The tall deer head man gave Simon a simple sense of déjà vu.
He still remembered that the Buddhist disciple also had deer antlers, but his appearance was much more pleasant than the rough Hircine.
Speaking of which, Simon might have an extra fondness for Hircine because of His antlers. In his opinion, deer are beautiful animals—especially when they are quiet.
In this cold and desolate killing field, the blood of Boethiah's cult members flowed everywhere, spreading through the cracks in the rocks and gravel, then freezing solid in the low temperature. The lines that extended out were like the sharp edges of ice crystals. On the reeking ground, Hircine's tall body gave an unapproachable feeling. He was even taller than a Troll, and when Simon looked up to meet His gaze, he could clearly feel the chaotic information overflowing from the Daedric Prince's avatar. The high-level projection brought over some superfluous things; the blood on the ground began to flow again and grew upwards into tree branches.
Hircine, with a stag's skull for a head, showed no expression, but His joy had already spread to the surrounding environment. The breeze near the ground stirred up small dust devils, and even made Simon experience a long-lost auditory hallucination. Unlike the hallucinations brought by the Daedric Prince of Knowledge, the music brought by the Hunting Daedric Prince was a wild drumbeat, which, combined with Simon's own memories, actually sounded much like electronic music.
"Mortal, My kin, you are excellent. That bitch Boethiah should now understand the taste of shame. This is your reward." Hircine pushed the soul orb in His hand forward. It floated slowly in mid-air, growing and transforming into a tall female figure wearing fierce leather armor and holding two swords.
The woman looked around, then paused in surprise when she saw Hircine, and respectfully bowed, "My Lord, greetings."
The deer head man was not in the mood to greet Gaelina. He only instructed Simon again, "Do not let your guard down. That bitch will surely try to harm you in every possible way. Perhaps she will drag you into Her Ten-Race Blood Contest, or perhaps she will send her champion warriors to kill you. In any case, it will be a very exciting hunt! Do not die, My kin!" After speaking, He laughed loudly and disappeared. The restless blood trees on the ground collapsed with a crash, and the auditory hallucinations in Simon's ears vanished instantly.
Now only the mother and son were left. It is said that separation by life and death is one of life's sorrows. Now they were separated forever, even more unbearable, a scene that couldn't help but evoke a sigh of lament.
The tall Troll gradually shrank, becoming a fair-skinned Nord boy, wearing an oversized cloth garment, with fine, mole-like runes covering his partially exposed shoulder blades at the neckline.
Gaelina's spirit looked at the boy in front of her, frowning, "Little boy, are you my Lord's kin? Where is your mother? How could she let you out alone?"
Simon opened his mouth, hesitated, then softly asked, "Mother, are you well?"
"Huh? What? Me? You're saying I'm your mother?" Gaelina was stunned. "I died before I even got married. Where would I get a child?"
Simon's gentle, profound, and subtly reserved smile instantly froze, like an egg dropped on the land of Skyrim's Hearthfire moon. The egg white was still the egg white, the yolk was still the yolk, but it was frozen as hard as a hammer by the wind and frost.
"You don't recognize me?" Simon's young body suddenly trembled. Although he knew something was strange, he couldn't rule out that Gaelina didn't want to acknowledge him as her child. The scene of his birth was still like yesterday, and for some reason, the sorrow in his heart was inexpressible, and hot tears almost welled up in his eyes.
Gaelina shrugged, showing a puzzled and strange expression, "You're a good-looking kid, just a few too many moles on your body. If you insist on me being your mom, that's fine, haha! Don't cry! From now on, your mom's got your back, and your mom's got Hircine's backing, so our mother-daughter duo can go anywhere in the world without fear!" She walked over and awkwardly rubbed Simon's head with her ethereal hand, carefully, as if touching an undreamed-of treasure.
"But Mother, you are already dead." Simon took a deep breath. His mother's hand was as cold as ice, light as smoke. All these reminded him that the loving mother before him was a deceased person—Madam Gaelina, wake up!
"Oh! Right!" Gaelina's voice was hollow. As one of the few warriors in the hunting grounds, rewarded by Hircine, her strength was actually very formidable, much stronger than those wild wispmothers. Her soul-body was also highly materialized, vivid and colorful. If not for the faint mist on her surface, no one would think she was dead, and she herself seemed to have forgotten this fact.
"Eek! Yes, I'm dead. Oh dear, I'm so young, how did I die? I still wanted to go to the Temple of Mara in The Rift to pray for a good marriage. I don't know which handsome young man I'll marry and have children with in the future. Oh my, I'm so angry..."
Simon couldn't help but feel joy in his heart, yet he didn't quite want to admit that the chattering old woman in front of him was his birth mother, so he covered his face to hide his complex expression.
He roughly guessed why Jia'erna Drinks-Blood seemed to have amnesia. There were three possibilities: either Hircine secretly took a part of her soul, causing memory loss; or she subconsciously forgot her painful past; or it was the influence of other deities.
After some conversation with Gaelina, Simon ruled out the second possibility. He then took out the deer head bone and remotely connected with Hircine. The Hunting Daedric Prince stated that the problem was not with Him and enthusiastically offered a hint, suggesting that he check the Temple of Mara for clues.
Indeed, Gaelina kept mentioning the Temple of Mara in The Rift. It seemed the clue was there.
[Quest: Rest]
Quest One (Completed): Summon Mother's Spirit
Quest Two (Uncompleted): Go to the Temple of Mara in Riften
Speaking of which, Eastmarch Hold and The Rift are actually not far apart; just head south. Simon looked at his chattering mother and decided to let her rest for a while, also to prevent her from ascending.
A glistening, pale red ice bead appeared in Simon's palm. The moment Gaelina saw it, she fell silent. Her expression was dazed as she flew into the ice bead. Faint blue smoke bloomed on the surface of the pale red blood tear, like a pearl of a god.
Putting away the tear bead, Simon used his Troll transformation to regain his original size. The first stage was complete. He sighed, a little tired. The night wind blew away the smell of blood, which was quite foul. To his right was Boethiah's altar. He could go up the steps, circle the spiky, cylindrical platform twice to reach the top, where there was a statue of Boethiah in her female form, holding a longsword, with a serpentine body and a coiled tail running along the outer edge of the altar's top.
In front of the statue were burning bonfires, twisted bodies charred by being burned alive, tattered rags, broken weapons, and a thin stone pillar standing in the center of a swirling floor. This was the sacrifice stake. When the array was activated, it would fix the victim to the stone pillar, leaving them at the mercy of others.
A sinister, rough alto voice sounded in Simon's ear, "Bold mortal! You have successfully angered me! However, you did please me by killing those useless wretches, haha! I admire your violence and stubborn courage. If you are willing to abandon your faith in that fool Hircine, I can recognize you as the new Champion. You will receive supreme rewards..."
"For you, a so-called Champion is merely an interesting plaything, replaceable at any moment. Therefore, I do not covet it."
"Defiance! This is the second time, mortal! You will surely be dragged into My Snake Mountain to participate in the most painful hellish trials. I will watch your pleading face; that will be the greatest pleasure..."
"Alright, alright, I understand. Goodbye." Simon shook his head, hastily buried the charred bodies, and then hummed a soothing tune as he quickly descended the mountain.
-------------------------------
I've already uploaded 70 chapters of this story on Patreon!
If you enjoy it, come check out the latest chapters in advance.
Here's the link:
[patreon.com/Greyhounds]
Thank you so much for your support!!
"And If you're enjoying it, drop a Power Stone for me!"