Chapter 32: The Doubt of Dragons
Chapter XXXII: The Doubt of Dragons
“You mean they used a Shout to defeat Alduin. Are you sure?”
Night had fallen by the time we’d made it back to Whitetrot from Hoovgrenzl-ra, so we stayed the night in Breezehome before heading up to Dragonsreach to see Faniar. It appeared we may have been able to see him the night before, as it looked like he hadn’t had a wink of sleep. The journals we’d brought back from Breakneck Cavern were sitting all over his desk, frantic translations into Equine lying nearby.
Before we could enter his mess of an office, a messenger wearing Whitetrot armor ran past on the way to the Jarl, nearly knocking us over. Whatever this pony had to say was undoubtedly important. Faniar would just have to wait; he seemed pretty preoccupied anyway. I trotted over to where the Jarl was seated, ready to fulfill my position as Thane however possible.
“Jarl Valor’s Blade,” the messenger addressed Whitetrot’s leader, giving a deep bow, “The town of Rearikstead may be in grave danger. A dragon was seen last night in the surrounding mountains. The town’s guards do not wish to leave for fear of leaving the town unprotected. They request additional aid.”
“Dragons are everywhere,” Protocus responded, “We’re stretched thin enough as it is my Jarl. We can’t spare any more troops.”
The Jarl seemed to ponder the situation a bit before turning to look at me.
“The Equines are smiling on us today it seems,” he said, “For Thane Sapphire has arrived here at the opportune time. I need you to travel to Rearikstead, and fight off this dragon if necessary.”
“Of course,” I assured the Jarl, “I’ll leave immediately.”
◊◊◊ ◊◊◊ ◊◊◊
Rearikstead was on the far western edge of Whitetrot Hold, so it took a bit of time to reach the tiny town. I’d only been here once before, and then to assassinate somepony. I sincerely hoped the townsponies didn’t recognize me as the killer, otherwise I could have a hard time here. Yet the Jarl hadn’t indicated that I was suspected, and I assumed he knew nearly everything that went on in his hold.
As we neared the town, it became obvious the dragon hadn’t decided to stay flying in the mountains. Smoke billowed from patches of ground that had tasted the dragon’s flame, and the windmill’s blade had been knocked off, burying itself in the roof of the inn. The dragon itself was nowhere to be seen, but judging by the recent destruction it couldn’t have gone far. A few Whitetrot guards were lying dead along the path, but other rushed out of the inn to greet us as we approached.
“Thane Sapphire,” a stallion who’d been badly burned on one side of his body addressed me, “Thank Buckatosh you’ve come. The dragon’s still around here somewhere.”
“Do you have any archers left?” I asked him.
“Three,” he said, beckoning forward a few of the guards wearing the awkward contraptions earth ponies needed to fire bows.
“Right, I want them to spread out away from the town, but to stay close enough they can still fire at the dragon if it returns. If there are any wagons we need to get the wounded on them and send them off before the dragon comes back.”
The stallion turned from me and began issuing orders to his soldiers. I looked around, searching for where the dragon could be hiding. The western mountains were the most obvious choice, but it could just have easily been hiding over a hill in the distance. Mephalda flapped into the air to get a better vantage point.
“It’s coming!” she called down after what seemed like no time at all.
Carts filled with the injured rolled away as fast as possible in the direction of Whitetrot. I couldn’t yet see the dragon, but I trusted Mephalda’s judgment. If she said it was coming, then I believed her.
A roar that shook the town gave confirmation that my trust had not been misplaced. Some thatching fell off the roof of a farmhouse as the great lizard swooped over us. This dragon was the largest I’d ever seen besides Alduin, and was covered in bright red scales. It suddenly swooped around as it saw us standing on the road and landed north of the town.
Arrows immediately began to fly from the countryside, striking the dragon but hardly phasing it. The dragon was out of reach of even my most long-range spells, so I galloped forward with the rest of the ponies fighting to defend the town. As we neared, the dragon suddenly opened its jaw and filled the road with flames. Steadfast and I were unaffected, as were a few of the guard-ponies who’d had the sense to drink potions of fire resistance like us. However, many of the guards were fried to a crisp in an instant.
<<<WULD~NAH~KEST!!!>>> I Shouted, closing the distance with the dragon in an instant.
Calcion’s Cleaver I already had out, and I used it to strike the dragon on the side of its face, cutting off its stream of fire. Its eyes seemed to open wider as it realized I had Shouted, but they quickly narrowed in anger as it snapped its jaws at me. Luckily I was able to escape being eaten, though a bit of the end of my tail was stuck between the dragon’s teeth.
