NYk5JR0c

1Deep in the woods, lived a young mother and her daughter, Maxine.  They lived in a small cabin by themselves, as Maxine's father went out hunting months ago and never returned.  Maxine would often forage for herbs and food, while her mother would chop wood and hunt small game.  It was all they could do to survive with Maxine's father missing, but they still managed.  Life was moving on.
2
3 
4
5Before they knew it, it was Frostfall, and food was becoming scarce.  In an effort to top off their supplies for the winter, they started searching well past the normal areas they'd come to rely on.  Maxine was deep in the woods, a decent distance from the cabin where her mother was.  She had lost track of time, and it was getting dark out very quickly.  She finished packing up the supplies she collected, and began to make her way back to the cabin.  Before she knew it, it had started to rain, making the woods too dark to navigate safely.  She wasn't used to this part of the woods, and suddenly everything looked unfamiliar as the darkness quickly swept in.  Panic began to sit in when she realized that she was lost far from home and that her mother wouldn't be able to find her.  In an attempt to get home, she ventured deeper into the woods with hope that she'd get there if she just kept going.
6
7 
8
9After a couple hours, it was night time.  The rain was slow, but steady.  Maxine's mother, already driven mad with worry, had already set out for the woods to search for Maxine.  Meanwhile, exhausted from hiking in mud, and cold from the rain, Maxine was sitting under a tree and crying from her frustration, periodically calling out for her mother.  Little did either of them, they were not alone in the woods that night.  Many in the cities would have you believe that some of the scary stories you hear are just superstition.  But for Maxine and her mother, what was about to happen was anything but superstition.
10
11 
12
13Maxine's cries for help went unanswered, drown out by the sound of the rain falling through the trees.  When suddenly, she heard something trudging through the mud at a distance.  She suddenly became quiet and still.  She called out very loudly for her mother, thinking it was her in the distance.  The sound of mud being stomped through suddenly got louder, and quicker.  It was approaching Maxine quickly, and she knew it.  Frightened that it was wolves, she began running like she never ran before.  In her haste, she did not make it very far before she lost her footing in the mud.  As she quickly tried to get to her feet, she was grabbed by an unknown assailant, and a bag was tossed over head.  Before she even had time to struggle, she was struck on the back of the head, rendering her unconscious.
14
15 
16
17Maxine's mother searched tirelessly for her daughter throughout the night.  As her voice went hoarse from desperate unanswered calls for her daughter, she suddenly remembered something her mother told her long ago.  "Never go outside on the 13th of Frostfall, fore evil things haunt the wilderness that night."  She shook her head, dismissing the thought as a result of a weary mind, and instead turning her thoughts back toward locating Maxine.  Before she knew it, she could tell morning was coming.  The rain began to turn to a light snow.  With the light of morning approaching, and the weather changing...the mud suddenly revealed detailed tracks all throughout the forest.  Telling the tale of what transpired that night.  With luck on her side, it wasn't long until she found Maxine's tracks.  After an hour of hiking, she discovered more than just Maxine's tracks, but the tracks of multiple people, all seemingly following Maxine's tracks.  Her hunter instinct immediately sprang forth, as she notched an arrow into her bow as she proceeded.  All sorts of emotions flooded her mind.  Worry, anger, love, sadness, and determination were all put to the surface at once.  It wasn't long before she saw signs of a struggle, and then Maxine's tracks disappearing.  "This isn't right", she thought.  Until she noticed that one of the foot prints leading away were unusually deeper than before.  "She's being carried!"  With that realization, and no presence of blood, she determined that Maxine was abducted, but still alive!  She pursued the tracks at full sprint, as if a switch in her head turned off her fatigue.
