The Equine Scrolls: SkyFiM

by FireOfTheNorth

Chapter 42: Dragonrend

Chapter XLII: Dragonrend
“I can’t believe time travel is really possible. How did you – I mean I – figure it out?”

After only a day at sea, we made it safely to Dawnstar. Staying there for a restless night, we traveled on again in the morning until we reached the Crest of the World, passing through Ivarsteed and High Hoofgar to reach it. Paarthurnax was waiting for us when we arrived.

“WELCOME BACK!!” Paarthurnax boomed in greeting, “WAS YOUR SEARCH SUCCESSFUL??”

“In a way,” I replied, “We found a way to travel back in time so I can learn Dragonrend, but first I need to know when I need to travel to. When Alduin was defeated.”

“HMM, YES!! WELL, IT WAS THE TWELFTH OF FIRST SEED BY YOUR CALENDAR, TWO-HUNDRED AND TWENTY YEARS BEFORE YOUR FIRST ERA BEGAN!!”

“All right,” I said, drawing out the spell Star-Swirl had given us and the Equine Scroll we had acquired, “I guess I’ll have to aim for then as best I can. What time of day was Alduin defeated?”

“IT WAS AT DUSK THAT ALDUIN WAS BANISHED!!” the dragon said, though his mind seemed elsewhere, “WITH THE SETTING OF THE SUN, THE TONGUES STRUCK HIM DOWN!! I SAY, IS THAT A KEL, WHAT YOU PONIES CALL AN EQUINE SCROLL??”

“It is,” I confirmed.

“HOW CURIOUS!!” he commented, but neglected to say more.

“All right,” I said, turning to face my friends, “Here goes nothing.”

“BEFORE YOU DO, I HAVE A WARNING FOR YOU!!” Paarthurnax cut in, “BEWARE ALTERING TIME!! ANY CHANGES YOU MAKE COULD HAVE TERRIBLE CONSEQUENCES!! AS SUCH, YOU MUST NOT INTERACT WITH THE TONGUES UNTIL AFTER THEY HAVE DEFEATED ALDUIN!! IF YOU DO, HE MAY NEVER BE DEFEATED, AND THE UNIVERSE WILL BE TORN APART BY THE PARADOX!!”

“Okay, don’t speak to the Tongues until after Alduin is banished,” I repeated Paarthurnax’s warning, “Here I go.”

Clutching the Equine Scroll tightly, I focused on my destination. I only had one chance to get this right, so no error could be allowed. Committing Star-Swirl’s spell to memory, I prepared to cast it.

<====|o|====>

With a flash of light and a thunderous clap, my friends suddenly disappeared from before my eyes. The ground I was standing upon had been burned, the snow melted away by my sudden appearance. Indeed, it seemed that I now stood in a hole carved out of a snow bank.

Rising from where I’d appeared, I took a look around. I was still atop the Crest of the World, though now things were very different around me. The weathered stone monuments Paarthurnax perched upon were now new. Looking out over Horizon, I saw some familiar cities, and some unfamiliar. In many places down below, the land was burning.

Dragons flew everywhere, filling the sky with their wingbeats and roars of anger. At the base of the Crest of the World, great armies clashed, their sword strikes reaching even this height. This was surely the end of the Dragon War.

I ducked behind a rock as I heard voices nearing the tip of the Crest of the World. Peeking over, I could see three ponies that I could only assume were the Tongues approach.

“Do you think he will come to our trap?” a golden-brown earth pony mare with a bow asked.

“Why would he not, Felicia?” an icy blue earth pony with a warhammer replied, “We have been slaughtering his kin all day on our way up here. There is no way he won’t show.”

“I know, Erik. But will Dragonrend work as we intended?” Felicia said, “Uris, what do you say?”

“I see no reason why it should not,” answered an elderly grey earth pony with a multitude of staffs strapped to his back, “Forcing a great lizard such as Alduin to grasp mortality, such a thing will cripple him at the least.”

“We’re about to find out,” Erik said, watching as a dragon wheeled through the sky.

Uris drew a staff off his back and began shooting blasts of lightning at the flying lizard, forcing it to land. The dragon landed, but it was clearly not Alduin. The Tongues attacked anyway, using their varied skills to harm the beast. Soon its body was filled with Felicia’s arrows, beaten by Erik’s warhammer, and fried by Uris’s magic blasts.

