24: Sky Haven Temple
With the artifacts of both Hircine and Clavicus Vile secured in her chest, and both Barbas and the Rueful Axe taken to back to Vile's realm of Oblivion, Sunset and her friends departed from Haemar's Shame. Sunset was tired of running from one Daedric Prince to another, despite the fact that she knew that she needed their artifacts to be secured from Tirek, so her plan was to return to her keep. There were other pieces of her alliance that needed to fall into place, pieces that she was currently missing and would add to the effectiveness of their chances of defeating the demon.
Sunset had no idea what she would do next, though she was sure that her friends were tired of listening to one Daedric Prince talk to them, only for them to find another and start the process all over again.
As the day gave way to the night they walked across the hidden mountain pass that Barbas was kind enough to show them, allowing them to arrive at Fellglow Keep much quicker than if they took the path that was labeled on the map. When they arrived Sunset was pleasantly surprised to find that Tolfdir was accepting some new students into the keep, ones that, she was told, had come with the express purpose to fight the demon that had destroyed Azura's Shrine. It pained her to hear that Tirek had destroyed yet another landmark, but it was countered by the joy that there were still people in Nirn that were hearing about all of this and were willing to risk their lives to defend their home.
"Ah, Dragon Priestess, there you are," Delphine commented, standing beside the opening to the keep as Sunset's friends headed to their chambers for the night, "I need to have a word with you."
"And that would be?" Sunset asked, kind of curious as to what the women wanted this time, remembering the last time they went somewhere she wanted her to kill a dragon.
"Esbern and I have discovered the resting place of Alduin's Wall," Delphine replied, looking pleased with herself for helping the old man discover the location, "Look, I know that your allied with the dragons as a result of the current crisis, but there are some secrets there that we might be able to use against your enemy. Plus there's supposed to be plenty of leftover armor and weapons that I'm sure that we can put to good use around here."
"So where is this Wall supposed to be located?" Sunset asked, wondering why she had the feeling that the women was lying to her, that there was another motive for wanting to find the Wall.
"The Karthspire," Delphine answered, pulling out her magic and showing her the area that she and Esbern had circled earlier, "in the Karth River Valley, near Markarth. Your not busy gathering Deadric Artifacts at the moment, so I figured that we could take a small journey to the area and investigate what the ancient Blades left behind for us to use. Then, once we're done, you can travel to Markarth, where I've heard rumors of Daedra Worshipers either defiling the dead or performing some strange ritual in one of the houses."
Sunset wasn't at all surprised to hear about another Daedric Prince, or more like the worshipers, though she was somewhat surprised to hear that Markarth might have two of them plaguing their citizens. After all, she had taken to reading Fiona's journal a little more and knew that some of the Princes' liked to be in the same area as another one. She supposed that, as long as they were heading in the direction of Markarth, that they could pop into the city and investigate the rumors that she was being told about. There was always the chance that the rumors would involve one of the Princes that she's already dealt with, which in some ways would be rather annoying.
Though there was always the chance that there was a Prince she hadn't interacted with, leaving another of the nine remaining Daedric Artifacts out in the open.
"Very well Delphine, I shall consider heading to this Karthspire," Sunset eventually said, walking up the stairs to her chamber before turning around and facing the women, "but heed what I'm about to tell you; I shall not come to a decision until I have had an opportunity to speak with my friends and hear their thoughts on the situation. Good night, Delphine."
"Good night, Priestess," Delphine replied, though Sunset could still hear some of her anger on the tip of her tongue, just as she turned around and left the keep.
Sunset sighed as she entered her chambers, where she had both the Staff of Magnus and the Dawnbreaker disappear as she laid on her bed, staring up at the ceiling for a moment. She briefly wondered if the hatred that was festering in Delphine's heart would ever be extinguished, or if she was destined to forever hate both the dragons and the Thalmor. She was still grateful that she was keeping herself in check around Elenwen, though she was sure that, if it hadn't been for the alliance, Delphine would have taken her sword and slain Elenwen the moment she entered the area around the keep. Though she also had to wonder what other motive Delphine might have for wanting to find Alduin's Wall, the motive that she knew was there and yet couldn't see.
She sighed once more before closing her eyes, allowing herself to drift to sleep before she had a talk with her friends over what their next move should be.
