//------------------------------// // 47: Solstheim // Story: Sombra visits Skyrim // by Blackdrag-rose //------------------------------// It had taken them half a day to reach Solstheim, the mysterious island that was apparently run by dark elves. That was what the captain of the ship, the Northern Maiden, had told Raika and her friends as they made their way around the waters that would take them to the island. Once Raika had found his ship, as it was only one of the three ships they had found at the Windhelm docks, she had told him that he had brought a bunch of cultists to Skyrim so they could kill her. He had insisted that he had no idea that they had come to kill her, but after some talking she had convinced him to take them to the island so she could speak with the person so sent the cultists after her. During their journey to the island he had inquired as to why she and the others didn't just fly out into the wild sea and find the island for themselves, though the answer had been because they had no idea where it was located. He had also inquired as why he was taking the King of Shadows with him, though Raika just told him that he was on their side and that had, somehow, managed to calm the man down enough for him to agree to everything. Celestia and Sombra spoke with Chrysalis, sharing with her all of the events that had transpired between them, starting when they had first met, going up to when Discord attacked, and stopping with their journey in Skyrim. They used their time to make the strange monarch feel more comfortable around them, breaking her fears into worthless bits and making her open up to them. It was then that Raika learned what Chrysalis was, a shapeshifter that could take on the shape of anyone she wanted and could feed off the love of whoever they targeted. It explained why Elisif might have also kept her around, possibly to say whatever farewells to her beloved husband as if he was still alive so she could get over her grief. It was then that Raika considered that maybe all of the villains from Equestria were really just misunderstood creatures that wanted to be like everyone else around them....except Discord, who was just a prick. Raika spent the majority of her time listening to the captain speak about the island, telling her about all the tragedies that had befallen the island and giving her a general feel for what the creatures that called the wild home would be like. She would need every piece of information she could get her hands on, so she listened to him talk and rarely spoke up unless he would not move on with her saying something to him. -------------------------------------- "Here we are, Raven Rock," the captain said, beckoning to the small settlement that they were approaching, "Can't say I'm glad to be back, but make sure you give whoever sent those cultists to me a piece of my mind for me." Raika rolled her eyes and waited until they had officially docked in Raven Rock's small port, where an elf walked onto the ship, passed her completely, and moved to the captain. "Ah, Gjalund," the elf commented, staring into the eyes of the captain, "I was starting to wonder what had happened to you." "Just got caught in some bad weather," Gjalund replied, though Raika could tell that he was bluntly lying to the elf, "and before you ask... yes, I got the supplies you requested, but...but the load cost me twice as much as it normally would. I'm sorry Adril, but the East Empire Company raised their prices again and there is nothing I can do about it." "Don't worry about it Gjalund," Adril groaned, pressing the fingers of his left hand against his forehead, "they've been doing this for years now, so it doesn't surprise me that they're trying to drain us of every last coin we have. Let me talk with Lleril and we'll see what we can do." "Its alright Adril," Gjalund said, waving his arms, "there's no need to rush it. Just pay me when your able to." "You! Outsider!" Adril nearly shouted, finally spotting Raika and approached her, "I don't recognize you, so I'm assuming that this is your first visit to Raven Rock. State your intentions for coming to our community." "I'm here for someone named Miraak," Raika replied, hoping that he had something to give her, "Do you have any idea who this person is or where I might be able to find him?" It was like a different mind set had washed over the elf, because one moment he was outraged at her, for whatever his reason had been, and the next he seemed dazed. The elf was looking around like he had no idea who he was, where he was standing, and had likely forgotten everything that had happened in his life. Then it almost looked like he remembered something, as he seemed to recall what was happening around him and looked right into her eyes for a moment. "I...I swear I know the name," Adril said, sounding like he was confused still, "I know the name has something to do with the Earth Stone, which is resting directly to the west of us. Other than that I cannot help you." Raika nearly screamed in anger, which would have resulted in her tearing the entire port apart before storming off to find someone, anyone, that could tell her where her target was. Instead she forced herself