//------------------------------// // Dragon: Sky Haven Temple // Story: Skyrim: The Faces of Death // by Blackdrag-rose //------------------------------// As Amaryllis and her friends, plus Esbern, made their way towards the exit of the Ratway she felt something ahead of them and beckoned for everyone to slow for a moment, where Za'kera silently drew her blades as the others paused, because she knew that when this happened it usually meant that enemies were ahead of them and she was wondering what else the Thalmor might have left for them, though as they neared the entrance Amaryllis found the Khajiit from earlier standing over two dead bodies, two Thalmor wizards to be exact, and she happened to have blood on her blades, where Amaryllis had the others pause as she revealed herself. "And now an assassin from the Dark Brotherhood has appeared," the Khajiit said, where she huffed for a moment as she lifted her blade and revealed that she actually had two weapons on her, the first being the sword and the second being a dagger forged in the same style as her blade, showing that she was ready for a fight and that she wasn't going to fall here, even though Amaryllis felt the same emotions she had felt the last time she laid eyes on this lady, "at least I'll die knowing that I dealt with these backstabbing Thalmor." "It would appear that part of your life is over, though maybe I can offer you a new one?" Amaryllis inquired, though while she said that she made no motion to draw her daggers, because based on what she was feeling it felt like the Khajiit might have been forced to serve the Thalmor and had lost her family in some manner, hence the 'backstabbing' part of what she had just said, to which she leaned against part of the wall and did her best to be intimidating, or at least try to replicate all she had seen Astrid do, "It seems you can handle yourself quite well, so why not join the Dark Brotherhood and use your skills in a more productive manner?" The Khajiit, of course, paused for a moment as she heard that, though Amaryllis wasn't about to pass up on recruiting any potential assassins she might come across, especially after the loss of most of her Family, though fortunately it appeared that Shavari, which was the Khajiit's name as it turned out, was willing to take the offer and sheathed her blades, though since it was best to not have someone Za'kera didn't trust with them, in case this was a set up, Amaryllis had Shavari head to Dawnstar first and she would be right behind her, so she could introduce her to the others and whatnot. With that done she and her companions departed from the Ratway and found that Shavari was going to walk to Dawnstar, to give her all the time she needed to think about what she had learned and the offer that Amaryllis was giving her, hence why she and her friends headed outside Riften and hired the carriage to take them back to Whiterun, mostly since Za'kera was worried that Esbern might fall behind due to his age. Of course Esbern declared that he was fine and that there was no need for any of them to be concerned about him, even though he seemed to forget that, out of all of them, he happened to be the only one who knew how to bring down Alduin and save the world, so keeping him safe was a requirement for them and it meant that he was doing things their way, even if it meant climbing onto the back of a carriage and taking it to Whiterun, before walking to their true destination and meeting up with Delphine. Once everyone was ready to go the carriage driver got started as they headed down the hill and started to make their way towards the fort Amaryllis had passed by when she came to kill Grelod, even though she knew they would eventually reach a crossroads and would turn to their left, as that would allow them to reach their destination, after passing by a few ancient structures that bandits liked to inhabit before either the Imperials or Stormcloaks pushed them out of the area. While they traveled to Whiterun, however, Amaryllis did her best to keep an eye out for any dangers that might be around the area that their carriage was currently traveling in, as in making sure no dragons were in the area and no Thalmor were lurking in some of the shadows, something she could check with her powers, though for the most part it looked like this trek would be safe and nothing would be coming at them, which was odd but she wasn't about to complain about being able to relax as they headed for their destination. Esbern, of course, inquired about how Za'kera came to know that she was Dragonborn, where she informed him that she had helped Jarl Balgruuf by retrieving a stone from Bleak Falls Barrow and had learned the first Word in Unrelenting Force, which she didn't know at the time and had been weirded out by the weird chanting she had heard, but when she fought and killed the dragon attacking one of Whiterun's watchtowers it lead to her absorbing the dragon's soul and knowledge, granting her access to the Thu'um. Of course such a thing lead to the Greybeards learning of her existence, likely her dragon soul resonating with the dragon's soul, or something like that, and they called for her to come to High Hrothgar and learn from them, before eventually heading to Ustangrav to retrieve the Horn of their founder, which Delphine stole from the tomb and handed to her back in the Sleeping Giant Inn, even though that lead to her and her friends dealing with another dragon that had been revived. Za'kera wasn't totally sure what she had learned from absorbing a second dragon's soul, but it meant there was one less dragon lurking around Skyrim right now and that was something everyone seemed fine with, since it meant that people weren't in danger, every