"Supervisor Luciana's Diary Volume 1":
Date: 1E 2712? (Month and day unknown).
I write this diary with an unsteady hand. Cyborg said I would soon have complete control over my new fingers. I doubt it.
I've never kept a diary. It seems like an act of vanity—to put your lifelong pursuit on paper. It seems like everyone wants to read it. But given where things stand now, I think it's worth the effort. I found myself in a very strange place - Clockwork City.
This is not an easy journey. I don't remember much. It seems like there are trees, Warren Forest. I remember hitting something with the summoned magic knife, and there was a flash of light. what else? Just pain and whispers.
When I woke up, I found myself suspended inside a glass sphere—submerged in some kind of viscous liquid. Polished metal clips held my shattered limbs in place while tiny mechanical beings stitched flesh to new brass prosthetics. Amazingly, I felt like I didn't need to breathe - only a deep longing and dreamy spirit. I saw a tall elf staring at me from the other side of the glass, his face distorted by the curved surface of the sphere. He called himself Sotha Sil and told me I would survive. He also said I had a son.
What a surprise. I didn't even know I was pregnant. Apparently, as the machines rushed to stabilize my ruined body, they discovered the tiny, breathless child. In Tamriel, severe premature birth would have been a death sentence, but here the impossible seems effortless.
I never imagined having children. Carrying a child around while fighting the Akaviri of Dragon Land was completely impractical. But time and circumstances have made fools of us all.
I named him Marius, after his father's grandfather. I hope this diary will tell him something if I die from my injuries. He should at least know his origins.
Date: 1E 2712 (?) Muyang 15th.
The more I learned about Clockwork City, the more it intrigued me. The Brass Fortress provided comfortable living conditions. It's a dry, hard place—full of strange machinery and strange people. Most are dark elves. Sure, I'd seen Dunmer before, but these Clockwork Apostles seemed like a unique breed. They prize logic and innovation above all else. Can you imagine? My fellow battle mages often mock me for my insistence on cool rationality: "Where's your passion? Luciana." As if I don't have passion in my rigorous thinking.
Sotha Sil still checks in on me from time to time. I've never seen anyone like him. The apostles worshiped him like a god, but I could tell it made him uncomfortable. He makes eye contact only occasionally—not out of timidity. He was just always focused on something else. A device, a book, or some other quirky piece of clockwork. Whenever the opportunity arose, I asked him questions—about the nature of the place, his motivations, his history. I never got a straight and clear answer from him. He seems to enjoy moving around, though. I could feel that even here, surrounded by admirers and loyal machines, he was still desperately lonely.
The apostles keep telling me that blasphemy is acceptable here—even encouraged. But this seems to be a "backboneless belief." I told Lector Marilia, the caregiver lecturer, about my conversation with the “god of clockwork” and she was petrified. For example, I asked Sotha Sil about the persistent rumors that he and other members of the Tribunal murdered the Dark Elf King Induril Nerevar. According to Marilia, the topic is absolutely taboo. Even so, Sotha Sil answered my questions with a calm grace that surprised me.
"Why do you think that happened?" he asked. I told him I didn't understand the question.
"Why do we sit here talking? Why does young Marius exist? Why do I rule here while you recover in it?"
I sat quietly for a while and then replied, "Because that's the way it is."
His cold face melted into a serious half-smile: "Indeed."
I couldn't be sure, but there seemed to be relief in his voice. His shoulders relaxed, his tone changed—he looked like someone who had found peace in sin. After a while, he thanked me for talking to me and silently left the room.
I looked down at Marius, who was sleeping soundly in his brass crib. At that moment, everything seemed to make sense. Clockwork City is finally starting to feel like home. "
"Supervisor Luciana's Diary Volume 2":
Date: 1E 2713 (?) Night Star Month 12th.
After a year of reflection, I decided to take a spot among the Clockwork Apostles. At least I think it's been a year - time passes very strangely here.
This is not an easy decision. In my heart, I have never ceased to serve my Lord, Leman Cyrodiil. But now, the conflict in Tamriel seems far away. Akavir, Valen Forest, Colovian (home to the city of Chorrol, one of the nine major cities in Cyrodiil); they are all so far away - far away from everything here. In the Clockwork City, work, logic, and order are required. As an apostle of King Set, I can make a real contribution. And, to be honest, if there's anyone who deserves to replace Reman Cyrodiil in my mind, it's Sotha Sil.
Initially, I struggled with the idea of idolizing him - mostly because he seemed uncomfortable with it. I worried that our conversation would stop, or that he would think of me less. Luckily, he seemed happy when I told him the news.
"I can't think of anything better than this," he said. Then he knelt down beside Marius and took his little hand. For a moment, he seemed very distant - almost sad. Finally, he whispered, "Your mother was strong and wise. I'm so glad I found you both."
I don’t know why, but I blurted out: “Why did you save us?”
King Seth paused for a moment, then whispered, "For one day you will shine."
Before I could ask him what he meant, he disappeared. And Marius smiled. He had been watching Sotha Sil disappear into the light with great interest. For my part, I feel an uneasiness. Hope I didn't offend him.
Date: 1E 2721 (?) 26th of the first month of Bud.
Something is wrong. Marius had another health problem. According to the monitoring machine, he became weak, breathless, and collapsed outside The Cloisters. This is the third time in as many weeks.
At first I thought he was just pushing himself too hard. The nine-year-old boy had a tendency to overexert himself, and he was always a little weak. But when I found him in the room, his face was pale and his voice was urgent. He asked me what was wrong. I told him I really didn't know. I'll take him to Factotum Medica tomorrow.
Date: 1E 2721 (?) Rain Palm 9th.
After several days of testing, the robot and clinicians finally made a diagnosis: a birth-related heart defect. Apparently, the circumstances of his birth (my ruined body, his severe premature birth, and the journey across the planes) caused some sort of haemorrhage or twisted arteries. In Tamriel, he may be dead. Or rather, it was the second death.
I asked for a prognosis, but Cyborg declined to provide one, citing the wide range of potential outcomes. He might live to be thirty, or he might die tomorrow. In either case, his life will be difficult and short. I remain (uncharacteristically) optimistic. King Seth has mended worse wounds (than my son) and restored life to those who were left with only one breath. In the Clockwork City, Marius's flaws are not irredeemable. When Sotha Sil comes out of seclusion, I will petition him.