18
19 
20
21She noticed a clearing in the forest up ahead, and began to proceed with caution as she was going to lose her cover.  In the distance, she noticed several robed individuals at a make shift camp site.  She also observed an odd altar next to the camp.  She immediately started covering her clothing in snow to provide camouflage, and then began sneaking toward the camp, hiding behind whatever cover she could find.  Her time spent hunting small fast game was well spent, as she developed natural knowledge of stalking prey and archery.  She got close enough to the camp for a better inspection, only to see an image that broke her mind instantly.  Maxine was on that altar....pale blue in color as the snow fell on her.  She had horrific ritualistic wounds, and her blood had stained the ground everywhere.  No parent should outlive their child, much less witness what Maxine's mother did.  Tears began to pour from her eyes, while her face contorted with outright rage.  Without giving it a second thought, she immediately began launching arrow after arrow into the sleeping murderers.  She counted only 3 at the camp, and by the time the cries from her first victim began waking up everyone, she was already getting notched again for her third.  She had the element of surprise on her side.  As she began to approach her targets, she heard someone begin to run nearby.  Seeing that it was a lone man with robes matching those at the site, she immediately fired an arrow toward his direction.  He was struck in the shoulder and collapsed.  As Maxine's mother was reaching for another arrow, the wounded man countered with a calm spell.  Even though the spell landed, Maxine's mother didn't even hesitate to notch another arrow.  As she got to near point blank distance, she stopped suddenly and locked eyes with the man.
22
23 
24
25The man gazed up surprised, clearly seeing that this women still had every intention of killing him.  "Please don't kill me!!!" he shouted.
26
27 
28
29Maxine's mother screamed, "You don't have enough magic to calm me down!  Not even a Daedra would!  Now I just want to know one damn thing!  Why?!  Why did you scum do this to my Maxine?!  Tell me!  Tell me now you bastard!!!".
30
31 
32
33The man replied, "Even if I told you, you would kill me or torture me anyway.  But I will say just one thing.  We were all out here performing research."  Maxine's mother began pointing her arrow at the man's face.  "What kind of research?"
34
35 
36
37"The kind of research that defies the natural order of life itself.  Yet, what defies the natural order, is actually a part of that order, just little is understood about it by most.  But not to a necromancer, a mage that studies death itself."
38
39 
40
41"What does any of that nonsense have to do with why you killed my daughter?!", screamed Maxine's mother.
42
43 
44
45"Kill isn't the right word exactly.  She did not die in the traditional sense.  You see, most necromancers attempt to give life to dead flesh using magic.  This experiment was something entirely different.  We wanted to create proof that necromancy really draws it's power from a place in Oblivion called the Soul Cairn.  Little is known of this realm, except that any necromancer who learned too much about it ended up dead as a result, however, all necromancers unknowingly draw their power from there.  In this realm, are something like a Daedra, called the Ideal Masters.  Think of them like greedy merchants who trade in souls instead of coin...."
46
47 
48
49Maxine's mother interrupts, "This better be going somewhere blasphemer!  My hand is getting tired, and you wouldn't want me firing this arrow off before you've given me a reason not to."
50
51 
52
53The necromancer clears his throat nervously and continues, "Normally when people die, their soul doesn't go to the Soul Cairn.  It only happens if that person's soul is trapped in a black soul gem, or if you deal with the Ideal Masters unwisely.  That is why we needed your daughter.  Rather than just kill her and turn her into a zombie, we instead took her soul and placed it in a black soul gem.  We formed a contract with the Ideal Masters and her soul became the down payment.  The idea was, we'd continue sending high quality souls to the Ideal Masters, so we could indefinitely draw on it's power without the negative consequence of having to surrender our own souls.  We 4 mutually bear the contract, that is, until you killed my 3 fellow researchers, leaving me in sole possession of it.  I can say this with certainty, your daughter's soul was not consumed by any process yet, as we had just formed the contract hours before you sprang into our camp.  She exists now in the Soul Cairn."
54
55 
56
57"You really aren't helping your case you demon!  Now this is the part where you tell me a good reason not to send you directly to your Ideal Masters!", she earnestly insisted.
58
59 
60
61"It's possible to bring your daughter back to life.  I have the knowledge, and a contract built on your daughter's soul.  That means, if I added more souls to the contract, then I could negotiate with the Ideal Masters for the release of her soul.  But there is the issue of a physical vessel.  Raising the dead to be mindless is simple.  Putting a human soul back into a body in it's entirety requires the soul's original body, or at least, most of it anyway.  Your daughter isn't exactly fresh at this point.  She was beginning to suffer from frostbite when we found her, so her hands and feet are unusable.  I need flesh that was working properly before death.  My colleagues and I only wrote theories on how to do this, but so far, our findings have been spot on."
62
63 
64
65Maxine's mother slightly lowered the arrow and relaxed her grip on the string, "I....I...I don't know what to make of all this.  But one thing is for sure.  You are coming with me."
66
67 
68
69As she made that statement, she struck the nercomancer, knocking him out cold.
