28: Return to Tamriel
"Ugh, these headaches are getting old."
That was what Raika said the moment that she opened her eyes, finding herself back on the peak of High Hrothgar after destroying Alduin in Sovngarde. She would have loved to relax with her friends, hit the bar in one of the Hold cities, and celebrate a job well done until she felt it was time to finish her service to Lord Ulfric. Unfortunately, the moment she looked around the peak she noticed that there were dozens of dragons surrounding her, some perched on the ground, some perched on the side of the mountain, and some just flying around. She had the feeling that they were all here for her, but even as she picked up her enchanted swords she knew that she was in no condition to fight every single dragon in the sky.
"Alduin los dilon!" A dragon shouted, causing an uproar from all of the others, "Alduin lost kosaan krinaan!"
Raika, not sure what the dragon had said, stood her ground and waited for one of them to come near her so she could drive her blades deep into its chest. Before she could stab any of them a light appeared in front of her and the next thing she knew she was staring into the faces of her friends...in their nordic forms.
"What are you still doing here?" Raika asked, forgetting about the dragons for a moment, "I thought you guys would have left the moment that Alduin was slain and my destiny had been fulfilled."
"And leave without saying goodbye?" Luna remarked, letting her battleaxe fall into the snow, "That would have been rude and unforgivable at the same time."
"Greetings, Dovahkiin," a dragon called out, landing behind Raika and allowing her to see that it was only Odahviing, "I see that you have succeeded in your...mission. Alduin, the Firstborn and the Lord of the dragons, is no more."
"And where is Paarthurnax?" Raika commented, looking around for the elder dragon and not seeing him anywhere.
"Gone." Odahviing answered, letting a chuckle as the other dragons took off for the skies, "No doubt trying to teach the other dragons the peaceful lifestyle that he developed in the Way of the Voice. I wish him luck in his quest, as many of our kind would not exchange Alduin's Lordship for the tyranny that comes from Paarthurnax's peaceful teachings."
"And what about you?" Raika continued, recalling the comment he made back in Dragonsreach.
"I shall go high into the other mountains," Odahviing replied, "I shall honor my words and come to your call whenever you need me, if I am able to reach you. I hope to see you sometime in the future, but until then I will take my leave. Farewell Dovahkiin."
Raika stood there as Odahviing opened his wings and took off, leaving the peak of High Hrothgar with the other dragons that had come to witness her return to Tamriel. Eventually the peak became quiet, the sound of dragons speaking to each other and their wings flapping disappearing into the distance with them. Raika sighed and dropped her enchanted weapons, allowing herself to fall into the snow and finally unwind for a moment before she considered moving from the mountain.
"So when are you guys leaving?" Raika asked, barely looking up at the others from where she was laying.
"Leaving?" Luna remarked, her head filling Raika's vision, "Whatever do you mean by that?"
"Oh don't play with me," Raika commented, pulling herself up to a sitting position since Luna wouldn't leave her alone, "You and Celestia are the Princesses of another world, rulers of someplace that you continue to call Canterlot. You have helped me fulfill my destiny by aiding me in destroying Alduin the World-Eater, so what's preventing you from leaving and returning to your subjects?"
"I don't want to deal with the annoying nobles after all of this," Luna whined, something that Raika never expected from her, "I'd rather stay here, find that Dawnguard that we came across earlier in our journey, and find the vampire menace that they wanted to deal with. Then maybe deal with the leader of those Cultists that dared to attack you before you could read the Elder Scroll."
"Raika does raise a valid point dear sister," Celestia commented, causing Luna to turn to her, "We have already stepped away from our royal duties for almost a week and there is no telling how much trouble Twilight and Cadence are in until we return. We should return to Equestria for some time, see how things are going over in our home world, and fix whatever problems we can find before we consider returning to fight another threat. If Twilight and Cadence have done a wonderful job in our absence we can return immediately, so you can continue to have fun."
"I hope they've done a good job," Luna muttered, collecting her battleaxe before facing the Word Wall, "So, how will we return to Equestria this time? And are Trixie and Sombra returning with us?"
"Well, um, I'd like to stay for a while longer," Trixie spoke up, "I'd like to complete some more training at the College of Winterhold before I return to Equestria. No doubt that Urag has some more tasks for me to complete and there's no telling what other spells they can teach me while I'm there."
"Sombra?" Celestia asked, staring into her husbands eyes and wondering what he was thinking about.