Running beside the dragon’s neck I stabbed my sword in, chipping away scales. As it began to twist its head around at me, it found itself under attack from Steadfast and the Whitetrot guards. Giving up on snapping me up with its jaws, it turned its attention toward its earth pony attackers. It didn’t give up on me, however, and grabbed at me with a scaly claw.
Ducking down to avoid being caught, I found myself sliding beneath the dragon’s wing. The lizard’s method of flight reared over me like a canvas, and I pulled out both my blades and stabbed them into the membrane, tearing twin gashes through it.
Roaring in pain, the dragon drew its wings in toward its body, and I found myself drawn along. Blasting around me with fire allowed me to burn a hole large enough in the membrane that I was able to escape being crushed and suffocated. Tumbling to the ground, I took a look at Steadfast rushing the dragon’s other wing, smashing its joints, and Mephalda, standing atop the dragon’s head and firing arrows into its skull, before I moved on to my next target.
The dragon’s rear leg was exposed and unprotected, and I blasted it with lightning as I galloped in for a strike with Calcion’s Cleaver. The leg twitched as I drew my blade across it, even severing one of the dragon’s claws. A torrent of hot, putrid blood erupted from the wound, killing all grass in the area instantly.
Throwing a Whitetrot guard away in its teeth, the dragon turned its enraged gaze on me. I barely dodged as its tail came near to taking my head off. What I didn’t expect was the tail to come whipping back so suddenly, knocking my helmet off and sending me rolling across the ground. Spinning around so rapidly that it managed to throw Mephalda off its head, the dragon turned its whole body toward me and let loose a torrent of flames.
<<FO~KRAH!!>> I Shouted, my breath meeting the fire and holding it off just long enough that I was able to get to my hooves and get away from the flames.
Steadfast struck its side, caving in the scaly hide before the dragon could strike at me again, and it turned to deal with him while still keeping its focus on me. Deftly he managed to roll aside as the dragon’s mouth came down where he had been moments before. As Steadfast ran away from the beast, I ran toward it.
Dodging its tail as it whipped around, I jumped onto its back and ran up toward its neck, slicing off spines and gouging at its body as I did so. Shooting fire at Mephalda to keep her at a distance, the dragon then turned toward me, fire building in its throat.
<<<FUS~RO~DAH!!!>>> I Shouted, knocking its head back and into the ground.
Though momentarily stunned, the dragon still recovered and began beating its wings. I clung tightly to the spines, the sharp edges digging into my flesh as the dragon took off into the sky. When the dragon reached the top of its flight I began to inch my way up its spine toward its head. I stopped and clung all the tighter as it send a line of fire flying over my head.
Tucking both my weapons away, I focused my Sparks spell at the dragon’s wing joints. As the lightning sizzled over them the muscles locked up and the dragon began to fall from the sky. It was unable to get them working again in time to correct its fall, and the great beast slammed into the inn, smashing the roof and walls down.
As its body finally came to a rest I jumped off, only to find myself trapped in the building. The dragon smashed its head through a wall, not even bothering to move its body before breathing fire at me.
<<FEIM~ZII!!>> I Shouted, quickly taking on an invincible and ghostly form.
Flames roasted the inside of the inn, but I escaped the fire by jumping though a wall and landing outside. By the time I returned to my physical form the dragon had removed its head from the wreckage and was staring me down. Building magic in my horn, I shot a flurry of ice spikes at the lizard’s head. It continued to flinch away from them until one buried itself directly in its eye.
It gave a roar of defeat, its head slamming into the ground, though one eye continued to look around. Drawing Calcion’s Cleaver, I rushed forward for the killing blow.
“WAIT!!” the dragon spoke in Equine.
Perplexed, I pulled up short, my sword still hovering in my magical grasp.
“WHO ARE YOU??” it asked, fixing its one good eye on me.
“I’m . . . Sapphire,” I replied, confused at why this creature that had been intent on destroying me moments before was now trying to communicate with me.
“SO, THE STORIES ARE TRUE AFTER ALL!!”
“Stories?”
“YOUR THU’UM IS STRONG, MAYBE EVEN STRONGER THAN ALDUIN’S!! I HAD TO KNOW FOR MYSELF!!”
“Wait, you’re saying my Shouts are stronger than Alduin’s?”
