//------------------------------//
// Vampire: Discussions 
// Story: Skyrim: The Faces of Death 
// by Blackdrag-rose 
//------------------------------//

After speaking to Lord Harkon, and Za'kera informing him of the fact that she wanted him and his Court to work with the rest of Skyrim, which included the Dawnguard since they had bigger fish to deal with, Amaryllis and her friends, plus all of their odd traveling companions, left Castle Volkihar and quickly returned to where they had stopped their carriage without wasting too much time, even if it meant using a boat to leave the area.

"I'm sorry that the encounter with your father didn't go as well as you thought it might," Amaryllis commented, speaking to Serana as they climbed into the carriage, where Wind joined Lydia at the front so they could keep an eye out for enemies, a fact that left her and Za'kera with Serana, Sharva, and Lynthia, though this was mostly to pass the time before they even reached Fort Dawnguard, or maybe their own base of operations.

"Oh, I had a feeling that he would be more interested in the Elder Scroll, especially since he had two before my mother and I took them from him," Serana replied, where it seemed like she had gotten over her initial shock over what had happened back in her father's castle and was more willing to talk with them about things, especially if she was willing to tell them that Harkon had been in possession of two Elder Scrolls at one point in time, before she sighed, "I was just hoping, that after so long without either of us around, that he might have changed... should have known he would have remained the same and that he would have developed such an intense hatred for my mother."

Amaryllis knew that Harkon hated his wife, as she could feel his immense hatred for her when he mentioned her, which would have chocked a lesser Changeling if they encountered it, meaning it was good that Wind was the Princess and had better control over her powers, while she had far more training to make sure she wasn't spotted by her enemies, but she had nothing to say to that, mostly because she was curious if Za'kera wanted her to show off their Elder Scroll, who just shook her head a little, a movement that Serana missed.

"I'm sure that whatever your father is up to is recorded on your Elder Scroll," Lynthia stated, showing that she had been in the middle of thinking about this situation and everything that had happened so far, even though it was hard to tell what sort of task her father had given to her, especially since she was carrying his mace on her belt, where it looked like she had an idea of what to do next, "We should return to Fort Dawnguard and give them the news, maybe convince them to join up with your army... though you might have to force Harkon into submission, since he seems more like a fighter than a talker and his demands might be more than one is willing to pay."

"He probably learned it from your father," Serana remarked, once more showing them that she and Lynthia might not like each other all that much, which meant they needed to resolve this mess quickly, before one of the vampires decided to attack the other and tore each other apart, though this time the elder vampire did nothing but nod her head, as if this was a fact that she agreed with, or at least considered to be true, before she sighed, "but, as much as I loathe to admit it, she might be right... we might have to fight my father and convince him that his way won't work... if only we knew what was on the Elder Scroll, as all my mother and I were able to figure out, before we put her plan into action, was that it held a 'grand' prophecy about vampires no longer needing to fear the sun."

"With all of the prophecies we've been dealing with, it wouldn't surprise me if we needed to track down a weapon of some kind, or someone attuned to the gods," Za'kera said, showing them that she had been listening to what they had said and that this was her opinion, though Amaryllis had a feeling that she might be right about a weapon being involved, before she let out a sigh as she considered something else for a moment, "for now, we'll head back to our fort in Whiterun, just to check on what's going on and maybe get some rest, before we head to the Rift and seen what Isran's up to... just a word of warning, he and the Dawnguard hate vampires... so there's no telling what might happen when they find out that both of you are vampires, and one's the daughter of Molag Bal."

"You don't have to worry about me," Lynthia replied, almost sounding like she found Za'kera's comment to be cute, while also showing that she didn't need their concern since she could likely deal with anything Isran threw at her, which had to be part of the reason that there was a smirk on her face, something Amaryllis was tired of seeing, since she seemed more arrogant than a normal person, before she glanced over to Sharva, "you ought to be worried about her, since one of her parents was a follower of Dagon and the other was a follower of my father... the latter betrayed us and engraved what we call the 'Runes of Domination' on her flesh, sacrificing her soul to him and binding her body to the Prince of Destruction's will. If ever Dagon decides you need to be taken care of, and there's a chance he'll come to that decision, she'll be forced to do it, regardless if she wants to do so or not... just a word of warning for you all."

"Like I said, I don't want to talk about it..." Sharva said, where Amaryllis could tell that she didn't like the fact that she was bound to one of the Daedric Princes without her say so or thoughts on the manner, meaning it must have happened when she was a lot younger and that she had been forced to endure the pain of having the runes etched onto her body, but that was all she said on the matter, showing them that she wanted to focus on something else.