70
71 
72
73He awoke to realize that he was in a bed.  His wound treated, but he was in shackles.  He tried to summon up his magic, only to realize that he had none to summon.  "What are you doing to me?!", he screamed.
74
75 
76
77"Isn't that your victims' line?", she replied.  "Listen, you are alive for one reason, and one reason only.  You will bring me back my daughter.  As much as I am disgusted by you and what you do, it isn't fair that she is gone now too.  I lost my husband months ago, and I just can't lose her too.  You will bring her back, or I will torture you so horribly, that it would even repulse your kind!"
78
79 
80
81"Your point has been made.  I will help you.  I mean, I most certainly don't want the alternative option.  Plus, it seems like my research will get to continue.", he replied.
82
83 
84
85"Just tell me what you need, and explain these notes I found to me.  I might not be much of a mage, but I do know a lot about alchemy.  I'm sure by now you've probably noticed that you can't use magic.  That is because you are drugged with a poison of my own design.  You see, you run into all kinds of things out in the woods.  Some of them even use magic.  For a simple archer like me, magic can be a problem.  So, I made a multi-faceted poison.  One part of it will suppress any magic you can regenerate, another part eats away at the magic you have, and another special part that makes you extremely allergic to magic.  Normally, that last part isn't so bad, except that it's so severe that even sunlight will cause your skin to burn!  You had this poison in your system the moment my arrow struck you, and it's in the food I'll be feeding you.  If you won't eat voluntarily, I'll force you.  You can't use magic.  You can't travel during the day, and wolves will tear you apart if you try leaving here at night.  That's if I don't find you first.  So I assume I'll have your perfect cooperation?", she boldly stated as she glared down at him.
86
87 
88
89"Quite." said the defeated necromancer.
90
91 
92
93Some time had passed by, as Maxine's mother learned of necromancy and other magic from her prisoner.  The notes she found at the Necromancer's camp site began to start making sense the more she learned.  Her prior knowledge of alchemy helped immensely, as even the necromancer was impressed with her knowledge.  Too impressed the necromancer began to think.  Judging by how fast she was learning, he determined that there was a lot more to this women than she lets on.  As if he wasn't on guard enough, he was intentionally not telling her something very important.  Something that would have disastrous consequences should his captor ever find out.  He successfully managed to keep that fact hidden thus far.
94
95 
96
97"Now is the time to procure new parts for Maxine.  I would do this myself, but you refuse to let me out of your sight."
98
99 
100
101"Don't even think about it.  I refuse to participate in grave robbing, but that just means I'll have to tag along to supervise you."
102
103 
104
105"Have it your way, but please keep your opinions to yourself while I work please.  It's distracting to perform one's art while a critic stands over your shoulder, judging every action I make.  This is all to bring back your daughter afterall."
106
107 
108
109"Enough foul necromancer.  Let's go."
110
111 
112
113Maxine's mother and the necromancer snuck into Falkreath under the cover of night.  They went to the Hall of the Dead to perform their gruesome task.
114
115 
116
117"This one is perfect!  She's the exact same height as Maxine, and a similar age, but she appears to be missing a hand as a result of her death, so only her legs, eyes, and part of an arm will be needed.  She also appears to be a dark elf."
118
119 
120
121"Whatever, get on with it so we can get out of here."
122
123 
124
125The necromancer pulled out his tools of gore, and began removing the needed parts from 2 different recently deceased girls.  After the business was concluded, they quickly left the city for the forest.
126
127 
128
129They assembled Maxine's vessel back at the cabin.  They used every technique known to the necromancer in preparing her.  Maxine's mother used her knowledge of alchemy to further enhance Maxine's new body much to the amazement of the necromancer.  She was taking what she learned, and combining it with what she already knew, and was taking it a step farther by applying it all.  The necromancer suspected she had been lying about her past regarding magic.  She knew things that only forsworn alchemists would know.  Those same forsworn alchemists are renowned witches.  But that just didn't make sense to the Necromancer.  No witch he had ever met could make a poison so powerful.  Either way, the time had now come to start dealing with the Ideal Masters.
130
131 
132
133"We can't summon Maxine's soul yet.  We need souls to bargain with.  I keep telling you this, but you refuse to listen!  Do you really want your daughter back or not?!", the Necromancer yelled.
