//------------------------------// // 17: Disaster at Kynesgrove // Story: Sunset's Adventure in Skyrim // by Blackdrag-rose //------------------------------// As Sunset and her companions walked down the path that took them from Azura's Statue and deposited them back on the road that used to lead to Winterhold, Sunset remained silent the entire time. Her companions believed it was because of the prophecy that Aranea had handed to her after receiving Azura's Star, the artifact that Sunset sought to keep from Tirek's hands. Now that it was in her possession she aimed to return to Fellglow Keep, where they could get a good nights rest before they ventured out into the wild the following morning, but first she planned on stashing the Star in her chest. She needed to lock all sixteen Daedric Artifacts out of Nirn until she could deal with Tirek, which she was constantly preparing for with every ruin they went through. The reason behind her silence, however, was because she was still reviewing the prophecy she had been handed, the one that foretold that she wouldn't be the one to stop Tirek. The prophecy specifically mentioned that 'an alicorn with a flaming mane shall descend upon Nirn', though Sunset knew only one mare that fit that description; Princess Celestia. But, even as she continued to think about it, the more she realized that the prophecy didn't make sense, as it was nearly impossible for someone to travel across the stars without one of the Crystal Mirrors, and the only one in existence was the one connected to Earth, which she knew was now in Ponyville thanks to Princess Twilight telling her about it. So unless Princess Celestia could find another one of the mirrors, each of which were rumored to have been crafted by Starswirl the Bearded himself, or create one of her own, if she could find Starswirl's notes on them, then Sunset knew that the prophecy couldn't possibly be about Celestia. She also knew that it couldn't be about her, as she was just a unicorn, so it made her wonder who or what the prophecy was talking about and, if she could find that person or pony, ask them to help her with her problem. She also had the feeling that this was one of those prophecies that wouldn't come to pass in the end, but it still worried her that she might not be able to stop Tirek in the end. As they walked along the road Sunset was, once again, caught off guard by the fact that none of the wildlife wanted to run at them and take their chances with a group of adventurers. She thought that maybe they could feel her magical power, or the power of the Staff of Magnus, and were backing off, giving such power some room alone. She also considered that maybe the Daedric Princes that hadn't been helped yet might be keeping her safe for the moment, to see if she'd eventually come to them. When they finally returned to Fellglow Keep Sunset and her companions were welcomed by Tolfdir and the apprentices, who were out practicing their magic. Sunset immediately noticed that they stared at Cicero and Aranea, but after a few moments they seemed to accept that they were more allies to aid their Archmage. As such Tolfdir quickly gathered the remainder of the Master Wizards and they gathered around the group, giving Sunset the opportunity to introduce her newest group mate, Cicero, while also introducing the newest resident of Fellglow Keep. Aranea didn't seem bother by this turn of events, though Sunset knew it was likely because that was what Azura had told her before handing her that prophecy. Sunset thought that she would be able to get away with not telling her companions her thoughts on Aranea's prophecy, but it wasn't until their evening meal before one of them spoke up. "So, whose the alicorn that the prophecy spoke of?" Bjorn asked, causing her to turn to him, while the rest of their friends turned and looked at her. "Excuse me?" Sunset said, trying to feign innocence while pretending that she had no idea who Bjorn could be asking about. "Come on Sunset," Fiona said, sitting behind her as she waited for the impending tale to be over with, "we know that you know who the prophecy is speaking of. We just want to know who that someone is." "Fine, you guys win," Sunset sighed, mentally noting never to bother hiding her knowledge from them again, "The alicorn that the prophecy could be speaking of is Princess Celestia, known as Celestia the Dawnbringer by the Three Tribes before Equestria was founded. She and her sister, Luna the Moonraiser, were the mares that raised both the sun and the moon everyday, but no one really knows if they were ordinary ponies or natural born alicorns. They ruled over Equestria for sometime, before Luna turned to her jealousy towards her sister and became Nightmare Moon, intending to cover the world in an Eternal Night before she was defeated by Celestia. A few years ago I used to be one of Celestia's students, learning magic under her wing, before I eventually let all of that go to my head and, after a rather heated argument I'd rather forget about, I fled to a different world. Long story short I planned on returning and ruling over Equestria, but Princess Twilight came and stopped me from following that path. Ever since then I have on the path of good, using my knowledge of the magic of friendship