"It has only been a week since the Crystal Empire returned?" Sombra asked, receiving a nod from both sisters, "It would be too soon for me to return to Equestria and expect anypony in the Empire to open up to me after everything I've done to them under the influence of the darkness. It...it pains me to say this, but I think I'll stay behind and help Raika deal with both the vampire threat the Dawnguard warned her about and whoever sent those Cultists after her. Maybe, just maybe, when I return I can ask forgiveness from everypony, but not yet."
Raika could see it in Celestia's eyes; she was torn between returning to Equestria with her sister and leaving her love behind in a completely different world. If it were Raika having to choose she would have chosen almost immediately and would have stayed with her love until he felt it was time that they head home. However, Raika knew that the choice was going to have to be heading home to be sure everything was in order and catching up on whatever paperwork there was before they even considered returning to Tamriel.
"Very well," Celestia said, letting some tears fall as she wrapped her arms around Sombra, "Luna and I will set the groundwork for your return when we get back, so you'll have an easier time when we bring you back. And I'll try to explain things to Twilight, so she understands why we left to begin with. Promise me that nothing serious will happen to you while we're gone."
"I promise, my sweet princess," Sombra replied, holding on for a moment before Celestia pulled herself away.
"Any day please," Luna huffed, clearly wanting to get it over with so she could return as fast as possible.
Raika watched the sisters stand next to each other, their horns lighting up as the magic began to gather around the mountain and, more importantly, themselves. At first nothing seemed to happen, but then, as the magic appeared around them, the air seemed to bend and twist as a hole appeared before the sisters. It reminded Raika of how they sent Discord back to Equestria, but this hole was colored dark blue and it was growing larger than the previous one. Several moments passed before a gateway, for that was all that Raika could call the swirling magic before them, stabilized in front of the sisters.
Luna, not wanting to waste a single moment before her eventual return, dived right into the gateway, disappearing from view and causing the magic to shimmer for a moment. Celestia, on the other hand, took one last look back at Sombra to be absolutely sure he was staying for the time being before following her sister through the gateway. The moment that they were through the gateway the magic crumpled without anyone holding it in place, causing the gateway to collapse on itself until it was gone.
"So," Trixie said, picking up the Magistrate and returning it to her belt, "where to first? Are we going to head to Winterhold and help the other mages with that orb we found or are we heading to...wherever the Dawnguard has sent its headquarters?"
As Trixie spoke Raika noticed that Nahkriin's mask still hung from her belt, a trophy that told everyone that Trixie had overcome one of the most powerful Dragon Priests in all of Skyrim. Maybe they didn't have to help the Dawnguard just yet.
"Riften," Raika answered, sure of her answer, "We'll help the Dawnguard and, if there's time between whatever they need help with, help the mages of Winterhold with their orb. You'll get their training and we'll stop whatever vampires they were talking about. And that means..."
"..another carriage ride," Sombra finished for her.
Raika moaned and knew that somethings in her life just would not change for her, no matter how much she tried to change them herself. She started walking towards the path that she used to climb to the top, dreading the walk down the mountain and down the Seven Thousand Steps yet again. Without having to turn around she heard two people following her, knowing that her friends weren't far behind her and were sharing in her agony. She only hoped that the Dawnguard were easier to find than the Elder Scroll she still carried had been.
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Yay! We're going into the Dawnguard DLC. But the feelings with Celestia...it must have hurt her to leave him again.
So, is Raika gonna become a vampire or become a member of the Dawnguard? I also can't believe that Trixie defeated a Dragon Priest of all things.
5743316 I'm hoping that Raika remains who she is and doesn't change because of power.
I'm still stunned that Trixie beat Nahkriin, the hardest of the Eight original Dragon Priests. Morokei, the Priest from the College of Winterhold quest line, is a close second in the vanilla Skyrim, but I always found Nahkriin to be harder.
5743417 I thought there were nine. Anyway, the one at Shearpoint is the easiest.
5743457 You mean Krosis? Yeah, I always thought he was the easier of them all. Vanilla Skyrim has ten masks, eight of which are worn by the Priests. The Wooden mask helps you get Konahrik, the most powerful mask in the vanilla game. But obtaining the other eight and the wooden one takes time and effort.
5743496 Does this mean that we get to watch Trixie kick Dragon Priest ass and go to Labrynthian? There's a quest that allows you to go there.
5744475 I'm hoping that we'll see the group go out of their way to acquire the other seven masks, all so Trixie can go back in time and acquire the last one. Be fun to watch her go to town on the rest of them.
