//------------------------------// // 53: Flight of Fire // Story: Sombra visits Skyrim // by Blackdrag-rose //------------------------------// Celestia had felt the great magical disturbance long before she heard the roar that shook the sky, causing everyone around her to lift their eyes to the mountain. Long before she felt the ground beneath their feet shake, almost as if something was creating an earthquake while scaring the villagers at the same time. When the source of the disturbance revealed itself everyone in the village was knocked off their feet, hitting the ground as the portal to Apocrypha stayed still, showing all that Sombra's skill was not to be underestimated. Celestia got onto her feet and stared up at the sky, finding the cause of the disturbance with ease, though she was surprised by what she found. Floating quite a ways above the village was a dragon that was the size of Alduin, though Celestia knew that Paarthurnax was somewhere in Skyrim and knew who this dragon was. What surprised her was that she had armor fastened to her body, as if Miraak had been paranoid and believed that she would be vulnerable without it. Yolrahtoor didn't look like the Goddess of Fire that the nord's described, instead she looked like a Destroyer that had come to destroy everything and everyone that stood before her. When Skorn said the dragon's name out loud every villager began to panic, as the source of their ancestor's misery was now looming above their heads as she debated what to do with them. "What do you want, Yolrahtoor?" Celestia shouted, barely covering her eyes as she hoped that the dragon would be peaceful and say that she would not be destroying anything. "I WILL BURN TAMRIEL TO THE GROUND!" Yolrahtoor shouted, her voice echoing across the island as flames began to dance around her body armor, "I WILL RAZE EVERYTHING AND SLAUGHTER EVERYONE IN A SEA OF FIRE, LEAVING NONE ALIVE IN MY QUEST TO FINISH WHAT MY MASTER, LORD ALDUIN, STARTED! PRAY TO WHATEVER GODS YOU WANT, MORTALS, FOR NONE OF THEM SHALL SAVE YOU FROM MY WRATH!" Celestia recognized the tactic that Yolrahtoor was using, she was making sure that their attention was purely on her while she prepared an attack that would devastate them all. As she watched the flames she noticed them gathering into a ball shape below the dragon's mouth, a ball that was quickly growing in size as more fire was added to it. The attack, on the other hand, was similar to one that Celestia hardly used anymore, as the power in her own attack was powerful enough to obliterate an island off the face of any map. If the attack that Yolrahtoor was preparing was the same that Celestia was thinking of, and she was painfully sure that it was, then there was only one way to stop it before it went off... ...she was going to have to absorb the entire attack into herself and pray that her power over the sun was enough to defeat the power of the nord's Goddess of Fire. "Luna, I need you to summon your strongest barrier that you've got," Celestia said, her worn armor melting away as her golden armor wrapped itself around her entire body, "because I'm not sure if I'll be able to withstand the power of that attack." "I will try sister," Luna replied, her ebony armor appearing as she pressed her hand against the ground, "but remember the last time you tried this? The last time you tried this you ended up in the hospital with all your legs broken, most of your ribs were cracked, patches of your coat were charred and needed to be removed, and part of your mane and tail were missing. It took you two whole months to recover from the ordeal..." "I am fully aware of the pain I'll be going through," Celestia said, silently wishing that Sombra would come out of the portal and suck the attack right out of the sky before it hit them, "just keep the village and our friends safe." Celestia pumped her wings and got into the air, moving past the tallest building in the village before a shimmering light blue barrier closed behind her. She fixed her eyes on Yolrahtoor and prepared herself, knowing that what was going to happen next was either her saving the island or its destruction. Yolrahtoor shouted something and released the attack, letting the gigantic orb of fire hang in the air for a moment before it began its descent down to the village. Once Celestia was close enough to the attack she thrust her hands out and touched the rim of the attack, feeling the pressure as it began to push her back towards the ground. As the sphere of fire pushed her back Celestia opened her body to it, grunting as she focused on channeling as much fire as she could into her own body. As she got closer and closer to the barrier she began to sweat, which was understandable as she was caught between the intense heat of the sphere and her own body temperature was rising. She was beginning to think that she