to sigh and relax, before turning to the glowing stone in the distance and deciding that they at least needed to check it out for any leads. She and her friends made their way through the settlement, avoiding the curious looks that the locals gave them, and walked up to the Earth Stone, finding a bunch of people working around it. The only person not working on the stone was another elf, who seemed more interested in watching them than actually stopping them from their deed. "You there..." the elf said, spotting Raika as they approached, "you are not in the same state of mind as the others are. That's very interesting. May I inquire as to why you came to Solstheim?" "I'm hunting someone named Miraak," Raika replied, though she could tell by the way the elf was staring at her that he wanted to study her being as well, "Do you have any idea where I might find him?" "Miraak eh?" the elf said, almost as if he had to think about it for a moment, "Oh yes, I remember the name now, but that doesn't make any sense. Miraak has been dead for thousands of years, so whoever is hounding you must be someone whose taken on his name to fool you into thinking that someone dangerous is after you. I may have something that might interest you; Miraak had an old temple in the center of the island, so if your intent is to search for him I would start there." Raika thanked the elf and moved back to the path they had taken to get to the stone, so they could traverse the path back through the settlement and take the second exit the place had. She considered asking the elf to stop the workers, but she knew that, like every other mage she had met, the elf would only agree to that if he could study her. She wasn't in the mood for being studied by anyone, so she made sure to get away from the elf and walked out into the barren wasteland that greeted them. "This place is as bad as the Badlands," Chrysalis commented, staring at their surroundings and finding a sense of peace with the ashy environment, "how are we supposed to find a temple with all this ash covering everything?" "There's an old temple to the north of here," one of the guards commented, finishing off a creature that looked like a human made of ash, "We've had some reaver activity near the site of an old temple, but it doesn't look like the cultists that call the temple home mind their presence very much. I think they might have reached an understanding with each other, but whatever they did we don't have enough guards to press an attack on the temple and defend Raven Rock at the same time." Raika knew that they weren't going to get any help from the citizens of Raven Rock, not when most of them looked like they were brain dead and were building whatever construct that was around the one stone. Despite that fact she knew that she didn't need the help of the guards, as she carried the blood, and soul, of a dragon inside her and had a few allies that would make any Jarl jealous. With the new directions they began their trek into the barren wasteland, turning to the north after passing by a burned down shack that a guard was standing outside. Once they passed by the shack they came across a nordic burial mound that some elf was digging up, his miners working to clear the ash away while also clearing out whatever was inside the barrow. Past them, about five minutes away, was another camp, though this one contained several bandits that were all dressed up in armor that looked like they had been fashioned from insects. The bandits, what Raika assumed were the reavers that the guard had mentioned, picked up their weapons and approached the group, causing Raika to flex her claws for a moment. Just as she was about to leap forward and give them a piece of her mind Chrysalis held a hand to stop her and moved forward, the bandits laughing at her as she approached. "Look here boys," their leader said, pointing right at her as she walked up to them, "this one has spirit. Too bad that this will be the end of her and her little group." Chrysalis drew the weapon that she had brought with her out of her belt, spinning the blackened longsword around her as she approached the bandit's leader. Before the bandit had time to draw his weapon and defend himself she brought her weapon down hard on the area between his neck and his right shoulder, cutting through his chitin armor like it was butter. The other three bandits came at her, but she yanked her weapon out of the leader, spun around with the grace that Raika noticed that all of the Equestrian rulers had, and beheaded one of them before they could draw their weapon. One bandit thought that she was going to be the lucky one and end their foe, as she drew her weapon and brought it down where Chrysalis was standing, thinking that it was over. Chrysalis, on the other hand, simply moved back just a step and let the attack pass her by without really doing any harm to her, much to the surprise of the bandit that stood before her. Without offering a chance for the bandit to bring the weapon back up Chrysalis brought her longsword down and severed both of her hands before twisting it around and beheading the bandit. With the third bandit dealt with she turned to the fourth