though they had no idea how many dragons Alduin had revived since he arrived in Skyrim, especially since none of them seemed to be doing anything to the people of Skyrim, which was just weird when Amaryllis considered it. As Esbern inquired into what had happened since he sealed himself in the Warrens, with little news about what might be happening outside Riften, Amaryllis focused on her task while Za'kera answered his questions, just to let him know what he had missed and to pass the time, though right now it sure looked like nothing was going to attack or bother them, so she decided to take this opportunity to rest and see what happened on their way to Whiterun. As it turned out nothing happened on the way to Whiterun, as no bandits tried to attack them and no wild animals rushed at their carriage, allowing them to get to their destination in a couple of hours and climb out once they reached the stable, though instead of heading for the Banndered Mare, or heading inside the main city, the group headed back down part of the road and turned to their right when they reached the crossroad, something that quickly brought them to Riverwood and, once Amaryllis was sure they were safe, they entered Delphine's inn and found the lady standing by her pole, which made them wonder how long she had been there as Esbern stepped forward. "Delphine! I... it's good to see you. It's been... a long time." Esbern said, though at the same time he glanced around the inn for a few seconds, no doubt not believing their tale that his former friend had become an innkeeper while hiding from all of the Thalmor that had been looking for her, despite the fact that she, against all odds, had made it work, at least until the province experienced its first dragon return after a long time of them being gone. "It's good to see you, too, Esbern. It's been too long, old friend, too long." Delphine replied, where Amaryllis felt that this might be the one thing that she was being truthful about, as it sure felt like she was happy to see her old friend again, all while she started to slowly turn towards her doorway and would glance in Orgnar's direction for a few seconds, meaning they would be able to get closer to the information Esbern knew, "Well, then. You all made it back, safe and sound. Come on, I have a place we can talk... Orgnar, hold down the bar for a minute, will you?" As Orgnar confirmed that he would remain up here, even though there was no one else inside the building besides them, Delphine headed for her room and the group followed after her without delay, where Amaryllis made sure to close both doors behind them as they followed her, just to be sure no one realized something was out of place, in case a visitor just so happened to walk into this bar, before they stood around the table, as Delphine stood to the left of it, Esbern off to the right, Za'kera near the entrance, Lydia a few steps behind her, and Amaryllis stood with her back to the left wall, giving her a view of everyone else. "Now then. I assume you know about..." Delphine started to ask, her tone suggesting that she wanted to get to the heart of the matter and move forward with their war against both the dragons and the Thalmor, as Amaryllis knew that she had to be planning such a thing and wanted to take down Alduin's forces before focusing on the rest of her enemies, though that did cause Esbern to glance at his companions once more, as he had learned enough to know about Za'kera and the event that awakened her true power. "Oh yes! Dragonborn! Indeed, yes. This changes everything, of course, and we mustn't waste time, in fact we must locate... here, let me show you." Esbern replied, where he started to pat himself down, likely looking for something, likely one of the books he had taken from his hideout in the Warrens, something that caused him to glance at his pack and switch his search to it, while at the same time it was easy to see that he was excited about something important, "I know I had it here, somewhere... give me just a moment..." "Esbern, what..." Delphine said, though a glance from Za'kera told her that it was best for them to be quiet and let the old Nord carry out his search, because if they interrupted him she had the feeling that it would reset his search, causing him to pat himself down again before turning to his pack once more, something that caused the lady to stop in her tracks as she waited for Esbern to find what he was looking for, since it was clear he was looking for something and she was curious as to what that something might be. "Ah, here it is! Come, let me show you." Esbern stated, revealing that he had found what he was looking for, where he took a moment to reach into his pack and produced one of the books Amaryllis and the others had seen him grab before they left his hidden room in the Warrens, a green covered tome that he placed on the table before beckoning for them to step up to where he was standing, "You see, right here. Sky Haven Temple, constructed around one of the main Akaviri military camps in the Reach, during their conquest of Skyrim." "Do any of you know what he's talking about?" Delphine asked, directing her question to Amaryllis, Za'kera, and Lydia for a few seconds, figuring that if they had traveled with Esbern, and she was right to assume such a thing, that they might have some idea what her old friend might be talking about, as if he might have discussed part of it on the way to her inn, but as she asked the question she found that none of them were nodding their heads, meaning they were as lost as she was and all of them would learn the same thing at the same time. "Shh! This is where they built Alduin's Wall, to set down in stone all their accumulated