Snapping its jaws, it lunged for Felicia.

<<<FUS~RO~DAH!!!>>> she Shouted, causing the dragon’s head to whip back.

<YOL!> Erik Shouted, burning a hole through its wing with dragon fire.

A blast of ice from Uris’s staff coated the dragon’s head. Stunned momentarily, Erik took the opportunity to bring his warhammer down on the dragon’s head. His weapon smashed through the dragon’s skull and killed it instantly.

“Another fine kill, my friend,” Felicia congratulated him, “What does that make for you today, six?”

“Seven, actually,” the stallion said, sheathing his warhammer, “One more and it will be a record.”

“Well, there would be no finer wyrm for you to break that record with than Alduin himself.”

“You two should stop flapping your gums and focus on what is coming,” Uris advised them, “Alduin approaches.”

Turning to look in the direction the old stallion was looking, I saw a flaming mass hurtling toward the Crest of the World. Only when I got closer could I see that the mass was in fact two dragons locked in combat falling through the sky. They crashed through the monuments and arches atop the mountain, knocking many to the ground as they landed.

One of the dragons was a massive black monstrosity covered in spines. His eyes and nostrils glowed red as he threw the other dragon off of him. As the light grey dragon rolled through the snow, I recognized him as Paarthurnax, albeit a Paarthurnax that was thousands of years younger. Rolling in the snow, he managed to extinguish most of the flame that had been burning over his scales.

<”!!YOU HAVE GROWN WEAK, MY BROTHER!!”> Alduin taunted Paarthurnax, <”!!YOUR TIME WITH THE PONIES HAS SAPPED BOTH YOUR STRENGTH AND YOUR WILLPOWER!!”>

“AL~DU~IN!! STOP!!” Paarthurnax pleaded, “IT DOESN’T HAVE TO BE LIKE THIS!! THE PONIES HAVE MUCH TO OFFER, IF YOU WILL JUST PERMIT THEM TO SHOW YOU!! END THIS MADNESS!!”

<”!!THE ONLY MADNESS HERE IS YOURS!! YOU HAVE TAUGHT THE PONIES OUR LANGUANGE AND HAVE BETRAYED US ALL!! YOU HAVE FORGOTTEN WHAT IT MEANS TO BE A DOV!! IT IS US OR THEM!! FOR THE LAST TIME, WHOSE SIDE ARE YOU ON!!”>

“I AM NOT ON ANYONE’S SIDE!! I ONLY WISH YOU WOULD SEE REASON, THAT WE COULD LIVE TOGETHER AS BROTHERS WITHOUT THIS ENDLESS DEATH AND DESTRUCTION!!”

<”!!THOSE ARE A TRAITOR’S WORDS!! YOU HAVE MADE YOUR CHOICE, BROTHER!! YOU HAVE CHOSEN TO SIDE WITH THE WEAK, THE DOOMED, THE PONIES!! AND AS SUCH, YOU SHALL DIE WITH THEM!!”>

Alduin launched himself across the mountain at Paarthurnax, smoke billowing from his nostrils. Paarthurnax rolled to the side at the last moment, Alduin’s claws sinking into stone instead of dragon flesh. Alduin spun at his brother, tail whipping around and demolishing much of what was left of the monuments. Opening his maw, the World-Eater belched forth flames so bright and so powerful that I could feel the heat from my hiding place.

Paarthurnax flapped above the flames, unharmed save for some fresh holes in his wings. He swooped down toward his brother, buffeting his head with his wings. Snarling, Alduin snapped at his tail, his razor-sharp teeth slicing through his scales and leaving bloody gashes.

Knocking aside pillars of stone erected by ponies, Alduin charged where Paarthurnax landed. His mighty wings stirring up a whirlwind, he knocked his younger brother back. Raising his claw, he slashed it across Paarthurnax’s face, cutting gouges through the scales and tearing off the spines on the left side of his face. Helpless, Paarthurnax steeled himself for the killing blow, but it never came.

