The Equine Scrolls: SkyFiM

by FireOfTheNorth

Chapter 68: Marethal

Chapter LXVIII: Marethal
“I stand where I have always stood: in Marethal.”

The letter from Jarl Stormcloud had said to meet him the next day, so there was no point in leaving immediately. We spent another night in Whitetrot before leaving for Windhorn. A light snow was falling as we neared the ancient city, adding to the already impressive amount piled over the land. Horizon’s winter was coming in force.

We were crossing the bridge to the city when a terrible roar suddenly sounded over the mountains. Craning my neck around, I saw a massive dragon soar in from the south, its eyes fixed on Windhorn. A strong wind blew over us and the dragon passed us by, soaring over Windhorn’s wall before setting down inside.

We galloped forward, passing through the towering gates into the city. The dragon was standing on top of the inn just within the city, filling the streets to either side with flame. A bell was ringing in the background, calling the Windhorn guards to arms, but only a few had made it so far.

<<<STRUN~BAH~QO!!!>>> I Shouted as the dragon roasted two guards who were firing arrows at it.

The clouds above the city grew back, the snow falling harder now, and the wind whipping things up into a blizzard. The sky rumbled before sending bolts of lightning into the dragon. It shrugged the strikes off, seemingly not even caring as its scaly armor was pierced and burned all over.

This dragon was quite a bit larger than any I’d seen before, except for Alduin. Between the two, it was a close comparison in size. No wonder Alduin had sent this dragon to destroy Windhorn. It looked like it could simply flatten whole buildings by landing on them.

The dragon swung its head around, finally stopping as its gaze locked on us. Its eyes narrowed as it found me, and it opened its gaping maw to spew forth fire. The four of us scattered, running from the dragon’s breath. I ducked inside a shop as the fire caught up to me.

After slamming the door shut on the flames, I turned to see a trio of townsponies huddling behind the counter. I was about to reassure them that everything would be all right when the front of the shop suddenly exploded. The dragon’s tail cut through the wall, sending chunks of stone flying everywhere. I ducked down, huddling into a ball as the tail swept over me and the stone crashed against my crystalline armor a moment later.

Stone was still raining down when the dragon lowered its head to look through the hole it’d made. Like the townsponies, I galloped for the nearby stairs as the dragon sent a blast of flame into the shop. Fire billowed up from the stairway as we reached the top, singeing the ceiling.

I headed back toward the storefront immediately, climbing over furniture in a mad scramble to reach the door that led out to the balcony. I threw the doors open before stepping out onto a balcony that was barely there anymore. I gave a leap, landing on the dragon’s snout. It crossed its eyes, pinpointing me before shaking its head and sending me flying off, rolling across the square.

It raked its claws along the sides of the inn as it turned toward me. The dragon barely fit within the square and was clinging to the walls to keep from falling and getting trapped. I intended to fix that, and I galloped toward it as it opened its mouth to roast me.

<<<FO~KRAH~DIIN!!!>>>

The inside of the dragon’s mouth was suddenly coated with ice, and the fire was backed up for a moment, erupting as steam before any actual flames left the dragon’s mouth. That moment was all I needed, and I ducked under its head, running beneath the beast as it shot fire where I no longer was.

I drew Dawnbreaker and the Blade of Hoofingar as I neared the wing the dragon was propping against the row of buildings that now had a line gouged through from the dragon’s tail. I stabbed both into the wing joint, cutting across and forcing the dragon to draw its wing in. The dragon tipped off balance, falling toward me, trapping me between it and the buildings.

<<<FUS~RO~DAH!!!>>> I Shouted, pushing the dragon away from me just long enough that I was able to duck into another building.

The wall caved in as I entered, hit by the dragon’s bulk. I headed for the stairs as fast I could, climbing onto the second floor, and then the roof. Steadfast stood on a roof not too far away and jumped from it, swinging his warhammer down as he fell. His weapon struck the dragon’s hind claw, dislodging it from the building and sending the beast crashing all the way to the ground.

The dragon realized it was trapped on the ground now and swung a claw up at the inn, knocking off a large portion of the front and roof where Mephalda was standing, firing arrows at the beast. Straining to move its wings, the dragon managed to get them free and in the air. It flapped up, dislodging itself from the narrow street as it sent a wall of flame at Mystic, who was trying to bring it back down with ice spikes.