dragonlore." Esbern continued, as he took a moment to inform Delphine that she needed to be quiet while he spoke, that way they could get to the heart of what he knew and figure out how to bring down the threat that Skyrim faced, or at least seemed to face since Amaryllis knew that next to nothing had happened to this province since the attack on the watchtower earlier, "A hedge against the forgetfulness of centuries... a wise and foresighted policy, in the event. Despite the far-reaching fame of Alduin's Wall at the time, as it is one of the wonders of the ancient world, its location was lost." "Esbern, what are you getting at?" Za'kera inquired, because while this was very interesting, especially to someone who might love to study history and all of the legends that were recorded in tomes, or on ancient devices like stone walls or on metallic surfaces, she knew that it was only a matter of time until Delphine snapped and said something that might ruin their chances to figuring out what Alduin's Wall was and how it might be useful in bringing down the dragon who wrecked Helgen not that long ago. "You mean... you don't mean to say you haven't heard of Alduin's Wall? Any of you?" Esbern asked, where he paused for a few seconds and glanced at all of them, finding that none of them seemed to have any idea what he was talking about, an odd thing in his mind since he was sure that the Wall had been written down in legend and had been part of the reason behind Delphine sending them to rescue him before the Thalmor showed up, almost like he expected that someone might have found the Wall and needed him to do something, though it was clear that his prior thoughts were wrong and that he needed some new thoughts on what was happening. "Let's pretend for a moment that we haven't heard of it." Delphine said, something that caused Amaryllis to resist the urge to bring her palm to her face while she listened to what the lady had to say on the matter, especially since Delphine had a habit of not admitting when her thoughts were wrong, which seemed to apply to her beating around the bush when they brought up something she didn't know, before she crossed her arms for a moment, "What's Alduin's Wall and what does it have to do with stopping the dragons?" "Alduin's Wall was where the ancient Blades recorded all they knew of Alduin and his return," Esbern answered, though it was that information that caught Amaryllis' attention for a couple of seconds, because it reminded her of the Book of the Dragonborn and the prophecy that had been written in the back, not to mention the line about the World-Eater, which she now knew to be Alduin, the black dragon who wrecked Helgen and seemed to be reviving dragons, before they found that the old Nord shifted and called their attention back to him, "as such it is part history, part prophecy. Its location has been lost for centuries, but after some searching I've found it again. Not lost, you see, just forgotten... the Blades archives held so many secrets, and I was only able to save a few scraps..." "So you think that Alduin's Wall will tell us how to defeat Alduin?" Amaryllis asked, because that seemed to be what Esbern was implying with the information he was sharing with them right now, but even as spoke her mind she felt that there was something wrong about this situation, especially since dragons were supposedly the children of Akatosh, though she did keep her opinions to herself for the time being, mostly because she didn't have any concrete evidence on any of her odd thoughts and didn't want to worry anyone with them. "Well, yes, but... there's no guarantee, of course." Esbern replied, revealing that, while there was a chance that this might grant them the power to bring down the dragons who were plaguing the land of Skyrim, he also knew there was a chance that Alduin's Wall might tell them nothing at all, leaving them with nothing to go on if such a thing happened to be true, though he was pleased to see that Za'kera and her companions understood what he was talking about, as in they should keep an open mind and not be disappointed in whatever the Wall had to share with them. "Sky Haven Temple it is, then. I knew you'd have something for us, Esbern." Delphine stated, where it was easy for them to see that she seemed to have a one track mind and only focused on what she cared about, something that Amaryllis was getting sick and tired of, before she pulled out a map and determined that Sky Haven Temple was located near Markarth, meaning Amaryllis would have flown by it at one point, near the Karthspire, located in the Karth River canyon, though as she said that she also suggested that they go in two groups, as five people would draw unwanted attention and that was the last thing they needed right now. Za'kera said nothing to that as Delphine had Esbern confirm her suspicions before the pair left the room, though when the pair reached Orgnar's part of the inn Amaryllis heard something interesting, Delphine was giving him full ownership of this place and that she was never coming back, meaning she was hoping that Sky Haven Temple would be a hideout that was far better than what happened to be down here, and it wasn't long before Orgnar and Delphine said their goodbyes and the lady departed from the inn with Esbern following after her. Once they were sure that the pair had disappeared, which Amaryllis could tell since Delphine's emotions seemed to be getting further and further away, the trio left the inn and just walked to Whiterun, where Za'kera planned on sleeping in the Bannered Mare until morning and getting some food so all of them would be ready for their trek to Markarth, or at least a partial trek since their destination was some distance