<”!!MAKE NO MISTAKE, I WILL KILL YOU!!> Alduin said, leaning in close, <”!!FIRST THOUGH, I WILL KILL YOUR PRECIOUS PUPILS, AND YOU SHALL WATCH!!”>

Grabbing Paarthurnax’s neck with his claw, he hoisted him up and slammed him against one of the few monuments that was still standing. Paarthurnax was forced to remain upright, looking on as Alduin turned toward the Tongues who’d been doing little but avoiding the epic battle up until this point. They all had shocked expressions on their faces at the defeat of their mentor, but Uris quickly pulled them together.

“Now is the time!” he said, “Now is when we bring the great lizard down!”

<”!!FOOLISH PUNY MORTALS!!”> Alduin boomed, <!!ALWAYS THINKING YOU HAVE HOPE, EVEN WHEN YOU ARE DOOMED!!>

<<<JOOR~ZAH~FRUL!!!>>> the Tongues all shouted together, striking Alduin from all sides.

A change suddenly came about. The fire in Alduin’s eyes died, and his wings refused to flap. The World-Eater crashed to the ground, unable to halt his fall. But, he was still very much alive.

<”!!WHAT HAVE YOU DONE??!!”> he screamed, <”!!WHAT SORCERY IS THIS!! WHO TAUGHT YOU THOSE WORDS??!!”>

As Alduin struggled with mortality, the Tongues moved in for the kill. Arrows bounced harmlessly off his hide, though a few managed to stick. Erik’s hammer blows chipped away at Alduin’s spines, but did little damage to the dragon himself. Even Uris’s magical blasts seemed to do only superficial damage to the World-Eater.

Suddenly, Alduin returned to normal. With a flick of his tail, he knocked Erik away, and nearly fried Felicia with his fire breath. Thrusting with his legs, he launched himself up into the air.

<<<JOOR~ZAH~FRUL!!!>>>

Uris’s Shout caused Alduin’s wings to fail on him once again, and he fell from the sky.

<”!!THOSE WORDS!!”> Alduin roared, <”!!THEY’RE IN MY HEAD!! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE!!??>

Enraged, Alduin shook his head around, breathing fire as he did so. Felicia was caught in the blast this time, taking burns over a significant portion of her body. As Erik charged the World-Eater, he was thrown aside by a swipe from his claw.

“We’ve no choice now!” Erik yelled from where he’d slammed into a monument stone, “Uris, you have to use the Scroll!”

I watched as the eldest Tongue drew an Equine Scroll out of his saddlebags. Holding it up, he began to chant in a language I was unfamiliar with. The Scroll began to glow as he did so, unrolling it so that it faced Alduin. The great dragon began to slowly slide toward the Scroll, bits of him seeming to stretch toward it as he did so. As Dragonrend lost hold on him, he flapped his wings and began to pull himself away from the portal.

<<<JOOR~ZAH~FRUL!!!>>> Erik Shouted from where he had fallen.

Alduin collapsed to the ground, clawing for purchase as the Scroll began to suck him in more quickly. Around me, the world began to shake, snow sliding down the mountain and monuments toppling. Among them was the one Paarthurnax was still leaning against. As it crumbled, he slid backwards, falling off the side of the Crest of the World.

<”!!NO!! NO!! NOOOOOOOO!!”> Alduin screamed as the Scroll sucked him in.

With a flash, Alduin disappeared completely, and the Equine Scroll rolled itself up.

“What have we done!?” Uris exclaimed, falling to the ground.

“What had to be done,” Erik answered, hobbling over to the elder Tongue, “Now Alduin is gone.”

“No, not gone,” Uris said, “He’s drifting, drifting on the currents of time. May the powers in the heavens have mercy on our souls if one day he reappears.”

I figured this was probably the best chance I’d have to show myself, so I took it.

“Hello,” I said, stepping out from behind my rock, and then immediately ducking behind it again as a collection of Shouts flew past me.

“Come out!” Felicia’s voice demanded, “Show yourself!”

Slowly, I stepped out from behind the rock. When nopony Shouted at me again, I began to trot toward the Tongues.

“Who are you?” Erik asked.

“I’m Sapphire,” I announced, “And I’m from the future-”

“Oh, I was afraid this would happen,” Uris said, burying his head in his hooves, “I was afraid we would cause Alduin to switch places with somepony else.”

“No, that’s not what happened at all,” I assured him, “I came here on purpose.”

“Why would you come here?” Felicia asked.

“Because, where I come from, Alduin has returned. Everything Uris was just saying about him coming back someday has already happened to me.”

