The Equine Scrolls: SkyFiM

by FireOfTheNorth

Chapter 29: Beak and Claw

Chapter XXIX: Beak and Claw
“I’ve got nothing against Griffins. But that stronghold they’ve got to the southeast is an affront to my people.”

I was on a boat rocking back and forth slowly in fairly calm waters. The sky was a dark red, lit so by the setting sun. I was not alone on the boat; in fact, I was surrounded by a vast mass of ponies pressed up against me. As I tried to get a little more space, the entire crowd shifted and I heard screams in the distance as ponies went overboard. Yet, nopony moved to help them, they just grumbled, the waves of their protestations sweeping over me.

Something was definitely wrong. I looked around the crowd surrounding me, trying unsuccessfully to keep from knocking anypony else overboard. I stood stock still when my eyes suddenly focused on a pony directly in front of me. She was a Stormcloud soldier, but there was no way she could possibly be standing in front of me. She should’ve been dead, a wide gash cutting across her throat, yet she stood before me clearly alive.

As I looked around, I could see everypony on the boat had sustained a fatal injury, marking them as walking dead. Near the back of the boat, I could see a badly-burned stallion I recognized as Captain Faeros. My heart plunged into my stomach as I suddenly realized what else all these ponies had in common. Stormclouds and Imperial soldiers, bandits and Blackwings, these were all ponies I had killed.

I was surrounded by everypony I’d killed since I’d come to Horizon. I felt I was going to be sick as I spun around surveying the vast crowd of casualties around me. The wind began to pick up and storm clouds swirled overhead. The boat began to rock more violently, knocking my victims off in crowds until only I remained on the blood-slickened deck. Around me the sea was now also stained with blood, vast waves of the red liquid tossing the boat around in the tempest.

“Murderer~” the wind hissed at me, accusing me of my crimes.

“No!” I protested, shouting up at the sky, “I-I’m not a bad pony!”

“Liar~” the wind responded and the squall’s ferocity increased.

“I’ve saved lives!” I called up at the thickening clouds as I struggled to keep my balance, “And I’ve only killed ponies who deserved it!”

“Who are you to decide who is worthy of life and who is worthy of death?~”

I had no comeback for that accusation. Shocked, I didn’t even move as a colossal wave of blood crashed into the boat, capsizing and smashing it into splinters. For a moment I was in the air before splashing down in the sea of blood from ponies I’d killed. It filled my lungs as I was sucked under, drowning me in moments.

~~ ~~ ~~

I bolted upright in my bed, throwing the sweat-drenched covers off. I let my eyes adjust as my breathing slowed back to normal. At first I didn’t recognize where I was, but I refused to let panic take hold of me, and soon I was able to place the room around me. I was in a back room of the Skeever Hole, the room in which I had prepared for the Blackwing Embassy job over a week earlier.

In a bed nearby Steadfast was snoring, blissfully asleep. In the dark I could also make out the silhouette of Mephalda staring at me with soft, compassionate eyes.

“Bad dreams?” she whispered, flapping over to me.

“Yeah,” I croaked out before clearing my throat, “How’d you know.”

“I can’t sleep either,” she admitted, “I guess the attack on the Blackwing Embassy’s taking a toll on you too.”

“That makes no sense,” I said, “That was days ago.”

“Sometimes it takes time for the shock to hit you. I learned that long ago,” Mephalda replied, staring off into space, “But it will hit you eventually. At least, I always experienced the guilt. I don’t know if I can say the same for my former co-workers.”

“But did they have to die?” I asked, “I can’t help thinking that we could’ve saved Steadfast without killing them.”

“I know. The thought’s occurred to me too. I was just so angry at the time, I thought there wasn’t another way. I guess that proves I really am the killer they wanted me to be.”

“And I killed innocent ponies,” I said, shaking.

“Innocent?” Mephalda said, turning to look at me, “I can assure you there’s not a single Blackwing in Horizon who hasn’t killed somepony. They don’t send their recruits out of the Featherrest Isles until they’ve wetted their blade. And they’d locked the place down after Steadfast’s and your infiltration. The chances we could’ve made it to him without killing anypony was incredibly slim at best.”