134
135 
136
137"We can't do this any other way?!  Why aren't the Ideal Masters interested in white souls from animals?"
138
139 
140
141"Ideal masters only give great power for black souls from humans.  They barely give any power at all for white souls, unless it's from a creature neither of us want to tangle with."
142
143 
144
145"I put up with the likes of you don't I?  But, you are right.  As much as I don't want to admit it, I know you are right.  We've already come this far, and my soul is already damned for following along with all of this.  But I don't care.  I refuse to let Maxine's soul be damned too.  Does it have to be a particular kind of human?  Can it be anyone?", asked Maxine's mother.
146
147 
148
149"Technically, yes.  However, certain souls carry more worth than others.  Think of the time you have left alive as a type of worth for your soul.  A soul from a child is worth more than that of an adult in that sense.  But that isn't the only factor.  Souls from important bloodlines, and accomplished individuals could be worth more than that of a child's, because that goes by the strength of the soul.  Basically, souls from famous warriors or mages would be greater than that of a child's.  A child's soul would be greater than that of an old street beggar's.  You get the general idea.", said the Necromancer.
150
151 
152
153"I see.  So to get Maxine back, we need at least 1 adult with a strong soul.  I refuse to let another child die over this, and I refuse to have more people die than is needed."
154
155 
156
157"Beggars and children are the easiest to obtain.  Remember, we need the subject alive to soul trap them back at the altar.  An accomplished adult will put up much more of a fight.", he replied.
158
159 
160
161"You leave that part to me.  By the way, you are going to tell me where I can find more people like you.", Maxine's mother said while sporting a devilish grin.
162
163 
164
165The Necromancer told Maxine's mother about the closest location she would find other necromancers.  This location was dangerous.  This would be no simple raid on a camp of a few.  This was an infested little spot full of all manner of dark conjurers, necromancers, witches, forsworn, briarheart warriors, werewolves under magical control, summoned lesser daedra, ghosts of the tortured, walking undead, and even hagravens.  If there was a hell on Tamriel, then it was here.  All manner of dark things seemed to be gathering in this one cavern to seek refuge from the service, and are cooperating to bring something even darker into this world.  Maxine's mother wouldn't listen to reason, and insisted on going there to get what she needed.  The Necromancer knew that she wouldn't let him out of her sight, so they began to discuss an infiltration plan to kidnap a high ranking dark mage as they ate dinner together.
166
167 
168
169"Even with this plan, we still have many problems.  I've given you the layout of the inside, and where guards are sure to be.  But with two people, sneaking in will be next to impossible, much less coming out with a captive.  Your best bet will be to attack right at sunrise like you did at my camp.  We mages who practice the dark arts do so at night because our craft is strongest then.  By morning, they've usually exhausted their magic through experiments.  They will be weakest then, and so will I thanks to your poison.", explained the Necromancer.
170
171 
172
173"Oh.  You won't have to worry about that.  You aren't coming with me.", Maxine's mother replied.
174
175 
176
177The Necromancer look puzzled, until he began to immediately feel drowsy.
178
179 
180
181"You *censored*!  Why do you always drug m.....".  The Necromancer was fast asleep.
182
183 
184
185Maxine's mother locked up her prisoner tightly, packed up a multitude of various weapons and gear, then set out to possibly meet her maker.
186
187 
188
189Not much is known about what happened at what was once a long abandoned mine.  The miners had to stop what they were doing because the end of their tunnel collapsed into an undiscovered cavern.  A small isolated pocket of Blackreach with access to all kinds of subterranean flora.  No dwemer structures were here, and no falmer either.  The earth had locked away this cavern for eons before the miners re-exposed it to the world.  When the tunnel collapsed, all sorts of toxic gases poured from the earth, making sure humans wouldn't dare set foot in it for a long time.  That is, until it was discovered by a group of witches and then became the hell hole it is now.  When it's said that not much is known to have happened to this old mine, that is because is no longer exists.  Whispers among the nearby locals revealed that during that night when Maxine's mother went there...all that could be heard in the area were hours of the terrifying screams from demons and men alike.  Followed by silence, and then eventually a large explosion which collapsed the entire mine in on itself.  Sealing it off forever.  The locals still refuse to go anywhere near there, while many accuse them of just being superstitious.
190
191 
192
193"Wake your ass up!  We have work to do.", said Maxine's mother as she splashed water in the Necromancer's face.
