//------------------------------// // Chapter 17: Death and Life // Story: The Equine Scrolls: SkyFiM // by FireOfTheNorth //------------------------------// Chapter XVII: Death and Life “The dragons aren’t just coming back, they’re coming back to life.” Because it was already getting late, I convinced Faniar it would be better to leave in the morning. Though he was overly energetic and ready to leave immediately, he realized the dangers of traveling at night and agreed to wait until morning so long as we left at first light. Steadfast and I trotted down through Whitetrot to Breezehome, where I was finally able to sleep in my own bed again, while Steadfast took the guest room I hadn’t even known existed. At first light Faniar came a-knocking, and the three of us set out into the wilds of Horizon. Well, not exactly the wilds. The path through the wilds, at least. “So, why Pynesgrove?” I asked him as we walked down the path that curved through the eastern end of Whitetrot hold into Easttrot. “I believe we’ll have the best chance of catching a dragon there,” he said, consulting a few of his charts and maps, “Or at least finding some evidence. Also, it’s not all that far from Whitetrot, even if it is in Jarl Stormcloud’s territory.” “What do you expect to find?” Steadfast asked. “I don’t know. Hopefully something that will tell me whether or not the dragons are coming back the way I think they are.” Before we knew it, we were in sight of the ramshackle little collection of buildings known as Pynesgrove. It was so small, it could barely be called a town, which explained why it didn’t appear on my map of Horizon. Well, not yet. I marked it as best I could before we reached the tiny settlement. All the town seemed to be was an inn, a few homes, and a shrine to Ponyreth, or Pyne as the earth ponies called her, the Equine of nature and the warrior. Everything seemed very calm in the town, ponies going about their business as we passed by. Why Faniar thought a dragon would surface here I had no idea. Suddenly, the very air seemed torn asunder by a deafening roar. Wind whipped through the pine trees as a massive black dragon swooped overhead. I couldn’t get a close look, but I was almost certain this was the same dragon I’d seen at Hoofgen. Paying no attention to the town, it flapped up to the cliffs overlooking it. “Hurry, we have to make it to the barrow!” Faniar cried out, galloping for the zigzag path that wound up the cliff. Steadfast and I followed, making the harrowing climb until we emerged on top, looking down on the town. Faniar motioned for us to duck low to the ground and follow him closer to where the dragon was hovering. Slinking through the grass, we inched along the ground until we had a good view of both the dragon and the nearby dragon barrow built atop the cliff. The dragon proceeded to chant in draconic, and the world itself seemed to grow darker with every word it uttered. Looking up overhead, I saw the clouds twisting into unnatural shapes without the aid of pegasi, converging above the dragon barrow. Lightning arced through the rapidly darkening clouds until a bolt finally struck the barrow. Multicolored lights jumped up from the dragon’s tomb, similar to what I had seen when taking their souls. These lights, however, formed a solid, swirling pillar reaching all the way up to the clouds. It pulsed with energy in time with the living dragon’s chant. Eventually, the vortex tore open the barrow, sending rock spinning high in the air before it crashed down. Out of it crawled the skeletal remains of a dragon that had died centuries ago. Engulfed in the otherworldly light, flesh began to form over the bones until a living dragon stood in its place, giving a roar of defiance against death. The lights were suddenly cut off and the clouds began to dissipate as the dragons began to speak to each other. In the resurrected dragon’s speech I picked up only one familiar word, and I knew it meant trouble. Alduin. The larger black dragon had to be the world-eater, and he was the one bringing these dragons back to life. Everything was beginning to fall into place. Of course Alduin couldn’t fulfill the prophecy and devour everything on his own. That’s where the other dragons would have to come in. Already they had succeeded at attacking and doing substantial damage to several towns. Well, this one wouldn’t be doing the same; it would meet its end here. <”!!GO MY BROTHER!!”> Alduin boomed in Equine, <”!!FEAST ON THE FLESH OF THE LESSER RACES!!”> As he finished, he turned to glare where Faniar, Steadfast, and I were hiding. A blast of flame sent the three of us scattering before he took off. The newly resurrected dragon gave a stretch of its wings, testing out its new body before crawling toward us. From its sheath I pulled Calcion’s Cleaver, and prepared a lightning spell with my horn. Steadfast drew his warhammer and stepped into a ready stance. Faniar levitated the staff he had brought along, building magic at its tip. As one we charged in toward the dragon, but were soon sent scattering again as it belched a wide trail of flame. Steadfast reached the dragon first, smashing his warhammer through its wing to keep it from taking off and flying. As it tried to turn on him I closed the distance, tearing my sword through the membrane of its other wing, crippling it as well. Suddenly it flared its wings up, sending