“THERE HAS BEEN TALK AMONG THE DOVAH LATELY, THAT A PONY HAS APPEARED WHOSE THU’UM IS MORE POWERFUL THAN OUR LEADER'S!! THERE HAVE BEEN QUESTIONS OF WHETHER HIS PLAN TO DESTROY THE WORLD MAY LEAD TO OUR OWN DESTRUCTION!! IF THERE IS ONE IN THE WORLD STRONGER THAN HE, PERHAPS WE SHOULD NOT FOLLOW HIM!!”
“Let me get this straight. You dragons don’t want to follow Alduin?”
“WE MUST OBEY HIM!! AS FIRSTBORN OF BUCKATOSH HE IS THE MOST POWERFUL DOVAH, OR SO WE THOUGHT!!”
“If I were to defeat Alduin . . .”
“IT WOULD PROVE HE IS NOT THE MOST POWERFUL!! THE DOVAH WOULD NO LONGER FOLLOW HIS COMMANDS!! WE HAVE NO QUARREL WITH THE PONIES, SO LONG AS THEY LEAVE US ALONE!! WE ONLY ATTACK BECAUSE IT IS THE WILL OF ALDUIN!!”
“So, how do I find Alduin?” I asked, but before the dragon could respond, it breathed its last breath, and the eye that had begun fixed on me became glassy and lifeless.
In a moment it began to combust, and I witnessed all its memories, right up until it attacked Rearikstead to draw me out. All this had happened because of me, I now understood. My mind was also filled with knowledge of weapons, particularly how to wrench them from an opponent’s grip.
<ZUN!> I Shouted to get the energy out, though there was no target, and my Shout did absolutely nothing.
“What was that all about?” Mephalda asked, landing next to me.
“That dragon just talked to me,” I replied as Steadfast joined us.
“That’s never happened before, has it?” Mephalda asked.
“No.”
“So, what’d it have to say?” Steadfast asked.
“All this lies with Alduin. The dragons are questioning his leadership. If we can defeat him, the other dragons will all stop attacking.”
“Defeat the World-Eater?” Steadfast said, “How in The Beyond are we supposed to do that?”
“It does seem to be a bit of an impossible task,” Mephalda pointed out.
“He’s the firstborn of Buckatosh, for Zenitrot’s sake,” Steadfast added.
“Right,” I said, “But he’s still a dragon. And we’ve proven that dragons can die. It may take a bit of effort, but they can be killed, and so can Alduin.”
“I don’t know,” Mephalda said, “Where do we even start?”
“Well,” I said, thinking out loud, “Alduin was defeated once before. Not destroyed, but at least it appeared so.”
“Right, but nopony knows how they did it,” Steadfast pointed out.
“I know, but I know a pony who just might have some idea,” I said as I gazed to the east.
◊◊◊ ◊◊◊ ◊◊◊
“How are things going Faniar?” I asked as we trotted into the study of Whitetrot’s court wizard.
“Fantastic!” he replied, running around his study and tidying up a bit, “I’ve been poring over those records you got from Breakneck Cavern, and I’ve learned more in the last day than I have in my entire career of study.”
“There wouldn’t happen to be anything in there regarding Alduin’s first defeat, would there?” Steadfast asked.
“Funny you should mention that,” Faniar said, “I’ve been working on organizing these records by time period, and there’s a distinct gap at the end of the Dragon War. All the scrolls mention is that Alduin was defeated, but there’s no record of anything leading up to his defeat or directly after. It’s as if the event was wiped from history.”
“That’s too bad,” I said, “I thought if maybe we could find out how he was defeated then we could find a way to fight him now.”
“Hmm,” Faniar said, “You know, there may still be another way to find out.”
“Yes?” I replied in excitement.
“Remember that Blade we encountered in a dragon barrow?”
I remembered Scarlet Shores all right. After all, it was her that had gotten us entangled in the mess with the Blackwings that had nearly caused me to lose Steadfast. Of course, if it wasn’t for her I never would’ve met Mephalda, so I had that to thank her for at least. And the snafu with Steadfast had turned out all right in the end, so I had nothing to complain about.
“What about her?” I asked.
“Well, the Blades were experts at dragonlore. I’d find it hard to believe if they of all ponies didn’t know at least something about Alduin’s defeat. Only trouble is, I have no idea how you could make contact with her.”
“Oh,” I said, looking over at Steadfast, “I think we have some idea where to start.”
◊◊◊ ◊◊◊ ◊◊◊
A quick and uneventful trip later, and we were in Riverwood, standing in front of the Sleeping Bison Inn. The barkeep recognized Steadfast and me from last time, and hoofed over the key to the “attic room” without me having to give the password. However, upon entering Scarlet’s secret room it became very apparent that she wasn’t there anymore.
