35: Dark Staff

I read on worriedly. It went through some technical jargon, and though it was incredibly complex, I was able to decipher that the waves of magical energy would theoretically increase exponentially until they were powerful enough to mend the hole in space, ripping me apart in the process. I shuddered and finished the passage. It mentioned no solution to such a hole in space, as none had ever been witnessed on Tamriel before. I closed the book and sighed.

“I’m in trouble.” I threw the book to the ground and moaned. I stood and started to pace. I was in a very difficult position, compounded by the fact that my pacing was suffering from my inability to walk. Deetsan came in and saw me struggling with learning to walk again. She smiled and approached me.

“Having some trouble I see. Maybe this will help.” She pulled a tall, pitch black staff from behind her back and held it out to me. I pulled it towards me and gripped it. It was made out of a cool, light metal that warmed to my touch. I leaned on it gratefully, finding it much to my liking. I thanked Deetsan and she left quietly. I felt no magical presence within the staff, though something was familiar about it. Like it was an old friend.

I moved much easier with the staff supporting me, and I continued to pace. My mind did seem less troubled now, without having to concentrate on walking. In fact, a cool lightness had entered my mind. I smiled and sat down to inspect my new helper.

“Light, aren’t I?” I jumped when I felt the voice in my mind. It chuckled and continued. “Thought you could be rid of me forever, didn’t you?” The Dark One’s voice filled my mind, piercing and inescapable. I shuddered and stared at the staff. It glowed with runes momentarily and continued. “Yes, I am the staff now. See what you have done to me? You have shattered my connection with reality. Now I only exist as a shadow of what I was.”

“Uhh…” This was about the strangest thing I had ever experienced. In fact, I wondered if I might be going crazy.

“No, fool. It isn’t insanity. It is the nature of my talents that has created this situation. Now listen, by destroying my network of sphere universes, you ripped me apart. However, the resulting energy reversed my existence from physical into purely metaphysical. Fortunately for both of us, I was able to retain enough of my physical form to imbue myself into this staff. Still, my physical form was weak, and I could not maintain myself for long. So I persuaded your dear Guild Head into giving me to you as a gift.”

“And what’s to stop me from simply throwing you out?”

“Because we need each other. Your poor little toes are now part of a tear in space. Surely you’ve figured that out by now. From it will emanate waves of magic that will rip you apart. I am fading away, slowly but surely, and only magical energy can sustain me. So you see, we complete each other. You create the energy, I stop it from destroying you, and you in turn stop me from fading away into nothingness. So, we need each other.”

The staff hummed in my hands, energy skimming across its obsidian surface. I contemplated my position. The injury I had received was equally as unpleasant for the Dark One. We truly were opposites, but we needed each other for the sake of survival. I examined the humming surface one last time, breathed deeply, and made the only decision I could.

“Okay, I guess I have no choice.”

“Well, that is certainly a relief to me. I must explain to you the conditions. I can suppress the magical bursts to a certain extent, but you may still experience influxes of it. I don’t think you will mind once you learn to predict and control them. From each wave I shall draw a certain percent of the energy, and a further percent will be spent to repair the tear. Slowly, but surely, we shall repair the hole, and then go our separate ways.”

“How long will that take?”

“Difficult to say, but, depending on the size of the tear, anywhere from two weeks… to two centuries.”

“Ah.”