Riverlands
Neferion
He hadn't felt such great satisfaction in a long time as he did now when he was beating one of the Seven like a training dummy. At first, he had planned to drag out the fight, to have fun, because there were really few opportunities to fight an opponent who didn't die from a single blow.
However, when he heard that, as he had feared, one of the Seven – Maiden – had indeed set her sights on Nymeria, he decided not to hold back. If need be, he would reshape mountains, but he would destroy this arrogant god.
However, he didn't expect that he would receive help. Stranger, because it was undoubtedly him, was practically dead when the old woman appeared. Crone. He knew right away that she was the more dangerous of the two. More patient and balanced. Smarter. Well, she was supposedly the goddess of knowledge and wisdom, so it made sense.
He also doubted that the aspect of death would show all of its tricks and powers; it just hadn't given him the time to do so yet.
"I must admit that you impressed me, Crone. I don't know how, but you managed to present yourself in front of me. That's no small feat." He said, his voice accustomed to thu'um carrying for miles.
"With age comes new tricks," the other replied, stepping closer to her other aspect. "I guess I don't have to add that you are even more impressive. You are a more powerful warrior than our brother, and your power to manipulate reality is as terrifying as it is absurd."
He looked at her more closely, tilting his head. "You don't seem scared, though," he replied, intrigued.
"You have your powers; we have ours. Besides, the others will be here soon. They rushed here as soon as they sensed an attack on that rotten-smelling fool."
"Hey, Crone. That wasn't nice, you stinking old hag." The other replied, pulling himself out of the mountain cliff face.
Neferion suddenly turned around, sensing a disturbance in the air. About 200 feet away from him, another pair of the Seven had stopped.
"Stranger, Crone, be quiet. This is not the time for silly banter. This is a fight for survival and dominion over mortals." A male voice spoke, belonging to a middle-aged, grizzled man with a long beard and cold blue eyes. It had to be Father.
"Because of you, brother, we had to abandon our human shells and armies to make sure you wouldn't die." Mother, a beautiful auburn-haired woman, added.
"Are we still waiting for someone, or are we starting the fun?" he interrupted their chatter, irritated. He had to admit that although he was still convinced of his eventual victory, he was worried about Nymeria.
The only consolation was the fact that the artefacts he had given her were enchanted to return to his savka in the event of the death of the one he had lent them to. So he knew she was alive. However, there were fates worse than death. On his right, another opponent appeared, emanating a power much more powerful than the others.
Armed in golden armour, holding a crimson sword and shield in his hand, powerful artefacts from what he could sense. Golden hair, a short beard, hard features and piercing grey eyes completed the image of the warrior.
"You are in such a hurry to die, Dragon." The newcomer said, approaching.
Neferion burst out laughing. What was with all these arrogant gods? They had only experienced or heard of a fraction of his power, not knowing the true potential of the thu'um, and had doomed him to failure just because there were more of them? Absurd. Perhaps it was time to show who they were dealing with.
However, before he could take action, something strange began to happen to the Seven. Or rather, at that moment, to the Five. They all grabbed their heads at the same time, as if experiencing some kind of pain. Stranger and Mother even fell to their knees, and the others, except for the warrior, staggered on their feet.
Taking advantage of the confusion, he rushed towards Mother, grabbing her, and placed Bloodthorn around her neck.
"If you don't want her not-so-beautiful soul to end up in a certain black crystal in my bag, you'd better tell me what happened. Something that caused you such pain meant that something had to happen to one of the other aspects," he said, looking at them calmly.
"And I'll know when you lie," he added with a smile.
"It's Maiden." Crone replied after a moment, looking uncertainly at the others. "Her corporeal shell was destroyed, and her divine soul disappeared, as if something had swallowed her or sealed her."
Neferion, hearing this, couldn't help the laughter that escaped his lips. He let go of the goddess he was holding and laughed, holding his stomach. This foolish, wonderful woman really did it.
When he gave her the artefacts of the Daedric princes, especially Mehrunes' Razor and Azura's Star, he didn't expect them to be used to seal the goddess. But they did. His princess never ceased to surprise him.
"You idiots, one of you was killed and imprisoned by a mortal with no superhuman powers, unless you take her stubbornness into account. You fools should be ashamed of yourselves."
"A mortal. You mean that it was that girl Nymeria who did this?" Father asked incredulously, his eyes full of anger and irritation. "Do you think we're fools?"
Neferion sighed, rolling his eyes. Why did he have to repeat himself? "Of course I think you're fools. Didn't I just call you that? And so Nymeria had to seal Maiden. After all, I left her some divine artefacts that could be helpful in this," he admitted, unsettling them with those words.
"Are we supposed to believe that you left divine artefacts in the hands of a mortal?" Crone asked.
"Believe what you want. Not everyone is as poor as you. I have many other equally powerful relics." He replied with a mocking smile, and in his hands, elements of his collection began to appear and disappear one by one. Auriel's Bow, Solarion, Dawnbreaker, Ebony Blade, Ebony Mail, Mace of Molag Bal, Reuful Axe, Masque of Clavicus Vile, Oghma Infinium, Ring of Namira, Sanguine Rose, Ring of Hircine, Saviour's Hide, Skeleton Key, Skull of Corruption, Vollendrung, and Spellbreaker.
"Wait, that's not all; I have a few more," he added, then pulled out the next ones from his magic bag. Auriel's Shield, Lord's Mail, Stendarr's Hammer, Chrysamere, Brush of True Paint, and Staff of Magnus.
"I have a few more, but I won't pull them out anymore. Eye of Magnus and Heart of Lorkhan would be too much."
Clearly sensing the powerful energies the artefacts emanated, the Seven's reactions ranged from disbelief to pure greed.
"Where did you get so many divine artefacts?" Stranger asked, his eyes gleaming with envy.
"How so? I got them, took them, stole them, and in four cases robbed them of their corpses after killing their owners. You thought you were the first gods on my list to kill."
"I killed those four gods, known in my world as Daedric Princes. Believe me, worse bastards than you, but any one of them would wipe the floor with all seven of you. So, shall we continue the fight now, or do you want to chat like this forever?"