The sconces on the walls had burned out, and I had to relight them before we could get a real look around the room. All her weapons were removed from their racks, and the shelves were bare. No map adorned the table anymore, and the chests against the walls were propped open, empty.
“You’re sure she was here?” Mephalda asked, looking around at the starkness of the room.
“Yes, it was only a fortnight ago we met here to discuss breaking into the Blackwing Embassy.”
“She must’ve moved on,” Steadfast commented.
“Of course,” I said, coming to a realization, “The Blackwings were getting close to finding her hiding place, so she had to leave.”
“It’s hard to believe she’d leave without leaving behind some clue for you to follow, though,” Mephalda said, “From what you told me, she wanted to stay in touch.”
We searched all over the room, but Scarlet had done an excellent job in removing any indication she’d ever been here. Even Mephalda with her trained ex-Blackwing eyes couldn’t find any clue to where she’d gone. If there was something here for me to find, it was impossible to see. Eventually we gave up and left the inn, returning the key to the barkeep.
Our lead had dried up. My only idea now was to try to get her location from Bruinin in Seclusion. Before we headed off however, I wanted to stop in the Riverwood Trader and talk to Calciar and Eruthar. Mephalda and Steadfast waited outside as I trotted into the only two-story building in Riverwood.
“Good day,” Calciar greeted me from behind the counter as I entered his shop, “How are you doing Sapphire?”
“Pretty good, I guess,” I replied, “A little down since my search for a way to stop Alduin took a turn for the worse.”
“I’m sorry to hear that,” he said, “If there’s any way I could help I could, but I don’t think selling wares will be much help against the World-Eater himself.”
“I suppose not,” I replied.
Our conversation was interrupted as a foal burst in from the back room, giggling as he ran around the counter and bumped into my legs. Recognition dawned in his eyes as he looked up.
“Hey Sapphire!” he yelled up, jumping up and down with glee, “My legs are all better! See! Uncle Calciar and Aunt Eruthar fixed me up!”
“That’s great Cloverdust,” I said, “I’m glad you’re feeling better.”
“Uncle Calciar and Aunt Eruthar?” I asked, looking up at the shopkeep and his wife who’d emerged from the back room.
“Well,” Eruthar said, “After you dropped him off we couldn’t very well send him back into the world right away. Not after what he’d been through. And this loveable little scamp began to grow on us.”
“That’s . . . great,” I said, unable to think of anything else to say, “Well, I’d better get going if I’m going to make it to Seclusion tomorrow.”
“Oh, before you go,” Eruthar called after me as I made for the door, “A unicorn stopped by about a week ago with a message for you. She said if you’re looking for her you should go to Sky Sorcerer Temple. I don’t know how much it’ll help, but that’s what she said to tell you.”
“Believe me,” I said, a smile plastered on my muzzle, “It helps more than you could imagine.”
“Ready to go?” Steadfast asked as I exited the Trader.
“Not quite,” I said, “I think I know where Scarlet went.”
“Where?” my friends asked in unison.
“According to Eruthar, somewhere called Sky Sorcerer Temple.”
“I know where that is,” Mephalda said, her excitement showing in her eyes, “When I was in the Blackwings we were keeping an eye on it. It’s an old Blades Temple near Marekarth.”
“That has to be where she is,” Steadfast said.
“Well,” I said to Mephalda, “Lead the way.”
◊◊◊ ◊◊◊ ◊◊◊
The sun was beginning to disappear over the western mountains as Mephalda pointed out Sky Sorcerer Temple. At first it didn’t appear to be much, just a mountain rearing up among dozens of others. A few structures with roofs shaped into elegant curves reared up high on the other side of the mountain, but Mephalda instead directed us toward a cave nearer to the base on the east.
“If we tried to get in through the front entrance, we’d be dead before we go there,” she explained, “But if we come in through the cave system we should be able to get close enough to the Blades to explain ourselves before we’re hacked apart.”
So through the caves we went, meeting no more than a few spiders on our way. It was dark and damp, but no Blades blocked our progress, and soon we were within a small valley in the center of the mountain. The far end had been completely rebuilt by the Blades, fashioned into another of the elegant structures we had seen from a distance.
Through a door covered in mysterious symbols was a large entryway, with plenty of places for Blades to be hiding. Yet we saw none and moved on, heading up a steep stairway with narrow walls that forced us to walk single file. All the way I kept my magic ready to draw my sword, just in case I needed to block a strike from a hidden Blade.