from the city in question, showing that she wanted to be prepared for anything. While they walked, however, Amaryllis told her friends that she was going to head back to Dawnstar for a few hours, check in with her Family and see if the new member had arrived, to help her see if being a member of the Dark Brotherhood was something she wanted to do, though at the same time she wanted to make a stop near some stones that were on the way to the Sanctuary, as the rest of the payment for killing Elenwen was in that location, not that she told Za'kera that information. Her new friends understood the reason behind why she would be leaving after they reached Whiterun and likely wouldn't see them again until they were near the area that Sky Haven Temple rested in, though this would also make traveling easier for all of them, as no one would think that the Dragonborn's group would be separated in such a way, though Amaryllis said nothing to that as she focused on walking to Whiterun and making sure her friends got there without running into enemies. Sure enough they were able to get to the stables with ease, something that allowed Amaryllis to bid them farewell for now and watched as Za'kera and Lydia headed inside the walled city, though once they were inside she headed down the road, focusing on making her way towards where she encountered Cicero for the first time, even though this was mostly so she could make sure no one was around to see what happened when she reverted back to her true form, since she knew that many would freak out if they saw her wings. Once she knew that no one was around the area she stopped in, and was able to confirm that with her powers, Amaryllis shifted into her true form and took off once more, heading to the north as she focused on finding the Weynon Stones, which was an area that contained megalithic stones and seemed to be a ruin that had been left alone for a long time, save for a statue of Talos and a few containers. It didn't take her all that long to reach the area that the stones were located in and quickly found the object she was looking for, an urn that was out of place, as it wasn't totally covered with snow and it didn't look like it had been here for more than a few days, though it contained a sack full of coins, five thousand to be exact, which was pure profit for her Family since they didn't have any expenses for Elenwen's assassination, something that would be the only thing she would thank Delphine for, before stashing it inside her summonable chest before taking off once more. After that it took her a while to get back to Dawnstar, mostly due to the fact that she didn't need to meet up with Za'kera for some time, though she did find Shavari outside the port city and landed by the hidden entrance to the Sanctuary without her even knowing it was going on, allowing her to head deep into the Sanctuary and found her Family waiting for her, though while they were happy with the gold Nazir was happy to hear that she had a potential recruit to replace those who had fallen. As it turned out Nazir happened to have a perfect target for Shavari, one that came from some of the contracts that had been given to the Family when Amaryllis last spoke to the Night Mother, as it turned out a Thalmor agent just so happened to be staying in Dawnstar, in the Windpeak Inn, something that put a smile on the Khajiit's face as she headed into the inn and Nazir followed after her without delay, only for Amaryllis to find that they appeared a few minutes later, which lead to them using the main door to induct Shavari into the brotherhood, as she finished her target off with ease and no one had come running, confirming her skills and earning her a place in the Family. When morning arrived Amaryllis found that Shavari looked a lot better in her assassin attire, where she picked the version of the hood that covered most of her face for when she went out to complete whatever assignments Nazir had for her, all while Cicero and Babette were happy to have a new Family member, even though it would take the Khajiit some time to get used to the chances in her life and Amaryllis was sure that such a thing would happen in due time, but she did spend a bit of time making sure Shavari was fine with her surroundings before doing anything else. Once she was sure that Shavari was okay with her new life, and Nazir picked out a pair of contracts that were on her skill level, Amaryllis bid her Family farewell once more and headed out through the hidden passage, where she made sure that no one was watching the area it was in before taking off once more, as it was time to get moving and meet up with her new friends, who would either be in Whiterun or would be on the road to Sky Haven Temple. As such she moved at a quicker speed and reached Whiterun in no time, where she used a male Breton hunter guise as she headed into the city and scouted out the Bannered Mare, only to find that neither of her friends were present, something that she had to resist the urge to nod to as she noticed that the pair was missing, to which she ordered some supplies for the road, just to make sure the innkeeper didn't question why a customer had come in and left without getting anything, and once that was done she departed as swiftly as possible, as a hunter didn't want to miss the hunt and the innkeeper nodded her understanding. With that done she headed outside the city's walls and made sure no one was nearby before shifting into her true form and took off, this time making sure some of the clouds covered her as she glanced down at the road, though it didn't take her all that long to track down Za'kera, as she and Lydia were passing by the crossroad that lead to where the Falkreath Sanctuary