Dragon: The Decision
Upon returning to Winterhold, with no further interruptions, Amaryllis and her companions climbed onto the carriage once more before Lydia got them underway, heading towards Ivarstead, not to mention the Throat of the World, giving them all a chance to go over everything that had happened so far and prepare themselves for what they reached the area that their dragon ally lived in, as Paarthurnax was waiting for Za'kera's answer before they did anything else. Amaryllis had no idea what was going through her friend's mind at the moment, even though she could tell that Za'kera was confident in what she had decided on after they obtained the Elder Scroll, which was more than enough for her right now, where she suspected that they might be taking the fight to the Aldmeri Dominion and showing them that their plans for Nirn were unacceptable, especially since they involved the end of everything. As she thought about that, however, she also noticed that Ma'jera had claimed the cube from what remained of Septimus' body, which had been his robes oddly enough, and seemed to be in the middle of reading the vast information that was written on the Elder Scroll that rested inside the storage chest she could summon and dismiss at will, something she felt might be a bad thing since the Khajiit Arch-Mage was the daughter of the Daedric Prince Hermaeus Mora and he seemed to have his own plans for either Za'kera or the world, hence why she came to the decision to keep an eye on her as well. Of course the Oghma Infinium floated around the floating godly child, open to what appeared to be one of the many pages that existed inside the tome, meaning she was expanding her knowledge and gathering more power from the lexicon, making her wonder how strong the Arch-Mage would be once she was done with her new studies, before she sighed and focused on their trek, or rather making sure no one dared to come at them while they were heading towards Ivarstead.
As it turned out they ended up passing a group of Stormcloaks, guards for Windhelm since they got close to the city during their journey, and another trio of Cultists attacked them, though instead of assisting them, since one might assume having people attacking travelers would be a bad thing, Amaryllis found that the Stormcloaks ignored them for the most part, as they were showing their racist side once more and it annoyed her, though Ma'jera crushed their enemies with a burst of her magic, using large ice spikes to take them out.
"You would think those guards would do their job and not allow people to attack travelers," Amaryllis commented, though before they moved she made sure to see if any of the Cultists had anything on them and recovered another staff to add to their collection, and with that done she climbed back onto the carriage and took her seat before Lydia got underway once more, allowing her to voice her opinion on the matter, especially when they left the Stormcloaks behind and focused on traveling to High Hrothgar.
"Well, that's Windhelm for you, where you'll only receive help if you're a Nord," Wind replied, informing Amaryllis that she must have encountered the guards of this city before and didn't think highly of them, not that she blamed her after what she had seen so far, though Wind shrugged as she turned her attention to the book she was reading, as Ma'jera had given her a few so she could continue her lessons and grow her power, even if it was possible she might not have the vast power that the Arch-Mage had, given what she was.
Amaryllis sighed and said nothing to that as they continued on their way to Ivarstead, because for right now she felt that it wasn't worth the headache thinking about how to make the racist city stop being racist towards everyone else, even if one were to remove whoever happened to be leading the charge, likely Ulfric when she thought about it, allowing her to keep her attention on the road in case enemies decided to come after them. For a time it looked like they would be able to just rest and not have to worry about anything, as it looked like the Legion and the Stormcloaks had cleared out some of the dangers that travelers faced, or at least it sure appeared to be that way and made her wonder if maybe another hero was clearing the roads and forts of Skyrim, where she was betting on another hero working to make life in this province better for everyone else. Of course one thing they encountered was a group of Thalmor, about five based on what Amaryllis saw, who were coming from the part of the road that was behind them, which they had just traveled down, though she wasn't the only one who noticed a group of potential enemies coming their way, as Kya jumped off the carriage as soon as she spotted them, allowing Lydia to continue onward to their destination, before she walked down towards the group that was totally following Za'kera, as when they altered their course so did the Thalmor. In the following moments she quickly drew her weapon as she rushed forward, especially after hearing the leader of the group declare that they were enemies of the Thalmor and deserved to perish right here, where the head of her scythe sliced into one of the warriors before he could do anything to stop her, before she spun around and beheaded two of the mages, only to spin her scythe around and used the base to lift herself into the air, allowing the remaining warrior to stab the leader in the chest, and landed as she swung her scythe, clearing it of blood as two more heads rolled.