194
195 
196
197Wearily, the Necromancer said, "What the hell happened?  You're alive?!  Were you successful?!  What in the Oblivion happened to you by the way?  You are covered in wounds, and there is far more blood on you than can be your own.  What happened out there?"
198
199 
200
201"Like I said, we have work to do.  These wounds aren't deep, and they mean nothing to me.", said Maxine's mother in a cold tone.
202
203 
204
205They gathered everything they would need for the ceremony.  Maxine's vessel, a filled black soul gem, and numerous other items, then began walking to the altar at the old camp where everything started.  As they reached the altar, they placed Maxine's new body on it and prepared for the ritual.
206
207 
208
209"First, I must contact the Ideal Masters with this black soul gem deposit you collected.  This will initiate the dialogue.  Once the Ideal Masters have accepted the deposit, I can then request the withdrawal of Maxine's soul.  It's all like one big bank.  The contract will be declared null if the Ideal Masters have no collateral.  So bringing Maxine back should also nullify my contract.  If you were to allow me to live after all of this, then I will consider this my last great experiment in necromancy.  Clearly, all this dark magic has been terribly bad for my health lately."
210
211 
212
213"I'll think about it.  Let's just focus on the task at hand and we'll see how things go.", replied Maxine's mother.
214
215 
216
217"Thank you.  By the way, I need my magic for this ritual.  May I have an antidote for your lovely poison?"
218
219 
220
221"I suppose so.  Here you go.  But I detect anything odd about what you are doing, I will kill you where you stand."
222
223 
224
225"Jeez!  No need to be so scary.  I've cooperated with you every step of the way.  I even taught you necromancy and many other kinds of magic.  You now know more than most mages do.  I definitely wouldn't have taught you to leave myself at an even greater disadvantage to you.", said the necromancer convincingly.
226
227 
228
229The Necromancer took the antidote, and then began his dialogue with the Ideal Masters.  They gladly accepted the deposit and began negotiating for Maxine's soul.
230
231 
232
233"Something's wrong!", yelled the Necromancer as dark magic poured out from the altar.  "The Ideal Masters say this last deposit was not enough to cover the return of Maxine's soul.  It would leave the account in the negative, and as per the contract, I can not use my own soul either.  So I have volunteered yours."
234
235 
236
237As he said that, the dark magic flowing around the altar began to envelope Maxine's mother.  When all seemed lost as Maxine's mother was slowly being dragged toward the altar...
238
239 
240
241Magic runes began activating all over her body, and a blinding white light surged forth from her.
242
243 
244
245"I don't think so Necromancer."
246
247 
248
249"Not today, not tomorrow, because right now, it is you who shall fall!  I've been preparing for this day ever since I came across you!  Did you think I was just some simple-minded woodland bumpkin that you could fool at the last second?!  You killed my daughter AND my husband you wretch!!!  I found some of his things at your camp!!!", Maxine's mother screamed as the magic coming from her violently clashed with the dark magic of the altar.
250
251 
252
253She began to laugh manically, with tones of demonic rage in her voice.
254
255 
256
257"When I told you that I wasn't a mage, I wasn't lying!  I am a descendant of a witch!  But not just any witch.  My great great grandmother was a witch up until she denounced necromancy, and took to worshiping the Nine!  She became one with nature itself, which led her down the path of a Witchhunter!!!  She was the best of the best.  During her time, she was the only former witch to ever become a witchhunter.  This made her especially hated by the forces of evil, and brought her many battles.  She never fell once in combat, and died of old age.  Every daughter she bore, and every daughter they bore, all become Witchhunters.  As time went on, the secrets of both necromancy and witch hunting were passed down in my family.  However, the secrets that were passed down were so advanced that only a true mage could even make sense of it.  I have you to thank for that.  Teaching me magic was a bad idea!  Not only did I study your research, but I also studied my great great grandmother's!  That is how I survived the mine!  I didn't just capture a piece of scum like you and trap his soul!  I wiped out that entire mine!!!"
258
259 
260
261As she shouted those words at the top of her lungs, the runes on her body began to glow fiercely, visibly burning her skin.  Her white magic began merging into the swirling vortex of dark magic.  She stopped being dragged in, and instead, was seemingly beginning to fight for control of the swirling catastrophe waiting to happen.
