• Published 21st Mar 2016
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Sonata's Crazy and Wacky Adventure in Skyrim - Sonata Blaze



After the Battle of the Bands the Sirens end up leaving one of their own behind. Sonata, lost and alone in the world, returns to the place where one life ended, determined to start anew in a new world.

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7: Journey to Iverstead

"I can't believe it," one of the guards, this one wearing a helmet that showed the man's face, said as he appeared beside Sonata, "Your Dragonborn!"

"Say what?" Sonata asked, completely confused at to what had just happened, though it appeared that the majority of the guards, including Irileth, were in the same boat with her.

"Dragonborn are legendary heroes throughout Tamriel's history," Kree informed her friend, shaking her head as she looked at the guard for a moment, "and they often refer to one of two things; the first is a hero that is supposed to overcome many obstacles and save the world from complete destruction, or something like that... I'm not completely sure on the first one. The second one is a hero with the ability to call upon the Thu'um and devour the souls of slain dragons... sort of like what you did just now."

"You mean I ate that dragon's soul?!" Sonata gasped, already feeling sick just by thinking about it.

"Yes, and you gained that dragon's knowledge directly," the guard replied, as if he actually well versed with the legend of the Dragonborn, "at least, that's what I heard what else happens when a dragon's soul is devoured. Now try to Shout, just like the Dragonborn of old."

Sonata looked at Kree for a moment, silently asking her friend what the guard meant by trying to Shout, but Kree merely shook her head and returned to studying the dragon, meaning she either knew and wasn't saying anything, or that she had no idea as well. She sighed and wondered if it was like when she wanted to use her Siren powers, before they were broken, so she decided to reach into her being and see what she could do. She figured that she could at least try to use this new power of hers, seeing how the mere mention of the Dragonborn seemed to rally the guards.

She concentrated for a moment and then shouted at the sky, using her own voice and not any words, but after a few seconds nothing happened, to which one of the other guards asked if the first one had been drinking something called skooma before the battle. Once she realized that she had failed, in front of the people who had called her a hero no less, she turned to Kree and asked what she was doing wrong, to which Kree continued to hold her silence on what she actually knew. She did, however, offer her the idea of listening to what was inside her, though Sonata sighed and closed her eyes once more, intending to get this right... for the people who were terrified of the return of the dragons.

This time she waited for a few more seconds as she searched her being for whatever power that dragon had unlocked, though after those seconds passed she could have sworn she heard one word constantly repeat itself... so much so that she felt the need to repeat it once herself.

"FUS!" Sonata shouted, though when the word escaped her lips she heard the sound of a force of energy push outwards and hit the people in front of her, to which she heard the guards grunt as if they had been hit.

"The Thu'um..." Irileth said, staring at Sonata as she opened her eyes, only to find that almost everyone around her was staring at her, as if she was the answer to all of their problems, "...well then, we should tell Jarl Balgruuf about this... development."

Sonata and Kree followed Irileth back to Whiterun, while the guards that had survived the assault were picking up the pieces of the dragon's body... so that Farengar would have something to study. The trio quickly returned to the city, though when they reached the stables they heard a voice shout the word Dovahkiin through the air, to which Sonata was sure that the sky had shook for a moment. As they passed through the city Sonata was shocked to see several of the guards salute her after they had returned, though she suspected it was because they had returned alive and the guards believed that they had succeeded in their mission... without knowing if they had actually succeeded or not.

When they finally entered Dragonsreach, to which Sonata noticed that everyone was still up, Irileth ran up to the throne and stood beside the Jarl, while beckoning for Sonata and Kree to step forward.

"So what happened at the watchtower?" the Jarl asked, waiting until both Kree and Sonata came to a stop before his throne before asking his question, "Was the dragon there?"

"The watchtower was destroyed, Jarl Balgruuf," Kree replied, though Sonata merely nodded her head while her friend spoke, not wanting to say something wrong, "but we killed the dragon."

"I knew I could count on Irileth." Balgruuf said, letting out a sigh before staring at them again, "But there must be more to it than that."

"That's because when the dragon died, I absorbed some kind of power from it." Sonata admitted, knowing that either Irileth or Kree would have told the Jarl that she was apparently the Dragonborn... though she was still confused about what that actually meant.

"So it's true. The Greybeards really were summoning you." Balgruuf replied, referring to the voice that had shook the air, but went into an explanation when he noticed Sonata's confused expression, "Masters of the Way of the Voice. They live in seclusion high on the slopes of the Throat of the World. The Dragonborn is said to be uniquely gifted in the Voice - the ability to focus your vital essence into a Thu'um, or Shout. If you really are Dragonborn, they can teach you how to use your gift."

"Didn't you hear the thundering sound as you returned to Whiterun?" the warrior to Balgruuf's left asked, to which several of them turned to look at him for a moment, "That was the voice of the Greybeards, summoning you to High Hrothgar! This hasn't happened in ... centuries, at least. Not since Tiber Septim himself was summoned when he was still Talos of Atmora!"