Amaryllis was fine with that, since she had more things to think about and found that Wind was far less talkative than what she remembered, meaning it had to be something to do with who her mentor was, likely one of the people who preferred their apprentices to take notes first and ask questions later, though she knew that her friend would speak her mind when she was ready, before turning her attention towards the road once more, as there would be more time to think about this, once they found out what Isran wanted.





What Amaryllis and Wind discovered was that nothing had changed in their fort, save for more soldiers coming to join up with the start of Za'kera's army, including a number of mages that must have come from Winterhold, even though it was possible that others might have come from all over Skyrim to heed the call of the Arch-Mage and learn from the masters of their craft, all while preparing for the upcoming war. Of course she wasn't too surprised to find a number of rogues with those that were there, as it seemed that word was spreading like magefire, to use a phrase that Wind told her earlier, and sure enough they found the leader of the Thieves Guild, the Guild Master called Raven, standing nearby, where Amaryllis had a feeling that she was another Demiprince, based on her lack of concern for mortals. Even Nazir was there, no doubt just to see what the commotion was about, though Amaryllis walked beside him and appeared as a female Redguard who was dressed as a new recruit for the Brotherhood, finding that he and Babette had been interested in the upcoming war and were here to see if there was anything they could do to aid Za'kera, even though it was likely that they would stay back in Skyrim to make sure Cicero did no harm to everyone that was around him. The jester, as she learned, was just fine and that her brother was only worried about him having a relapse into the mad state that caused him to attack Astrid, but for now they were here to scout out what was going on before making their next move, especially since she was the Listener and might figure out some enemies for them to assassinate to make Za'kera's destiny a reality.

Other than that it didn't look like anything important had changed, save for showing them that their new recruit was doing a good job in organizing this place, allowing the group to return to the carriage and head for Fort Dawnguard, even though they had to switch Lydia out since she was tired from being in the front too much, even though she refused to make her Thane do it. What Amaryllis found to be interesting was that no enemies were on the road, as while it was night she had to assume someone, like bandits, might be waiting for travelers, though she had to assume that the gods and their children had a hand in making such a thing happen, given one's position as the Arch-Mage and another that was the Guild Master of the Thieves Guild. It repeated something she had considered for a while, that Akatosh was making sure they were ready and prepared for whatever rested in front of them, as in not being exhausted by enemies and constant fighting, despite the fact that they might run into enemies that weren't part of the known guilds, hence why she was still alert despite taking a moment to close her eyes and drift off to sleep. She was sure that if something happened she would either feel the shift in emotions, either from Wind, the others, or those who might be around them, or the sound of battle would reach her, a sign to wake up without having to do anything on her end, though with two vampires there was no telling if she was even needed to protect Za'kera from harm.

As it turned out they were able to reach the cave leading to Fort Dawnguard as morning arrived and they headed inside, all while leaving the carriage behind since it's opening wasn't large enough for it to pass through, though when they entered the area that Isran's fort was resting in they found several vampires actually attacking the Dawnguard, even though Isran and his followers smashed them into the ground and terminated all of them.

"Look at this." Isran said, where he seemed to be talking to the other members of the Dawnguard, as if he hadn't noticed their arrival in the area that they were stationed in, who nodded their heads in agreement, showing him that they had the same idea that he was having, before he sighed for a moment, "I should've known that it was only a matter of time before the vampires found our headquarters... this is the price we pay for openly recruiting. We'll have to step up our defenses, to avoid this in the future."

"It seems that you guys have been busy," Wind remarked, seeing the fallen vampires that were resting near Isran and the other members of the Dawnguard, who looked like they might be capable warriors in their own right and might be a good addition to their forces back in the fort, though as she said that she realized that Tolan hadn't arrived yet, nor had he been on the road, making her wonder where he went.

"So, you and your followers are back. Did you have any luck?" Isran asked, turning his attention to Za'kera, as if she had made the comment and not Wind, where Amaryllis found that her companion sighed before focusing on something else for a few moments, meaning she wasn't too happy about being ignored like that, "Was Tolan right about the vampires being interested in whatever was inside Dimhollow Crypt?"

