//------------------------------// // 23: Paarthurnax // Story: Sonata's Crazy and Wacky Adventure in Skyrim // by Sonata Blaze //------------------------------// Sonata wished that she hadn't shown off her power, because as they entered the Karthspire and began their search for the temple they had come here for Delphine kept asking her about what she had done outside the cave. She had used another of her ancient names, the Queen of Storms, and the woman had made the connection that she had to be the Siren Queen, as her other title was also called 'Queen'. Sonata wasn't going to confirm or deny anything at this time, because she needed to find what they had come here for and figure out how she was going to defeat Alduin... which she was still trying to wrap her head around at the moment. When they started their trek though the cave Sonata spotted two more of the Forsworn standing in their way, though it appeared that they had taken shelter from the storm. Lydia roared as she pulled out her battleaxe and charged towards them, spinning the weapon around and removing the arm of the first enemy that came at her, before spinning herself around and bringing the weapon down on the second enemy's head. As she cut her second opponent in half she turned around and faced the one that she hadn't gotten rid of yet, where she removed the Forsworn's head and cleared the path for them to continue. As Sonata rounded the corner she found what appeared to be the entrance to the ancient temple that Esbern had been talking about, because he got excited the moment they laid eyes on it. As she walked up the set of stairs in front of her she discovered that there were three stone pillars, each baring three different symbols, and she stopped so she could determine what she needed to do with them. She overheard Esbern mention that one of them was the symbol for Dragonborn, the one that happened to look like two dragon heads and an arrowhead, so she took a guess and arranged the outer two to match the middle pillar. She waited a second before the stone bridge to her left lowered into place, allowing her and her company to move forward to whatever trial happened to be next. When she entered the next room she found that there were a bunch of pressure plates scattered around the floor, though as she took a closer look she discovered a pattern in the ground; the Dragonborn symbol seemed to make a path to the pillar that rested on the other side of the room. She took a deep breath to calm herself before she walked out onto the first symbol, though when she found that none of the traps activated she followed the path and pulled the lever that she found. With that out of the way she and her friends moved through the next set of bridges that lowered into place, though Sonata did stop when she spotted the true entrance to Sky Haven Temple; a carved wall that had a massive head in the middle of it. She then spotted something in front of the head, something that reminded her of one of the 'Blood Seals' that Starswirl told her about when she was working along side him at one point. She had to guess that it would use the Dragonborn's blood, her blood to be exact, to do something that was specific to the area, though she could easily determine that it would have to open the door for them. She then smiled when Esbern started talking about the wall and the seal on the ground, because her guess happened to be exactly what he was going to tell her in the end. With the formal instruction complete Sonata drew out her sword just a bit and rested the palm of her left hand on the blade, cutting into her hand and using some of the blood to activate the seal. As the seal sprung to life, and the door opened before their eyes, she called on her magic and sealed the cut, before putting her sword away and approaching the entrance she had revealed. As she walked into the hidden temple she had to marvel how no one managed to find the massive head before she and her friends came along, though she decided not to dwell on that fact. Then she saw Alduin's Wall, the masterwork of the Akaviri craftsman that depicted a battle between dragons and the people that they had ruled over, though as Sonata looked at it she could tell that it foretold other events as well. "Yes, yes, let's see what we have here," Esbern commented, walking up to the Wall with a torch in his right hand, before he beckoned to the leftmost side of it, "Look, here is Alduin! This panel goes back to the beginning of time, when Alduin and the Dragon Cult ruled over Skyrim. Here, the humans rebel against their dragon overlords - the legendary Dragon War. Alduin's defeat is the centerpiece of the Wall. You see, here he is falling from the sky. The Nord Tongues - masters of the Voice - are arrayed against him." "So does it show how they defeated him?" Delphine asked, cutting to the heart of the issue, as she clearly wanted a weapon that could help them stop Alduin, "Isn't that why we're here?" "Patience my dear," Esbern said, shaking his head ever so slightly as he ran his hand over the Wall, "The Akaviri were not a straightforward people. Everything is couched in allegory and mythic symbolism. Yes, yes. This here, coming from the mouths of the Nord heroes - this is the Akaviri symbol for 'Shout'. But... this is no way to know what Shout is meant." "You mean they used a Shout to defeat Alduin?" Delphine asked, almost as if she was surprised by that fact, despite the fact that the prophecy mentioned that only a Dragonborn could stop the World-Eater, "You're sure about that?" "Oh yes," Esbern replied, as if he had expected someone to ask the question and had his answer ready ahead of time, "Presumably something rather specific to dragons, or even Alduin himself. Remember, this is where they recorded everything they knew about Alduin and his return." "Damn it," Delphine said, turning to Sonata for a moment, who had been silently watching them the entire time, "Well, I had