and final bandit, who was standing by a tree with a look of fear in his eyes, fear that she could taste. Before any of them moved to deal with him the bandit brought up his sword and drove it right into his heart, taking the cowards way out of the fight. "That's a first," Raika commented, surprised to have witnessed such an act, "I have never seen a bandit take their own life like that, even when their entire company has been beaten and captured or completely devastated by someone." They continued to the north, crossing the ashy hills until Raika finally spotted the temple that the guard and the elf had mentioned, but where they said one thing she found something different. The entire place looked like it had been dragged out of the ash, almost swept clean by the bandits that happened to be roaming the entire place. Unlike the previous group they met these bandits ignored them, hammering away at the structures and moving planks around as if they were preparing for something. In addition to the strangeness of everything they all seemed to be saying the same thing, repeating the sequence within a minute of them finishing. "Here in my temple, here in my shrine, that you have forgotten." the bandits said, almost like they were in a trance of some kind, "Here do you toil, that you might remember. Here you reclaim, what faithless minds have stolen. Far from yourself, I grow ever nearer to you. Your eyes once were blinded, now through me do you see. Your hands once were idle, now through them do I speak. And when the world shall listen, and when the world shall see, and when the world remembers, that world will cease to be." Raika wasn't completely sure if they were all speaking about themselves when they said 'I' or about the mysterious Miraak, who seemed to be the problem around the island. The one thing that had her worried was that they had passed by the ash covered corpses of at least six dragons, most of which were still buried beneath the ash. As they approached the center of the temple she noticed that they weren't the only people that hadn't been taken by whatever mind control was going around. The nord in question stared at Raika and her group before marching over to them, carrying two axes that were dripping blood over the ground. "You there," the nord said, her eyes glaring at them as if she was determining if they were friend or foe, "what are you doing here? Who are you people?" "These are Celestia, Sombra, and Chrysalis," Raika replied, not liking the nord's attitude towards them, "I am Raika Snow-Heart, the Dragonborn of legend. We're here because someone named Miraak sent a few cultists after me back when I was trying to kill Alduin, though it seems like he's been dead the entire time." "Yes, he served the dragons before their fall from power," the nord said, sheathing her axes for the moment, "He served as one of their priests, but then something changed him and made him turn on them. They say he tried to take Solstheim for himself and the dragons, who would not stand for such a thing, destroyed him, slaughtered his allies, and burned his temple to the ground for his actions. Forgive me, but my name is Frea...wait a second, I know you now!" "We have never met before today," Raika said, not knowing if she should be relived that someone recognized who she was or bothered by the fact. "You are correct in that regard," Frea replied, her glare getting even heavier now, "but there is only one dragon in all of Solstheim's history that has red scales as bright as yours. You are Yolrahtoor, the Dragon Goddess of Fire, and Miraak's right hand before the assault on his temple. According to legend you once sided with the dragons, but then Miraak somehow turned you to his side, where you used your destructive powers to lay waste to your former allies. The people of Solstheim suffered greatly from your attacks on them, all on the order of your new master, until Alduin himself came and ripped your soul asunder. I should kill you where you stand, but the All-Maker has said that anyone, no matter how corrupted by others they have become, can be redeemed by their own actions. Despite all the sins you committed back when you served under Miraak you can make up for them by destroying your old master and bringing peace to Solstheim." Raika moaned and moved past Frea, annoyed that she was being blamed for something that had happened a long time ago, when the dragon that she shared her soul with had lived its life. She wondered what else Yolrahtoor had kept from her, because ruining the lives of hundreds of people was something major that she should have known about when she had first met the dragon. She found a ramp that lead down around the temple, so she pulled out one of her swords and walked down, knowing that the others would be following her closely. Two cultists stepped out of a door she found, but before either of them could raise a weapon to defend themselves she spun around and dropped the both of them, their heads rolling around the ground as their bodies hit the stone hard. Once they were inside the temple Raika moved down the corridor, passing by two rooms that looked like they were almost wrecked beyond belief. Frea wanted to check