“But I still killed them.”

“Yes, but you regret it?”

I nodded.

“Well, that’s the first step toward putting it behind you. You can’t live in the past, you’ve got to focus on the future and keep from making the same mistakes again.”

I nodded my agreement. After all, the reason I was here in Horizon in the first place was to put the past behind me and move on. I had moved on after the horrible massacre at Caprika Redoubt, I could get through this too.

I had been so lost in my thoughts, I hadn’t even noticed Mephalda move in for an embrace. I hesitated a moment before giving in and wrapping my forelegs around her.

“Huh . . . what?” Steadfast said, bolting awake as Mephalda nudged him in the side.

Blinking sleep from his eyes, he surveyed the room before joining in the group hug to comfort me.

◊◊◊ ◊◊◊ ◊◊◊

By the time morning came, I was feeling much better. The terrors of the night before had retreated to the corners of my mind. I was just fastening on my armor when there was a knock on the door.

“Come on in,” I called, pulling on my Boots of Inexhaustibility.

The stallion who pushed open the door was the same courier who had summoned me to the Blue Palace weeks earlier to speak with the Jarl.

“Sapphire, there’s someone outside to see you,” he said.

“Well, let them in then.”

“No,” he said, shaking his head, “She’s just outside the city gate, waiting for you.”

“Well, why doesn’t she come in?”

“Griffins aren’t allowed within Seclusion.”

That got my interest. What would a griffin be doing looking for me? Was it Nagrissa, come to see if Steadfast and I had survived the attack on Windrake Cavern? I quickly finished putting on my armor, weapons, and saddlebags, and rushed out to meet her.

The guards outside the city gates looked a bit nervous standing so close to a griffin, but so far they still had their weapons sheathed. The griffin before me wasn’t Nagrissa; she was smaller, and the feathers on her head had a slight bluish tint to them. I recognized her as one of the other tribes that had joined up for the attack on Dawnstar. I was still at a loss as to why she was here, though.

“You are Sapphire?” she asked me with in heavily accented Equine and flapped towards me as soon as I passed the city gates.

“Yes, and this is Steadfast and Mephalda,” I replied, motioning to my companions who had joined me outside the Skeever Hole, “How can we help you.”

“You are friend to Griffins? You are dragonslayer?” she asked, stepping closer.

“Right on both counts. Why?” I said, fearing I already knew why.

“Grashnikh needs your help. Dragon has come. Village burning.”

“Why didn’t you say so?” Steadfast said, “Lead the way.”

I nodded in agreement, but the griffin before us shook her head.

“No, we will fly.”

I began to protest that there was no way she could carry both me and Steadfast, but before I could I found myself hefted up onto her back and Steadfast was snatched up where he stood. My heart jumped in my chest for a moment as she launched into the air, but somehow she managed to get us off the ground. This griffin was certainly stronger than she looked. Mephalda soon joined us in the air, flapping alongside as we shot south.

◊◊◊ ◊◊◊ ◊◊◊

Grashnikh, as it turned out, was built in the mountains that formed the southern border of Horizon, just to the southeast of Marekarth. There was no dragon to be seen as we approached, but wisps of smoke trailed up from what was left of the Stronghold. There wasn’t really much left of the Stronghold at all, only a few charred beams of what must’ve once been the longhouse remained standing.

Erin, the Griffin carrying us, gasped as we grew closer. Apparently when she had left it either hadn’t been as bad, or she hadn’t had a chance to look back on the wreckage. I had to admit, things didn’t look promising. The only sign of Griffins below were bones the flesh had burned clean off of and scattered feathers fluttering in the breeze.

“I’m sorry,” Mephalda said quietly, flapping closer to lay a hoof on Erin’s shoulder.

“No,” she said, batting it away, “This not over yet. Tribe go to sacred place.”

“Where?” I asked.