rested, but before descending she waited for a few moments, letting her friends pass by a trio of Stormcloaks, before she noticed no one coming from where Rorikstead was located and landed on the road in question. With that done she reverted to her female Khajiit rogue form, with a modified hood that resembled the one from her true attire, before heading down the road, something that caused Za'kera to smile as she noticed her, once more thanks to her eye color showing through all of her disguises, and once they were together again they headed down the path that would bring them to where Sky Haven Temple was located, where Delphine and Esbern would be waiting for them to arrive so they could locate the ancient structure and the secret it possessed. It took them a while to get to the Karth River, where the Karthspire was located, and Amaryllis quickly confirmed some of her earlier thoughts, she had definitely flown over this area and noticed the ancient temple built into the side of the road to the north, even though the edges of the area had been modified to prevent people from climbing up to an entrance that wasn't the main one, which they would be looking for in due time, but first they had to deal with the enemies who had to be guarding this part of the Reach. Amaryllis expected this to be one of the rare times that she dealt with the Forsworn, even though when she went looking for the piece of Mehrunes' Razer that one of the Hagravens carried she used her own power to avoid them like the plague, though what she and the others found was that all of the Forsworn, twenty of them to be exact, were lying dead all over the place and seemed to be cut up, as one happened to be missing both arms while another had a large wound in his chest. The moment she saw that, however, Amaryllis beckoned for everyone to pause for a moment as she studied it for a few more seconds, though it quickly dawned on her where she had seen a wound like this in the past, it came from a scythe and there was only one person, in all of Skyrim, who carried a weapon like that, to the best of her knowledge anyway, though right now she was sure that the person in question might be in a battle craze and that meant they had to be careful. It didn't take her more than a few moments to locate the individual in question, as the ebony black scaled female Argonian was standing in the middle of the wooden walkway that collected all the points of this area together, forming the basics of the Forsworn's camp, who had blood on her arms and legs, and part of the armor that was over her chest, plus some dripped off her blade, causing the others to pause for a moment as they found out that the Argonian was wielding a scythe as her weapon. "It would seem that more have arrived... a pity that you aren't Forsworn, as I would have loved to fight you," the Argonian commented, where she turned to look at them not a few seconds after Amaryllis discovered her presence in this area, an odd thing since this was the second or third time they had crossed paths, though that didn't stop the lady from swinging her scythe for a moment and scattered the rest of the blood that was on it all over the wood that was around her, before she glanced at someone who was standing behind Amaryllis, "though I'm not crazy enough to fight the Dragonborn and all of her allies... I mean, I could get behind fighting you, but my mistress is telling me that its a terrible idea and that this time I should stay my hand. Oh, and I am known as Kya, in case you were curious." "Kya, eh? That's not a typical Argonian name... what's it stand for?" Delphine asked, speaking before Amaryllis or Za'kera could speak up, though the pair remained quiet as they listened to what was going on right now, mostly in the chance to see what might happen and if they needed to intervene before a fight broke out, especially given Delphine's ability to just annoy everyone she came across. "It means 'Kills-You-A-Lot'... I love killing things, spilling their blood and sending their souls to my mistress." Kya replied, all with a smile on her face, confirming that she had to be mentally unstable in some way, as while Amaryllis knew there were people who enjoyed killing others, like some assassins, the Argonian seemed unlike those she had encountered so far, or at least it sure seemed that way to her, but at the same time she was curious as to which of the Daedric Princes she was serving and briefly considered Dagon, given his love for destruction, but decided to keep her mouth shut while listening to the ongoing conversation between Kya and Delphine. "Then shouldn't you be called 'Kyal', instead of 'Kya'?" Delphine inquired, something that caused Amaryllis to resist an urge to sigh, because they were wasting time with her foolish questions and there was no telling what might happen since Kya was an odd individual, especially since she and the others had no idea what might set her off and cause her to go on one of her murder rampages, as she felt that they might not be able to beat her if such a thing happened, though that was the moment that Kya waved her arm and the head of her scythe stopped right in front of Delphine's neck. "Call me that again and you'll be the first one to die." Kya stated, confirming Amaryllis's thoughts, she hated being called 'Kyal' and would kill anyone and everyone who dared to use such a name when talking to her, something that Za'kera and all of the others agreed on before Delphine seemed to figure out that annoying her wasn't the right thing to do right now, as she nodded her head as well, causing the Argonian to draw her weapon back with a slightly annoyed look on her face, showing that she didn't like Delphine all that much, "Good. Glad we