At this point Amaryllis wasn't even surprised by Kya's actions or abilities, as the Argonian was skilled in using a scythe on her enemies and seemed capable of avoiding damage, though she was sure that Kya made a comment about something, what it was she had no idea since they were too far away to hear her, before their companion followed the carriage and climbed on it when Lydia paused for a few seconds, allowing them to continue towards Ivarstead and High Hrothgar, as they were interested in Za'kera's decision regarding the fate of this world.
The group reached Ivarstead a few hours later, as it was easy to reach their destination without much bothering them, all thanks to someone else clearing the road, where they stopped for a time, to let the horses rest once more and allowed the group to stretch their legs for a while, finding that most of the citizens in Ivarstead were inside the inn right now, so no one would really see them passing by, before Lydia got them underway once more and they headed up the Seven Thousand Steps once more. Sure enough Amaryllis found that nothing came out to fight them on their journey up to High Hrothgar, either due to Diane's presence, since she was the daughter of Kynareth and wild animals likely respected her, or maybe it was Ma'jera casting some sort of spell on them to make their journey faster, instead of wasting time on things like bandits or wild animals, or maybe they were just lucky and nothing wanted to mess with them, but she wasn't about to complain about this and simply rested as Lydia directed them towards their destination. Thanks to no enemies showing up, unlike the Thalmor that Kya killed earlier, they were able to make great time and reached High Hrothgar in no time, even though it did take about an hour to get up the side of the mountain, though once that was done Za'kera headed inside and the rest of the group followed after her, where each of them bowed a little to the Greybeards, save for Ma'jera since the only one she bowed to was her father, before heading over towards the other exit of the structure. Once they were outside the structure Amaryllis and Za'kera found that the path leading to Paarthurnax was no longer cleared by all of the hazards that had been in their way when they first went to speak with the one the Greybeards had been protective of, meaning all the group had to do was walk up the last part of the mountain and come to a stop at the Throat of the World, where Amaryllis knew Paarthurnax was waiting for their arrival.
Sure enough they reached their destination without running into trouble, where they found Paarthurnax resting near the ruined Word Wall that he had etched the Words for the Fire Breath Shout on earlier, so Za'kera could learn it and use it on him, though the sound of them walking caused the dragon to raise his head and discovered that they were approaching, to which he raised himself into his resting position, for when he talked to those who came up here, meaning he was done with his meditation and was ready to speak with them.
"You've returned, Dovahkiin, and with new allidro... new allies." Paarthurnax stated, once more speaking in the manner of using one or multiple words in the language of the dragons and then translating it so they understood what he was even saying, even though those who hadn't met him yet were surprised by the fact that a dragon was talking to them, and, like Amaryllis suspected, Ma'jera showed no signs of shock as she focused on the beast in front of them, who glanced over all of them for a few seconds, "Though it would appear that you were unsuccessful in your quest."
"No, we found and recovered the Elder Scroll, with some help from the Arch-Mage of the College of Winterhold, two of her staff members, and her apprentice," Za'kera replied, though this time Amaryllis found that her earlier determination had returned in full swing, as she was ready to make a decision and decide the fate of this world, before she sighed for a few seconds and focused on Paarthurnax, who seemed interested in her response and what she might do next, would she go with the established prophecy and destroy Alduin or take a different route, like Amaryllis suggested, "and I've decided not to use it to gain the Dragonrend Shout... rather, I want to track down Alduin and speak with him, so I can figure out which path I want to take."