“So, why here, why now?” Felicia asked.

“I need a way to defeat Alduin,” I explained, “I need to learn Dragonrend, and I need to do it fast. You’re the only ponies who can teach it to me.”

“A solution has presented itself,” Erik said to Uris.

“What?” Uris asked, just as confused as I was.

“You were afraid Dragonrend would be misused, would corrupt ponies, if it was written down. Yet, you didn’t want the secret to be lost in case Alduin returned. Well, now we don’t have to record it anywhere because we can just teach it to her and she’ll take it back with her to the time where it’s needed.”

I nearly facehoofed. The whole reason I’d gone to all the trouble of traveling back in time to learn Dragonrend was because there were no records of it. Yet the fact that I’d traveled back in time had caused there to be no records of Dragonrend in the future. Perhaps there was a reason the time travel spell only worked once.

“Of course we shall teach you Dragonrend,” Uris said, “But you said we must be swift, so we shall teach it to you immediately. There are, however, a few warnings I must give you before we begin.”

“The Shout was conceived with hate, it corrupts the user, it’s powerful dark magic . . .” I rambled off, recalling all the warnings I’d had to read just to get this far.

“Um, yes, quite,” Uris said, taken aback by my response, “Well, let’s just get started then. The first word in Dragonrend is JOOR, Draconic for mortal. Using JOOR as a Shout, one can project a pony’s experiences and fears of mortality into a dragon’s mind, severely crippling them in the process. I will demonstrate.”

<JOOR!>

Just like with the Greymanes, the runes appeared in the torn-up snow of the Crest of the World. Staring at them, I allowed all knowledge of mortality to enter my mind. This time was very different that the other times I’d learned Words of Power, however. The thoughts I received were dark, tainted, embodying only the worst parts of being mortal, and making me feel very small and insignificant. At last they stopped, and I was able to dispel the thoughts, though not completely.

“Can you teach me how to use it?” I asked.

“How?” Uris asked, puzzled by my request.

“By sharing your memories,” I told him.

“Are you Dragonborn?” he asked suddenly.

“I don’t know,” I said, “The Greymanes don’t think so.”

“The . . . Greymanes?” Felicia asked.

“Oh, never mind,” I said, “They’re in your future. They’re masters of the Voice like you.”

“Getting back on subject,” Uris said, “Yes, I suppose I could share my memories with you. Prepare yourself.”

Soon, all of Uris’s memories regarding mortality were added to mind. It was odd, considering how they did not focus on meditations like the Greymanes’ had, but rather on every near-death experience and every weakness. I even experienced his fear of dying now in his old age.

<JOOR!> I Shouted to get the thoughts out of the forefront of my mind.

“I shall teach you the next word,” Felicia said, hobbling forward, her burns clearly paining her, “The second word of Dragonrend is ZAH, Draconic for finite. For an infinite creature like a dragon, it is impossible for them to grasp the concept of having a definite end. With ZAH, we can force them to grasp it.”

<ZAH!> she Shouted, and the word once more appeared on the ground.

As the letters burned with blue fire, I now learned everything there was to know about being finite. Like with JOOR, the knowledge I gained seemed tainted, focusing only on the bad and forcing me to come to terms with the fact that one day my life would come to an end. Felicia’s memories came swiftly after, teaching me everything she had learned about how constrained a pony’s life really was.

<<JOOR~ZAH!!>> I Shouted, having mastery over two words now.

“The final word in Dragonrend is FRUL, Draconic for temporary,” Erik said, preparing to teach me the final Word of Power, “In Dragonrend, it forces dragons to consider their lives to be short and fleeting instead of eternal.”

<FRUL!>

The knowledge of just how quickly a pony’s life passed quickly entered my mind. One day we were here, and the next day gone; it was depressing. Erik’s memories only added to the experience, showing me how small I really was in the grand scheme of things.

<<<JOOR~ZAH~FRUL!!!>>>

My knowledge of Dragonrend was now complete. I knew everything there was to know about how constrained a pony’s life was. The knowledge weighed heavily on my mind. But now I could force a dragon to feel the misery as well.

“Now you know our dark Shout,” Uris said solemnly, “Hopefully you shall be the only pony besides us who must bear this great burden.”