them out for any provisions that would help them for the coming trial, so Raika gave her five minutes to look around both rooms before moving on. It turned out that there was nothing for them to take, which told Raika that the cultists had taken what they needed and had left nothing behind for anyone else to take. They reached an area with what looked like pressure plates scattered about, but Frea ran forward and swung her arms, her axes taking off the heads of two cultists before they had a chance to even see who was attacking them. The next chamber they reached had a great view of all the drawn up corpses that Raika assumed Miraak had hung to display that he was in charge and nothing could stop him. Frea spotted a chest on a platform above them, but Raika merely flared her wings for a second and landed before the chest, which she opened with delay. She found it wasn't really worth the effort, but then again she wasn't interested in the golden necklaces with an assortment of gems in them that she found. She did take the ebony sword that had been stashed inside the chest, but that was the only thing of interest that she even considered taking with her. They rounded the corner and came to a couple of coffins, which opened up and three draugrs came walking out, though they were all dressed up as if they were all Dreadlords. Before they could even get to fighting them a flash of lightning passed them up, followed by a shout as four cultists came walking up a set of stairs near them. Frea charged at the cultists, her axes swinging through the air as she battled the magic that they carried, though Celestia stood at her side and they took them together. Chrysalis, Sombra, and Raika each took one of the Dreadlords, separating them from each other in the off chance that one of them ran to their allies aid. Raika had to admit it when they were done with the group of enemies, she was somewhat glad that she had gotten more power from her other side, despite the fact that the dragon continued to lie to her face. She was using all of her power, and all of the dragon's power for that matter, to destroy every enemy that threatened the safety of Skyrim and Tamriel. Still, she could not bring herself to tell the others that the source of her new power was not only the rage she had for everyone, ally or enemy, ignoring her status as the Dragonborn, but the dragon she shared her soul with. They continued deeper into the temple, finding a few more draugr, which Frea dealt with before they even reached them, but they eventually reached a long tunnel that was full of swinging blades. Raika knew that, just by looking at all the blades, that Miraak had devised this part of the temple to kill anyone who wasn't an ally to his cause, like the cultists. "I am not traversing this part," Frea commented, taking a seat before the path, "just let me know when its all said and done." Raika turned to Sombra, whose shadows reached across the tunnel and allowed him to summon a small gateway that took him to the other side of the tunnel. Not a moment later the swinging blades stopped moving, stalling on the sides of the tunnel and going completely still, which caused Frea to stare at Raika with a dumbfound look on her face. Raika chuckled and they moved up the tunnel, where Sombra was merely leaning against the wall, smiling because he had done exactly what Frea had wanted, just without harm to his body. Raika was enjoying the fact that she could get more done with Sombra's powers, which he seemed okay with every time she asked him if he could do something to move things along. The next area they came to had several raised wooden bridges, though Raika had the feeling that the moment they walked down their bridge the other three would open and they would find a group of enemies waiting for them. Frea walked down the wooden bridge and sure enough the other bridges opened up, two draugrs and a cultist walking down to greet all of them. Chrysalis held a hand up and stopped the others from joining the nord, but instead of standing still she walked down with her, appearing to be ready to fight as well. The draugr approached Chrysalis, but she spun around and drove the point of her longsword into the closest one to her, straight into the still heart and silencing it within seconds. The second draugr swung its weapon at her, but she ducked under the attack and pulled her weapon out, allowing the first to fall to the ground with a thud. Her opponent moaned at her and continued to swing at her, so in response Chrysalis continued to dodge its every attempt to hurt her, ducking left and right as it kept going at her. It eventually managed to land a blow on her right arm, but the moment that happened Chrysalis twisted her sword and brought it down hard enough to cut the draugr in half. Frea, on the other hand, had to constantly move around the area until she got an opening to cut off the hands of the cultist she was fighting, before she twisted her axes around and cut off its head. "You okay Chrysalis?" Raika asked, seeing the wound and wondering if she needed it bandaged up, as they didn't have any potions to use at the moment. "Yes, he just caught me by surprise," Chrysalis