understand each other." As they walked up to a nearby cave that Kya had spotted earlier, and she insisted on coming with them for a time, Za'kera took a few moments to introduce herself and her companions to their newest ally, though Amaryllis spoke up and told all of them that her name was 'Aziji', since she didn't trust Delphine enough to reveal her true identity to the lady, though with that done the group headed into the cave and found that it contained another small Forsworn camp, with one of the more terrifying Briarhearts resting dead on the ground. Amaryllis figured out that Kya must have killed the Briarheart first, likely finding a way up to this area without alerting the Forsworn to her presence, which would be rather impressive since these people were able to sense her coming from a fair distance away, hence her desire to stay away from them, though it saved them some time as Esbern lead the way and Delphine followed behind him, with Za'kera walking as well and caused the rest of them to follow behind her. What they discovered a few seconds later was that there happened to be a curve path just beyond where the couple of Forsworn had been camped out, before Kya wrecked all of them, one that brought them to a somewhat carved out area built into the center of the lone mountain, an area that seemed to have a few raised areas and a pair of ancient stone platforms that were raised right now, meaning that to progress they would need to figure out what sort of puzzles might be in this area, even though there was a large opening in the ceiling to provide light. Esbern was focused on a set of carved steps that he claimed were definitely early Akaviri stonework, meaning he knew more about all sorts of topics, and beckoned for them to follow him for a few seconds as he quickly reached the top and stared at three pillars that seemed like those that were in the nordic ruins, rotating pillars to be exact, before Amaryllis discovered that all three objects had different symbols, one that looked like a crown, another that seemed to be armor in some way, and one that seemed to be two serpent dragons with an arrow facing the ground. Za'kera stared at them for a few seconds as Esbern mentioned that the symbols, in order from left to right, meant 'King', 'Warrior', and 'Dragonborn', something that caused her and Amaryllis to glance at each other before the Khajiit turned the left pillar once and it revealed the symbol of the Dragonborn, which seemed to excite Esbern, causing her to do the same to the middle one as well, where all three shared the same symbol and all of them heard a click that was followed by the stone bridge moving down into place. With that done Za'kera made everyone follow her, as she was the Dragonborn and that meant this place might be designed to test someone like her, just like Ustengrav had been crafted to test those who knew some Words of Power, something Esbern and Amaryllis agreed with, even though Delphine looked and felt like she was going to blow at any moment, before they headed over the stone bridge and found a tunnel that seemed to lead to a new chamber, one that caused Za'kera to call for them to stop. Esbern confirmed that this was a good idea, especially due to the fact that the new chamber happened to be full of tiles on the ground, stone squares that had symbols like the three that he had pointed out earlier, while there happened to be a single pillar on the other side of the chamber that had a lone pull chain that would, if pulled by someone, no doubt silence the trap in this area and allow them to move into the second tunnel, which rested near the pillar. In that moment Za'kera understood what needed to be done and stepped out onto a tile that was in front of them, one of the Dragonborn tiles, where Amaryllis smiled as she noticed the path that went from this part of the chamber and lead right up to where the stone pillar rested, something that took her friend no time to walk through before she pulled the chain and cancelled out this trap, all while opening the way for them to progress onward, as the other stone bridge had fallen into place thanks to her actions. That, of course, was followed by them walking down into a larger area that had been carved out by the Akaviri, leaving a flattened area that had a large chest in front of them, an area with a person sized stone circle and a wall that had what appeared to be a stone carved in the likeness of someone's face or head, and some carved walls which matched the first set of steps they had walked up earlier, and with how open the area was they were able to spread out and investigate the area they were in. "Wonderful! Remarkably well preserved, too... ah, here's the 'blood seal'." Esbern commented, where he walked up to the area that the person sized stone circle was resting in and gestured to it for a few seconds, meaning that it had to be very important to this place or to the Akaviri, even though Amaryllis found a sack of coins, a pair of elven blades that held some sort of enchantment on them, and a few gemstones that Za'kera would decide what to do with them, before Esbern took a moment to look at his companions, "This is another of the lost Akaviri arts, one that is no doubt triggered by... well, blood... your blood, Dragonborn." Za'kera paused for a few seconds as she studied the area they were in, where Esbern mentioned that the ancient Blades revered Reman Cyrodiil, in the sense that this whole place appeared to be a shrine him, especially since he claimed that all of the stories spoke of how he ended the Akaviri invasion under very mysterious circumstances, after the so-called 'Battle of Pale Pass', which caused the Akaviri to enter his service and served as the foundation stone