"Yeah, we found the artifact... it's a vampire, with an Elder Scroll," Za'kera said, where she held up a hand as Isran and the others started to move at the mention of the creatures that they all seemed to hate with every fiber of their beings, which earned a chuckle from Lynthia when she saw it happen and Serana just stared at them for a time, "Listen to have I have to say, before you make any assumptions... Serana and her mother discovered something before turning on Harkon, which seems to be some sort of prophecy that speaks of vampires no longer having to fear the sun, or so they think since none of them have read what's on the Elder Scroll. We know that Serana, at the very least, is willing to help us bring down her father, while we have no idea where her mother went, but given that she might have more information on the matter we might want to track her down as well... and no, this isn't her mother, rather this is Lynthia Bal..."

"YOU MONSTER!" Isran shouted, almost as if he realized who was standing nearby, even if Za'kera told him who she was, as he lifted his warhammer and charged at Lynthia, showing them that he was planning on taking down Molag Bal's own daughter before she could do anything to endanger his mission, while the other vampire hunters just stood there, shock written on their faces and emotions.

"Ah, the mortal thinks he can touch me... how funny," Lynthia commented, where she did the logical thing instead of even trying to block the incoming attack, she stepped to the side and let the head of the warhammer collide with the ground, all while having her usual smirk on her face, something that really annoyed Amaryllis since this might damage whatever good reputation Za'kera might have, before she placed a finger under Isran's chin, "I'll let you go this one time, given that we're trying to unite Skyrim and whatnot, but if you attack me again I'll kill you... and not even being an ally of the Dragonborn will save you if you piss me off."

"Can you not?" Wind asked, showing them that she was getting annoyed with the Demiprinces, and it was specifically the children of the Daedric Princes and not the children of the Divines, even though she likely wasn't thinking about Ma'jera at the moment, since the daughter of Hermaeus Mora seemed pretty straightforward and didn't do stuff like this, before she let out a sigh as she turned towards Isran, "Listen, we have to do something to make sure this place is safe, not to mention tracking down Serana's mother and figuring out what's written on the Elder Scroll... and I'm certain that you might have a few ideas on what we can do next."

"Of course I have ideas, as I've been at this for a long time... I might be old, but I'm not stupid... we're going to need some help, if we want to make progress." Isran said, though everyone glared at him for a moment, as his 'stupid' comment was an interesting choice, as attacking the daughter of Molag Bal seemed like and incredibly foolish idea, where he stood up a few seconds later and placed his weapon on his back, "If the vampires are bold enough to attack us here, then this may be bigger than I thought, especially if the children of the gods, both Divine and Daedric, are gathering. I have good men here, but... there are people I've met and worked with over the years, who have skills and talents we'll need to survive this. If you can find them, we'll have a better chance of survival."

"Okay, and where can we find these people?" Amaryllis asked, because it seemed like Isran didn't understand that none of them really needed to track down his old comrades, given that they had a fair number of godly children in their ranks, but finding a few more people for Isran might make this place safer for him and the Dawnguard, especially since none of them had any idea what Harkon was up to.

"Right to the point, aren't you. I like that... not like those fools in the order, who beat around the bush." Isran stated, where it was a good thing that Tolan hadn't returned yet, otherwise they were sure that he would have been annoyed by what he had said, before he considered something, no doubt thinking about the people he had worked with in the past, while he focused on Za'kera, "We should keep it small, for now, since too many people will draw unwanted attention to ourselves. I think we'll want Sorine Jurard, a Breton girl whose whip-smart and good with tinkering... she's also got this fascination with the Dwemer, their weapons to be exact... last I heard, she was somewhere out in the Reach, convinced she was about to find the biggest dwarven ruins yet."

"Check the ruins and the areas surrounding them, got it." Za'kera said, as she had a feeling that this task would be pushed onto Amaryllis and Wind, given their wings and flight skills, so it would be completed in no time, meaning Serana could do a bit of talking before they determined what they had to do with the Elder Scroll, "Anyone else you want us to look for?"

"A word of warning, it might take a little convincing to get her to come here, but she should help us." Isran replied, which informed them that Sorine might be the type to get totally engrossed in the task that was in front of her and that she had to be stubborn, so someone would need to help her out before she even agreed to come here, "You'll also want to track down and find Gunmar, whose a big brute of a Nord and hates vampires almost as much as I do. He got an odd idea into his head a few years back that his experience with animals would help... trolls to be exact, from what I hear. Last I knew he was out scouring Skyrim for more beasts to tame, though last I heard he should be somewhere in the Reach as well. Bring those two of them back here, and we can get started on coming up with a plan."

Amaryllis nodded as her group departed from the area that was outside Fort Dawnguard and headed outside, though as they did that she knew that Za'kera was going to find a place to rest while they waited for her to track down Sorine and Gunmar, even though she had a feeling that things were going to get interesting from this point forward.