replied, a bandage made of pink energy wrapping around her wound and sealing it completely, "ah, as good as new. Never underestimate the power of Love as they say." Raika didn't know what the power of love that Chrysalis spoke of was, but if it was a source of power for the changeling Queen then she wasn't going to even ask. As long as she was okay and didn't need a break from all the fighting Raika was okay with her using whatever type of magic she wanted, like Sombra calling on the shadows. With the enemies dealt with Raika smiled and they continued on their way, passing though another iron doorway that was always in the ancient nordic barrows. They came to yet another bridge, though this one was guarded by six skeletons, which they simply had to punch hard enough in the skull to make them fall apart. The ruined area that followed was easy for them to navigate, as they decided to walk over the wreckage and continue on their way, until Frea commented about there being a few spell tomes laying around a side area. Raika had to resist the urge to throw her in front of one of the draugrs or Miraak's traps, though they did find quite the number of enemies in the next area. The chamber they arrived in had an open pit in the center, so what they did was move around the edge and beat up anyone in their path until they came out on the other side. They took the pathway down, even deeper into the island, causing Frea to comment on how powerful Miraak must have been to have such a large and terrible temple built for him. The small chamber they came to had a few coffins lining one wall, a coffin on the wall in front of them, a word wall to their immediate left, and the corpse of a dragon hung above their heads. Raika approached the word wall, intending to get the experience over with, but the moment the lights died down the coffins began to open and even more draugr began to spill out. The minor draugr were dealt with in mere seconds, but when the main one opened up and a Dreadlord walked out Raika was on top of him within seconds. The Dreadlord didn't stand much of a chance, not when Raika broke off its head and tore out its heart, both of which she proceeded to drop to the ground after removing them. Once the deed was done she picked up a small key and approached another door, which happened to hang behind the coffin the Dreadlord had come from. They came to another chamber, though this one was filled with a bunch of stone tables, discarded food items, and a couple of mugs with empty bottles of ale scattered about the place. Raika didn't have to search for a hidden handle for long, which opened up another hidden passageway that took them down a tunnel until they came to another set of stairs. They followed the path even further down, turning around and about until they finally came to a lever sitting next to a bare stone wall, though Raika pulled it down and the wall rose to reveal more stairs. The next chamber they came to was massive, which made sense seeing how they had done quite a distance without coming to an area like the one they were standing in. At least twenty skeletons and ten draugr walked around the chamber, each of them looking like they were ready to deal with any intruders that might disturb them. The five of them rushed into the open area, weapons at the ready as they clashed with the walking dead that called the place home, weapons clashing in seconds. Raika didn't have to worry about the undead getting at her, as she merely dodged their attacks until an opening presented itself and she took an enemy down. As kept her eyes on her targets she noticed that Celestia danced around her foes, making them confused as she would trade places with Chrysalis, who had taken her form without Raika noticing. Frea did what she did best, throwing her axes around and killing whatever enemy came close to touching her, dropping at least three of them with one attack. Sombra let his enemies come at him before impaling them on smaller versions of his crystal spires, knowing that if he made them too big it might cause the entire place start falling apart. Once the enemies were done they approached the back of the chamber, passing by a statue of some strange creature that Raika assumed was one of the Daedric Princes. They followed yet another hidden tunnel until they came to a smaller room, one that had another statue of the strange creature in the center and had a large black book resting on a pedestal. "I'm going to open that book," Raika said, knowing that she may very well regret the choice later, "I just want all of you at a safe distance in case this thing does something strange." When she was sure that everyone else was at a safe distance she took a deep breath before she touched the book and pried it open, letting the cover and back touch the pedestal. For a moment nothing strange happened, which made her believe that she had been wrong about something terrible happening, but then it hit her hard. Black tentacles erupted from the book and wrapped around her body, tying her arms and legs to her body and preventing her from really doing anything to stop them. Then, before she knew it, her vision was fading as she succumbed to whatever foul magic