In reply, Erin climbed over the mountains the Stronghold had been built against. Weaving between towering peaks, she at last fell through the cloud layer. Down below, I could see a small valley nestled amongst the rearing cliffs. A large crevasse in the mountains back the way we had come led me to believe there was a tunnel of some sort connecting this valley and what had once been Grashnikh.

Erin had been right; the Griffins weren’t all dead after all. Small lionesque shapes dotted the valley below, and a few even flapped up to meet us. After Erin landed, I quickly jumped off. I wasn’t a pegasus, and solid ground suited me more than being suspended in the air. Steadfast practically kissed the ground after he was released. It seemed flying didn’t suit him much either.

Looking around, I could see many Griffins had escaped, but judging by the Stronghold’s wreckage, only about half had made it out. The crowd that was assembling around us three out of place ponies parted to let an elderly Griffin through. Like Erin (and all the Griffins here for that matter) his feathers had a bluish tint to them, though his were almost completely overshadowed by a grey that looked like it was seeping through.

“Well done Erin,” the Chieftain addressed our Griffin companion first.

“I wish we could have made it here sooner.”

“Grashnikh has been destroyed many times,” the elder comforted her, “It will be rebuilt again.”

A dragon’s roar broke through the air and a hush fell over the valley.

“Now though, we have a more urgent predicament,” the Chieftain said, turning to me, “That dragon has been searching the mountains for hours. It will not be long before it finds us.”

I nodded my understanding.

“Many of us were wounded in the initial attack, but I have a few warriors fit to fight still.”

“Good,” I said, flinching as I saw a dragon-shaped shadow pass over the clouds, “Because we’re gonna need all the help we can get.”

You’d think with this being the eighth dragon I’d encountered I wouldn’t be nervous. Still, nothing prepares you for that moment when the great lizard comes barreling through the clouds, eyes fixed on you.

I rolled to the side as the dragon flew over where I had been a moment before, a trail of flame scorching the stubby grass. Griffins scattered as the great beast charged through the valley, laying waste to everything in its path. This dragon was slightly larger than the others I had previously encountered, and spines protruded from its luminescent green scales, slicing through the air as it flew.

A few Griffins, most likely the warriors Grashnikh’s Chieftain had spoken of, flew up to meet the dragon as it hovered in the air searching for prey. The scaly fiend’s eyes locked on them as they drew closer, and it let out a blast of fire and smoke, scorching some and disorienting others. Those that hadn’t been burned were quickly snatched up in the dragon’s claws and fed into its mouth, teeth as long as my foreleg reducing the Griffins to pulp.

<<<FUS~RO~DAH!!!>>> I Shouted, hoping to get the dragon’s attention.

My Shout worked, catching the dragon under one of its wings and sending it into a spin. It ploughed into the ground a short distance away. Arrows from Mephalda’s bow were already sprouting from the dragon’s neck as I closed the distance, drawing out Calcion’s Cleaver.

A blast of fire shot out at me as I drew closer, and I was forced to divert my path, swinging around toward the dragon’s exposed side. The flame pursued me as I ran, however, and I soon found myself cut off by the dragon’s tail. The jet of fire cut off just as I was about to be trapped. The dragon seemed to forget about me, swinging its head around to Steadfast, who was already readying his warhammer for a second strike on the neck.

The dragon snapped at my earth pony companion, freshly dried griffin blood flaking off its teeth. He jumped back, and the dragon’s head snapped just short of taking his head off. As it made to lunge again, I stabbed my sword into the dragon’s tail, causing it to whirl around on me instead.

Using the spines as hoofholds, I clambered up onto the dragon’s back. It shot a short burst of fire at me before realizing it was hurting itself as well and took to snapping at me instead. I weaved my way along the dragon’s spine, stabbing Calcion’s Cleaver in wherever I could until the dragon grew tired of trying to catch me.

As it heaved its massive bulk to the side, I found myself rolling off its back and onto a wing. I stabbed the Axe of Whitetrot into the membrane, eventually coming a stop about halfway down the wing’s span.