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When Sunset woke up she briefly stretched her arms and legs before climbing out of her bed, where she proceeded to head for the door and meet up with her friends. As she exited her chambers she was pleased to find that the keep was full of activity, thanks to several new apprentices showing up to learn magic to combat the destruction that was happening to Skyrim. As she walked towards the entrance to the keep she spotted several apprentices having some trouble with their spell, so she took a moment to walk over and observe what they were doing. When the apprentices noticed her and bowed she simply smiled to them and beckoned for them to watch her perform the ice spike spell they were having problems with, much to their joy.
Sunset was much more skilled in the art of Fire Magic, but thanks to her training under Princess Celestia she was as skilled as Princess Twilight was in certain aspects of magic, though she was lacking in other areas.
Once the apprentices were shown how to properly cast the spell Sunset resumed her walk and exited the keep, where she found her friends cooking breakfast. She was pleased to note that the rebuilding of the crumbling walls was already underway, so that way they could fortify their position against those that decided to side with Tirek. She took a moment to observe the building that was happening all around the keep, spotting that new stone roads were being installed in the three directions that one could enter the courtyard of the keep through. There were also plenty of houses and stores being added all around the keep, though she also noted what appeared to be a barracks and the beginnings of a fishing area near the river.
"They have been quite busy," Bjorn commented, standing next to Sunset as she observed the progress, "Elenwen did not lie to you Sunset, she's been hard at work whipping this place into shape for your army."
"I suspected that she would remain true to her word," Sunset said, turning back to the area where her friends were sitting down, "Soon both the Imperial Legion and the Stormcloaks will wonder if they have a new ally, or a new enemy, to deal with as the keep gets closer to completion. I hope that, when that time comes, that I will be able to send you guys to the leaders of each faction and request a peaceful gathering between us and them, so that we might gather more allies to combat Tirek."
Bjorn nodded his agreement and they rejoined their friends, where they proceeded to share the morning meal and laugh at one of the stories that Fiona decided to share with them. It was one of the memories from before she became a vampire and met her sisters, back before the Oblivion Crisis happened and reshaped the empire. She had bet her septims on the Champion from the Blue Team winning the final match against the Arena Champion, after having destroyed everyone on the Yellow Team, but she had been pleased by what happened next. The Arena Champion was cut down in front of everyone, much to the dismay of those around her, and she collected her winnings before leaving the Imperial City.
The septims, Fiona had told them, came in quite useful after she became a vampire, as they allowed her to buy a carriage ride out of Cyrodiil once the Oblivion Crisis was over. Sunset suspected that there was a story behind how she became a vampire to begin with, though Fiona obviously didn't want to discuss it and she wasn't about to ask anyway.
"Ah, Priestess, there you are," Delphine said, appearing by the camp with Esbern standing beside her, "I take it that you and your friends have had the opportunity to discuss heading to Karthspire?"
"Give us a few more minutes Delphine," Sunset told the women, though she was sure that it only made her angrier with her, "This isn't something that can be taken lightly; asking the Dragonborn to deviate from the path that she has chosen for herself."
Delphine stared at her for a moment, causing those around them to wonder if she was going to draw her sword and strike Sunset down where she sat, before she sighed and walked away, promising to return in ten minutes to ask again.
"Seriously? The Karthspire?" Fiona asked, turning to Sunset for a moment, "What does she and Esbern expect to find there? A dwemer device that will allow you to destroy Tirek without having to go through the effort of fighting him?"
"Apparently she thinks there's weapons and armor we can put to use hidden there," Sunset replied, not surprised to find that the majority of her friends were upset, though Lydia seemed overjoyed with the idea of finding more people to fight, "though even I can tell that she has another reason for wanting to go there. I'm not sure that its worth the effort to go there, but Markarth is literally in the vicinity of the Karthspire and there's supposed to be two more artifacts waiting there. I figure that, if this trip to the Karthspire is a bust, then we're already halfway to Markarth and we can walk into the city for the artifacts that you've listed in your journal."
"Essentially two birds and one stone," Cicero commented, rubbing his chin as he got a mental image that Sunset didn't want to even consider thinking about, "Laughter approves of this plan."
Sunset sighed and watched as the rest of her friends voiced their opinion to visit the Karthspire, and Markarth soon after that, though Fiona was the last one to do so before Sunset called Delphine back over.
"I take it that you have reached a decision?" Delphine asked, her tone clearly telling those around her that she didn't want them to be wasting her time again, "Or am I going to have to wait until you return with several more Daedric Artifacts?"
"We're heading to Karthspire," Sunset said, still wondering what else could be there for the women to ask for them to journey there, "Just stick close to me and my friends and we'll reach our destination in no time."