hoped to avoid involving the Greybeards, but it doesn't seem like we have a choice. You're going to have to go back to High Hrothgar and ask them if they know about this Shout that was used against Alduin." "That's fine... I had to go back up there at some point anyway," Sonata replied, silently referring to the Horn of Jurgen Windcaller, which she hadn't given back to the Greybeards thanks to everything that's happened since she left the mountain the first time, "Come on guys, let's head back to High Hrothgar and see if we can't figure out what the Greybeards know about this Shout." Sonata didn't want to listen to Delphine constantly speak of going to war against the Thalmor, considering that their true enemy at the moment was actually Lord Grul and his seemingly endless army of orcs. She had to use her time to think about the whereabouts of her sisters Adagio and Aria, or where her enemy might have made his base of operations in this land. She briefly considered using the fragments of her pendant in a tracking spell to see if she could figure out where her sisters were, considering that they also carried their shattered pendants with them all the time. Unfortunately she lacked the required energy to pull off the spell at the moment, partly due to the amount she spent outside the temple and the fact that she needed more of the Queen's powers to do something like that. She was going to have to do things the old fashioned way and discover the truth whenever it came crawling to her, which only made her worry that she had missed something important. Somehow, against all the odds that Sonata and her friends had faced since they had departed from High Hrothgar, the group managed to make their way back through the Reach, traverse a mountain pass without harm coming to them, and followed another path that brought them to Iverstead before they walked up the mountain path and reached their destination. Sonata felt it was wrong that they didn't encounter any more orcs or dragons that wanted them dead, but she wasn't about to voice her opinion considering that her luck could change in an instant. When they finally entered High Hrothgar, and got out of the cold, Sonata was pleased to find that the Greybeards had been waiting for her for some time. Once Arngeir had the Horn of Jurgen Windcaller, something that she had been meaning to bring back, he and the others gave her the final Word in Unrelenting Force; Dah. She then went through a ceremony that consisted of her standing in the middle of the four old men, who proceeded to 'Speak' to her in the Dragon Language. She had to admit it, but the Greybeards were actually pretty strong with their voices, though she knew that she needed their assistance in finding what she came here for. "Now Dovahkiin, I sense that there is another reason for you coming to us." Master Arngeir said, as the other Greybeards moved to wherever they meditated, "What is troubling you?" "I was told that you might have some information regarding a Shout that could help me stop Alduin," Sonata answered, though she immediately noticed something flicker in Arngeir's face, "I found Alduin's Wall... and it said that this one Shout could very well aid me in saving Nirn from being destroyed." What she didn't tell him was that there was an orc named Grul that was currently spreading war and fear throughout the whole of Skyrim, but she decided that he had best not know about that. "Ah, Dragonrend," Master Arngeir said, though by the tone of his voice Sonata wondered if he was cursing out the Shout or if it was more dangerous than she had been told, "Who told you about this Shout? Was it the Blades? Of course it was the Blades, as they seek to turn the Dragonborn from the path of wisdom once again... In any case, we cannot teach this Shout to you. It is an evil Shout, created during a time cruelty and terror... something that the Greybeards do not regret losing." "Sometimes you must fight evil with another kind of evil," Sonata replied, though she had to wonder if there was someone who knew where the Shout was located. "I see you are set on learning this Shout... and only our leader, Paarthurnax, can tell you about it," Arngeir sadly said, beckoning her to follow him as she noticed the other Greybeards moving outside, "The way to our leader can only be opened by one who has mastered their Voice, but, thanks to the Blades, you have questions that only Paarthurnax can answer. We will give you a Shout that will open the way to him, but then you are on your own for the journey to the summit." Sonata soon discovered that the Shout that Arngeir was referring to was called 'Clear Skies', while its Words of Power were Lok, Vah, and Koor. Apparently the Shout had the ability to clear away most storms and weather conditions, something that she could have done with her full power, though at her current state she was pleased to have such a useful Shout in her arsenal. Once she had the knowledge of the Shout, thanks to Arngeir for sharing his understanding, she approached the path alone and readied herself for what she was about to do. "Lok Vah Koor!" she shouted, allowing the Shout to hit the wind that was roaring before her and make it all disappear, opening the way for her to move forward. As she moved through the path alone, as her friends stayed back with the Greybeards, she encountered a few enemies that called the area home, namely an ice wraith and a troll, and had to use Clear Skies a few more times before she was near the peak. As she walked though the final wind tunnel she looked around for the person she was supposed to be meeting, though she could tell from just the name that she was meeting a dragon. She had actually pieced that information together on the way up, as she had encountered three named dragons and their names seemed to have three parts to them... which she assumed was the same case for Paarthurnax. Sonata immediately spotted a Word Wall at the top of the summit, but