[center][img]http://i.imgur.com/DWQ5AYj.png[/img] [i]"The Tower touches all the mantles of Heaven, brother-noviates, and by its apex one can be as he will. More: be as he was and yet changed for all else on that path for those that walk after. This is the third key of Nu-mantia and the secret of how mortals become makers, and makers back to mortals. The Bones of the Wheel need their flesh, and that is mankind's heirloom." [sub]- Commentaries on the Mysterium Xarxes, Book Three[/sub] "Look at the majesty sideways and all you see is the Tower, which our ancestors made idols from. Look at its center and all you see is the begotten hole, second serpent, womb-ready for the Right Reaching, exact and without enchantment. The heart of the second serpent holds the secret triangular gate. Look at the secret triangular gate sideways and you see the secret Tower. The secret Tower within the Tower is the shape of the only name of God, I." [sub]- 36 Lessons of Vivec, Sermon 21[/sub][/i] [/center] [hr] The Empire and the Aldmeri Dominion slowly circle around each other, eyes locked like competing predators, simultaneously provoking and avoiding another Great War. Tamriel teeters on the brink. Armies mobilize to the heart-thrum of training drums and fell voices sail the air, calling for death and ruin on both sides. All of the prophesied Heroes have gone; to faraway lands, beyond the veil, in hiding. The shrines of the Nine are as silent as ever. Demon-Princes watch with bated breath. A plea for help has been sent to White-Gold Tower from the coastlines of High Rock. It speaks of a Man and his marauders, zealots, and Daedra that haunt the Abecean Sea, boarding and pillaging with impunity, far away from the Emperor's fixed gaze. It speaks of a Man insane and divine, doom-driven, clutching the very soul of fire in a gauntlet so black and bright it moves between worlds, carrying a Scroll on His back that speaks of death and cannot be read. Wise and elusive, this Man cloaks himself and his gore-soaked apostles in the impenetrable green shroud of Valenwood, from where it is said blood runs upstream into the rivers and brings bad dreams. Even the elves fear Him. Their whispers spread far and wide; the Prophet of Dagon-Ur has come. Red Mountain shivers at night. Dragons flee north to Atmora. The Serpent moves. The Emperor acquiesces to the plea. In northern Valenwood, near Arenthia, one small boat and its crew prepare to sail the streams and rivers of Valenwood south, in absolute secrecy, to Greenheart, from whence the darkness spreads. To kill Akhar.