Dragon Tribulation of All Realms

Chapter 171 - The Era
Mondas... or rather, the world of Nirn, is currently divided into roughly six eras.

The first era was the Dawn Era, the era of the Creator and the Gods. The primordial order and chaos, the opposition and interference between Anu and Padomie, led to the birth of Mondas. Numerous Primal Spirits then emerged from the clash of order, and under the guidance, or rather, the deception, of the Primal Spirit Lokhan, they created Nirn and much Oblivion.

It was a conspiracy, because the complete creation of the world required all the Primal Spirits to serve as resources for creation. So, after calculating the minimum requirements for creation, Magnus, the world's designer, led his followers to tear open a rift for escape, heading towards the Dimension of Light, which manifested as a sea of ​​energy. The rift He and His Primal Spirits tore open became the sun and the stars. The remaining Primal Spirits then propelled the creation plan, allowing Nirn to take shape, and thus the gods were established.

Thus, the Time Dragon God Akatosh was born, though it wasn't yet called Akatosh. Its birth signified that the world finally possessed the flow of time. And with the birth of discernible linear time, the first Dawn Era came to an end.

Following the Dawn Era came the Elven Era—the original inhabitants of Nirn, who not only imitated the gods' achievements by building the Adamantite Tower, capable of interfering with the world, but also established a vast empire in the heart of Tamriel—a kingdom known as Arid, or perhaps the Wild Elves, thus beginning their long reign. The entire Elven Era lasted approximately two thousand five hundred years.

The elven kingdom thus flourished, and naturally, at the height of its prosperity, it plummeted into the abyss—as the first Nords sailed across the sea from the northern continent of Amodora. The mortal communities, cruelly oppressed under the elven empire, also raised the banner of rebellion. The slave queen Alesia rose to power, ultimately defeating the wild elves and fulfilling her pact with Akatosh—

—It was a dragon-breaking phenomenon that disrupted linear time. Auriel, the time god who once protected the elves, was transformed into Akatosh, the protector of humanity, through Alessia's ritual. With the establishment of the Dragonfire Pact, the Daedric Lords who once freely influenced Nirn were sealed away. And when the human empire rose… or rather, when the elven empire declined, Nirn ushered in its First Age.

The First Age was the age of humankind. The Alessian Empire ruled for over two thousand years, but the specific details are difficult to summarize amidst the millennia-long phenomenon of dragon destruction. Later generations only know that the Alessian Empire rose to power through religion, and also, through religion, followed the same path as the Alessids. The later Alessian cult was brutal and fanatical. With a change of regime, the Lehman dynasty was born and fell. The traces left by the former Alessian Empire were finally lost, and the First Age, which lasted for two thousand nine hundred years, came to an end.

The First Age ended with the assassination of the last member of the Rayman dynasty—his death signifying a temporary break in the line of Dragonborn emperors. The Akatosh Pact was severed, allowing the previously blocked Daedric Lords to once again intervene in the world. When the Second Age began, the Daedric Lord Morag Bal lowered his Dark Anchor, unleashing his Daedric army into Nirn with the assistance of the Worm King Mannemark. With their arrival, the various powers of the continent united and consolidated, ultimately forming three major, vast alliances that sought to reshape the world from their respective perspectives.

The Ebonheart Covenant, the Daggerfall Alliance, and the Ancestral Lands—these were the banners of these three forces. Among them, the Ebonheart was an alliance comprised of the Nord Kingdom, the Argonians, and the vast majority of the Dark Elves. Skyrim was naturally its primary territory, where they fought against each other and against Morag Bal and the armies of other Daedric Lords. War and chaos thus became the dominant theme of the Second Age. This chaotic Age lasted for eight hundred and ninety-six years.

All the chaos finally ended with the rise of Tiber Septim—when the new Dragonborn Emperor renewed the Dragonfire Pact, absorbed dragon souls, and, relying on the brass tower Nemidian, conquered the entire continent, establishing humanity's first unified empire, the Third Age of Septim began. Tiber then used the brass tower to trigger a dragon's break, successfully ascending to become the god Talos. His descendants then peacefully inherited power and continued to rule the world.

It lasted for 433 years, ending with the assassination of the penultimate emperor, Uriel VII—the Dragonfire Pact was broken once more. The Daedric Prince Dagon then opened countless Gates of Oblivion, invading Nirn as in his failed attempt during the Second Age—and, of course, he failed. The last Dragonborn emperor, Martin, stepped forward, shattering the Amulet of Kings at the last moment, and, with the power of Akatosh, averting the Oblivion—all within a few short months, and Nirn entered its fourth age.

It is now the year 201 of the Fourth Era. The newly formed human empire has struggled to maintain its existence after the Red Ring War, but its decline is inevitable. Because the Dragonfire Pact can no longer be renewed, theoretically, all the demon gods could tear open the Gate of Annihilation in a grand sacrificial ritual, thus interfering in this world once again.

........................

Wu Chen picked up the flag.

He examined the emblem on the Ebony Heart, his mind already replaying the general details of the transition between eras. He knew about it because of an online game in the Elder Scrolls series. And the theme of that story was precisely the Second Era, which had endured a long period of war.

—Not Valhács.

Memories surged through his mind—he remembered clearly, in the Dawnguard storyline. The Dragonborn encountered Serana, the daughter of Coldharbour and a Highlord of the Purebloods, deep within the Darkhaven. A detail mentioned in their conversation was that she was unaware of the existence of the Empire of Man. Her slumber dates back to the early First Age, or even earlier. And since the markers of the Second Age have appeared here, the vampires here must have another source—the most powerful Highlord of the Greys, Highlord Radamanthys, who nearly reclaimed vampire freedom from Moragbal, but ultimately failed due to the actions of the MMO protagonist.

I'm thinking of running away.

The ability to instantly transform an ordinary person into a mid-to-high-level vampire suggests that the source of that power, even if not a pure-blooded Grand Lord, is at least a remarkably ancient vampire monarch. And now, the possibility of me defeating a vampire Grand Lord…

—Is it really not much?

The flag decayed in his hands and was then tossed to the ground. The other two Allied Marks immediately activated. The magical entities of Kalja and Kurilat then appeared around him.

A challenge.

A trial.

The thought of running away had barely crossed his mind when the inspiration and satisfaction from advancing his source theory vanished silently. He thought about it and didn't believe he was entirely without a chance of winning this battle. After all—

"How will you know if you don't try?"

Continuing forward, closer to the bonfire on the street—the figures surrounding it were stirred. They emitted sharp cries, swayed as they stood up, and the eerie darkness emanating from them peeled away. And then, pale,狰狞 faces with blood-red eyes came into Wu Chen's view.

It's a vampire.

They were frenzied, yet possessed power and speed. However, as they pounced on Wu Chen, the three sisters summoned by the Alliance Mark also acted swiftly.

Durandal's horn was sounded, and an invisible shockwave applied a paralyzing effect to them—Kalgar then waved his scepter, and high-level divine magic was activated.

Fifth-tier magic, Flame Strike!

The divine power and the vortex of flames converged and gathered, transforming into a pillar of holy fire that descended from nowhere. In an instant, the several frenzied vampires were reduced to charred remains. Yet, amidst the charred remains, a single, incomplete individual still survived, shrieking as it broke free from the paralysis and lunged once more.

(End of this chapter)