“Hello?” I called as I pushed the door at the end of the stairs open.
I had no intention of taking the Blades by surprise. That wouldn’t end well for anypony involved.
“Scarlet Shores?” I called as I stepped through the doorway, “It’s Sapphire.”
“And Steadfast,” my earth pony companion chimed in.
Mephalda remained silent, probably because Scarlet hadn’t met her, and she might not be too thrilled to see a former Blackwing in her fortress.
The room was completely still and empty. The table running through the center still had food on it, however, so the Blades had been here recently. The far end of the room was dominated by a carving similar to the ones we’d seen in the dragon barrows, yet in a different style.
With a slight rustle, Scarlet Shores revealed herself from behind one of the faded tapestries hanging from the walls. I relaxed and let my magic fall as Scarlet did the same, sheathing her blades. A few more unicorns wearing the same armor as Scarlet emerged from hiding places as she approached.
“Sapphire, Steadfast,” Scarlet greeted us, “What brings you here? And who is your companion?”
“This is Mephalda-” I said, but was suddenly cut off by the sound of many blades being drawn.
“Mephalda the Meek!” Scarlet said, “You brought a Blackwing here?”
“Former Blackwing,” Mephalda pointed out, flying a bit higher to keep out of range of the Blades’ weapons.
“No such thing,” Scarlet scoffed, “Once a Blackwing, always a Blackwing, just like the Blades.”
“Well, I can assure you it’s not like that,” Mephalda said, crossing her forelegs, “I left the Blackwings years ago and they’ve been hunting me ever since. Trust me when I say I want nothing to do with them.”
“Trust you?!” Scarlet said, looking outraged.
“Yes, trust her,” a forest green unicorn said as he entered the room.
This new unicorn was different than the rest. He was far older, seemingly beyond his years of combat, and though he wore armor in the same style as the rest of the Blades, his served more as a layer of protection over his robes than armor meant for extended combat.
“Master Rufius,” Scarlet said, bowing to the new arrival, “Forgive me.”
“There is no need for an apology,” he told her in a very grandfatherly way, “You are not at fault. Your zealotry for keeping the Blades safe is admirable, but misplaced. These ponies are not our enemies.”
“Of course,” she said, rising.
“So,” Rufius said, turning toward us, “What has brought you to Sky Sorcerer Temple?”
“We’re searching for information on how Alduin was defeated in the past,” I told the master of the Blades.
“Do you have anything?” Steadfast asked.
“Well, I wouldn’t say we have nothing,” Rufius replied cryptically, “But I doubt we have exactly what you’re looking for. Come with me.”
Obediently we followed him over to the mural adorning the wall we’d seen upon our entry.
“This wall chronicles all the ancient Akhoofiri, from whom the Blades are descended, knew about the dragons, especially Alduin.”
“Right, we’ve seen this before, in dragon barrows,” Steadfast cut in.
“Yes, the Akhoofiri did borrow much from such carvings, but those inscriptions leave out a very important detail.”
“Alduin’s defeat,” Mephalda pointed out.
“Precisely. The ancient earth ponies who constructed the barrows were looking forward to Alduin’s return. The last thing they wanted was for somepony to know how he was defeated in the first place.”
“But the Akhoofiri knew it?” I asked.
“In a way. You see here?” Rufius said, pointing at the centerpiece of the mural, where Alduin was depicted being struck down, surrounded by three earth ponies, “Much of Akhoofiri inscriptions are obscure, and though I have a basic understanding of them, the precise meanings are lost to me. As you can see here, Alduin was defeated by the Tongues, ancient earth pony masters of the Voice, using some kind of Shout.”
“A Shout?” I said, “Really?”
“Yes, unfortunately there’s nothing to indicate exactly which Shout was used.”
“There’s no way to tell?” Mephalda asked.
“I’m afraid not. Only a master of the Voice would even have an idea where to start.”
“Well,” I said to Mephalda and Steadfast, “It looks like we’re going to High Hoofgar.”
Level Up
Health: 210 Stamina: 200 Magicka: 210
New Perk: Magic Missiles [Destruction] -- Your accuracy in casting long-range spells is significantly increased as is the damage you deal.
New Quest: Alduin’s Bane -- Ask the Greymanes about the Shout used to defeat Alduin in the past.
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Good chapter. I can't wait to see how you do this next part, with Alduin and the defeat of the dragons.
Thanks for writing.