of the Second Empire, but after a few moments Za'kera sighed and came to a decision. In the end she pulled out one of her daggers, as she carried a pair of steel ones in case something happened to either of her old blades, the ones that had been temporary until both of her true blades had been returned, before she pulled the glove off of her left hand and pricked her pointer finger with the tip of the dagger, allowing her to drop a few bits of her blood in the center of the Blood Seal, which looked like a messed up Akaviri Dragonborn symbol. A few seconds later Amaryllis, Za'kera, and everyone else watched as a glow started to emit from the Blood Seal, where the outermost part shifted into place before the rest followed suit, forming a complete version of the symbol that seemed important to the ancient Akaviri, causing some of the braziers in front of them to ignite, letting flames dance above them, before they heard a click and watched as the head started to move backwards, revealing a new carved passage that lead into Sky Haven Temple. The first thing Za'kera did was wait for a few seconds as she used one of her small healing potions to deal with the small cut she had used to activate the Blood Seal, though once the door was up, and the passage was revealed, she drew both of her swords and carefully walked up the steps that were in front of them, as her experience raiding ancient tombs and locked temples lead her to being cautious, since there was no telling just how many skeletons might be wandering around, before opening the stone door that was at the end of the new passage so she could enter the actual temple. As Amaryllis followed her she found that Esbern was more interested in studying the carvings that were on the walls of the passage Za'kera was walking up, while Delphine didn't care at all as she used a torch to light the stone braziers, where she did learn that the carvings started as Akaviri bas-reliefs and shifted to the more flowing Nordic style, before they found a massive open chamber that happened to have a rather impressive stone wall facing what she guessed was a table, but as they all walked up to it Amaryllis knew they had found Alduin's Wall. "Shor's bones, here it is! Alduin's Wall!" Esbern said, his tone revealing that he was filled with joy to see that it existed and that it wasn't damaged at all, though Amaryllis felt that nothing could actually damage the Wall, not unless those who had made it took a chisel to it or something, but she and Za'kera stood a few steps from it as Esbern and Delphine lit the rest of the stone braziers, while the rest of the group faced the opening in case any enemies happened to follow them in, even if Amaryllis knew that no one had been following them, before Esbern came to a stop on the left side of the Wall and stared at it for a few moments with a smile on his face, "Its so well preserved... I... I've never seen a finer example of early Second Era Akaviri sculptural relief..." "Esbern, we're here for information, not an art lesson." Delphine stated, like she was reminding a child not to run off or do something stupid, something that really annoyed Amaryllis since the lady didn't do anything or add anything to their still growing group of individuals, and she could see that Kya glanced up towards them for a few moments before focusing on the passage once more, no doubt fighting the urge to run up the steps and cut Delphine down with her scythe, like those she had slain so far. "Yes, I know... let me see..." Esbern replied, where Amaryllis detected a change in his tone, going from joy to annoyance in being told to skip talking about the art style and why the Akaviri used it, before turning his gaze towards Alduin's Wall as he focused on what was in front of him, as in carvings of dragons, heroes, what looked like Greybeards, and a few more symbols that rested on the right side of the Wall, where he started talking again as he beckoned to something, drawing all of their eyes to it, "Look, the first panel goes back to the beginning of time, back when Alduin and his Dragon Cult ruled over all of Skyrim, where some worshiped dragons and some hated them... and here, in the second panel, the people of this land rebelled against their dragon overlords, the legendary Dragon War itself. What you are interested in, Delphine, is Alduin's defeat, which rests in the center of the Wall, where you can see him falling out of the sky as the Nord Tongues... as in those who mastered the Voice... stand against him in an arrayed pattern." "So it shows his downfall... doesn't that mean it will show us how he was defeated in the first place?" Delphine asked, this time speaking before anyone could stop her from annoying Esbern more than he already was, though she just wanted to learn how to bring down the menace that was plaguing Skyrim, before he revived his army and sent the dragons to burn and conquer this land. "Patience, Delphine, for the Akaviri were not a straightforward people... everything they left behind is couched in allegory and mythic symbolism." Esbern stated, where this time around everyone could tell that even he was getting annoyed with his old friend, meaning she must have changed a lot, in his eyes, since the last time they actually saw each other, back in the days before the Blades were smashed by the Aldmeri Dominion, before he turned his attention back the Wall and the symbols he had been studying since their arrival, "but yes, it does show that, as right here you can see something coming from the mouths of the Nordic heroes, the Akaviri symbol for 'Shout'... however, there are no clues as to which Shout was used to face Alduin, even though I'm positive that it was rather specific towards dragons, possibly