The dragon doused the city with flame, burning buildings at it headed east. I followed across the rooftops as fast as I could, clambering up onto the wall at one point in order to move faster. I followed the dragon as went on a rampage through the city, smashing in buildings and lighting the insides on fire.

<<<JOOR~ZAH~FRUL!!!>>> I Shouted as it reached the Winged Quarter.

The dragon fell from the sky as I forced mortality on it, crashing through the archway that separated the pegasus slums from the rest of the city. I quickly climbed down from the wall using a set of stairs, and entered the Winged Quarter.

Before I could reach the dragon, it smashed its claws into the buildings around it and hefted itself up. Stone rained down as the buildings were destroyed, the dragon now standing on top of them and looking down at me. I ran as it filled the street with fire, kicking in a locked door to enter a home.

A knife flew past my head, thrown by a dappled pegasus within. Another grabbed me before I could explain, holding a sword to my throat.

“Who sent you?” she demanded, “Jarl Stormcloud?”

“No,” I said, “There’s a dragon outside.”

“Tell me another one,” the pegasus said, “We knew Stormcloud would lead this purge someday, and we’re ready.”

The dragon’s claw suddenly tore through the wall, grabbing the pegasus who was holding me. She screamed as the dragon pulled her out, feeding her into his mouth. I grabbed Dawnbreaker and charged up the stairs to the second floor of the home, dodging an arrow shot by another dappled pegasus.

I jumped through a window, shattering the glass, and landed on the dragon’s inverted head. As it righted itself, I scrambled over onto the top of its head. It knew I was there immediately and bucked its head, throwing me into the air. I fell from the sky toward the dragon’s open mouth, about to be eaten.

A huge fireball suddenly struck the dragon in the side of the head, knocking it away from me. As I tumbled down the neck, bouncing off spines, I saw Mystic running across the rooftops, her horn still glowing from the spells she’d casted. The dragon sent blasts of fire at her, scorching the tops of the buildings but failing to break through her ward.

I finally came to a stop around the middle of the dragon’s back. Mephalda flew overhead as I picked myself up, her Blackwing blades cutting through the dragon’s scaly flesh. It roared as she did so, and twisted its head around to snap at her. She was already out of the way, however, having dived beneath the dragon’s head, firing arrows up into its neck.

Steadfast emerged from a roof nearby as I charged along the dragon’s back, cutting in with my Draconequus blade and roasting the exposed flesh with a flame spell. Steadfast galloped up to the dragon, who was focused on Mephalda, and struck the roof it was standing on repeatedly with his warhammer. The stone began to crack from the repeated hits, and the dragon’s weight did the rest. The edge of the building crumbled off, sending the dragon’s back half plummeting into the square, its tail dragging a gouge through the building.

I grabbed hold of a spine as the dragon tipped, its horizontal back becoming a ramp. As its bulk struck the square, it destroyed the statue of Jurgen Sky-Whinny, reducing it and the cowering dappled pegasus to rubble. As the dust settled, I began to climb my way up the dragon’s back, striking wherever the flesh was exposed from a lightning strike.

Mystic jumped from a roof as the dragon’s flame pursued her. She made a short teleport to the ground before focusing all her magical energy on sending lightning bolts at the dragon’s foreclaws. They twisted and were scorched as the bolts hit them, and the dragon was forced to let go of the building, sliding down into the enclosed square. It snapped its jaw around the face of the building as it fell, but it simply crumbled away in its mouth, too damaged to hold.

I was thrown momentarily into the air as the dragon crashed to the ground before landing again and bouncing across the spines. When I recovered, I begin to gallop once more toward the dragon’s neck, which was now propped against the face of the destroyed building. The dragon flared its wings, pushing rubble away and creating more as they brushed against the nearby shops.

<<YOL~TOOR!!>> I Shouted.

The dragon’s wing suddenly caught fire, going up in flames instantly. All that was left behind was the scorched bone structure by the time the fire went out. The dragon roared with rage and snapped at me, managing to scoop me up in its mouth.