<FO!> I Shouted at the joint where the wing met the dragon’s body before I could be flicked off.

The dragon flailed around anyway, making it very hard for me to maintain my position on the wing. Eventually, I gave in and let my war axe pull out, controlling my slide so I wouldn’t hit the ground too hard. I was almost on the ground when the sound of shattering ice met my ears, and the dragon’s wing flipped upward, launching me into the air.

Horizon turned upside-down for a moment, with the mountains suspended from the sky, before I came crashing down to the ground. I tried to brace myself for the impact, but I felt the bone in my foreleg give way as I met the earth. When my skid came to a stop I was battered and bruised, one foreleg broken and, judging by the pain in my chest, a few ribs too. It didn’t help that my armor had been bent out of shape by the collision and was now squeezing my chest as well.

What seemed like miles away, I could see the dragon whirling around in circles trying to catch Steadfast, who kept weaving under the dragon and getting hits off before he could be caught. Mephalda also swooped in, landing on the dragon’s head to get point-blank shots off through its skull.

As quickly but carefully as possible, I reset the bone in my foreleg with my magic, bringing tears to my eyes as I did so. I was unable to bend my armor back into shape with my magic alone, and I didn’t want to risk my ribs resetting improperly by using a healing potion, so I poured my magic into repairing the damage to my foreleg.

I was short of breath, but luckily the ribs hadn’t punctured a lung, so I let them be for now. Standing, I tested my leg and it held weight at least. That would have to be enough. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Steadfast get hit by the dragon’s tail, sending him sprawling across the ground. My friends needed me more than I needed to be healed to one hundred percent.

<<WULD~NAH!!>> I Shouted, a tempest propelling me forward almost to the dragon.

Mephalda was thrown from her perch on its head as the dragon shook violently. A blast of flame followed her as she flew off, but she nimbly avoided it, continuing her aerial volley. By now the dragon’s head was beginning to look like a pincushion from all the arrows in it.

Its eyes locked on me as I came closer to it. It reared up, exposing its soft underbelly to me. It was too good an opportunity to pass up, and I charged forward, stabbing Calcion’s Cleaver into its stomach. As the dragon began to bear down on me, I converted my charge into a slide, skidding along underneath the beast.

The dragon slammed its claw down as I slid, the points gouging through my armor’s chestplate and slicing my cheek. I could feel blood seeping into the underbarding as my slide came to an end. Looking down, I nearly vomited when I saw the state of my chest.

The dragon’s claws had ripped my armor apart like wet paper, taking trails of my flesh with it. If I didn’t have any broken ribs before, I certainly did now. Forcing myself to look down, I cast a spell to heal what I could on the surface before I blacked out from blood loss. I knew it was laughably inadequate, but it would have to do for now. I just hoped I hadn’t done more harm than good.

The fight wasn’t over yet. Steadfast had gotten back up and crushed one of the joints in the dragon’s wings as I frantically healed myself. A wall of flame suddenly engulfed him, and I feared I was seeing the end of my friend, but he just smiled and smashed the dragon’s jaw shut, a pale aura surrounding him. The dragon barely flinched before knocking him aside with a swipe of its head, but at least he had gotten some use out of those fire resistance potions we had bought.

Calcion’s Cleaver was nowhere to be seen, and I realized I must have dropped it during the slide. A war axe wouldn’t do for slicing through the dragon’s thick hide, so I drew out the steel sword from my saddlebags, holding it high with my magic as I charged the dragon.

Faster than I thought something so big could move, the dragon whirled around on me. With a snap of its teeth my sword was turned to a mess of steel shards. Not halting my charge, I jumped onto its nose and ran up its face, drawing out the Axe of Whitetrot as I did. I sunk the axe into the dragon’s eye as I ran, the curved blade catching on the bone. I was forced to release my weapon as I jumped atop the dragon’s skull.