to solve the problems of my new home world, like the Sirens for instance. Then one day, near the end of the school year, I decided to head back to Equus and stepped into the portal, which didn't work the way it was supposed to and dropped me off her. Anyway, getting back on topic, Princess Celestia could very well be the alicorn that the prophecy speaks of because of the fact that she controls the sun in Equus, but I don't think she's the one. The problem is that there is only one Crystal Mirror, the device I used to go from Equus to Earth and back, in all of existence and it was only because the portal malfunctioned that I ended up here. Princess Celestia would either have the create her own mirror, the art of which has long since been lost, or somehow find the notes of Starswirl the Bearded, the most famous and respected unicorn wizard in Equus' history. The chances of Princess Celestia finding her way to Nirn, and then somehow finding me or Tirek before the literal End of the World, are extremely slim, so I must be the one to take care of our enemy, despite the fact that I am not an alicorn." "It would be nice to find this 'Starswirl the Bearded' and recruit him," Fiona commented, turning her gaze to the fire and leaving the others to think about what Sunset had said. Sunset had to resist the urge to laugh when Fiona mentioned recruiting Starswirl the Bearded, as he had been lost to history shortly after Princess Luna transformed into Nightmare Moon. No one in all of Equus knew where he had disappeared to, but now that she was stepping from world to world she had to consider that his legacy was out there somewhere, waiting to be discovered. -------------------------------------------------- When morning arrived Sunset and her friends departed from Fellglow Keep, leaving it in the capable hands of Tolfdir and the rest of the Master Wizards. Sunset really didn't want to head to Kynesgrove and meet the dragon that was supposed to be being brought back to life there, or at least according to Delphine there was supposed to be one. She considered leaving the women behind and gathering more of the Daedric Artifacts, but then she sighed and decided that she might as well see if the Black Dragon she had seen at Helgen was involved. So, once the destination was picked, they returned to the road and immediately set out in the direction of Winterhold, where they would ignore the turn that lead towards the destroyed city and continue towards Windhelm. This time while they traveled they did come across several bandits that wanted to rob everyone on the road of their valuables before killing them, but Sunset was not so easily swayed. When the bandits approached them she summoned her magic into her right hand and threw the fireball right into the chest of the closest bandit, causing the others to charge up the hill at them. Bjorn loosed an arrow and knocked one of them to the ground immediately, though Fiona, Cicero, and Lydia were waiting for the remainder of them before they clashed weapons against each other. Sunset was impressed by how skilled her friends were and how said skills were actually getting better over time, which she believed because she was slowly getting better as well. Eventually they reached the area that Delphine had mentioned, the place called Kynesgrove, though Sunset wasn't surprised to find that the people of the area were running around in fear. She suspected as much, as most people in Skryim ran at the mention of dragons and knew that Delphine was around the inn somewhere, no doubt surveying the burial grounds. As she and her friends approached the inn several of the people settled down enough to watch them pass, while one women worked up the courage to run up to them and inform them that a dragon was attacking the barrow. With that information in hand she continued up the path that lead her passed the inn, bending around until she came to a set out boulders, with Delphine hiding behind one of them. The other thing that Sunset noticed right off the back was that there was a large black dragon, the same one from Helgen she realized, flying around the burial mound, awakening whichever dragon happened to be buried there. "Oh, so you finally decided to arrive," Delphine growled at her, barely taking her eyes off of the dragon as Sunset and her friends approached her, "My guess was right, this was the next burial ground that was going to have its dragon brought back to life, so that it could be used against the people of Skyrim once more. Now that we know that the black one is responsible for bringing them back to life we'll just have to kill the one that comes out of the ground and then plan our attack on the Thalmor headquarters." "They'll still not behind this," Sunset stated, standing out in the open as she studied the black dragon, "Tirek is at the root of Skyrim's problems, in one way or another, and I have the feeling that we might need to enlist the help of the dragons to put an end to him." "Your insane to think that they would even consider a ceasefire between us and them," Delphine replied, glaring daggers at Sunset the entire time, "They'd likely destroy us and then move on with whatever plan their master's have in store for them, which might be the complete destruction of another Hold