might have underestimated the sheer power of the attack, as it had barely decreased in size from the moment she had started. Then the one thing she had been trying to prevent happened, the sphere forced her to make contact with her sister's barrier and released an explosion that rocked the entire island. ------------------------------------------ "We were too late," Sombra moaned, balancing himself as the tower began to tilt once more, "We've got to get out of here before the tower completely falls." "The way we came from is broken," Trixie pointed out, noticing the fallen spires they had used to reach Miraak's summit, "which means that the only way out of Apocrypha is to use the same portal that Yolrahtoor used. But how are we supposed to reach it?" Sombra looked over the edge of the tower that was breaking as a thought entered his mind, one that he believed would be able to get them closer to the portal. He ran over to the side that faced the portal and placed his hands on the floor, willing the crystal spires to listen to him as he made several platforms rise out of the water. He made sure to space them apart, just in case the falling tower made them hit each other while Sombra and Trixie were making their way to the portal. Once that was done he summoned one more spire, but this time he aimed it right at the base of the tower that was in front of them, so it would fall and give them a chance to jump. "We're going to jump to it," Sombra shouted, just as the tower began to tip forward, "be prepared to leap off the tower the moment we reach the platforms." Trixie nodded and braced herself, just as the base of the tower snapped and began to fall forwards. As the tower fell Sombra noticed that it was falling too close to the first platform he had conjured, which meant that they'd have to jump to the second one instead. Once they were close enough Sombra nodded and the two of them literally threw themselves off the tower, aiming right for the second platform. Trixie hit the floor and rolled, making sure she was fine before noticing Sombra hadn't made it and was about to scream for him, but then noticed the shadows push him out onto the crystal floor. Sombra moaned as they continued, leaping from the second platform to the third, cutting the distance to the portal down before he heard something behind them. He cast a quick glance backwards and found an army of Lurkers and Seekers coming after them, which meant that Hermaeus Mora wasn't about to let them leave his realm. As they clawed at the platform they had skipped Sombra clapped his hands together and canceled the spell that held all the platforms up, causing them all to shudder before starting to fall. "Run!" Sombra shouted, causing Trixie to kick it into high gear as they made their way across all the platforms. They jumped across the platforms, dodging the army of Hermaeus Mora, until they arrived at the platform that rested just before the portal, though it hadn't started its fall yet. Sombra latched his magic onto the portal and shredded the magic that Miraak had placed on it, changing it so he and Trixie could leave Apocrypha through the portal he had created earlier. The portal would hold only two charges, one for each of them, and then when one of the Daedric Lord's minions tried to use it after them, which Sombra knew would happen, the portal would explode and Miraak's work would be lost to his former master. Once they reached the portal Trixie immediately jumped through it, disappearing in a flash while Sombra made sure to force their enemies back a bit more. When he was pleased with the distance between him and his enemies he turned around and leapt through the swirling magic, disappearing before the Lurkers could grab him. When he stepped out of the portal in the village he was surprised to find that there was a bunch of smoke, flames that were eating at the tops of some of the buildings, and people scattered everywhere. Luna sat near the portal, huffing as she lifted her hand from the ground and picked herself off the ground, her head pointed at the sky. Chrysalis emerged from the shadows, though by the fear in her eyes Sombra knew that she had seen something that had frightened her to her very core. Then Sombra noticed Celestia coming their way, but she was limping and Sombra was immediately at her side, helping her towards the portal as it slammed shut. "Celestia!" Sombra exclaimed, worried about her and the rest of the villagers, "What happened while we were gone?" "SHE came," Celestia moaned, still feeling the effects of her attempt to stop the attack, "Yolrahtoor came to the village, declared that she was going to basically destroy Tamriel, and fired a gigantic ball of fire at us. She didn't stay around to make sure she destroyed us, but I dread to think where she's heading right now and pray that whoever she comes across hides before