The dragon bellowed in agony, shaking around like mad. I clung to a spine of the dragon’s head, weaponless as it thrashed up and down. The sharp edges dug into my forelegs as my grip slipped, drawing blood and making holding on even harder. At last I was forced to let go and was launched straight up in the air.

“Sapphire!” I heard Mephalda yell as I neared the top of my trajectory.

Turning my head, I could see her flapping nearby. An ancient earth pony sword was flying from her outstretched forelegs toward me. I grasped Calcion’s Cleaver in my magic as gravity took over again.

The dragon continued to thrash about madly below, but hadn’t moved too far from its original position. My sword met resistance as it cut into the dragon’s neck, the scales, flesh, and bone working furiously to halt the blade’s progress. But, through the force of my fall, I was able to keep the blade moving as it sliced clean through the dragon’s neck, separating its head from its body.

The reek of dragon blood filled the air as the body’s movement came to a halt. Breathing heavily, I paused only to clean my sword before ripping off my mutilated armor. The dragon spontaneously combusted after a moment, its flesh burning away in multicolored fire. Mephalda gasped and made to pull me away from the flames before Steadfast stopped her, explaining what was going on.

My eyes squeezed shut, I watched images flash across the insides of my lids, absorbing the dragon’s memories, and all its knowledge, including how to use the final word of my Whirlwind Sprint Shout, KEST.

I suppressed the urge to use it immediately, and focused on repairing the damage done to me in the fight. Painfully, I forced my ribs back into place before downing a major healing potion. My insides crawled as they attempted to self-repair, the tingle of magic spreading through my flesh. A minor healing potion later and my chest was fully healed. The few other minor wounds I had accumulated were also repaired, and I was back in top condition.

As the Griffins began to climb out of wherever they had been hiding, I retrieved the Axe of Whitetrot from the dragon’s skull. Mephalda also began to draw her arrows out of the dragon’s remains before we were overwhelmed by Griffins thanking us. Once again, the crowd parted to let the Chieftain through.

“Thank you all,” he said, “We of Grashnikh owe you a great debt.”

“I just wish we could’ve made it sooner,” I said.

“Slaying the dragon was service enough,” the Griffin said, raising a claw, “How can we ever repay you?”

“Oh, that’s not necessary-” I started to protest, by the Chieftain cut me off.

“Nonsense! We Griffins are a people of honor. How can we be considered honorable if we didn’t repay you for such a great deed?”

His eyes turned to my broken and bloody armor lying nearby on the ground.

“I think I may even have a gift befitting such an act,” he said, as smile beginning to form on his beak, “Come, follow me.”

Obediently, I trotted after the Griffin as he walked toward the far end of the valley. As mist cleared away, I caught sight of a massive stone statue rearing up against the cliff face we were approaching. It resembled a Griffin somewhat when it came to features, but the body shape was long and lithe, almost serpentine.

“What is that statue?” Steadfast asked as we approached the base.

“That is our Lord Malaquill,” the Griffin elder responded, “When our people, the Griffins, were looked down upon and shunned both by the equines of the world and the Equines of Aetherius, Malaquill took us under his wing. The Draconequus Prince of Curses accepted us when no other would, and we have worshipped him ever since.”

Well, that answered the questions I’d had about Malaquill at least, but I still had no idea why we were approaching the statue to him. I just followed the Chieftain’s lead and waited to see what he would do.

“Goorazh!” he called, rapping on the stone with a claw.

A split formed in the statue’s base and it opened into a door. An even older Griffin who appeared to have gone blind with age hesitantly stepped through the newly formed opening.

“Why have you disturbed me?” Goorazh asked, glaring at the Chieftain.

“My apologies,” he replied, bowing deeply, “But these ponies here helped us against a dragon and I think we should repay them. In particular, this mare could use a new set of armor.”

“We have not made armor for ponies in centuries,” Goorazh said, narrowing his eyes, “I will speak to Lord Malaquill to see if she is worthy.”

The elder Griffin disappeared back into the shrine before emerging again a few moments later.