5746596 I beat Krosis, and my next one is along the College of Winterhold questline. Do you know where the others are?
5746629 Yeah; Hevnoraak is located in Valthume, which is southeast of Markarth.
Otar is located in Ragnvald, northwest of Markarth. Rahgot is southeast of Riften and you'll find someone standing outside it to give you a quest for the mask. Vokun is in the High Gate Ruins, west of Dawnstar, and you will come across someone called Anska and her quest. And then Volsung, who rests in the ruins of Volskygge that's west of Solitude. You've already got Krosis and your heading after Morokei, so the only priest left is Nahkriin and he's a part of the main quest line. Just don't forget the wooden mask near Labyrinthian's entrance.
5746781 Thanks for the help! But... is it just bragging rights if you defeat all of them?
5746803 I bragged the first time I beat all eight of them, the very first time. None of the people in Skyrim seem to care much about the Priests and I wish you could brag to a mage or a fellow adventurer that you bested a Dragon Priest. So if this is going to be your first time beating all eight then I'd say brag away. The first time is always the best.
5746844 You sound like you have the played Skyrim before. What was your first race?
5746852 Its been forever since I've thought about my first Skyrim character. I started as a female argonian named Kee, who turned out to be an Imperial soldier. I have nothing against the Stormcloaks or their story, but I'm an imperial at heart apparently.
5746877 My first character is a female Khajit named Azure who has nothing against the Stormcloaks or the Imperials, but hates the Thalmore with a burning passion.
5746882 LOL. Amen to that. I think by now I've played at least one of each vanilla race, but I've stayed near the argonians for the most part, with the exception of a few nords every now and then.
5746892 With my affinity towards smithing, I'm more likely to pick orcs.
5746906 I had an orc once, called him Smash. Used to collect nothing but smithing ingredients and forge whatever armor I felt like making, as long as I got the points to level up. Don't remember if I ever married him off, but most of the time I never consider marrying my characters to someone else.
5746882 I say amen to hating the Thalmor. I could never tolerate their presence, save for the one quest in the main story line where you had to be nice to them for some time before you stole their information.
5747039 I kill 'em on sight. Though I have yet to kill Elenwen, since I can't do that until after Season Unending. Based on the direction of the fic, I can assume that you chose not to play the Civil War while Trixie's dealing with the College of Winterhold?
5747067 At the moment I haven't considered touching the Civil War, but I have to let them finish the College Quests before I go through with kicking people off their thrones. Balgruuf might be the easiest for the Stormcloaks to defeat, as he's already terrified of Sombra. So yes, no war until the college is done.
5747103 Too bad Maven Black-Briar's essential. I really HATE that woman. I tried killing her, and I ended up being swarmed by all of Riften.
5747120 Yeah, I have tried everything to get rid of her. Summoning both Odahviing and Durnehviir on the city, calling upon the creatures of Oblivion, staking her full of arrows with various enchantments, several poisoned arrows, shouting her across town, and the good old fashioned hack and run (attack and them run like crazy). Then I tried it on the computer version and got rid of her essential status, then beheaded her with the headsmen axe.
5747138 Wow. I'm just gonna kill her after I finish the Thieves Guild.
5747180 I not sure Maven can be killed at all, but never considered just finishing the Thieves Guild and then trying. I wish you luck with the Thieves Guild quest line, its tough at times. Not so tough if you start your character off as a thief in my opinion.
5747204 Weird considering how my Khajit has a thief build but is more of a magic knight.
5747218 Then you should have a good time dealing with the Thieves Guild. That was the last of the four factions I completed on my characters, as I usually go through the Companions, then the Dark Brotherhood, and then the College before I hit the Thieves.
5747233 I'm doing Companions, then College of Winterhold, then DESTROYED the Brotherhood. Yeah, I'm most likely going to do the Thieves Guild last.
5747244 I destroyed the Dark Brotherhood once, I was severally underpowered, undergeared, and unprepared for what was coming my way. The assassins are formidable fighters, but I've turned to just do the entire faction and then ignore the Night Mother FOREVER. Never liked her eerie voice.
5747285 There's another way to destroy the DB. You know when after you kill Grelod and go to bed? Well, instead of killing the other kidnap victims, you can just kill Astrid instead, then kill the Brotherhood!? Only drawback is that Cicero and the Night Mother lives.
5747294 Yeah, I only meant that I followed that line and was just not prepared to fight them all. I think one of them even beheaded me. Had to come back at a later level and managed to wipe them out.
We say goodbye to one part of the story, and some certain people, and say hello to another one.
Its time for the Dawnguard DLC.
One of the few reasons I'm an Imperial soldier is because of the logos. Dragon vs bear, dragon wins 99.9% of the time, because, you know, flight and fire/ice breath.
8259111
what if dragon cat size ?