"Hrongar, calm yourself." Proventus said, causing the nord to turn towards him, "What does any of this Nord nonsense have to do with our friend here? Capable as she may be, I don't see any signs of her being this, what, 'Dragonborn'."

"Nord nonsense?!" Hrongar nearly shouted, clearly offended by what Proventus had said, "Why you puffed-up ignorant... these are our sacred traditions that go back to the founding of the First Empire!"

"Hrongar. Don't be so hard on Avenicci." Balgruuf countered, trying to get the two of them to stop arguing with each other, reminding Sonata of the times that she and Aria would argue and that Adagio would have to separate them.

"I meant no disrespect, of course." Proventus replied, to which Hrongar growled at him for a moment to indicate that he was annoyed, "It's just that... what do these Greybeards want with her?"

"That's the Greybeards' business, not ours." Balgruuf said, sighing for a moment before turning to Sonata, "Whatever happened when you killed that dragon, it revealed something in you, and the Greybeards heard it. If they think you're Dragonborn, who are we to argue? You'd better get up to High Hrothgar immediately. There's no refusing the summons of the Greybeards. It's a tremendous honor."

"Then that is what we shall do!" Sonata eagerly said, overjoyed that she was being summoned by the Greybeards themselves, as she figured that they might be able to teach her how to control her new powers.

"One more thing before you go," the Jarl said, beckoning Sonata forward so he could give her a steel war axe, "You've done a great service for me and my city, Dragonborn. By my right as Jarl, I name you Thane of Whiterun. It's the greatest honor that's within my power to grant. I assign you Lydia as a personal Housecarl, and this weapon from my armory to serve as your badge of office. I'll also notify my guards of your new title. Wouldn't want them to think you're part of the common rabble, now would we? We are honored to have you as Thane of our city, Dragonborn."

Sonata happily grinned as Kree pulled on her shoulder, allowing her friend to pull her away from the throne so the Jarl and his Housecarl could discuss, in great detail, what had happened at the watchtower. The duo found the Housecarl in question waiting by the entrance of Dragonsreach, though she seemed to be bored of waiting for something interesting to happen. When they approached her she saluted Sonata and indicated that she would gladly give her life to protect her Thane, though Sonata told her that she hoped that she wouldn't need to go through with that in the future.

As the trio made their way out of Dragonsreach, to which Sonata discovered that nighttime was rapidly approaching, Kree suggested that they visit the Bannered Mare and rent a room for the night. She decided that Kree had a good idea and the trio walked down to the tavern, where they rented their room and got something to eat, as both Kree and Sonata hadn't had the chance to actually eat something between getting the Dragonstone and killing the dragon. Once they had something to eat, and they had listened to the bard play a song called Ragnar the Red that caused Sonata to gag by how bad he sung the song, they retired to their room for the night.

Lydia sat in one of the chairs and merely fell asleep, but not before promising that she would awaken at the first sign of danger, before Sonata and Kree climbed into the bed and drifted off to sleep.

------------------------

When morning arrived the trio, now recharged from a good nights sleep, went downstairs and got themselves something light for breakfast, before they sat at a table and determined their route to Iverstead. Lydia, well versed in the art of reading maps since that's all she had really done after becoming a housecarl, indicated that they could follow the road for a while before moving into the mountain... though she also offered a route the cut through the mountain itself. Kree respected what Lydia offered to them, because she turned to Sonata and told her that she could make the decision, seeing how she was the Dragonborn.

In the end Sonata decided to follow the road, as she was completely new to this world and didn't want to get lost by traveling into the mountains, where there were few roads to begin with. With the decision made the three of them left the Bannered Mare and walked out into Whiterun once more, where they walked down the street and approached the main gate. The guards saluted them as they walked passed them, to which Sonata merely returned the gesture as they eventually made their way out of the city. The moment they were outside Lydia pointed at the main road and beckoned to the left, where she traced the road that they needed to follow to reach their destination.

They passed by a bandit camp that was built into the mountain itself, but both Kree and Lydia said that it wasn't worth clearing out, as they had not yet been noticed by the bandits. As they progressed further down the road they were attacked by a trio of wolves, which Lydia killed before they had a chance to reach Sonata or Kree. When they started descending Sonata noticed what appeared to be two towers that were connected by a bridge, to which Lydia proclaimed that this location was known as Valtheim Towers... though she also indicated that it was another bandit hideout.

As they approached the towers, in the hopes of passing through without being stopped, one of the bandits approached them and made them stop in their tracks.

"This is our road, and there's a toll if you want to use it," the female bandit said, lifting her battleaxe over her shoulder and planting the head in the ground, as an attempt to intimidate them into giving her what she wanted, "Two hundred gold per person and you'll be moving along in no time... or I'll take your heads and present all your treasure to my boss."

"My Thane, may I have the honors?" Lydia asked, her hand slowly reaching towards her belt, to which the bandit had no idea if it was for the money or the weapon.

"Go right ahead," Sonata said, to which Lydia drew her sword and swung at the bandit's neck, severing her head before she knew what hit her, "Huh, that was impressive. Now then, do we let the rest of the bandits live, or should we get a move on?"