“She is a friend to Griffins,” he announced, “I will make the armor, but it will take many hours.”

“That’s fine with me,” I said, turning to see Steadfast and Mephalda agreed, “I don’t mind staying here for a while.”

◊◊◊ ◊◊◊ ◊◊◊

For hours, the sounds of heavy presses and metal on metal rang from the shrine to Malaquill. To pass the time, my companions and I spoke with the Griffins, the Chieftain and Erin most of all. The sun set while Goorazh continued his work, so we stayed the night. My sleep was restless, but I couldn’t recall any of my dreams like the night before.

The following morning, the Griffin Priest emerged, proudly clutching my new set of armor. It looked extraordinary, bent and twisted into fantastical shapes. The metal shimmered with a slight green hue as it was presented. Trying it on, I found it was stronger than steel, but lighter as well, allowing me to move about much more freely.

After thanking the Griffins for the gift, Erin flew Steadfast and I down to the ground and we began the trek back to Whitetrot. I was eager to return to Horizon’s central city. Though I had a house there, the last time I had visited was over a week earlier. It seemed I was so busy, I spent more time away from my new home than actually in it.

After resupplying and dropping off a few items in Breezehome, we traveled up to Dragonsreach. Faniar was just where I expected him to be, in his study, surrounded by open books and hastily scrawled notes.

“Ah, you’re back!” he exclaimed upon seeing us, “I must admit, I was getting worried.”

“Well,” I said, sparing a few glances at Steadfast and Mephalda, “There were some . . . complications.”

“I see. Well, how was Volsteed?”

“Like nothing you’ve ever seen. There’s a whole city built down there, and it was protected by an insanely powerful Draugr. He was using magic; I didn’t even think that was possible.”

“Wait, where’d you find this Draugr?” Faniar asked suddenly.

“In a temple in the deepest part of the city. Why?”

“I knew that Volsteed was an extensive ruin, but I had no idea it was the resting place of a Dragon Priest.”

“A what now?”

“In the ancient earth pony dragon cult, the dragons often granted special powers to their followers, which I’m sure you know. But there were a special few, six in total, granted powers rivaling the dragons themselves. You’re lucky you got out alive if a Dragon Priest was there.”

“Do you have any idea what this is?” I asked, levitating the amulet I’d taken from Voldehorse out of my saddlebags, “The Dragon Priest was wearing it.”

I figured it was worth a shot. After all, next to the Greymanes, Faniar was probably the most likely to know about obscure draconic artifacts.

“Hmm,” he said, examining it, “I have no idea. I looks like nothing to me, just some jewelry, and I can’t detect any enchantments on it. Still, if a Dragon Priest had it, I suppose it’s worth holding on to.”

“So,” I said, taking the amulet back and draping it around my neck, “Now that we’ve cleared Volsteed, have you got any other ruins for me?”

“Actually,” Faniar replied, “I was just looking into this little ruin to the east of Windhorn. Snowtip Barrow, it’s called. Should be a snap for you.”

◊◊◊ ◊◊◊ ◊◊◊

Giving a hard kick, I pushed yet another Draugr off my blade. As I swung around at the next one, it suddenly fell to the floor as one of Mephalda’s arrows burst through its throat. Spinning around, I sliced through the throat of another just as Steadfast crushed one closing in from behind. Turning around to see no Draugr standing nearby, I sheathed my blade and took a breather.

Like Faniar had said, Snowtip Barrow appeared to be a fairly small ruin. Still, I had never seen so many Draugr in one place before. Every corridor seemed to be a tomb, and the walls were lined with side-by-side sarcophagi. I was beginning to seriously doubt the Barrow was anything more than a mass grave, but no Draugr ruin had let me down before, so I decided to press on.

“You really think there’s a word of power here?” Steadfast asked as we trotted down a now-empty corridor.

“There has to be,” I replied, trying to assure myself at the same time, “I don’t know why else there would be so many guardians.”

“I hope we find it soon,” Mephalda commented, looking into her quiver, “I’m getting low on arrows.”