for all we know. There's no telling what the Thalmor are capable of, especially if they have the dragons on their side." "Oh sweet Celestia," Sunset moaned, becoming annoyed with the women and turning to her friends for a moment, "Stay here and make sure that she doesn't do anything stupid; I'm going to speak with that dragon." Sunset moved out from behind the boulder and watched as the black dragon shouted three Words of Power, Slen, Tiid, and Vo, which caused the ground in front of it to shake and buckle before another dragon started clawing its way out of the burial mound. She had to admit it, but watching a long dead dragon being resurrected by another one, and then watching the flesh and scales return to how they had been before its defeat, was an amazing sight. She stopped just a few steps away from Delphine's hiding place, patiently waiting for either of the two dragons to take notice of her, as they seemed to be deep in conversation at the moment. That was, however, until the black dragon turned its head towards where Sunset was standing and noticed her standing there, causing the second dragon to notice her as well. "Ah, Dovahkiin," the black dragon said, turning itself in the air to face her, "I was wondering when we would have the pleasure of meeting once more... I am Al-Du-In, Firstborn of Akatosh." "I am Sunset Shimmer of Equus," Sunset called back, hoping that these introductions were the beginnings of a conversation, and not a prequel to a fight between her and two dragons, "Archmage of the College of Winterhold and Initiate of the Dragon Cult." "Ah, I have heard that you allied yourself with my Cult, to fight a dremora you call 'Tirek'," Alduin said, "Morokei told me that he gave you his staff to combat your enemy, who destroyed Winterhold. Tell me, is all of that true?" "Maybe you should ask me yourself!" Sunset's eyes widened as she gazed behind the resurrected dragon, where she spotted Tirek standing on top of another boulder on the other side of the burial grounds. Alduin and his companion turned to face the latest arrival, both of them equally surprised that they didn't notice him before he had spoken and revealed himself. Sunset, on the other hand, stared at her enemy as she wondered what was going to be destroyed this time and, more importantly, how Tirek had managed to get so close without her noticing him. It made her wonder if he had already gained enough power to cover himself from being tracked, which if he did was going to make stopping him even harder. "Tirek..." Sunset said, gripping her staff as it slowly gathered magic into its stone, "...I was hoping to see you later on..." "Ah, Archmage Sunset Shimmer," Tirek replied, almost as if he was mocking her title this time as he stepped from the boulder and moved to the ground, "you really shouldn't be here, not after what happened to Winterhold. Do you want me to decimate the entirety of Windhelm as well?" "There aren't any magicka wells around here," Sunset fired back, knowing that had been part of the reason why Winterhold had been destroyed, "so even with your current power level you won't be decimating anything." She hoped that the sight of two dragons and herself would be enough to make Tirek think twice about being here, but she considered what happened the last time they had met. Skryim lost one of its nine Holds, so there was literally no telling what was going to happen now that Tirek had decided to insert himself into her life once more. As she waited for the demon to say something, anything really, she also wondered if the people of Kynesgrove were far enough away to be out of danger, in case a fight erupted between them. "Ah, confidence," Tirek said, striding towards the two dragons as magic surrounded his right hand, just like when he had destroyed Winterhold, "the last time we met you were filled with fear when you witnessed the power that I wielded in my weakened state. Then I cracked the air with my power and allowed the destruction to spread around the whole of Winterhold, tearing the pathetic Hold to pieces in mere minutes. Tell me, what do you think I could destroy with just fifty percent of my power? Perhaps a fortress, or maybe shatter one of the small settlements that dot this land. Or maybe I'll pay another visit to Fellglow Keep and drain the place dry, before I destroy everything and everyone around it." Sunset sighed for a moment and drew the Dawnbreaker, holding it to her right diagonally just a bit as she considered what she was about to do. Then, as if she had turned on a switch, her magic and anger poured out of her, a mass of flames wrapping around her right hand and surrounding the artifact. She had heard stories of condensed magic such as this, but at the moment she was far too angry to bother thinking about anything else except for Tirek. "Sahloknir," Alduin roared, realizing that something was about to happen and didn't want his underling to be caught in the crossfire, "BO, NU!" The other dragon, Sahloknir, took to the air just in time, as Sunset pulled her arm back and released the condensed magic, resulting in a wave of magical flames erupting from the Dawnbreaker and surging through the air towards Tirek. For a moment she thought that she might hit him, but then Tirek merely sidestepped and