"Well, Lydia managed to alert the rest of the guards with how loud the body fell," Kree commented, collecting the dead bandit's arrows and coins, before getting to her feet and pulling her bow out, "so we really don't have a choice in the matter. They'll chase us down and likely bring other groups in on the hunt if we avoid them, so its better to wipe them out now."

Sonata sighed and charged up the stairs, where the three of them discovered that there were at least ten more bandits waiting for them, separated between the two towers. Lydia charged across the bridge and Kree followed, leaving Sonata to made due with the tower they had been climbing before they reached the bridge. She turned towards the open doorway and found a bandit coming towards her, but she steeled herself and caught the bandit's arm with her hand, before using her sword to sever his hand off. She then spun around and drove her blade into his heart, but before she could be glad with dealing with one enemy she spotted two more warriors coming down the stairs.

She advanced on them and parried the attack that the first one threw at her, before ducking under the second one and rolling behind them as she though of a plan. As she picked herself up she parried their attacks once more, reading their movements with their weapons and looking for flaws in their technique, before spotting what she was looking for. One bandit charged at her with his sword, but as he did so his companion did the same, to which Sonata parried the first attack, grabbed that bandits arm, and drove his blade into his partner's chest. Before either had time to react she twisted the arm of the second bandit and drove his blade into the first's chest, before she pushed them backwards and let them bleed out.

"Ah ha!" a voice above her said, to which she looked up to find a bandit pointing a bow at her, with an arrow already prepared, "I've got you know you son of a..."

The bandit never finished his statement, as an arrow tore through his head and knocked him into the air, dropping his body to the ground around the tower. She climbed up to where the bandit had been waiting and looked across the bridge, to which she spotted Kree and Lydia at the top of the other tower, to which she spotted Kree putting her bow back where it belonged. With the towers cleared the three of them rejoined at the opening of the first tower, where they informed Sonata that they had found a hundred gold coins, several fine gemstones, a spell tome that she could look at later, and a strange stone that Kree knew was tied to one of the Daedric Princes. She only took it because she didn't want whatever that Prince's artifact was to fall into the wrong hands, so Sonata merely sighed and stored it in their bags before they got underway.

They walked for a good hour to two hours before they came to another fortress, though this time Sonata could see that mages had overrun the place.

"Damn, they even have a Fire Mage standing guard over the entrance," Kree growled, as Sonata had wanted to check it out before they moved on, before beckoning to the flaming staff the one mage held, "I guess we could always try sneaking around to the back and finding another way inside... all of these fortresses have a secret exit that the occupants use to escape."

Before Sonata could voice her opinion on the subject, which was actually moving on with their journey to Iverstead, Lydia stood up and drew her weapon once more.

"LEEEEROOOOOY JENKINS!" Lydia shouted, charging at the fortress before approaching the first mage, to which she swiftly removed its head before moving inside.

"Is... is she always like this?" Sonata asked, sighing as she let some lightning wrap around her left arm.

"I seriously hope not," Kree replied, more annoyed that their plan, rough as it was, had been shattered by the housecarl, "We had better go in and help her."

So the two of them followed after Lydia, where Kree knocked off the mage that held the staff and let her fall to the ground, so that they would have a better chance at besting her. Sonata, seeing her chance, slid under the mage as she picked herself back up and cut out her legs, forcing her back to the ground as she attempted to heal herself. That was before her head jerked forward and hit the ground, allowing Sonata to see the arrow that Kree had put in back of the mage's head, to which she grabbed the staff and moved towards the remaining mages.

Several mages poured out of the main fortress, likely drawn out by the shouting Sonata determined, and they zeroed in on the two of them, while Lydia ran to the top of a tower to fight whoever was up there. Sonata, noticing that the five remaining mages were all near each other, got an idea in her head and sucked in her breath for a moment, to which she reached for her new power. Once she had her power this time she turned towards the mages and released the Word, knocking them back for a moment and giving the two of them time to reach their enemies. One mage immediately picked himself back up, but Sonata snapped her left hand up and released the lightning she had been gathering, which collided with the mage's chest and knocked him into the side of the fortress.

Once that was done the two of them cleaned up the remainder of the mages, though when they were done with the mages Lydia came down from the tower and presented Sonata with her trophy, a staff that had ice on it. After a few moments of looting the bodies, which provided them with a wide number of alchemy ingredients, souls gems, a few more spell tomes, and some enchanted armor. Sonata sighed as she leaned against one of the walls of the fortress, already tired out from having to fight two massive groups of enemies... making her wonder how Lydia and Kree were still standing.

"Do you mind if we take a break for an hour?" Sonata asked, looking up at Kree for a moment, who sighed as she sat beside Sonata.

"Might as well," Kree commented, a small smile appearing on her face, "Besides, we'll still have six to seven hours to reach Iverstead before night falls, giving us plenty of time to reach our destination before the day is over."

Sonata nodded, knowing that she would eventually have the endurance that both Lydia and Kree had, but until then she would need to rest every now and then before moving onward. Besides, she had some spell tomes to read before they departed and she knew that they might have an ability or two she could use to their benefit later on.