turn into a skeleton if you sit on a throne long enough.

I then focused my gaze on his feet, and that was when I saw it: Azura's Star. Or the broken version of it, at least. Sections of its body still glowed the gentle blue-green of normal Soul Gems, but most of it has been swallowed by the purple-black that characterized Black Soul Gems. Poor Azura, I thought, to have her Artifact defiled as such. Hopefully Aranea Ienith would know what to do about it. I could not for the life of me take it back to Nelacar now. He has echoes of his old master in him.

What a sorry state for a supposedly indestructible Daedric Artifact.

I am now going back to the Shrine of Azura to return the Artifact to Aranea Ienith. May she provide closure to this quest when I get to her. And yes, do write to me about how your mission against Meridia's nemesis concludes. These Necromancers are no doubt giving even Deadric Princes a headache, aren't they?

Wishing for your safety,
Kiya