Steadfast and me flying, before tucking them against its body. Both of us landed up in the pine trees that seemed dominant here. As I began to climb down, I watched Faniar engage the dragon. With a flash from the tip of his staff, an exact duplicate of him composed of glowing energy appeared nearby. His copy rushed the dragon and began shooting blasts of fire and lightning at the beast. Faniar himself tucked the staff onto his back again and pulled out a slender sword before charging at the dragon. As it turned toward him and opened its maw, he dropped his sword and powered up his horn. With it, he sent a blast of ice into the dragon’s mouth, coating the inside. It glowed, then turned to a burst of steam as the dragon struggled to breathe out fire. By the time it finally managed, Faniar was well out of the way. Meanwhile, his duplicate had managed to do some significant scorching to the dragon’s side until it was crushed beneath a claw and returned to pure magic. I finally made it down from the tree and retrieved my sword, drawing it and the Axe of Whitetrot before running at the dragon. As its attention was focused on Faniar, I ventured a swing at its head, which proved unsuccessful as it brought up a claw to block. I jumped back as the razor-sharp talons slashed right past my face. Steadfast also joined the group, giving a war cry before attempting to jump on top of the dragon. Holding on to the spines as tight as he could, he slammed his warhammer into the dragon’s back repeatedly, caving in the scales and injuring the flesh beneath. The dragon shook its body with all its might before Steadfast was thrown off. He landed near the edge of the cliff not far away, balancing precariously. As he tried to regain his balance, he began to tip farther toward the deadly drop. I reached out with my magic and pulled him in just enough that he was able to fall back onto solid ground safely. With Steadfast out of harm’s way, I turned back to the fight. Faniar was rushing around the dragon, coating it with ice and making it very mad. I lent my lightning spell as well, using it to crack the ice into splinters and further injure the dragon. As I cast my magic at the dragon, I continued to work my way around to the far side of it, an idea forming in my mind. Once I was fully on the other side of the dragon and both Faniar and Steadfast were out of the way, I released a Shout on the dragon. <<>> The dragon went flying back from the force of my Shout, sliding up to the edge of the cliff. It wasn’t quite perfect, but my next Shout would do it for sure. I felt the thoughts reforming in my mind, but not nearly fast enough. A swipe of its tail struck Faniar, sending him flying through the clearing. Steadfast rushed the dragon, giving a swipe at its nose before wisely retreating. I shot an arrow into its eye just as it was about to engulf Steadfast in flames. Further enraged, it searched all around with its other eye to find me. When it finally did, I was forced to jump out of the way of a blast of flame. As I rolled to a stop on the ground, I realized I hadn’t come near as far as I needed to. The dragon’s flames washed over me a moment later. Desperately, I rolled in the dirt to put out the fire as my flesh burned. I quickly drank down a few healing potions, dulling the pain enough for me to cast a healing spell that repaired most of the damage. I still hurt, but full healing would have to wait for later. The dragon was apparently convinced its blast of flame had killed me, and was devoting all its attention to Steadfast, snapping its jaw at him. Seeing my friend was already bleeding in several places where his armor had been nicked, I wasted no time in summoning my Shout. <<>> The dragon was hit full on with my Shout and went sliding off the edge of the cliff. It dug its claws into the mountainside, seeking for purchase as it fell, but all it succeeded in doing was pulling pieces of the cliff with it. It roared and spat fire as it fell. I rushed forward as it did, throwing myself off the edge after it. When it crashed onto the inn below, I landed on top of it, and it absorbed most of the fall. Not wasting any time, I yanked out Calcion’s Cleaver and slashed into the dragon’s belly. It quickly rolled over, sending me rolling down the thatched roof of the inn. I tried to get a grip on it as I neared the edge, but I fell off anyway. Luckily, I landed on a porch, if somewhat heavily. No time to climb down, I blasted the door off with a burst of fire and entered the inn. As I entered the main portion of the building, I saw what looked like the entire town’s population huddled together. Quickly I climbed down the stairs and headed for the door. “What’s going on out there?” one of the ponies asked fearfully. “Dragon . . . Got to go,” I panted before rushing out the door. Emerging outside, I looked up to see the dragon perched atop the inn. As it caught my movement with its one good eye, it sent fire to eradicate me. Pine trees lit into pillars of flame as I ran from it. As long as it stayed on top of that inn, the only chance I had was to get out of sight and shoot arrows at it, hopefully piercing its heart. Steadfast and Faniar came plodding down the mountain pass and joined me. “Is there a plan?” Faniar asked. “I think so,” I said, coming up with one on the spot, “I need you to hurt it anyway you can, head or heart if possible. Steadfast, you