she attacks." "She's going to kill Paarthurnax," Sombra said, the truth dawning on him as he stared up at the sky, "Think about it; Alduin, Paarthurnax, and Yolrahtoor balanced each other out, so the only creature in Yolrahtoor's mind that can stop her is Paarthurnax. She doesn't believe that any of us are a threat to her, so she's going to tie up the loose ends before she starts to purge everything from Tamriel. I'm going to summon a gate and get you guys to the mainland, so you can alert Paarthurnax that he's in danger and prepare for Yolrahtoor's arrival. I'm going to follow from the sky, though I'm hoping to catch her and talk some sense into her before I have to resort to fighting her." "This Yolrahtoor cannot be reasoned with," Skorn commented, coughing as Sombra turned to look at him, "this is the Enforcer, the original version of Yolrahtoor before Miraak created the Betrayer. Now she is the Destroyer, bent on finishing what Alduin started and not caring who she kills in the process. The only way to beat her is to kill her." Sombra sighed and summoned the shadow gate, positioning it right outside High Hrothgar, so the others could warn the Greybeards about what was coming and, hopefully, prepare for her coming. Trixie and Chrysalis moved into the gate and disappeared, though Neloth cast a look at it and decided that he wanted to study the gateway, as he entered it as well. Luna helped her sister stand and prepared to move them through the gateway, but Celestia shook her head and turned back to Sombra for a moment. "What do you intend to do if she proves stronger?" Celestia asked, though she thought she knew exactly what his move could be. "I'd have to open the Doors," Sombra replied, knowing what might happen if the fight came to that, "but I will do what I can before it comes to that." Celestia nodded and entered the gateway with her sister, the two of them disappearing as they traveled to High Hrothgar. Once Sombra was sure that they were on the other side he slammed the gate shut and sank into the ground, hoping to use the clouds to find the gigantic dragon that was heading towards Skyrim. Thanks to the flames that were dancing around the island, of which there were plenty, the sky had darkened around the island and provided him with an easy way to follow his target. The clouds seemed to follow Yolrahtoor as she flew through the air, so Sombra was able to catch up to the massive dragon without her discovering him. Once he was leveled with her neck he leapt out of the shadows and swung his scythe into the armor plating, though he began to slide off as his weapon merely scratched the armor. "SO YOU WANT TO PLAY ANT?" Yolrahtoor shouted, feeling the attack on her armor, "VERY WELL THEN, I SHALL ENJOY DESTROYING YOU AS A WARMUP FOR WHEN I REACH SKYRIM!" Sombra latched his shadows in between two of the armor plates as Yolrahtoor began to roll in the air, trying to shake him off while keeping herself on course, but Sombra would not lose to her so easily. He pulled himself around her side until he was right on top of her belly, where there should be the lowest density pieces of the armor and would provide him with the perfect place to strike. Once he was aligned with her he pulled his arm back and swung his weapon again, the head biting into the armor for a moment before it was forced back. Sombra grunted, whatever magic Miraak had poured into the construction of the armor was protecting it, and Yolrahtoor, against the most basic of his attacks. Yolrahtoor roared and flames began to dance about her armor, but instead of focusing them at any one point she allowed them to gather around her. Sombra's eyes widened as he realized what she was doing the moment he stared at the clouds, the speed she was flying and her flames were causing the sky to catch fire. Clouds gathered the fire and burst after a few seconds, spreading the flames as they danced around them, but also destroying the shadows he could use if he fell off her back. Before he could form a plan of attack Yolrahtoor began to spin again, returning to the upright position, and not caring about who was trying to hurt her. Sombra, thankful that the dragon was so arrogant, raised his scythe into the air and began to channel his innate darkness into the head of the weapon, giving it an eerie glow. Once the weapon was ready he ran up her back, which wasn't as easy as it had been the previous time, until he reached the area of her neck once more. Before he stopped moving he swung the scythe into the plating and cut right through it, going all the way to the scales and even piercing Yolrahtoor's protective hide. The moment that happened she roared in pain and her wings snapped to her side, allowing her to spin around in midair while her tail coiled around and whacked Sombra square in the chest, knocking him off of her back. Despite falling downward