As I tried to keep from sliding across its tongue, I stabbed Dawnbreaker up into its brain. It grew suddenly hot, and I downed a potion of fire resistance just before the flames came gushing up at me. Dragon fire surrounded me as I drew the Blade of Hoofingar and stabbed it up into the dragon’s brain as well, opening the wound.

<<<FO~KRAH~DIIN!!!>>> I Shouted as the flames stopped.

Ice traveled across the roof of the dragon’s mouth, entering the wound I’d inflicted on it and freezing the brain. The dragon began to move more sluggishly before finally dying, crashing to the ground with me still trapped in its mouth.

It seemed an eternity passed in the dark while I waited for the dragon to combust. Finally it did so, all its memories merging with mine as its flesh was consumed. After they finished, I pulled Dawnbreaker and the Blade of Hoofingar from the dragon’s skeleton and trotted out through its throat.

I rejoined Steadfast, Mystic, and Mephalda, and we left the Winged Quarter for the Palace of Kings. The dappled pegasi began to emerge from their homes as we left, marveling at the sight of a dragon’s skeleton. I scowled as we exited the Winged Quarter. Just outside were the majority of Windhorn’s guards, apparently waiting to defend the city only if the dragon left the slums and attacked earth ponies instead.

“The dragon’s been dealt with, my Jarl,” a soldier was reporting to Jarl Stormcloud as we entered the Palace of Kings.

“By whom?” he asked.

“By us,” I answered.

“Ah, I should have known,” the Jarl said, “Well, it seems our city is once more in your debt. How do you always manage to be in the right place at the right time?”

“We were just answering your summons,” I answered before he could ask if I had some sort of dragon-sensing ability, because I most certainly did not, yet I always seemed to end up where a dragon was attacking at just the right time.

“Of course,” the Jarl said, stepping down from his throne and motioning for us to follow him as he trotted to his war room, “Then you also know that I intend to end this war very soon.”

“Yes,” I answered, “Your letter mentioned preparing for a strike on Seclusion, the Imperial capital.”

“That battle will be the toughest we will ever have to fight, but it will come in time, and we will be prepared,” he said, “But one last obstacle stands in our way before we storm Seclusion.”

“Marethal,” Mephalda said, looking at the map on the table before us.

“Precisely,” Stormcloud answered, “If I focus all my resources on Seclusion, I need to be sure I will not be attacked from the rear. So long as Marethal remains in Imperial hooves, my flank is in danger. What if, during the attack on Seclusion, General Cuirass lands additional troops there and marches them through the swamps to pin me in against the Hoofingar Mountains? It would be the end of the rebellion, and the end of a free Horizon.”

“Oh, don’t be so glum Stormy,” Zest said, suddenly popping out from behind the Jarl, “He has to go through the Pegasari Dominion if he wants to do that.”

“Perhaps you’re forgetting, Zest,” the Jarl said, removing her from his back, “But the White-Gold Concordat, that accursed treaty we’re fighting against, binds the Dominion and the Empire together, making them allies in all but name.”

“Oh, I wouldn’t worry about them working together,” she said nonchalantly, “I’d worry about them not working together.”

“As always, I don’t understand a thing you’re saying,” Jarl Stormcloud said, shaking his head, “Just tell me if we can win this war.”

“Yes, we can win this war,” Zest replied, “Maybe not easily, but we can win this war.”

“Excellent,” Stormcloud said, seemingly missing the emphasis Zest used.

However, her words were not lost on me. She specifically emphasized that this war could be won. But what did that mean? Was there another war waiting, one that couldn’t be won? Or maybe Zest was just being herself, and not making any sense as per the usual.

“To make things short, I need you in the fight for Marethal,” Stormcloud continued, “Meet with my troops in Hjaaltrot and get some rest. The battle commences tomorrow.”

“You’re not coming?” I asked after he marked the location of the Stormcloud camp on my map, curious that he’d be absent from a battle when he never had been before.

“No,” he replied, shaking his head, “I have to stay here and prepare for the battle of Seclusion.”

◊◊◊ ◊◊◊ ◊◊◊

We did as Jarl Stormcloud had ordered, reaching the Hjaaltrot Stormcloud camp by early evening. We were fairly close to Marethal, but with all the swamps and tangled trees, nopony would find us unless they were actively looking. The battle would commence at sunrise the next morning, but for now we had some time to relax. I worked on finishing my first volume of Minotauran Inquiries.