try to antagonize it and draw it into swinging range. I’ll see if I can’t take out its other eye.” Our group split up to accomplish our various tasks, dodging the dragon’s fire attacks as we did. Faniar began sending long-range lightning spells at the dragon, shocking its head and confusing it. Meanwhile, Steadfast began hammering on a nearby pine tree that looked ready to topple onto the inn. I pulled out my bow and got to work, shooting arrows at the dragon whenever there was a clear shot. With a crash, suddenly Steadfast’s tree came down on top of the dragon. The tree was very large and heavy, and managed to further crush one of the dragon’s wings, as well as upsetting its balance on the roof. I came sliding down, but not before grabbing onto the tree. Crashing to the ground, it lit the pine on fire and hurled it at Faniar. Whitetrot’s court wizard froze up in shock a moment before the blazing trunk slammed into him. Steadfast rushed around the inn, his hammer ready. The dragon quickly saw him coming, however, and he was forced to retreat to keep from being roasted alive. The dragon crawled forward, pursuing him around the corner of the building, intent on finishing him off. Before it could, I lined up a shot on its head and fired. My arrow buried itself in one of its horns, causing it only temporary annoyance. I fitted another to the string and winged a quick prayer to the Equines before sending it hurtling across the gap. The dragon reeled in agony as my arrow lodged itself firmly in its eye, completely blinding it. Steadfast ran off as it wheeled around searching for him. Determined to survive, the dragon sent flame shooting all around it, cutting off all avenues of approach. Thankfully, I had a solution to that. <<>> The dragon staggered and slammed into the inn, the trails of flame cut off. I rushed forward while it was distracted and climbed on top of its head. Swinging Calcion’s Cleaver over my head, I jammed it down through the dragon’s skull as hard as I could. Its brains melted beneath the magic of the blade, and the dragon thrashed for a bit before finally succumbing to death for good. Yanking my sword out, I climbed down from the dragon’s head. As I cleaned the corrosive blood from my blade, the dragon began to combust behind me. In a moment, I followed its entire life, all the memories it had collected over centuries; even its death I experienced, followed by its rebirth and subsequent second death. When the images finally stopped coming, I breathed a sigh to relieve the tension from the fight. It was all over. “That was amazing,” I heard Faniar say softly. I looked up to see the stallion standing nearby. “How did you survive that?” I asked him, referring to the burning tree that had taken him out. “I didn’t plan on going up against a dragon without packing a good supply of potions of fire resistance and healing,” he said, gesturing to his saddlebags, “Sorry I wasn’t there for the finale though.” “So, what happened back there?” he added, “I’ve never seen anything like it.” “I experienced all of that dragon’s memories,” I explained, “It happens whenever I kill a dragon.” “Fascinating, there’s nothing about that in any of my books,” he replied, levitating them out and flipping through them. “Well,” Steadfast said, “Looks like you were right. The dragons are coming back to life. But why here, why now?” “Alduin,” I answered. “Alduin?” Faniar asked, pulling out the Book of the Dragonborn, “You mean the world-eater Alduin, prophesied to return and devour the whole world?” “That’s him. And I think the other dragon was Alduin. It was the same one that destroyed Hoofgen, the first seen in centuries. It only stands to reason the world-eater would return first before waking the others.” “But where did Alduin even come from?” Steadfast asked, “And why did he choose to invade now?” “No idea,” Faniar answered, and I too gave a shrug of my shoulders, “But, maybe we’ll find something out at the next barrow.” “The next barrow?” Steadfast asked. “Yes, the closest one from here is less than an hour’s walk south. Maybe this time we can get there before the resurrection happens.” Fighting two dragons in the same day, and seeking them out at that, seemed extreme. But, I was curious now about how the dragons were returning, and if Faniar thought we could learn something about it by poking into another barrow, I was with him. ◊◊◊ ◊◊◊ ◊◊◊ Faniar was true to his word, and we were at the next barrow in no time. However, as we drew close to the ugly-looking stone bump on the ground, I could see we were too late. Whatever dragon had been here had already left. Scorched and flattened trees, dead grass, and burned goats bore testament to the destruction the dragon had wreaked upon resurrection. “Looks like we’re too late,” Steadfast called to Faniar as he rushed toward the barrow, “We should get out of here before it comes back.” “No,” Faniar protested, staring over the barrow’s cracked lip, “There’s got to be something here we can use.” I trotted up to join him moments before he hopped down into the darkness. He vanished for a moment before his horn illuminated the empty space. “It’s all right,” he called up, “There’s stairs.” Taking a leap of faith, I jumped in after him. After a brief fall, I landed on a solid stone step. “Why are there stairs in a dragon’s tomb?” I asked as I lit a torch to provide additional