Delphine, now looking quite pleased once more, nodded her understanding and, not a few minutes later, the group of eight were on their way to the Reach, leaving the safety of the keep behind.
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As it turned out getting even close to the Karthspire proved to be quite the challenge, as there were many bandit groups that wanted them to hand over their valuables or surrender their lives. Bjorn and Lydia took the most pleasure in dealing with them, as Lydia hacked at them while Bjorn loosed his arrows into the kinks of their armor, where it was at its weakest. It was at this time that Sunset wanted to limit them on what they collected, though Raja continued to find gemstones everywhere, how she didn't understand, and encountered a few pieces of ebony armor, which were gifted to Lydia first.
One time they reached a river that held a stronghold of bandits on the other side, though Cicero giggled in delight before heading into the water and entered the stronghold through a back entrance. Not a few minutes later Sunset could hear several bandits shouting at each other, all the while seeing the jester sneaking around and picking off those that weren't expecting him. Soon the place was quite and he beckoned them forward once more, allowing them to briefly collect any loot they could find before they continue along their way. Sunset was also annoyed that Delphine had read the map wrong, as they were supposed to have made a turn before the river and had to backtrack to the crossroads, where they made the turn they should have made earlier.
Despite all of that they eventually reached their destination, though by the time they did so the light was slowly going away, though it gave Raja and Cicero the advantage over whoever might be waiting for them at the Karthspire.
"Careful around here," Bjorn commented as they approached their destination, his hand reaching for his bow once more, "I have been around this area, hunting dangerous animals, before and the Forsworn that call the Reach their home are not to be taken lightly. They do not like having people visit their homes and are known to attack and capture those they defeat, so that they can use them in their sacrificial rituals. I'd advise against alerting them to our presence and seeing if we can simply sneak into the area that we need to be in... otherwise this might not turn out so good."
Then, just as Bjorn finished speaking, a roar tore open the clouds above the Karthspire and a green scaled dragon descended from the sky, his gaze locked squarely on the Forsworn before him. As the Forsworn realized that they were under attack they gathered their weapons and immediately began to loose their arrows at the dragon. Sunset briefly wondered if they could bypass the entire fight, but knowing that the dragon was an ally, and letting it die would reflect poorly on her in Alduin's eyes, she summoned her staff and walked out of her hiding spot.
It was as if time slowed down around her, as both the dragon and the Forsworn stopped to stare at her, both forces wondering if she was an ally or an enemy, before Sunset summoned a fireball into her left hand and blasted one of the Forsworn in the chest, knocking him into the side of the ruins around them. The dragon seemed to roar in laughter as he tore into several of the warriors that had loosed their arrows at him, though Sunset didn't really care about it. As long as the dragon reported to Alduin that she was abiding by the terms to not slay his kind, in return for whatever aid he could give her, then she would let him laugh as much as he wanted.
"Is she insane?" Delphine asked, watching Sunset and the dragon destroy the Forsworn, while her friends remained behind, "Alduin is nowhere to be seen, so why doesn't she just turn her magic on the dragon and tear it out of the sky?"
"There is a larger threat to everyone besides the dragons," Esbern commented, also watching the fight unfold, "Alduin knows of Tirek's existence, though he is too prideful to let someone else come in and simply destroy all of Nirn in his place. No, Alduin wants this demon destroyed before he can continue on his quest to erase our world and, as such, he'll gladly join forces with the person that he believes is the key to Tirek's downfall. Killing a dragon here and there will simply weaken the deal that the two of them made, until it comes to a point where not even Alduin will allow her to continue to live.
I admit Delphine, Sunset's plan to build an alliance to combat Tirek sounds insane, but people are gathering in her fortress and an army is forming to slay the demon. Once Tirek is dead I am sure that we'll be able to determine whose side the Dragonborn is truly on, though for our sake I pray to the Divines that she picks the people of Nirn."
Sunset glanced at the rest of the ruins around the Karthspire, to be sure that there were no more Forsworn that needed to be dealt with, before she turned to the dragon that had descended from the clouds.
"Peace Dragonborn," the dragon said, speaking in his natural tongue, which Sunset clearly understood, "I had heard that you were powerful, though I had to see for myself. You are a powerful ally."
"I thank you for the aid," Sunset replied, somewhat glad that the dragon wasn't going to attack her in the end, "and I am glad to meet the standards that you have heard about."