The next few corridors were thankfully clear, serving as a passage deeper into the ruin. At the far end of one, an elaborate iron door blocked the way. The muffled sounds of Draugr milling about could be heard from the other side, and I held back Steadfast as he moved to charge ahead.

The door wasn’t flush against the floor, and I could see a bit of oil flowing under it, perhaps from a vat the Draugr within had knocked over. A quick blast of fire from my horn set it alight, and the flames spread into the room beyond. Screams soon came through the door as the Draugr roasted in place. From the volume of the clamor, there was an entire army through those doors, and I was glad we hadn’t had to trot through to take them out.

Sure enough, when the screaming died down and we opened the doors, dozens, if not hundreds, of burnt Draugr corpses filled the room. Carefully, Steadfast and I climbed over the still smoking flesh while Mephalda flapped overhead. Past the carnage was a door that thankfully opened into a much larger room.

At last we had made it to the lowest cavern of Snowtip Barrow. It was eerily similar to Blank Flanks Barrow’s lowest cavern, though the sarcophagus that had housed Calcion the Vengeful was absent from this ruin. In fact, there didn’t appear to be any Draugr at all in the area.

There was, however, a word wall that I wasted no time in galloping up to. In no time at all, I absorbed the draconic understanding of cold as the letters burned before me in frigid flames.

~KRAH~

“I don’t get it,” Steadfast commented from behind me.

“Don’t get what?” I asked, turning away from the draconic inscription.

“Well, why does this barrow even exist, and why are there so many Draugr here to protect nothing but a word wall?”

It was a legitimate question that was also nagging at my own mind. In all the ruins I’d been to before, there was some kind of extremely powerful Draugr lord hiding in the depths, protected the army one had to fight through to get to them. So, why wasn’t there one here?

“Maybe because of that,” Mephalda said quietly, her eyes fixed at a point above my head.

Turning around, I too looked up in awe. What I had thought was a statue before, I now saw to be a fully intact dragon’s skeleton perched atop the word wall. The barrow began to shake and rocks rained down from the ceiling.

“What’s going on?” Steadfast asked.

I was too afraid to say what I thought.

The cavern roof above the dragon’s skeleton suddenly crumbled to pieces, letting multicolored lightning strike through. Even blown back by the tempest that accompanied it, I could hear heavy wingbeats coming from outside, along with a rhythmic chanting in draconic.

“Alduin’s resurrecting the dragon,” I called as the bones began to shake, proving my fears to be true.

As flesh finished forming over its bones, the lightning stopped striking the once-dead lizard and Alduin flapped off. The dragon within the barrow, however, didn’t seem to be leaving any time soon. Within moments, it had spotted us and gave a roar, launching itself off the word wall and coating the cavern’s floor in fire. Steadfast, Mephalda, and I scattered as the dragon went on a rampage, tearing down the stone pillars that jutted up throughout the cavern.

<<<FUS~RO~DAH!!!>>> I Shouted as the wyrm reeled past me.

My Shout struck the side of its head and sent it tumbling into the underground stream. Blowing steam from its nostrils, it charged toward me across the ground. I shot a blast of lightning from my horn as it came in range, flaking scales off its nose, but it shrugged the damage off and continued coming.

Just before it reached me, I pulled out my sword, but it was coming much faster than I thought it was, and there was no time to jump out of its way before it slammed into me. Luckily, Mephalda had seen my plight and swooped down to pull me out of the way before the dragon’s jaws snapped shut around me. I was even able to get a quick swipe across its tongue in as my hooves left the ground.

Dropping me a short distance from the dragon, Mephalda swooped up into the air, taking shots at the dragon with her bow using the few Draugr arrows she had retrieved in the ruin. Steadfast had also made his way over to this side of the cavern and smashed the dragon’s wing joint with his warhammer as it moved to breathe fire at me again. As the dragon turned to snap at him, he rushed under its belly, taking a few quick swings that did little but anger the beast.