to the sea Sombra had to grin, he had managed to cut through the armor that Miraak had forged in Apocrypha and fastened to Yolrahtoor's body while she had been unconscious. Once her wings were back out and she was heading towards the mainland Sombra faded into the small crystal that he had given to Raika a few days ago, which had only been returned while they had rode the ship to Solstheim. He reappeared beside his scythe, which he had been wise to leave lodged into the plate he had struck, as it served as a way for him to continue the fight easily. He gripped the scythe and yanked it out, tearing through both scale and plating before he struck again, tearing into another section of Miraak's 'invulnerable' armor. Yolrahtoor roared again, but this time when she tried to throw him away he pressed himself against the plating and watched her tail pass over his head with ease. Sombra grunted with effort as he dragged the scythe down Yolrahtoor's back, attempting to cut a long gash that would knock her out of the air, but he was rewarded with some movement. After a moment he was rewarded with even more movement, though this time he began to pull it all the way down Yolrahtoor's back and deepened the wound he had inflicted on his enemy. "I SHALL ENJOY DESTROYING YOU, ANT!" Yolrahtoor roared, blasting the clouds in front of them into pieces as they neared the mainland, "AND THEN I SHALL PURGE THIS WORLD, JUST AS MY MASTER WOULD HAVE DONE!" "Not happening," Sombra shouted back, holding tight onto his scythe as Yolrahtoor began to descend, "I will defeat you before you get anywhere near your endgame." ------------------------------------------ "Master Arngeir," Celestia said, bowing politely as the Greybeards came to a stop before her and the rest of her group, "it is good to see you again. I just wish that it was under better circumstances." "Ah, Princess Celestia, it is nice of you to visit again," Master Arngeir welcomed, his eyes glancing over the assembled group until he noticed that someone important was missing, "Tell me, where is the Dragonborn?" "I assume you know the tale of a dragon known as Yolrahtoor?" Celestia replied, hoping that the Greybeards did, as they didn't have enough time for her to tell the whole tale before the dragon reached Skyrim. "Ah yes, my predecessor told me the tale many times before I took over," Master Arngeir commented, recalling the tale with ease before realizing where she was going with her question, "Are you telling me that she's back?" "Raika was carrying Yolrahtoor's soul the entire time," Celestia answered, "and we, unknowingly, delivered her to Miraak, who tormented her and awakened the dragon that had been sleeping inside her. Yolrahtoor is on her way to Skyrim as we speak, so she can destroy Paarthurnax and make it so that there is no one that can stand up against her. We need to warn him that he's in danger and prepare for her eventual arrival." "There will be no need for that," Master Arngeir replied, waving a hand as he cut her off, "Paarthurnax departed for the location of where he, his brother Alduin, and Yolrahtoor used to meet when they ruled over all of their kind. Knowing Yolrahtoor, she's likely heading for that exact location so she can confront him, but that's where Paarthurnax plans on getting to her before she gets to him." "And where was this meeting area?" Luna asked, knowing that it was important to know where the location was so they could provide Paarthurnax with aid. "In the area that has become Whiterun," Master Arngeir said, "if you leave now you might be able to aid in the relocation of the citizens of the Hold, as I'm sure they're moving out before Yolrahtoor arrives." ------------------------------------------ Paarthurnax sighed as he stared out of the Great Perch that was used to trap dragons that had dared to attack Whiterun since the day Dragonsreach had been constructed. He knew that the trap wouldn't be able to do anything against Yolrahtoor, his best friend before she let Miraak corrupt her mind, and would result in the destruction of the entire castle before she would escape it. He knew that she would be coming to destroy him, which was why he had ordered the Jarl of the Hold to lead his people out of the city and into the nearby cave. "Paarthurnax!" a voice called out, causing him to look behind him and noticed the friends of the Dragonborn approaching, "Master Arngeir told us you'd be here." "I am waiting for Yolrahtoor to arrive," Paarthurnax replied, shaking his head as he stared outside once more, "I was meyus, foolish, to believe that she would not return to Skyrim. When I felt her nuvah, her presence, in the Dragonborn's shout I should have destroyed her while I had the grozein, the chance. Before she could have regained her terrible suleyk, her terrible power. I do not know how we would have destroyed Alduin without