The dragon roared and took off, traveling into the air before disappearing, allowing her friends, including Delphine and Esbern, to approach her without worrying about the dragon attacking them. Sunset turned towards the mountain they had come to investigate and immediately spotted an entrance in the mountainside, directing them towards the opening. Once inside they found two more Forsworn waiting for them, but Lydia, annoyed that she couldn't fight the force of enemies outside, charged forward and took the head of her enemies without giving them a chance to defend themselves.
Sunset nodded and they advanced into the cave, finding an open area that had a staircase that led them to a platform that had three pedestals waiting for them. It was at that point that Esbern mentioned that the symbols on the pedestals were Akaviri in origin, though he pointed to the one that looked like two dragon heads and an arrow, saying that it was the symbol for Dragonborn. Sunset really didn't have to think about it as she turned the other two pedestals to the same symbol that Esbern had pointed out, before the stone walkway nearby fell into place and allowed them to move on.
The second chamber they came to had a bunch of symbols on the ground, to which Sunset assumed they were pressure plates and spotted the same symbol as the one on the pedestals. She beckoned for her friends to stand back as she carefully walked across the plates, keeping herself on the one that was for the Dragonborn until she was standing before a pillar. She looked at it for a moment, studying the stonework, before pulling the lever and deactivating the traps that had been set before, allowing them to move on once more. They then crossed the newly formed stone walkway and rounded a corner, where Sunset discovered an open area that held some sort of opening, one that was covered by a massive stone head.
The stone circle before the massive head was what caught Sunset's attention, as the moment Esbern saw it he immediately labeled it as a 'Blood Seal' and declared that it could only be activated by the Dragonborn's blood. To that Sunset dismissed her staff and took one of the orcish daggers they had collected out of her pouch, to which she cut her left hand open just a bit. When the stone circle started to move and something began to unlock Sunset smiled and sealed the wound up, before approaching the newly revealed passageway behind the stone head.
When they entered the hidden fortress and walked up the stone stairs Sunset was slightly amazed that something like this could have been hidden for so long, all without someone else discovering it. Then she saw the Wall, the masterwork of the Akaviri craftsman that depicted a battle between dragons and man, though it told of other events as well.
"Yes, yes, let's see what we have here," Esbern commented, walking up to the wall with a torch in his right hand, before he beckoned to the leftmost side of the wall, "Look, here is Alduin! This panel goes back to the beginning of time, when Alduin and the Dragon Cult ruled over Skyrim. Here, the humans rebel against their dragon overlords - the legendary Dragon War. Alduin's defeat is the centerpiece of the Wall. You see, here he is falling from the sky. The Nord Tongues - masters of the Voice - are arrayed against him."
"So does it show how they defeated him?" Delphine asked, revealing the reason as to why they wanted to come to this hidden fortress in the first place, "Isn't that why we're here?"
"Patience my dear," Esbern said, shaking his head ever so slightly, "The Akaviri were not a straightforward people. Everything is couched in allegory and mythic symbolism. Yes, yes. This here, coming from the mouths of the Nord heroes - this is the Akaviri symbol for 'Shout'. But... this is no way to know what Shout is meant."
"You mean they used a Shout to defeat Alduin?" Delphine asked, almost as if she was surprised by that fact, "You're sure?"
"Oh yes," Esbern replied, as if he had expected the question and had his answer ready for her, "Presumably something rather specific to dragons, or even Alduin himself. Remember, this is where they recorded everything they knew about Alduin and his return."
"Damn it," Delphine said, turning to Sunset, who had been silently watching them the entire time, "Well, I had hoped to avoid involving the Greybeards, but it doesn't seem like we have a choice. You're going to have to go back to High Hrothgar and ask them if they know about this Shout that was used against Alduin."
"Good luck with that," Sunset replied, which caused the women to glare at her with anger in her eyes, "My fight is with Tirek, not with Alduin and the dragons. And I knew you were hiding something from me Delphine, though I never expected something like this."
"See Esbern? Its exactly like I told you," Delphine commented, turning her head back to the old man for a moment, "She's helped so many Daedric Princes that she's been corrupted by their evil, as she won't even consider the fact that she needs to eventually fight Alduin."
"Evil am I?" Sunset asked, before laughing, much to the worry of everyone around her, "Trust me Delphine, I've done some terrible things in the past before I came to Nirn. I separated people into different social groups, made them fear me least I turn my fury on them, and I even returned to my home world, stole a magical artifact, and became a demon myself. It was only because Princess Twilight saved me from myself that I was able to learn from my mistakes, before I even had a chance to succeed with my plan on bringing an army into Equestria. I've been evil before, but now I fight the ultimate evil; Tirek.