Charging toward the dragon, I reached it just as it was turning toward Steadfast. Calcion’s Cleaver and the Axe of Whitetrot held in my magic, I swung my blades into the dragon’s neck, leaving gashes in its scaly hide that oozed putrid blood. As I made to jump over its neck to get its other side, it swiftly turned its head. The scaled column slammed into me mid-jump, knocking me across the cavern and into the river.

I jumped out of the icy waters as the dragon sent a blast of flame my way. The fire cut off as Mephalda managed to bury an arrow in one of the wound’s I’d left on the dragon’s neck. Looking toward the ceiling, it began to fill the air with flames. Mephalda dodged the fire as best she could, but soon she was trapped by the stone of the cavern. Slowly she fluttered to the ground, feathers and hair burnt off.

Before the dragon could follow up on its attack, Steadfast crushed its other wing, and I began a charge toward it. Midway, I summoned a flame atronach to assist. Soon the dragon was being attacked from three sides. With a flick of its tail, it sent Steadfast flying, dropping him near where Mephalda had crash landed. My atronach it smashed in its claw, leaving only me to oppose it.

Downing a potion of fire resistance, I galloped toward the dragon at top speed, both sword and axe hovering near me. As I neared, it opened its mouth and covered my path with flames. I could feel the heat, but the fire itself deflected harmlessly around the cloak of protection that coated my body. Sweating both from the heat and exertion, I made it to the dragon’s mouth, throwing myself inside. Jabbing my axe into its jaw to keep it open, I thrust Calcion’s Cleaver up into the dragon’s brain, killing it an instant.

The flames cut off and I tumbled out as my fire resistance wore off. Leaving my weapons in the dragon for the moment, I rushed over to where Mephalda and Steadfast were. My pegasus friend was looking much better than when I’d last seen her, no doubt thanks to the healing potions Steadfast had taken from his saddlebags, but the feathers at the ends of her wings had refused to regrow.

She looked at where they should’ve been longingly as I approached. I knew that without those, there was no way she could fly, but the potions hadn’t done any good for them. Despite the magical drain from summoning the atronach shortly before, I had to at least try to heal her. Pouring as much magic as I could summon into a spell, I focused Healing Hooves on the tips of her wings.

Nothing happed at first, except for an acute drain on my magical strength. Still, I kept going, pouring more and more energy in until at last a few tiny feathers began to sprout. I barely heard Mephalda gasp in awe as I remained focused on my goal. At last her wings were restored to perfect condition, and I cut off the spell, my coat drenched with sweat and my breathing rapid and irregular.

“Oh, thank you Sapphire!” she exclaimed, throwing her forelegs around me unexpectedly.

I was still within her embrace when the dragon began to combust behind me, surrounding us both in multicolored lights. Its memories soon melded with mine, teaching me everything I needed to know about KRAH, and how it could be combined with FO to make my frost breath even stronger. The thoughts swirled around in my head until I couldn’t control them anymore.

<<FO~KRAH!!>> I Shouted involuntarily into Mephalda’s face as she began to pull away from me.

“Um, a little help Steadfast?” I asked as I found myself accidently fused to the pegasus.

Level Up
Health: 200 Stamina: 180 Magicka: 210
New Perk: A Cup of Life [Alchemy] -- Any healing potions you make yourself will be twice as potent.
Word of Power learned: KRAH -- Cold; Frost Breath – Combined with FO, KRAH makes your Frost Breath more potent, freezing opponents more quickly and for a longer time.
Dragon Soul collected
Dragon Soul collected
New Quest: Draugr Secrets -- Continue searching Draugr ruins for Words of Power, and clues about the dragons’ return.

Comments

[Constellation]

LOL, frozen to your friend, that's funny,

This was a good chapter, and I'm glade to see some more griffons, keep up the great work.

[Mtgravityfallsbrony]

I like what you are doing. Keep up the good work!

[FireOfTheNorth]

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Thanks so much for your support!

[Wolf Wytch]

Two dragons in one chapter? Wow, Sapphire, you're on a roll!