//------------------------------//
// 48: The Skaal's Knowledge 
// Story: Sombra visits Skyrim 
// by Blackdrag-rose 
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	"Am I the only one who has no idea what this Apocrypha is?" Chrysalis asked, looking around at the rest of their group and only seeing a slightly confused look on Sombra's face, "And what do you mean that Raika's been trapped?"

"No time to explain here," Frea said, casting a look at the black book as if she wanted to rip it apart and completely destroy it, "We'll need to take this cursed book with us if we want to have any hope of rescuing the Dragonborn from the fate that I fear that Miraak has planned for her. But how can we transport it without it trying to consume another one of us?"

Sombra walked up to the black book and allowed the area around him to blacken, though after a few seconds the shadows rose out of the ground and began to wrap around the book. The book violently shook as the shadows wrapped around it, but eventually it died down as they tightened around it and dragged it into the rest of the shadows. Before sealing it off he made sure that there was a container somewhere in the shadows, where he could contain the book and its evil until they had need of it or its power again. Once the deed was done the shadows retracted to where they had been before he had called on them, settling down before the area lightened back up to its original shades.

"Done and done," Sombra said, looking up at Frea with a smirk on his face, "So, what's next on the agenda?"

Frea shook her head and beckoned for them to follow her, as it just so happened that she had found an exit point while they had been waiting for Raika to return. They made their way out of the temple, glad to be out of the stale air they had been breathing and get some of the fresh winter air that blew around Solstheim. They continued down the side of the mountain, making one turn so they could cross over the wooden bridge that they found, though there was something that Frea needed to tell them.

"That down there is the Wind Stone," Frea said, pointing down to a stone structure that looked like the one they had seen in Raven Rock, "where many of my people are forced to work against their will, building those monstrosities that bend the power of the stones to Miraak's will. I do not know how he survived the siege the dragons waged on his temple, but I do know that my father, Storn, might be able to help you determine your next course of action."

As they approached the small village that Frea had led them to Sombra noticed that there was a magical barrier protecting everything, though he had some idea of what they were hoping to avoid. As they entered the village he spotted that there were only three people left, all of whom were sitting around a circle as if they were pooling their magic together to keep the barrier up. Two of them continued to ignore them, even as they arrived at the circle, but the third person looked up at them and gave them a weary smile, telling them all that he was tired from his duties. 

"Frea, you have returned!" the man said, not getting up as Frea moved near him, "What news do you bring from Miraak's temple? Is there a way to save our people?"

"I do not know Father," Frea replied, beckoning to the group and causing Storn to look up at them, "but while I was there I met this group of adventurers and their leader, the Dragonborn of legend."

"Yet she is not here with her friends," Storn commented, as if he saw through what had happened, "this means that, not only did you come baring some good news, but you also brought bad news as well. Tell me, what happened in Miraak's old temple?"

"Yolrahtoor has returned," Frea answered, not even missing a beat as her father gasped in shock, before returning to his neutral expression again, "I saw her the moment that I met the Dragonborn. Unlike the other Dragonborn's of legend this one, Raika Snow-Heart, has begun to change in shape, parts of her twisted into what they would look like if she was a dragon. I thought it was strange to see a person of legend look so strange, but then I noticed the bright red scales that littered her body and I immediately knew we were in trouble. Unfortunately, Raika has been trapped inside Apocrypha and that means that Miraak has been given his oldest ally back, which also means that its only a matter of time until Yolrahtoor returns in her full power."

"May the All-Maker save our souls," Storn sighed, as if the news troubled him greatly before he looked up at the others, "You all might want to sit down, I'm afraid that the tale I'm about to tell you might take some time."

It didn't take them long to sit around the circle, each finding a place where they wouldn't interrupt the magic that was still happening as Frea sat beside her father.

"I'm sure that Frea told you little about what Yolrahtoor has done," Storn said, staring at the magic and no one else, "In the beginning of the recorded history of nords interacting with dragons, back during the days of the dreaded Dragon Cult, there were three dragons that ruled over their kind with their iron will. The first I'm positive you've already met, as it was none other then Alduin the World-Eater, and the second was his brother that later turned on him, Paarthurnax. Most of what remains of the two of them, of which I'm sure there is little of, likely doesn't mention that there was a third dragon, who, while never sharing a family bond like Alduin and Paarthurnax, was almost as powerful as the both were separately.

This third dragon was named Yolrahtoor, the pieces of her name meaning Fire, God, and Inferno, referring to her devastating power over the element of fire. During the old days, long before Miraak came around, she was an enforcer, who flew around Skyrim at her master's orders, burning down any foe that would dare to stand against Alduin. One day three of the weaker dragons under her command thought they could rebel against her and tear her to pieces, though they were sadly mistaken as she beat them into the ground with barely an ounce of their life remaining. She brought them before her master, who swiftly decreed that they were to be slain for turning their backs on their brethren and issued that Yolrahtoor would be the one to do the deed, who slew the three dragons without pause.

After a decade or two she was reassigned to Solstheim, where she was supposed to help teach the latest batch of Dragon Priests as they prepared for whatever dastardly plan they had. It was there that she met Miraak, the Miraak that wasn't planning on turning against his masters, and got into training him and the other four students. Those students would come to be known as Ahzidal, Dukaan, Zahkriisos, and Vahlok, four of the five strongest Dragon Priests that would ever be trained on Solstheim,of which Miraak was the fifth. It was sometime after his training with Yolrahtoor that Miraak discovered the means to turn dragons to his side, forsaking them in favor of his mysterious new master.