Arcanex

The Arcanex is a bit of a mystery to scholars. Every large Minotauran ruin contains one, but the purpose is hard to decipher. It is similar to a large amphitheater, except that far more mechanics fill it than would be expected. Also there is a highly irregular concentration of magical gems, all filled with increasing energy, apparently being charged by the machines around them. Within the Arcanex itself is an apparatus identical in every ruin (see Fig. 221). A series of lenses and gems snaking over the roof and walls, the exact purpose of the contraption is unknown. The apparatus is similar to an observatory in several ways, except that most Arcanexi are built far underground.

Some have suggested that the Arcanex is perhaps the Minotauran equivalent of a temple. The Minotaurs are known to have eschewed both the Equines and most of the Draconequi, instead choosing to worship science and technology. However, an Arcanex is built nothing like how one would suspect a temple to be built, even a temple dedicated to the gods of electricity and steam. Perhaps nopony shall every truly understand the purpose of the Arcanex.

◊◊◊ ◊◊◊ ◊◊◊

The next day dawned stormy and gray. It was as if nature itself knew that pony blood would be spilled today. Of course, Jarl Stormcloud could simply have arranged for the battle to coincide with a scheduled storm on the weather table in order to keep pegasus observers away. Either way, the feeling of death seemed to cover the land.

The Stormcloud commander filling in for Jarl Stormcloud, a gruff stallion named War-Bear who was missing a leg, led the silent march through the swamps. Marethal soon came into sight, a ramshackle collection of buildings barely larger than Foalkreath.

We could see that a few Imperial soldiers patrolled the town. It appeared General Cuirass knew Marethal needed to be protected, but didn’t think it tactically important enough to spare a full troop. He’d underestimated Jarl Stormcloud and how much he wanted Marethal. Of course, it could all just be a clever trap.

None of that mattered as a roar suddenly sounded across the marshes. I prayed it was just a hydra, but my fears were realized as a dragon suddenly swooped overhead. The Stormclouds took advantage of the confusion to charge into the town, taking the Imperials by surprise, but all my attention was focused on the winged lizard circling overhead.

<<<JOOR~ZAH~FRUL!!!>>> I Shouted as it flew over the town, roasting Imperials and Stormclouds alike.

As Dragonrend took hold, the dragon suddenly fell from the sky, sliding across the ground and carving a groove down the path that ran through Marethal. Mephalda was already in the air, shooting arrows into the dragon’s body as it tried to shake off the feeling of mortality that clung to it. Mystic hit it in the head with a magic blast, sending its neck whipping around and knocking its head through a building.

Steadfast reached the dragon first, crushing its tail with his warhammer. As it spun around at him, he jumped out of the way. Its injured tail swung around with it, tearing through a house before swinging around toward where I stood. I raised Dawnbreaker as the tail passed over, slicing through the portion weakened by Steadfast’s strike and chopping the back half off.

As the tail fell to the ground, the dragon suddenly became very enraged, spinning around toward me. I ventured a slice with Dawnbreaker at its jaw before running past its neck. As it twisted around after me, I was hit by the swinging neck and sent rolling across the ground. I scrambled to my hooves as the dragon let loose a blast of fire at me.

Mephalda suddenly shot down from the sky, landing on the dragon’s head. With her Blackwing blades, she carved through the dragon’s scales and chopped off its spines, trying to pierce its brain. The dragon shook its head, throwing Mephalda off before sending a blast of fire at her. Mystic sent a wave of ice to nullify the fire as Mephalda righted herself and flew away.

<<<STRUN~BAH~QO!!!>>> I Shouted, calling down a storm on the dragon.

As lightning struck its body, the dragon tried to get clear of the storm. As it took off into the air, Mephalda came soaring down, cutting holes through the dragon’s wings with her Blackwing blades. Mystic followed up with blasts of fire, destroying the dragon’s wings and grounding it permanently.

As it crashed to the ground, Steadfast charged up to it, swinging his warhammer into its side. The dragon huffed smoke from its nostrils and grabbed Steadfast in a claw. It then threw him as hard as it could toward Marethal’s longhouse. Mephalda swooped down and saved him before he hit the structure, but she had to swiftly drop him and fly away as the dragon sent a blast of flame at them.

