Some familiar Psijic (and ex-Psijic) faces. đŽâ¨
Providing I've not a lot of idle time to sit and create fully-fledged artwork, I decided utilizing any free time at my disposal to sketch was more preferable than not drawing at all. So, studies it is, with otherwise varying results!
You can probably tell which studies I've created most recently, but alas.
It took me one year to finally finish drawing of my precious noble old Mer. I'm happy now đĽ˛â¨ď¸
Spoiler:
damn I wish SO MUCH we had another ending for his questline. I finished Summerset quest 1 y.ago but I'm still so frustrated of the loss of my sweet old Mer. I wish a better fate for him, WHY we don't have another option like save his live and study peacefully in Psijic Order đđđâ¨ď¸
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works
Isabelle "Bel" Serre is on her own for the first time and has tasked herself with stopping the Daedric Triad in Summerset. While fighting the Spiderkith guarding K'Tora, she dies. But for a vestige, death is only a temporary setback.
Of course at the exact moment of her death, the Golden Knight arrives to save the day. Bel, also Meridia's champion, is a little peeved (and definitely not embarrassed).
inspired by me dying on vestige difficulty and thinking huh what if that was canon
summerset spoilers (duh)
Death wasnât an unfamiliar feeling to one Isabelle Serre, but that didnât make it any less difficult.
Dispatching the first of the Spiderkith guarding this part of the college was simple enough. The onslaught of her spear, summoned from the Colored Rooms itself, quickly overwhelmed the warrior of the two. Unfortunately this gave the mage an opportunity to summon assistance in the form of a small spider daedra. Before she could react, the spider found a gap between her boot and greaves and bit down, injecting her with a quick-acting venom. Bel kicked at the spider to dislodge it and failed to notice the firebolt coming from the mage. It slammed into her ribs, sending her stumbling backwards. Damn it, if Falvesi were here, she would have- no, Bel told herself. Falvesi wasnât here. Bel had to do this on her own, and that meant learning to deal with fights on her own.Â
Already weakened from the fight with the warrior, the burning spreading though the leather of her jack down to her skin, and the poison ascending up her leg, Bel could not react fast enough to cast a Breath of Life before falling to the floor. She hoped Ritemaster Iachesis could handle the last one on his own, at least long enough for her to revive.
âIâll be fine!â she called out, voice breaking as she cheerfully tried to warn the Ritemaster despite her bodyâs rising panic. She could already feel her heart sputtering out of rhythm - from the venom or the impending sense of doom, it didnât matter. Iachesis needed to know. She hadnât had the time to explain the whole âvestigeâ thing yet, but the soul gem in her bag provided her with the reassurance she wouldnât be gone long. Not a talk she planned to have this early, but she knew what they said about best-laid plans.Â
As spots occluded her vision, she felt the spider crawl up her chest and hover over her face, fangs clicking menacingly. Her breath quickened as her lungs tightened. Her arms were too weak to push the thing off. The last thing she saw before falling into darkness was the spider diving onto her neck and a flash of golden light.
Death was⌠disorienting.
There was little in the scholarship on resurrection to compare her experiences to - and if she ever asked Divayth, she knew it would result in a multi-day long interrogation on her own experiences to add to the academia on the subject - but for Bel, it was an out-of-body experience. Floating in a fuzzy, muffled space above her body. Seeing her own corpse for the first time had her locking herself in her room for a week, terrified to step outside lest somehow die and experience the horror of it all once again.Â
But this world was dangerous. It would happen again. Several more times. And several more after this.
With time, the knowledge of her return helped settle her mind, even as her body continued to lash out in fear as death approached. Every time. It was irrational, but so was a world of magic.
As her awareness moved from her body to the space around it, a new figure appeared the room - that Golden Knight from before. He stood over the body of the Spiderkith mage that had slain her. From where her consciousness could see, there was a smoldering hole through the mageâs chest. The Golden Knight sheathed his sword, Dawnbreaker, and turned to Iachesis.Â
Dawnbreaker⌠Bel had read about it. It was something entirely to see it so closely. Lady Meridiaâs artifact. If this knight had Dawnbreaker, he was most definitely a chosen of Meridia. But why? Why was he here with it? Was he to give it to her? Was he chosen by Meridia to end this daedric threat instead of her?Â
âMy apologies,â the Golden Knight said. âDaedric interference and Artaeum's own defenses delayed my arrival- woah is she alright?â His attention turned toward Bel, or rather her body, kneeling down quickly to look over her. If there were blood in her cheeks, she would be going red with embarrassment. His third impression of her, first up close, and it was seeing her fall in combat. A champion does not fall. Â
Ritemaster Iachesis, previously distracted by the Golden Knightâs sudden arrival, returned his attention to Bel. Concern swept over his face as he realized the severity of her condition. Belâs consciousness scoffed. She was going to be fine. She said as much. Even from the distance he stood away, she could see him grip his staff tighter when the knight approached. âIâm- Iâm not sure,â he said, uncertainty and dismay in his voice. âShe said she would be fine and thenâŚâ
Bel could feel the Golden Knightâs hand on her cheek.