Amaryllis, while expecting Za'kera to say something like this, wasn't expecting her to tell Paarthurnax that she wanted to speak with Alduin himself, even though she had no idea where the dragon in question was, but before anyone could say anything to that statement they heard a roar and Za'kera turned towards the open area that was in front of them, or to the right from where Paarthurnax had been meditating, just in time to see the clouds break open as a black dragon, the same one that Amaryllis had seen after her departure from Helgen, appeared before them, who landed nearby and stared down at Za'kera, who returned the gaze.
"Zu'u'm het, Dovahkiin." Alduin stated, where Amaryllis was sure that he was informing her that he had arrived, or at least that was her hopes since she didn't know the language that the dragons spoke in, though she also hoped that he was here to talk and not to fight, because with Za'kera wishing to not access the Time-Wound they likely had no weapons that could wound the dragon if he turned on them, save for Ma'jera's potent magic, though she wasn't the only one on guard as she found Wind and the others focused on the black dragon, "Hi hind wah tinvaak voth zu'u?"
"Zeymah, they do not understand our language." Paarthurnax said, reminding them that Alduin was Paarthurnax's sibling, hence why he called him 'brother' in their ancient tongue, while also taking a moment to inform his brother that they had no understanding of the language that all dragons spoke in, be it all the time or in fragments, so speaking in a common language would allow all of them to understand each other and get this conversation over with quicker, even though it was hard to tell if Alduin approved of Paarthurnax calling him 'zeymah' or if he hated it.
"Folov... you wish to speak with me, Dovahkiin?" Alduin repeated, this time mostly talking in the common tongue, all while Amaryllis was sure that the first word likely meant 'right' or something, as if he had forgotten that none of them spoke or understood the language that dragons used, while also sticking to using the term 'Dovahkiin' when he addressed Za'kera, who seemed fine with the term since it meant he was calling her 'Dragonborn', just like everyone else who knew that she was capable of killing dragons and taking their souls.
"That's correct. What I have to ask is this: what are your plans for Nirn?" Za'kera asked, because she understood that the black dragon was, according to some stories and legends, the harbinger of the end times and was believed to be the one who would destroy the world, before he became the god of the Dragon Cult and Skyrim, which lead to the Dragon War and the creation of a Shout that not even the Greybeards acknowledged, and she could tell that, without looking, she had caught most of the others off guard, "Are you going to subjugate everyone again, are you going to fulfill your duty and end our world, or are you going to tear down those who threaten the safety of this world?"
Amaryllis realized what Za'kera was talking about, she was referring to the three potential versions of the prophecy, one where Alduin continued his dark crusade and forced them to fight him, another where he likely regained part of his old self and focused on bringing a swift end to Nirn so a new world would begin, or the one that involved him joining up with Za'kera and her allies before dealing with the enemies that sought to end the world before the designated time, like the Aldmeri Dominion and their quest to bring about the end of this world.
"I am krent... broken... het ahrk ni. Here and not." Alduin stated, something that caused Amaryllis to wonder if Akatosh had a hand in what was happening right now, as she expected the black dragon to be more aggressive and not bother to answer any questions that were directed towards him, meaning she fully expected him to use this opportunity to strike down the one destined to do something, but right now she kept her guard up in case things changed, "After my ancient foes banished me I drifted through Tiid, through Time, and Bromah took a chance to speak with me, about how I turned my back on my destiny and what the future held... he even shared his plans, though I am unable to speak about what he told me. I exist in three moments, a dark version who wishes to recreate the Dragon Cult and continue ruling over the land that is around us, another where the two of us bring a swift end to this world, and another that sees an unusual future, one you were only made aware of due to your ally speaking her mind on the prophecy... all three possibilities exist, but only because you, Dovahkiin, have not made a decision. Once you have chosen your future, regardless of which it is, the other paths will disappear... that is all I can say..."