Yolrahtoor learned of her star pupil's betrayal and immediately sought him out, following him all the way to the summit of Solstheim, where she confronted him. It was then that Miraak used his unholy power on his former mentor, binding her will to his own before he began to poison her mind with whatever he had learned. It is said that every time she came close to breaking free Miraak would double his efforts, until one day she eventually settled down, enough to make him unbind the power on her mind. It had taken a month of solid brainwashing, but somehow Miraak had broken her mind and had turned her against Alduin, where she would enslave the entire island for her new master. However, it was more than that, as Miraak had given her the choice to turn against Alduin, which, thanks to her new mindset, she took without much thought.

In the beginning of their deadly rampage across the island, none of the other four Dragon Priests knew of their plans to enslave everyone, but Vahlok grew suspicious. He heard the tales of a bright red dragon burning villages down and slaughtering nearly everyone around, save for those that had somehow escaped. One day Vahlok decided to trail Miraak, following him deep into his temple until he lost sight of him, though what he found was something that made him go cold. He had found Miraak's plans to destroy Alduin and take over all of Skyrim, though there was something he needed to do before that happened; he needed a suit of daedric armor made."

"Why would Miraak need a suit of armor?" Sombra asked, trying to wrap his head around the story.

"Because it wasn't for himself," Frea replied, cutting her father off, who simply sighed and returned his attention to the barrier, "Miraak planned on crafting a suit of armor that would make the wearer nearly invulnerable, though by the scale of it he wasn't making it for a mortal to wear. Miraak planned to have a large suit of armor made for a single dragon, making Yolrahtoor one of the deadliest dragons in all of recorded history, as if he was planning on pitting her against her former master. Before the plan could be put into action Vahlok turned their plan over to Alduin, who personally lead the assault on Solstheim and destroyed his former general, tearing her soul into hundreds of pieces and shattering her body across the island.

Miraak, his plans now ruined, vanished into thin air and Vahlok became the caretaker of Solstheim, serving his masters until he and his fellow Dragon Priests were sealed in their tombs, waiting for the day that they were supposed to come back."

Sombra sighed and pressed his fingers against his forehead, wondering what they could have missed until he recalled the black book that was floating in the shadows. With a slight snap of his fingers he summoned an image of the book, taking care not to actually bring it back in case the barrier was keeping the book's master out of the village. Frea continued to glare at the book, resisting the urge to burn it and rid the world of all the evil that it seemed to contain, though Storn looked even more concerned about it.

"Ah, one of old Herma Mora's black books," Storn commented, "one of seven if my memory is correct. That explains who Miraak's new master was, which also means he gave him sanctuary for all these years as he formulated another plan of attack. Miraak's been waiting all these years, was if Herma Mora told him exactly who was supposed to come back as the Dragonborn of legend, where his plan could be put into action at long last. This does not bode well for any of us."

"What does that mean?" Chrysalis asked, not really following most of what the nord had said.

"He's going to break Raika until she's no more," Storn replied, staring up at the sky and his barrier, "until only the dragon Yolrahtoor remains and his plan could be put into action. Once the dragon is back Miraak is going to enslave the island and then burn his enemies down across Skyrim, until only he and those that bow before him remain. He's going to declare war on everyone else, and Yolrahtoor is going to be the centerpiece of his entire plan."

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"Miraak! Miraak!"

His name was stretched as his master appeared in the air behind him, which he had gotten used to feeling every since he had stepped into his sanctuary thousands of years ago. Hermaeus Mora loved to hoard forbidden knowledge and knew most of what was supposed to happen as the fates decreed, though he didn't share most of it with anyone. Miraak knew this to be true, as the only thing Hermaeus had shared with him was the fact that his most trusted ally would one day be returned to him. The only time that Hermaeus stretched out his name was when he wanted something from him, which was the only reason he left the location where he had placed his old friend's current incarnation.

"Yes, Lord Hermaeus?" Miraak asked, holding his annoyed tone back as he faced his master, "What is it this time?"

His master had no physical form, save for the mass of eyes and tentacles that he chose to appear as whenever mortals summoned him to Tamriel. Miraak had no desire to share anything with him anymore, but knew that he had to tell the Daedric Prince something so he wouldn't thrown back before he was ready.

"Who is this you have brought into my realm?" Hermaeus asked, a set of eyes glaring at where a khajiit-dragon hybrid was chained to a wall, "I'm sure I could guess, but I'd rather hear it from you."

"This is Yolrahtoor's current incarnation," Miraak replied, glancing back at her for a moment, "the khajiit named Raika Snow-Heart. I plan on destroying this version of her, so that she can return to who she once was."

"And...the armor?" Hermaeus asked, referring to the constant hammering that even he could hear, in his own realm that was usually quiet, "I assume you have a plan for that?"

"All for Yolrahtoor," Miraak said, though he sounded pleased with his progress, "Raika is weak, she lets her anger rule her mind and that gives my friend a foothold each time a change rocks her body. I do not have the time before her friends come looking for her, so I intend to awaken all the memories that Yolrahtoor has, which will tear the khajiit to pieces. Once the khajiit is gone and Yolrahtoor is restored we'll destroy Paarthurnax and the dragons will be under our rule with no one to stop us."

Hermaeus knew what was coming, but chose to say nothing, knowing that the entire issue would be resolved without him having to interfere very much. He let Miraak build his armor and turn the Dragonborn into the dragon that she shared her soul with, who had served Miraak while she had lived her first life. He only wondered who would emerge victorious, Miraak or the Dragonborn's friends.