before she could approach it she heard the sound of wings flapping and turned her head to watch a dragon approach her, to which it landed near her. "Drem Yol Lok. Greetings, wunduniik." the dragon said, though his tone reminded her of whenever she spoke to Starswirl the Bearded, "I am Paarthurnax. Who are you? What brings you to my strunmah… my mountain?" "You're the master of the Greybeards?" Sonata asked, wanting to be sure that this wasn't a trap set by Alduin, or Grul for that matter, before she said another more. "They see me as master. Wuth. Onik. Old and wise. It is true I am old…" Paarthurnax replied, to which Sonata breathed a sigh of relief, "Tell me. Why do you come here, volaan? Why do you intrude on my meditation?" "I came to learn the Dragonrend Shout," Sonata answered, silently hoping that he had something to tell her about the whereabouts of the Shout, otherwise she had nothing else to go on. "Drem. Patience. There are formalities which must be observed, at the first meeting of two of the dov." Paarthurnax explained, turning to the Word Wall and releasing a stream of flames that etched a burning Word on the stone's surface, "Hear my Thu'um! Feel it in your bones. Match it, if you are Dovahkiin!" Sonata stared at the Word for a moment before walking up to it, allowing the power to rush into her body as it gave her access to another of the Shouts that existed throughout Skyrim. "A gift, Dovahkiin. Yol. Understand Fire as the dov do." Paarthurnax said, granting her the understanding of the Shout he had given her, "Come, Dovahkiin. Nin Yol. Strike me with the fire of your Thu'um." Sonata took a deep breath as she centered herself, focusing on the Shout that she had just gained the understanding of, before she turned to face the large dragon and released a small blast of fire at Paarthurnax. "Aaah… yes! Sossedov los mul. The Dragonblood runs strong in you. It is long since I had the pleasure of speech with one of my own kind." Paarthurnax loudly said, though once the words left his mouth he took off and landed on the Wall she was standing near, "So. You have made your way here, to me. No easy task for a joor… mortal. Even for one of Dovah Sos. Dragonblood. What would you ask of me?" "All I require at the moment is any knowledge you have on the Dragonrend Shout," Sonata explained, hoping that it was on a scroll or something and all she needed to do was read it to understand what it meant. "Ah. I have expected you." Paarthurnax said, though Sonata could have sworn that he looked, and sounded, sad for a moment, "Prodah. You would not come all this way for tinvaak with an old dovah. No. You seek your weapon against Alduin. But I do not know the Thu'um you seek. Krosis. It cannot be known to me." "Why not?" Sonata asked, wondering why a dragon, who spoke in the Dragon Tongue almost all the time and should have known all the Shouts, would not know one of them. "Your kind - joorre - mortals - created it as a weapon against the dov… the dragons." Paarthurnax explained, though Sonata had been expecting it to be a weapon thanks to what Esbern had told her, "Our hadrimme, our minds cannot even… comprehend its concepts." Sonata sighed, because if the master of the Greybeards, a seemingly old and wise dragon, didn't know the Dragonrend Shout, or even where she could learn it, then there was no way for her to stop Alduin. She could have always resorted to calling upon her innate powers, but she didn't have the time to search for her sisters' notes on reforging the shattered pendant and complete whatever ritual they had developed. The problem was that she had no idea how long she had until Alduin or Grul started their own individual destruction of the world, but she couldn't reforge her pendant and save the world without the power to do so. She fell backwards and landed in the snow, staring up at the sky as she ignored the dragon that was staring at her the entire time as she wondered what she was going. "So how can I learn it, then?" Sonata said to herself, not even bothering to direct the question to Paarthurnax, "If the Shout has been forgotten, and none of the dragons or the Greybeards know of it, then how am I supposed to stop Alduin, and by extent Lord Grul, from destroying Nirn?" "An Elder Scroll," Paarthurnax commented, causing Sonata to turn to him for a moment, "It is… an artifact from outside time. It does not exist, but it has always existed. Rah wahlaan. They are… hmm… fragments of creation. Tiid krent. Time was… shattered here because of what the ancient Nords did to Alduin. If you brought that Kel, that Elder Scroll back here… to the Tiid-Ahraan, the Time-Wound… With the Elder Scroll that was used to break Time, you may be able to… cast yourself back. To the other end of the break. You could learn Dragonrend from those who created it." "Do you have any idea where it is?" Sonata asked, hope filling her eyes as she leapt back onto her feet and faced the dragon. "Krosis. No. I know little of what has passed below in the long years I have lived here. You are likely better informed than I." Paarthurnax said, before what appeared to be a light smile appeared on his face, "Trust your instincts, Dovahkiin. Your blood will show you the way." Sonata smiled at that statement, because at the moment her mind was telling her to go back to Winterhold and visit the College... because if she learned anything from her time with Starswirl the Bearded, besides all the powers she had developed, it was that some mages liked to hoard artifacts of immense power. If anyone knew where to find this Elder Scroll, or a general idea on where it was located, it would have to be the mages of the College of Winterhold. All she needed to do was return to her friends and head back to Winterhold, which was actually much easier than climbing up a mountain to speak with a dragon. Why, then, did she feel like something terrible was going to happen when she and her friends arrived in Winterhold?