Za'kera said nothing as she listened to Alduin and considered his words, as it sounded like she was, quite literally, the one who had to make the decision on which future all of them were going to pursue and fight for, making the others wonder which path would she take, as in would she forsake her destiny and rule beside or under Alduin's claws, would she stand to the side and allow the World-Eater to bring about the end of everything so a new world would be created, or would she convince Alduin to join up with the start of her army and have him help them save Nirn from those who sought to bring ruin to everything around them, before she sighed for a moment.
"Before I commit to anything, there is something I need to ask you, Paarthurnax," Za'kera said, showing them that she was taking her time thinking about the fact that the future was literally in the palm of her hand, which might be what the Wall and the prophecy meant with 'the Wheel turns upon the Last Dragonborn' bit, something that was understandable since this had to be her first time making such a massive decision, before she turned towards the dragon who was resting of to her right, "We recently learned that this mountain is one of the ancient Towers that safeguards Nirn's existence, and that the Thalmor have been seeking to undo that existence by destroying the Stone connected to the Tower, however they do such a thing, but they have been looking for the Stone of this mountain. Do you know where this Stone is, or do we have to worry about recovering that before we do anything else?"
"Ah, the Golz... the Stone. Yes, the Heart of the North is secure." Paarthurnax stated, naming the object in question, which told Amaryllis that he knew where it was and likely had been guarding it while waiting for his brother to arrive, meaning if he died the information would be lost, where he glanced over the side of the peak, meaning that there had to be a cave or something nearby that it was resting inside, one that had to be hard to find, especially since no one could get passed the Greybeards without their approval.
"That's good, but I also have something to ask," Amaryllis said, because she had been listening to the conversation, which was interesting when she considered that Akatosh had spoken to Alduin before the latter emerged above this mountain, but there was something that she wanted to get off her chest before they waited for Za'kera to come to a decision on what path she wanted to take, hence why she turned towards the two dragons for a moment, "Alduin, you said that your father talked to you for a time and told you many things... does that mean that you trashed Helgen not to install fear in those who called Skyrim home, but rather to free Za'kera before she was executed and set her on the path that would, in time, bring her here, to you and your brother?"
"Geh. You are correct, mortal." Alduin replied, something that surprised most of the group, as they weren't expecting him to even answer the question or even acknowledge it, since someone who wasn't Za'kera had asked it, though as he gave his answer Amaryllis could see that the gears were turning in her friend's head, as the story was that Alduin had shown up just before her execution and had saved her by attacking the Imperials, though now it looked like Akatosh freed his son so he could save Za'kera and put her on the path that brought her to this point, "The dragons you encountered, Mirmulnir and Sahloknir, are ones that would rather see the mortal races put in their place and would have a hard time listening to any talk of alliances, so I called upon them to test your power, Dovahkiin, and you proved to be stronger than them, just as father told me."
That told Amaryllis something else, in the face of his father's power and everything he had been told, Alduin had sacrificed two of his kind to ensure that Za'kera was truly the Dragonborn his father was looking for, or at least it sure seemed to be that way, though before anyone said anything else she noticed that Za'kera seemed to be done thinking about what she wanted to do, something that caused the dragons to glance at her as they waited to hear what her decision might be, just like how everyone else was eager to hear what her decision might be.
"Amaryllis, would you bring out the Elder Scroll?" Za'kera asked, something that caused the group to pause for a moment, as she had said that she wasn't going to use it to learn the Dragonrend Shout, but Amaryllis realized that something must have chanced in her friend, that she was either reaching a decision or had done so and wanted to get something off her chest before they moved forward, to which she nodded and summoned her personal chest, where she withdrew the Elder Scroll as Za'kera focused on the black dragon that was staring at her, "I know you what this Elder Scroll can be used for, as someone like me can use it to peer into the past and learn Dragonrend from those who created it... let me make one thing clear: I don't care for the Shout, as I have told Arngeir and Paarthurnax that I don't desire it, that I don't want to take in all that hatred into myself... as such, my decision is that I would like the dragons to join us, with either or both of you as their leaders, so we can gather our allies and build an army that can bring down the Aldmeri Dominion, and my promise is that, as long as you remain allies of the mortal races, the knowledge of the Elder Scroll won't be used."