I galloped toward the dragon, shooting ice spikes at it as I did so. Eventually one managed to strike it in the eye, causing it to howl in pain as the frigid shaft blinded it. I sent lightning flying at the dragon’s face, striking it in its bad eye and causing it even more pain. The dragon didn’t even bother to find me before covering the area I was in with flame. Luckily, I’d had the foresight to down a potion of fire resistance, and I passed through the flames unharmed.

<<<FO~KRAH~DIIN!!!>>> I Shouted, freezing the dragon’s head to the ground.

The fire cut off abruptly as the ice covered the dragon’s mouth. The great beast struggled against its imprisonment, thrashing around as it tried to escape. The ice began to crack, and I climbed onto its neck while it was still mostly stationary. Using Dawnbreaker and the Blade of Hoofingar, I cut through the dragon’s flesh, trying to sever its neck.

The dragon suddenly broke free of the ice, and I was forced to focus on keeping from being thrown off. I clung to a spine, but my grip soon began to slip, and I could feel myself sliding off. As a last strike, I blasted the dragon with fire as I was thrown off.

Mephalda caught me before I began to tumble across the ground, swiftly dropping me off before the dragon spotted us. Mephalda took off into the sky, shooting at the dragon’s good eye. It was moving so quickly and erratically, however, that it was hard for her to hit it.

As Steadfast slammed his warhammer into its jaw, nearly dislocating it, the dragon was still enough that Mephalda was able to get her strike in. The dragon roared and let fire loose everywhere as the shaft sank into its eye, blinding it completely. Steadfast was nearly crushed under its claws as it stomped around, trying to destroy everything around it.

I galloped toward its stump of a tail, pulling myself onto its back. I galloped upward, doing whatever damage I could as I neared its neck. The dragon might not have been able to see, but it could feel what I was doing, and craned its neck around toward me, breathing fire. Suddenly, Mystic appeared next to me, putting up a ward around us.

We galloped up the dragon’s back together until it ceased breathing fire and tried to throw us off instead. I grabbed a hold of one of its neck spines while Mystic willingly jumped from the beast’s back. She began to shoot ice at the dragon’s head, coating it in frost. It angrily blasted fire everywhere it thought she was, but didn’t succeed even when it found her. Her ice was able to hold it off, and push it back.

I climbed the dragon’s neck, trying not to be thrown off as it whipped its head around. At last I reached its head, and stabbed my swords through the wounds that Mephalda had already inflicted on it. Scales peeled off and flesh was ruptured, but still the dragon refused to die. I was hurting it, however, and it angrily whipped its head back, throwing me off.

<<<FUS~RO~DAH!!!>>> I Shouted as I left the dragon’s head.

The force of my Shout slammed the dragon’s head to the ground. Mystic swiftly covered it in ice, once more freezing its head to the ground. Steadfast came galloping in a moment later, jumping into the air as he swung his warhammer down on the dragon’s head. The dragon’s skull shattered, and bone shards pierced its brain, swiftly killing it.

As I recovered from my tumble and healed my minor wounds, the dragon began to combust. Soon all its memories were mine, and I learned what it was to be a dragon once again. So seamlessly did the memories of all these dragons mesh with mine that I was beginning to have trouble keeping track of what had and hadn’t happened to me personally. The experiences were all the same to my mind, and I had to be careful. If I killed many more dragons, I might forget what it meant to be a pony.

By the time the dragon was dead, the Battle of Marethal was over, the Imperials laying down their weapons. Many glanced our way as they did so, apparently not willing to take on dragon slayers, which was just fine with me. The battle had been won, and I hadn’t had to kill a single pony.

War-Bear chose a resident of Marethal to be the new Jarl (no doubt pre-chosen by Jarl Stormcloud) and I watched the old Jarl flee to the west. My gaze was drawn upward, toward the mountains, and the city that was perched among them. Seclusion would fall soon.

Level Up
Health: 330 Stamina: 330 Magicka: 310
New Perk: The Knife that Cuts Deepest [Sneak] – All sneak attacks with daggers now do sixteen times normal damage.
Dragon Soul collected
Dragon Soul collected
New Quest: Rebellion – Attack Seclusion and free Horizon from Imperial control.