let the magic pass him by, slamming into the side of the mountain and exploding. Then Tirek swung his fist in the direction of the inn and cracked the air, to which the ground cracked and buckled as the earthquake seized the area around them. Sunset had to fight to keep her balance and gather more power into another attack, but she glanced at the inn and watched as it crumpled to the ground, adding another place decimated by Tirek, though this one could be rebuilt one day. Sunset growled and channeled her magic, feeling the power form around the Dawnbreaker, before she charged at her enemy while he was distracted. She loosed the condensed magic once more and watched as it neared her enemy from the back, but before it could touch him Tirek turned around and slammed his fist into the wave, shattering it and the ground around him. Tirek then pulled his fist back and swung Sunset's way once more, which resulted in her mentally cursing herself for drawing so close to her enemy, before something large barreled into her and knocked her out of the way, taking her place for receiving Tirek's attack. Before the devastation of his attack took effect Sunset pulled herself up and spotted who had taken her place, the dragon that Alduin had recently resurrected. The ground behind Sahloknir cracked and heaved as Tirek's attack traveled up the mountain, shattering the mountainside and causing massive pieces to fall towards them. Sahloknir roared in pain as he fell to the ground, but as he did Sunset approached Tirek once more and loosed what little energy she had left as he turned towards her, crashing the wave of flames right into his chest and exploding on impact. When the smoke cleared Tirek was still standing there, but there was a bleeding gash on his chest, to which he glanced down at the wound for a moment, as if he was surprised that she had wounded him. Then, not a few moments later, Tirek leapt backwards and landed on the stone he had revealed himself on, his magic already at work lacing his wound back together. "There," Sunset huffed, tapping the Staff of Magnus on the ground while holding the Dawnbreaker out as well, wondering if she had enough power for one last attack, "third times the charm as they say." "I... am impressed," Tirek commented, though she detected that he was still mocking her, "so much power... but not enough to actually defeat me at my level. Then again, your nowhere near the level to actually be worth me tearing your magic from your body... regardless of how many Daedric Artifacts you acquire. I shall take my leave from this place." Before Sunset could stop him Tirek vanished before their eyes, though she sighed and sheathed the Dawnbreaker, before she fell backwards and fell into someone's hands. Fiona and Bjorn glanced at her for a moment, though she was glad that they had caught her and was grateful for lifting her back onto her feet, as it allowed her to set her eyes on the wounded dragon. Sahloknir's right wing was broken in two places and several of his chest scales were cracked, though he seemed just fine despite the fact that he had been hit by Tirek. "So, that was Tirek..." Delphine said, not sure what to think now that she had witnessed the demon in action, drawing enough power to wound a dragon and shatter the area around them, "Okay Priestess, what's your plan on stopping him from ruining all of Skyrim?" "Yes, I would like to know that as well," Alduin commented, landing near his underling and glancing at them. "Tirek has the power to shatter all of Nirn if he gains one hundred percent of his power," Sunset replied, moaning as her friends released her and she leaned on her staff, "as such we need to ban together and stop him before he gains enough power. Delphine, that means that your going to need to ally yourself with the dragons and the Thalmor, regardless of how much you hate the both of them. Alduin, that means that we need to agree on a ceasefire between the dragons and the Blades, until we find a way to stop Tirek once and for all." "Your insane," Delphine replied, not believing what she was hearing before an idea came to mind, "though, if your intent is to ask the Thalmor for aid, then I suggest we infiltrate their next party and do whatever you want while your there. And maybe, just maybe, you'll get some information about Tirek in the long run." "I simply wish to end the one that wishes to end Nirn," Alduin said, a growl echoing in his throat, "that's my destiny, not some upstart from another world. Flogah, Dovahkiin, mu fent dreh truk hin ven... fah nu." Sunset let a small smile appear on her face, because while Tirek was hoping that his plan would cause the rest of Skyrim to destroy themselves Sunset was doing the exact opposite. She knew that she needed every ally she could get her hands on, acquire every Daedric Artifact that she could, and maybe, just maybe, her power will have grown enough to take care of Tirek. Every time that she witnessed Tirek's power she was more determined to put an end to the destruction that he was causing, though now she had the full force of the dragons behind her. Tirek was still out of her reach, but now she had the beginnings of an alliance that could very well be the demon's downfall, not that he was aware of what his actions were doing.