Amaryllis knew what this was, it was both a threat and a promise, one that Za'kera likely didn't want to make but knew that it was necessary to make someone like Alduin see that she wasn't joking at all, in fact if he had been someone else, like the leader of another province or one of the Jarls, she would have don't something else to convince him that she would uphold her end of the bargain, though what surprised her was that both dragons glanced at each other for a few seconds before declaring that they agreed with her bargain. In that moment, however, Amaryllis' vision shifted all of a sudden, no doubt due to the fact that she was holding onto the Elder Scroll they had recovered, and she found herself standing on what had to be a beach, with a crystalline tower far off in the distance, before noticing that a figure stood in front of her, who looked like an Emperor who stood on the front lines and carried two ebony blades into battle, while standing around the figure were a number of other individuals, an assassin to the right, a mage to the left, and an army of followers behind her, who had another mage in front of them. A few seconds later she snapped back to reality and found that only a second must have gone by since Alduin and Paarthurnax agreed to the bargain, meaning she had to be the only one who witnessed the vision, as that was what she must have seen, something that she knew was going to happen far in the future, though she had a feeling she knew exactly what she had seen, as it tied into what Elenwen said back in the Embassy, Za'kera, who was an Empress in the vision, leading her, Wind, and the rest of their allies against the Aldmeri Dominion. She was positive that they had been standing on the beach of the Summerset Isles, where the Crystal Tower was located, meaning that at some point in time they would be leading an army against the Aldmeri Dominion, though she understood why she witnessed the vision in the first place, it gave her something to focus on and make sure she did everything in her power to make all that happen, to which she stood straight and made sure no one noticed what had happened.
One thing the vision made clear was that they needed to get started on building Za'kera's army, as just them and the rest of the dragons wasn't enough to really do much, even though having dragons would be a good reason to make both the Imperials and the Stormcloaks stop this pointless civil war, but she knew that, in time, they would have such a force, only she had to make it happen and had a feeling that it might involve dealing with the Dawnguard, an order that had set up shop in one of the forts in the Rift, and tracking down Miraak, though time would tell if she was right or wrong about what might happen next.
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kind of wish it was possible to attempt reason over conflict with the World Eater in the actual game, but, it is not...Krosis...the only path is the one that leads to the final conflict...
11021022 Indeed. Many wish there were more options in Skyrim, in regards to the World Eater and the ending, and I've brought that into my new take of the game's story.
11021083
so, the next question is 'what now?' this is obviously as far into the main questline as ur going to go in this story, as theres nothing past this point that would be in any way relevant, no plan to capture Odaviin in Whiterun, no peace conference, no final battle with the World Eater...Civil War quests r a possibility just due to how stubborn and set in his ways Ulfric is...and how great a fool...
11021182 The Civil War is an option, though don't forget that both Harkon and Miraak are still around... you'll just have to wait and see which path I take the story down.
11021195
perhaps, but i usually deal with Alduin before i tackle Mirak...both of them r hug pains in the ass to deal with...
11021235 That is true... Harkon is the easiest of the three, even for an ancient vampire lord.
11021859
well, that would be due to Harkon being a huge idiot, but hes still a pain to deal with
11022084 Yes, Harkon is an idiot, but I've never had problems dealing with him... Miraak is a pain, as sometimes his battle breaks and one has to reload to try again, and Alduin is a pain since aiming Dragonrend can be hard at times, but Harkon was never a pain for me to deal with.
11022105
eh, it depends on ur build really, and more than a little on luck. a stealthy dagger build is going to have a harder time than a Fire Mage for example...