even Alduin himself, as he was the main target of the Nords during the Dragon War." "Yeah, but the Greybeards wouldn't know something like this... if such a Shout exists, they would likely see it as a weapon and would have forgotten about it," Za'kera commented, where she studied Alduin's Wall while she talked, mostly due to the fact that it helped her think about what was going on and the fact that they had learned next to nothing from the Wall, due to her opinion on what the Greybeards knew and what they would have done if they knew about this Shout, but she was hoping there was something she might have missed. "Esbern... is this the Prophecy of the Dragonborn?" Amaryllis inquired, referring to the fourth panel of the Wall, which was the part just after Alduin's defeat, something that held a number of symbols that seemed to reflect a prophecy that had to be important to the Akaviri, one symbol being a broken staff that held eight fragments, another being of a large statue of some kind, the third representing a mountain exploding, while the fourth represented an Oblivion Gate, like what rested on the scabbard of Mehrunes' Razer, a fifth that showed a mountain split in half, and the sixth that was of a hero fighting who she assumed was Alduin. "Yes, it is," Esbern replied, staring at the symbols that Amaryllis was staring at, likely recalling what was written in the Book of the Dragonborn, which was where she learned the information that made her consider whether or not there happened to be another meaning to Alduin's return to Skyrim, even though there were five omens that lead to the World-Eater's fated arrival, before he ran his hand over one of the symbols, the first one, "the prophecy states that 'When misrule takes its place at the eight corners of the world, When the Brass Tower walks and Time is reshaped, When the thrice-blessed fail and the Red Tower trembles, When the Dragonborn Ruler loses his throne and the White Tower falls, When the Snow Tower lies sundered, kingless, bleeding... the World-Eater wakes, and the Wheel turns upon the Last Dragonborn'. Hence why I said that I had seen the signs, as the first line refers to Jagar Tharn using the Staff of Chaos to imprison the Emperor and take his place, the second speaks of the Numidium and the Warp in the West, the third happens to be a reference to the fulfillment of the Nerevarine's Prophecy and the eventual eruption of Red Mountain, while the fourth speaks of the more famous Oblivion Crisis and the fall of the Septim Dynasty. The last two lines refer to the ongoing civil war, the death of the High King, and the deaths of those who call this land home, before speaking of the battle that will decide the fact of our world, between Alduin and the last of the Dragonborn." "Maybe that last line has another meaning?" Amaryllis asked, because based on what she and the others had heard the prophecy seemed to state that five key events had to happen before Alduin was allowed to return, leading to him and the Last Dragonborn fighting it out for the future of this world, but if that was the case, like many might assume it might be, it did call into question why her Family was hired to take out the Emperor, because if Alduin was destined to bring about the end of the world it meant they had done that for no reason, before she noticed Esbern was staring at her, "The line says that the 'Wheel turns upon the Last Dragonborn', not that the 'Last Dragonborn rises', or something like that... maybe its supposed to mean that once Alduin returns the decision of what to do next falls to the chosen hero. Sure, they could fight Alduin for the fate of this world, but maybe it could mean that they could join him, or form a truce to take down another foe that seeks to bring an end to all of Nirn... like the Aldmeri Dominion, for example... especially since the Emperor was assassinated not that long ago, just a few days after Alduin's fated return." "Hm... it is an interesting theory." Esbern admitted, where his tone revealed that he hadn't considered such a thing before, that the prophecy might he researched might have more than one meaning, more in the sense that a decision would be pushed onto the Last Dragonborn, do they fight Alduin, betray Nirn and join him, or form a truce and bring an end to yet another threat that wanted to bring an end to their world, and the more he thought about it the more he wondered if this was the true meaning of the prophecy, instead of what he and Delphine assumed it had been. "Oh you can't be serious. Just go talk to the Greybeards and figure out what this Shout is." Delphine remarked, as she was just getting annoyed with Amaryllis at this point in time, as in there were constant changes to the plan and they seemed to be coming from the same person, or at least inspired by the same individual, and she was hoping that the Dragonborn would do the right thing and just focus on recovering whatever Shout brought down Alduin, so they could focus on their next steps, once the World-Eater was dead, "Then we can figure out how to deal with the World-Eater and those he has revived so far, before worrying about other threats to this land." Za'kera and Amaryllis sighed for a moment as they decided to spend some time seeing what was left in Sky Haven Temple, leaving Esbern to decipher Alduin's Wall some more before focusing on any of the other carvings that were in this ancient place, though they both knew that once their search was over they would be heading out on the road once more and that it was time for them to return to High Hrothgar, to see if the Greybeards had any information to share with them on what Za'kera should do next, before worrying about what the future held for them and for Skyrim.