Wait-
Returning from death was almost as bad as dying.
The first breath was like inhaling her very soul itself.Â
As Bel sat up gasping for air, the Golden Knight threw himself backwards with a clammer of metal on stone. âWhat the-!â
âIâm fine.â Bel said firmly, leaving no room for questions. Her authority was undermined by her body still gasping for air. She turned to Iachesis, his eyes wide in shock and stance braced, but still held himself as the powerful Ritemaster of the Psijics. âIâll explain later.â
Iachesis raised an eyebrow, but his body visibly relaxed in the slightest. âI plan to hold you to that, Miss Serre.â She could hear the underlying threat. He was not letting this go easily.Â
The Golden Knight, who had scrambled away at a speed surprising for someone so heavily armored, spoke up. âYou were dead!â he exclaimed, pointing at her in accusation.Â
Belâs head snapped to him, glaring. âI got better.â
He sputtered indignantly from where he still sat on the stone floor. This was Meridiaâs champion? Entrusted with Dawnbreaker?
The Ritemaster ignored the two of them, focusing on the red webbing blocking the path. âThis barrier of webs. Isabelle, are you able to burn it away?â
Bel began to push herself up off the floor, but one consequence of quick resurrection is it still took her body time to catch up on returning to the land of the living. No air in her lungs, no blood pumping to her extremities, even getting her brain to form more coherent thoughts than âI got betterâ took time. Her legs started to go out from under her as darkness danced the edge of her vision. Before she could hit the ground again, two armored gauntlets caught her hand and shoulder.Â
âHey,â the Golden Knight said softly, a drastic change from his reaction to her resurrection, throwing Bel for a loop. He gently lowered her back to sitting on the ground. âYou still need a moment. Donât worry. I got this.â Somehow Bel could sense the wink under his helmet. Who was this champion of Meridia? She couldnât imagine he was an Auroran with his strangely mortal way of speaking, but she could hardly even imagine him as Meridiaâs champion either. He was too⌠normal. Human. He turned to Iachesis and announced, âAllow me!â before leaving Bel to sit and watch.Â
Iachesis stood to the side in observation, glancing at Bel and silently questioning the knight before them.Â
The Golden Knight raised Dawnbreaker into the air and a blinding light overtook the webs. Iachesis shielded his eyes, but Bel stared on. When the light faded, the webs were gone. The knight turned to them, propped Dawnbreaker up on his shoulder, and with shield in his other hand and a single foot pointed up, bowed oh-so knightly. Bel clenched her teeth, annoyed at the display. Show off⌠Why did that bow look familiar?
âOne set of daedric webs: burnedâ he said smugly, âI did say I was on my way to help, didnât I? Say, do I know you from somewhere? I swear- Damn it, they found me again! I'll return when I canâ" With another flash of blinding light, as quick as he appeared, the Golden Knight vanished.
Who was âtheyâ that found him? Why was he being sent here to help? Could Meridia sense Bel was in danger and in need of another champion? Bel had already seen him a few times now, if only for a few seconds, and he had said he was coming to help when she saw Dawnbreaker in the scrying pool. Was his arrival a coincidence? Would he report her near failure to Meridia?Â
Ritemaster Iachesis standing above her with his hand held out pulled her from her spiraling thoughts. She took the offering, and this time when she stood, her legs stayed under her.Â
âA champion of Meridia?â Iachesis said thoughtfully, hand under his chin in contemplation. âAt least he was helpful.â
Bel flinched almost imperceptibly. Did he knowâŚ? Surely not. Nothing she had said or done could have hinted of her allegiance to Lady Meridia. Many trained in the templar arts. In fact, he likely thought her an Aedra worshipper if anything. And if he did suspect her of being a fellow champion of Meridia (her real champion, thank you), he would not reveal such suspicions by implying she was not helpful of all things.Â
Long awaited art for my friend @hightomtitty of my literal Psijic dads, Rivenar and Ritemaster Iachesis, being my dads, in love. Thank you for being patient and I love them... đ
We've had Sexymen, we may be getting sexywomen soon, so how about crowning the Elder Scrolls' No. 1 GILF?
Many thanks to @elavoria for providing me with a large variety of Morrowind and Oblivion elderly to choose from. All characters are chosen at their oldest age.