I was about to ask for any more advice on fighting Alduin, but before I could, I began to feel magic coursing over my body. It seemed my time was up. Lightning began to spark from my horn, and I returned to my own time.

<====|o|====>

“How’d it go?” Steadfast asked, helping me up.

“Well, I hit the right time at least,” I said, “I saw Alduin’s defeat, and then the Tongues taught me Dragonrend, so, all in all, the trip was a success.”

“That’s great,” Mystic said, “Now you can defeat Alduin.”

“NOT EXACTLY!!” Paarthurnax cut in.

“What do you mean?” I asked, turning toward the ancient dragon, and noticing for the first time the missing scales and spines on one side of his face.

“ALDUIN CAN NOT BE DEFEATED IN THIS WORLD!! HERE, HE IS TOO POWERFUL FOR ANY WEAPON TO FELL HIM!! BUT, WHEN HE IS FEEDING IN SOVNGARDE, HE IS VULNERABLE!!”

“Sovngarde?” Steadfast said, “As in the earth pony afterlife?”

“YES, ALDUIN GROWS IN STRENGTH BY FEASTING ON THE SOULS OF THE DEAD!! HOWEVER, THIS IS A PRIVILEGE HE KEEPS TO HIMSELF!! EVEN I, HIS BROTHER WAS NOT PERMITTED TO KNOW WHERE IT WAS THAT HE PASSED INTO THAT REALM!!”

“What do you mean, where?” Mephalda asked.

“ALDUIN MAY BE THE FIRSTBORN OF BUCKATOSH, AND A DRAGON FAR BEYOND ANY OTHER, BUT HE IS PHYSICALLY CONSTRAINED BY SPACE LIKE THE REST OF US!! THE ONLY WAY TO JUMP BETWEEN REALMS IS BY USING A PORTAL OF SOME KIND!!”

“Like the gates to the Beyond that Mehruinous Dagon used to invade the Northlands at the end of the Third Era,” Mystic pointed out.

“PRECISELY, BUT ALDUIN NEVER SHARED HIS SECRET WITH ME!! SURELY THERE IS SOME PLACE BUILT BY HIS EQUINE SLAVES THAT ALLOWS HIM TO TRAVEL TO THEIR AFTERLIFE!! THE LOCATION, HOWEVER, IS LOST!!”

“Well, I know some ponies who might know,” Steadfast said, “The Companions are devoted to preserving earth pony culture. At the least, they should have some clue about how to get to Sovngarde without dying.”

“It looks like we’re going to Jorrvaskr then,” I said.

Level Up
Health: 250 Stamina: 240 Magicka: 230
New Perk: Silent as a Shadow [Stealth] -- The sound of your hoofsteps is so quiet that they no longer alert enemies to your presence.
Word of Power learned: JOOR -- Mortal; Dragonrend – Your Voice lashes out at a dragon’s very soul, forcing it to land.
Word of Power learned: ZAH -- Finite; Dragonrend – Combined with JOOR, ZAH forces a dragon to accept a finite existence, causing them mental anguish as they are forced to land.
Word of Power learned: FRUL -- Temporary; Dragonrend – Combined with JOOR and ZAH, FRUL forces a dragon to see their life as fleeting and temporary, causing them physical pain as they are forced to land.
New Quest: Companionship After Death -- Speak to the Companions about their knowledge of a portal to Sovngarde.

Comments

[Constellation]

Yay, Alduin is going down!

Hey, another great chapter, and the whole time travel I must say, I liked the way you did it a lot more then the way Skyrim did it.

Anyway, I can't wait for the next chapter, thanks for writing.

[FireOfTheNorth]

5184462
Thanks!
Yeah, I found the whole, passively watching the fight through the Elder Scroll, to be a bit dull, so I decided to improve it, with some actual time travel and a confrontation between Alduin and Paarthurnax.
Glad you enjoyed! Hope I continue to impress as we near Alduin Falls!

>>FireOfTheNorth

[Constellation]

5186308
Say I just remembered, the cover art, don't that need to be updated, just wondering.

[FireOfTheNorth]

5187421
Yes, it should be. Unfortunately, I haven't had the time to create a new one. The next cover art will, however, be the final one, and it contains a few elements that haven't been introduced yet, but I will release it as soon as it is done.

[Constellation]

5187645
OK, cool.