light. “Probably for the skeleton’s caretakers,” Faniar replied as Steadfast jumped down to join us. “Caretakers?” “The Draugr. No doubt the dragons wanted their remains kept safe and clean until the day Alduin came to wake them up. Most likely that was one of the uses of those who followed the dragon cult once they became undead.” A Draugr lying crushed by a falling stone, and others burned in the life-giving fire seemed to prove Faniar’s deduction. We descended deeper and deeper into the barrow until at last our hooves touched the bottom. The room seemed to be a perfect circle, just right for a dragon to curl up in and wait for its rebirth. It was the walls that drew Faniar’s attention. Increasing the light from his horn, he was able to project a sphere large enough to make out the details climbing the stone. Carvings of dragons and earth ponies were mixed together in a grand mural without any end in sight. “Wait a minute,” Faniar said, and went rushing down the wall, following the mural until he came to a sudden stop. “What is this?” I asked as he stared at the cold stone. “It’s history,” he said, “This is the ascension of Buckatosh, and the ordering of time.” “And this is when he took upon the dragon form,” he said moving along the wall back the way he had come, “And the birth of the dragons. And here’s the settling of the Northlands, the rise of the dragon cult, the rebellion against the dragons, it’s all here!” “And what’s this?” I asked as he stopped just before where he had started, coming full circle. “This,” he said, “Is the prophecy of Alduin’s return.” The carving was centered around a massive and terrible dragon, Alduin I assumed. Around him were other dragons rising from their tombs, and ponies dying beneath their onslaught. “Why is this here?” I asked. “Probably to remind the dragons of their past,” Faniar said, looking around the room before turning back to Alduin’s return, “And of their future.” “And this,” I said, pointing to the carving next to it, “What’s this supposed to be?” “It appears to be Alduin’s defeat,” he said, leaning in for a closer look, “It appears the ancient earth ponies were able to defeat him with . . . a Shout?” “But which Shout?” Before Faniar could answer my question, I felt a blade against the back of my neck. Turning my head very slightly, I could see a katana was also levitating behind Faniar’s head, surrounded by silvery light. “Who are you?” a mare’s voice spoke from the darkness, “And what are you here for?” “My associates and I,” Faniar said, gesturing with his hooves, “Were just doing a little research into the dragons and why they’re – um – coming back to life.” “What interest have you in these matters?” the voice demanded. “We want to stop the dragons from destroying the world,” I answered, “We’re looking for some way to do that.” “Tell me truthfully, from where have you come?” “Whitetrot,” I sighed heavily, “I’m the Thane, he’s the court wizard, and he’s a member of the Companions.” “A very unlikely combination,” the voice protested, “But yet it appears to be true.” The blades were pulled away from our necks, allowing me to turn around. Whoever had been speaking was remaining hidden in the shadows, but I got an idea of her position before her magic faded from sight. “Who are you?” I asked, hoping for a less cryptic response. “On the surface,” was all I got from the mysterious voice. Cautiously, we ascended the stairs and climbed the wall for the last bit, emerging onto the plains of Easttrot. After we had all exited the barrow our mystery attacker finally showed herself. A golden-coated unicorn mare with a dark red mane and tail climbed from the barrow. She wore a type of armor I’d never seen before, composed of multiple interlocking plates that let her move naturally, yet would also confound any blade looking for a weak spot. Across her back was slung an armory’s worth of weapons, mostly of the katana variety. “I don’t believe we got your name,” Faniar said sarcastically. “Nor I yours,” she replied, “But I’ll initiate the pleasantries. I am Scarlet Shores. What are your names?” “I’m Sapphire.” “Steadfast.” “Faniar.” “Well, now that that’s out of the way, I suppose we can part ways,” Scarlet said before turning to go. “Wait,” I called after her, “Who are you and why were you in the dragon barrow?” “Same reason as you, I suppose,” she said, turning back, “I was curious, and I’m looking for some way to stop the dragons. My order’s devoted to it.” “And what order is that?” I asked. “The Blades,” she replied, “Greatest dragonslayers in the history of the Northlands, and protectors of the Alicorn Emperors.” “I thought they were wiped out at the end of the Great War,” Faniar said. “We’d like the Blackwings to think that,” Scarlet replied, “They’ll always give us trouble. But we’ll give it right back.” “Well, it was nice meeting you all,” she said, “But it’s time for me to disappear. And if you really do aim to make an end to the dragons, perhaps we’ll meet again.” Without another word, she galloped off into the distance, disappearing from sight. Level Up Health: 170 Stamina: 140 Magicka: 160 New Perk: Overcharge [Destruction] -- When casting two identical Destruction spells simultaneously, the effects are quadrupled instead of doubled. Dragon Soul collected New Quest: The Way of the Voice -- Return Jurgen Sky-whinny’s horn to the Greymanes and continue your training.