the tentacles were working on her body and mind. -------------------------------------- When Raika came to she moaned slightly before looking up at her surroundings, finding a place that looked like it was full of books, scrolls, and an eerie black water that she didn't like the look of. Standing before her were four strange looking creatures that appeared like they were covered in large torn robes, though they looked nothing like the statue she had seen in Miraak's temple. That was when she noticed the man standing in the center of all the creatures, wearing a dark green robe with gold pieces scattered about and a strange mask that looked nothing like the masks she had seen the Dragon Priests in Skyrim wearing. Without having to be told who the man before her was she immediately knew, which meant she was in trouble as she was still laying on the ground and he was standing. "Normally I would ask 'who dares to set foot in this realm', but I know you," the man said, staring down right at her, "You are Yolrahtoor, called Raika Snow-Heart in your current incarnation. You have slain Alduin, an annoying thorn that would have come back to the island to fight me again, but now I don't have to worry about him anymore. Ah, but I forget myself sometimes. Surely you know exactly who I am?" "Miraak!" Raika growled, though the strange thing was that it hadn't been her that had spoken the man's name, rather it had been the dragon that had once served him. "Ah, I see you have partly awakened who you once were," MIraak replied, sounding as if he was pleased, "It is a shame that Paarthurnax didn't realize who you were the moment you spoke to him, as it would have been humorous to see him turn on the Dragonborn in an attempt to end your life. He is the only remaining dragon that could possibly stand before you now my dear, and once he's dead you shall stand by my side as the Queen of Dragons." "To...Oblivion...with you," Raika moaned, her mind hurting still and wondering if it was due to what had happened before she had picked up that black book. "I see your current incarnation is still fighting to keep herself alive," Miraak said, kneeling in front of her and holding her chin as if he wanted to look straight into her eyes, "though she should have given up by now. You should have realized it by now my dear, your whole life was merely to act as a vessel for the lucky dragon that would be given a second chance at life. If you had been one of Alduin's underlings you would have flocked to his side the moment that he showed up in Helgen, saving your life without knowing who you were. You could have been one of those rogue dragons, who would have only destroyed Alduin to show that you could. Instead you carried the soul of my right hand, the dragon that everyone on Solstheim feared, and now you have brought her back to me, where she belongs." "I'm going to kill you!" Raika declared, struggling to get up as she fought whatever was keeping her down. "I see that I'll need to hurt your current incarnation in order to release you," Miraak said, almost as if he was speaking to the dragon and ignored Raika completely, "It will be a painful process, my dear Yolrahtoor, but when I'm done you will be restored to your former glory and your incarnation will be nothing more than a figment of the past. Gol Hah Dov." Raika was more than willing to fight against whatever magic was keeping her from getting onto her feet and running Miraak through with one of her swords, but the moment he uttered those three words everything changed. It was as if Miraak was trying to insert himself into her head, making her believe that he was her master and that she needed to follow his commands, which only resulted in her head hurting even worse than before. Pain shot throughout her body, adding to the pain that she was already feeling from having some stranger trying to force his way into her mind and dominate her. Despite Miraak's absurd claims she knew that she was in charge of her destiny and that she had been the one whose time it was to live, not the dragon that had lived a long time ago. Try as she might the pain finally got too much for her to handle at that moment and she finally blacked out, hitting the floor hard and remembering nothing after that point. -------------------------------------- Sombra had been watching the black book and Raika's body, which each of them could see through as if she was both there and not there at the same time. They had done nothing for the last ten minutes, merely waiting for Raika to return with news about whatever the book was showing her and if she had found her final enemy. Frea continued to say that it was a bad idea to even open the book, so she stayed as far away from it as she could get, leaving the rest of them to wait near it. Then, just as Sombra was about to say something to make conversation with Chrysalis, Raika's body vanished completely, the black book slamming shut as it waited for someone else to open it. "Um...what just happened?" Chrysalis asked, wondering if something like this was common when dealing with Raika. "All-Maker preserve us," Frea said, realizing what had happened, "The Dragonborn's been trapped inside Apocrypha."