Raika, but we should not have allowed Yolrahtoor to daal, to return, to Skyrim. Tell me, Princess Celestia, where is the Jun do Vokun? Where is the King of Shadows, as the bron, the nords, of Whiterun call him?" "Sombra's riding on Yolrahtoor, trying to stop her before she reaches us," Celestia said, shaking her head as she looked outside, "There's no telling how angry she is at Miraak turning her against Alduin or if her armor will hold up against Sombra's assault, but we should be expecting them very soon." It looked like Paarthurnax was going to say something more, but then a roar pierced the air and the sky seemed to catch on fire, telling Celestia that their time was up. She bid the dragon farewell and leapt out of the perch, her wings catching the air as she and her friends flew towards the nearby tower so they could keep an eye on the city. Trixie, unable to fly because she had no wings, was carried by Chrysalis, who seemed annoyed with the deed until they were safely on top of the tower. For a moment nothing happened, but then part of the clouds above Whiterun broke open and Yolrahtoor, in all her blazing glory, descended upon the Hold. Then Yolrahtoor's tail flipped around and wrapped around something on her back, which she proceeded to throw right into the heart of Whiterun as if it was a piece of trash. ------------------------------------------ Sombra moaned as he picked himself off the ground that he had been flung into, thankful that his shadows could also act as some protection against some of the toughest of enemies. Yolrahtoor was one of those enemies and as he straightened himself he spotted her, floating in the air and staring at her, daring him to come at her once more. He was going to attack her again, but he knew that, in his current state, she simply out powered him and he needed to unlock the Doors that he had kept locked since he defeated his evil nature. "Hey, Yolrahtoor!" Sombra shouted, spitting a bit of blood out of his mouth as he stared up at his opponent, "How does it feel to be winning against someone whose not using all of their power? Wouldn't you want to beat me when I'm using all of my power? Wouldn't you want to brag to all of Skyrim, nah, Tamriel that you beat the King of Shadows in fair combat?" "SAY WHAT YOU WANT, MORTAL," Yolrahtoor shouted, her voice echoing across the Hold, "GO AHEAD, UNLOCK YOU 'POWER', FOR I SHALL DESTROY YOU AND ANY WHO DARE STAND AGAINST ME!" Sombra chuckled and held his scythe in front of him, channeling the Dark Magic all around him into the head before he snapped it backwards, turning it into a spear. Once that task has been completed he reached deep into his being and touched the keyhole that kept all his barricades sealed tight, which also prevented his darker side from coming out again. The moment he had a firm hold on the keyhole he willed it to appear before him, because the only way for something like this to work he needed to do it in the real world and not in his spiritual world. The shadows sharpened into points and pierced the ground, moving around until the shape of a large keyhole appeared before him, the center shrouded in shadows. Once the keyhole had formed before him he spun the spear around his head, gathering more of the Dark Magic that floated around him, before he slammed it right into the hole, the entire head disappearing into the shadows. "Unlock," Sombra said, twisting the spear as if it was a key until he heard the clicking sound, "my Doors of Darkness." Shadows began to wrap all around Sombra and covered him in seconds, causing Yolrahtoor to frown for a moment as she wondered what was going on. Then the shadows formed into a pillar of sorts, ascending towards the sky until the clouds darkened and the center of the sky began to swirl, as if a vortex had opened above the Hold. Black lightning leapt out of the sky, causing Yolrahtoor to avoid the ones that got close to where she was floating, but the ones that hit the ground caused a cluster of black crystals to grow. Eventually the pillar faded, but the terrible weather that had appeared and the vortex remained, almost as if something powerful was keeping them in place. When the shadows revealed Sombra Yolrahtoor nearly gasped as she saw the changes that had taken place. The glowing steel armor that he had been wearing had darkened to a vile dull grey, giving him the look of something that wanted to destroy everything around him. The lush red cape was still attached to his back, but now the shadows seemed to seep out of them, almost as if they were an extra layer of protection for him. The eerie shadows that came out of his eyes was still there, but when he showed her his eyes she noticed that they were deep red surrounded by a vile green color. Sombra smiled as the shadows wrapped around him once more, it was good to have all his power out for everyone to see.