262
263 
264
265"You are a fool!  You don't know what you are doing!!!  One wrong move, and the Ideal Masters may break the contract!  This will cause this entire altar to blow up in our faces!  You wanted your daughter back didn't you?!  So why do you fight me?!", screamed the Necromancer, as he struggled for control over the swirling madness growing all around them.
266
267 
268
269"I know exactly what you'd do!  You were just going to deposit my soul, and then keep practicing your experiments!  You never had any intention of bringing Maxine back!  You must be stopped here and now!!!"
270
271 
272
273"Listen hear and listen well Ideal Masters!  I am the last of a long line of Witchhunters!  If you think your contract with this Necromancer is so worth while, then how do you explain the fact that it was I who trapped that mage's soul in your most recent deposit?!  You know I'm not lying!  This man's contract is worthless without me getting the actual souls.  Don't you think that the middle man just gets in the way?  For that reason, I ask that you switch ownership of the contract to me, and I'd like to deposit that foul Necromancer!"
274
275 
276
277Ideal Masters:  "You want to withdrawal a powerful soul.  Young, with a gifted blood-line.  Even with his soul, you do not have enough to trade.  The Necromancer does not want to withdrawal this soul.  He wants to keep giving us souls in exchange for great power.  This is preferable to us.  What can you offer?"
278
279 
280
281"I thought you'd say something like that.  That is why I came prepared.  While the necromancer was napping for 2 days straight, I was busy making full use of that mine!", she said, as she tossed a large sack full of items onto the altar.
282
283 
284
285"Ideal Masters!  I offer you this deposit.  I understand that it will take a powerful soul to bring her back from the Soul Cairn, and another equally powerful one to bind her free soul to her body forever.  The entire process takes an incredible amount of magic to accomplish on top of all that.  More than any one human possesses!  That is why, I offer you the soul of a hagraven, and her head!  I offer you the souls and salts of a dozen atronachs!  I offer you the souls and hides of 4 werewolves!  I offer you the souls and hearts of 3 dremora!  I offer you the black souls, hearts, and flesh of 15 dark wizards.  I offer you the souls and briarhearts of 5 forsworn warriors!  I offer you the soul of the man who sought to cheat your rules with this contract in the first place!  Lastly, I will seal this contract with my own blood, making my own soul possibly forfeit, on the condition that I may add a clause of my own choosing!"
286
287 
288
289Ideal Masters:  ...  What clause?  We can only agree if we know.
290
291 
292
293"That I get to add additional holders of this contract of my choosing, at any time!  That's the deal!  You won't get such a large deposit if you don't agree!  Take it or leave it!  You have far more to gain by siding with me!"
294
295 
296
297The necromancer grew weary from his struggle against Maxine's mother.  As he listened to the conversation, a look of dread washed over his face when he realized how outclassed at the bargaining table he was.  Even if he tried and had the same 2 days, there would be no way he could match her deal.  Before the Ideal Masters could come to a decision, he poured every last ounce of strength he had into the magical void, attempted to discontinue their conversation.  Right as he tried to force his control over the tempest...The Ideal Masters replied, "Agreed mortal."
298
299 
300
301At that moment, Maxine's mother pleaded toward the sky, "By my right as sole holder of this contract, I bestow joint ownership upon the Nine!  I also bestow ownership of this contract over to the daedra; Azura and Meridia!!!  By the power of my blood-line!  Witness the secret power passed down in every generation!  The oath my great great grandmother made!!!"
302
303 
304
305"TOTAL INVOCATION OF THE WITCHHUNTER!!!"
306
307 
308
309The magic runes on Maxine's mother all suddenly lifted from her body.  The runes aligned themselves around the altar instantly, and emitted pure white light that dispelled all of the dark magic.  At that instant, all the items in the sack on the altar disappeared, and so did the Necromancer.  Maxine's mother opened her eyes to see herself floating in a void.  There was nothingness, aside from distant voids in the distance of varying colors.  She wondered if she failed, and that she had died.
310
311 
312
313Azura:  You are not dead.  We are all here because we were summoned by the Ideal Masters in regard to this contract.  That alone would normally not be enough, but we have also come because it was fated to be.  As much as it was fated for you to use a power that you lost the right to wield.  You forsake the oath.  The oath that the Nine, Meridia, and I, would grant power to your family as long as you never again delved into the black arts again.  You destroyed that promise repeatedly, that has existed for generations, and then call on us for power?  We only granted you power in that instant to prevent a catastrophic event that was also foreseen.  What would you ask of us, given your current position in this mess?