Oh, and trust me on this Delphine, if I was evil you'd be seeing more of the She Demon form of me, instead of the unicorn that's trying to defend this world."
With that old wound now reopened, as much as she wanted it to remain closed, Sunset turned around and left the area that she now knew was called Sky Haven Temple. As far as she was concerned Delphine and Esbern could use this place as a hidden Blades outpost, though she silently hoped that they would come to their senses and come back to the keep, where they were needed. She also knew that, now that she had learned some things that she would have preferred to not have heard, she was going to have to head back to High Hrothgar eventually.
She sighed as she exited the temple, knowing that her next destination was Markath and the Daedric Princes that were followers were rumored to be hiding in the city. Soon two more artifacts would be safe from Tirek, though she hoped that she was moving quick enough to counter the demon's every move.
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For once, I want Delphine to keep her thoughts to herself at least until Sunset beats Tirek. Offing the dragons will mean that Sunset would earn the ire of both the Dragon Priests and Alduin. Umm... does anyone remember where Fellglow Keep is located?
6951146 Near Whiterun, in the mountains. Shearpoint, Krosis' burial ground, is located on the flip side of the same mountain.
And I agree, Delphine needs to shut up about the dragons until Tirek is done for.
Now only one question remains; which Prince will she interact with first?
Will Sunset meet Molag Bal and acquire his mace?
Or will she encounter Namira and recover her ring?
I wonder, will she get sent to prison? Considering this story loosely follows the game's questlines aside from her freedom of choice and the pliant nature of those she could convince to aid her. Having the Foresworn on her ever growing list of allies would be interesting to see, since the hagravens (and in turn witch covens) are sometimes associated with them, more groups of magic users can be safeguarded from Tirek's reach.
Though their allegiance would be hard to keep when it comes to dealing in the Sybil's retrieval but of course this all speculates if anyone can even throw her in jail, much less if she even wants the Foresworn's help in the first place
6951146 Agreed, she needs to shut up, even if Sunset starts killing dragons it's not guaranteed she'd get the souls since the Miraak dlc is active, he'll just pop in and go "Yoink, mine now~" and disappear. Yet another plot she needs to finish before she leaves Nirn
6951805 I cringe on either
If Molag Bal, she'll be forced to kill Tyranus of the Vigilant of Stendarr and a follower of Boethiah
If Namira, she kills a priest and eats him...
Triple homocide with a side of cannibal, until Boethiah, this will be one of her lowest points in the series
6952211 Don't forget about Lord Harkon. He can't exactly plunge Nirn in darkness if there's no one to feed on. Tirek's also gonna eventually absorb Lord Harkon and Miraak.
6952217 Dang, that is a possibility, if he can't get the Princes, might as well take those that are closely attuned to them.
Molag Bal- Harkon
Hermaeus Mora- Miraak
Though it's distasteful, I'd prefer if Tirek takes all of the artifacts from Princes that involve more, unsavory tasks to obtain their artifacts. I don't think Sunset can recovery, morally and mentally, if she completes them.
6952241 Wait, don't forget about Mephala.
6952211 I only mean it in the sense of wondering which was first. I, too, cringe every time I enter Markarth with the purpose of doing the Daedric Quests... I really don't like Molag Bal and Namira.
Wouldn't it be funny if someone had already beaten Sunset to one of the artifacts, say Namira for instance, and left a clue as to where the ring was located. It would sure save her having to interact with that Daedric Prince.
6952260 Tirek would've definitely have liked the Ebony blade if he doesn't eat Mephala, for all of those followers that he gains and eats, he could've been killing them to rack up the sword's power.
6952942 Author's convenience if that happens
6952211 except miraak doesn't start yoinking souls until after seeing him in apocrypha for the first time
6953055 It's a different world to the game, we have dragons, blades, Thalmor and Dragon Priests in an alliance, I wouldn't be surprised if the Dawnguard dlc starts meddling in with all the chaos happening now.
6953033 True, but here's another idea. What if one (or both) of Markarth's Daedric Artifacts were taken by one of Tirek's underlings, one that's more successful than the others? Though instead of handing them over immediately he/she is trying to gather the ones that Sunset hasn't reached yet.
This way Sunset wouldn't go insane after Namira's quest... though its just an idea.
We're on the road to Markarth... and to the death of Brother Tyranus.
Burn