314
315 
316
317Maxine's Mother:  My lady, all of you.  Yes, I helped that terrible necromancer, and he helped me understand how to deal with the Ideal Masters.  Now they are stuck in a contract caused by their own endless greed for souls.  I dragged all of you into this contract because divine intervention would not have been possible otherwise.  I throw myself before your mercy.  Even if my soul is to be taken by the Ideal Masters for all time....that's ok.  Just please...please!  I beg you!  Allow Maxine's soul to come back to this body.  She had a young life stolen from her by darkness.  I fought that darkness.  I've seen horrors that would drive most men mad.  I had to become a monster that devoured other monsters.  I've done things I can not atone for, such as trapping human souls for the Ideal Masters.  But I've also done good things that few heroes could match.  The oath, the contract....it can all go to hell and me along with it!  But bring back Maxine!!!
318
319 
320
321Meridia:  You would ask of us the very thing I despise most?  More necromancy?!  Your request is not even worth considering.  It's blasphemy!
322
323 
324
325Azura:  Our presence here was fated to happen because of her faith in the oath, and in us.  She knows not what we will decide, but throws herself before our mercy regardless.
326
327 
328
329Mara:  Silence!  She is doing this out of a mother's love for her child.  This is more than just faith.  This is a sacrifice made in the name of the purest of love.
330
331 
332
333Arkay:  I am in agreement with Meridia.  Asking us to agree to the taboo is beyond our power.
334
335 
336
337Stendarr:  But what will we decide?  Justice is on her side, and so shall I.
338
339 
340
341Kynareth:  Are we going to ignore the misfortune of Maxine?  She was taken off the path of the natural by darkness.  Is it not up to us to do something?
342
343 
344
345Talos:  I deem her a worthy human.  Worthy of much indeed.  On one hand, she has acted with honor mostly, but I can't ignore the breaking of the oath!
346
347 
348
349Julianos:  Are we sure that this was our decision to make?  Maxine's mother also holds this contract, and free to make her own choices still.
350
351 
352
353The divines and daedra begin arguing back and forth, and talking over each other.  Until Maxine's mother speaks up.
354
355 
356
357"I have made a choice.  The contract holds more than enough souls and magic to bring Maxine back.  I sealed this in blood, so I am no longer protected if the Ideal Masters decide to break the contract in a trick.  That is where you all come in.  Instead of asking you all to decide for me, I ask that you make sure the Ideal Masters live up to their end of the bargain!  I will freely give my soul over to the Ideal Masters to bind her soul to her body, but when that happens, I will no longer be in the contract, but you all will.  Once Maxine's soul is back in her body, and she is alive again....any left over souls in the account should be freed to return where they originally meant to go.  The Ideal Masters can not claim your souls.  So you are safe from their trickery.  Will you see my last wish through?
358
359 
360
361After a moment of deliberation, the Divines and Daedra spoke as one, "Agreed.  If that is your desire.  She will still be a form of undead by the Ideal Masters creation, though, the only one with real free will, and it's own soul.  Is that what you desire?"
362
363 
364
365"Yes!  I trade it all for her!  My soul!  The Oath! This whole damn painful existence!  Take it all!  I will atone in hell while my daughter gets a 2nd chance at life!  You hear me Ideal Masters?!  I won!  I'm coming to laugh in your silly faces for all eternity you miserable bastards!!!"
366
367 
368
369In a flash....everything was gone.  The altar exploded in a burst of magical energy.  The only thing walking away from the disaster, was a little zombie girl named Maxine, who had no memory of her own death, and only vague memories of her life while she was alive.  She returned to the cabin where she remembered living, and little by little, she regained some of her memories while living there.
370
371 
372
373The divines made sure the Ideal Masters followed through on their promise.  The remaining souls in the Ideal Masters' possession were released into the void.  But Azura and Meridia had other plans.
374
375 
376
377Meridia:  If this child is damned to be pseudo undead, then I will breathe even more life into her.  So she can one day be my champion against other undead.  The best WILL be made of this situation.
378
379 
380
381Azura:  As one fate meets it's end, another just begins it's journey.  We will watch over this child of ill-destiny, until the next time comes when we must intervene in the affairs of man.